A New Threat
A rapid knocking erupted at the doors of the crystal palace. A ‘very enthused’ purple dragon answered it, staring blatantly back with a deadpan expression. There were two overwhelmingly giddy unicorns on the other side, looking as if they were about to explode from their emotions like a super-sized confetti cannon on overload.
“Spike!!!” exclaimed the lavender one, known as Starlight Glimmer, “You will not believe… well, maybe you will because, uh, you know…”
She didn’t get to finish because of the baby blue unicorn’s interruption.
“So Starlight and I were just walking along and then BOOM! I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, have been chosen to single-handedly resolve a friendship quarrel, and oh,” she suddenly remembered, “Starlight will also be coming with.”
They both pointed a hoof at their glowing cutie mark beaming profoundly.
Spike rolled his eyes before slapping a hand over his face, followed by a sigh, “Follow me, right this way,” gesturing for the two to come in.
Starlight and Trixie followed the dragon, squealing and giggling all the way down the corridor.
Being chosen as a guard pony typically indicated high power and authority. Said ponies always had to be ready for attacks by invaders, and these highly skilled warriors were not easily overpowered.
Over a millennium ago, that would have been true. Now, however, after centuries of peace and order softening them up, the title had been lessened to subpar.
Up until a few years ago, before the return of Princess Luna, most forms of excitement came from hearing of minor disagreements or petty thefts. Although they were dealt with before any guards reached the scene. However, the moon princess’s return has brought forth nothing but one world-ending event after another. Though, of course, they’d never blame her for such a thing.
Following King Sombra’s return and defeat, the crystal guard ponies who fought against their ruler were distributed throughout the land. Their expertise was used to whip the rookies back into shape, employing old training methods that had long been forgotten by the passage of time. However, their goal was not only to ‘toughen up these slackers’ but also to regain the prestigious status they once held.
All of this is what led Sharpshooter to where he was now. Positioned on the wall of the Crystal Kingdom as an area patrol guard. His real name was Crack Shot, but he wanted something that sounded more appealing than ‘Crack’ or ‘Shot’ as a nickname.
Regardless, he was assigned this position because he could make out distant objects in stunning detail. He remembered reading the lips of some pony on the opposite end of the Equestria Games stadium just to pass the time. He could even recall what they had just eaten by the food he saw lodged in their teeth, though that was a detail he gladly would prefer to forget.
The Crystal Kingdom was strategically built in the center of the northern stormy arctic landscape to weaken approaching invaders. When the blizzards were dormant, the miles of flat snow provided no cover for anyone approaching, so they would immediately be detected, to say nothing for the freezing temperatures.
Right now, though, the snow was causing considerable discomfort for Shooter’s eyes. The storm had died down, revealing miles of blinding territory as the sun reflected from its… almost flawless surface.
The pegasus quickly fixed his gaze more intently in the direction he thought a shadow flickered in the distance. For him, the dark blemish against the snow had been the equivalent to a blinding reflection of light shining directly into your eye at night. In this case, though, the lighting was inverted the other way around.
He began to wonder what it could have been.
I don’t know any creatures this far north with that shape, and it’s obviously not a pony. Judging by the distance, it’s way too big for it to be a changeling, though even if it was one, they aren’t as hostile as they used to be. Though, last I checked, they weren’t that color either. If it is a changeling, why would it need to transform into something else when I haven’t seen anything for the past 6 hours?
His eyes had never lied to him before, and right now, they told him that something or someone was not where they were supposed to be.
It’s better than waiting for more of nothing to happen, I guess I’ll go investigate.
The guard made up his mind as he left to receive permission for closer observation.
As the pegasus stallion flew towards the area of interest, he saw no signs hinting that anything had been there. However, after hovering in closer, he was genuinely impressed by what he found.
Whatever this thing is, it sure doesn’t want to be followed.
After weeks of staring at the snow, he knew what it was supposed to look like. The ground that lay before him was tampered with, hiding all previous signs of any activity —not even a single footprint was left behind.
They’re incredible. I’ve never seen tracks hidden this expertly before. If they had put any more effort into it, I’d have completely overlooked it. Not to mention the short amount of time they had to do all this.
Following the trail proved to be a daunting task for Shooter, as it was uncommon for details to hide from him, but whoever was responsible was quite the professional. Now he really wanted to meet this creature, if only to acknowledge its extraordinary talent. But first, he needed to find out why they were hiding at all.
It wasn’t until he entered the glacial fields that he heard the sound of digging up ahead. The noise was coming from around the corner of the ice wall in front of him.
Ever so slowly, he started to land, being careful not to alert the mysterious creature. He touched the ground soundlessly, but the moment he did, silence filled the air.
Wondering if it had finished its burrowing, he waited for it to move around to muffle the noises of his own actions, one of the old techniques he was taught. When nothing but the sound of water dripping from icicles responded, Shooter nervously peeked around the corner. Other than the small cavity boring into the side of one glacier, nothing suggested anything had been there at all.
The pegasus felt his heart leap as he was engulfed with pure dread the moment he spotted the outline located at the back of the hole. Only one object came to mind that could fit in the now vacant slot matching in size and shape.
King Sombra’s horn.
The once confident stallion began to shake as he stood frozen in fear.
This can’t be happening! What could anything possibly want with that accursed thing!? He was there when the Crystal Empire was being re-established.
I must warn everypony immediately! I’m not taking any chances with something this big.
He was there when the malevolent ruler’s shadowy form had threatened the safety of his own citizens. The image of the tyrant himself being defeated entered his mind in picture-perfect quality. He remembered watching in bewilderment as pieces of Sombra, horn included, shot themselves into the horizon.
Whoever’s responsible for locating a part of that repulsive tormentor is clearly out of their mind. If they’re as good at fighting as they are hiding, then they’re already too dangerous to—
The pathetic-looking guard quickly realized he was being overshadowed by a figure standing behind him.
“FORGET WHAT YOU SAW.”
These chilling words cut deeper than the frigid air around him. He slowly turned to confront his assailant, but just as he was about to see who it was, his vision blurred, and everything went dark.
“We’re just waiting for one more to arrive, then we’ll start getting ready,” Spike informed the pair as he escorted Trixie and Starlight to the castle’s main chamber.
The statement caught the attention of the two unicorns, and their excitement died down slightly.
“A third pony is being called?” Trixie questioned in annoyance before she scoffed, “Trixie doesn’t need any help, Trixie can handle this herself… with Starlight tagging along, of course.”
“I thought you’d say something like that.” Spike responded, “Unfortunately, I’m not the one you should be arguing with about this.”
What he said only seemed to confuse the unicorns, that was, until the dragon opened the door into the next room.
Their jaws dropped as they saw who else was present, though now it was more a question of who wasn’t present.
There was Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, the Elements of Harmony bearers, all of which with glowing marks. However, it wasn’t just them who were called. Mage Meadowbrook, Mistmane, Flash Magnus, Somnambula, Rockhoof, and Star Swirl the Bearded, all of the original Pillars were present. And as if to make things even more absurd, Princess Cadence, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia were all present as well, and again, all with glowing cutie marks.
The two unicorns were both at a loss for words. Neither pony knew how to react upon seeing this many being called on a single friendship mission. Starlight immediately found herself further struck stupid upon spotting Sunburst on the other side of the room, waving her over. His flank told her he was also chosen to participate.
Managing to shake off her surprise, she walked over to her childhood friend, passing a few groups having their own conversations about what this mission might have in store.
“I wonder if this has anything to do with what happened the other day.” said Cadence to Twilight, “Apparently sometime last week, one of the guards, Crackpot… Oh, dang it. Sorry, that wasn’t his name, uh Crack… Shot… Shooter, Sharp Shooter! That’s what he called himself. Reports say he went out to investigate something he saw but failed to return. By the time he was found, the blizzard was too dangerous to do any further searching, and he was speaking gibberish, mostly end-of-the-world stuff.”
“That sounds awful,” Twilight said with great concern, “I hope he gets better.”
“So, do I,” Cadence agreed, “at first, we thought it was due to the cold, but with everypony here, I’m starting to think otherwise. I’m still waiting to hear from Shining, but if what Crackpot’s saying is… Shoot!” Cadence gave a look of annoyance, “Why did the other patients have to give him that name? If Shooter has any information about what’s happening, it may prove to be useful.”
“You know, now that you mention it,” Twilight said thoughtfully, “I heard that there’s been some strange activity down in the changeling area as well. I wonder if that’s also related.”
“Oh? What kind of activity?” Cadence inquired.
“Well, for starters, they’ve completely barricaded themselves off from the rest of the world, both physically and magically, no visitors of any kind, and no information as to why. It’s not like them to act that way.”
“I have to agree.” Cadence paused, “Even if they do get scared easily, something bad must’ve happened to them if they’re behaving like that, but what?”
Thanks to the fall of Chrysalis, Changelings were no longer the fighters they once were. Still, their ability to remain hidden from sight was as sharp as ever. It was only natural for them to transform and disappear into their surroundings, even for newborns who were just weeks if not days old. Because of that, they also knew how to spot the signs of something hiding from them. False alarms of danger in the Changeling Kingdom weren’t unheard of. But after 17 within the past day, scouting parties were sent out to investigate.
Thorax received incoming statements from every direction, which meant it wasn’t coming from one particular area. That’s why the scouts he sent were being spread evenly throughout their territory in hopes of encountering whatever was causing this distress.
Despite not knowing where to look, one fact remained consistent. In every reported situation, the individual felt like they weren’t alone. The surrounding area became so painfully nauseating that they had to leave.
The changelings on patrol duty were instructed to avoid as much conflict as possible. This would allow them to find out if the trespasser was actually friendly and simply needed a proper introduction, or if they were hostile and had to be avoided if not relocated. Worst-case scenario, they would send word for help to eliminate whatever was out there for the safety of the hive.
Stinger had been at his position for no more than an hour before getting the feeling something was close by. Until the changeling knew what he was up against, Stinger made a significant effort to keep silent, fighting back the new changeling instinct of fleeing from danger and old hostile behaviors that were starting to bubble back to life. While he’d gotten over those feelings long ago, resisting their demands of being released was proving increasingly difficult.
He noticed no visual change in sight or sound within the area. The longer he waited, the more nauseous he became from the negative emotions surrounding him.
Suddenly, he realized there was, in fact, something that struck him as odd. The vibrations he felt traveling through the ground told him that there should be a noise loud enough to be heard, but there was none whatsoever.
Focusing on these vibrations, he turned to face the direction they were coming from as they seemed to be approaching.
Now was as good a time as any to find out who it was.
“Hello?”
The vibrating ceased.
“Who’s there?”
No response.
“If you can hear me, I don’t have any intention of harming you. All the changelings and I just want to know what is going on?”
There was still no reply.
“If you’re friendly, please, feel free to introduce yourself. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”
This time there was an answer, but the response they gave was the sound of rapid footsteps quickly drawing near. This frightened the changeling as he tried to locate what was causing the noise but saw nothing. A faint twisted moan began to grow louder with the approaching footsteps.
It was settled, this creature wasn’t friendly by any means. Stinger didn’t have to know what it looked like to tell.
Stinger decided to run before it could attack him but realized he had suddenly forgotten how to move, which only made the feeling of dread within himself increase. It sounded like it should be just a few feet in front of him, but there was still nothing to be seen.
Stinger squeezed his eyes shut and went into a fetal position, bracing for whatever was coming. The last thing he expected to happen happened — silence filled the air.
As the changeling opened one eye, he saw the same empty landscape as before. The dread seemed to be gone, and no longer did he feel like he was being watched. Closing his eyes again, Stinger breathed a great sigh of relief, and when he opened them, he found himself staring at his own shadow.
Despite Thorax being somewhere in the center of the castle, he was the first one to arrive. When he heard the scream echoing through the chambers, he immediately dropped what he was doing, rushing to answer the cry for help. He saw the changeling assigned to this area up ahead. “Stinger, are you alright?” Thorax inquired worriedly, slowing down to safely land behind his comrade.
“What happened?”
There was no reaction from his fellow changeling brother as he just stood there looking into the horizon. The buzzing sound of wings came from the arrival of more changelings.
“Stinger?” Thorax pleaded, walking around to face him, “Tell me what…” The shock from realizing what he was looking at hit him so hard that he backed away, stumbling in the process.
There were black plumes of smoke oozing down from Stingers mouth, nostrils, and ears. The eyes he had were not that of a changeling, but of some otherworldly monster never seen before.
When the arriving changelings landed, Thorax finally got a response from the creature inside of his friend.
“Don’t… inter… fear,” it had said in Stinger’s corrupted voice, sounding dry and cracked as well as slick and infected. Its eyes rolled back, and its head faced the sky as the sound of rushing wind was heard escaping his throat, the light seeming to mildly bend around his mouth. The only visible evidence of anything happening was Stinger’s shadow, showing massive amounts of a smoke-like substance erupting out from within.
After whatever was inside Stinger left, he slouched and started to fall over.
Stinger!” said Carapace rushing to his side, “Stay with me, buddy.”
Stinger opened his eyes.
“Everything will be… spawn of Chrysalis’s abomination, what did it do to you?”
Thorax didn’t have to look for long because he immediately saw what was wrong.
When Chrysalis was in power, there were times when changelings who failed to follow orders were tortured as punishment. It was common to see the dying embers of life in the sad faces of those unfortunate few, but the light was there.
Stinger had been a victim himself, and after Thorax became the leader, the spark of life returned to a blaze, but that wasn’t the case anymore. What was seen in his eyes was an empty abyss, no spark, no light, no purpose, he may as well have been a breathing corpse.
“Fall back.” Thorax said with the same amount of panic that the other changelings felt, “Contact all of the changelings and tell them to immediately return to the hive! Once they do, begin building up all our defense’s, physical, magical, I don’t care! As of now, we are going into lockdown until we know it’s safe!”
He took off and said, “I’m going to go back and tell everyone what’s happened,” before he sped off to the castle.
As soon as he arrived, a thought occurred to him.
“Maybe Twilight and her friends will know what to do.” He said, his mind racing a million miles a minute, “I know I’ll send a letter, yeah, that’s what I’ll do! I’ll send one to all the princesses actually, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, even Princess Flurry Heart for all I care!”
Thorax rushed into his chambers, flustered, and began to compose his letters requesting for immediate backup.
Dear Princess…
The moment the pen touched the paper, Thorax was grabbed from behind, a taloned hand lightly squeezing his throat, making him drop the quill. His blood instantly froze from sheer terror. His massive adrenaline rush only managed to make him quiver uncontrollably, and his breathing ceased.
All Thorax could do was think.
Help… please…
Soft chuckling could be heard from the left, tears starting to form as Thorax began taking quick, shallow breaths.
Someone… save me…
Hot breath seemed to burn cold against his ear as he closed his eyes.
I don’t want to die.
“You’re interfering.”
“Thorax!” Pharynx said, approaching his brother, “What’s happening? It looks like we’re preparing for an invasion. Mind explaining why?”
“There’s been a situation,” He stated, “one of our scouts were attacked by—”
“ATTACKED!! WHERE ARE THEY? I’LL TEAR THEM LIMB FROM LIMB!!”
“Their current whereabouts are unknown,” Thorax reassured calmly, “but we cannot allow anyone or anything to come in or out until they are. That’s why we’re building up our defenses, and due to our lack of information, we are not going to attack.”
“But—”
“Pharynx! Did you not hear about Stinger?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Well, I saw it! You should understand why we can’t just senselessly go out there and get our brothers and sisters injured—or worse—killed! We are officially going into quarantine from the rest of the world until further notice, do you understand!”
“I…,” he knew his brother was never this aggressive, so Pharynx figured whatever was happening was very severe, “Yes.”
“Good. Now, do what you can to make our defenses as impenetrable as possible on both sides.”
Starlight was about to ask Sunburst something when she heard a familiar voice floating above the group.
“I still don’t see why I had to be dragged into this,” Discord complained lazily, flowing above everyone next to the chandelier, digging a talon inside one of his ears. “I mean, at least Fluttershy is coming with, but still, The Lord of Chaos does not do friendship problems. I’m just glad that there are others who can cover for me when I’m expected to actually do something.”
As if to pass the time, he proceeded to pull out a lit candle in the shape of himself from his ear.
“Humph, earwax, no wonder everything sounded as dull as this room,” he said before extinguishing the flame. He started using it to wax his claws.
“OH, COME ON!!!” Trixie bellowed, “Please tell me I’m not going to have to tolerate another trip with that draconequus! Trixie suddenly doesn’t feel so special anymore,” she said in a huff, folding her hoofs.
“Now, now, don’t be like that sugar cube,” said Applejack, “The princesses themselves were called. Said that right there’s enough trouble to say we’re gonna need all the help we can get.”
“O-okay, but wait!” Starlight stammered, “Spike said there was one more coming. Who could that possibly BE!!?”
“Any luck?” Sunset asked hopefully as Rainbow rapidly approached, “Please tell me you found something.”
“Sorry, I still got nothing,” she huffed from the half-hour of almost non-stop running, “At first, this seemed like it was a good idea, but I’m starting to question it. I mean, everyone who lives here comes to the mall at least once a day, right? But if I was anywhere near my necklace, then I should’ve already been going super speed by now. After that, we would be able to find our necklaces within seconds.”
“This is very bad. How could this be happening!?”
Sunset Shimmer was briskly pacing nervously around one of the café tables inside the building. Two nights ago, she put her necklace on her bedside before she went to sleep, only to find it missing the next morning. After her other friends said that theirs were also nowhere to be seen, it became evident that they were stolen.
“Sunset, please tell me you told the other Twilight about our dilemma,” Twilight pleaded, looking as though she was a week behind her studies. “I’m starting to worry where they are, and the fact that Tirek broke out of prison and my research lab has been ransacked is really making me paranoid.”
“I said it once, and I’ll say it again. I left the book I used to do that back at the school. But because Rainbow “Impatient” Dash couldn’t wait for us to get in line for the autographed, first edition, limited time only ‘Daring Do and the Dark Deeds Demons Do to Monsters’ she dragged me away so fast I swear we broke the sound barrier…TWICE!! But that’s when we could actually use our magic.”
“Come on! I said I was sorry,” Rainbow said, genuinely apologetic.
Sunset sighed, “No, I’m sorry. It’s just that with our geodes missing, we’re all on edge.”
“Twilight dear,” Rarity chimed in, “I still find it hard to believe that anyone broke into your lab. While I don’t wish to speak ill of you, your cleaning habits do leave something to be desired.”
“I hate to admit it Twi, but to be honest with ya, I’ll have to side with Rarity on this one,” said Applejack reluctantly, agreeing with the fashionista. “That lab of yours looks more jumbled up than a twister runnin’ over a china shop that a stampede of cattle just went through. Not to be rude or anythin’ but it doesn’t make a lick of sense as to why anyone would ever—”
“Alright, fine!!” Twilight exploded as a blue jay landed next to Fluttershy, “Let me put it to you this way! Tirek has escaped prison. My lab, which, just so you know, I meticulously keep organized in my own way, has been burglarized! And let me tell you what I found MISSING!”
“Oh dear, girls!” said Fluttershy, failing to catch the attention of her friends who were still listening to Twilights outburst.
“The very same blueprints to the device that allowed me to locate Equestrian magic in this world.”
“Girls, please listen—”
“If you also add the fact that our necklaces are missing, do you know what that tells me?! That tells me Tirek broke out of prison, broke into my lab, built that device only to break into our homes and take our magic from us! That means he knows where we live!”
The thought of a ruthless criminal being in their rooms while they slept made them all shiver uncomfortably. Though, this momentary pause allowed a moment for Twilight to realize something.
“Actually, now that I’m saying it out loud, it wouldn’t make sense for Tirek to randomly break into my lab. Judging by his methods, it doesn’t match the thoroughness of the real culprit. Besides—”
“LISTEN TO ME!” Fluttershy said, loud enough to finally catch their attention, “We’re in danger, we have to go!”
“Uh, what makes you think that Flutters?” Rainbow asked, confused as the rest of her friends.
“A little bird told me, but that’s not import—”
“Hold it!” Twilight cut her off, “When you say, ‘little bird’ did you mean figuratively or literally?”
“It was that blue jay over there, but this doesn’t—”
“Fluttershy can talk to the animals now!?” Sunset beamed with excitement, “That means our necklaces are close! Maybe if we split up, we can find the one responsible for taking them faster.”
Fluttershy started to sound desperate as she tried to warn them about what she was told, “We have to go.”
“Your absolutely right, Fluttershy,” said Pinkie, who then proceeded to give an inspirational speech. “Let’s go and find whoever took what was rightfully ours and teach them that if they mess with the power of our friendship, they will be ANNIHILATED!! And if they resist, we can just unite our power and rainbow blast them into a crater. That usually works.”
“No, wait!”
Fluttershy had to let everyone know what she knew before it was too late. But they were already setting up groups.
“Twilight, you and Spike should stick together,” Sunset suggested, “Pinkie, you’ll be with Applejack. Rarity, I think you and I should team up, as for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, now that we can use magic again, Fluttershy can ask the animals for help. Rainbow can cover the most ground with her speed. Alright let’s start looking,”
“Way ahead of you,” Rainbow said as she got ready to run. Before she realized what was happening, Fluttershy was tackling her to the ground. “Fluttershy, what gives!?”
“We have to run!” She said as directly as possible, still holding on to Rainbows’ legs.
“That’s what I was just about to do before you—”
“You don’t understand! Please, everyone, just listen to me. We have to get out of here before—”
What she was about to say was lost due to a nearby explosion throwing them back and opening a jagged hole in the wall.
“Oh no, we’re too late. He’s here.”
“Who?” asked Twilight, rubbing the back of her head.
Fluttershy clung tighter to Rainbow Dash for comfort, “Tirek.”
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