A Tale of Equestrian Proportions

by DitzyDerpy1992

Swan Song

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The peaceful city which I had gazed upon in awe only a few hours before, was now in the clutches of all-out war. Buildings were crumbling in the streets around us as we galloped past, careful to avoid hordes of changelings and griffons, which were basically the tanks that the changelings had called in as support. Fear and panic was thick in the air and I could almost taste it as I struggled to keep up with Applejack and Rainbowdash, who were now at the head of the pack. Matt was following me closely, with Twilight in tow, babbling about where the Princesses and her brother were. We had no time to focus on that now though as we avoided changelings colliding with buildings and panicked ponies galloping through the streets screaming. We needed to find some form of safety and nowhere seemed suitable with the destruction that was brought on by the large army. I fought back all other emotions other than determination. I had to be strong now, and I wasn’t going to falter at the expense of having my friends hurt.

Eventually we found some ruined buildings away from the fray of the main assault and we took a moment, hiding in the shattered remains of somepony’s house, to catch our breath and come up with a plan. The room was filled with a mixture of shocked and fearful expressions as the events that had just taken place began to set in. We were all panting heavily and the sounds of the vicious attack continued for what seemed like hours. Eventually Twilight spoke, disturbing the silence of the room.

“We need to find the Princesses,” She said with a worried tone to her voice, “I know Celestia and Luna have a safe room to retreat to if anything like this ever happened, but I doubt they thought they’d ever have to use it.” A slightly mournful tone faltered her voice and Matt was quick to put a foreleg around her as tears began to slowly seep from her eyes. I looked around the room and the group of friends that had been partying and enjoying themselves not twenty minutes ago were now sat in a ruined house, fearing for their very lives. I felt myself fill with pity and anger for my friends who were obviously terrified, with the notion of war being completely new to them. We all agreed that finding the Princesses would be our top priority, but we should wait for a small while to, hopefully, let things die down a little before venturing out into the open. Even Pinkie Pie was looking down heartened, and that was a truly sad sight by itself.

After a short while of waiting, the sound of the battle that was raging on didn’t get any closer to sounding resolved, and with that we decided to make a move to the safe room, which was located in the centre of Canterlot. A risky move given the current situation, but a risk we had to take, rather than waiting in a ruined building waiting to be discovered. We gathered what little courage we had left as I quickly checked the street to make sure the coast was clear. We departed down the street at a slow pace, not wanting to gallop, in case the noise attracted any unwelcome attention, and if it did truly hit the fan, we would need the energy to run away. As we neared the end of the street I pressed myself against the corner of the building, and peered around to quickly scout. A small group of changelings were gathered in the street but before very long they grew bored of seeing no action, and departed leaving the ruined street in an eerie silence that was only broken by the sounds of buildings crumbling in the distance. I began to slowly make my way down the street followed by a line of our friends, all walking slowly along the walls to reduce the chances of being seen. The walking and checking corners seemed almost endless, but it was a precaution that needed to be taken to ensure all of our safety. Talking was kept to a minimum and we only really spoke when someone had spotted a changeling or griffon flying by, and we needed to take cover. This had happened a few times but the group seemed undaunted by the mission we had embarked on.

Twilight informed us, after about an hour of walking, that we were nearing the safe room. It was underground, so we would have some difficulties finding it, but we pressed on with our objective in mind. The harsh sounds of destruction were growing ever closer as we approached the final few streets to find the entrance. The patrols became harder to avoid, and it was almost heart breaking to see a pony being chased by a swarm of changelings and know that you were almost powerless to help. More pressing matters were at hoof though, and we knew our initial goal. Surely the Princesses would have something up their sleeve that could pull Equestria out of a full blown war. I was still shocked with how quickly the night had deteriorated to this, it was horrific. So many homes torn apart, so many lives ruined all in the space of a few hours. I was beginning to grow ever wary though, as the swarms slowly increased in size and Royal Guards rushed around the streets to attempt to fend off the attackers. We were drawing close now and the area surrounding the bunker was swarming with Changelings. I began to feel tense as the risk of getting caught grew ever larger. I looked back at the line of ponies behind me, Matt had managed to shake off the initial shock by now, obviously being used to seeing images of war and terrorism. But the rest of the mares that accompanied us all looked utterly terrified. There was nothing I wanted to do more at this point than take Rainbow in my embrace and comfort her, tell her that everything was going to be alright. But I couldn’t guarantee that, so it would have to wait for later.

As we all huddled together in an alley protruding from the edge of the main street of Canterlot I laid eyes on a large force of Royal Guards, defending a certain building as if it was the final stronghold of Equestria. I knew this had to be the place and I turned to share the good news.

“Right I think we’ve found it. It will be a bit difficult getting over there but…” My face dropped as a changeling let out an almightly screech from behind the rest of the group. They all turned, faces emblazoned with fear, as a loud buzzing started up and multiple more joined the lone figure that had exposed us.

“Run! Into that building across the street, Go!" I commanded and began to hurry them all across the street. The mares all entered the building first with Matt and I following closely before slamming the door shut and pushing some items of furniture into the path of the door to allow us some more time.

“Hey there’s a back door here!” I heard Pinkie call out from down a narrow hallway. It was firmly locked and bolted so immediately Applejack and Rainbow started bucking the door, trying to smash it loose. The changelings had thought of the same plan however, noting that the door was probably the weakest point on the structure. It was then when the feeling came to me. I turned to Matt and pulled him aside quickly.

“Look by the time you all get that door open, they will almost surely be in and we will not be able to escape them.” I whispered quietly to Matt before glancing over my shoulder to make sure nopony was listening in, “I want you and the rest to make a break for it. Don’t worry about me, I can take a few of them out and it will give you all the chance to escape.”

“I can’t let you do that, not after everything we’ve been through.” He said back in a slightly panicked voice. A large thump at the front door reminded me of the severity of the situation.

“Look I don’t care whether you want to let me or not, the fact is I’m staying and I need you to keep the rest safe, do you understand?” I probably worded that a little harshly but it needed to be said. Matt’s eyes began to soften and I rested my hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t go all soft on me now; I need you more than you could ever know at this moment. I have a favour to ask you” Another loud thump and the slight cracking of wood reminded me I needed to be quick.

“Look after Rainbow for me, make sure she doesn’t come back for me until this is all over, understand?” I looked into his eyes and he gave me a look of understanding. “Thank you Matt. I really owe you one” I gave him a quick hug and I toughened up my demeanour to be ready for what I was about to do. Rainbow had noticed us talking, and the hug I had given Matt, and she began to wander over before she was stopped in her tracks by Matt.

“We need to go” he said to her in a calm voice but immediately her eyes were focused on me.

“Robbie we’re nearly through the door, come on we’re almost there.” Her voice sounded hoarse and desperate, but I could not take any heed.

I solemnly walked over and placed a hoof on her cheek, “Rainbow, I’m staying so that you can all get away. I know I can take a few down, but the main objective is just to let you all get away.” I said softly, looking into her eyes I could see tears starting to form.

“No, I won’t let you! I’m staying too! You can’t stop me!” She almost shouted at me through the steady stream of tears that had now begun to pour from the corners of her eyes. I allowed my demeanour to falter slightly before tilting her head back up so I could look into her eyes once more.

“Please Rainbow, just do this for me. I’m not asking anything too much of you, only that you stay safe, and I will see you soon.” I said, trying to ease the suffering of the mare I had come to fall for over the past couple of weeks.

She sniffed loudly and looked me dead in the eye. I almost couldn’t bear to look into those eyes stained with the red puffiness of tears and knowing that I was the cause.

“Promise me, that if things get too bad you will try and get out of here, please…” She trailed off once more into another fit of sobs, and now I had to do this. I leaned in and planted a single, gentle kiss on her lips before letting a tear escape my eye.

“Now please, go.” I said to her with tears on the verge of escaping from my burning eyes. She gave me a quick nod and the door once again was hit with a splintering crack, revealing the now quite large horde of Changelings that had gathered. I turned to face the door and put my demeanour back on to prepare for what I was about to do.

“Robbie!” I heard Rainbow’s voice call to me from the narrow hallway, “I love you” she said timidly from around the corner with tears still streaming down her face from the sound of her broken voice.

“Love you too, Dashie” I replied another tear betraying my eyes, and rolling down my cheek, while never taking my eyes from the increasingly damaged door in front of me. It dawned on me what I was doing this for; I loved the mare that I was defending right now. This wasn’t for me, it was partially for Matt and the others, it definitely wasn’t to be a hero, it was to defend Rainbow, plain and simple. I would not let her down; I would not let myself down by failing her. I began to feel the adrenaline kick in at this point, and it gave me the rush I needed to prepare. I would be cold on the floor before any changelings or griffons managed to lay a hoof on her. I snorted angrily at the changelings now beginning to tear through the door and digging my hooves into the ground, preparing to charge.

“This is for you, Rainbow. My final stand to protect you from evil,
I will not fail you. Just… stay safe.”

The back door finally splintered open and the ponies I had become friends with began to escape out the back just as the Changelings broke through the front door. With a deep breath and a final cry to release my fury, I charged towards the changelings, no fear holding me back, reaching full gallop before the final moment.

“Goodbye Rainbowdash… I love you”

Comments

[Nox Knock Jokes]

Through all these chapters... you keep spelling Rainbow Dash incorrectly.