%Chapter 4: Meeting the Queen%
The winter storm that was blanketing the area in white had begun to pick up. The winds howled through the trees, rocking the limbs back and forth. The large flakes of snow swirled around the Guardian and his assistant as they made their way on top of the cliff. Despite the poor visibility, the large rocky dome stood prominently. Red streaks of magical energy swirled slowly around it. The rocks were smooth in appearance, the edges interlocked in each successive row. The rocks appeared undamaged, despite the scorch marks covering the top and sides from artillery bombardments. The entrance was rounded at the top, and measured 5 feet wide by 9 feet high. There was snow packed in the entrance to dissuade intruders.
“T…this is incredible.” Emerald stood with mouth agape. Her weapon slung over her shoulder as she stared up at the 100 foot high structure. She stood at the landing of the overlook as Paladin continued on. He stopped short of the magical barrier and extended his right hand towards the swirling mass of energy. When he touched it, the swirling mass stopped moving, and then slowly increased in intensity, radiating heat that melted the snow in front of the entrance before discharging in a flash.
Emerald was dumbfounded. “W-What just happened?”
“The protection spell on these rocks is an old one. Not many magic users know how to summon it properly. It acts as a shield, revealing itself only when certain individuals close to the summoner are near.” Paladin stepped inside, then did a double take. “It can’t be…”
Emerald peered over Paladin’s shoulder then gasped. Laying on a stone alter in the cave was a body, clothed in a long white gown. The body appeared to be that of a female in her thirties, her long flowing red hair spilled out around her head and half way down the side of the gold altar embedded with rubies and sapphires.
“P…paladin…is that….”
Paladin removed his mask as he nodded. Emerald dropped to one knee to show reverence to their seemingly fallen leader, as Paladin approached the altar. His face took on a solemn look, a single tear streaking down his face as he stood next to her. He then dropped to a knee, and clasped her left hand with his own as he stared at her emotionless face.
“F…for a two thousand year slumber, you look pretty good” he chuckles. “Did you enjoy your trip to the Crystal Empire? I hear it’s beautiful this time of year. We all missed you, poor Luna stood at the entrance to the castle for two weeks waiting for your return.”
Emerald looked up from her crouched position as confusion took over her mind. She could faintly make out Paladin’s voice over the sound of the wind rambling on to the woman on the table as if they were having a friendly chat.
“P..paladin, who are you talking too?” She calls out as his voice becomes deeper as he begins to choke back a steady stream of tears.
“We searched the entire mountain range for you, my Queen…. The Crystal Empire sent out its own scouts, but the weather got so bad… and then when the Empire disappeared, we were so swamped trying to contain the hysteria.” Paladin buried his face into the crook of the woman’s arm, sobbing openly as his words failed him. Emerald, whom he had all but forgotten, crossed the room and rested her right hand on his shoulder.
“She was special to you, wasn’t she…” Emerald inquired. Paladin shot up when he heard Emerald’s voice. “You can think whatever you want.” he brushed her hand from his person as Emerald huffed and put her hands on her hips.
“Paladin…”
“What?!” He yelled as her turns on his heel and faced her. “Yes. She was special to me! More special than anyone I’ve ever met! She was charming, she was kind, she was a just ruler, a good friend, a wonderful mother…” Paladin’s voice trailed off as he heard a soft crunch in the snow. He looked over Emerald’s shoulder but saw nothing. He then heard a second crunch, from behind them. He turned around and gasped as the Queen who was thought dead was very much alive.
“It’s been a long time, My Guardian.” She stood before them, her baby blue eyes were heavy from sleep, yet her trademark smile was still present on her lips. Paladin dropped to one knee and bowed his head in a gesture of respect for his queen. Emerald, overcome by the situation, falls to the snow covered ground, unconscious.
“Is she alright?” The Queen asks as Paladin stands and turns to find Emerald passed out.
“I think so…” Paladin scratches his head. “The sad thing is, between her and Ruby, she’s the stronger of the two. Now, your highness, we should move you to safety as soon as possible. Every changeling in the area probably saw that little light show when the barrier went down.”
As paladin spoke, the queen’s magic began to flow around her in red tendrils,that covered her entire body. The tendrils weaved themselves together tightly before dispersing, leaving behind a blood red colored plate armor covering the queen’s vital areas. Buckled to her right hip was a 3 feet long, double sword, with a saw tooth formation going down the back of the blade. In her left hand was a large triangular shaped shield, stamped with the quill in the ink bottle symbol that was stamped in the center of the breast plate.
“Well, at least I’ll get to stretch my legs a bit.” The queen chuckled as she drew her sword and began to walk towards the entrance. Paladin chased after her, pulling his mask down as he did.
Meanwhile, back at the outpost the others were starting to get worried about the status of their friends, especially Pinkie Pie. The wind and snow where creating near-whiteout conditions. Worse, the sun was setting, meaning there would be two to three more hours at the most where a person would be able to safely navigate back to safe ground. However, navigating on foot would not be a problem for the pastry chef, as the loud hum of airship engines could be heard over head. The sound of the engines confused the other elemental users. The harsh cold of the Stalliongrad mountains were enough to freeze magic coils solid. If the engines didn’t freeze, then a pilot would surely crash into the mountain from the combination of the blinding snow and the gale force winds. But as they looked out the window, the unmistakable pink hull and purple awnings that shaded the decks, stamped on top with the image of three large balloons that was the “party ship”, were clearly visible as it landed in the snowy valley.
Ruby was dumbfounded. “Where did she go?”
Applejack, who seemed unfazed by Pinkie’s latest act of randomness, spoke up “The bathroom.”
The last inhabitants of Outpost 17 quickly rushed outside as the gangplank of the vessel fell to the ground, creating an entrance ramp onto the ship. Standing atop of it, was the most peculiar looking woman. Her pink curls escaping in all directions under her snow cap like the excess icing on a cupcake. Her oversized pink coat was lined with confetti and streamers, and the words “party animal” where scribbled in white letters along the front. Her snow pants were at least two sizes too big, yet the bagginess of her attire didn’t hamper her movement as she bounced up and down happily.
“Pinkie Pie?!” Twilight was stunned as she spoke. The girl was only supposed to go to the bathroom, but in that time she had somehow managed to go back to town, get back to the ship port, and retrieve her flying machine all in the span of a few hours.
“Hi twilight!” Pinkie pie bounced down the gangplank and hugged her friend. “Sorry it took so long, I had to go really really bad!, but I couldn’t just go out here because it was so cold and I didn’t want to get caught by changelings, so I went back down to Stalliongrad! I tried to use the bathroom in the inn but it was smelly and not very clean, so I thought “Hey, the ship’s bathroom is really really really clean, I’ll just go there! So I did, and then I thought “Hey, it might be cold on the mountain and we might need a warm place to sleep, so I…”
“Brought the ship to us.” Twilight finished her friend’s sentence. Pinkie nodded her head vigorously as she released her friend and took a look around. Her trade mark smile quickly disappeared, as she saw all the bodies strewn on the ground.
“Girls, what happened here?” Pinkie asked.
“Them Changelings really stirred a nest this time. They attacked the place lookin for the Queen’s grave…they really did a number on the place…” Applejack pointed towards the devastated Outpost, still standing despite being riddled by impact wounds. Pinkie’s jaw dropped as she saw it. While the memory of their only tangle with the changelings was distant in her mind, seeing their handiwork first hand still sent a chill down her spine. Looking down at one of the body of a fallen Equestrian guard soldier, her armor shredded by blades and punctured by bullet rounds. Her cheeks were stained with dried blood and tears. From the evidence, this woman’s death hadn’t been easy. This sight brought profound changes in Pinkie Pie. Her poofy hair had become matted down in long strands; her happy expression had changed as well. Her teeth were gritted, and her blue eyes narrowed. Her breathing became more ragged, and in her right hand formed a vorpal blade almost out of thin air.
“Who…did this…” She breathed.
“There was a huge flash of light over the trees.” Rarity said, shivering from Pinkie’s transformation. Before they could warn her of Paladin and Emerald’s own expedition, she was gone in a flash.
“Twi…should we….”
Twilight Sparkle was already in a dead run into the forest towards the flash, hoping to arrive there before Pinkie…or rather, “Pinkamena”, arrived first.
“R…rarity? W-who was that?!” Ruby stuttered out. Rarity was shaken out of her daze and looked down at the girl.
“A monster, Ruby. A monster….”
Meanwhile, the cliff the Queen had sought refuge on was being besieged on all sides by a legion of changelings, who had been attracted to the flash of light from the protective barrier’s dispersal. As they began advancing onto the cliff, a crimson streak arced through the surrounding army, and in the blink of an eye, a hundred of them had been killed instantly, and hundreds of others were tossed aside by the shockwave that came after. As the smoke cleared from the entrance, Queen Faust walked out, smirking with her sword drawn. She was flanked by the Royal Guardian, whose weapons were sheathed for this encounter, and a thoroughly stunned Stalliongrad Ranger in Emerald, eyes wide and mouth gaped open as the queen strode amongst her enemies.
“Well, this is quite the welcome party.” Queen Faust chuckled as she took a defensive stance, her shield side forward, with her left arm held close to her body so that the shield covered her vital areas.
“I told you they’d seen your little light show.” Paladin said, drawing his weapons, he stands with his dagger collapsible dagger held horizontally in front of his body. In front of them were over 300 changelings, the head of them standing in front of his ranks. He was a giant of a man, standing at over seven feet tall. He held a large double sided Axe in his hands. His muscles were finely tuned, threatening to burst through his plate armor. He laughed as he saw Emerald cowering, waving her gun side to side as she tried to line up a target.
“So, the secret of the Equestrian tomb has finally revealed itself to be nothing but a little girl and her two brats.” He snorted. Queen Faust gritted her teeth as she gripped her sword tight in her hand.
“We’re more than a simple group of children. I am Queen Lauren Faust of Equestria, to my right stands the guardian of the crown, Paladin. To my left, stands a ranger of the Great Stalliongrad Rangers. You are trespassing on our lands and killing my people indiscriminately. This is tantamount to war. You have until the count of three to take your troops out of my country and never return, and I might consider not storming your lands with the full might of the Equestrian Army!”
The giant and his cohorts laughed at the three warriors standing before them. “You think that you three can stand against the likes of us? We walk among your people unseen. We’ve already breached your pitiful defenses, and soon, our glorious queen will take your lands and your pitiful race slaves for our will. Yet here you are, making arrogant threats like you still have some sort of high ground left to stand on.”
Paladin had heard enough of this. He teleported from the queen’s side and appeared behind the leader. He stabbed his blade through the soldier’s legs, making him howl in pain. The soldier fell to his knees as Paladin drew his revolver and shot him three times in the head. The soldier’s blood splashed on his hands, coat, and mask. He turned around and stood his ground as the massive changeling army began to charge at them, weapons drawn and shouting in rage
“Now you can stretch your legs!” Paladin roars as he spins around, unloading pistol rounds into the advancing soldiers. Emerald lay down prone as the shots from enemy soldiers whizzed by her head. She shot back at any enemy she could see as she slowly crawled forward towards a large stone. Queen Faust sprinted forward, shield first at an oncoming changeling and rammed her assailant in the gut. The changeling gasped and lurched forward as it was lifted off the ground as the queen raised her shield. With a smirk, the queen aligned the tip of her sword with the changeling’s temple, where the lid of the helmet bordered its forehead. She thrust forward hard, impaling its skull on her sword’s blade, before emitting a pulse of energy from her shield, tossing the lifeless corpse back into the charging ranks.
“Whoa!” Shouted Emerald. She watched in awe as Queen Faust’s blade burned red with her magical aura as she held it high above her head. With a horizontal swing, she fired a crescent blade of magic that sliced her enemies in half.
“Very nice my queen, now watch this!” Paladin flipped backwards to avoid a heavy swing of an axe from a charging enemy. Then, as his feet touched the ground, he blinked forward and appeared behind a line of ten changelings. His blade was dripping with blood as he turned around to watch his targets fall dead. He then turned to the right in time to see a changeling swinging for his head. Paladin managed to throw his blade up in defense, but the force of the swing ripped his flimsy blade from his hand. But before the changeling could finish off the disarmed royal guardian, the warrior found himself staring down the barrel of a gun as Paladin unloaded a slug at point blank. The force of the shot at that close a range caused the fallen changeling to flip backwards, landing on the snow face down. With his foe dispatched, the royal guardian searched frantically for his blade as Queen Faust leaped in front of him and unleashed a volley of red tendrils that impaled the enemies descending upon them.
“Losing a step, my dear Paladin?” The Queen chuckled then she dispatched a changeling with a diagonal slash down through its right shoulder.
“Says the woman who’s been asleep for four thousand years!” Paladin shot back as he picked up his blade. He looked up quickly to see a changeling sneaking up behind Emerald as she took potshots at the soldiers that tried to swarm her position. Gripping the handle tight, he pulled his arm back then threw it in Emerald’s direction. When the girl saw the blade hurtling towards her head, she screamed and covered her head just in time for it to graze her coat, and impale the changeling behind her in the thigh. When she heard the scream of pain, emerald turned over onto her back, pointed her rifle at its chest, and fired, the bolt piercing her enemy’s vital organs as it passed through.
“Good shot, child!” The queen exclaimed. But their work was far from over. A hundred more changelings were charging up the hill at them. Emerald joined her fellow fighters as they stood in front of the opening to the rock structure, weapons drawn and held tight.
“My queen, you need to…” Paladin began
“No.” she placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. “As the Queen of Equestria, it is my duty to go out fighting.” The queen responded, and prepared to charge into the horde before them…
Suddenly, Darkness would envelope the land. Changeling and Equestrian alike where blinded, except for Paladin, who had muttered a spell to allow him to see through the darkness. With this new vision, he could see that the changeling warriors had stopped in place, caught in confusion over what was happening.
“W.what’s going on?! It was afternoon not five seconds ago” Emerald shrieked.
“Child…there are some things you’ll learn to be glad you’ve never seen.” Paladin spoke. Shortly after the room got dark, a soft, maniacal laughter pierced the eerie silence. Then came the voice…
“Giggle at the ghosties…” the voice said. A rush of wind followed, whipping at the tails of Paladin’s coat. The Queen held her weapons tight, and Emerald clutched her weapon for dear life, her hands shaking, and her knees buckling together.
“Crack up at the creepies…” The voice came again, followed by an innocent chuckle. Paladin watched as the girl appeared with his back towards him. The vorpal blade was shining in his dark vision, though to those around him there was nothing but blackness. Then, she disappeared again.
“Snortle at the spookies” The voice range out a third time, followed by the sickening sound of blade tearing flesh. Paladin watched as she slashed and stabbed through a platoon of changelings. Their blood splashed on her body, a demonic smile creasing her lips. Cries of agony followed each swing, as this mystery girl slaughtered changelings left and right. Some of the soldiers were swinging at each other in the darkness in a vain attempt to halt this merciless attack.
As one changeling, a young male soldier, tried to fly away, it shrieked in terror as its left wing was held tight in the pink haired assassin’s firm grip. With one hand, she slammed her prey to the ground with one hand, then tore the wing off. The changeling’s cry actually made Paladin shiver but he continued watching as the girl stabbed her blade into the man’s back, and then twisted the blade as she pulled on the wing simultaneously.
“Don’t cry little one, I’ll make you feel so much better…soon.” She laughed then left the solider on the ground wincing and groaning in pain.
Paladin finally had to stop watching this wholesale slaughter. Most of the Changelings were either flying or running in terror away from where they thought the attacker was coming from. He used this confusion to his advantaged and dashed towards the girl as she stood over another male solder. She was licking the blood from her blade as she stood over him, giggling like a child playing with their first teddy bear. Before she could strike him, Paladin tackled her to the ground, pinning her blade hand to the ground as she kicked her feet at his stomach, trying to pry herself away and finish her work. With his right hand free, Paladin grabbed his revolver and spun it so that the handle was forward and swung hard, pistol whipping the girl across the face. With one swing, he managed to knock her unconscious, and the evening light returned to the forest. Strewn along the ground were the bodies of over 200 changelings who were either writhing in agony, or dead outright. The remaining survivors had already bolted, flying or running for the safety of their own borders.
“P..paladin, who is that?” Emerald asked, her body shaking still.
“It’s a long story.” Paladin said as he lifted the unconscious girl into his arms. “Right now, we need to start heading back. If that brute was to be believed, then we have to mobilize the defenses in Stalliongrad before these things start pouring over the mountain in force.”