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// Chapter 6: The Invasion of the Swarm 
// Story: For a United Equestria 
// by lulii999 
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Ponyville. Its image met the 6 ponies’ eyes. Only, it wasn’t the friendly familiar sight they were used to. The Changelings had already reached their beloved town, their presence towering above it like a massive black cloud. 
“Oh no, we’re too late!” squeaked Fluttershy. 
“No, we’re not, there’s still hope!” said Twilight, she turned to the legion of troops behind her, “We need to evacuate as many ponies as we can. Lead them to the Fields of Sunlight for now, from there, Princess Cel – Luna, will provide enough protection for them to escape to the Crystal Empire. Come on, troops, for Equestria!”
“FOR EQUESTRIA!” answered Twilight’s battle call.
Twilight looked to her friends, who gave slight smiles of comfort (Fluttershy with an added whimper), and yelled: “CHARGE!”
With the bearers of the Elements of Harmony at the head, the grey and white soldiers galloped at full throttle. As the distance between them and Ponyville shortened, beams of green light shot down like lightning from the distant black haze, and those that were struck instantly fell.
The unicorn soldiers retaliated with attacks of yellow light, and the Changelings that were hit fell from the sky like black drops of rain. 
And then they reached the outskirts of Ponyville. 
They were met with a hoard of Changelings attacking from the sky, flying down at top speed. Twilight dodged an attack from an incoming changeling and shot a beam at another. Horn glowing bright with fury, she turned and galloped towards the library – the central point of Ponyville, around which a number of Changelings had already surrounded.

Rarity ran towards Carousel boutique, she saw a Changeling zoom past her heading straight for the window. “Oh no you don’t!” she shouted. A pale blue aura surrounded the Changeling’s tail, stopping it mid-flight. She whirled it over her head, and sent it soaring over the fields, crashing into the ground with a barely audible crunch. 
A high-pitched scream resonated from the inside of the boutique. The white unicorn regained her composure, tucked a loose strand of hair back into her well-styled ‘quaffure, and smashed open the door to her shop with a powerful kick from her hind legs.
Sure enough, her sister, Sweetie Belle was backed up against the wall, surrounded by Changelings. “Get away from my sister!” screamed Rarity, “GET AWAY!”. 
The Changelings turned on Rarity. “Oh Sweetie Belle? Would you be a dear and find a hiding place and close your eyes, please?” she called from across the room over the advancing Changelings.
Sweetie Belle rushed into the nearby cupboard. And with a dignified stance, Rarity’s horn glowed blue. A wall of needles formed behind her, and thrust themselves into the Changelings’ flesh, while several fabric scissors pierced the Changelings furthest from Rarity. And soon enough, the Changelings lay dead, their green blood staining the lavender mink rug.
She rushed over to the cupboard where her sister hid. The unicorn filly was curled up into a shaking white ball with her hooves covering her ears. Rarity nuzzled her sister’s cheek, “it’s ok, Sweetie Belle, you’re safe now”, and Sweetie Belle hugged her sister about the neck.
However, the serenity of their embrace was broken as a crash was heard from the outside.
“We have to get out of here, come on, let’s find mother and father” whispered Rarity. Sweetie Belle nodded, and followed her out the door.

Once outside, they found Applebloom, Applejack’s younger sister. “Oh Sweetie Belle, Ah’m so glad you’re alraght!” and Sweetie Belle galloped forward to hug her. 
“Applebloom, where’s the rest of your family? Where’s Applejack?” asked Rarity
“Ah don’t know, Rarity. I was just on mah way home from the markets when the Changelings attaAAAAAAA –“ 
“APPLEBLOOM!” yelled Sweetie Belle and Rarity together as the young Earth pony was snatched up by a swooping Changeling.
“We have to help her!” cried Sweetie Belle
“But I –” said Rarity
“OI RARITY!” yelled Applejack as she galloped up to them, “Give me a hoof, why doncha? Ah need to get to that Changeling over yonder! And Ah think Ahm’a gonna need me some unicorn magic to do so”
Rarity donned one of her stunning smiles, “Why of course!”.  A blue aura surrounded Applejack, who braced for effect. And soon enough, she was launched through the air, in hot pursuit of the Changeling clutching a writhing Applebloom. Applejack somersaulted in mid air, and her back hoof collided with the Changeling’s rear, causing it to drop Applebloom and to zoom straight into the bell atop the clock tower. The Apple sisters landed on the bloodstained grass as the bell was struck. “Thanks, sis! For a moment there Ah thought Ah was done for!” said Applebloom. “Ah’d never let that happen, little sis” said Applejack, hoisting Applebloom onto her back as she galloped towards Sweet Apple Acres.... 
“NOT SO FAST YOU LITTLE –”, hollered Rainbow Dash as she zoomed past the Apple sisters. In mid air she tackled a Changeling just about to crash through the front door of her house in the clouds. She knocked it out cold, “my stuff’s in there!” Then she heard a little yell from within. It did not sound like a Changeling. 
“As well as a little Pegasus filly that can’t fly…” she sighed. Dash leaped into the air and smashed through her front door herself. And she saw little Scootaloo, her young admirer trying to fight back a horde of advancing Changelings. Rainbow also saw the deep gash on her foreleg she was nursing. 
Rainbow Dash galloped forward, leaped in front of Scootaloo, and bucked the nearest Changeling in the jaw as it snarled. She blew a portion of her multi-coloured mane out of her face, “Okay, who wants to see Dashie bring the pain?”. The Changelings hissed, but one shook its head in frightened response. Rainbow looked at it unimpressed as her tail transferred Scootaloo under a nearby table, “it was rhetoric”. And with that she relieved her hard-pumping adrenaline rush by letting loose her fury. 
She dodged a spell off one Changeling and countered with a hard-hitting roundhouse kick. She then started throwing well-aimed bits of furniture at their heads. With the Changelings momentarily distracted and a faint idea forming in her head, she grabbed Scootaloo and shot out through the roof. Sure enough the Changelings followed her as she sped through to the Everfree Forest. 
“Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?!” asked a nervous Scootaloo. 
“Testing out their flying skills, what else?” replied Rainbow Dash confidently, and with that her form went twisting and turning through the trees. Some Changelings bumped into several trees, and were either knocked out or had their crooked horns embedded deep into their trunks. For those that could still keep up however, Rainbow had a more devious plan set.
“Rainbow Dash, I don’t think this is the safest direction you’re heading!” yelled Scootaloo
“No it isn’t Scoots, but it’s exactly where I want to go,” said Rainbow as she narrowly missed some more oncoming spells. 
“Are you CRAZY? We can’t go there! This will lead us straight to the…” and with a sudden onset of realization, “…Timberwolves...”
“Hold on tight, kiddo” grinned Rainbow as she zoomed through the tunnel leading to the Timberwolves’ den. Scootaloo braced and held tightly to Rainbow’s mane.
“WAKEY WAKEY, SLEEPY HEADS. DINNER IS SERVED!!” said Rainbow as Changelings entered the den, and she easily made an unnoticed U-turn and zoomed back out of the tunnel unnoticed. 
She and Scootaloo looked back at the tunnel from above, and saw crows shoot out of the surrounding trees as the cries of the Changelings pierced the momentary silence.
“Come on Scoots, we need to get back to the others” she breathed as Scootaloo gave a sigh of relief and nodded.

Back in Ponyville, more and more Changelings flew in as more fell. And from far away, the brightly colored mass of ponies could be seen evacuating their invaded home, making their way to the Fields of Sunlight as the battle persevered. Screams could be heard from miles away, black smoke rose up from the burning homes mixed with the Changelings’ dark exoskeletons, and right in the center of everything was Princess Twilight Sparkle. 
At her side were Fluttershy and Spike the dragon, as well as several guards. 
“Come on, Fluttershy!” said Twilight, “I know how kind you are, I know how you won’t even hurt a fly, believe me I do, but we are literally in the middle of the raging war hanging in the balance between life and death themselves! You’ve got to do something! You can’t keep dodging attacks forever!”
“B-but I’m scared” said Fluttershy as she ducked and covered her head, missing a spell from one Changeling and accidentally tripping another.
“Remember what Iron Will taught you, Fluttershy? When somepony tries to block, show them that you rock!” said Spike, breathing emerald green flames on some of the closer Changelings.
“But you told me not to listen to him!” said Fluttershy
“Fluttershy, sweetie… NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO FORGET I’VE EVER SAID SUCH A THING!” yelled Twilight as she sent an energy blast clearing most of the Changelings in front of her.
“I’m so s-sorry, Twilight, I j-just c-can’t!” sobbed Fluttershy
“Fluttershy, is that your house burning?” asked Spike
Fluttershy’s head shot up, and took one look at her flaming house, faintly seeing her animal friends rushing to evacuate, she screamed: “MY BABIES!” and zoomed off towards her hut almost as fast as Rainbow Dash on one of her Sonic Rainboom training days....


***


And so the battle trudged on, the death toll rose, and eventually came the moment where Princess Luna came down to Ponyville and teleported the surviving residents of Ponyville, including Twilight, her friends, and the rest of the troops towards the outskirts of The Crystal Empire.