//------------------------------// // 38 // Story: Seven Lights // by Fresnor //------------------------------// “Do I have to go? It's just some sill old wedding for a princess and I want nothing to do with something that girly.” Aegis Flare rolled her eyes at her sister's antics, especially as she could see the excited fluttering of her wings. After packing away the last few items in their bags for the next few days she turned to look at Scootaloo. “Well your friends are going with as well, so I doubt you want to stay back here all alone. Besides after what you did recently I'm not sure if I can trust you to stay home unsupervised like usual.” Scootaloo winced at this before she sighed while regrets of what happened went through her head and the unicorn thought back on the past months as well. vvvvvvvvvv “You always seem to know a lot about different creatures and you said your parents told you a lot about the other races. You just have to know something about what other dragons are like.” Aegis Flare looked at Spike and his hopeful look as she racked her brain for any tidbit that she knew. “I'm sorry to tell you but there's actually very little that they could tell me about them. They are usually insular to other races and even their own so they usually lead solitary lives. There is some sort of a council that is made of of their eldest as well as a poorly named 'Dragon Lord' who is mostly just a glorified babysitter for all the younger dragons. There is supposed to be some sort of diplomat for them that is easy for the princess to contact but you'd have to ask her about that.” She was sad to disappoint Spike by not have much information for him, but seeing the thoughtful look on his face told her he should be just fine. vvvvvvvvvv “I'm really disappointed in you Scootaloo. I thought I taught you better than this. Especially since it is more something like what Diamond Tiara would do and you always are complaining about her doing stuff like that.” Aegis Flare paused as she noticed her sister winced which caused her to narrow her eyes. “Why do I get the feeling that she had something to do with all this now?” Scootaloo tried to avoid looking her in the eyes but she eventually gave in. “We only did the first story on our own but when we tried to do something different she threatened to put something about us in the newspaper. We didn't have a choice!” With a sigh the elder sister rubbed a hoof at the top of her muzzle before she shook her head. “That's even more disappointing since you cared more for yourself than for others. You should have just gone to Cheerilee so that she could have done her job and kept something like that from happening and if that didn't help come to me. Though I'm surprised that after writing something about all of my friends you didn't write anything about me.” Scootaloo looked sheepish for a moment before she responded. “Well I was already still in trouble for the last time so I didn't want to write anything that would make you suspicious.” Aegis Flare just looked at her sister as she put on a faint looking grin before saying in a deadpan tone. “You couldn't find anything juicy, could you?” With a wince her sister answered. “We couldn't find anything.” vvvvvvvvvv “The cake!” With a yell Pinkie awoke from her sleep and darted towards the MMMM only to slam into a barrier that hadn't been there until she struck it. As the glowing orange and yellow field faded Aegis Flare came into the train car rubbing a hoof just below her horn. “Ouch, that's the fifth time that has happened now. I must have done something wrong when I tried to make my shield invisible for that to keep happening. Unless you noticed something odd, Pinkie.” Peeling herself off of the now invisible barrier the party mare dazedly shook her head. “Nopie, nothing but the pain in my head from running into this.” The orange unicorn examined her shield closely again before she shrugged. “Huh, guess that feeling was from when something hits it. I guess I still have some work to do with it before it's even useable though I wonder who the other four impacts were from.” their friends, other than Twilight, had entered that train car at this point and started shuffling nervously at her words. ^^^^^^^^^^ “Ah still don't understand why ya didn't tell us about your brother. If he is the Captain of the Royal Guard ah would think ya would be proud ta talk about him.” Applejack tried to draw Twilight into a conversation while they all traveled to Canterlot yet she was too focused on her thoughts of what she had planned for her brother. Aegis Flare raised a hoof to the farm mare's comment. “She did make an off-hoof comment about it to me a couple times but beyond her having one I didn't know much else. With him about to marry a princess, and Twilight being how she is, I'm starting to wonder what the rest of her family is like. Still I'm still curious what that letter meant by me helping out the Royal Guards. That sounds more like something the groom would be doing, though I won't say no to visiting my aunt a bit.” She looks at the letter once again to see if she missed any details before shrugging and putting where she pulled it from. As they all tried to calm Twilight down they were surprised by a wave of pink energy flowing through the cabin and Aegis Flare shivered at the feeling of it flowing around her. “What the hay was that? Something about it just felt wrong for some reason.” Looking outside they found that the entire city had been encased in a protective bubble and they wondered what was going on. Once they arrived they found that there was some unidentified crisis going on which necessitated the increased security. After watching Twilight go off on her brother, while shaking her head at the guards not knowing who Twilight was, Aegis Flare took off with her sister towards one of the training yards. As they walked Scootaloo kept fidgeting and trying to muss up her main that Rarity had brushed up for her to a shine but the elder kept knocking her hoof away. “Come on sis, I can't stand having my main like this, it just doesn't feel right.” “At least wait until we found our aunt. We don't have much family left that we can visit so we can at least attempt to look nice for them once and a while. Just be happy I was able to talk her down from making you a dress right there on the train.” Scootaloo shivered at the thought of that as they came upon the training yard for the guard. “Halt! Only authorized personnel are allowed beyond this point!” The two just stare at the guard before the unicorn rolls her eyes and passes over the notice she had been given. After looking it over the guard flinched before nodding to his companion and turning back to them. “R-right. We'll let her know you're here, go right in.” Aegis Flare raised an eyebrow at the two before she just shrugged and followed her sister in as she ran ahead. She joined her in watching the guards training and quickly rolled her eyes at what she saw as they were practically just flailing around with their weapons with little strategy behind their blows. From what she could see few of them even seemed physically impressive enough to be considered more than average, though one earth pony stallion reminded her much of Big Mac in his build. “Wow, they are really bad at this aren't they? I've seen Ms. Bon Bon and Zecora do things more impressive than them.” A few of the nearby guards stumbled a bit at her words and lightly glared in her direction until they saw her age and instead rolled their eyes. Aegis Flare's ears perked up though as she heard a familiar language and her eyes caught sight of three thestrals, a mare and two stallions, talking across the way in thestrali. “Oh great, now we have what look like a couple noble brats to keep an eye on. Look at those shiny coats, they probably never had to lift a hoof in their lives. It's distracting to see them down here 'slumming' with their 'lessers' just so the can gawk at sweaty guards.” “Well at least the older one has a hot flank to look at. You have to admit that unicorns either look too plush like they eat too much or too thin of them not eating enough. She at least is a decent medium that I wouldn't mind getting my hooves on.” The said mare's eyes narrowed at the two but she smirked as the mare of the trio spoke up. “I don't know, she doesn't give off the same vibe as most noble brats, though I swear she looks familiar for some reason.” Aegis Flare's vision of the trio was soon blocked by a wall of white and when her eyes focused she found the earth pony she had noticed earlier had moved closer to her. “Well hey there, hot flanks. What's a pretty mare like you doing in a place like this? How about you come with me to a place that's more fitting to somepony of your beauty, we wouldn't want you to scuff your pretty hooves, would we?” The unicorn was about to just roll her eyes when a better idea came to mind causing her to grin internally. Her sister though wasn't as restrained. “Pff, like you even have a-” Scootaloo was interrupted by a hoof landing on her shoulder which caused her to look up at her sister where jaw dropped at what she saw. A change had came over Aegis Flare as she actively channeled the thestral side of her heritage as she gave the stallion a seductive look through her lowered eyelids. All eyes were on her as she sauntered up to the stallion, making sure there was a exaggerated motion of her flanks. “Well aren't you a handsome one and exactly what I needed. You see I've always been interested in the Guard and wanted to learn some of their maneuvers. Would a big, strong stallion like you be able to help me?” Scootaloo was making gagging motions through all this and, internally, Aegis Flare was doing much the same while making the stallion sweat. The stallion looked unprepared for the reaction he got from his comment and was off balance when he replied. “Um, well, of course ma'am. The Royal Guard is always happy to help, an um, I'll do anything to assist. Oh and I am Private Steel Wall by the way.” A grin grew across Aegis Flare's face as she ran a hoof from the stallion's ear to the tip of his jaw, flustering him further. Before he could react she quickly turned away, slapping him on the opposite cheek with her tail before slinking towards the training field. “Well don't keep me waiting big boy. I'll be waiting over at the sparring ring so be ready.” Most of the guardsponies were still in shocked at the reaction that the unicorn gave but many soon were over congratulating Steel Wall as they escorted him towards the sparring ring. Scootaloo though was smirking as she recognized what her sister was doing and she wasn't the only one as the three thestrals were staring in shock. “Was that? Did she just issue a Thestrali Marriage Challenge? How would a unicorn even know how a noble challenges their lesser to try to prove themselves worthy? I think that pegasus filly even recognized it.” The thestral mare was starting to get worried at the picture the situation was painting as something poked at the back of her mind. The two stallions though just brushed off what they saw and made to follow after the group. “Nah, it probably just looked like that. There's no way she could know the meaning of what she did and she looks too prissy to even back it up.” The three made there way towards the sparring ring to find the unicorn mare standing casually at one end while Steel Wall strutted in on the other. “So little lady. How do you want to do this? I wouldn't want to do anything that would hurt you.” While he was acting big on his way over he was now unsure as he was facing the mare who seemed unconcerned about all the spectators. “Oh, how about we start of with something simple. Let's see who can push the other out of the ring first.” The stallion was about to say something about how unfair it would be considering the enchantments on his armor, minor as they were for a relatively new recruit, but shrugged it off for now. Taking a stance he watched the mare for a moment who made no movement before he started to charge across the ring at her. What happened next was confusing for those observing as one moment the stallion was charging and the next he was flying past the mare, as she casually sidestepped, out into the surrounding crowd. “What happened?” Steel Wall wondered why the mare was standing on the ceiling, never mind the fact they were outdoors, before he realized that he was somehow outside of the ring in the group of spectators. “Wait! That didn't count! I just tripped!” Aegis Flare just waved her hoof, inviting him back into the ring as she moved to the opposite end for the next round. The thestral mare was suspicious about how the stallion tripped and with a glance at the pegasus filly and seeing her smirking she felt that she was right. When the next round started she kept a close eye on the unicorn mare. When the stallion tripped and fell on his face immediately she was able to catch what the rest of the crowd had missed. “She's not using all of her horn to trip him up... But that's...” The thestral stallions just glanced back at her before turning back to the arena as Steel Wall went flying out of the arena again. “What are you talking about? She hasn't even lit up her horn this entire time. He must be messing around with her to make her feel good about herself.” The mare shook her head at the two as she tried to put all the pieces together quietly. “I've heard about unicorns being able to use only parts of their horn, but I thought that only...” Her eyes widened as she realized where she had seen the mare and filly before as her head whipped around to look up at the nearby command building and the figure visible from the balcony. This sight distracted her from the current going ons in the nearby arena until it was too late. “Really? Is this all that the Royal Guard have to offer? Guess I was right that the only thing they were good for is standing around looking pretty, this is just pathetic. Of course what would you expect from a group that was nowhere to be found during multiple major disasters that had to be fixed by a group of civilians. I doubt even a dozen of you could lay a hoof on me.” Most of the guard present were shocked at the chance in personality in the unicorn though there were some that were angered at her words. “Come on, let's show this nag what a dozen or 'pathetic' guards can do to a braggart like her.” Scootaloo looked worried as twelve stallions, mostly unicorns with a couple pegasii, strode into the ring and started to formed a line across from her. With a roll of her eyes at their words Aegis Flare remembered some advice she was given to her by her aunt when she was much younger. Deciding to stop fooling around she let up her her and swung her head upwards before any of the stallions had a chance to react causing pillar-shaped barriers to rise up below them, crushing into a sensitive portion of their anatomy and sending them tail-over-head and leaving them to clutch at themselves in pain. “JUST WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN HERE!” A dark shape flew over the crowd to land in the center of the sparring arena to glare down at the collapsed stallions as they rolled in agony while clutching between their hind legs with their front hooves. “Oh Dear Luna, those two are Lieutenant Ballbreaker's nieces...” The two thestral stallions turned to stare in shock at their companion as their eyes widened in shock. “Nothing much auntie. These fine fellows were just keeping me and Scootaloo company while we were 'slumming' here waiting for you. Frankly I'm not impressed with their training.” Her eyes drifted over towards the two thestral stallions whose eyes shrank to pinpricks as their friend said what was on their minds. “And she could hear everything you two were saying earlier.” <><><><><><><> “I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW UNPROFFESSIONAL YOU BUNCH OF LOUSY MAGGOTS ARE! IF I EVER-” Aegis Flare closed the window, blocking off her aunt's voice as she yelled at the gathered guardspony before looking back over to her sister as she wandered around the her aunt's office. Scootaloo was busy poking at a suit of armor that was set on a ponyquin in the corner though luckily the wingblades were up out of reach. The older sister's eyes drifted over the armor as well and took in the skeletal look that it gave of and wondered how ponies would react to seeing it worn. “Ugh, I can't believe those morons. I mean I told them that I had a special guest coming today yet still they go and pull something like this.” The two turn as the door opens and Scootaloo is soon rocketing across the floor to leap into the hooves of her aunt. “Auntie Night! It's been too long since I've seen you!” The two older ponies chuckle as the filly tries to burrow into the thestrals chest as she flapped over to her chair. “Well it's not that far from Ponyville to here so you could always visit more without me having to sneak a request into the correspondence with Twilight Sparkle.” She looked over at her older niece who was avoiding her eyes at that one. “Unfortunately the time couldn't be spent just catching up what with the emergency going on. I so wanted to poke at your love life some more. And a marriage challenge? You know how long it has been since that tradition has been used and you perform it with somepony you just met?” Aegis Flare rolled her eyes and blushed slightly at her aunt before she cleared her throat. “Well that answers what that note meant by assisting the guard, though they need all the help they can get. And I only did that to prove a point to those two thestral stallions about not judging on assumptions... also Scootaloo has more of a love life than me right now, but what is happening here? I've never even heard of a citywide shield being put up before without an immediate threat being around.” Scootaloo glared at her big sister for the comment while Night Wing's eyes lit up at the prospect before she remembered why she had asked them here. With a sigh, Night Wing reached into her desk to pull out a scroll to pass over to the elder sister while keeping her other foreleg and a wing around the other. “I probably shouldn't be showing you this but with your affiliation to the MEEL group as well as one other factor I shouldn't get into too much trouble. We received this a few weeks ago through an old communication crystal.” Looking over the scroll Aegis Flare found that it was only a partial message with little of it making sense. “D-ger. -an-ing attack. r-y-l wed-g. Ca-t-lot. B- G- C- -a. That's not really much to go on with how broken up it is with only one clear word. Even the sender isn't clear so this could all just be a prank.” The thestral lieutenant shook her head before she set the pegasus filly back on the floor. “Normally there would be more time searching for the source but there is one problem with where this message came from. The only crystals left linked to the one the message came through have all been lost... along with the members of the Black Guard that vanished with them.” The eyes of both orange ponies widened at this news as they slowly looked each other before looking back at their aunt. Aegis Flare had to work hard to control her emotions at that moment as she took a few deep breaths. “Do... Do they have any information on who it may have been?” Their aunt just shook her head but that didn't diminish the look of hope that was on Scootaloo's face. “Do you think that it might be mom and dad?” With the question finally answered the elder sister couldn't hold back the tears anymore as she grabbed up the younger in a tight hug. “I don't know, sis, but this is more news than we've had in years so we can only hope.” Night Wing looked at the two before moving to wrap her own wings around them but didn't say anything to dispel what little hope they now has as she knew just how long the list of missing ponies was and how little chance it was of being her brother. <><><><><><><><><><> “All right you maggots! I shouldn't have to say this but as you know this is my niece and is worth more than a dozen of you. That is why I have asked her to help whip you into shape and don't think that just because she is a civilian she will go easy on you since whatever you have done she has done worse. Since we already know how much improvement you need at sparring we'll move along to the obstacle course.” Aegis Flare was glad that she had so many years practice of controlling herself from showing her emotions on her face else she would be laughing at her aunt's current personality as it was so different from what she was used to. Glancing at the course though she had to wince at how simplistic it was even if it was long. “So should a bother using my magic for this or hold back and do without?” Aegis Flare whispered this to her aunt as she looked over the various obstacles, if they even could be called that. Night Wing just smirked as she turned away from her troops. “Oh, go all out. They are supposed to use any means available to them, except flight, but they have gotten really lazy and barely work up a sweat when they do it. Not to mention that after seeing your setup at your home this is just a waste of your time.” With a smirk of her own Aegis Flare took her place at the starting line and waited for the signal to start. When the bell went off she was instantly in motion as she charged the first obstacle. She didn't even slow as she approached the stone hurdle and leaped atop it to bound from it to the next and further until she was on her way to the next. The wall that was next was even easier as she boosted herself over with a shield rising up beneath her and the path of vertical logs was handled much the same as the hurdles. She barely even noted the balance beam or the barrel weave but she slowed slightly when she came on the swinging padded logs. At this point she finally brought her magic out as more than a booster as she formed a shield in front of her a rammed through the logs, knocking them all out of her path. Once through she flicked her head and sent her shield ahead as she dove and slid through the long tunnel in seconds before coming to their hooves on exiting and diving through the three lined up windows before finishing the course. At the finish line she breathed in deeply once before flicking her braided mane around and looked over to the guards that just stood there gaping at her. Night Wing was smirking as she walked up and raised the stop watch up for them all to see. “Well look at that, a new record and she hasn't even worked up a sweat. By a good margin too and even with full armor without the featherweight enchantments there wouldn't be much of a difference. Now that she has set the bar let's see how all of you do and how much work you all are going to need.” For the next few hours they watched as the guard were run through the course while Scootaloo assisted by rushing around helping supply snacks and drinks to keep them refreshed. After they had run the course the best were sent over to the sparring area where Aegis Flare watched them and gave them tips on improving themselves. That proved exhausting as the most many of them knew of tactics was to just line up and charge while flailing their weapons around and after the fifth time of causing them to crash into a pile she was starting to feel like it was hopeless. “This is getting embarrassing. You'd think that after all this you would have learned not to bunch up and make yourselves an easy target. I mean you pegasii have wings, use them! Get around and attack from other angles and don't make it easy for them to dodge so you crash into each other. Predict what your opponent will do and force them into a bad position.” It wasn't until the higher ranking guard members were brought in to lead them that they actually made any progress as they barked out orders and strategies. Their weapon skills were still mediocre but they at least were no longer tripping over each other which highlighted the major problem with the guardsponies. “There are too many followers and not enough with any sort of intelligence or mind for strategy. Without any sort of leader they just charge in blindly.” Night Wing sighed as she shook her head. “I hate to say it but you're right and even worse those that have even basic thinking skills get promoted. If we weren't all in the Lunar Guard part of the Royal Guard the officers would almost always be thestrals. Out of this group of privates the only one with any potential is that Steel Wall stallion and you've seen how he is.” “Unfortunately. He's also the only one to even come close to touching me and that's only because he managed to break through my shields that one time when I let my guard down. If a major conflict happened he'll either be the first to die or be earning medals with how enthusiastic he is.” After a quick stop by her aunt's personal shower, Aegis Flare collected her yawning sister and bid her aunt good night for the moment while heading back to the Canterlot palace to join her friends. Arriving at the set of room they were given she found that most of her friends were already asleep so she moved to bring Scootaloo to the room she was sharing with the other two fillies. The two looked at her guiltily as she found them still awake but she said nothing as she tucked her sister in and left the three behind. She was about to head to her own room when she noticed that Twilight was still awake and looked rather grumpy. “Hey Twilight, did I miss something today?” Twilight glanced over before her cheeks puffed up and she turned away much to the orange unicorns confusion. “What? Are you here to tell me how I'm being overprotective of my brother and that Cadance being such a nag to everypony is natural for a bride as well?” Aegis Flare reared back a little as her confusion grew at her friend's hostility. “Whoa! What are you talking about? Who's Cadance and why would I say something like that when I've been at one of the guard training grounds all day with my aunt?” Her confusion, along with her words, were enough to cause Twilight to blush and look sheepish as she sighed explained everything that had happened over the course of the day. Aegis Flare and listened and, while she had to admit something seemed off, she felt that Twilight might be overreacting a bit especially as she started to sound more frantic. “Calm down Twilight. Your manic side is starting to show and you know that ponies have trouble treating you seriously when you get like that.” This got Twilight to pause and bring her hoof to her chest before breathing in and out deeply. “Now why do you think something is wrong? She just sounds like nearly every other noble I've seen in Canterlot so it's not that odd. And what happened with Lyra and the other bridesmaids?” The name of one of the bridesmaids caught Twilight's attention first as she only the realized something. “Wait, Lyra? Lyra Heartstrings? I didn't realize she was one of the bridesmaids but nopony has heard from them since our friends were chosen to replace them. It's been a couple years since I saw her when she left Canterlot. How did you know she was one of the bridesmaids?” This sent a spark of worry through Aegis Flare as she frowned at her friend. “She's been living in Ponyville for a while now with her marefriend Bon Bon. She was so excited to be contacted by the princess, who she called an old friend. For her to just vanish without a trace and be replaced just like that doesn't seem right.” Twilight's ears perk up as she is finally not the only one seeing that something is wrong. “I know! The Cadance I remember would never have done any of the things that this one has been doing. In fact she wouldn't just be wandering around giving orders like this she would actually be helping out with everything even if she got a little bit dirty. Whatever happened to change her must be what is making her magic look green now as well.” Aegis Flare's ears shot up in alarm at the last bit of information from Twilight as she had heard of a pony's magic changing color but the cause was never good. Her mind also went to what else she had learned earlier and wondered if it could be a coincidence. “I think you may be right and something is seriously wrong. I found out that the reason Canterlot is on high alert is because of a warning about some unknown attackers. What is more worrying is that the warning was through old Black Guard channels and they may have already gotten through your brother's shield somehow.” While she was happy to finally have convince one of her friends she was also worried about what had happened to her old foal sitter. “I'm just glad somepony believes me finally. Now we just need to think of what to do about all of this. “Beyond keeping an eye out and looking for solid proof? I have no idea.” With a nod to each other the two went to their own rooms to prepare for the next day. <><><><><><><><><><> The next day was tense as Aegis Flare returned to help out her aunt some more. She had left Scootaloo with her friends that day since she felt that she would be safer with them than out in the city. She tried to help her aunt out again that day but Night wing noticed that she was distracted and around midday pulled her into her office. “All right, what's wrong? Something has had you distracted all day and you aren't pulling your hits as much as yesterday. Some of the guardsponies are starting to complain.” Aegis Flare pondered for a moment before answering with a question. “How well do you know Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?” Her aunt's ear twitched as she wondered where this was going. “Well I never had much dealing with her except the rare times that she visited with Princess Luna but from what I could tell she always seemed to be a nice mare. Why do you ask?” The unicorn frowned as she had been getting that answer from all those she had asked the entire day. “Because that similar to what I've been hearing all day yet none of that matches up with how I've heard she has been acting. Now before you say anything, Canterlot is supposed to be on high alert from an unknown attack during the wedding so why is it such a drastic change in personality is just glossed over instead of looked into? In fact Twilight Sparkle was the only one to say anything yet everyone was pushing back against her. She even noticed that the princess' magical aura has changed colors which has serious implications.” Night Wing was about to say something but a frown steadily deepened across her face as each point was mentioned. When the last bit was revealed she was looking worried. “You're right. This has all been handled sloppily, just what would be expected from the Solar Guard. They have been in charge of most of the defenses so far while the Lunar Guard has been working on training them up to at least the standards help by the thestral corps back home. I'd better tell Princess Luna and our Captain and hope it isn't too late.” She rang for a messenger to come to the office and the two waited for them to arrive. The younger mare's reaction to see a colt come in was only to raise an eyebrow but felt it made a bit of sense that they would do the job for a bit of pocket change. As he left the two were about to start planning on what to do when they began to hear yelling from outside. “Now what what has those ninnies worked up?” Looking outside the eyes of the two widened as they saw the swarm of creatures outside of the city shield which were ramming themselves into it. Moments later the shield just collapsed and the two could hear even more screaming coming from the city. While Night Wing just stood in shock at the size of the invasion, Aegis Flare's eyes just narrowed as she lit up her horn with not just one but three layers of energy. “Ma'am! We have a problem and need to get the Element Bearer to safety!” Moments later a corona of energy expanded from the unicorn, passing through the ponies and objects that it came across. While most ponies just shook their heads at the odd feeling, the one that had entered the room appeared to be set ablaze as it passed through him until the entire training compound was encased in a glowing field of energy. Night Wing had been turning towards the intruding stallion but she froze when he suddenly burst into flames but her eyes narrowed when his form was revealed to be like one of those that were invading. With a blur of motion she darted over to the disoriented creature and with a sharp upward swing of her hoof sent it flying upwards to impale its horn in the ceiling. Then with a quick turn she gave a quick one-two buck to the fork in its hind legs before she flapped her wings and turned into a sharp roundhouse to the head, knocking the creature out as it started to scream out from the disabling pain. “Wow, no wonder you earned the nickname Ballbreaker.” “Well a mare has to defend herself from unwanted advances, and it's not like you held back yourself from taking my advice. Now if you'll excuse me I have a defense to plan.” With that she flew out to the balcony and took in the scene of panic below before inhaling deeply. “ATTEEEEENSHION!” All movement stopped below at her bellow and glared at them for their actions. “How dare you call yourselves Royal Guard if this is how you react to what we were formed for. All squads form up! Sergeants, get all specialists to form a smoke screen at the edge of the barrier, we don't need them seeing what we are doing. Then sweep the interior for any infiltrators, they can take pony disguises but they were disrupted by the shield and I already took care of one.” She watched for a moment more before her gaze fell on a specific pony before making a decision. “Quartermaster! Our lines our cut so I'm making an emergency decision, I am authorizing usage of any warframes we have stored here, get those with the appropriate training and get them kitted up. All thestrals, I hope you brought your Sunday's best.” Her final orders were met with gasps as she turned back to her room and marched over to her own armor while speaking to her niece. “How long do you think you can keep that shield up?” Rubbing just below her horn Aegis Flare looked out at the creatures that were ramming her shield before they were obscured by the smoke. “Maybe ten minutes with my current magic levels, but with the potions I brought I can make it thirty. I've never really made a shield this big before and I'm blocking everything except visible light so the air that's inside of it is all we have. I do have one other potion but I'm not sure how safe it will be to use.” She pulled out an oddly glowing vial from her pouch that actually had an aura around the bottle itself. Her aunt's eyes widened as she took it in as she almost dropped a piece of her armor. “Where the buck did you get an alicorn level mana potion? Those things are strictly controlled and take direct authorization from the princesses themselves to be able to sell OR buy.” The unicorn frowned at hearing this and made a note to talk with her contact about it. “A while back I was able to obtain a highly-magically infused plant which I decided to use. This was my first attempt but since I didn't know how much of the plant to use I overdid it even after cutting back on how much I would normally use.” Her aunt shook her head before she jammed her helmet on and did a final once-over of her armor. “Well be careful with that. I heard that Captain Shining Armor used one once and, while it worked extremely well, he was burnt out for a week afterwards. Who knows what it would do to somepony not of his power.” Aegis Flare raised an eyebrow at the flask once more before she stored it away. “With what's happening now I don't think that will be much of a problem. While I may not be able to use external magic sources like most unicorns, Twilight found out that because of it my internal power is nearly on par with hers.” With a nod of her head Night Wing led her niece out of the room while a pair of stallions came in to take custody of the unconscious creature. They made their way outside to where all those protected by the shield were gathered and the lieutenant gathered all those of squad leader or higher positions to plan. “Right, I need ideas and I need them fast. We have less than thirty minutes to prepare so what do we have?” She looked towards the quartermaster who had sent his subordinates to help suit up the chosen ponies. “Unfortunately we don't have much right now. Of the warframes there are only two I-Frames and a single M-Frame in working condition. Also while there are a dozen J-Frames we only have four earth ponies available to wear them. With those we also have whatever your Lunar Guard brought with and then the basic gear for the thirty-two pegasii and fifty-seven unicorns not being kitted out in the warframes. We also have no idea what the invaders have brought or their capabilities as we have no information on them.” Aegis Flare started to only half listen as the group tried to flesh out their plans and looked around at the rest of the gathered guardsponies, many of whom were also listening in. Her brows furrowed as she noticed the worried whispers that were being passed between them as well as the barely controlled panic. Before she could form any further thoughts on it her gaze was drawn by a flash from the building entrance as the seven chosen ponies exited and she let out a whistle of appreciation. The unicorn in the M-Frame was covered in thick golden plates that covered her front while her backside was studded in multiple gemstones. Her helmet covered her entire head with gemstone covered openings for her eyes while her horn was partially visible through the dual spiral of a silvery metal than ran up along it and made it look twice as long. Also on her back coming from her shoulders were two thick rods that ended in large gems that seemed to glow. The two pegasii wore matching I-Frames that also covered their entire front but were of much more sleek design to allow for more aerodynamic flight. In fact most of the armor was rather form fitting while their wings were covered in such a way that each individual feather was armored. The only gems on their armor though was at the joints of their wings as well as around the end of each of their hooves. The earth ponies in their J-Frames could easily be described in a single word which is what the suits were named as they were, juggernauts. Like moving walls of steel they were plated from head to hoof in some of the strongest metals available to ponykind. In fact if she didn't know that there was a pony underneath the armor she would have sworn that they were golems. Every joint of the armor was also covered in gems for extra protection as well. The unicorn had to wonder just what enchantments were on each of the suits as there had to be more to just what she saw. Of course with how things were going she was sure to see what they could do unfortunately. On a closer look though she noticed that most of the armored ponies also looked worried and weren't in the best of condition. The only exception was who she quickly realized was Steel Wall as he somehow managed to strut around in the armor and she grudgingly had to give him a bit of respect for not being panicked. “We must find Princess Celestia! She the only one who can save us right now!” “And I tell you that doing that is foolish, we need to fortify this area and wait for reinforcements!” “That won't work, they enemy would be swarming there first, we need to round up whatever guard we can find!” Aegis Flare's attention was pulled back to the arguing ponies trying to put together a strategy before she brought a hoof up to her face. After another few minutes of arguing and nothing happening she decided to speak up. “They are right that Princess Celestia would be the worst place to go since that is where the enemy leader will be.” All eyes and ears turned towards her while one of them spoke up. “And what does a civilian know about tactics or what is going on?” The unicorn's eyebrow rose as her eyes darted to her aunt who was facehoofing at the stupidity of her subordinate. “Probably more than you considering my parents taught me many things, including basic tactics like not attacking where the enemy expects which would be where Princess Celestia is, as well as whatever was impersonating Princess Cadenza which is now obvious after seeing a little of what these creatures can do. Oh and before you ask, my father is Captain Vanator with his wife Captain Bella Donna of the Black Guard.” Silence reigned at that pronouncement as all those that heard her stared in shock as the Black Guard had started to fall into myth. To not only have a pony that was not only related to them but even trained by the Captains themselves sent a small ripple of hope through the gathered guardsponies. Her answer shocked the naysayer into silence as he backed down allowing her aunt to take control again. “So what do you suggest then? The odds seem to be against us so any idea you have is as good as any.” Taking a deep breathe Aegis Flare gathered her thoughts and something seemed to tickle at her mind that the creature had said. With that along with some of the things she had learned from her parents an idea started to form. “The Elements. That creature was here for me specifically which means that most of their focus will be on capturing me. I could lure them away while you all breakout for the real target, Princess Luna and the rest of the Lunar Guard.” Her idea was greeted with silence before somepony spoke up. “Are you crazy? How the hay will you survive against all of that and what good will the Lunar Guard do?” The speaker earned the glare of every thestral in the area while the unicorn just shook her head. “I can do better on my own on the move than babysitting all of you. I've probably been deeper in the Everfree Forest than anyone has in a long time and I've traveled it alone since my parents disappeared. This is going to be nothing and all you need to worry about is the initial breakout from this area to try and sell the fact that I should be the one to worry about and not all of you. As for Princess Luna and her guard? Your response alone just screams that going for them would be the least likely course of action the invaders would worry about.” There was still some grumbling while Night Wing considered everything. On the one hoof she didn't want to put her niece at risk like this but on the other they didn't have any better plans. “As much as I don't like this it's all we have for now. Everypony be ready to move out in ten minutes.” As the guardsponies moved to get into position the lieutenant pulled her niece aside. “Are you sure that you are up for this? We can figure something else out if you don't.” Shaking her head Aegis Flare just looked over the assembled guards. “I'd be more worried about you subordinates. I plan on using that potion and with the boost try and find my friends and reach the Elements of Harmony. Whatever these are seems to think they are a greater threat so once you smash into them I'll provide an even larger distraction so you can make your way to the princess. If I can scare an Ursa Minor then holding these off will be easy.” Shaking her head Night Wing patted her niece on the shoulder before moving off to prepare for the breakout, leaving her to think. She was glad that the city was mostly made of stone so she could use her pyromancy but she still had to be careful not to cause too much property damage. Taking a few deep breathes she let out a huge sigh before looking over the group and frowning. Other than the one earth pony most of the group didn't seem to be ready to fight and looked more likely to run and panic. Feeling the strain on her magic she broke out the last potion and chugged it down before looking them over once again. As the potion surged through her a feeling gripped her as she marched to the head of the preparing guardsponies. “Really! Is this all that the Royal Guard is? A bunch of cowards that would rather let civilians do their job for them?! Why are you even here if not for moments such as this?! If you back out now you will all forever by known as the ponies that ran when Equestria needed your help!” Moments later she burst into song which started to energize the ponies present in front of her. As the music started a wave of energy flowed out through the gathered guardsponies causing them to stand up straighter. Their fear was soon wiped away as they prepared for the coming battle as they formed ranks. At the call of 'Fight' they moved into action as the battle to retake Canterlot began. ---------- Outside of the shield the swarm of changelings battered at it trying to get in and accomplish the goal given to them by their queen. Their intel had one of the Element Bearers at this position but their operative in the compound had not reported in and had been given up for lost. The commander of the group buzzed impatiently as he waited for the shield to fall but he would never have been prepared for how it did so. When the shield fell it didn't do so with It shattering but with it exploding outwards in a corona of flames that threw back those battering at it and bringing with it the cloud of smoke. With it came the sound of singing and before the changelings were prepared a barrage of energy bolts came streaming out of the cloud into the the swarm, followed by a hulking beast of metal. “LET'S DO THIS! OORAAAAH!” The changeling commander was unprepared as the earth pony juggernaut came flying out of the smoke wielding a large sledgehammer to slam it into his area creating a massive crater and sending changelings flying. Before any of the others could react Steel Wall shifted his grip on his weapon and swung it around in a wide arc, clearing the vicinity before the hammer vanished back into his armor. His solo assault was followed by the sound of yelling from the lieutenant. “Steel Wall you moron! Get back in formation! Darn it, unicorn cover that fool and pegasii? It's time to clear the skies!” The bolts of energy intensified in their numbers as the cloud finally began to clear showing that it was all a single unicorn firing them all with four others channeling energy to her. An average unicorn could fire off maybe twenty of these bolt a minute but with the armor the number was multiplied by ten as long as the suit had magic. Before the dazed changelings could regroup they were buffeted out of the sky as two wings of pegasii, eleven in each, flew by creating a vortex of air around them. The suited pegasus of each wing was channeling the magic of the entire formation into controlling the very sky preventing the changelings from being able to stay in it as they were sent flying in all directions. The true terror for the changelings though came in the form of three thestrals that appeared and disappeared as fast as they could blink. The three armored ponies were shredding any changeling that they neared, leaving them spurting blood, before moving on to the next target with ruthless efficiency. The unexpected assault, along with their command being taken out so fast, left the changeling disorganized as they started signaling to the rest of the swarm for reinforcements as they scattered away from the area. “All right we have them on the run! Flare! It's all on you now, the rest of you form up and move out!” Moving swiftly Aegis Flare darted out from her position with the core unit of the guards and ascended a nearby building using her shields like a stairway. Once there she surveyed the area and saw another group of changelings flying towards the area causing her to smirk. The potion was still flowing through her and she was starting to feel overloaded so she used this opportunity to release some pressure as well as give the retreating guard a show. Her horn lit up into a triple corona as she formed a large portion of her magic into a swarm of small balls of flame. Taking aim she launched them all towards the approaching swarm in a wide spread and, though many tried to dodge, when they reached an optimal spread they all exploded and sent the swarm into disarray. With their attention gotten she started to take off across the rooftops in the direction of the royal vaults. As she traveled she repelled any attackers with a variety of flip, kicks, and burst of flame while searching for her friends. Aegis Flare noticed that after the action of her and the guards she left behind the city was beginning to rise up as she found more and more ponies actually fighting back instead of running away. She winced as she noticed a large group of the monsters being knocked away from a gray earth pony mare wielding a cello lake a hammer and a white unicorn mare using her magic to use the surroundings as weapons. Her eyes also caught sight of a familiar duo being chased by a group of changelings into an alley but before she could move to assist a gold and gray blur flew by after them. Moments later black figures were being sent flying from the area at a respectable rate as she continued on. “Wow, she's just like a mama bear when her foals are threatened.” As she traveled the rooftops she noticed another large disturbance moving in the same direction she was and she moved to intercept it. There she finally found her other friends being surrounded by changelings, many in their forms, though they were holding their own well. Seeing a few sneaking up on her cousin her eyes narrowed before she looked at how the creatures were descending from the sky, giving her a bad idea. Twilight and her friends back up from the changelings as the started to take the forms of their group making things more confusing. Before they could resume combat the sound of scream sounded above the din that was steadily growing louder and everyone froze as a ball of orange fire collided with the group scuffling behind Fluttershy before bouncing into the nearby wall. When the flames faded revealing a familiar orange form Twilight cried out in relief. “Flare! Where did you come from? And what were you thinking doing something so dangerous?!” Shaking her head the orange unicorn glared up at her friend as she climbed out of the pile of bodies. “Nice to see you to. What are these things? I've been fighting them across the city trying to find you girls?” The two moved back to back as the changelings resumed their assault, now with the form of the seventh added to their ranks. Twilight blasted a few of the forms back before she had time to answer. “They're changelings and their queen is holding Princess Celestia and Cadance back at the chapel! She was disguised as Cadance this entire time!” Aegis Flare lit a couple of the changelings on fire, sending them running off in search of a way to put themselves out. “I've never even heard of changelings before, and that's saying something! This transformation ability of theirs is getting annoying so it's a good thing I found out a way to remove it, even if it may be temporary! Brace yourself!” Charging up, the orange unicorn used her magic to bring up another shield as it expanded across the battlefield before immediately vanishing as it covered the nearby area. As it passed the forms of the disguised changelings rippled before they faded back to their natural form leaving themselves slightly disoriented. Twilight also tossed a glare at her friend as she rubbed at her horn though she said nothing since her trick was effective. “Disrupting their magic seems to remove the disguise and little is as disorienting as passing through a magical barrier with active magic.” The group quickly mopped up the undisguised changelings but they soon noticed a problem which was voiced by Rarity. “Where's Rainbow Dash?” “Over here!” The six turned to see the pegasus pulling herself from the initial pile of changelings that Aegis Flare had incompacitated while glaring at said unicorn who was rubbing at her head in embarassment. “Did you have to hit me with your little entrance as well? I would almost have called it cool if not for that.” “Sorry about that. I just saw a group coming up behind Fluttershy and acted.” The cyan mare just waved the incident off as an accident and the group started towards the royal vaults until Aegis Flare stumbled with a wince of pain. “Flare?! Are you all right?!” Fluttershy moved to examine her cousin but she was just waved off. “My leg is just acting up after that bad landing. Thinking back that may not have been the best of ideas, but in my defense I may be a bit hopped up on magic right now.” She stumbled woozily as she got up and took a few more steps. “Which I think may be wearing off now. Huh, I thought an alicorn level potion would have lasted longer.” “Are you crazy!? Even I wouldn't drink one of those unless it was an extreme emergency!?” With a raised eyebrow the orange unicorn waved a hoof at the chaos around them bringing a blush to Twilight's face. “Point. But that doesn't diminish the danger of using one of those. Now come on, we're almost to the vault.” Minutes later they found their way to the location of the Elements of Harmony but found their way impeded by and even larger changeling force than before which had surrounded them. The last thing that Aegis Flare saw before her vision went black was the swarm of creatures advancing on her friends. <><><><><><><><><><> When she next opened her eyes she found her looking at a vaguely familiar ceiling. Looking to the side she found the she was in her room in the castle and that her sister was sleeping on the bed next to her. “Well it's about time that you woke up.” Turning in the other direction she found her aunt sitting in a chair nearby. “You're up earlier than the doctors expected you to awaken but from what it sounds like you burned through that potion faster than you should have as well.” When her niece nodded towards a nearby glass she passed it over for her to drink from before she was allowed to speak. “What happened while I was out? How did the battle go?” Shaking her head she gestured towards the nearby door. “Well I'm not sure what happened with you and your friends, but their waiting in their own rooms so they can tell you. We did win and the wedding did go off without a hitch while you were out but on my end before that... well...” vvvvvvvvvv “HAHA! HAVE AT THEE!” With a loud *SQUEEK* another changeling was sent flying through a nearby wall as Princess Luna laid into it with her aptly named Squeaky Warhammer of Doom. Changelings were fleeing in terror from her and her force of royal guardsponies as they advanced through the city. “OH GLORY OF GLORIES! WE HAVE NOT HAD SUCH FUN IN CENTURIES! ONWARD MY STEED!” Rearing up on his hind legs, Steel Wall leapt forward after another group of changelings as he carried the princess into battle. She received many odd looks from her guards but none of them wished to argue with her choices in dealing with the situation though many felt sorry for the changelings being chased by the duo. ^^^^^^^^^^^ “When me made it the chapel the changelings were already being sent flying by the magical burst from the bride and groom. From what I head the changeling queen was in a panic as the sound of Luna's hammer approached her location, like she knew what it was. It turns out that her weapon used to be different but Discord changed it the first time they met and the princess took a liking to it. Her sister had tried to get her to lock it away, saying something about it causing too much psychological damage.” She would have said more but the door burst open and Aegis Flare's friends burst in after hearing the sounds from within the room. They quickly surrounded the mare to make sure she was all right and proceeded to fill her in on what she had missed.