Integration

by CoAlFire

Moonsong

The castle visibly and audibly shook in response to the assault on the barrier surrounding it. This attack was altogether unlike the previous changeling attack, which had been uncoordinated and sloppy by comparison. For one, there had been no advance warning. A little over two hours prior, Celestia and Luna had enjoyed their dinner and breakfast, respectively. Now, they were each clad in full battle armor, which neither had worn in over a millennium, and presently separated. The ponies that had made it to the castle in time for the hasty creation of the barrier -- fortunately, that constituted the majority of Canterlot's population -- were in complete pandemonium. Even the Guards, whose training specifically focused on remaining calm in any and all situations, found themselves off-balance and unsure of their direction in the chaos. Celestia directed her efforts to trying to bring more unity to the ranks, issuing orders as she could when her Lieutenants came to give reports.

Ricochet paced nervously through the throne room, unsure what to do with himself. He hoped that Echo had made it out of Mrs. Velvet's home and had thought to use the caverns as a means of ingress to the castle. She was smart enough to figure that out, it was just a question of her survival. The thought of her death made him physically ill.

Twilight was trying to keep pace with him, chattering on about how everything was going to be okay, and how they were going to get through this. Truthfully, Ricochet wasn't really listening. In the background, next to the throne, Night Light and Mrs. Velvet had taken seats with Scootaloo, in an effort to comfort the filly.

"Where's Mom, though?"

"Your mom's on her way, I'm sure." Mrs. Velvet said gently, running a hoof through Scootaloo's mane.

"How do you know that, though? Ricky seems pretty scared."

"I think we all are, but it's going to be all right."

Scootaloo was about to reply when a door to the left of the throne burst open, and a Lunar Guard bolted up to Celestia before snapping to attention.

"Your Highness!" He blurted, "Your sister has requested the immediate dispatch of a medical team to the encampment in the caverns. We have her."

"And Chrysalis?"

"Her as well."

"Thank you, Lance Corporal. You are relieved and may return to your post."

"I'm going." Ricochet walked up to the Princess as the Lunar Guard departed. "Tell me where to meet the medical team, and I'll go with them."

Celestia paused for a moment before sighing. "Okay. Go down that hallway, the same one that the Lunar Guard just left. Take the third right. Go down the spiral staircase, and then continue straight down that hallway until you reach an ironwood door. Wait there. They shouldn't be more than five minutes. Go on."

"Thank you." Ricky turned and walked over to Scootaloo. "Listen, okay? I'm going to go find your mother. Mr. Night Light and Mrs. Velvet will take care of you, all right?"

"Ricky, I'm scared. Don't leave."

"I know you're scared, but they're going to keep you safe, okay? Plus, you have Celestia here to watch over you. Nopony's gonna get past her. Don't get separated from Mr. Night Light and Mrs. Velvet, okay? Just stay with them and everything will be okay."

"I wanna go with you!" Scootaloo called after him, but he was already gone.

Twilight Velvet grabbed on to the filly to keep her from following. "Scootaloo, I need you to stay with me here, okay? You're going to be safe."

She didn't feel like she was very safe.

* * *

Ricochet met the medical team at the door where Celestia had told him to wait. He struggled to keep pace. They were an impressive team; they had at least 130 kilos of medical equipment between the four of them, and yet they were still able to outpace him on hoof. He had to fly to keep up. Things were getting very dark very quickly, but he could hear the sounds of ponies talking further down the cavern. The walls ceased being masonry and transitioned to raw rock.

After turning a corner, a faint glow was apparent in the distance, and the voices became more clear.

"Echo? Echo, wake up! I need you to wake up! Come on!" It was Chrysalis. He'd never heard her so distraught. In fact, he had previously thought she was incapable of that degree of emotion.

Luna spoke as well. "Chrysalis, you must make way. The medical team will arrive shortly, they will need space to tend to her."

"Do they even know how to treat changelings?!" The Queen hissed her words toward Luna. "I doubt you ponies even know how to treat Minotaurs or Griffons, and those are species you have active diplomatic ties to!"

"Princess Twilight Sparkle has submitted her studies to the Canterlot Royal Library of Medical Research, and the team that's coming is sure to be the best we have to offer. They will have read the research. They will know what to do."

"Oh, great, Sparkle. I sure hope her research is as fastidious as it seems!" The Queen turned to face the team, and her pupils narrowed to slits. "YOU FOUR! GET OVER HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Ricochet touched down on the perimeter of the camp. He could just see Echo. She was laying on her side, a faint green glow around her lips and on her side. She was wrapped in makeshift bandages which had soaked through with hemolymph. Her chest rose and fell very faintly, and there was a rattle when she inhaled. He had to be brave. He needed to be brave.

The team rushed past him. He felt his own hemolymph turn to ice. He was frozen in place, unable to move as he looked at her. He was helpless. He had let this happen to her. It was his fault. If he had just told Mrs. Velvet to take Scootaloo and stayed to help Echo, maybe... maybe he could have done something.

He felt himself begin to tremble as his heart beat faster. Tears touched the corners of his cheeks, and his back legs buckled. He fell to his haunches and, in his shock, choked out a single open-mouthed sob.

The lead medic set a device on the ground and attached a few probes to key points on Echo's body, as pointed out in Twilight's research. He paused as he read the paper the device spat out. "Okay, she's got low O2 saturation, but I think we can get her stable enough to move. Blue Cross, let's get these bandages changed out, okay?"

A nearby pony with a hefty saddlebag nodded and walked over. His horn lit and he withdrew ream after ream of bandages, applying them tightly as the curtains were removed from Echo's unconscious body. The cracks in her chitin were severe, and Ricochet was actually surprised she had been able to make it as far as she had.

"Blue Shield, did we ever manage to get any of that oxygenated serum made?"

"Yessir," a mare responded, "We were only able to synthesize about a liter, though; the lab didn't feel that preparation for treating changelings was a high priority."

"It'll have to do, bring it over here." He began to tap the chitin behind Echo's ear before inserting an IV needle. He held the bag up high in his magic, and the serum began to infuse into her. After a few minutes of observation, he nodded. "Okay, let's get her onto the stretcher. Her O2 levels are up, but that won't last forever. We need to move."

The fourth medic, a hefty earth pony stallion, did most of the heavy lifting while the other three stabilized the stretcher. He carefully placed her down onto the stretcher, and they took off.

Ricochet found himself still glued to his spot. It was horrifying. He'd never seen a changeling injured like that, and the fact that it was her was so much more horrifying to him.

Chrysalis walked past. "Would you come along already, you imbecile?!"

Somehow, Chrysalis' insult didn't feel genuine. It felt like she was only calling him an imbecile because she had to. Her tone was full of fear, as though she was as terrified as he was. He stood, reflexively obeying the orders of a Queen, and followed. He swore that each hoofstep reverberated through him. It felt painful and shocking, like biting down on something hard that had been hidden in your food. He was cold, and he could hear his own heartbeat. His eyes stung. "Is she going to be all right?"

"Of course she is. What a stupid question. I'm sure of it." She did not sound sure of it.

"I don't know if I want to keep going without her, Chrysalis."

There was a long pause. "I know."

* * *

"I don't understand," Scootaloo struggled against Celestia's magic as she tried to bolt out the door to find Echo and Ricochet. "I don't want to wait here, I want to be with my mom!"

"I'm sorry, my little pony, but it is not safe. You need to stay here with Night Light and Twilight Velvet."

"I don't care if it's safe, I don't want to just wait here!"

Celestia was preparing to respond when she heard the door to the throne room swing open. A frantic guard ran up to her, his armor badly damaged. Fortunately he himself seemed mostly unharmed.

"Your Highness!" He shouted, "they have broken through the first barrier. The castle courtyard is overrun!"

"The second barrier?"

"It still holds, but we fear that its breach is inevitable."

Celestia's brow furrowed in determination. The second barrier was all that stood between the citizens of Canterlot who had fled to the castle for protection and the horde outside. There was now only one option. "Captain, I need you to go down to the catacombs and find my sister. Tell her... tell her it is time for Moonsong. She will know what it means."

The guard nodded and bolted off.

Twilight Sparkle looked up at her mentor and felt her blood chill. Celestia was gaunt, her jaw locked. Her eyes showed a sadness that was completely foreign to her. "Princess Celestia? What is Moonsong?"

"You should go and join the others from the city, Twilight. Take your parents and Scootaloo with you."

"What's happening?"

"Please, just go, Twilight."

"Princess, please tell me what's going on!"

"I will not allow any more of my subjects fall to these invaders. Not today. I will hold them. Please go."

"What are you doing?"

Celestia huffed loudly, and her armor seemed to glow. "I'm doing my duty to all of you. Now GO!"

Twilight flinched and stepped backward. The last word of Celestia's sentence had been in an unmistakable 'Royal Canterlot Voice'. She felt herself shrink inward for a moment before she nodded solemnly. "Please, be safe..."

"I will do my best. You have made me very proud, Twilight. I know you will continue to do so."

Twilight nodded once more before she turned and grabbed Scootaloo and her parents. The four of them left quickly.

Celestia stared toward the door of the throne room as it began to shake and buckle under repeated assault. She sighed, closing her eyes for just a moment. "Forgive me." When she looked up again, her eyes glowed like fire, and her horn followed suit. "I hope you can all forgive me."

Author's Note:

Hey guys! I know this chapter is a little short, please forgive me. I have struggled to come up with this chapter for a while now and finally decided that just forcing myself to write something out was the best way to power through it.

Things are getting tough for our heroes.

I hope you don't hate this chapter too much... it's my re-return after having my wisdom teeth yanked out, so I expect I'm a bit rusty.

Thanks for reading as always.

CoAlFire

Comments

[Veyron]

Nice bro, also Celestia is about to kick flank, but I sense it might be bittersweet?

[ThatNoobPony]

It going to be good... and sad.

[Neece]

I believe the forgiveness she asks for is towards her showing the little ponies the wrath of the sun... And effectively destroying canterlot.

[shirotora]

Tissues ready for the next chapter.

[tsaukpaetra]

Alright, we're all caught up!
So this King changeling then, we're assuming Neighponese then?
The situation does seem bleak, but surely an army from so far away would be much less energetic, notwithstanding however they managed to move so many troops undetected. Then again, Chrysalis did so shrug.
Keep going! ;)

[pahnazd]

Well, at least Echo is getting the much-needed treatment.

And Celestia's behavior here is quite ominous. Well, her gloves are off now, time to kick ass. But the way she's taking it makes me wonder what will be the cost of it. Probably quite grave for her...

Good job, though!

[Razzy]

I hope Echo will be alright.

If she's planning to destroy Canterlot... I can't imagine the other Queens being happy that Sri many of their soldiers died.

[harts fire]

a vary good chapter a little short yes but vary good all the same.

[Sound Wave]

Something tells me Celestia's about to show WHY she's the Sun Princess....

[Blackdust]

Next time on Integaration...

[PhycoKrusk]

I know that kind of response.

She obviously needs Luna to join her so they can team up to perform their suicidal finishing move.

[DiscoPanda84]

8079895
Well, having your house vaporized by a stream of raw thermonuclear plasma but remaining alive is still better than having an intact house but being dead, I'd imagine.

Not sure what Luna's part is, perhaps the moon's gravity is somehow being used to help pull in the solar plasma and/or to focus/aim it more effectively.

[p61blkwidow]

great chapter!can not wait to finally see celestia in action!i wish other writers would show thatwell done,and i hope you are feeling better!

[Herowsome]

8081130

Hey if u ever played dota 2 then luna might use the moon to bring down beams of it XD

[Nova Blaze]

I hope the Princesses at least survive the upcoming battle. Please let them be all right.

[Emperor]

Moonsong, huh? Sounds like a protocol to kill all the invading 'lings outright, without mercy. Now just to see what this ace-in-the-hole is.

Then again, if Echo had died they wouldn't need it, since Chrysalis would have gone out and committed bloody murder first