In the Everfree Forest the last part of Equestria that's free from Changlings rule, are the last group of ponies who are rebelling against Changlings who are of any worth. There are other ponies who had escape or where living or visiting the other countries when the take over happen, but they're leaderless. The other races are busy raising armies and supplies for defense against the new power in the world.
During the invasion and securing Equestria, ponies of Ponyvile had fled into the forest to escape capture. They made their base in the old castle which has remained safe from the Changlings. They're lead by Trixie who gain the power of the Alicorn Armlet giving her great power but changed her into a power hungry tyrant, who place a powerful barrier around the forest that kept the Changlings out. The ponies didn't like it but seeing that they had no choice followed her as Trixie is the last unicorn with strong magic left free. The ponies were broken into groups and did what they could to help out.
Granny Smith and Big Macintosh along with the other farmers grew what they could to free the many refugees that escape into the forest as the barrier only kept Changlings out. They lost many family members to the invasion. But kept up working as there are hungry mouths to feed. Flim and Flam the brothers who once tried to take over the apple cider business have build a harvesting machine to help in gathering food within the limited farmland around the castle. Granny Smith didn't like it but it wasn't about what she saw is the right way, it's about surviving now.
The castle was rebuilt with the help of the Pie sisters, Pinkie's sisters who escape but their parents didn't. They help in the quarry gathering the rocks that are needed to build up the castle defenses. Iron Will who escape into the Forest help with what few guards are left to train able body ponies into fighting shape. Zecora who lived in the forest help in gathering supplies from the forest.
"Well the Great and Powerful Trixie is waiting," Trixie said sitting in the throne room. Before her are the remaining Wonderbolts, Spitfire, Soarin, and Fleetfoot who were on an airshow far from Canterlot when the invasion happen. With them are Daring Do and Gilda who made up the air force.
Gilda along some Griffon soldiers was sent from the Griften kingdom which absorbed her country of Griffonstone after the Changling invasion. The Griffon king of Griften did it to secure the boarder seeing that Giffonstone has no government to speak of. And are supplying the ponies to keep the Changlings attention on them, so Griften could prepare itself.
"The Changlings are up to something. The traders who have been doing busniess with them have seen them using ponies as force labor gathering raw materials. They're building something and on a massive scale," Spitfire said.
"First they gain those Minotaur like forms and now this," Daring Do said as those new forms allowed the Changlings to fight much better and allow them use weapons that a normal pony wouldn't be able to use.
"It's like fighting a small dragon," Soarin agreed.
The Wonderbolts learned that the hard way when they tried to counter attack a few days after the invasion. They had gathered all the arm forces from all over Equestria for a massive counter-attack to take back the castle and free the princesses. That's when they discovered that the Changlings had somehow gained a new form. The Changlings would just grab them by their wings ripping or breaking them sending them falling. Fighting them was like fighting a small dragon but instead of a small group there was an army of them. The Wonderbolt's only had the wing blades and metal shoes to fight with in the air, while the Changlings in their new forms allowed them to do so much more. And with the Wonderbolts taken down, the ground forces of what was left of Equestria were next to fall. And with it the hope to free Equestria went with it, as the soldiers who survived were taken to be used as food.
"Well you aren't much anyways," Trixie said causing them to glare at her. "If you were then 6 young ponies wouldn't be the ones who saved the day. While you all, what do you do? Oh yes airshows while young untrained ponies do your jobs."
"We did our best," Fleetfoot said.
"When you actually showed up that is," Trixie said as she turns to Daring Do and Gilda. "How about you two?"
"I have been searching for any magical items that could help us. But most of them are deep in Changling held lands. And the ones, I already found were either on display in museums or were lock away. All of which are now in Changlings hands," Daring Do said.
"The king will still supply us with what we need while, he gathers an army. He and the other rulers have been talking in how to attack the Changlings. Seeing how strong they are now, once attack they will spread out like an angry beehive," Gilda said.
"And those breeders once they get enough food can lay hundreds of eggs a day. There could be thousands of Changlings now," Daring Doo said.
"All we can do is delay them as long as we can," Trixie said. She had the remaining guards and able body ponies on hit and run raids on the Changlings, destroying or taking supplies from them. "Does anyone know what the Changling Queen is planning?"
"Well she's been having the Changlings tear apart all the libraries and schools for books and scrolls," Gilda said.
"What are they looking for?" Trixie ask.
"We destroyed a shipment a few days ago and it had all sorts of books in it on old legends about Dream Valley," Fleetfoot spoke up.
"Dream Valley?" Trixie ask.
"I did research on it, even found it or at least what's left of it," Daring Doo said.
"What's left of it?" Trixie ask.
"Yes it's just a barren wasteland of ice and snow now. What's ever is down there is buried underneath layers of ice. I search for anything but all, I found was a cave in a volcano with a strange statue inside. I couldn't take it as it's covered in some strange blue rock crystal that my pickax couldn't even scratch," Daring Doo said.
"What did it look like?" Trixie spoke up.
"It was like a mostly bald, hornless minotaur, I couldn't really see it because of the blue rock encased most of it from view," Daring Doo said.
"Blue rock?" Maud Pie ask. Startling everyone in the room as they didn't even hear her come in.
"Yes blue rock crystal," Daring Doo said.
"Did it look like it was growing over the statue?" Maud ask.
"Yes," Daring Doo answered.
"Must be Stalhirm a very rare rock that can grow over time. It's a very rare rock crystal that, I have only seen small samples of as it's very hard to break. It's also worth more then gold since magic can't effect it in any way, used to made chains and cages to hold powerful magic users or weapons that can't be stop be magic no matter how powerful," Maud Pie explains. (1)
"How hard would it be to forge a weapon from it?" Trixie ask.
"Very hard. No one has ever managed to find a large amount as what Daring said she found to even make one. The even the princess was hard press just to find enough to make prisons and chains to hold magic users. Those just have trace amounts in them. What Daring found would be enough to set her for life," Maud said.
"And that Dream Valley is well beyond the badlands which are under Changling control," Daring Doo said.
"You three give out orders for ponies to be on the look out for Stalhirm. If we find enough, we can make a weapon that will be able to harm the Changling Queen. Trixie will be able to beat her the next time we fight," Trixie said.
"Right," Spitfire said as she lead her remaining teammates out. She wishes that she didn't have to take orders from her, but seeing she's the only thing keeping the Changlings out... the sooner they free the princesses the better.
"Gilda," Trixie said to her.
"Yes?" Gilda ask.
"Send word to the Griffon King that we need Stalhirm weapons if we have a chance of beating the Changling Queen," Trixie said.
"Will do but even in the other countries that's hard to find. A coating is all what most weapons and armor have, since it's just too costly and rare," Gilda said.
!
In the Human World -
Sunset sat down at a table for lunch, with her are Rainbow and her friends. Twilight has been with her testing machines she's been putting together to see if she can't detect magic. Everyone is still talking about how she stop that storm from destroying that town, Arcadia Bay. Now people are asking her to stop other storms from destroying their towns.
"So are you going to be flying around stopping storms?" Fluttershy ask. She and the others have gotten to know Sunset since starting school.
"That be so cool," Rainbow said.
"No it isn't. I nearly killed myself just flying there and using that much power to stop that storm," Sunset said bluntly making the girls gasp.
"You nearly killed yourself?" Twilight ask.
"I had to pin point where the magic, I was sensing was coming form and when that news report of a storm appearing out of nowhere at Arcadia Bay. I had to fly across half the country just to reach it in time. And not even getting into how much strain, I placed myself under just forming a shield bubble around me then expanding it to stop the wind that was driving the storm. And that was just a small storm compared to the ones people are asking me to stop," Sunset said.
"So you can't?" Rarity ask.
"I never learn weather spells. That job was already covered by the pegasus who could control the weather. But even they would had to pull out all the stops just to do what, I did by myself," Sunset said.
"So what about the two new Magic Girls?" Applejack ask.
"Going through red tape. They're going to be learning from me to control their powers, once all the paperwork is done with. I'm still trying to figure out how they awaken those shards like that," Sunset said.
"You think there are others like them?" Twilight ask.
"I wouldn't be surprise if there are. I only sense what was happening because of the kind of magic one of them was using," Sunset said.
"I know, I can make a machine that will detect magic users," Twilight said.
"Well none of the machines you made so far have work," Rainbow said as it was every other day that Twilight tested a new machine on Sunset.
"When you do it will help," Sunset said hoping that what happen at Arcadia Bay doesn't happen again. She then noticed that Pinkie hadn't said anything as she's busy on her phone. "What's so interesting there?"
"Oh this," Pinkie said as she shoves her phone in front of Sunset's face. On it is a mix and match creature appearing in a Youtube game video players post showing how they played the game they're playing.
"What game is this?" Sunset said grabbing the phone as she stared at the creature in the game.
"Halo," Pinkie said wondering why Sunset grab her phone. "Some hacker has been appearing in online games using that creature in all of them."
"The name of the player wouldn't be Discord would it?" Sunset ask. On screen the creature is firing what look like pies at the other players in the online match and winning.
"Yup you played against him?" Pinkie ask.
"Wait that guy?" Applejack said as she looks at the phone screen. "He just pops in and messes with the online matches."
"Yup," Rainbow Dash said looking as well.
"Please let this be a hacker," Sunset said shaking her head.
"Why?" Pinkie ask.
"Discord is the spirit of chaos and is more powerful then just about anyone. It took the princesses using the elements to turn him into stone to stop him. The princess told me all about him when she caught me playing around his stone body. If he's here he can make just about anything happen," Sunset explains.
"Sunset it just might be someone who just made up something that looks like him," Fluttershy said.
"Besides, I seen video of this Discord player for months now," Pinkie said.
"If he's as bad as you're making himself to be why hasn't he acted till now?" Twilight said.
"Timing!"
"Well that's one answer, I guess," Twilight said before blinking.
The girls look around to see who said that.
"Looking for someone?"
Sunset froze as she stared down at the phone she held. The creature in the online video had stop and is looking at her. Sunset drop the phone on the table in shock. The phone screen glowed as the creature flew out into the real world and enlarging as it did so. All the students froze seeing the creature that many had played against or seen in game play videos.
"Oh no," Sunset said staring at Discord in all of his glory.
"Oh yes," Discord smiled at her.
!