A Changeling runs in, and grabs me by the hoof.
"Where are you taking me!?" I shout, struggling against his grip.
"Safety," he growls, dragging me down the hallway. "There's been a breach! I'm the only sentry left alive, when I heard there was a child in the infirmary, I..." He pauses. "Come on, let's go! We've got to secure the Queen and the Princess!"
I nod, and start to sprint along, not really knowing what's going on.
However, at the same time, I can hear the screams behind me, and I dare not look back.
We're joined by guards, and I sigh in relief at the safety they present us with.
Princess Metamorpha
I sigh as Mother coughs again, the medicine barely taking any effect.
"I don't know," Ethan announces. "But it seems to be resistant to the antibiotic..."
I frown, and turn to look out the window overlooking the main chamber of the Changeling capital. I look down into the pit of our civilization, watching Changelings go about their business...
"Breach! Get the Princess and the Queen to safety; there's been a breach!"
I spin to face Mother and Ethan, both of whom stand, and seem to be filled with the same vigor of fear that fills myself. A few guards rush into the room, Scootaloo in tow. As soon as they enter, they slam the door shut, and activate the vault lock on the passage.
Ethan rushes to Scootaloo, and she demands to know what's going on.
"Sentry!" I shout, seeking the Changeling. "Sentry, report!"
"I don't know what's going on at the front gate," the sentry pants as he steps forward. "But I know that I'm the only surviving sentry, they overtook the West part...there's a fucking dragon viral!"
My pupils contract, and the guards immediately opens the escape hatch. We file in, all of us pausing to look back for a foolishly long moment as we hear the door being compromised. A few of the guards run back to hold back the virals, and I salute them in my heart.
Scootaloo
Ethan runs with my hoof in his, the both of us panting. It takes me a little while to realize that I'm crying out of panic.
"What's going on!?" I scream as we proceed through the halls. "What's chasing us, what's a viral!?"
"No time to explain," Ethan coughs. "We just have to run..."
I nod,and keep running. After a few seconds, I feel a sharp tug on my hoof, and I spin around to see-
"Ethan!" I shout, grabbing his splayed out hoof. I watch in horror as the "viral" digs into Ethan's chest, tearing out bones and organs. I feel my stomach clenching as I see intestines being pulled out, and consumed.
"Run," Ethan begs, pushing me away as more of the black-bodied yellow-eyed Changelings swarm around him.
I nod, and turn, sprinting away next to Chrysalis and Metamorpha. I keep crying the entire way.
"Peter!" I hear Metamorpha shout. I look up, and see that Peter has joined us. I find out that all the guards are dead. Dead, dead dead.
Peter asks me if I'm okay, but I'm afraid to open my mouth. I think my stomach might explode outward if I do.
The next few things happen in a blur.
A "viral" pins me down, and I punch at it, crying and sobbing as I realize that this is the end.
And then, it's gone, imprinted into the wall about a yard away from me.
"What was that!?" I shout as Peter picks me up.
"I don't know," he responds, and keeps running.
Metamorpha
We reach the bunker about ten minutes into our flight.
Ten minutes. That's all it took for the entirety of this city to go to hell.
I see to Mother's safety, and search for Peter and Scootaloo.
They're nowhere to be seen.
"Where are the guests!?" I shout, running between guards in a frantic search for an answer. "Where are Peter and Scootaloo!?"
"We lost them," a guard pants, slumping against the closed door. "We completely-"
His sentence is cut short by an explosion. An explosion that shakes the very foundation of the Changeling capital, and renders us all deaf for a few moments.
And then, silence. Even the virals clawing at the door have ceased their noise.
It's almost as if there's peace.
Scootaloo
I watch, amazed, as the "virals" flee. All of them in the narrow hallway, running. And those that can't run, simply giving up and dying.
I look down the path marked by Peter's energy blast. It burrowed about ten yards into the adjacent wall, and expanded the hallway by a radius of five feet. I stare up at him, and panic as he falls over, spent and unconscious.
"Peter, wake up," I plead. "Those things might come back, come on! Get up, Peter, get up!" I look around, and realize that we're completely alone. No Changeling could have survived that wave of virals. But I must try.
"Help!" I shout, cradling Peter's head in my forelegs. He barely breathes as I hold him. "Help me, anyone!"
And then, a single Changeling walks into the hallway, and heaves Peter onto his back.
"Come on," he beckons, taking my hoof as he uses ridiculous strength to carry Peter down the path.
"How'd you survive!?" I demand, recognizing the Changeling all too well.
"I didn't," he growls. "Come on, we've got to go!"
I nod, and run after him and Peter, not understand and yet not wanting to understand.
Princess Metamorpha
It takes a whole twenty minutes for Peter and Scootaloo to arrive.
I startle at the knocking on the bunker door, and immediately throw it open. We assist the survivor in bringing Peter and Scootaloo into the bunker, and place them on cots.
I turn to thank the Changeling, but he's gone.
Celestia
Fluttershy bustles about as both Spike and Rainbow Dash seize.
"What's going on!?" Twilight Sparkle demands.
"I don't know, just help me hold them down!" Fluttershy shouts. "We can't let them hurt themselves!"
The ponies manage to hold both Rainbow and Spike down, and I watch on, stunned and helpless.
I'm the goddess of this simulation. I should be able to understand every single thing that occurs.
And yet, I cannot understand why or how the kamehemeha wave function has just been executed, nor why it's execution synchronized with the seizures the two just experienced.
I have one hypothesis, but it's completely-
Somebody's here.
I turn as I sense his presence, and frown at the Changeling. I immediately prepare to destroy it.
"Princess," he states, walking forward as if he owns the place, "there was a breach. There were one hundred and eight virals, one of which was a dragon. There are only forty two survivors, including Peter and Scootaloo. Excluding myself."
He stares up at me, and I search for words. "Who...who are you?"
"My name was Ethan," he informs me.
I blink, and he is gone.
"Princess, who were you talking to?" Twilight asks, frowning up at me. I shake my head, and put on a confused frown.
"Nopony," I respond. "Just a spirit..."
She nods, accepting the explanation as Rainbow and Spike finally settle down. I set about what must be done, my mind here there and elsewhere.