The Infestation of Canterlot High School

by Bonster

Intermission G (End of Part 2 Part 1)

Intermission G (End of Part 2 Part 1)

Praxx, headcount in Canterlot.

150, my Queen.

That little?

The reinforcements you called for made up—

It’s… whatever. Draxx, headcount in Crystal Empire.

U-uh, yeah, about that. Turns out that artifact we’ve been drawing love from? So, disrupting it too much causes eternal winter to set in. I’ve gotten my idiot subordinates to stop, but… it doesn't look like it’s getting any better.

“Of course,” Chrysalis muttered. Just give me the damn headcount.

180, your majesty, but we won’t be able to move locations, the blizzard’s too thick—

Didn’t you have three hundred?

That whole eternal winter thing didn’t go so well.

…Fine. Thank you for your report.

Chrysalis massaged her temples. Add in the near two hundred that were lost in the invasion of the caves… even if she used the Canterlot squadron, she didn’t break three hundred soldiers. She’d have to lay again before anything else came up.

She didn’t think anything else would come up, but she had thought that five hundred soldiers ago, too. She knew she needed to be prepared for the worst, and, if she was honest with herself, she wasn’t. Not at all.

---

“Ah, here we are. I told you it was not far.”

Zecora led Twilight Sparkle, Twilight Velvet, Celestia, Luna, Chrysalis, Bon Bon, and Lyra Heartstrings into a clearing; a rickety bridge spanned a massive gorge, and across it, an aged castle towered.

---

Dean Cadance, Shining Armor, Night Light, and Spike were squeezed onto a couch. The room felt much colder than it was.

The news anchor on the television spoke with a detached professionalism. “Three days into the search, authorities are no closer to discovering the whereabouts of the twelve missing persons,” she crackled. “None of the students at Canterlot High School have offered any information about the disappearance of their classmates or principals. Cadance, the dean of the prestigious school Crystal Prep who had close ties to many of the missing people, has taken over executive duties at Canterlot in Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna’s mysterious absence.”

“Hey, I made it on TV,” Cadance joked, humorless.

“Why aren’t the students saying anything?” Night Light barely spoke above a whisper. “Don’t they know about…”

“What are they supposed to say?” Spike asked. “ ‘Oh, yeah, we were all kidnapped by a bunch of aliens, and then some people rescued us, and then they fell down a hole in space time’?”

Shining sighed. “I just hope Twilight’s okay.”

Cadance put a hand on his shoulder. “Velvet’s with her. You know she won’t let anything happen.”

They tried to believe that.

---

Far above Equestria, the moon was growing tired.

Far below Equestria, the sun’s flames were beginning to dim.

Something had to change.

---

Light flashed brilliantly in the city of Oratorio, and the last of the sirens looked down at their cloven hooves and webbed tails with a mirth they had not felt for ages (and they meant that quite literally). Adagio laid a hand over her new resonator. It glowed a subdued red in Equestria’s recently acquired eternal moonlight, pulsing with the rhythm of her magic.

I’m sure old Fermata wouldn’t mind. After all, he barely used the thing, the wimp. “Well, girls; shall we?”

The trio grinned maniacally as they flew down the mountain, past the many layers of clouds that hid their old city, and towards the turbulent country below.

Author's Note:

Thus marks the end of Part 2 Part 1, and the end of intermissions. We've reached the end of the musical scale with their names anyway, so, hey, it works out.

Part 2 Part 2 will begin in probably two weeks or so. More information on my updating schedule will be released when that time is over.

And, obviously, a huge thank you to all of you, for slogging through... god, how many words is it now? I know I'm not the best writer, and it's a big time commitment to read a fic this long, so I appreciate every single one of you who's stuck with me the whole way. It means a lot.

See you soon!