Chapter Nine: Rook takes castle
The Changeling hive was silent as Pharynx flew through one of its many entrances, he looked around for his fellow changelings and spotted a familiar face. "Mandible!"
Mandibles head swivelled around, "Pharynx, where the hell have you been!"
Pharynx rushed over to him "I need to speak with my brother, where is he."
"He's in the old throne room." Mandible said. "I'm guessing that you heard?"
"Heard what?" Pharynx asked.
"That damned creature Discord, he rounded up several villains, including our old queen, while disguising himself as Grogar." Mandible said. "He was going to use them to 'test' the new pony princess, he thought he could control them, but instead he ended up getting his power stolen and uniting several powerful creatures with a desire to conquer all Equestria."
Pharynx felt his heart sink, he buzzed past Mandible heading straight for the throne room, he ignored Mandible yelling after him as he weaved through the corridors of his hive, until he finally he arrived at the doors to the throne room. He burst through to find what seemed to be the whole hive in the midst of panic.
"QUIET!" Thoraxes voice cracked like a whip, silencing the crowd. "It's true that Chrysalis may attack the hive, but remember that it was us that made her powerful, not the other way around. We are stronger than we have ever been before, ever since we accepted sharing love we have not had to worry about feeding ourselves. Do you want to just sit here and let her make us hungry again?"
"No." The crowd murmured.
"Are we going to give up our freedom?"
"No!" The crowd said with more force.
"Are the Changelings going to submit to anyone ever again?"
"NO!" The crowd roared.
"Then prepare yourselves for battle, If Chrysalis and her new cronies come here we will send them packing!" Thorax shouted.
The crowd roared in agreement, they began to disperse, filled with confidence for the coming fight.
Thorax spotted his brother approaching him. "Thank goodness." Thorax wrapped his brother in a hug. "I knew you said you were going to gone for the day but-"
"We need to get to Canterlot." Pharynx said.
"What?" Thorax let go of his brother. "We can't, we have to see to our defen-"
"There's no time, i'll explain on the way, but for now you need to trust me." Pharynx said.
They stared at each other for a moment before Thorax answered. "Alright, but if the explanation isn't good enough i'm turning right back around." The two of them took off, flying out of the Throne room, they headed north for Canterlot. "When they realise i'm gone their going to panic harder than before, you better start talking brother."
"It's a long story." Pharynx said. And one I hope has a happy ending.
"Discord, how could you?" Fluttershy said.
After the encounter in the Everfree, Celestia and Luna brought Discord back to Canterlot, Twilight returned briefly to Ponyville to round up her friends, explain the situation, and then teleport them to the throne room.
"I thought that I had everything under control." Discord said "But they were much more powerful than I expected."
"You thought you had everything under control!?" Rainbow dash shouted. "That's your excuse?!
"Even if your plan had worked, you would have still ruined Twilights coronation." Rarity added. "That alone would have been unforgivable."
"Don't ya have the least bit of sense Discord?" Applejack said. "I woulda thought that after all this time you would've learned not to try and pull stuff like this."
"If this all turns out to just be part of the 'make Twilight confident' bit, you better tell us now." Pinkie said.
"I still think you're all overreacting." Discord said "Sure I messed up, but you girls can just zap em and be done with it."
"Damn it Discord." Twilight said "What the hell is wrong with you! I wanted to help Cozy Glow, now thanks to you I may have lost that chance." Twilight turned away hiding the tears in her eyes, "Because of you, I won't be able to fix one of the biggest mistakes of my life."
Discord looked around, trying to find a single sympathetic pony in the room. His eyes settled on Celestia, her eye's downcast. "Celestia, help me out here, how bad did I mess up?"
Luna answered for her sister. "You have no idea Discord, we wanted to try reforming the Engineer, but because of you, she has been corrupted by the others and now she has made the four of them the most dangerous creatures in Equestria."
"I have many regrets over my long life." Celestia said. "I regretted sealing her in stone, and now I regret ever letting you out Discord!"
Discord sighed "You're right Celestia, what I've done is terrible, and after this is all over I'll accept whatever punishment you deem necessary. But right now our focus should be on preparing for the legion of doom."
"Which is why you should tell us everything you know about them." Twilight said "Especially this Engineer, just how powerful is she?"
"Powerful enough to toss me around now that she has her armor and Grogars magic." Discord said "It's odd, I didn't expect a frail, mostly hairless ape thing to be so dangerous."
Twilights ears perked up "Wait, is the Engineer a hu-."
"It doesn't matter how powerful they are." Rainbow Dash interrupted "We have the magic of friendship on our side."
"Dash is right." Fluttershy said "No matter how scary thing have gotten we've always pulled through in the end."
"We've got your back Twi." Applejack said. "Now and always."
"These ghastly villains have no idea what they're up against." Rarity added.
"How does Donut Joes sound for the 'we've beaten the villains once again' party?" Pinkie asked.
Twilight smiled they were right, there was nothing more powerful than a group of friends working together, nothing stronger than the magic of friendship.
Starlight Glimmer watched as the train from the Crystal Empire pulled into Ponyville station. The thing was a menacing sight, the heavy crystal plow at the front was used to drive through the thick snow that covered the route to the Empire. The train had barely stopped before the carriages slammed open and a hoard of guards poured out, reinforcements.
Behind the guards came their ruler, Princess Cadence flanked by her husband, Shining Armor. Starlight gave her a quick bow before briefing her on the current situation. "Starswirl and the rest of the Pillars arrived a little while ago, they are taking up position outside of town. Twilight and the others are still in Canterlot, I don't know when they'll be back. Right now I'm trying to evacuate Ponyville and the school but it's taking longer than predicted."
Cadence nodded "We're leaving two thirds of the guard to help with the evacuation, the rest will stay with the train, after it refuels it's heading to Canterlot to reinforce there." The guards around them sprang into action, the officers barking out orders as they dispersed into the town to help direct the frightened ponies away from the coming battle.
Starlight began leading Cadence and her husband into town, "I'm glad you're here Princess, but what about Flurry Heart and the Crystal Empire?"
"We thought it best that we fight together." Shining Armor said. "Besides, if they want us it's best that we are as far away from Flurry and the Empire when they come for us."
"We left Flurry in Sunbursts care." Cadence said. "She'll be safe until we return."
Starlight was going to inquire further before she was distracted by something moving in the corner of her eye, she snapped her head around, she could have sworn she saw something.
"Is everything alright?" Shining Armor asked.
"It's nothing." Starlight said "Sorry, I guess I'm a bit jumpy because of the circumstances. I just hope that when they get here we're ready."
I hope so to Starlight, Chrysalis suppressed a laugh, I've been looking forward to this for far too long.
Engineer watched through a pair of binoculars as the strange train arrived and its occupants disembarked. They had taken up position on the outskirts of the Everfree, observing the town where their adversaries lived. Chrysalis had gone in a few minutes ago to scout out the town before they attacked, and Engineer was watching for and sign that she may have been discovered.
Engineer felt a weight land on her back. "I'm bored." Cozy declared.
Engineer sighed. "Then why don't you bother Tirek?"
"I did." Cozy said "That got boring so now I'm going to bother you instead." Engineer didn't reply, trying to see if ignoring Cozy would make her go away. "Give me those." Cozy said, reaching for the binoculars.
"No!" Engineer said as pulled them away from Cozy's grasp.
"Come on, I want to see whats going on." Cozy said. "I'm not going to break them or anything."
Engineer groaned "Fine, just for a minute, alright?"
Cozy took up the binoculars and peered through them at the town. They sat in silence for a minute before Cozy began complaining again. "What the hells taking her so long?" She said "I hate just sitting around, I just wanna get this over with."
"You're nervous?" Engineer asked.
"What? No!" Cozy said "I'm not nervous, you are!"
"You're damn right." Engineer said "I'm terrified, but I know everything's gonna turn out alright, because you guys are gonna be right beside me, and we're gonna be right beside you."
Cozy Glow smiled "Thanks Engy."
Chrysalis took this moment to turn visible again "What did you two get up to while I was gone?"
"Finally, now we can get going." Cozy said. "Tirek! You awake?"
"Now I am." Tirek said as he joined the group. "So what's the situation Chrysalis?"
"Twilight and her friends aren't in Ponyville, they're in Canterlot with Celestia and Luna." Chrysalis said.
"So now we need to go to Canterlot, great." Engineer said.
"Not all of us." Chrysalis said. "Starlight, Cadence, Shining Armor, and the Pillars are all in Ponyville. We need to take them all out."
"Why?" Cozy asked. "Shouldn't we focus our attention on Twilight? Concentrate our forces and all that."
"No, Chrysalis is right." Tirek said "The Ponies seem to specialise in the counter attack, they always seem to be able to pull something out of their a-"
"That's right Tirek." Chrysalis said "So thats why you're going to attack Ponyville head on, you'll draw the Pillars and Cadences guards out while I sneak in, Starlight, Cadence, and Shining are mine."
"Fine by me." Tirek said "As long as I get to Starswirl, I've been looking forward to revenge against that bearded fool for so long."
Cozy raised a hoof "What about me and Engy? What are we doing while you two are having fun?"
Chrysalis smirked "You're going to take a little train ride."
Inside Ponyville the guards were trying desperately to marshal the residents away from the coming fight. They had moved as many as they could to the school grounds, where three young fillies were waiting anxiously in the crowd for word from Canterlot.
"I hate just sitting around." Apple Bloom pouted. "My sister is of saving Equestria while we're stuck here being useless."
"I don't know, our record of helping isn't that good." Sweetie belle said "Last time we ended up locked in a closet."
"That's only because we were unprepared." Scootaloo said "If we had a rematch with Cozy Glow, we'd take her down easy."
Apple Bloom sighed "But it's not like we'll have the opportunity, If only there were some way we could help even a little."
There moping was interrupted by a nearby argument. "I need to get to Canterlot!" a voice cried out "I have vital information."
"For the last time ma'am, that train is for military personnel only." A guard replied. The three crusaders approached the commotion trying to see what was going on.
"My marefriends a secret agent for the Princess, does that count?" The voice replied.
"I'm sure she is ma'am, and as the marefriend of a spy you would know that we can't just let random ponies disobey direct orders from the princesses." The guard replied. "So please sit down and wait for us to evacuate you."
The pony, who they now recognised as Lyra Heartstrings, stormed off in a huff, joining the growing mass of ponies at the school.
"What was that all about Lyra?" Sweetie belle asked.
Lyra sighed "You'd think that they'd want Equestrias top authority on the Engineer, but no, instead I'm to be sent off to who knows where while information that could turn the tide is kept from the Princesses."
"What Information?" Scootaloo asked.
"I've identified the a weakness that could be exploited when taking on the Engineer." Lyra said, levitating a letter in front of them. "But the guards are determined to stop me from getting it to Canterlot."
"We could try." Sweetie Belle said.
"What?" Lyra asked.
"They won't turn away sisters of the elements of harmony." Apple Bloom added.
Lyra shrugged "It's worth a shot I guess." She handed the letter over, allowing Scootaloo to grab it with her wing.
They marched over to the guard watching over the group. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked.
"Our sisters are the Elements of Harmony." Sweetie Belle said. "We need to get to them, it's urgent."
"They're not allowed to leave." The crusaders turned around to see Starlight approaching them. "I've received word from their sisters to make sure that they're safe."
The guard saluted "Yes ma'am." He turned back to the crusaders "You heard her, go back with the others."
"Aw come on!" Scootaloo said "We just want to help."
"You can help by staying safe." Starlight said "Our odds are much better if Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow dash aren't distracted worrying if you're safe."
Another guard rushed over "Tirek has been spotted on the outskirts of town, all guards follow me!"
"Wait!" Starlight yelled "What about the towns ponies?"
"Sorry, orders are clear, priorities are to engage the enemy." The guard said. "You'll need to manage on your own."
"The guards are abandoning us!" A pony yelled.
"We're all gonna die!" Another voice cried.
Starlight turned towards the crowd "Calm down everypony, the guards are going to help the Pillars take Tirek down and-"
Starlight stopped where did the crusaders go? "Oh no."
"This is either really smart or really stupid." Sweetie Belle said as they snuck through the town, dodging the guards rushing about "There's no middle ground."
"It's gonna be fine." Scootaloo said. "We'll get this info to Rainbow Dash, she'll kick this Engineers butt and then we'll be hero's."
"Guard!" Apple Bloom hissed, they dove behind a bush as a platoon of troops rushed by. "We're almost to the train."
As they got closer to their destination, they began to hear the blast of powerful magic, the battle had begun. The sounds got louder as they got to the train and found an open door to a compartment "In here!" Scootaloo said, as they climbed inside. They slammed the carriage door behind them, hearing a clunk as it latched into place.
The carriage they found themselves in was lit by a few thin windows that ran along the side of the compartment, revealing supply crates neatly stacked for transport. The crusaders quickly climbed up the boxes to get a better view outside.
Thats when they saw Tirek, in the distance, behind him were the drained and barely moving forms of crystal pony guards, in front of him stood a brave phalanx of soldiers, eager to avenge their comrades. A barrage of magic came from behind the spear wall, coming from none other than Starswirl the Bearded and Mistmane.
Tirek shrugged off the attacks with ease, his armor made their efforts useless. Even at this distance they could make out Tirek laughing in contempt of his opponents, before charging at the formation of guards to get at his most hated foe.
The guards formation opened up, allowing him to pass through, as he did Mage Meadowbrook, distinguished by her flash bee mask, threw something at him which exploded into a massive cloud of smoke, Tirek ignored the distraction, too focused on getting to grips with Starswirl. He was so focused that he didn't notice the massive hole dug by Rockhoof which he unceremoniously fell out of view into.
"They got him!" Apple Bloom yelled. The guards, joined by the Pillars surrounded the hole and began pelting the trapped centaur with anything they could, magic, spears, potions, Rockhoof was even shovelling dirt down onto their foe.
"One down, three to go!" Sweetie Belle said. But they had spoke too soon, a blast of magic knocked all the ponies back from the hole, as two large red hands gripped the edge of the hole and began pulling the centaur out. The first to react was Flash Magnus, who charged down into the hole at his target. But seconds later, as Tirek dragged his torso out, he snatched the pegasus out of the air before draining him of his magic. The guards were beginning to break, recoiling in fear of the unstoppable monster. But in stepped Somnambula, the crusaders couldn't hear what she said, but it was enough to convince at least some of the guards to follow her.
"Come on!" Scootaloo cheered "Go!" The guards charged, their triumphant screams echoed as they smashed into Tirek, the force almost sending him back into the hole. But almost wasn't enough as he quickly regained the advantage, he begun by grabbing Sonambula and draining her as well. From there the battle was decided, he next drained Mage Meadowbrook who had come too close, trying to tend to her drained friends. Starswirl and Mistmane tried one final time, gathering as much power as they could muster into one powerful magical blast, it made Tirek flinch as it hit, but he retaliated by absorbing them next as well.
Tirek stopped and seemed to stare directly at the Crusaders, his wolfish smirk sending a chill through the young fillies. While he was distracted, Rockhoof struck him with his famous shovel, one final defiance that was ultimately useless as the his weapon broke on impact on Tireks leg. With the loss of the Pillars the guards fled, Tirek strode after them draining them as they ran.
The Crusaders jumped down from the window, the train had started to move, while they were dismayed by what had happened, it had also filled them with resolve, they had to get to Canterlot. The train pulled away from the station, and they hoped away from danger.
"I hope everyone got out of Ponyville." Sweetie said. "Tirek went through the Pillars like they weren't even there."
"And that was only one of them." Scootaloo added, "There's still Chrysalis, Cozy, and that Engineer creature."
"Once we get to Twilight, she'll know what to do." Apple Bloom said. "I mean, it's not like it can get any worse?"
Apple Bloom was interrupted by a loud thunk on the roof of the train. Sweetie Belle groaned "You just had to say it."
A hatch on the roof that they hadn't noticed before flung open and a young, armoured, filly flew down from the hole carrying a large stone bell. She did a quick scan of the carriage, her eyes gliding over then snapping back to the last ponies she expected to see "Golly, what are the Crusaders doing here?"
"Cozy Glow?!" The three said in unison. "What are you doing here?"
"I asked first." Cozy said. "Don't be so rude."
Apple Bloom stomped her hoof "Stop playing games Cozy, that monster Tirek isn't here to protect you, and we have you three to one!"
"Oh, I'm sooooo scared." Cozy Glow sighed "In case you haven't noticed, I'm an Alicorn now, I could mop the floor with you without a second thought, also it's not quite three to one." A large figure dropped down from the hole, and landed with a heavy thud, the sight made the Crusaders blood run cold, clad head to toe in black armor, with the magic runes etched into it glowing a dull red, the new arrival was a terrifying sight. "Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, meet the Engineer."
The crusaders were silent for a second, staring at the creature towering over them, before they broke their silence with a scream before charging towards the door. They tried in vain to get it open "It's locked?!" Scootaloo asked.
"Why is it locked!?" Sweetie Belle tried using her magic to open it, but the door wouldn't budge. Apple Bloom looked back expecting see the Engineer creature bearing down on them, intent on devouring their souls. Instead the armoured figure was rooted to the spot that it landed in and seemed to be staring at them under its helmet.
"Cozy Glow?" The monster said.
"Yes, Engy?" Cozy replied.
"What the hell is going on here?" The Engineer creature asked.
"Well like I said, that's Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom." Cozy said "They are the adoptive sister of Rainbow Dash, the biological sister of Rarity, and Applejack respectively."
"Okay." The Engineer replied. "What are they doing on this train?" Cozy just shrugged in response. "Hey, Apple Blossom."
"Apple Bloom." Cozy corrected
"Whatever." Engineer said "What are you doing here?"
"We're um, uhhh-" Apple Bloom stuttered.
"We were hiding on the train from Tirek." Scootaloo said. "Then it started moving, then you showed up."
Cozy Glow cocked her head to the side. "What's that letter you got?" Scootaloo tried to hide the letter in her wing, but it was pulled out of her grasp by Cozys magic. Cozy gave the letter to Engineer who opened it up to read the contents.
"Huh." Engineer exclaimed. "Interesting, I'm guessing you were trying to get this to the Princesses?" Engineer tore the letter up in front of them. "Oh well."
Scootaloo watched as the shreds fell to the ground, "Well it doesn't matter because Rainbow Dash will still kick your butt!"
Engineer chuckled "Sure she will kid." Engineer said as she undid her helmet, "Now the only question is what to do with you three?"
Starlight search frantically for the lost girls, but she couldn't find any trace of them.
"Starlight, there you are." Cadence descended from the sky "Why did you run off?"
"The Crusaders are missing!" Starlight answered. "I have to find them before someone, or something else does."
"Cadance!" Shining Armor shouted as he rounded a corner "Stygians plan didn't work, Tirek is on his way right now, we need to leave befor-."
A menacing laugh echoed around them. "Starlight, Starlight, guess who's going to die tonight."
"Chrysalis!" Cadence growled "Show yourself you harlot."
"Ah Cadence, so good to see you again." Chrysalises voice seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "It sounds like you're still sore from the time I stole your husband, makes sense, since he made me a bit sore too."
"For the last time, nothing happened!" Shining Armor responded. "Cadence, I swear that-."
"We'll discuss it later." Cadence cut Shining off.
"But-" Shining said before being cut off again.
"I said, we'll discuss it later!" Cadence shouted. "Right now we need to focus on Chrysalis."
"That's right focus on me, just like your husband." Chrysalis chuckled, drawing a growl from Cadence.
"Stygian's evacuating the town." Shining said. "We need to buy him some time, and draw her away from them."
"I have a plan." Starlight whispered to them. "But we need to draw Chrysalis in close."
"Got it." Cadence said. "I see her, over there!" Cadence fired off a hail of magical attacks into the sky, the two unicorns followed her lead, saturating the area with their own attacks.
Chrysalis smirked, the idiots where facing the wrong direction, she started to close in, with some luck she could drain them all before they could respond. She flew down low and began to close in, her horn hummed as she prepared a spell.
"NOW!" Starlight shouted. There was a flash of magic and the first thing that Chrysalis felt was the cold, she looked down and was surprised to see snow, an icy wind chilled her even through her armor. She looked up to see all three of her foes looking straight at her.
"We can see you Chrysalis." Shining said. Her hoof prints in the thick snow gave her away, she sighed and dispelled her invisibility.
"What is this place?" Chrysalis demanded.
"Some place you won't hurt anypony." Starlight responded.
"Wrong, I can hurt you!" Chrysalis fired off a blast at Starlight, but a shield cast by Shining Armor blocked her attack. Chrysalis grunted in annoyance. She prepared to fire off a stronger blast to overwhelm his defences, but while she was charging it she saw Cadence take off into the sky.
Cadence fired off a beam of magic at Chrysalis, who countered the attack with her own magic, they were locked in a struggle for a second, Chrysalises beam was much stronger and began bearing down on the Alicorn, but before it could connect, a blast of magic hit her, knocking her back.
"Sorry Chrysalis, but this fight is three on one!" Cadence shouted.
"Fine, I'll take you all on!" Chrysalis shouted taking off into the air, she hurled a barrage of attacks at the unicorn pair on the ground and reactivated her invisibility, she hurtled herself at Cadence, the fool had separated herself from the group and would pay the price!
But Cadence wasn't as helpless as she seemed, she fired off hundreds of beams of light, a few of them hit Chrysalis, they did no damage but lit her up with a light blue glow, now her position was revealed! Cadence smirked "I'll light her up, you knock her down Starlight, my husband will keep you safe!"
"Yes, Princess!" Starlight shouted. Starlight launched another magical attack at the light blue silhouette, Chrysalis evaded the attacks, but while she was distracted Cadence hit her with her own magic, Chrysalis blocked it with her own magic, but was blindsided by yet another attack from below. Now Shining Armor was launching his own attacks.
Chrysalis was now on the defensive, evading and blocking attacks from three directions, frustration was mounting as she tried desperately to regain the initiative, she fired off a quick barrage to distract Cadence before closing in on the pair on the ground, she charged her horn to brunt force her way through Shinings defense, she saw Starlights eyes glance up above her, what was she looking at? It wasn't like Cadence could have recovered in time to-.
A massive blast hit Chrysalis in the back, slamming her into the ground, her invisibility flickered before dying, damn it! The armor had absorbed most of the damage from the fight, but fatigue was starting to set in, she needed to end this fight and fast, she needed them to drop their guard if only for a second. As she rose unsteadily back onto her hooves she watched as Cadence rejoined the two unicorns, it was a small consolation to see her opponents were breathing heavily too.
They wanted to end the fight too, they needed to get back to Ponyville to help their friends, Chrysalis watched as they whispered a plan amongst themselves, she noticed their eyes glance to their side, under her visor Chrysalises eyes followed theirs. A nearby cliff face had a massive overhang of rock and snow, in an instant Chrysalis knew their plan, and if their plan succeeded they might just lower their guard. "Time to find out just how good you are Engy." Chrysalis muttered, she smirked, If the girl heard her saying that little nickname now.
Chrysalis took off with a roar, aiming directly for Cadence, the Alicorn took off and began leading her into the trap. Chrysalis played the part, acting crazed with anger as she closed in, Cadence feigned panic as she approached the rock face, turning to face Chrysalis with a fearful expression, seemingly trapped. Her expression changed in an instant to a smirk "Ice to see you Chrysalis." She teleported away leaving Chrysalis under the cliff as Shining and Starlight blasted the rocks above her.
"You'll pay for this!" Chrysalis screamed as she was enveloped by falling debris.
"Put it on my-" Whatever Starlight was going to say was overtaken by the tons of rock and snow. Chrysalis sighed, at least she was alive, the armor held up, she waited a few seconds, just enough time for them to lower their guard, and........ Now!
Chrysalis blasted out from under the snow and stone, the three of them were staring at her in shock, she sent off a blast of green magic. Shining was the first to respond, pulling up a shield to block the attack, while the other two charged their horns ready for round two. But it was not to be, the spell Chrysalis fired off split a part, bypassing Shinings shield before slamming into Cadence and Starlight, knocking them into the snow. Chrysalis smashed into Shining Armor, breaking through his shield and sending the white unicorn flying.
Before the three could get back on their hooves, green magic enveloped them, sealing them inside giant cocoons. Chrysalis laughed in triumph. "Thank you for the fight you three, I wasn't sure at first but this was a great place for it." Chrysalis giggled. "You know what they say, revenge is a dish best served cold."
Something was bothering Apple Bloom, well many things were bothering Apple Bloom, but one thing in particular had come to her mind and try as she might, it just wouldn't leave. When the Engineer creature had first appeared she had been petrified, but now after being on a train with the creature for half an hour, she was now more curious than scared. The creature sat next to Cozy Glow on a box on one side of the train car while the Crusaders sat opposite them.
The Engineer had a set of small, dark blue eyes, that seemed to be much older than the rest of her face which while strange was pale and clearly youthful. While her face was hairless, she had a black mane which was tied back in order to fit inside the helmet. But there was something that Apple Bloom had noticed that she just found odd.
"Are you wearing makeup?" Apple Bloom blurted out. She put a hoof over her mouth as if she could stuff the words back in.
"What?" The Engineer said.
"Yes she is." Cozy answered proudly.
"Damn it, I forgot that you did this." Engineer groaned.
"Aw, don't lie, you love it Engy, or else you wouldn't let me keep practicing on you." Cozy said. "But we need to get you some nice clothes too, you wear clothes all the time but just really boring stuff, and why do you wear clothes all the time? Do you have some weird deformity? I know you've got those two lumps on your chest but I thought they were just your te-."
"Cozy!" Engineer snapped "Please stop."
Cozy smiled before turning to the crusaders "She always gets really weird about that stuff." Engineer rolled her eyes, she lifted a hand to her face with the intention of wiping off the cosmetics.
"Stop!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
Engineer raised an eyebrow "What was that?"
"You can't wipe off makeup that easily, you'll just smear it all over your face if you try that." Sweetie continued. "My sister told me that."
"Damn it I forgot how hard this stuff is to remove." Engineer sighed. "Oh well, it does kinda look nice."
Cozy giggled "Thanks Engy, Chrysi has been giving me pointers and-."
"Wait, Queen Chrysalis?" Scootaloo asked "The evil Changeling queen helped you with makeup?"
"Yep." Cozy said. "And now she's helping me get revenge, isn't she wonderful."
Scootaloo scoffed. "And to think you were once our friend Cozy."
"Yeah." Sweetie said. "You tricked us, you just used us to get into Twilights school, you flunked a test on purpose to make us look bad and then-" Sweetie stopped a question forming in her mind. "Why did you tell Starlight, that you flunked the test on purpose?"
"What?" Cozy said.
Sweetie continued "If you kept up the lie we wouldn't have been around to mess with your plans, why did you tell Starlight the truth?"
"Because, uh, because." Cozy groaned "I don't know why!"
"I do." Engineer said "Because she cared about you guys."
"No, I didn't!" Cozy retorted. "It was all an act to gain their trust!"
"But, what if it isn't?" Scootaloo asked. "What if you thought it was an act, but you really did see us as your friends."
"No, I didn't need you, I don't want you as friends, all I care about is power!" Cozy yelled.
"You know Cozy." Apple Bloom begun, "We knew a young filly who was mean to us, who bullied us, who was terrible to us. But it was all to hide her loneliness, her pain."
"Her pain!" Cozy screamed. "I know who you're talking about, but at least she had a friend who didn't betray her, she had parents, she didn't make the biggest mistake of her life and get sent to Tartarus like the monster she was!"
The Engineer grabbed Cozy in her arms "Deep breaths Cozy, deep breaths."
"Damn it." Cozy said wiping her eyes. "I made myself look like a fool in front of them." They began to feel the train slow down, they were approaching their destination.
"Cozy, I didn't-" Sweetie Belle stammered out
"You three stay here if you know whats good for you." Cozy said. "We've got business to take care of." They felt the train come to a stop. The crusaders watched as the pair rose from their seats.
The Engineer put on her helmet, and her and Cozy shared a nod. Engineers armor began to glow more intensely as she lifted a hand and pointed it at the train door. She blasted it off her hinges and charged out, ready for a fight.
The crystal guards from the train were shocked to see them, a few of the braver ones charged at them, but they stood little chance and ended up on the ground groaning in pain and drained of their magic by Grogars bell. The rest of them got the message and ran for it, leaving the path into Canterlot wide open.
Engineer had been to Canterlot before, last time she had to hide in an alleyway to avoid being seen, but now she and Cozy confidently walked the streets of the pony capital. This time the streets were deserted, the only signs of life the occasional pony peaking from behind boarded up windows, before hiding themselves when they realised they had been noticed.
"So about earlier." Engineer said.
"I don't want to talk about it." Cozy said. "Let's just get this over with."
"Alright, but we're gonna have a talk afterwords, alright Cozy? Engineer said.
Cozy sighed "Fine Engy."
Engineer smiled under her helmet, "So, where do you want to put the giant statue of you?"
They chatted a bit more, but were becoming increasingly weary, they had expected a fight but they were almost to the castle and yet hadn't seen-.
"Hello Engineer." The voice stopped Engineer in her tracks, it had been a thousand years but she knew that damned voice, the one that haunted her every night, the one that had stolen her life from her, the one belonging to the pony standing in front of her now.
Princess Celestia was stood in the castle courtyard, her eyes locked onto Engineer. Her face bore a stony expression, betraying no emotion as she stared down the pair of intruders.
"Let's get her Engy." Cozy said, she looked up at Engineer "Engy?"
The Engineer felt her body shake, a storm of conflicting emotion swirled in her head. She felt like laughing, she felt like crying, part of her begged her to run, while another screamed at her to charge.
"Engineer." Celestia began to speak. "I know that you must despise me for what I have done, but if you would just give me a moment to expl-."
"SHUT UP!" Engineer cried. "I don't care why you did what you did, you took everything from me Celestia! Everything!"
"It was the only way Engineer." Celestia continued. "I am sorry for what happened to you, I truly am, but I had my reasons!"
Engineer shook her head. "Cozy, get inside the castle."
"But Engy, I want to help you fight." Cozy complained.
"Do as I say!" Engineer screamed, causing Cozy to jump in surprise before quickly obeying, she flew past the Princess who gave little notice of the filly, her attention solely focused on the Engineer. Cozy flew through the entrance and out of sight of the coming battle.
"Engineer, I'm giving you one more chance." Celestia said. "Stop this now!"
"No, no this is almost perfect Celestia." Engineer said "You're going to pay for everything, but there is something missing. Where is your sister, where is Luna!"
Celestias mouth hung open, she tried to find some words, anything to talk down the Engineer. But she knew, that it was hopeless, her sins had caught up with her, and the only way out was to fight. "So be it, Engineer."
Luna chose this moment to reveal herself by blasting Engineer in the side with her magic. Engineer was sent flying into a nearby part of the castle, with a mighty crash the structure came crashing down on her. Luna flew over to her sisters side. "Damn it, it didn't need to end like this."
"Yes it did sister." Celestia said, her head hanging low. "And it's all our fault." Celestia sighed "Now let's go help out Twilight and the others."
A loud explosion interrupted those plans however as the Engineer emerged from the smouldering remains of what used to be a part of the castle. A maniacal laugh emanated from behind her helmet. "You didn't think it would be that easy did you? No, the fights only just begun!" The runes on Engineers armor begun glowing red hot. "Celestia, Luna, you better not disappoint me, now, LETS GO!!"
Cozy Glow tried to ignore the loud crashing sound from outside, but the sound filled her gut with worry. She tried her best to suppress her fear. Engineer was counting on her, she had been entrusted with Grogars bell, and she was going to face down Twilight and her friends. She just hoped she didn't mess it all up.
Before she knew it Cozy saw in front of a set of massive doors and behind it she heard none other than Twilight Sparkle, in the middle of one of her little speeches. "Because with friendship as our armor, and teamwork as our power, nopony can ever bring us down!"
Cozy blasted the doors open "Oh come on!" She said, Twilight and her friends gasping at her sudden appearance. "Where did you get that? A daily affirmations calendar? Yeesh."
"Cozy Glow!?" Twilight said.
"Hello Twilight, how have you been, terrible I hope." Cozy Glow said. "Why don't you make things easy on yourselves and just surrender now?"
"Listen Cozy." Twilight begun. "Before you go any further down this path, you should at least listen to-."
"Shut up!" Cozy snapped. "I don't care what reasons you-"
"NO!" Twilight snapped back. "You will listen! I'm sorry for how I treated you, what happened to you shouldn't have, not just Tartarus, all of it!" Twilight begun walking forward "What happened to you was terrible, and you reached out to creatures that you thought were like you. But you're not a monster, and you don't have to let what happened change who you are Cozy. If you just give us another chance, a chance to start fresh, a chance to become friends, then I know that things could turn out better for you." Twilight extended a hoof to the filly "Please Cozy, take my hoof."
Cozy stared at the Princess, and the hoof offered to her, she slowly lifter her own hoof, and stared at Twilights smiling face. "Fuck you."
"What?" Twilight flinched.
Cozy slapped Twilights hoof aside "I said, Fuck, you, Twilight, Sparkle." Twilight recoiled, as if she had been struck. "Nice try, but you don't care about me, you never did. You sent me to Tartarus because I saw friendship for what it really is, power!" Cozy advanced on the Princess "You've used friendship to amass a whole lot of it, haven't you? You used friendship to turn the most powerful creatures in Equestria to your side, Discord, Starlight, the Changelings, even the pony of shadows."
"All they needed was friendship Cozy." Twilight said "If you give us a chance-"
"But when a little filly realises the truth, well what did you do? You threw me into Tartarus, and then planned to use me for a little show for your coronation!" Cozy yelled. "But now that I'm an Alicorn, now that I have power, now that I can be useful, you want to be my friend? Well guess what Twilight, I have friends, now and they're plenty powerful."
"Cozy, please." Twilight begged, tears in her eyes "You don't want to do this."
"I don't want to do this Twilight. I need to." Cozy said. "Time to find out just how powerful you and your friends are Twilight!" Cozy Glow launched herself into the air. "Good luck, you're gonna need it!"
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New chapter is up after a very long delay, sorry it took so long, my classes started up again so I've been a bit busy. We're getting near the end now, next chapter is going to be Engineer vs Celestia and Luna, and Cozy Glow vs the Mane six. Hope you enjoyed the story so far, and hope you enjoy the next chapter too.
Thanks!
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at this point i hope engy and her freinds win then flip the ponies off as they just leave. or the counter freindship speach the ponies as that is always funny to me in storys as the ponies have grown cockey in their victorys
I hope that the ponies win this one and stone the legion.
The statue wouldn't be showing three creatures that barely tolerate each other like they do in the cannon but four accomplices on the verge of friendship.
Twilight would bring herself down over the fate of Cozy.
Celestia would look upon the stone Engy as yet another failure.
Chrysalis and Tirek probably wouldn't be missed.
Also the possibility of a sequel!
And the battles begin... Most likely while ponies try to plea and do more of the usual "friendship"/"it does not need be this way"/"woe is me"-speeches and sh
t, while what they really need (IMO) is some karmic punches to the face. Maybe few broken limbs too. Heck, on Sunbutt especially it would be a mild payback for the lost life/time. I wonder how many others she has on her "failure"/sin-list?...
Now to wait for the next chapter. Keep it up.
3:16
https://youtu.be/DgQHgy7Nmkk
Also please this better won't turn into "we lost and good guys tell us that they are sorry and we accept,etc"
I'm just hoping that they will actually win.
From all the villains these versions are most deserving and worthy of it.
I was waiting for this to come out for so long and I'm glad it didn't dissapoint. Now I'm even more hyped for the next chapter!
One of my favourite parts were the banter between Cozy and Engineer. They really do feel like sisters here and the scene with the CMC was pretty cute. The fight with Chrysalis was also fun, but I do feel its a bit overkill to have her beat Sining, Cadence and Starlight on her own, even with the armour. I just hope that Thorax and Pharynx can offer a diplomatic solution to all this.
Interesting, so EQG is canon here. I wonder if Engy accidently fell or was tossed into a portal as a baby.
Celestia really should have done this earlier. Then again, Discord did partially mess it up for her. Also did you mean truly?
At least she knows she's responsible. Hopefully they can sort things out once they beat each other up.
While Chrysalis wouldn't be happy about Cozy's language, Cozy does bring up a good point here. The problem is that Twilight's school curriculum wasn't ready for such thoughts and questions and like Celestia, Twilight didn't act quickly enough to help Cozy. My hopes with them are the same as with Engineer.
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Νο ΝΟ ΝΟ We already had a lot of hypocrisy from the show ending.
Let this story be pure!
Nice work!
I don't know what this is ... but I like it.
I'm going to be honest, from the first couple of chapters I wasn't expecting much of this story and was about to drop it... but you did a really good job on building up the 4's relationships to each other and once you started going off canon, it became a really appealing story. I'm looking forward to the conclusion to this.
This is ONE of those Stories where I'm rooting for the "Bad Guys"!!!!!!
Because, Celestia, Luna, AND ESPECIALLY Discord deserve Karma. And While Twilight is trying to "fix" the crazy situation. She is not innocent either. I mean, what the F*** is she thinking by sending a KID with Moral Issues in a Hell-Like Prison is a "Good Idea"???
I get that Cozy Glow is a Villain. BUT, Twilight and her Friends have reformed worse Villains than even her?! And All of them are Adults!!!!! At least Cozy Glow has the only excuse that she is a Child that doesn't know any better.
It does make sense, because she was sadly a Orphan, and has Terrible "Caretakers". So I don't highly blame her to be Angry and all.
Amazing, absolutely amazing! This chapter was a true blast to read. You have truly captured my attention and I eagerly await what happens next. Keep up the amazing work.
I'm happy that there's a new chapter and the Legion is at war against Equestria
Anything that is made or in the shape of Discord will be destroyed and all respect for Discord is forever destroyed.
Oh great. Thorax is changing the Changelings' anger at Discord to Chrysalis and her allies. Friendship is starting to make them forgive their friends to easily.
Thorax will never accept that his brother's love with Engineer. He'll say she's evil and deserves to be turn to stone again.
Wow... Discord is heartless. He used them and doesn't care for they've been used for Twilight's confidence.
Cool... Twilight's not afraid to swear or swear near her friends and the princesses.
WRONG! She's not corrupted by The Legion, she's EXTREMLY pissed off by DIscord's actions, an ally of the Alicorns who turned her to stone for a 1000 years.
Yeah... except one thing; They have friendship. Just the dark side of friendship.
Tirek's not wrong about that. Luck always favors on the ponies when they have other allies.
No offense but that's always a clique in everything.
Yeah, no one ever bother to know about Cozy except Twilight. It just shows that anyone who happy with the Harmony ignores the origins of the villain.
Yep, Celestia's reasons was to free Engineer as a request from her decease step-brother but because of Luna turning to Nightmare Moon, Celestia ignore Engineer and focus on Twilight spreading friendship and creating peace. So cruel to another's POV.
Wow... Luna shot Engineer with magic and both sisters immediately gave up on her. I mean Celestia should have said that she can punch her between the eyes.
You tried Twilight but remember, time in Tartarus AKA Prison can change someone and the time Cozy spend, made her see Twilight will send anyone who see her Magic of Friendship differently get sent to Tartarus. Also that was Discord's plan to use her and the other villains to make Twilight a better ruler, she had nothing to do with it. Despite the spelling mistakes, its a great chapter. Also you should change
into all CAP and add a '!' after 'you'. and after Sparkle.
More please!
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You're question if Engineer was sent to Equestria as a baby? Well it's a theory of mine but what if and I'm just saying; What if Engineer was a pony in the human dimension? I mean if Spike turns into a dog and Twilight a human, would it not be vice-versa if a animal was sent to Equestria?
What an intriguing chapter... And we ow the wonderful friendship of these four to Discord, who made them what they are today! I just wonder what will happen when one friendship is pitted against another...
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I'm a sucker for tragedy and irony, unfortunately not very popular.
Could I get some feedback on the fight scenes I’ve written so far? The next chapter is going to have a big one and I want to make it as good as I can.
What killed the dinosaurs? The ice age!
... Sorry.
Guh, I really, really hope the four don't end up in stone again. Best bughorse needs to be free!
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Thanks for reading my story, hope you're looking forward to what comes next!
Why do I have this feeling that engineer is going to lose against the sisters by a narrow margin (they're too exhausted to even stand and pass unconscious) and engineer is unconscious with a broken back.
The way I see the fight going is a steady stalemate with the sisters using their numbers against engy (one distracts while the other hits her back repeatedly until the armour breaks, the force of the blow shatters her back and she goes into shock, her friends then find her and use the power of friendship to block the elements beam from turning engy to stone) this would show the ponies that the "villains" do have people they care about and are willing to put themselves on the line for them.
My cousin's out fighting dragons and what do I get
Guard duty
This is one of the stories were im cheering for the legion of doom
You know what's stronger? Breaking their neck, they can't come back if they're dead.
Part of me wants to see Engy about to lose, but Chrysalis and Tirek come in for the clutch rescue to defeat the sisters. And then go and aid Cozy for the finale.
And if the Rainbow Blast is used, it won't work on them because they also have the power of friendship on their side.
This story has been a joy ride from beginning to end. The 4 making an odd family relationship I always wanted from stories about the Legion of Doom.
I also want Cozy to keep her alicorn status.
When the next chapter?
My evil side was showing the entire chapter. I was grinning like a psychopath the entire read. Finally Celestia will hurt. Oh, their reasons? Screw their reasons. That's like those geico commercials where they punish the guy then want him back after they find out he was right. Or trying to kill someone then apologizing for almost killing them. As for the DD King I would have been fine with them killing him if they didn't try to justify it. War is war, there is no good or bad side and people die, but when you try to claim the moral high ground you fucked up
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... well sequel would be nice but they've all been through a lot. I think more than the four would be mad if that happened . And then thorax's brother would turn on them vowing for revenge.
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Oh great. Thorax is changing the Changelings' anger at Discord to Chrysalis and her allies. Friendship is starting to make them forgive their friends to easily.
That's how I felt with rainbow dash and sunset. And Trixie. And Luna. Though Luna and Sunset have the excuse that the elements have mind altering powers