Ch 67: Street Fighter
He watched as the small group of guards passed him by. It didn’t take much thought to figure who they were looking for, though he doubted they had much chance of finding him.
Invisible to the naked eye, Aurick had no trouble slipping through the streets and into the castle.
~-~
“Halt!” A voice shouted out through the silence, paired with the sound of metal hooves on the cobbled stone of the streets. Looking over, Ashwyn and the others saw a small group of guards approach, spears at the ready. It had only been fifteen minutes since they encountered Princess Luna and instead of finding the Alpha, they found these guys. “A murderer prowls these streets, we must- Princess!?” The guard exclaimed upon laying eyes upon Princess Cadence, though another seemed to scowl at her.
“Do not be fooled, Iron. The mistress told us there would be an imposter walking these streets. This one carries the body of Princess Luna, she must be the false one.” The speaking stallions eyes flashed an ominous green as he readjusted his grip on his spear. “We are under orders to exterminate her and any she was accompanied by.” The rest of the guards’ eyes flashed in a similar fashion before their faces went cold.
“Of course, Steel.” The initial guard nodded, his spear steadily pointed at the princess. “Fiends, we recommend you surrender and embrace death peacefully, lest these events turn ugly.”
Princess Cadence was left speechless, her mouth agape as she stared at the guards. Even as they took a step forward, she did nothing, seeming too lost in the shock to effectively do anything. Ashwyn wasn’t.
Claws dug into the stone below just before she launched forward with a strength that would have been surprising from her limber form. The sun glinting off a series of sharp teeth was all that one guard saw before a paw slammed into the side of his head, knocking him out in an instant. She spun on her hind paws, prepared to take out another, but was surprised to find him assaulted by the shaft of his spear.
It slammed him in the jaw with enough force to eject spittle from the poor stallions mouth, even as he gasped in pain. He did not have the time to react, however, as the spear spun and slammed him on the top of the head, the metal tip of the spear connecting with the helmet he wore. It created a loud clang that no doubt was painful to the ears of the pony who wore the helmet. Such an attack seemed effective, as the guard’s legs buckled, allowing him to collapse to the floor unconscious.
Peering over, she saw that the magic being used on the spear belonged to Carina. He didn’t look particularly confidant in his actions. In fact, he looked quite frightened, but Ashwyn paid it no mind. He was helping, and that was enough.
Wasting little time, she turned towards the rest of the guards, just in time to avoid being skewered by one of their spears. She danced out of the way with nimble footwork and the assistance of her wings. Once the spear tip had safely passed her, she opened her maw and clamped down on the shaft, bisecting it in a moment.
A paw grabbed further up, using her strength to pull the stallion closer as she spun. A back paw connected with his jaw, sending him spinning through the air into a pair of other guards, knocking all to the ground.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carina’s magic going to work and wrestling control of their weapons against them. Three separate spears were pulled from their grips, their tips turned towards the previous wielders. With surprisingly precise strikes, a handful of guards were peppered with hits from the weapons, though only from the blunt parts.
The battle finished before it could truly start, and within a minute, the guards had all collapsed to the street. Ashwyn couldn't help but be a little confused by this. These were meant to be the royal guard, the elite of the elite, the defenders of Equestria. She and Carina had destroyed them in mere moments.
Sure she was a genetically mutated monster and Carina… she didn’t exactly know his capabilities, but evidently she had underestimated him. Even so, they should have at least been able to do something. Last longer than a minute at least.
Shaking her head, she realized this was not the time nor the place to ponder such things. The Alpha had probably made it to the castle already, meaning there was no reason to stick around any longer. With a frown, she realized that she was unlikely to succeed in such a task like this.
“Carina.” She turned to address the changeling, who was checking over the guards. Probably trying to see if he had hurt them or not. “Protect the princess.” The order given, her wings spread and she launched into the air and raced towards the castle.
~-~
Carina watched as Ashwyn flew off at a speed that he couldn’t hope to compete with, not giving him a chance to respond. Not like he blamed her. Aurick had seemingly given them the slip, and was no doubt making his way towards the castle. He wasn’t entirely sure what she intended to do, but based on her emotional state, he could tell she didn’t like what was happening.
She might be the best bet they had to stop his rampage, and if that was what she had set out to do, then he wished her luck. He, however, had something else to take care of.
Turning back, Princess Cadence still stood, eyes wide in shock as she stared at the scene around her. It seemed to Carina that this latest occurrence was the tipping point for the series of events leading up to this point.
“Princess, are you okay?” He knew she wasn’t, but he thought he’d give her the option to not speak of it.
“I… I… No. I am not okay. Did you know I was supposed to be getting married today? Instead I have to deal with… with this.” She gestured towards the guards and the unconscious form of Luna on her back. “What if… What if that had been my Shining Armor? What if he was one of the ones trying to kill me? What if it was Auntie Celestia? I… I don’t know what to do…”
Carina glanced back towards the castle, hoping that Ashwyn would be successful on her end. It seemed he had his own battle to fight, and it didn’t seem to involve his queen.
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Good grief, those two picked the platoon apart like a Mission Impossible scene. I know the guards aren't really the best and maybe mind-control spells dull the thought processes even further... still...
No, these are the ones guarding the two most powerful beings in Equestria, in a cliffside citadel, in the very heart of a land that has known only peaceful prosperity for nigh on a millennium. These troops are the very definition of ceremonial, made up of noble's sons and various other "parade-ground warriors"
The real combat units are doubtlessly stationed on the borders or in the countryside where they might do Celestia's subjects some actual good.
Hellz to the yeah! I've got the machine already warned up!
My body is ready for next chapter l
9684394
I blame the mind control.
I like that Chrysalis still thinks retreat is a legitimate option. She still hasn't figured out that the one who can trace her can do so at range, and is accompanied by someone she definitely won't win against. Her current options are:
Honestly, I think surrender is the best call at this point. It's certainly a better option than 1 or 2, if unreliable nonetheless.
9684396
Probably, but as far as most common folk know, the royal guard are the best of the best. Who else would they entrust their leader's safety to?
Even though they're basically demi-gods.
9685017
Heh, if true that also means that Chrysalis has spent all of her time subverting the most irrelevant part of the military she could find.
9685480
Sure seems that way, doesn't it?
9685644
That realization should be entertaining.
9679186
Bah, this Tanis sounds like something a grass-grazing vegetarian would say.
I mean. If he wanted to get rid of the problem quickly he could probably use a spell that feeds off of magic and spreads like a parasite, but locking it onto the changeling magic.
Could that possibly work?
Turns on the Microwave
Opens the microwave after hitting 'pop'
I'm ready
so the last four chapters seem to be missing all of a sudden, any clue what's up with that? i can only get to 67 despite the comments from chapter 71 still being present
9757576
I'm on hiatus to rewrite portions of the story. I'm planning to rewrite these last four chapters as well. They've been taken down so that new readers don't get confused about what happened when I finish.