Flight
“Why in Tartarus would he do that?” Twilight ranted bitterly. “I mean really, he could’ve built up more defensive mechanisms, or blocked us from getting here, and instead he wastes his time putting magic explosives in the walls, just in case we defeat him? What’s he gaining from this? Just wiping out more innocent bystanders? Making more pon-uh-changelings suffer?”
“He’s Sombra,” Chrysalis replied, a hint of sadness in her voice, “all he wants to do is ‘win’, it doesn’t matter if he has to destroy himself as long as he takes us by surprise. Personally I’m glad he’s gone.”
“That can’t be all there is to it. I mean come on, he’s smart, he wouldn’t be that stupid. He wanted something.”
“Um, excuse me -” Fluttershy interrupted gently, “don’t we only have five minutes before, um…”
“Right,” Twilight apologised, “sorry. Evacuate now, ask questions later. You know this place better than I do Chrysalis, what’s the plan?”
Chrysalis only paused for a second before some kind of plan occurred to her.
“Fluttershy, take Pupa and go back the way you came. Make sure he gets out safely.”
“You’ll get out too, won’t you mummy?” Pupa asked, his voice full of worry and his eyes seemingly even bigger and sparklier than usual.
Chrysalis tried to answer, but Pupa interrupted her, sitting down on the ground determinedly. “Because if you won’t, then I’m not moving!”
Chrysalis sighed. Where had she gone wrong as a parent? “Pupa, I’ll be fine, I promise. Now you go with Fluttershy, and do what she tells you, okay? That’s the best thing you can do to keep everyone safe.”
“But I want to help -”
Chrysalis walked over to Pupa and scooped him up in a big hug. “You’ve been so brave this whole time, I’m very, very proud of you. I just need you to be brave one more time, alright?”
“Alright.”
With that, Pupa galloped over to Fluttershy and climbed up onto her back, causing Fluttershy to giggle in surprise as his legs tickled her side.
“Woops, sorry!” Pupa said.
“That’s alright”, Fluttershy replied gently, before turning to face Twilight. “Please get out of here safely, alright? I don’t know what I’d do if - well, you know. I don’t know what any of us would do.”
Twilight just nodded quietly. With that, Fluttershy flapped her wings, and after one failed take-off attempt, she made her way back into the hole in the roof, Pupa clinging on to her mane.
Just like that, the room became as quiet as Ponyville at two in the morning. Not a sound. It was almost unsettling. Twilight and Chrysalis were hit with the realisation of what they were getting into.
“Well, Chryssie? What are you planning on?” Twilight finally spoke up.
“Chryssie?” Chrysalis asked in confusion.
“Oh, it’s a pet name.”
“I’m not your pet!” ‘Chryssie’ hissed angrily.
“No no no, it’s a special kind of a name we ponies give our friends. Like, uh, Flutters, or Tia” Twilight desperately tried to explain.
“Oh,” Chrysalis answered, before an evil smile crept onto her face, “so I could call you Twily? Or Sparkles? Or SPRINKLES!”
Twilight blushed with embarrassment. Just like that, all the tension in the room disappeared.
“Well, Sprinkles,” she explained, “I have a connection with all the changelings in this hive, a kind of ‘hive mind’ if you like, so I can tell them to evacuate. But it only works with the adult changelings, so we have to get the hatchlings out ourselves. There’s a nursery about eight minutes’ walk from here, but if we use a shortcut, we can get there in about five. If we can get there quickly, we should be able to get the young ones out alive, understand?”
“Yes, but won’t there be thousands of young ones? I mean there’s heaps of adults.”
A pained expression took over Chrysalis’ face. “Well… the young ones can’t go without food for as long as we can. With the famine over the last year, well…”
“I’m sorry” was all Twilight could offer in reply.
“There’s no point dwelling on the past. The most important thing is that twenty of them are still alive, and if we act quickly, we can get them out of here alive. So get moving!”
Twilight smiled as she raced out the door and down a corridor behind Chrysalis. She had saved the world so many times since discovering the elements - but never before had she felt so determined, so desperate, as she did in that moment.
Fluttershy whimpered as she stared down the monstrously high hill she had to descend to escape.
“Whoa! It’s like the slide at hatchling school, except seventy bazillion times bigger!” Pupa squeaked excitedly.
“Not helping,” Flutters whispered softly as she took a step back, now visibly shaking.
Pupa thought to himself for a minute, before an idea popped into his head.
“I know what will help you!” Pupa declared.
“Really-HEHEHE” Fluttershy giggled as Pupa trotted around on her back, tickling her.
Fluttershy took one step too far forwards, and went skidding straight down the slope.
Pupa held on to Fluttershy’s hoof for dear life as the two of them spiralled downwards, Fluttershy closing her eyes so tightly it looked like her face was about to explode, while Pupa let out an excited cheer, not noticing Fluttershy’s state of mind at all.
Suddenly, the two of them came to a stop.
Fluttershy opened her eyes to find herself on what appeared to be an oddly squishy rock.
“Oh, thank goodness. We made it. The end of the tunnel!” Fluttershy tried to assure herself. It didn’t work.
The ‘rock’ began to move.
“This doesn’t seem much like the end of the tunnel to me,” Pupa observed, seconds before a huge crash was heard and the ‘rock’ disappeared underneath him, sending him tumbling back down the passageway, Fluttershy just centimetres behind him.
Pupa screeched in terror as he looked up to see a huge mantigon smashing its way through the rocks behind her.
“How… much… further?” Twilight gasped breathlessly as she and Chrysalis continued to run towards the nursery.
“Next room on the right,” Chrysalis replied, galloping into the room with as if she’d only been running for a few seconds.
Twilight, meanwhile, almost collapsed into the room - only to have her heart nearly jump out of her chest as she saw the sight in front of her.
The room was a huge, rocky cavern, full of green plastic-looking play equipment, unique changeling puzzles and plush toy insects. Playing around in it were not one, not two, but twenty baby changelings. As soon as they caught sight of Chrysalis, they came racing over to say hello.
“Oh my gosh,” Twilight whispered in shock, “they’re like an entire room full of Pupas!”
“Hi Chrysalis! Hi Chrysalis!” the hatchling at the front squeaked, causing the previously solemn and serious changeling queen to give a small smile.
Another hatchling more cautiously approached Twilight, nervously reaching out a hoof to touch her leg, before darting away as soon her Twilight looked in her direction.
“It’s alright,” Twilight assured, “I won’t hurt you.”
“But you’re a p-p-pony? Aren’t you?”
“She’s a nice pony,” Chrysalis answered for her.
This seemed to satisfy the young changeling, who nervously made her way back to Twilight. The other changelings also gathered curiously around this ‘nice pony’.
“Alright, alright. You can talk to Twilight later. The nest is… about to be rebuilt, and we need to get you out, okay?” Chrysalis half-lied.
“Okay!” the hatchlings all answered in unison.
“Good, then let’s get going!”
With that, Chrysalis ran back out of the room, the hoard of hatchlings buzzing as they ran and flew after her. Twilight followed close behind.
“Wow, they’re a lot more co-operative than Pupa huh?” Twilight laughed.
“Tell me about it” Chrysalis giggled.
The mantigon let out a huge roar as Fluttershy and Pupa finally landed at the end of the pathway. By this point, the Pegasus had curled herself into a trembling ball of fluff. Pupa physically rolled her out of the way seconds before the creature came crashing down behind them, before smashing away the wall of the nest.
Fluttershy opened her eyes to see the huge creature in its full glory. It had massive mantis-like talons, huge antennae, and strange hexagons of armour scattered haphazardly over its stomach and its crocodile-like tail. Its back was scaly and rough - and it had a huge head, full of horrifyingly massive, jagged teeth. It had massive bat-like wings, and four sprawled-out reptilian legs, covered in spines. Every inch of it was designed to kill, or to avoid being killed. It was like nothing she had ever seen.
Then Fluttershy noticed something curious - it wasn’t killing her. It was looking back at the nest. Seconds later, thousands of changelings came swarming out of the nest, and straight above the mantigon. The creature took to the air and flew after them.
“Run!” she urged Pupa. “Go! Get out of here as fast as you can, I’ll hold it off!”
“You?” Pupa snorted, though he did follow her instructions and start running. “Seriously? How do you expect to beat that thing?”
“I don’t expect to beat it - I said hold it off.”
Pupa skidded to a halt.
“Pupa, what are you doing?”
“You can hold it off,” Pupa explained, “I can kick its flank.”
“No way young stalli - um - whatever male changelings are called. I was given strict instructions to keep you safe.”
It was too late, Pupa had already taken to the sky, and was flying straight for the creature. Fluttershy followed behind him.
“Pupa, come back here!” Fluttershy demanded desperately as Pupa pretended not to hear her.
The mantigon soared towards its first victim, a seemingly sick changeling struggling to keep up with the others. The creature opened its mouth, and prepared to take a bite as the changeling closed his eyes and prepared for the worst, only to open them and see the mantigon turning away and roaring in irritation.
“Take that!” Pupa boasted as he kicked the creature in its big, reptilian eye. “I know Fly-Kwon-Do!”
The creature lifted a talon and attempted to swipe at Pupa, only for him to duck out of the way.
Fluttershy took the opportunity to grab Pupa in mid-air, before trying to fly him to the safety of the hills. Pupa kicked and flailed about wildly.
“Let go Fluttershy! Let go! I have to save everyone!”
“That’s quite enough Pupa. You nearly got eaten by a timberwolf on my watch and I’m not letting it happen again!”
“But Fluttershy!”
“No buts, y-“
“WATCH OUT!”
Fluttershy ducked out of the way just in time before the mantigon swooped down next to her. Suddenly, she noticed something firing magic at the creature - Twilight Sparkle! Behind her stood Queen Chrysalis and twenty tiny changelings.
“How much time do we have left?” Chrysalis asked.
“About a minute,” Twilight answered, breathlessly.
“We certainly left it close didn’t we? Alright, Twilight, you shelter the young ones and get them safely into the dunes. I’ll take care of the mantigon. Got it?”
“Got it,” Twilight replied, casting a spell turning all the baby changelings a sandy yellow.
“Hey, what did she do to us?” one of them complained.
“Yeah, I look funnier, and I smell funnier!” another protested.
“It’s a camouflage smell. The creature won’t be able to pick up your scent. Now follow me.”
With that, Twilight darted for the cover of the hills, the hatchlings following close behind her.
Chrysalis launched a massive beam of magic at the creature, causing it to turn and stare straight at her.
“Bring it on” Chrysalis threatened, “I’m not scared!”
Seeming to understand, the creature dove straight towards Chrysalis. She blasted a huge beam of magic into its face, causing it to fly back up into the air, only to come charging back down again while Chrysalis was recovering.
Chrysalis was about to panic, before she turned to the nest.
One minute.
I can’t defeat the creature - but if I lead it into the nest?
Chryssie raced straight back into the nest, the creature taking the bait and following behind her. Pupa’s eyes widened as he saw his mother go racing back in. He kicked Fluttershy right in the nose before escaping her grasp and flying towards the nest.
“Sorry!” Pupa called back to Fluttershy as he zoomed towards the building, seconds to go.
Twilight, catching Pupa in the corner of her eye, skidded to halt and turned tail, flying at top speed towards the nest.
“Go, get to the dunes, fast as you can!” she instructed the hatchlings following her. Of course they ignored her, choosing instead to stand and watch the action unfold.
Twilight found herself soaring through the sky faster than she’d ever experienced, stirring up a huge trail of dust behind her. She was bruised and beaten from the fight with Sombra, exhausted from the race through the corridors and the battle with the mantigon, but she still put everything into this last ten seconds.
She lit up her horn as she went cascading past Pupa and Chrysalis and straight into a wall. Stumbling back to her hooves, she raced back to her two friends and threw everything into a huge pink magic shield.
BOOM!
Chrysalis shielded Pupa’s eyes as a massive cloud of glowing debris exploded around them. Red-hot rubble began cascading down onto the shield as Twilight stood steady. Her vision began to get cloudy as she kept holding the spell, the weight of an entire nest pushing against it.
Finally, the dust settled, and with one last blast, Twilight shattered the shield, sending the debris above it flying into the distance, before seeing everything turn to black.
“T-Twilight?” Pupa whimpered, nudging the pony with his snout. “Twilight, say something!”
“Get up you purple blob!” Chrysalis demanded. “Please?”
Twilight just lay there. Her body shuddered with every breath - then she stopped breathing.
“Twilight.”
Twilight heard a familiar, but horrible, voice call out.
“Long time, no see, hmm?”
She opened her eyes in shock to see what appeared to be a small, black, box-shaped room, with one dim candle in the corner. In the centre, facing directly at her, was none other than Sombra.
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6895693 Lol sorry I was having a bit of a breakdown with that last reply. Thanks for commenting and sorry about that XD Hope you still enjoy the story XD 1 more chapter to go after this!
I just assumed that either it was a trick to get them away while he recovered, or that that much death in one spot would weaken the barrier between life and death to the point where he could revive himself.
... Oh god, there's more of the little Cutelings, DON'T LOOK AT THEM! *looks, clutches his chest* Hnnnnnng!
Hah, Flutterball.
6907529 Cutelings! That should be a word! All the changelings had to do was send the cutelings to Canterlot XD There'd just be an endless torrent of love XD
6906263 Actually you're on the right track there
6910498 Yeah, I've thought it up a few months ago 'cause I just find changelings that much cuter than ponies. It must be the eyes, they look especially cute when puzzled.
6910676 I think they're tied x3 Ponies are just about the cutest things ever, but so are changelings XD With Twilight's adorkableness and Pupa's Pupa-ness alone Equestria has more cuteness than our entire universe XD