“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
- Voltaire
Chapter 4: To the Sound of Trumpets
Nightmare Moon’s POV
Roughly 1000 years ago…
“Dusk, at this point, you are one of the only ponies I can trust to tell me the truth. In one word, how did the battle fare?”
“Disastrous,” he replied bluntly. “Not because of poor strategy or lack of strength in our armies, but because of one Stallion’s hurt ego.” I furrowed my brow in rage. I could’ve shouted, I could’ve lashed out, but for once, I didn’t feel like doing anything. I was just disappointed, deflated even. In one battle, my plans to save Equestria had been set back by at least a year.
All I ever wanted was for my people to enjoy the night. The voice always said that they had to be shown the errors of my sister’s rule. Her support of the slave trade, her funding of the UDL. Why did they not seem to care that they were living in an unequal society? It wasn’t lost on me that the majority of ponies that broke off from Celestia’s side to join mine were Pegasi and Earth ponies. The unicorns were too busy trying to keep their slaves on a leash.
As usual, Dusk was avoiding eye contact with me whenever he could. Ever since that night we first made love, he’d always had a look of guilt on his face. He was like a puppy who knew he had done something wrong. Dusk had joined the rest of the army on the final push against Canterlot. He was an eyewitness to the disaster that took place, and from what I had already heard, I know the Stallion responsible for all of this.
“Alright Dusk, tell me all…” He was staring at my eyes again. Lately my body and been going through… changes. My eyes being the most notable change. My teeth felt like they were getting sharper, my mane was also changing slightly but that was less notable. Mother said there might be days like this but I don’t think she was referring to this. It wasn’t a problem though most of time, and if anything I feel more powerful than usual. It was frustrating, though, when somepony noticed and couldn’t stop looking at my eyes. The odd thing is that I’m starting to look more and more like my son.
“DUSK!” Dusk nearly shot out of his seat as I used my royal Canterlot voice. “I TOLD YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TRANSPIRED! DO NOT MAKE ME WAIT ANY LONGER!”
“M-my ap-pologies, your majesty.” He cleared his throat and began his tale. “I arrived just before it happened. The Solar ponies had lined their defences all across the city. I could see your sister Scorching Sun observing from above. She was accompanied by another Alicorn…”
“Another Alicorn, you say?”
“Yes, he bore some resemblance to Scorching Sun. I couldn’t get a close enough look at him though.” Scorching Sun was once known as Princess Celestia. Her giving into corruption was the powder keg that started this war. That was a story for another time though.
“They remained out of the battle. I presume they were meant to be a last line of defence. In any case, I joined General Putnam in organising the troops for the last push when Zarok popped out of nowhere.” I narrowed my eyes in anger. It was just as I suspected. “Zarok found a pedestal and started to announce that he found the perfect way of stopping Scorching Sun and her army. I ordered Fortesque to pull him down, but then the ground began to shake.”
“Zarok claimed he had just cast a spell that would give us an unstoppable army. As the ground continued to shake, bones began shoot out from the ground. They began to put themselves together as walking corpses started to roam the battlefield. The feeling among all of us was utter disgust. It was clear to me what kind of magic Zarok had dabbled with.”
“Blood magic,” I said with disgust.
“The very same. I doubt he was using his own blood, apparently his assistants were missing before the battle.”
“OUTRAGEOUS! HE IS AN ARCH MAGE! HE SHOULD KNOW THE DANGERS OF BLOOD MAGIC! IT WAS THAT KIND OF SORCERY THAT CREATED THE DARKSPAWN!”
“Unlike the Darkspawn, these creatures were literally the walking dead. Zarok said they would do as he commanded but the creatures began to attack everything in sight. Solar and Luna ponies alike. Fortesque was the first to be killed and I personally ended Zarok’s life myself.”
“Good. I would have done the same. He deserved to suffer more,” I muttered darkly.
“You know the rest, our forces were decimated and Putnam ordered a full retreat. They pushed us very far back. I’m sorry, Princess Luna.”
I was so close to ending all of this. So close to bringing justice upon the slavers. So close to showing my sister the error of her ways. The voice couldn’t help but announce its disappointment. The sentiment was mutual.
“Tell me Dusk, what of the Elements of Harmony?”
“They still have no bearers. Clover’s theory that the elements are being hindered by the chaos on the planet appears to be correct. As part of the treaty, we continue the appropriate day and night cycles until a victor has been secured. Celestia possesses the elements of Magic, Laughter and Kindness. While we possess the elements Loyalty, Generosity and Honesty. Speaking of which, I have to give you my element back.”
One year ago, I decided to give the three elements to those I trust the most. I intended to give the element of Loyalty to my son when he was old enough, and I gave the Element of Honesty to Dusk. He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out said element, and placed it on my lap.
“What is the meaning of this Dusk?” I asked, unable to hide my concern.
“I’ll tell you in a moment but first, we need to find a way to lessen the blow to the troops. This will severely harm morale.”
“There is no need to worry, I already have a plan of action.”
“What would that be?”
“We create a Martyr. You claimed that Fortesque was the earliest to die. Did anypony besides you witness his death?”
“No, his death was quick and unnoticed by the others. Afterwards, the panicked started.”
“It’s simple then, we claim that Fortesque gave his life to stop the Solar defector, Zarok. We claim that Zarok gave Celestia a dead army and Daniel stopped him and his evil.”
“But many soldiers saw me slay Zarok.”
“Then we find said soldiers and swear them to secrecy. That will be easy enough, nopony will ever question the story. Trust me on this.”
“I do,. Now on to why I’m giving you back the element. I am resigning.” The silence that filled the room was almost unbearable, even for me. An unfortunate maid who had walked in at that moment quietly excused herself and practically galloped out of the door. Betrayal was the first word that came to my head. Anger began to cloud my mind as Dusk continued to look at me blankly. There was no emotion on his face and that angered me further.
He’s betraying you. He’s going to defect.
Dusk would never defect. He’s had issues with some of my tactics but he would rather die than join my sister’s side.
Perhaps he’s had his fill of you. He’s given you his fill in bed and now he wants out.
But… I thought he…
You might care for him, hell, maybe even love him. But does he really love you back? Or does he love his wife more?
No, I must ask him first. I mustn't do anything brash until he’s explained himself.
“Dusk, I truly hope you have a good explanation to why you are leaving.”
“I have two in fact,” he said matter of factly. Dusk got off his seat and stood behind it. “The first is that I’m tired. I’m in my mid-thirties and I’ve already seen far more than anypony should. I can’t do this anymore. More and more, our tactics have become more despicable, torture has become a necessity and you’re appearance is beginning to match your sisters and your son…”
“Our son, Dusk. He is our son. Don’t treat him like some piece of meat to be discarded when you don’t want it.” It was very difficult to teleport an object to you instead of teleporting yourself to something, however, I was no simple unicorn. My son, Carnage Moon, appeared in my hoofs as I showed him to Dusk. He was a little older now; soon he would learn to talk. Right now he only knew simple words, no more than four letters long.
Dusk could only stare at the sleeping form of our son. There was some resemblance between the two, even to the point where one of the maids commented how much the two of them looked alike. I never really found out if he cared about him at all. As a mother, I find it hard to believe he didn’t feel anything. I would be an ignorant fool though, if I said that he wouldn’t be justified in wanting to have nothing to do with Carnage or me anymore.
“I’m sorry, Lulu, but the other reason is guilt,” he said with regret. “I love my wife with every fiber of my being. I just can’t do this to her anymore. For a whole year, I’ve been lying to her face about my relationship with you. Honestly, I think she knows. The Apples have always been terrible liars.” Tears were forming in his eyes. If things had been different, it wouldn’t have ended like this. I think he knew that as well.
“My wife and I intend to go back to farming. Take a wild guess what we’ll be growing?” He said with an infectious smile that betrayed his tears. Apples have always been my favourite fruit. “I’ll be leaving at the end of the week. I will accept a dishonourable discharge if I must. Lulu, I will always have a little piece of my heart for you. But I can never give you all my love.” He bowed to me and slowly trotted to the door. Before he left, he stole one last glance at the two of us. “Take care of him, won’t you? I hope he has the chance to live, not just kill. And if you ever choose to tell him about me, tell him the truth. Honesty has always been the best policy.” And with that, he left.
He left us.
He left us.
He betrayed us.
He betrayed us.
The sun betrayed us, the ponies of Equestria betrayed us, our lover betrayed us. The only thing that will never betray us is the night.
You’re right. In the dark, we see everything. No betrayal can escape us. All the hidden desires of the world, we are able to see. They want me to protect them during the night? What a load of... HOW DARE THEM! HOW DARE HIM!
For several long moments I sat there in absolute silence. My anger continued to grow with no sign of slowing down until my son’s whimpers and cries knocked me out of my self-induced trance. I looked down in horror at what I was subconsciously doing. In my rage, I was crushing my own son in my forelegs. His tiny, frail body was at my mercy in my powerful Earth pony legs. I gently stroked his mane and cooed at him in a desperate bid to calm him down, but unsurprisingly, it had little effect.
“What have I done!? I was hurting my own…”
It wasn’t your fault. It was HIS! It was all of their faults!
But I…
NO! They made you angry! They made you harm your son with their ignorance, stupidity and evil!
Y-you’re right! It’s their entire fault. My sister will suffer for what she did!
Good… very good…
For some reason, I felt slightly taller. I then remembered how to calm my son down. That lullaby that he loves so much. The one my mother, Queen Faust would always sing to me. I cleared my throat and as soon as I began, my son’s tears immediately stopped.
“Oh, the grand old duke of York;
He had ten thousand mares.
He marched them up to the top of the hill;
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up they were up;
And when they were down they were down…
Carnage’s POV
Present Day…
… And when they were only half way up;
They were neither up nor down.”
“Hey, are you singing a song?” The sudden voice that invaded my ears belonged to Miss Scratch, who was also invading my personal space. I have to break this annoying habit. Whenever I sing that song under my breath, I begin to reminisce, when I reminisce I get distracted, and when I get distracted a pony like Vinyl, who is as subtle as a flying whale who is playing Flank Sinatra’s greatest hits, is able to sneak up on me. For somepony like me, that is embarrassing.
“Were you singing a nursery rhyme? I’ve never heard that one before.” That caught my attention.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “It’s a classic song about the great battle of York.”
“Huh? Battle of York?” I couldn’t help but scoff at this. She really didn’t know?
“Unbelievable. What do they teach ponies in school today? The battle of York was one of the finest battles in Equis’s long history.”
“Sound’s boring.”
“Evidently you have little concept of excitement. Excitement isn’t just found in wubs, crappy dancing and flashy lights. History is a great teller of excitement and adventure.” I couldn’t believe she was attempting to wind me up at a time like this. We we’re literally looking over the enemies base of operation. Saying this was bad timing didn’t do the situation justice. I had half a mind to back hoof her but I let it go. She was not a soldier, she was a glorified party mare like that Element of Laughter. If the stories that I’ve been told are true in any way.
“Oh, is a history lesson in order?” Asked the Doctor, who was sitting next to Vinyl. Silver, Fade and Shadow had left to scan the building from the shadows while the rest of us sat here on the roof. “I haven’t heard of this battle myself, and I’m always looking to learn.” Guardian only gave us a sideways glance as he looked back over the warehouse where the Changelings were. I could tell he was listening though. Ulysses was doing the same but looking through a sniper scope right next to us. Spitfire had actually returned to our base to report to the Illusive pony but she had been gone a lot longer than she was meant to, so we began without her.
Night had quickly descended over Canterlot and as I looked up at the moon, I inwardly grimaced. Some said that mother was able to see all through the light of the moon and I prayed they were wrong. However, for this kind of operation, night time was the best cover. I also felt better working at night. I felt at home then. It was a nightmare trying to adjust my sleeping patterns so I slept at night and awoke during the day. There I go again, reminiscing on old times. I could hear wings flapping in the distance and I noticed an orange blur quickly closing the distance between us. Spitfire had returned in the least subtle way possible.
Ulysses seemed to notice this too as he turned towards the blur with anger etched on his face. He muttered darkly to himself when Spitfire landed and greeted us.
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” she gave us a salute and sat down next to the Doctor. There was no point in reprimanding her, although I might have a quiet word with her on espionage later. Her lack of experience in stealth was really starting to show. “A problem arose at Wonderbolts HQ. I had to send a message to sort it.”
“You’ve arrived just in time,” noted the Doctor. “We’re about to receive a history lesson.”
“History lesson? About what?”
“About one of the most legendary battles in history, and one of the most forgotten,” muttered Ulysses. We turned to him but his eyes never left the scope. “A battle that took place before even Discord’s reign. A battle etched into today’s society.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Asked Vinyl Scratch. I understood what he meant so I decided to take over.
“Let me explain. As Ulysses says, this battle was eons ago. Before the formation of Equestria, before the Princesses, and before the reign of Discord. There was a small city called York. It sat very close to the Griffon Empire, which at the time, was far bigger than pony territory. The city was one of the few that had a mixture of Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth ponies and this was before the UDL or any of their bullshit. The Griffons, as usual, wanted to expand their territory so they attempted to take the city of York.”
“Does anyone else see the irony that the Griffons now have one of the smallest territories out of all the races?” Asked a genuinely curious Spitfire. She had a good point. The Griffons war mongering ways of the past led them to a lot of conflicts they couldn’t win and in the end they lost a lot more land than they ever gained. I nodded at her in acknowledgment and continued with my story.
“The battle was bloody and brutal and nearly all of York’s army was defeated in the first conflict. At this point of history, mares were seen as second class citizens compared to Stallions.” Spitfire and Vinyl’s eyes opened wide at this while the Doctor scratched his chin in curiosity. “The leader of the army, who was known as the Duke of York, was forced to recruit them into the army as nearly all the stallions were injured or dead. So after some training he led them into battle. Miraculously, they won and pushed back the Griffons, even gaining some territory in the process. The Griffons never tried taking the city again and the story reached the four corners of Equis, till everypony knew. It changed how mares are viewed in society today.”
“Holy shit. I Guess it was pretty important after all. My bad, bro.” Vinyl extended a hoof in a sincere attempt to apologise. I stared at it for a moment before shaking it. I never really would have taken Vinyl for a pony who would apologise when they were wrong. Then again, I barely knew her. I barely knew any of them.
All of my new colleagues must have had some interesting tales to tell. I only really knew Silver’s history but she didn’t go in to large amounts of detail. From what I had gathered, Vinyl was a DJ but at some point she had become a vampire. Ulysses must have suffered some sort of injury to gain the mask he wore over his muzzle. The Doctor, from what I could gather from random pieces of conversation, was some kind of time traveller. The idea of that was a foreign one to me so I tried not to think much about it too much. Fade, if Shadow was to be believed, had some sort of decency within him, but I doubted that. How he became invisible was still a mystery though.
Guardian the Arachnapony dwelled in a place that I had formerly visited. The Everfree forest. A lovely place if you enjoyed near death situations. I assumed Shadow had joined the guard out of devotion for the royal family, but how she ended up as a servant of my mother was unclear. Finally, I could tell from the success and physical fitness of herself and the Wonderbolts that Spitfire was a surprisingly good leader, trainer, flyer and competent enough in combat to handle most opponents. She seemed rather green to actual combat though, like she basically lacked experience. All of them had their strengths and weaknesses, but I could grasp why each had been recruited.
Silver could read anypony she wished, Fade could find and take whatever he wanted, Shadow had the stealth, Guardian possessed the power, Ulysses had the precision, the Doctor had the high IQ, Vinyl was the best all-rounder and Spitfire definitely was the fastest. The question was, where did I fit in all this? The more I thought about it, the more I realised that everything I offered was already covered for. Why did the Illusive pony want me in this group so badly? My train of thought crashed to a halt when somepony tried to get my attention.
“I would like to ask you a question.” Guardian was looking dead at me with his pure black eyes. You can get a lot from somepony just by looking at their eyes, but Guardian’s were nearly unreadable. His entire face was pretty much the same. How do you read what a spider is thinking by looking at their face? I had to listen to his tone of voice, but he always seemed very passive-aggressive about everything. He was as ready to work with you as he was to bite your head off. That was always what I could get from him. The odour of dead animals, bark and tree sap that emitted from him helped to amplify his passive-aggressiveness.
“Yes, what is it that you wish to know.” He took a few steps towards me as he looked down at me.
“I have never met the mare myself, despite how old I am. I am curious though, what was Nightmare Moon like as a mother?”
“Well… that’s somewhat difficult to talk about.”
“Why? Did she abuse you or something?” Asked the vampiric DJ.
“No, nothing like that. It’s just… how do I put this.” It was rather difficult to talk about because the thought occurred to me that I might come off as lying. “Are you prepared to believe whatever I tell you as the truth?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Of course.”
“I see no reason why you would lie.”
“Alright.”
“Very well.”
“Okay then. Um… I wasn’t actually born from Nightmare Moon.” There was a short pause as everypony gave me a blank stare in confusion. “I mean, I was born from her, but she wasn’t Nightmare Moon yet.” The Doctor was the first one to snap out of it and began the questioning.
“I thought you were born during the Luna/Celestia war. Is that not the case?”
“I was, but she wasn’t Nightmare Moon yet.”
“I don’t understand. I was told…”
“Yes, I know the story, but all of you already know that it’s partially altered. Everypony is told that Luna became Nightmare Moon out of jealousy and the two fought a single battle that led to Luna being trapped on the moon. However, I know why it’s told like that. Because the truth is far more disturbing. I imagine if everypony knew the truth, many would see Celestia in a very different light.”
Part of me felt good about finally talking about this, the other part of me was scolding myself for digging up the past. And another was reminding me the potential consequences of telling other ponies this information. It was like having a three way argument in my head, with each side doomed to argue for eternity. But… perhaps this could be an olive branch. A sign of trust among us all. Wishful thinking but there was still a trust issue amongst us all. I mean, I didn’t like Celestia. She must have thought that burying her sins upon lies would hide them forever. All I had to do was start talking and I was certain the truth would begin to shine through.
Then again, was it really worth it? Had she really changed? Damn it, I’m going around in circles again.
“You know what, let’s focus on keeping watch for now. Perhaps I will tell you later.” Vinyl looked visibly disappointed at this.
“Awwwww, that’s no fun. I want to know more.”
“Trust me, right now its better we just focus on the task at hand.” On cue, a familiar, sultry voice called down from above us.
“Well that’s a shame. I was hoping you’d tell us your childhood days. I bet you were a cute colt.” The voice belonged to Silver who gracefully flew down towards us. Spitfire could pick up a few things from her. Shadow practically exited from a shadow across from us and we could all hear a third figure approach which meant Fade had returned as well.
“Cute? I’m sure he was positively adorable while he was chewing up dead soldiers,” Fade mused aloud.
“And I bet it was absolutely precious watching you try to steal everything that wasn’t nailed down when you were young, Fade,” Shadow countered with a smirk. Again, we couldn’t see fade’s expression but I was willing to bet it was something close to a frown. Silver was paying the other two no attention as she trotted straight to me and gave me a mock salute.
“Mission accomplished sir. We have identified all exits and entrances and how many Changelings are present.” I shook my head with a frown. What the Tartarus was she doing?
“Silver, you’re in charge, I don’t know what you’re coming to me for.” She gave me an innocent smile which only made me realise she had something planned.
“Hush you. I only came here to get your opinion.”
“Opinion?”
“Yes, I mean you know strategy right?”
“Well of course, I was… oh.” I get it now, she wanted me to come up with the plan. Innocent enough, but I couldn’t help but feel there was more to this. There was no point doing this now, though, as the Changelings could finish up any second and... I suppose it did make sense for me to come up with a plan of attack.
“Alright, I’ll bite this once. What are we dealing with?”
“Okay, there is the main entrance at the front where they drive trucks and various other things through. The back exit is a simple door and luckily it isn’t locked. There’s another way in on the roof. Do you see the open window? It leads straight down to main floor where they’re all working. We counted about twenty of them so if we sneak attack…”
“… No! No sneak attack.” My raised voice brought everypony’s attention towards me. “We have to give them a chance to surrender. It’s a slim one and their likely not going to listen but I still have to give them a chance.”
“Well said, Carnage. I for one agree with our leader,” said the Doctor. I was about to correct him on who was in charge when Vinyl and Spitfire nodded their heads in agreement.
“I will not question you, your majesty. I trust your judgement,” Shadow said with a bow for good measure.
“It would be simpler to kill them. You’ll over complicate matters otherwise,” Ulysses countered. He glared at me as if it would change my mind but I was already certain. Although he did have a pretty intense stare.
“I agree with Ulysses,” said Guardian. “We gain nothing from keeping them alive…”
“Actually we do,” interrupted Miss Tongue. “We need to know what they’re doing right? What better way than to interrogate them. Although, I doubt they’ll actually give up.”
“True, but I learned a long time ago that jumping straight to murder makes us no better than our enemies,” I countered. “I’ve killed a lot of ponies and I would rather not add them to my list of victims.”
“Then what would you recommend we do?” Asked Spitfire.
“We need at least one of them alive. We cover all the exits. Spitfire will cover the top window in case they try to fly out, she can also fly in and pull anypony out if things get too hairy, but I doubt they’ll be too much trouble. Ulysses, can you cover the front entrance from here?”
“Yes, I have a good view of the front. I assume you want me to take out anypony who tries to get out through the front.”
“Yes, do that. Guardian, I’m assuming your webbing is very strong. I need you to make a trap around the back entrance. If anypony falls into it, don’t kill them. We need at least one of them alive.” Guardian simply nodded. He raised no further argument. “Doctor, I know you’re not a fighter, so I want you to stay with Ulysses here and give us constant updates on the situation. Fade, you will back up Guardian. You have a weak ass buck.”
“Cheers, nice to know I’m so valued on the team,” he dryly commented.
“Relax, your plenty useful if today was any indication. Fighting just isn’t your strong suit.”
“I suppose that’s true. Make love not war has always been my motto.”
“I seriously doubt you’ve been doing much love making in your life,” countered Vinyl with a smirk.
“Thank you for your irrelevant opinion Miss skanky DJ.”
“What’d you say? If I could see you I…” The Doctor quickly stood in front of her as he acted as peacemaker.
“Vinyl, save it for the Changelings.” He turned to me with a serious expression. “If you can avoid killing them, please do. You and I have seen enough bloodshed to last two lifetimes.” I was tempted to ask what he meant, but I simply nodded in agreement.
“Anyway, this will leave Vinyl, Silver, Shadow and myself to face them,” I finished. “We’ll enter through the top window and give them a chance to surrender. If they refuse, act with extreme prejudice. However, if you can simply incapacitate them, then take that option. Only kill if you’re left with no other option.”
A series of nods and murmurs signified an agreement between all of us. As they all stood before me in expectation, I felt something I had not felt for a long time. I felt like a leader. Mother said that one day I would take command of her armies. All I ever wanted was to see justice done, but now I don’t know what’s right or wrong. This however, felt right. Maybe that was what Silver had been planning all along. I realise now they weren’t looking to Silver for orders like earlier on in the day, they were looking to me. It wasn’t a bad feeling. All I could hope for is that in a small way, I could live up to my mother’s expectations. There would be time to think on that later though., Right now it was time to begin the mission.
“Alright gentleponies, you’ve all got your orders, so let’s roll out!”
??? POV
Meanwhile…
“Wh-what do you mean you’re leaving!?” Here we go again, dad’s pissed at me.
“It means exactly as it sounds. I. Am. Leaving.” I put extra emphasis on the last three words, so he would get the point. Some of the Changelings working around us gave me a sideways glance, but quickly returned to what they were doing.
This was it. I was doing it. There was no turning back now so I might as well go all the way with it. The single vein on dad’s forehead began to throb as he started to get angry. I won’t give in this time, though.
“You had better be careful what you say young mare. I am still your father…”
“…That doesn’t mean shit anymore! I’m done. Once this shipment is sent off, I’m moving to Zebrica to start again. I can’t show my face to King Daedalus after we left him for that botched invasion, so I’ll appeal to Queen Roxane and see if she will accept me. Maybe then I can start moving on from all this crap.”
“You dare to bring up King Daedalus? He is nothing but a coward and a traitor to our people.”
“Dad, he’s over a thousand years old. He’s a lot wiser that you and I. He’s especially smarter than that fake Queen we got suckered into following.” I could feel the hostility in the room begin to increase, especially from my dad, but noling in the room seemed poised to attack so my verbal tirade would not halt. “I can’t believe we got suckered into joining her rebellious group. When she started preaching about how we shouldn’t have to hide anymore, I thought we were going to demand respect from the other races. Instead, it turned out that, just because she failed the royalty test, she got pissy and tried to destroy Equestria in her bitterness.”
“Wrong! We we’re meant to enslave them, place them in cocoons and siphon off their love energy so we would become stronger. Yes, the plan failed, but that was dumb luck.”
“Dad, listen to yourself, you sound like a loon.” A single strand of my short mane got in my eyes again and I quickly flicked away. Only Changeling females had manes, the males could only have them if they took the form of a pony or another creature with a mane. “We have this conversation all the time, and every time it sounds dumber and dumber. Now she wants all this leftover crap from that Cyberman invasion. Why? What use is all of this?”
“Why would we know? Were only grunts, we have not earned…”
“No, dad. We’re better than this. We never felt worthless under King Daedalus…” My head snapped back as my dad slapped me with his hoof. The stinging pain on my left cheek was nothing compared to how angry I was.
“Don’t say his name again,” my dad demanded. “You think I enjoy doing all this? Well I don’t! Our people can’t keep hiding though, and what we did in Canterlot has only solidified that. War is inevitable, you foolish ling, and the sooner you realise that, the sooner you can start growing up and helping the Changelings ascend above all.”
There was only one thing I could say. One thing I knew would make him snap.
“Mom would be disgusted with you.”
I could see something snap behind my dad’s eyes as the vein on his forehead was ready to burst. Steam practically left his nose as he snorted in anger and took a menacing step towards me. I didn’t care if he beat me. I was going to be free soon. The beating never came though, as everyling in the room turned their attention to a new voice.
“Everypony, FREEZE!” A white pony with a vibrant blue mane was standing on top of a series of stacked boxes. There were three other ponies beside her. A Stallion in a fancy suit, who was glaring daggers at the white mare beside him, another white mare with who was wearing a white hood, and a lunar guard. The lunar guard was flying above us, ready to strike with her spear at a moment’s notice. She appeared to be very well trained, judging by how she handled her weapon.
In a single moment, all my plans seemed to go up in flames. We had been caught. My plan to leave and have a fresh start from all of this was now well and truly dead. I had to stay calm though, I would only make things worse if I tried to bolt. Thinking of mom always chilled me out with happy thoughts, so that’s exactly what I did. Memories of the hive in the Everfree, meeting King Daedalus when I was two, mom carrying me on the back of her carapace, Dad when he was a kind Changeling. The rush of memories helped to sooth me, but looking at all the faces in the room, especially my father, told me the feeling wasn’t mutual.
Some faces were filled with nothing but fear. Others looked ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Dad was definitely in that category. The tension was on the rise and showed no signs of stopping. Rationally, I should have realised they weren’t here simply to fight because they hadn’t attacked us. They could have simply got the drop on us when we weren’t paying attention, but instead, they announced their presence. Were they giving us the chance to surrender? Did they only want something from us? I was tempted to speak up but the well-dressed stallion beat me to the punch.
“Thanks for easing that in, Vinyl.” He shook his head in annoyance and turned to the rest of us. “Nopony panic, we're not here to harm any of you.”
“LIARS! Everyling, don’t listen to them!” Shouted my Dad like a crazy fool. I slapped him over the head in reflex and scolded him.
“Dad, shut up! You’re going to get us all killed.” He rubbed the back of his head in pain, trotting off to one of the crates. The Stallion continued.
“We have attained knowledge that you, or whoever you work for, is working with a pony group called the Templars...”
“Liar! Queen Chrysalis would never work with ponies… Gah!” A quick kick delivered to Dad’s side quickly shut him up.
“… As I was saying. This organisation is very shady and has made numerous attempts at overthrowing the monarchy. Needless to say, we want to know what they’re doing and stop them. If you all come peacefully, I assure you that none of you will be harmed.”
“No! If I’m going out, I’m going out for the QUEEN!”
Going out for the Princess? What the…? OH FUCK! My eyes opened wide in horror as my Dad was clinging onto an explosive device. I didn’t even have time to cry out as my dad ran straight for the small group of ponies and set off the explosive.
“FOR QUEEN CHRYSALIS!” The hooded pony tackled the suited pony out of the way of the blast, while the other white pony moved at an unreal speed to dodge the explosion. The flames engulfed my Father. There was nothing I could do as dads black form disintegrated in the middle of the inferno. I doubted there would be anything left, apart from a small pile of ashes. There was no cry of pain either, which led me to believe he had died instantaneously.
Around me, hell had broken loose. The flames were beginning to rise from where my dad had killed himself. More than half of my fellow changelings had gone on the attack, only to be cut down or knocked out. I was still registering what I had just witnessed, but every part of me wanted to cry out in sorrow. He was an asshole. He was an ignorant jerk. He was easily led into any foolish crusade. Despite it all, he was my dad, and I was never going to see him again. Why did he have to kill himself? Why didn’t he just give himself up? What had Chrysalis done to him to make him so loyal?
I snapped out of my shock as a Changeling fell down in front of me. I looked up to find the Luna guard cleaning house. She elbowed a Changeling who tried to sneak up on her, while she stabbed another in the leg with her other hoof. The fact she missed the hole and actually hit his leg was very impressive. I looked about to find my brethren were getting their flanks handed to them, courtesy of the ponies.
The suited Stallion was practically another pony now. The diplomatic persona was gone, and in its place was a savage beast. His eyes were now visible enough to make out his bizarre irises. His eyes were like a crocodiles, and his teeth were razor sharp. He swung his foreleg that had a blade sticking out of it. It nearly cut a Changeling in half. All the while, electricity was crackling from his body. Any Changeling unfortunate enough to touch him was shocked by the results. His face remained away from the direction of the small fire. It looked like he was trying to avoid looking directly at it. The white mare in the hood sunk some sort of hidden bladed into the space of a Changelings carapace, effectively killing her. The final mare was busy chewing on somelings neck. It took me a moment to realise what she was actually doing when blood began dripping down from her fangs. Who were these ponies?
Out of the chaos and the sounds of screaming ponies, a metal screech caught my attention. I recognised the sound in an instant. It was the sound of the metal gate that made up the front entrance was opening up. Someling had managed to press the exit button and he and a friend were making a break for the front. Despite my life being destroyed, losing my last parent and witnessing the deaths of at least four of my kind, my brain was screaming at me to escape. And I gladly listened to it.
I looked over to see that all the pony assailants had their hoofs filled. The suit wearing Stallion and the hooded mare were fending off the aggressive Changelings while the Vampire and the Luna guard were gathering together the Changelings that had surrendered. It was now or never so I bolted for the exit, just as the other two Changelings had made it just out the door. Then the sound of a gunshot rang out across the warehouse. A bullet shot through the first Changelings leg just as he was about to take off. The Second Changeling, in a blind panic, fired random shots in the direction of the shooter. His reward came in the form of his horn being shot off. I now knew that a sniper was covering the front entrance and anyling unfortunate enough to leave was doomed to receive a bullet.
Panic took me over again as I was inches away from the exit. I forced my body to halt to a complete stop just before coming into the snipers line of sight.
“This is it, I’m dead. I’m going to die here.” I had practically given up on ever being free. Having the chance to be my own mare was now impossible. But then, I realised I had one more chance. The back exit.
If I could sprint to the back exit, I might just be able to make it. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that somepony else might be blocking the exit, I just had to get away from this shit. I looked over again, but the suit wearing Stallion was gone, while the other three were keeping an eye on the injured and passive Changelings. It truly was now or never, they would soon notice me so I had to go for it now. I felt like nothing could stop me as my heart pounded against my chest and my legs felt weightless. However, the suit wearing Pegasus suddenly flew down in front of my path. He was trying to avoid eye contact with small fire again as he looked straight at me.
“Stop!” He demanded. My body did as it was told, despite my mind protesting against it. He wasn’t too big, but his presence alone was so imposing that I felt an icy chill run up my spine. His eyes practically cut through me as I felt like I might shrink up just by his intense stare.
“P-p-please,” I whimpered, unable to compose myself any further, “p-please let me go. I just want to go.” I saw something new in his eyes. Pity.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.” Then I felt anger and desperation at the same time. Without any warning, I charged at him. He unsheathed his blades as he prepared for an attack but none came. Instead, I leapt over him. With the others still distracted and the Stallion caught by surprise, I had a clear run for the back exit. I had no clear plan, just escape. The door was in my sight as I practically rammed it open. I looked behind me to found the Stallion just staring at me while I continued running.
Wait, why is he just letting me go?I found out pretty quickly as my body ran into something sticky. I stopped in the spot in a rather awkward position. The impact caused me to flip over so my entire body was spread out. I was upside down. I tried to pull myself up, but the more I failed to do so, the more I panicked. Then I heard a voice above me.
“It appears my trap has bared fruit after all.” I slowly tilted my head in the direction of the voice to find a giant spider…thing staring down at me. Naturally, I screamed.
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I shook, I scrambled, I clawed, I did everything I could possibly think of to escape my webbed prison, but to no avail. The spider landed in front of me, and beside him was a pony wrapped in bandages and a coat. This was really it. I’m going to get eaten by a spider. I really didn’t think this was how I would go out. A bizarre ringing sound filled the air, and both creatures in front of me reached for their ear.
“All the Changelings are down. According to Spitfire, five were killed. I suppose that’s a victory,” said a glum voice that I didn’t recognise. He didn’t seem too happy that some of my kind had died in the ensuing fight.
“Cheers, Doc,” said the bandaged pony. The two figures returned their focus too me as they kept talking. “It’s a shame that we only caught one with this trap.”
“It does not matter, our task was accomplished.”
“Lighten up, mate. You’re scaring our guest.” The spider’s beady little eyes were scanning me up and down, likely choosing which parts to eat first.
“I haven’t encountered many Changelings before, I wasn’t aware they could have manes.”
“Huh, you’re right actually. It’s…oh brother, Jaws and his marefriend are coming.” Two ponies from before exited the warehouse. The suit wearing stallion’s eyes were on me the moment he stepped out of the door. While the hooded mare focused on the Spider and the bandaged pony.
“I hope you colts have been playing nice,” she quipped.
“I haven’t eaten him yet, I suppose that’s progress,” remarked the Spider. What he said only helped confirm that he was going to eat me. Despite not being able see the bandaged pony’s expression, I could tell he was afraid.
“Y-you wouldn’t actually eat me, would you?” He asked.
“No. If Carnage was telling me the truth, you’re all skin and bones,” the Spider answered. I really wished that I had gone on that diet now. The Pegasus Stallion approached me and looked me over again. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at first, but then he spoke.
“You have my condolences, I’m sorry about your Father.” I was left reeling. Not only because he had realised that the Changeling from before was my dad, but that it really hit me that he was dead. He had killed himself for nothing. How long had my dad been swimming in madness for? There was nothing left to say as he walked away from me and addressed his friends.
“All the Changelings have been sedated and Silver has called the Illusive pony. He’ll bring crews over to sort out the rest, but we need one for interrogation. I want to take her.” He pointed right at me, but I didn’t even react. I was too involved in my own grief and self-pity. “Silver, put her to sleep.”
I didn’t struggle as she approached. I felt all my strength leave as she stuck the small needle into my neck. The world around began to go black as I completely lost the will to fight. In my last moment of consciousness, one thought past through my mind.
Goodbye, daddy.