Private Nocturne was too good a soldier to allow the boredom to show on his face, but sweet Luna did he feel it! He and Corporal Sable had been guarding the front of the hospital for hours while most of the crowd had dispersed, presumably to return to their homes. Now there were only ten ponies left, all chatting amiably with each other and paying the guards little mind. The private was fine with that, as he wasn’t much for idle talk either on or off duty. Because of this habit he knew his compatriots referred to him as “Silent Knight,” but he didn’t mind that either; he had duties to perform and that was all that mattered.
Not for the last time, his thoughts went back to that alien and the day they’d captured it. That thing had given him a fairly solid punch before they’d gotten it down and if he’d have had his way he would have knocked it out cold instead of just cuffing it. But “use only as much force as the situation calls for” had been drilled into him at the Academy, so he’d restrained his first impulses.
He cast a sidelong look at his superior. The corporal had seen far more action than he and he knew she’d used deadly force on more than one occasion. Canterlot had a very small criminal element compared to other cities, but he’d heard stories about some of the more violent encounters. One day he’d get up the nerve to ask her about them.
As he was musing on these thoughts he suddenly heard the corporal hiss. He turned to look at her and saw her face visibly pale. He snapped his head in the direction she was staring and tuned his ears forward. He could hear something crouching down in the trees just outside the clearing…watching the ponies. No, it was more than one, as he heard rustling to the left and right of the first disturbance.
Keeping her voice even Sable said, “Everypony. Get into the hospital. Now.” To her companion she quietly added, “Prepare yourself.”
“Well, it’s about time!” said Carmel as he trotted forward. “I thought we’d never get in.”
He was turning to speak to his friend Emerald May, another earth pony, when he noticed she was no longer beside him. Then several things happened at once. There was a roar as six creatures suddenly broke cover and exploded out of the trees straight for the ponies. Emerald May had been facing that direction and she screamed as one of the beasts closed on her. At the last second she threw herself flat on the ground and its claws passed harmlessly through her mane, but cut a great tuft of it away. As the beast spun about to attack again she got up and lashed out with her back hooves and connected to its face. It snarled in rage and shot forward, intending to rake her with its claws, but was knocked aside as Carmel threw himself at it from behind. The beast was belted away and it rolled over and over, then regained its feet.
Carmel stood between it and the mare and screamed, “Run, May!”
Then the beast snarled and leaped, but a heavy lance flew in and transfixed the thing through its body. The force of the blow was such that the beast was pinned to the ground as it writhed and screamed, this time in agony.
Private Nocturne landed in front of them and shouted, “Get in the hospital! We’ll hold them off!”
Both Carmel and May gathered themselves and ran into the building, where they joined several others. But some ponies weren’t so lucky. Two of the beasts had downed a pony each and were dragging them off back into the trees. Nocturne grabbed his lance and twisted it, then pulled it out of the creature’s body. He didn’t wait to watch it die, but quickly joined the corporal as she engaged two of the beasts at once.
“Better late than never, Private!” she shouted as she spun her lance over her head and used its razor sharp tip to slice one creature open, then used the weapon’s momentum to smash the heavy base down and crush the head of the other. If Nocturne didn’t know better, she seemed as if she was actually enjoying this battle! He stabbed the one she’d sliced and its screams were suddenly cut off as he turned his attention to the ones dragging the ponies away.
“Come on, Corporal!” he shouted as he gave chase. He knew he was probably too late, but by Luna these abominations wouldn’t get to enjoy their feast!
“No, Private. Stop.”
He turned to look at her. “We have to help them!”
Sable shook her head. “They’re already dead.” Then she pointed. “We have bigger problems.”
Nocturne followed her gaze and watched four more large creatures emerge from the woods. He turned at a sound and saw the sixth of the originals attacking the front of the hospital. Then he heard the last thing he expected to hear: laughter. He stared at the Corporal as if she’d gone mad. She was covered in blood and grinning at him.
“Who says Ponyville is a boring town?” she laughed as she flew forward to face the new threat.
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Big Mac knew he’d have to finish this fight soon. He was bleeding from his neck and his flank, as well as several claw marks. He could feel the blood loss taking its toll. His vision swam and he shook his head to clear it, just as the lead monster pounced.
As the creature rushed him, he again stood on his back legs and met it with full force. It used one set of claws and opened his face, but the other got hooked into his harness. Then Mac landed a solid blow to its throat and its snarl was cut off as it choked. He knocked the paw away from his harness, threw the creature down and began stomping it, using all his weight to crush its head into the floor. He managed to only stomp it twice before the other leaped over its companion and knocked him backwards. The two rolled together and then crashed into the back wall. The creature landed on top and bit down. Only Mac’s harness saved his throat from being opened. Then the beast tried to score its claws across his eyes, but he threw up a foreleg and caught the claws in it, while using the other foreleg to hold back the fangs that snapped again and again at his face. He gathered his back legs up and kicked upwards into its midsection. Big Mac felt something snap inside the beast, then he threw it off him and back down the hallway.
As Mac regained his hooves, the beast slowly got to its own feet and spit out blood, as the leader stood as well. Mac’s blows had blinded one of its eyes and opened a section of its head, but it wasn’t done. Now wary, both creatures came cautiously forward, one after the other, their snarls low and their claws fully extended. Mac was bleeding from half a dozen wounds. His face had a large flap of skin that hung down, but he pushed the pain aside, set his stance and took a deep breath. This was it.
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Granny Smith had not been idle. As soon as she’d locked the door, she went to the bed and stripped it, then began tying the sheets together. Apple Bloom stood facing the door and cried out every time she heard a crash. But Granny focused on her task and did not react visibly to the sounds of her grandson fighting for all their lives. Visibly.
Apple Bloom looked back and said, “What are we gonna do? We cain’t leave him out there!” She stopped when she what Granny was doing. “What’yre doin’ that for, Granny?”
Granny didn’t answer, but quickly tied one end of the sheet rope to a dresser leg, then threw the rope out of the window.
“Come here, child.”
Apple Bloom slowly realized what Granny intended, then shook her head. “I ain’t leavin’!”
“You gotta, dear. You’re the only hope Mac’s got. Git outside, run to town, find help. I ain’t gonna let you die in here!”
There was another mighty crash on the wall, making Apple Bloom jump.
“But, Granny—”
“No time, young’un! Git!”
With tears beginning to form in her eyes, Apple Bloom ran over to the window, grasped the sheets and slowly slid down them. She looked up to see Granny watching her. Granny only nodded.
Now crying, Apple Bloom turned and ran towards the road. She made it as far as the trees before she was stopped by another creature coming out of them.
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Zecora knew she’d never make it in time. The beasts had too big a lead on her and she already heard screams coming from the direction she was going. She pushed herself further and shot out of the trees just as Apple Bloom was running past. She saw Zecora and ran to her, then threw herself at her.
Zecora held her and said, “Apple Bloom, my dear! Why is your face so filled with fear?”
“Zecora! It’s Mac! He’s fightin’ these creatures inside the house!”
Zecora looked up at the farm and started running, as Apple Bloom fell in behind her. Zecora ran to one of the broken windows and stopped only long enough to say, “Wait out here, be safe from fear!” Then she dove into the house.
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Mac felt his strength going, but kept standing through sheer willpower. The knowledge that he was the only thing that stood between these monsters and his family was his only thought. He grit his teeth and started forward, but stopped and looked over their heads. The hallway had suddenly grown dark as a mist sent its tendrils looping and swirling about the creatures. The lead beast had gathered itself to spring at Mac, but suddenly found it couldn’t move. The rear creature turned to look behind itself and saw two eyes floating in the darkness. It too was stricken with immobility and its rage gave way to fear as its snarls turned into a screech. It dug in its claws and fought to escape.
Now the mist curled up and around their heads as both beasts yelped and continued to fight their restraints. Then, as the mist grew thicker around their heads the noises they made became indistinct, as if they were trying to scream underwater. Soon even these sounds faded and their struggles became weaker.
Big Mac had backed up and away as the mist had appeared, but it went no further than the lead beast. As he watched, it completely covered both creatures and became so thick he could no longer see them. Then it became more opaque, and became lighter and lighter until finally it was gone. Mac blinked as the light slowly returned and the darkness receded back down the hallway until there only stood Zecora. She rushed forward and held him up as his strength finally gave out.
“What…what happened? Where’d they go?” he whispered.
“Shh, my friend, you’ve done your best. Let me take care of all the rest.”
As she gently laid him down, he said, “Granny…Apple Bloom…they’re in there.” He shakily pointed a hoof at the room. Zecora knocked on the door.
“Granny Smith? The fight is done. Come out and see to your grandson.”
Granny unlocked the door, slowly opened it and looked out. The first thing she saw was Zecora smiling at her, then she spied Big Mac and hobbled as quickly as she could to him.
“Oh, son! What did they do to you?” She looked up at Zecora as she held Mac. “I just sent Apple Bloom to git help. Did you see her?” Zecora nodded.
“She’s outside and down the stairs. I will go and bring her here.”
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“There’s another one!” screamed Belinda as she pointed out a creature.
Celestia quickly snatched it up in her field. She now had five of those misshapen beasts in her telekinetic grip, with more scattering in every direction. She stood on the ground and looked about her. The alien’s ship rose behind her with its massive door standing open. They were in the middle of the Everfree, but still close to Ponyville. Too close.
“What should we do, Your Majesty? There’s too many of these things loose!” cried Rarity.
Celestia considered. She knew she couldn’t capture the beasts if she couldn’t see them and she didn’t want to kill the ones she had. There was only one thing to do.
“Guards! Release your harnesses from my chariot and one of you go and get yourself back to Canterlot! Tell my sister to bring those aliens back and the entire Night and Solar Guard force here! I want them all fully armed! Go!” The guards quickly did as they were told and one sped off.
“Now to cage these things. Come with me Rainbow.” Celestia floated up and back into the cargo hold and held them in their prisons while Rainbow looked around for the controls. Finding them, she manipulated the locks.
While they were occupied with this task the other ponies, Belinda and the hue-mun kept watching for other creatures.
“I was looking forward to getting home,” said the gryphon. “But it looks like my work isn’t done yet.” She turned to the hue-mun. “You’re a strange-looking thing, but you fought well.”
The hue-mun matched her gaze and nodded. Belinda looked like she was about to say something further to him, but she then just shook her head and turned away. “I’ll do what I can, ponies.”
“You sure?” asked Applejack. “This isn’t your fight anymore.” Belinda regarded her.
“Anything those bastards did is my fight now. If I can’t kill them, I’ll at least get to kill their monsters.”
“We’ll certainly need your help, dear,” said Rarity. “If any of those things make it to Ponyville, we’ll have a fight on our hooves.” Applejack stared at her as her face slowly lost color.
“Ponyville? But…but Sweet Apple Acres is between here and Ponyville! My family!” She turned and sped off.
“Applejack! Wait!” cried Pinkie. Celestia heard the yelling and bolted out of the ship, followed by Rainbow Dash.
“What’s going on?” Celestia asked.
Pinkie pointed in the direction Applejack had gone. “Applejack said something about her family and took off! We have to catch her!”
“I’ll do it!” cried Dash as she flew off in pursuit of her friend.
“We’re coming with you!” cried Rarity as she and Pinkie took to their hooves.
“Stop!” yelled Celestia, but they had already disappeared. Only Celestia, her guard, Belinda and the hue-mun were left. The gryphon turned to Celestia.
“You ponies are crazy, you know that Princess? Who knows what they’ll run into between here and wherever they’re going?”
“Then they’ll need help,” replied Celestia. Catching Charles up in her field she gave chase, followed by her guard.
Belinda looked around, put Angel on her back and then followed.
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Applejack plunged swiftly along the dappled forest path, thinking only of home and what she might find there. The few alien creatures she’d seen alive, coupled with those that were dead in that ship made her blood run cold at the thought of them attacking her family. So occupied was she with these thoughts she almost ran head first into two of the very creatures she feared as she entered a clearing. They were framed in the sunlight, hunched over a deer they’d brought down. They both looked up when Applejack came around the bend. She skidded to a halt and stared. The beings were wolf-like, yet they stood on two legs and were covered in grey fur. As she backed up they advanced and growled as the blood from their kill dripped off fangs and claws.
“Applejack!” called out Rainbow as she came up from behind her.
“Rainbow! Get back!” cried Applejack as she kept her eyes on the two. “It’s too dangerous!”
Rainbow zoomed around the bend, saw the creatures, but instead of stopping she poured on more speed and flew into one. They tumbled over and over, then Dash broke free and gained altitude.
“Run, AJ!” she yelled as the beast leaped up after her.
“Not on your life!” cried Applejack as she ran in and dove under the swipe of the remaining creature, spun around and bucked it with all her strength. She knocked the wind out of it and it doubled over but quickly recovered and sprang at her, jaws agape. Applejack dove to one side and rolled, but the thing’s claws scored her across her flank. She faltered and fell, but got to her feet and faced her enemy, while it dropped down to all fours and snarled.
Just then Pinkie and Rarity entered the small clearing. Rarity took one look at the tableau before her and lit her horn. She lacked the raw power of offensive magic Twilight had, but she could still create a strong enough beam to temporarily blind an opponent. The beast looked back and then screamed and clutched at its face when Rarity’s magic hit it in the eyes. It then started wildly swinging its claws about, trying to strike one of the ponies.
Meanwhile Rainbow kept taunting the one away from her friends. Enraged, the creature dug its claws into a tree and used the purchase to launch itself directly at Dash. She tried to dodge but it caught her in its paws and they both fell to the forest floor. It held her down with one paw and raised the other to finish her off but was suddenly struck from behind. Pinkie had rushed in and head-butted it in its lower back, causing it to lose its grip on Rainbow and tumble head over heels for a few yards.
“Get out of here, Dash!” cried Pinkie.
“No way, Pinkie!” yelled Rainbow as she got to her hooves and stood by her side. “We face it together!”
“Not without me!” cried Applejack as she ran up and joined them.
“Nor I!” yelled Rarity while lighting up her horn. But she never got the chance to fire. The second creature’s companion had recovered enough of its sight to rejoin the battle. Its roar as it leaped was the ponies’ only warning as it landed on Rarity and bit down. Rarity screamed as the monster’s jaws closed on her back. It then lifted her up and threw her off to one side against a tree.
“Rarity!” cried Applejack as she turned to face the renewed threat. It raised itself to its full height, kept its head low and slowly advanced on her. Applejack backed away.
Now the second creature sprang at Dash and Pinkie. Pinkie quickly pushed Dash out of the way as the beast closed on her and knocked her on her back. She held its jaws away from herself with her front hooves and double-kicked it in the chest with her back ones. Then Dash dove in and punched it as hard as she could. The beast’s head snapped back on its neck as it was knocked away, giving Pinkie time to jump back to her hooves.
The three friends stood back to back as their assailant’s eyes turned red and they advanced. Suddenly a beam shot down from over the trees and took the head off one creature. It still stood on its hind legs for a moment, then fell over, its neck still smoking. The second beast saw what happened to its companion, snarled, and then turned to run. It was struck down in mid-leap and tumbled to the ground, a gaping hole in its chest where its heart once was. As Celestia landed, the three friends ran to Rarity. She was still breathing, and slowly opened her eyes as they gathered around her.
“Is…it over?” she whispered.
“Don’t try to talk, sugarcube,” said Applejack. “You done your part.”
Pinkie and Dash were speechless as they looked at her. She was bleeding from several puncture wounds along her back, as well as a large bruise from landing against the tree. Rarity struggled to her hooves.
“I can walk, I just need to—” then she fell over again. Celestia came up and took her in her field.
“Applejack is right, my brave little pony…you have done your part.” She turned to the others. “This is one more charge to lay at those aliens' feet.”
She looked at the creatures' bodies and her visage grew dark. “There will be no more mercy from me this day.”
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Twilight reappeared with Haze in Fluttershy’s room. She heard the screams coming from out in the hallway and said, “What’s going on?!”
“The hospital is under attack!” cried Stormcrow. He pointed. “We barricaded the door, in case whatever it is tries to get in!”
Twilight took off her saddlebags. “Here, take this. The poison is in one of the vials. I’m going out to help!”
“I’m going with you!” said Haze.
“No, son!” cried Willow.
“She’s right,” said Twilight. “Stay here and guard your family!” She ported out and into the hallway, hoping it was clear. She didn’t dare rematerialize into a crowded room.
Finding it empty, she breathed a sigh of relief and sprinted to the front of the hospital. What she saw when she burst through the doors was chaos.
One of the creatures had made its way into the lobby and several ponies were down. But so was the beast. Carmel and three others had pinned its arms and legs and he was now engaged in stomping its head into the floor. By the time Twilight arrived, its face was a quivering mess as the blood-spattered ponies paused and caught their breath.
“That…that one…won’t…eat anypony…else,” panted Carmel. He turned and looked at Twilight.
“Oh…hello, Princess.” He pointed outside. “There’s more.”