“Highness!” a Guard squad leader called with hurry as Celestia invited him inside her quarters. “I’m sorry to barge in like that, but we’ve received intelligence about a surprise attack on Canterlot!” he explained abruptly.
Cadence and Twilight, who had been discussing about the wedding with Celestia, gasped slightly at the news while the Sun Princess’ warm smile turned immediately in a displeased frown.
“That’s unexpected to say the least… Then again, it wouldn’t be a surprise attack,” Celestia whispered to herself as the rest of the squad stood at her quarters door. “Have you checked your source?”
“Captain Armor is currently on the job as we speak, your Highness,” The squad leader replied with a short bow. “He’s not sure on whether it’s reliable or not, but he asked us to warn you about it anyway.”
“That’s the sort of thing he does.” Celestia nodded slowly before turning to her student and her niece. “I’m sorry, but we’ll have to decide on the possible flower settings later,” she added softly.
“No need to worry, Aunt,” Cadence assured. “There are things more important than a wedding’s flower setting.”
“That’s not the thing I’d ever have thought to hear from a future bride’s mouth.” Celestia chuckled playfully.
After a brief laughing fit, Twilight and Cadence excused themselves out of the room while Celestia turned to her desk in order to get a map of the Canterlot’s vicinity. Canterlot being situated at the top of a mountain, it only had few places an invading force could occupy before an attack.
Celestia blinked when she heard two metallic noises that were similar to the ones of closing shackles.
“PRINCESS, LOOK O...!” Twilight called before the room became filled with electric sparks’ sounds and a loud shriek of pain from her student.
The Sun Princess immediately turned around, her sight falling on the unconscious body of her student and her niece calling Twilight’s name with worry. The two of them were wearing dark shackles with a black crystal mounted on them at their wrists, and were surrounded by the dozens of guards who had come with the officer, one of them had his fist surrounded by electric sparks. She was so focused on her student that she didn’t notice the officer’s blade coming to her face.
Or so the officer thought.
The dozens of infiltrators gasped in shock at what was displayed in front of them. The sword their superior had used on the Princess was on the ground, the blade broken clear a few inches below the hilt, while the one who had used it was lifted above the floor, his head in Celestia’s left hand.
“So, that was your plan?” Celestia asked in a cold voice that gave goosebumps to anyone in the room. “A simple iron sword… Not even coated with magic…. Just who do you think I am?” She asked angrily, putting more strength in her grip.
The man desperately tried to punch the Princess wrist to make her let go, crying in pain as his helmet gave away under Celestia’s hand, slowly pressuring his skull. The intruders gulped, and fearfully took a step back.
“As stupid as he may have been,” a calm, feminine voice called from outside the room. “I’d ask you to let my man go, Princess.”
Cadence glanced toward where the voice came from, her eyes widening in shock when the fell on a tall, dark skinned woman with long, dark green hair wearing chitinous black armor walked inside, another group of guards escorting her before their armor changed from golden and blue to black in a green flash.
“You!” Cadence whispered in a venomous tone.
“Hum?” The woman glanced at the young princess with curiosity. “Haaa, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! It’s been a while,” she added, her reptilian, green eyes shone malevolently. “Tell me...How are your parents these days?” she asked playfully.
“Don’t you dare talk to her, Chrysalis!” Celestia spat angrily before Cadence could reply, letting go of the man in her hand. “What are you doing here?!”
“Straight to business, huh?” Chrysalis asked, turning her gaze to the Sun Princess. “Well, your kind destroyed my castle…”
“It wasn’t YOUR castle!” Cadence interrupted her in angry shout.
“It wasn’t really your father’s anymore, Cadenza,” Chrysalis chuckled. “After all, a king needs to keep his head on his shoulders to rule a Castle.”
“YOU BITCH!” Cadence shouted, lunging at the female in black armor, fury in her eyes.
The man closest to Chrysalis hit Cadence in the face with the back of his armored gauntlet, sending the young princess back on the ground. Her smooth and beautiful visage now marked by bloody scratches. As soon as Cadence hit the floor, the entire room, no, the entire castle grounds started to shake violently.
“You idiot!” Chrysalis growled, licking her lips in frustration. “Now, she’s not angry…. She’s furious!” she added slowly nodding at Celestia.
The Sun Princess’ eyes were shining brightly in a golden hue as she let the magic flow out of her body. A bright golden flash appeared next to Celestia’s hand, revealing a long staff that ended in a flame looking, golden blade the size of a broadsword. Celestia span her spear in her hand before leaning on her legs, ready to pounce on the attackers.
“DO NOT LET HER CHARGE! ATTACK!” Chrysalis ordered in a slightly scared yell, before conjuring a torrent of green flames from her palms.
All the Titanians with her imitated her spell, not quite matching it in term of power though, while the Jupitarians intruders conjured a constant fall of lighting bolts on the spear-wielding Princess. Cadence called her aunt’s name with worry when she saw her disappear in a twirl of green fire and lightning bolts.
From within the fire and lighting column a golden light emerged. The light, which was coming out of Celestia’s fingertips, repelled the offending magic, leaving the Princess completely untouched. All the attackers tried to pour more magic against the Sun Princess, but she kept their spells at bay effortlessly.
The beams of golden light suddenly pierced their way through the black armored soldiers’ magic until they knocked them down. The only one still standing was Queen Chrysalis, who was frowning in extreme concentration, her brow covered in sweat, to keep Celestia’s magic away from her. She was slowly but surely losing her ground.
“Impressive,” Celestia commented casually, before extending her middle finger toward Chrysalis, adding more intensity to her spell. “But it won’t be enough!”
The golden beam began to tear apart Chrysalis’ green fire. The queen’s eyes widened in shock, but only during the time of the blink of an eye. She conjured a large fireball to delay the Princess’ spell a bit more before reaching her satchel with her right hand, her lips twisted in a triumphant grin. The beam destroyed the fireball easily and was soaring straight to Chrysalis.
“No worries. I came prepared!” Chrysalis retorted smugly as she pulled a black crystal shard out her satchel before throwing it in the trajectory of Celestia’s spell.
As soon as it came in contact with the Sun Princess’ magic, the shard started to absorb it instantly while it was flying toward Celestia. Right when it was about to reach her, the crystal exploded in a black, smoky mist that wrapped itself around the Princess.
“Damn…” Celestia muttered before disappearing in a twirl of black smoke.
Chrysalis held her breath during the short time Celestia went out of sight before ducking swiftly with a brief shriek when a yellow flash came out of the black tornado. Celestia’s golden spear flew just a millimeter above the Queen’s scalp before piercing the wall behind the green haired invader. The many, loud crashing sounds that followed clearly suggested that there wasn't going to be enough walls on this floor to stop the Princess’ throw.
A few instants later, the shakings and the black tornado stopped. In place of the regal figure of the Sun Princess, stood a rough black crystal statue of a woman in a javelin throwing stance. Chrysalis smirked slyly as she stood up before laughing in triumph.
“What did you do?” Cadence asked slowly, her wide, shocked eyes focused on the crystalline statue.
“Do you think I’m foolish enough to challenge Celestia without one of the few things that can actually defeat her?” Chrysalis asked as she pulled another black shard of her satchel. “Sombra’s crystals prisons,” she explained with a malevolent grin. “The most powerful magic inhibitor in the world specially made to make war against the Alicorn Princesses…. Too bad they took care of the Crystal Empire before King Sombra could take the initiative six hundred years ago. It was quite a pain to dig them out of the northern tundra, but it sure was worth it.”
“What do we do now, Highness?” the man who had attacked Cadence asked in a deep voice.
“Find the other Council members, Captain!” Chrysalis ordered slowly. “We need all of them for when Luna arrives,” she explained before nodding at Cadence and Twilight. “Keep those two in here, and give the signal to move to our troops stationed in the Labyrinth,” she added to one of her Titanian soldiers. “We still got the element of surprise so….”
“SHINING!!!! SOME BIG BAD MEANIE PANTS TRIED TO ATTACK ME AND RAINBOW!!! THOUGHT YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW!” the cheerful voice of Pinkie Pie rang loudly for the entire Castle. “WE’RE FINE IF YOU’RE WONDERING. ALSO, MY SHOULDER IS HACHY! THAT MEANS THAT SOMETHING NASTY IS HAPPENING IN THE LABYRINTH….. OR THAT GUMMY IS IN THE TUB… COULD YOU CHECK MY BATHTUB IF HE’S IN THERE, PLEASE?”
The invaders looked at each other with dumbstruck expressions and gaping mouths while Cadence slowly grinned.
“You may have had the element of surprise, but we’ve got Pinkie Pie,” the young princess commented playfully.
Chrysalis stared angrily at Cadence before turning her cold, reptilian gaze to her captain.
“Proceed like we planned as quickly as possible,” the queen ordered sternly. “Be cautious of the weird inventor and the junior Wonderbolt, the other three shouldn’t represent a problem. And gag the future bride!” she added coldly.
The invading queen prompted herself on the largest chair of the room while her captain gave his orders to a part of his men who scattered in the corridor after having changed into the Royal Guard armor in a green flash. In the meantime, Cadence, now completely gagged, and Twilight, who was still passed out, were forcedly settled in a corner of the room.
The faint sounds of incredibly loud explosions came from the floors below. Something that puzzled the queen quite a bit. The key of their success laid on quickly capturing the Council members to put enough pressure on Shining Armor and Princess Luna.
While the former was sort of already dealt with since his younger sister and future wife were her hostages, Chrysalis wouldn’t try to act against Luna without a complete, winning hand. Meaning, the entire Council and Celestia trapped in the black crystal prison. She had heard stories about the Moon Princess violent ways of fighting. Stories she didn’t want to experience the veracity of.
Nethertheless, she wasn’t worried too much. She knew her men would at least have already captured three of the remaining Council members: The meek animal lover had probably surrendered without any struggle, and the musician and the seamstress couldn’t really defend themselves from what she knew. Unless they had some strong protectors whom she had never heard of before, but what were the odds of that?
~~~~~~
Rarity was leaning against the stone wall of the corridor that lead to the staircase of the fifth floor, her mouth slightly gaping in awe and a worn-out dark brown stetson on her head. Applejack had asked her to keep her hat safe when the two of them encountered a much larger group of attackers, who were prepared to fight unlike the three in her workroom.
It didn’t seem to bother the young farmer much though. Rarity didn’t have anything other to do than admire the well toned blonde fighting her way through the dozens of armed invaders. It was the third time the seamstress saw the farmer showing her fighting prowesses, it still scared her, but it was equally, if not a lot more, exhilarating.
As soon as the armored men showed their harmful intentions; circling the two women and ordering Applejack to hand over Rarity that is, the farmer took the matter into her own hands. The matter being the fake guard’s head.
Before his body fell limp on the ground, Applejack had grabbed the seamstress’ wrist and shoved her out of the circle of attackers before hitting the two invaders closest to her with the back of her fists in their stomachs. As they stepped backwards while holding their bellies in pain despite the ventral plate of their armor, Applejack faced the seven opponents with a small smirk.
Two of the three Jupitarians in the invading group growled at the defiance in the farmer’s green eyes before taking off to dive toward the blonde, one with his sword ready to strike, the other with his fists surrounded by electric sparks.
The one with the sword, apparently the fastest of the pair, was within reach earlier than his comrade. In a fluid movement, he brought his blade right where the blonde’s neck was. Only to strike the empty space left by Applejack when she flexed backwards.
She leaned on her right arm before lifting her leg to kick the sword wielding Jupitarian in the chin, sending in the air before he crashed loudly against the wall and fell on the ground unconscious. Her momentum made her do a cartwheel on one hand, thus making her dodge the electric punch from the second Jupitarian.
“That ain’t how you throw a punch, pal,” Applejack commented after landing on her feet. “That’s how you do it!” she added sternly.
The farmer managed a hit with her right fist right in the opening offered by the helmet, sending the Jupitarian rolling on the floor with a loud crack and a bloody nose.
Applejack didn’t get time to chant her victory as a Titanian grabbed her right leg in his deep purple telekinetic field while his comrades charged toward the blonde. Rarity gasped in fear when he lifted Applejack in the air by her leg, offering an easy target to the other invaders.
Applejack smirked. “Yer grip is too loose…”
The telekinetic field around her leg broke itself after she executed a strong kick along with a pull-up. Her feet found its way to one of the attacker’s chink in the armor: the neck. The strength in the blow was enough to knock the invader against the half of his comrades, sending all three of them in the nearby staircase in a cacophony of pained grunts and metallic noises.
The Titanian who had tried to levitate her was too stunned by the fact Applejack had broken out of his magical hold to notice in time the farmer charging him before knocking him unconscious with a small series of strong, well-placed blows.
Applejack realized that taking care of the Titanian opponent at that moment had been a mistake. Her charge had brought her between the last Jupitarian of the group, who had stood back during the fight and the two Eponians who hadn’t been hit by her yet plus the ones she had punched in the stomach in the beginning.
That also meant that four of her five opponents stood between her and Rarity, whose hands were shining in a deep blue hue as she stood ready to defend herself despite slightly shaking in fear at the prospect of fighting four to one.
She wasn’t the only one shaking because of fear though. Applejack noticed that all the armored attackers were shaking as well, their gaze completely focused on her while they were apparently ignoring Rarity.
“Go take the seamstress!” the tallest of the group shouted as he and the other uninjured one charged the farmer.
All happened in the blink of an eye. The Jupitarian took off and flew straight to Rarity, imitated by the other Eponians. The seamstress focused her magic before casting a blue missile at one of the three soldiers heading toward her, missing him because of her panic.
She tried to re-focus her magic to another attempt, but Rarity realized she would be too late. As they got closer, she panicked and curled herself in a ball with a shriek while closing her eyes. Three loud, metallic clashes rang out extremely close to her before a she heard the reassuring voice of the farmer.
“Come on, sugar. It’s okay now,” Applejack called softly.
Rarity looked up after opening her eyes. The two Eponians who had run to her were on the floor, stuck under their comrades who had attacked Applejack, both of them coughing blood while holding their stomachs in obvious pain, while the farmer in question was standing on top of the Jupitarian’s back.
The winged man tried to flap his wings to pull himself up before Applejack stomped briefly and strongly on the back of his head, knocking him out instantly. After that, Rarity slowly took the hand offered by Applejack to stand up.
“H...how?” Rarity asked as she gazed at the five men on the ground.
“When we left yer workroom, Ah told ya to not worry. Ah promised Ah’ll keep ya safe,” Applejack explained with a small smile. “Ah never back down on a promise!” she pulled Rarity to the staircase. “Let’s get out of here!”
“A-all right,” Rarity stammered with a imperceptible blush before following the farmer.
“Not so fast!” a man’s deep voice boomed from upstairs as a wall of green magic barred the way for the two women.
Applejack looked up where the voice came from, her gaze falling on a bald giant, who wearing the same armor as the ones who had attacked her not a minute ago, coming down to the fifth floor along with a much larger group of invading soldiers.
“Hand over the Council member, and nothing will happen to you!” the giant demanded slowly to Applejack.
“Funny,” Applejack replied with a snorted, mocking laugh. “These fellas said the exact same thin’,” she added, pointing at the dozen of soldiers on the floor. “As y’all can see, nothin’ happened to me and Rarity’s still with me.”
“Do not try my patience, girl!” The invaders’ Captain growled. “I think you don’t understand your current situation!”
As he said that, the Jupitarians behind him took off flew above the two women in circles like vultures while the rest of the soldiers readied their magic or their weapons. Quickly enough, around thirty crossbows, swords, spells, or spears were pointed in Applejack’s direction.
After looking everywhere around her, the young farmer sighed softly.
“Rarity, don’ be mad at me, please,” she said in a resolute tone.
“W-what?” Rarity gasped in shock and hurt, taking a step away from the farmer.
Applejack suddenly kicked on one of the helmets that rolled on the ground from one of the beaten-up invaders, sending it straight to the Captain’s face. While the concerned party held his face in his hands, Applejack picked Rarity up bridal style before jumping over the edge of the staircase before the majority of the crowd could react. A few bolts of magic and crossbow flew where the farmer had been seconds ago while the seamstress’ scream was audible for nearly all the castle.
The captain pulled himself together and glanced over the edge, seeing the offending farmer on her feet, Rarity still in her arms, on the inferior floor with the marble tiles cracked all around her.
“After them, you twits!” he ordered his men furiously.
“Darling,” Rarity whispered, a bit out of breath. “You’re forgiven for that stunt. I’m sorry I doubted you for a second.”
“Yer a bit too early for forgivin’ me, Rare,” Applejack replied with a grin.
“What do you meaaaaAAAAAAH!”
Rarity screamed again as Applejack jumped over the edge of the staircase for the second time, leaving four of the ten Jupitarians who were flying in their direction, crashing on the fourth floor’s ground when they failed to catch them.
The other six growled angrily before flying to the next floor, finding it completely empty. They couldn’t even find traces of Applejack’s landing like on the fourth floor.
“Where did they go?” one asked in puzzlement.
“Maybe the seamstress teleported them away,” another suggested.
“From what we know, she can’t teleport,” a third one retorted.
“Yeah, she probably knows only about make-up and dying spells with hair like hers,” the fourth commented with a chuckle.
“My hair color is all natural, you ruffians!” Rarity’s voice growled angrily from above them.
The Jupitarians blinked in confusion before looking up, finding the farmer and the seamstress hiding in an alcove of the wall in between the two floors. Rarity had her hands on her mouth while Applejack was staring at her with a cocked eyebrow.
“I’m so very, very sorry,” Rarity whispered in a sincere apologetic tone.
“No kiddin’,” Applejack replied with a roll of her eyes before jumping out of the alcove.
The blonde farmer landed feet first on the closest soldier’s shoulders, bringing him to the ground instantly. She quickly put him out of commission with a well placed stomp on his chest before punching the one on her left straight on the nose, earning a loud cracking sound when it broke.
One of the remaining four tried to fly to where Rarity was trying to stand, only for Applejack to grab him by his ankles before using him to bludgeon one of his comrades. Then she turned to the last two Jupitarians who gulped in fear at the sight of the blonde.
Their fearful expression quickly turned into a relieved one much to Applejack’s confusion. Though, she realized why as soon as she felt an iron grip around her throat. The invaders’ Captain reinforced his grip with his magic before lifting the farmer in the air. While he was choking her, Applejack brought her hands around his gauntlet to pull herself free.
“You’ll pay for that, girl!” he said slowly, referring to the large, bloody bruise on his brow. “And, pay for it dearly!”
“Put it on ma bill, pal!” Applejack retorted before wincing in pain as he tightened his hold.
“Who do you think I am, girl?!” The Captain growled angrily. “I’m Vigil Locust! Captain of the Changeling Warriors order! I’m the one who nearly defeated Shining Armor in battle during the war in the Barrens!”
“An’ ya brag about that?” Applejack asked mockingly in a choked whisper.
“You little arrogant, if it hadn’t been for the three stunt flyers I would have vanquished him!” he explained. “Without them, there would have been no Equestria’s Paladin! I would have broken his neck like a simple toothpick, just like I’m about to do to yours!” He added before putting more pressure on the farmer’s throat until…..
CRAAAACK
Rarity and the rest of the group apparently called Changeling Warriors stared with wide shocked eyes at what had just happened. It was Locust’s armored gauntlet that broke like a toothpick under Applejack’s grip, not her neck under his.
As his eyes widened because of the shock and the pain, Locust unconsciously let go of Applejack after her much stronger grip crushed his forearm. As soon as her feet touched the ground again, Applejack spun around before delivering a strong kick on the left side of Locust’s face.
“When ya have to fight, fight! Don’ talk!” Applejack said slowly as her foot made contact with her opponent’s face.
His head jerked to the side before his whole body was lifted in the direction of the staircase. Locust’s massive, armored body flew away like a disarticulated puppet’s and crashed loudly half a floor below under the gaze of the rest of his men who had reached the third floor when he was holding Applejack.
When the farmer brought her kicking leg down with a small, but clearly audible tap, all gazes focused on her. As they noticed the stern emerald stare of the blonde, many gulped uneasily while others shakingly pointed their weapons or magic at her.
“Ah sure hope y’all are ready!” Applejack let out as she took stance in front of the crowd. “Ah just finished warming up!” she added with a smirk, cracking her knuckles as she closed her fist.
She took one step forward, and that was the last straw for the Changeling Warriors. They all took a few steps back, dissipating their built-up magic or dropping their weapons with terrified expressions. The less strong willed ones even bowed in submission, only to be imitated by the rest of their comrades soon after.
“Whatever floats yer boat!” Applejack chuckled softly.
She relaxed her stance before walking to the wall, picking up one of the fallen helmets. She threw it high against the wall, making it crash next to Rarity, who finally broke from her stun before falling from her perch with a shriek, only to land in the farmer’s awaiting arms.
Rarity blinked before blushing when she realized where she was. She glared at the farmer who bore a small, playful smile. At the sight of that smile, her features softened.
“You really are a brute, dear Applejack,” Rarity commented with a grateful smile.
Applejack glanced at the few unconscious bodies around her and at the submitted invaders a dozen meters across the floor before returning her gaze to the seamstress, chuckling softly.
“What exactly gave it away, Sugarcube?”