A pair of ponies slowly made their way through the outskirts of the Macintosh Hills, the large moon high above them covering the world in a silvery, muted light. The muffled clanking of their homemade armour scared away most animals in the area, and all they could hear was the wind whistling through the trees. Well, that and the sound of their own loud conversation.
“What, are you kidding?” The speaker, a beige coloured earth pony, glanced sidelong at his companion. “I think you’ve been sniffing the paint chips again, Ronny.”
Ronny Bow glared at the unicorn, her lime green wings fluttering in the cool midnight breeze. “Once. That happened once, Clives. And you never let me forget it.”
Clives Dale nickered softly, pushing a branch out of his path with his shoulder. “Yeah, but what a once it was. The mayor actually ordered you to stay away from his office for a whole year. He still complains to me about finding-”
Ronny hastily cut him off, a slight blush blooming on her cheeks. “Yes, well. I think that’s quite enough of that. But back to what I was saying, I really don’t see the need for us to be out here. The changelings were beaten, they ain’t coming back.”
“Ah, my dear, foolish, foolish, foolish, foolish, foolish-”
“Get to the point,” Ronny said flatly.
“-foolish, foolish, foolish, foolish little cousin. If you thought that, why did you volunteer to patrol the mountains? Oh, no need to answer. I already know it. You’re drawn to my eccentric charm.”
“Ohhhh, don’t even go there.” Ronny ducked as Clives released the branch, the leaves whipping through the air where her head had been a moment ago. “I just thought it would be good exercise. If I had known I’d be stuck dealing with you and your stupid face, I never would have volunteered for this. And I’m not your cousin. The very idea of being related to you… Ugh. It sends shivers down my spine.”
“So let the changelings come! We will crush them beneath our mighty hooves! They will learn that their days are numbered, and that that number is zero!”
“Uh huh.” Whenever Clives got into one of these moods of his, Bonny had learned to just tune him out. They continued down the mountain path, Bonny occasionally catching snippets of phrases like: “-and the ground will run red with their blood! Their blood’s red, right? What do you mean ‘you don’t know?’ Then the ground will run whatever colour their blood is!” or “We will annihilate them! We will crush them into the dirt and bury them in the dust where they belong!”
Eventually tiring of the non-stop natter, Ronney stepped off the path and slipped behind a large boulder. “Hang on a sec, I need to make a pit stop.”
“We will make jelly with their innards and spread it on toast with the sweet butter of justice. Hey, hang on, we shouldn’t split up.” Trying to walk around the boulder, he was forced to retreat under a hail of thrown rocks.
“There is a LADY trying to take a PISS back here! Bugger off!”
“I don’t see any lady,” he grumbled, rubbing at his cheek where a particularly sharp rock had cut him. “Just a crazy mare.” A quiet thud sounded from behind the boulder, like something heavy falling to the ground. “You alright back there?” A slight groan responded after a few seconds’ pause before he heard her voice coming from behind the boulder.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just slipped on a rock.”
“Do you need me to come back there and hold your hoof? OW!” A small rock flew over the boulder and smacked heavily against the modified cooking pot he wore as a helmet.
After a few minutes, Ronney stepped out from behind the boulder, fixing up her armour. “Well?” she asked. “Are you going to keep staring, or are we going to get moving? The sooner I can get home and back to bed, the better. This place is starting to give me the creeps.”
Clives leered at her as they continued to follow the mountain trail. “Well, I agree that bed sounds like a fine idea-“
“Shh,” she gestured for silence with her hoof, staring into the undergrowth. “Did you see that?” Her voice barely broke a whisper, and he had to strain to hear her.
“No,” he hissed back. “What did you see?”
“I don’t know. Come on, we should take a look.” Staying side by side, the pair cautiously entered the leafy brushwood of the forbidding forest. What had seemed like a routine forest check was starting to take a far more disturbing turn. Clives’ imagination began painting changelings in every shadow. Even the slightest movement was a monster preparing to rush out and tear him to shreds.
His fear gave him an emotional high, and it was almost a relief to him when they managed to find a changeling. It brazenly stood out in the open, watching them with those cold, dead eyes he had heard so much about. The moonlight reflected off the monster’s black carapace, giving it a decidedly eerie look. His legs shook slightly at the sight of one of the monsters he had trained so much to fight, but he told himself it was with excitement.
“Ronny,” he said, taking a step forward so he stood between her and it. “Hurry, go tell the commander. He needs to know the changelings are here.” The orders were absolute. If changelings were spotted, they had to let someone know, no matter what.
“And you!” he proclaimed at the unmoving changeling. “You thought you would find an easy meal? Well too bad for you, because you found me instead. And I am the meal of your defeat, smothered in delicious mustard. The mustard of your doom.”
“Actually, I have a better idea.”
Clives felt a tinge of heat warm his back as a bright green light flashed from behind him. Looking around in horror, he saw another changeling standing directly behind him. Bonny’s armour fit loosely on the terrifying monster, and it gave him a smug, fang-filled grin.
He barely had time to scream before they were upon him.
In the Court of the Night, Princess Luna idly played with a piece of string, slouching in the over-large throne. Another quiet night, same as always. It was nice of her sister to arrange for this Night Court, giving Luna an opportunity to reconnect with her subjects after that Nightmare Moon fiasco a few years back. But it didn’t help if nopony ever came to the Night Court, preferring to instead petition Princess Celestia herself during the daytime hours.
Celestia had said that the only way she would be able to get the forgiveness of the citizens of Equestria was to keep trying. Luna understood the wisdom in those words, but it was still hard to remain patient. It was these same feelings of being a poor second to her sister that had allowed Nightmare Moon to control her actions all those years ago. She would occasionally pass the time by slipping into the world of dreams to speak with ponies in their own dreams. She had had a good talk with her sister’s student last night, but now she was bored again.
Luna sighed as she made the string vanish, glancing over at the pair of her guards by the doorway. She was about to proclaim an early end to the Night Court – it wasn’t like anyone would notice if the Night Court stopped entirely – when a loud knock on the door heralded the arrival of the chamberlain.
“Your Majesty,” he said, opening the large double doors just a crack and slipping inside before closing them behind him. “We have- I mean-” Clearing his throat, he pulled himself together. “A petitioner to see the Princess of the Night. Shall I let him in?”
“Yes! I mean…” Slightly flustered, since this was the first time anypony had come to see her since the Court of the Night had begun, she hurriedly ran her hooves through her starry mane. “How do I look?”
“Regal as always.”
Luna allowed herself a small smile as she sat up straight in her throne. “Very good. Then please announce the petitioner.” The chamberlain bowed before slipping back out the doorway.
After a slight pause, he re-entered the throne room, a bedraggled orange pegasus following behind him. The pegasus’ sky blue mane was windswept and unkempt, and he had a wild look to his eyes as he took in the sight of the Princess staring down at him. His cutie mark was a piece of paper with a lightning bolt running through it, and his flanks heaved as he openly panted for breath.
The Chamberlain uneasily cleared his throat. “Will the petitioner-” The pegasus shoved past the Chamberlain, falling to his knees before Princess Luna.
“Please, Your Highness,” he pleaded to the floor, his words stumbling over themselves as they rushed out of his mouth. “Help them! You’ve got to help!”
“Calm yourself, my little pony,” Luna said, trying to think of how Celestia would act in a situation like this. “Help who? Start from the beginning.”
“Beginning. Right.” Taking a deep breath, the pegasus openly tried to calm himself before continuing. From the way his voice shook when he spoke, he didn’t succeed very well. “My name’s Free Flier. I’m a weather pony for Dodge City. I was enjoying a quiet night when I saw it.”
Free Flier hesitated, so Luna spoke up to encourage him. “Do not worry, citizen. You’re safe here. Please tell us, what did you see?”
“I saw,” he shuddered, but bravely continued anyways, “the town was overrun. I had been sleeping out on a cloud, which was probably why they didn’t see me. But I woke up when I heard the screams. When I looked, I saw that the city was ablaze with green flames. We had been warned about the possibility, but nopony really expected it to happen. The changelings invaded us before we even knew they were moving.”
Luna grimaced. She had heard about when the changelings had invaded Canterlot, though she herself had been asleep when it happened. Free Flier continued his story, not noticing the expression on her face.
“All the cloud houses had already been brought down to the ground. I think they wanted to prevent news of the invasion from getting out, and captured the pegasi first. I fled, seeking help. Please, Your Majesty,” he pleaded again. “Please save them.”
“I will,” Luna promised. Turning to the guards as she stepped off her throne, she began to give out orders. “Please see our guest to one of the guest rooms and send word to the rest of the guards and my sister. We will leave within the next three hours.”
“No!” Free Flier protested before hastily backpedaling at the look the Princess of the Night gave him. “I mean… I want to go with you. And can we leave right away? I’m worried about the foals.”
Less than an hour later, Luna and Free Flier were riding on a chariot pulled by the two guards that had been in the courtroom. The moon was approaching the horizon, and Luna knew she would have to stop to lower it before they reached Dodge. The last time she had left it in the sky so she could enjoy the sight, Celestia had given her an earful about ‘cleaning up her clutter’. Luna had blown Celestia off at first, but she had woken up the next evening to find Discord’s statue slipped into her bed.
Celestia had made her point clear.
Luna glanced down at Free Flier, who didn’t seem to notice her appraisal. His head stuck out over the edge of the chariot, watching the ground pass by far below them. She had wanted to leave him behind for his own safety, but he had continually insisted until she accepted his presence. Besides which, she couldn’t rightfully keep him away from his own home.
Her eyes flickering over to where the moon awaited her, Luna considered the events of the past hour. She had left orders with the Chamberlain for a battalion of guards to be outfitted and to follow after her as soon as they were ready. Luna herself was going to try and save the captured foals before the guards arrived, but she hoped they caught up shortly afterwards. She wasn’t sure if she could take the entire army by herself, but the idea of leaving the foals in the clutches of those monsters for a second longer than necessary grated on her heart.
“Are you alright, Your Majesty?” Luna’s ears twitched as the question caught her off guard, and she looked down to see the orange pegasus staring curiously up at her. Luna tried to smile reassuringly, burying her own worry deep within her.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just worried about the foals.”
Free Flier sighed and leaned against the side of the chariot, his feathers fluttering in the pre-dawn air. “I know what you mean, Luna. I’m worried about my friends too, of course, but the innocent foals don’t deserve to go through this.”
Luna nodded, silently agreeing. The younger generation had always been precious to her. It was well-known throughout the country that Luna had a soft spot for children of all species. The way Free Flier kept mentioning them made her a little suspicious that he was manipulating her, but it just so happened that she agreed with him. The foals didn’t need to go through this, and she intended to rescue them as soon as possible.
They continued in silence for a while, the bat-like wings of Luna’s guards creating a sharp whistling noise as they sliced through the air. Eventually, Luna called up to them.
“Steady out, please. I need to focus.” The guards nodded slightly, their wings straightening out as they glided through the air. Free Flier looked at her curiously, and Luna answered the question in his gaze. “I need to concentrate on lowering the moon. So I’m going to have to ask you to remain silent until I’m finished.”
Free Flier bent his neck slightly and stood back as Luna’s horn flared brightly. The Lunar Princess felt the same sense of euphoria she always felt as her magic wrapped around the place that had been her home – or her prison – for a thousand years. Despite having touched the moon with her magic more times than she could count, the feeling of her magic brushing against it always filled her with mixed feelings of insignificance before its might and elation for being able to control it. Even as she wrapped the moon in her magical embrace, she extended her senses further, out to the countless number of stars that twinkled in the night sky like innumerable diamonds. As the moon began to dip out of the sight, the stars began to vanish one by one, winking out until their return the following night.
As the moon disappeared beneath the horizon, clearing the way for the sun, Luna felt a sudden impact strike her in the back of her neck. Brought to her knees by the force of the unexpected blow, she turned her head to see Free Flier staring at her, a cruel smile creasing the edges of his mouth.
“Just as I thought,” he said maliciously as the guards shouted at him, which he confidently ignored. “You and Celestia both drop your guards when you work with the sun or moon. That’s why you normally make such a large production out of it.”
Luna tried to blast the evil creature with a beam of magic from her horn, but the feeling of tiredness she always felt after working with the moon combined with the sense of vertigo from the surprise attack caused her spell to fizzle and fade before she could fire it off. At the same time, a spiralling black horn grew on Free Flier’s forehead. Green energy blazed from it, striking Luna hard in the side and slamming her against the side of the chariot.
Luna tasted the iron tang of blood on her tongue as she glared up at the creature that had masqueraded as a pegasus. Struggling to get her legs underneath her, her pride refused to allow her to bend neck to the monster before her. “Do you think,” she spat, “that my sister will let you get away with this? She had let you escape in her mercy to lick your wounds last time, changeling, but this time there will be no quarter given.”
Free Flier glanced at the front of the chariot,which the two guards were clambering over in order to rush him. A bright green wave washed from his horn, knocking them back and sending them both tumbling end over end into the sky. Left without any support holding it in the air, the chariot started to freefall towards the ground far below, the wind ripping through Free Flier’s and Luna’s manes. Green flames licked up Free Flier’s body, slowly transforming the orange coat into a hardened black exoskeleton. Within seconds, Free Flier was no more. In his place stood a large changeling with green eyes and long green hair, her long legs allowing her to stand taller than even Luna herself.
“I will worry about Celestia later,” Queen Chrysalis said, turning her attention back to the injured alicorn lying on the floor of the chariot. “As for you…” Chrysalis’s horn flared brightly and a green beam of energy shot from her horn, striking the Lunar Princess hard in the face and throwing her from the chariot. The last thing Luna heard before the cold dark embrace of unconsciousness claimed her was the sound of the rushing wind roaring in her ears.
Chrysalis watched emotionlessly as the two guardponies swooped down after the plummeting Princess, their wings beating rapidly as they tried to reach her before she hit the ground. She wrapped the chariot in a flickering green aura, halting its descent and leveling it out. Her wings buzzed as she stepped off the hovering chariot, the first rays of the dawning sun beginning to paint the clouds all around her in a beautiful multi-hued spectrum. The caretaker of the sun was as yet unaware of the fate that had befallen her younger sister. That would come later.
As for the caretaker of the moon… Chrysalis looked down to see that Luna’s guards had almost caught up to her and would reach her before she hit the ground, though they were close enough to the trees that covered the landscape. Chrysalis sent out a mental command to her minions in the area, giving them the command they had been waiting for. As ruler of the changelings, she had the unique ability to speak with them telepathically, something no other changeling could do.
The silent forest seemed to erupt as dozens upon dozens of changeling burst from their hiding places in the trees, mobbing and overwhelming the surprised guards within seconds. Chrysalis watched as her minions caught and ensnared Princess Luna, carrying her and the now-unconscious guards up to where Chrysalis waited. The Changeling Queen turned and flew off, her minions and the empty chariot following her as she flew towards Dodge City.
Alex sat forlornly on the side of a fountain in Dodge City, his hands wringing a brown hat he had found abandoned in the street and questioning the decision he had made for what felt for the twentieth time since he had made it. Other than the changeling who had once been Last Breath standing at his side, there were no other living creatures in sight. The place was like a ghost town.
Everything was his own fault, and he knew it. In order to save one race, he had inflicted pain and suffering on another. How had this happened to him? He was just some random college student! What gave him the right to decide the fate of a world that wasn’t his own? Staring at the hat clenched in his hands, he idly wondered what the previous owner had been like.
What had been their hopes? Their dreams? These thoughts ringing in his skull, he dropped the hat onto his head. So I don’t forget. He could only hope the price was worth it, and he would do everything he could to keep that price as low as possible.
A low buzzing heralded the return of Queen Chrysalis, and Alex looked up as she landed before him, several changelings following behind her. The changelings split off, some of them depositing Princess Luna at his feet while the several others carried two bat-winged ponies into one of the nearby buildings. Alex rushed to Luna’s side, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that she was just unconscious.
“So it worked?” he asked, looking up at Chrysalis. If something had gone wrong, he was going to have a lot more weight resting on his conscious. Her fanged smile did little to reassure him.
“Perfectly.” Her multi-faceted eyes stared into him, weighing him. “I’m surprised at how well it worked, actually. And I think you know that. Had I tried to attack her head-on, she would have defeated me easily. For someone who claims not to be from around here, you certainly know a lot about the Princesses and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony.”
Alex remained silent, uncomfortably pressing a hand against Luna’s side. He forced himself to look down at her, not allowing himself to look away from the pain he had caused. He knew, better than anyone, that things were going to get worse before they got better. This is for Last Breath, he reminded himself. Telling Chrysalis what he remembered about the main characters from a show he watched with his sister might seem like such a little thing, but it gave her something essential for her to launch an full-scale invasion. Information.
“Fine, keep your secrets.” Chrysalis huffed, slightly perturbed. Though she didn’t allow herself to show it, she was concerned about the amount of knowledge the human she had teamed up with possessed. His motivations were clear, but she was certain there was something more about him. Despite his bleeding heart, that he couldn’t watch as an entire race died in front of him, there were still several things he continued to hide from her. Hiding even, she felt, from himself. He had been as easy to manipulate as she had thought, but several things about the entire situation still made her uncomfortable.
Unconsciously running a hand through Luna’s mane, surprised at how… ethereal it felt, Alex looked up at the changeling Queen. “And you’ll keep your end of the bargain?”
Chrysalis waved a hole-riddled forehoof, easily waving Alex’s question aside. “Of course. A deal’s a deal. It benefits me to avoid killing any of the ponies anyway. All the residents of this city are safely tucked away in collection pods, little changeling eggs attached to each pod. Within the next few weeks, the first baby changelings in years will be born!”
Alex’s stomach heaved as he thought about the fate of the ponies, trapped within their own homes with no means of escape. Pressing his hands against his knees, Alex hauled himself to his feet. “You certainly seem to be enjoying yourself,” he pointed out, brushing a bit of dust off of his pants.
She grinned her familiar fanged grin at him. “Oh, I certainly am. My changelings have a chance for survival, and Celestia has no idea of what's about to befall her. Now, as for you…” Chrysalis sent out a mental command, and three dozen changelings landed in a circle around her and Alex.
“I’ve already given them their orders,” she said. “They will obey you as if your words were my own.” They would also keep her informed of his actions, but she felt no need to tell him that. Two of the changelings flew forward and grabbed Alex by his arms, while several more picked up the unconscious Princess Luna.
“Wait,” Alex commanded. The changelings holding his arms released him, and he turned away from the Queen. Leaning down next to the changeling that had been sitting next the fountain with him, he wrapped his arms around it and hugged it as tightly as he could. The changeling was unresponsive, leaving Alex feeling like he hugging a statue. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you,” he whispered into its ear.
Releasing the changeling, Alex walked back over to where the pair of changelings waited. Spreading his arms out wide, he allowed the pair to get a secure hold on them. Their wings buzzing fiercely, they lifted him off the ground while several others carried the comatose Princess Luna.
Queen Chrysalis watched as the group flew off in the direction of the old hive. It was funny. Despite appearing only six days ago, the creature – no, the human – really had changed so much. For the first time in what felt like months, she felt like she really did have hope. Somewhere in her twisted heart, an unfamiliar light feeling started to burn. It burnt brightly, a slight light burning in the darkness. Gratitude for the human, and what he had offered her. Maybe it was that gratitude that prevented her from telling him the truth, since it would have only caused him more pain. Even if Last Breath managed to survive, there was almost no chance that he would remember the human he had become such close friends with in such a short time. Such was another aspect of the changeling's curse.
No, Chrysalis forcefully reminded herself. She wasn't feeling something as pathetic as sympathy or - even worse - empathy for this human that had been dropped in her lap. He was a means to an end, nothing more. She hadn't told him of the final aspect about Last Breath because he might have stopped helping her. It most certainly was not because she didn't want to hurt him. She had abandoned those feelings long ago.
It had taken a full day for him to describe everything he could think of, and several hours more for them to develop a plan that they thought could work, but she really did think that it was going to work. Especially since she had replaced Luna’s chamberlain with one of her changelings before she entered the throne room, meaning nopony in Canterlot knew where the Night Princess had gone.
A slight green flicker beside her head heralded the arrival of a piece of parchment and a quill, both wrapped in a green glow. Unrolling the scroll, Chrysalis’ eyes skimmed it before she found what she was looking for. A satisfied smile showing her fangs, she ran the quill across a single line before carelessly crumpling it and dropping both items on the ground.
Now, she thought as she turned back to her minions, bright green flames licking up her sides, I’m going to enjoy this. As she walked, two changelings stepped forward and were covered in green flames, transforming themselves into bat-winged pegasi and strapping themselves to the front of the chariot that Luna had been riding in. Chrysalis climbed onto the back of the chariot, her dark mane flowing in a non-existent wind and her feathered wings stretching to their fullest extent before snapping tightly against her sides.
“Now,” Princess Luna commanded, ordering the fully outfitted royal guards before her, “to Canterlot.”
The dropped piece of parchment fluttered in the wind as the disguised Queen was carried to the center of Equestria. It continued to beat in the breeze as hundreds of changelings lifted off from the ground as one, following behind their ruler. The fluttering parchment eventually landed face up, revealing the words emblazoned on it to the world.
Princess Celestia
Princess Luna
Princess Cadance
Shining Armor
Twilight Sparkle
Rainbow Dash
Pinkie Pie
Applejack
Fluttershy
Rarity