• Published 29th Oct 2016
  • 2,313 Views, 287 Comments

Silver Shield - David Silver



Gaea Shield is a proud member of the guard. Despite being a pegasus, he has the bulk of any earth pony, matching mass with Big Mac. But brawn alone may not be enough as the political minefield he's stepped in isn't kind to those without finesse.

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8 - Attack!

Silver found himself stalking along through dark tunnels. He could barely see, but his magic could feel the old stone around them. Shield was not far ahead of him. "This way," he whispered quietly.

They had split from the others. Different members had different passwords and different tasks. They were a multiple-pronged attack force. Silver nodded as he followed, his body tensed with anticipation. "You know how to fight?"

A snort was the reply, as if a guard wouldn't know how to fight. "Near the top of my class," he defended. "I may not have fought the same things you have, but I can fight."

"Sorry." Silver moved up beside him, a tight fit that pressed their forms together and got a growing frown from the other. "Hold up a second. I want to make you fight better."

"Better?"

Silver bobbed his head as a crystal popped free of his saddlebag with a trailing length of leather. He slipped it around Shield's neck deftly with his magic. "That's yours now." With a crystal there for safety, Silver began to focus on the spell.

Shield tensed as he felt magic flowing through him. "What are--" He paused with a grunt as his muscles began to bulge slightly. Blood was flowing faster and... deeper? He felt like he was ready to run and run and never stop. He could hear his heart thumping in his ears violently.

"I know that feels weird, but I promise it's temporary. I'll be plenty busy, so now's the time for pre-battle buffs." Without explaining what a 'buff' is, Silver strode ahead, but it wasn't far until he ran into the closed door he knew was coming. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Shield shook himself out, trying to get used to the alien sensation of enhanced readiness. "The Sun Glistens." The keyword spoken, the door gave a soft crack and began to swing outwards. Light spilled in almost violently from the hallway beyond.

A surprised hiss came from a guard that happened to be walking along and Silver was upon him. He burst free of the passage and jumped on top of the surprised pony, driving him to the ground. "You can hiss if you want to."

Shield came out moments after to see two other guards approaching. They were fakes, he knew, but it didn't change how it felt when he engaged them. He noticed one of them make a swing that would get one kitchen duty and easily ducked it. He came up under the leg and sent the 'guard' tumbling to the ground.

The second sought to take advantage of the distraction and jumped for Shield, only to be roughly shoved against a wall. "Your specialty is being sneaky, don't quit your day job." He must have hit harder than he thought, as the guard crumpled to the ground, becoming a changeling once more.

Silver waved for them to move. His own guard was just as unconscious and returned to being a changeling. "No casualties. They're just following orders, right?"

"Right," agreed Shield. He had no personal vendetta against changelings as a whole. "Poor bastards are on the wrong side though."

The one guard left that remained a guard got to his hooves, wobbling as he watched the two make a hasty exit. He hissed softly before he turned and fled the other way.

A muffled explosion made everypony suddenly look around, royalty, guards, Silver, Shield, and anyone else. It had come from deep in the castle, but from who? That wasn't part of the plan, but they had several members in their team that could be behind it. Silver and Shield shared a nod and pressed onward.

The ponies of the castle were starting to panic, and seeing the two rushing through purposefully was not helping. The guards were trying to calm down the nobles and most didn't pay them more than a wary glance. That was fine. It was all working out.

At least until they arrived at the court, the doors shut and visibly barred. Five guards stood before it and brought out spears as Silver and Shield came closer.

Shield let out a little laugh. "We can avoid more injuries. Put'em down." They hissed in reply. "Oh well, tried."

The guards stepped closer to the two, fanning out. Shields erupted around all five of them, the usual green shade of changeling magic. Silver raised a brow, surprised to see competent changeling battle magic outside of a bolt. He decided to give it a quick test and fired a silvery bolt that bounced off the shield with little harm, scorching the wall it landed on.

Shield frowned. "Nice..." He stalked forward, low to the ground and ready to pounce. He'd fought unicorns before... Just as one of them pointed its horn at him, he heaved, suddenly not where he was a moment before. He rebounded with a powerful flap of his wings, coming in against the shield with the full weight of his body and slamming into it hooves first, kicking out with all four. Sure, he bounced off, but he easily landed upright, and the guard was wobbling dangerously from the intense blow he had been forced to absorb from the impact. "I can do this all day."

Three went for Silver directly, deciding on the more dire threat. One fired a bolt, only for a silver shield to spring into existence at the last moment and send it flying away. Silver spread his hooves in a firm stance as his shield turned a slow red, then a brilliant orange, catching to crackling flame. "Last warning."


Celestia looked up from her thoughts as she felt the castle quiver. Was that part of destiny's hoof? Were things about to improve. She smiled faintly, hoping it were so, still there was little she could do to help it along, or even be sure that that was the case.


Luna sat up in the gloom. She had felt that. She could feel familiar presences coming closer. "My stallion." She felt silly saying it, but it was a comfort. Silver had moved. She could feel his magic so close. She was told to sit there and wait, but that was only until things changed. This counted as change! She stood up against the chains.

The door swung open. "Lay down!" shouted the guard.

Words. Empty words. Luna let a smile spread, splitting the darkness of her pelt. "Make me." With a burst of terrible magic from her horn, she neatly cut the chain that held her and the rest fell free of her. "I'm done."

The changeling took an unsure step back, but several others rushed to his side. Bolstered by numbers, they stood ready to defy Luna.

Luna accepted the challenge.


Samantha gaily bounced around the horrified 'Celestia' Around her were a cloud of silvered specks. The few piles of collapsed changelings were hint enough that she had been busy. "Go on, let's see the real you. Are you larger than normal, or changing to be this size? It must be very tiring."

Nefertari shook her head as she kicked a softly moaning figure. "I think she's waiting for me to give her some 'personal' attention."

"No!" The figure of Celestia erupted into green flames, becoming a rather portly changeling that was larger than the others, but not as much as the figure of Celestia had implied. "Don't hurt me!"

Samantha grinned. "I don't like hurting." She spun in place towards the stunned nobles that still lined the amphitheater. "I present Not Princess Celestia!" She gestured grandly at the quivering changeling. "What's your name?"

He blinked softly. "Why does that matter? Aren't you going to banish me, or... worse?"

Nefertari blinked to beside the portly changeling. "Oh, I can think of worse, but I'm just a diplomat..."

"Some diplomat..." The changing swallowed audibly. "S-so--"

"Get rid of it!" demanded a noble stallion near the front, thrusting a hoof at the quivering mass.

Nefertari clucked her tongue. "Look at you, forgetting decorum. Court is still in session, ladies and gentlepeople."

Samantha was looking at the changeling. "Go on. I'm listening, promise." She gave her best smile.

The changeling returned it awkwardly as he glanced around. "Well, um.. My name... M...mandible!" He tapped his forehooves together. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic!" gushed Samantha. "But we're just getting started. So, tell us all about what Queen Chrysalis wanted to do."


Night dropped down from the ceiling lightly. The area looked torn apart, but she kept focused on the task at hoof. She strode purposefully towards the towers. "If I were going to keep a royal guest... 60%." There were guards, but most were rushing towards some other disturbance and barely noticed her, especially not with the subtle shroud her dear spirit was providing. She seemed so unimportant in their eyes, not worth the time. There were so many more important things to worry about.

Night slipped from shadow to shadow. Her fine ears could pick out the sounds of combat. She had predicted that. "Fourty percent," she repeated to herself as she began quickly scaling the stairs.

She crested the top to see Luna struggling under a heaving mass of changelings. She was powerful, but there were countless more of them. They would win with sheer mass and numbers.

But not if Night had a say, and she did. With a sudden cry to draw their attention away from Luna, she was on them. The spirit in her twisted in direction. She was no longer hidden. Suddenly she was the most important thing any of them could see. She could not defeat them, not directly, but a distracted horde was so much easier to battle, and Luna wasted little time.

Author's Note:

The battle is on!

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