It was a warm day in Ponyville, clear enough to allow the sun to shine brightly but enough clouds to provide some protection. Ponies were going about their day in peace, such as Twilight Sparkle, who was on her way to a picnic, not a care in the world. The young alicorn had a spring in her step and a smile on her face as she trotted through town, waving hello to the ponies she passed by. Spike, walking eagerly by her side, was mostly there for a gem hunt he and Rarity had planned for later. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle at Spike’s eagerness; she could practically see the hearts in his eyes.
The two eventually reached their usual spot, a nice clearing of grass next to a large tree. The lush grass was as green as ever and flowers of all colors grew around them, giving the place its typical beauty. Twilight’s friends sat around a red and white checkered blanket, enjoying an array of sandwiches, fruits and drinks. Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy sat together, while Rainbow Dash, sporting a pair of sunglasses, was leaning against the tree. Rarity lay on a red chaise lounge, enjoying the warmth of the sun.
When Rainbow noticed everyone's heads turn to the right, she casually lifted hers to see who was coming. When she saw that it was Twilight, she bolted out of her spot, flying towards her and grabbing her shoulders. Twilight gasped as Rainbow stared at her with a huge grin. “Have you read the new Daring Do book yet? It was awesome! Especially the part where–”
Eyes wide, Twilight quickly put a hoof on Rainbow’s mouth. “No spoilers! I haven't read it yet!”
Rainbow shoved Twilight's hoof away. “What are you waiting for, Twi? I was mentioned in this one!”
“What’s there to spoil?” Spike asked. “We know she’s real. Obviously she survived if the book was written.”
Rainbow shot Spike a glare, who shrugged in response. His attention immediately shifted to Rarity, who called out to him.
“Spikey-wikey! Are you ready for the gem hunt?” she asked. “I’m going to need a lot for what was ordered.”
Twilight playfully rolled her eyes at the large grin that grew onto Spike’s face when Rarity acknowledged him. “Of course Rarity! I’m more then happy to...”
He stopped and grabbed his stomach curiously; everyone knew what was coming. Sure enough, a burst of green fire shot out of his mouth, a scroll flying with it and landing on the ground. Twilight immediately picked it up with her magic and began reading.
Dear Twilight,
I need you and your friends to come to Canterlot immediately. It may be dire.
Princess Celestia
That made Twilight nervous; a letter like that usually meant that Equestria was in danger. As she stared at the letter with worry, her friends glanced at each other.
“What’s it say, Twi?” Applejack asked.
“We need to go to Canterlot, right now.”
***
Princess Celestia stood behind a window, peering into a hospital room where Prince Blueblood lay, hooked up to a slowly beeping heart monitor. Her sister walked up beside her with a look of concern. “What happened?”
“He was attacked in his bedroom.” Celestia replied.
"Do we know who attacked him?" Luna asked.
"… He said it was a changeling."
Luna went stiff, her expression going much darker. “Do you believe him?”
Celestia sighed. “Yes. They were bound to return eventually.”
Luna looked away, gritting her teeth. “Vicious creatures. I know it was treacherous looking through the Badlands, but we shouldn’t have stopped the search. We could’ve found another way.”
Celestia nodded slowly, her gaze hardening at the injured Prince; she wasn’t going to make that same mistake again. She remembered clear as day when the The Captain of the Royal Night Guard came to her with information she gathered from a once captured changeling. The changeling, whose name was Shift if she remembered correctly, was able to escape, but not before revealing the supposed location of their home. Luna went with a team to search through the Badlands, but Celestia pulled them out after hearing of the terrible conditions they had to endure. Monstrous creatures, horrible weather and even poisonous gas clouds filled that dreadful land. But Luna was right: they shouldn't have stopped looking.
At the sight of Blueblood's eyes flickering open, she turned to her sister. “He’s awake.” Leaving Luna’s side, she walked into the room. After getting a better look at the broken pony, her frustration was replaced with pity. His face was bruised and scars littered his once well groomed coat, with stitched-up gash wounds all over his body. When she walked up to the side of the bed, his bloodshot eyes slowly turned their attention to hers.
“P-Princess Celestia?” he asked weakly.
“It’s okay, Blueblood, you're in a safe place,” Celestia reassured, giving him a gentle smile. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“He attacked me. I… I can’t remember his voice, or -” There was a pause as Blueblood caught his breath; just talking seemed like it was a struggle for him “- or even what he looked like. I think he tampered with my mind.”
“If you can’t remember what he looked like, how can you be sure that he was a changeling?” Celestia inquired.
“He turned into me,” Blueblood shuddered. “I remember seeing a twisted, demented version of myself staring back at me and smiling.”
Celestia cast her head down, deep in thought. Nothing about Blueblood’s predicament made sense. What was the motive? Why would a changeling brutally attack a pony who had nothing to do with stopping the Canterlot Invasion? Something big was going on, and she had to get to the bottom of it.
“We’ll find the changeling,” she assured, looking back up.
“Good. I hope that bastard suffers for what he did to me,” Blueblood growled.
With a determined expression, Celestia turned around and walked out of the room, stopping in front of her sister. “Alert all the guards. Canterlot is to be put on high alert.”
***
The train ride to Canterlot was boring and uneventful, as it usually was. But boredom was the least of everyone’s problems, especially Twilight, who had a knot in her stomach that grew as the train reached its destination; an urgent letter from Princess Celestia was never good. Eventually, the train stopped and the six ponies and baby dragon got off. A sense of unease filled the air as they stepped into the train station. Not a single pony was in sight, except for three Royal Guards. The one in front was a very large unicorn, wearing the same purple armor Shining Armor used to wear before becoming a Prince.
“Greetings Princess Twilight,” he said in a deep voice, bowing. “I am Captain Bronze Quake, we’re here to escort you and your friends to the castle.”
“O-Okay,” Twilight stuttered. This really is serious.
The guards escorted them to the castle and into the throne room. There, they were greeted by Princess Celestia, who was sitting on her throne with two guards by her side. Rising from her seat, she painfully smiled at them. “It's a pleasure to see you all. I wish it were under better circumstances.”
Twilight stepped forward. “Is Equestria in danger?”
A pink blur zoomed past Twilight, who gasped in response. Celestia stared on in amusement as Pinkie bounced up and down, mere inches from her face. “Is it a nefarious foe trying to conquer the world and take away all happiness?! Cause that would suck!”
Rainbow snapped her head towards the party pony. “Are you kidding? It's been ages since we got to do something like this! I'm ready to kick some monster’s flank!”
“Oh, I wish I didn't get a hooficure before this,” Rarity whined, inspecting her hoof. “It’s bound to be ruined!”
“Yeah, heavens forbid you get a chipped hoof,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes.
Rarity shoot her a glare. “Oh, shush! You wouldn't understand!”
Ignoring her friends bickering and smiling sheepishly, Twilight levitated Pinkie out of Celestia’s personal space. “Sorry about that.”
As she was placed back on the ground, Celestia chuckled. “It’s quite alright, Twilight.” Her features quickly took on a more serious expression. “You all know who Prince Blueblood is, correct?”
“Some of us have had the misfortune of meeting him,” Rarity said through gritted teeth.
“He was recently attacked,” Celestia said. “By a changeling, he claims.”
The room was filled with gasping. Twilight looked down, soaking in the revelation. The entire conversation that followed fell on deaf ears as she became lost in her own thoughts. The Changeling Queen left her sister-in-law to starve in a cave, hypnotized her brother, injured her teacher, turned her friends against her and sent an army to sack the city she grew up in. The creatures that almost ruined her life and nearly took over Equestria had returned. But one thing didn't add up.
“Why attack Prince Blueblood?” she asked, focusing back on Celestia.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “None of this makes any sense. But as we figure this out, you seven must stay in Canterlot. The changelings could target any one of you next. I've given you all your own rooms here in the castle. Hopefully, this situation does not turn into a crisis.”
Suddenly, the double doors at the end of the room shot open, almost flying off their hinges as a Royal Guard sprinted into the room. All eyes fell on the guard, who halted beside Twilight. “Princess Celestia! A changeling just revealed himself in front of the castle! He says he wants to negotiate peace!”
The entire room became deathly quiet as everyone looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed. Even Bronze’s mask of seriousness began slipping as he stared at Celestia, waiting for some sort of order. Celestia kept a calm and neutral expression. “Please escort him to the interrogation room. As far as we know, he has committed no ill will, so treat him well. Escort him through the side of the castle as quickly and as quietly as possible. I'll be there shortly.”
“Yes, Princess,” The guard replied, bowing.
As Bronze and the other guards left the room to deal with the changeling, Rainbow gave them a skeptical glare. “Sounds like a trap to me.”
“You need not worry, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia assured. “Security has been heavily improved since the Canterlot Invasion. Nothing is wrong at the moment.” She looked to the rest of the ponies gathered around her. “You all may may leave now, I must attend to this situation immediately. Would you like to join me, Twilight?”
“I’m happy to help in any way I can,” Twilight replied.
“Please follow me.”
Rainbow quickly trotted forward, putting a hoof on her friend before she could leave. “Twilight’s not going anywhere without us!”
“Yeah!” Pinkie agreed, jumping to Twilight's other side. The rest of her friends nodded in agreement.
“I’m sorry, girls, but I cannot allow that,” Celestia said. “We don’t know what this changeling is like; seeing all six of the ponies that helped Shining Armor and Cadence defeat them could make him hostile.”
“But Twilight was there too!” Rainbow argued, putting her hoof down.
“Yes, I know. But this is good experience for her. And if the changeling becomes violent, I will simply speak with him myself.”
Rainbow sighed, looking to Twilight. “Fine. But if that bug does anything to ya Twi, I’ll buck him right outta Canterlot!”
“Be safe, Twilight,” Applejack joined in, coming up beside Rainbow. “Ya can’t be too careful when it comes to those deceptive creatures.”
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a pat to the back from Spike. “Stop worrying you guys, Twilight’s gonna be fine! This castle’s surrounded by guards. Plus, we’re talking about the same pony who kicked Tirek’s butt in a magic duel!”
Spike’s comment earned a blush form Twilight. “Thanks for the support. I’ll be fine.”
After assuring them she would be fine, her friends left as Twilight and Celestia headed to the interrogation room. The two traveled down a set of stairs into one of the lowest levels of the castle, right above the old dungeons. Walking down a grey hallway, devoid of the bright colors of the main floor, they made it to a single steel door with two guards standing beside it. Celestia opened the door, and her and Twilight stepped inside. The walls and floor were grey as well, and a single silver table stood in the middle, where the changeling sat, a magic suppressor placed on his horn. Twilight immediately noticed his eyes, which were different from what she’d seen before in changelings; one was green and the other was red. His face lit up when he noticed the young alicorn step into the room. “Oh my! Princess Twilight Sparkle! This is quite unexpected!” He jumped out of his seat and grabbed hold of her hoof, shaking it wildly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, truly it is!”
Twilight stared at their shaking hooves, her wings ruffling awkwardly at the bizarre eagerness from him. Such excitement from what was supposed to be her enemy was very startling, especially since she helped defeat them in Canterlot.
Putting their hooves down, the changeling’s smile grew even wider at the sight of the taller alicorn beside Twilight. “And Princess Celestia! Ooh, this day’s getting better and better!” He quickly sat back down at the table. “I imagine you have so many questions to ask me! Allow me to answer a few right off the bat. My name is Shadow. Yes, I took part in the Canterlot Invasion, which I feel horrible for. And I came before you today to tell you everything I know about my race. They’ll hate me for it, but it’s the only way towards peace.”
Twilight glanced at her mentor; things were going a lot quicker then she imagined they would. Celestia gave Shadow a friendly smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Shadow. Can you tell–”
“I hate to cut these negotiations short, but there’s something you must know.”
Celestia, patient as she was, nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Before leaving my hive, I learned that a select few changeling soldiers will be attacking and replacing small towns. When they have every town, they'll be able to surround Equestria from within, and I know the first one they're going to take. I believe it’s called Our Town. Strange name, I know.”
Twilight’s eyes widened at that name, for she knew that place all too well. There were good ponies in that village, ponies who helped her and her friends retrieve their cutie marks from a powerful, misguided unicorn.
“I recommend you do something about this now, Princess,” Shadow continued. “They’ll be attacking today.”
***
It was a dark day in the Badlands: black clouds blocked out the sun, casting a shadow that consumed everything. Princess Amber, daughter of Queen Chrysalis, walked through the dead land, six guards by her side. She was a teenager, with a beautiful dark cerulean mane and bright golden eyes that lit up the dark atmosphere around her. The young Princess looked around with sadness; the land had become so dull and lifeless. Brown grass and rotting trees could be seen in the distance, but where she walked, there was only cracked earth. When she stepped onto the streets of her fallen kingdom, she was met with the sight of decaying houses and dispirited citizens. Ever since her mother’s failed invasion, things had gotten so much worse. With their race being revealed to the world, it was far harder to collect love, and thus less and and less came in every day. As the Hive continued to slip into despair, Amber preferred to stay in her castle, sulking as the world fell apart around her.
The only reason she had been in the slums at all was to investigate a series of murders from a group calling themselves The Uprisers. They were believed to be made up of mostly common folk trying to bring down the current rulers, but she had found nothing.
Leaving the decrepit city behind, she went into the black castle castle towering over the ruins of a once great city. Traversing through the green halls, she eventually reached the throne room. The loud echoing sound of old stone moving apart was heard throughout the halls as she pushed the large double doors open and stepped inside. Black stone pillars held up the dark green walls and smooth black floor. Green cocoons attached to the ceiling provided a magical green glow. Queen Silver sat upon her mother's throne, sitting up straight like a soldier.
Amber wasn’t the biggest fan of Silver. She was far too serious all the time, only ever talking about missions or the state of their kingdoms. How could someone so young be so rigid? She was only two years older than Amber herself, yet acted like a stone cold warrior. What was she trying to prove?
“Did you find out anything about the murders?” Silver asked.
Amber simply shook her head.
“Are you useful for anything?” Silver scoffed. “You’ve been investigating this for weeks and have come up with nothing. Tell me, how exactly are you conducting your search?”
Amber’s horn flickered in anger. “Don’t tell me how to do my job, Silver. I’ve been questioning everyone. We’ve taken in suspects and forced answers out of them. Believe me when I say, there is no new information. These Uprisers are good at hiding their trail.”
“How disappointing.”
“I got news for you Silver, you're in my kingdom,” Amber growled. “Show some respect. And get off my mother's throne, I don’t approve of you sitting there.”
Silver went stiff, her lips trembling in ire for being talked back to. Despite that, the stone-faced Queen got off her seat and changed the subject. “I’ll be taking my selected soldiers to the village. You need to get Queen Chrysalis now.”
Amber nodded. She hadn’t seen her mother in a whole year. That putrid piece of filth, King Morph, kept her imprisoned with plans to execute her. Morph was a traditionalist, and thus stayed true to changeling law. A treasonous ruler must be kept alive until their offspring came of age to rule, and that day was fast approaching. Such a stupid law was definitely something that worked out in Amber’s favor. The old king’s loyalty to their ancient ways would no doubt be his undoing. “I’ll leave right away.”
“Good.”
As Silver left the room, Amber couldn't help but wonder if they were doing the right thing. Silver had been visiting her mother a lot, making plans for another invasion of Equestria. But was it all worth it? She wanted Morph dead for what he did to her family, but was another attack on the ponies a smart move after they had already lost so much? If they failed, their entire hive could be destroyed. She shuddered at the thought of her subjects lying dead on the streets, killed for a another pointless war.
***
The small village of Our Town was abuzz with activity. It was Party Favor's birthday, and the ponies were throwing a party for him. The festivities were being held in the middle of town; everyone was happily conversing with each other and enjoying the many baked goods, courtesy of Sugar Belle.
Double Diamond, the new mayor of the town, watched over the event with his head held high, a proud smile on his face. Things had really been looking up for him since becoming mayor, and with his friends by his side, he couldn't be happier. Despite that, he couldn't help but glance at a single, vacant cottage at the edge of town. As the mayor, he could have lived in it, but he refused. The memories of the life he used to live, the equality he used to believe in burned into his mind. All lies. Lies fed to him by a delusional manipulator who sought to control everything around her. He wanted no part of that hypocrisy, not anymore, not ever again. His stressful train of thought was cut off by the birthday pony himself, Party, who walked up beside him, finishing off a rather delicious banana chocolate chip muffin.
“Today went well,” he said with a mouthful of food.
“It always does,” Diamond agreed, focusing back on the present. “I could do this every day. How bout you, Party?”
When Party didn’t respond, Diamond turned to him to see that he was fixed on something ahead of them. Looking in the same direction, he spotted, to his surprise, twelve Royal Guards wearing dark purple armor walking through town. Half of them were thestrals, and the other half were a mix of the other three pony races. A stern looking mare with a white coat led them. Everyone backed back up as they passed, some huddling close to each other in fear. A group of Royal Guards, especially Night Guards in broad daylight, was the last thing anyone expected to see in such a small village.
“You don’t think this has anything to do with you know who, do you?” Party asked, giving Diamond a nervous look.
“Let’s find out,” Diamond said, his narrowed eyes locking with the mare’s.
The two trotted towards the group, meeting them in the middle of town. Everyone remained silent as the guards and two residents came face to face. Party, being the friendly stallion that he was, stepped forward, holding out a hoof. “Hi! Welcome to–’
“Is there a mayor or somepony in charge I can speak to?” the mare cut him off.
Party quickly put his hoof down as Diamond stepped up beside him. Despite the mare’s rude behaviour, he decided to stay friendly and put on a smile. “That would be me! My name's Double Diamond!” He pointed a hoof towards Party. “This here is–”
“I'm Captain Winter of the Royal Night Guard and of the Night's Reign,” Winter cut him off, pointing to her comrades. “I need to speak with you in private.”
Diamond nodded, his expression becoming as nervous as Party’s. “O-Okay, we can talk at my house.”
“Lead the way.”
“So, what’s this all about?” Diamond asked as they made their way through the village.
“If that ‘negotiator’ is to be believed, this town is going to be targeted by changelings,” Winter replied.
Diamond made no attempt to open the door when they reached the house, instead, giving Winter a perplexed look. He had always considered himself well versed in the creatures he shared a planet with, but he had never heard of changelings before.
“You don’t know what a changeling is, do you?” Winter deadpanned.
Diamond felt very ignorant in that moment, and Winter’s grunt of irritation didn’t help his self- doubt. “Are they bad?” he asked softly. He knew he was teetering on the edge of making the impatient mare angry.
“Very,” Winter answered. “They're evil, shapeshifting bug like creatures who steal ponies’ love.”
“That sounds bad,” Diamond agreed. “Why attack here?”
An intense glare from Winter was all it took for him to back up a few inches. She was clearly in no mood to be answering questions. “That doesn't matter. What matters is that we take them out before any of you get hurt. Supposedly, only a few are going to be showing up, probably to hide suspicion.”
Diamond opened his mouth but quickly shut it, fearing the Night Guard’s wrath. She rolled her eyes. “Get on with it.”
“What if more than a few show up?”
“Then that bug they got at Canterlot was either wrong, or setting us up,” Winter replied. “Either way, we need to be ready.”
Diamond took a deep breath, then nodded with determination. “What do you want us to do?”
“Get everyone inside,” Winter said. “Make sure they don’t come out.”
Diamond nodded hesitantly. “Will do.”
“Great, now go get everyone. We need to begin now.”
***
Everything was ready; four of Winter’s soldiers were stationed around town without their armor on to look like normal citizens. Winter herself stood at the edge, masquerading as the mayor. Her armor was also off, as well as the magical disguise that came with it. All Royal Guards had illusions placed on their uniform to make them look the same, but now Winter was bare for all to see. She didn't like it; her armor was intimidating, it showed off her authority and power. Now, she was just a normal earth pony with an aqua coat, light green eyes, and a short, black mane that was flat upon her head. Even her cutie mark, which was a sword and shield, was out in the open. The only thing she wore were black boots that concealed a knife.
Leaning back against the lone cottage, she stared off into the distance, hoping to spot a glimpse of the changelings. Soon enough, a small group of what looked like ponies were seen approaching the town. She couldn't help but smirk, this was it. As they got closer, she stood up straight, brushed her mane with a hoof and put on a big smile. Pretending to be cheerful was a straining task, for it wasn’t something that came to her often anymore.
She waited until a small group of seven ponies were standing before her, sweat dripping down their coats from what was most likely a long trek. They all looked like average ponies, with the one in front being a young unicorn mare with a strawberry coat, light blue eyes and a blonde mane, with a little red hair bow. Winter let out a soft chuckle; those changelings sure wanted to look as innocent and sweet as possible. She walked up to the disguised ponies, her smile as disgustingly wide as ever. “Hello! Welcome to Our Town! My name’s Winter! Are you moving here?”
The cute little mare smiled back. Pure radiance omitted off her like she was some perfect creature, devoid of any wrongdoings. “We’re just passing through. Do you have any place we can stay, this town seems awfully small, we don’t want to intrude.”
Resisting the urge to clock Little Miss Sunshine in the head, Winter waved her hoof. “Nonsense! You and your companions can have the spare cottage.”
“Thank you very much!”
“You're welcome,” Winter replied.
On cue, one of her teammates walked up beside her. The unicorn mare concentrated as she pointed her horn at the ponies. The second her blue aurora turned green, she glanced at her capitan. “Changelings, ma’am.”
“As I thought.”
The mare slowly backed up, her lively expression dimming.
“Alright changeling, here's the deal: surrender now and we won’t hurt you,” Winter threatened. When the changeling didn’t respond, she narrowed her eyes. “Don't make this difficult.”
She waited, tapping her hoof impatiently as the mare darted her eyes around. The doors to the cottage shot open, guards spilling out to surround the changelings. The nervousness spread throughout the group of shapeshifters, who stared at the soldiers surrounding them with panic in their eyes. The mare slowly focused her attention back on the Caption. Winter’s confident grin slowly faded when the mare let out a beastly snarl, her face contorting in rage. Her horn then lit up and a green beam of magic shot out towards Winter, the force of what felt like a hard buck hitting her in the chest and sending her flying backwards and onto the ground.
Ignoring the pain, she jumped up and was immediately blinded by a bright light. The once sweet unicorn was engulfed in purple fire, its brilliant flames blinding the ponies around her, forcing them to look away. When the light faded and Winter glanced back, she saw a tall changeling with a short and faded light purple mane, and light purple eyes. The enraged creature flew into the air as green and purple fire erupted around her, the traveling ponies’ colorful coats melting away to reveal the black bodies of changelings.
Chaos ensued as the Night Guard and their shapeshifting enemies charged at one another. Magic shot from both sides in all directions and cries of pain echoed throughout the once peaceful village as heads were smashed into the ground and bucked into pieces. Winter ignored it all, her eyes instead glued to the Queen hovering above her and firing shots at the pony soldiers. The ones unfortunate enough to fall prey to her magic fell to the ground, screaming with scorch marks burned through their armor.
With twelve ponies and only seven changelings, Winter figured they’d win once the Queen was put out of commission. And so, as the Captain, she made it her mission to eliminate her from the equation. Crouching low, she used the strength from her legs to jump up and tackle the airborne enemy. They collided with each other in mid air and landed on the ground, with Winter on top. Not wasting any time, she punched the Queen’s horn, making her shriek and causing her aura to fizzle out from the pain. Winter pulled out her knife, raising it high above her to strike the Queen in the head. Their eyes met as the knife swung down, fear in the changeling’s and malice in the pony’s.
Before Winter could make the killing blow, a blast of green magic hit her in the ribs, sending her into the side of the cottage. The wood splintered around her, pieces cutting deep into her coat. With clenched eyes, the cut-up mare landed face first on the ground. The pain of pierced flesh overshadowed all her senses as she lay there, the battle continuing around her.
But it wasn't the end for her, not by a long shot. The resilient earth pony slowly opened her eyes and stood up. Step by step, the mare walked forward, blood dripping from her newly inflicted wounds. Scowling, she looked up at the sky to see the Queen fly off with incredible speed. She must have realized it was over and retreated. And true enough, it was over; her soldiers were overpowered and successfully subdued. The filthy bugs were put in irons, and magic suppressors were placed on their horns.
“Put them in line,” Winter ordered. The guards did as they were told, dragging the squirming changelings and putting them in a single line .
Winter walked up to the prisoners, wincing with every step; now that the fight was over and her adrenaline was coming down, the pain began to increase, but that only fueled her anger. She almost felt like skipping in delight at the pathetic sight before her. The loathsome changelings were on their knees in a single line, knives at their throats. Their fate was sealed, their demise imminent. It was a truly wonderful sight to see such evil creatures brought so low.
Keeping her head held high, she strolled over to the changelings marked for death. “Normally, we’d interrogate you all, but as it turns out, we already have one of you bugs up at Canterlot who's willing to tell us everything we need to know.”
“Rot in tartarus, Pony!” a changeling hissed.
“You first.”
Winter raised a hoof high in the air. Her soldiers knew that when she brought it down, they had the go ahead to kill the prisoners. But before she could, one of them screamed. “No, stop! I have a wife and kids at home! Don't do this! Please!”
Winter frowned at the pitiful creature begging for his life. “Why should I show you mercy? So what if you have a family? I bet if I was in your position, you wouldn't care.”
“No, I -”
“You monsters took everything from me. I’m just returning the favor.” She brought her hoof down, but everything halted at the sound of a very familiar voice. “Stop!”
Turning to the voice, everyone's jaw nearly hit the ground at the sight of Princess Luna landing on the ground with over twenty Royal Night Guards. For the first time in a while, Winter’s heart sank in fear at the pure rage on Luna’s face. Her fear turned into terror when Luna’s cyan eyes looked to her. The once strong Captain was trembling like a frightened child under the hateful glare of the Night Princess. Still, despite a now dry throat, she found it in herself to speak, to possibly defend herself from the alicorn’s fury. “Princess Luna, th-this isn't what it looks like. I-I can expl -”
“Silence, Winter!” Luna cut her off, her Royal Canterlot Voice echoing across the entire landscape. “Killing unarmed prisoners!? You have betrayed everything the Night Guard stands for!”
Any rebuttal Winter thought of died in her throat, coming out as a mere whimper. After a long pause, Luna’s expression softened to one of sadness and remorse. She may have regretted her outburst, but nonetheless, gave the order to put Winter and her team in custody. “Take them away.”
“Yes, Princess,” one of her soldiers responded.
Winter could only stand there, her legs shaking as they were locked in cuffs. The residents of Our Town had quickly gathered around to see the changelings and the Night's Reign be detained, shock on all their faces. Winter cast her head down, fully accepting her shameful defeat. As she was escorted to a chariot, she saw something truly terrible out of the corner of her eye. One of her teammates, Moonlight, stood next the Princess with a look of sadness. In a manner of seconds, Winter’s sorrow turned to rage. One of her partners, one of her friends had betrayed her. And for what? Guilt? The now fuming mare stared daggers at him a she was seated in the chariot. He didn't dare look back at her as she was flown off to be punished for her crimes.