Chapter 9
The entire world around the children faded into light. Flurry could feel her body laying on the ground as if she was waking up from a dream. She heard her name being called over and over again.
“Flurry? Flurry? Can you hear me?”
Flurry opened her eyes to see Elytra standing over her. She was now in a forest and it was night. She stood up and rubbed her eyes.
“Elytra?” she asked. “Where…where are the others?”
“I woke up and they were gone. You were the only one with me. I have no idea how that happened, but it couldn’t have been your magic.”
“It was the Spirit of Harmony.”
“The Spirit of Harmony?”
“The Teachers had the same experience not too long ago. They were transported to some strange world to speak with Her.”
“What did She say?”
“She needs us to find the teachers, so she sent each one of us where they are. If you’re with me, that means they were all sent back to their parents. I guess that means Sandbar isn’t very far from here.”
“We’re there already? Well that will speed things up.”
Flurry’s bow continued to blink. An orb of light floated out of it and off into the forest.
“What is that thing?” asked Elytra.
“It’s showing us where he is! Follow it!”
Flurry and Elytra ran after the orb through a path with less foliage. In less than a minute, they found themselves in a dark grove with a pointy bolder in view. The orb flew around onto the other side of it. As they reached the other side, they could no longer see the orb, but a harvesting pod was hanging from the boulder. Inside was Sandbar.
“There he is!” shouted Flurry.
Elytra flew up and gnawed away at the top of the pod until it fell to the ground. Part of it had already cracked open and started leaking, so Flurry reached in with her hooves and pulled. Elytra flew down and helped her out. The pod then burst open and Sandbar was flushed out with the liquid. He sat up and coughed.
“Ugh! Bleh! Where am I?” he asked.
“Sandbar, it’s me! Flurry!”
Flurry walked in front of Sandbar with Elytra carefully trailing behind. Sandbar smiled at the sight of Flurry but quickly grimaced at the changeling.
“Who’s that?” he asked, angrily.
“She’s with me.”
“Oh really? What have you got to say for yourself, changeling?” he barked at Elytra.
“I’m sorry for all of this,” Elytra whimpered.
“You helped with infiltrating Pinkie’s wedding, didn’t you? Well?!”
“I did, but I didn’t want to! Please, I betrayed my mother earlier and I’m going to make sure she pays for what she’s done.”
“Flurry, I don’t think we can trust her.”
“Sandbar, it’s alright,” Flurry told him. “She was imprisoned with me. Look, I just saw the Spirit of Harmony like you and the other Teachers did back when we were dealing with the Sorceress.”
“You did?”
“Yes. She would have let me know if Elytra would betray me. Elytra wants to be transformed just like Thorax and the others.”
“Elytra? Wait, I know that name. Ocellus has mentioned her before.”
“So it’s true that Ocellus is one of the new Elements of Harmony then. I’m an old friend of hers,” said Elytra. “Please, Sandbar, I just want to be rid of all this guilt; I just haven’t been able to transform yet.”
“You’re friends with Ocellus?” Flurry asked.
“I was. She and her family joined Thorax. I chose to go with Scutellum and still remain loyal to the queen. A decision I’ve regretted since.”
Sandbar took a moment to think. He finally returned his gaze to Elytra and could see the sorrow in her eyes.
“I forgot to mention, but Ocellus has said she still thinks about you, praying that you’ll see the light one day.”
“She has?” Elytra said, smiling.
“She has. She’ll be happy to know you’ve betrayed the queen.”
“Thank you.”
Elytra and Sandbar bowed heads respectfully and Flurry smiled.
“Now Flurry, just where are we?” Sandbar asked, looking around.
“Well the map showed me and my friends where you and the other teachers,” Flurry answered. “Your dot was hovering over near the Neighagra Falls, if I recall correctly.”
“That explains the waterfall I can just barely hear in the background.”
“Oh! Flurry, we’re in luck! That’s where Princess Twilight and Spike were hidden!” They’re in a cave just behind the biggest of the falls!”
“Really?! Quick! Let’s find them!”
Flurry and Sandbar followed Elytra through the forest. The sound of the falls grew louder and louder. Once they reached a clearing, they could see the giant column of water pouring down and mist wetted their faces.
“This way! Quickly!” Elytra said, as she led them down a path to a small opening off to the side.
Once they were behind the water, Elytra flew through a cave. In just a few moments, Flurry saw two pods hanging from stalactites. Elytra began chipping away at the larger, round one that contained Spike, while Flurry and Sandbar took Twilight’s. After they broke open, Twilight and Spike started gagging until they caught their breaths.
“Twilight! It’s me!” Flurry said, hugging her aunt.
“Flurry Heart! You came for me!” Twilight replied.
“Hey, haven’t you changelings taken enough love from me already?” Spike said.
“Wait! Please, Spike, I’m rescuing you,” Elytra explained.
“Rescuing me?”
“Her name is Elytra,” Twilight said before Flurry could answer.
“Twilight, you know her name?” Flurry asked.
“She was in a vision while I was asleep in the pod. I saw a changeling helping you out, Flurry. A changeling that looked like her. A changeling named Elytra.”
“This is Ocellus’s old friend, Spike,” Sandbar added. “The one she wished would join Thorax and the others.”
“I…you’re Ocellus’s friend?” Spike asked.
Elytra nodded her head as she helped Spike up.
“Well now that I see these three are with you, I guess there’s no denying you’re a good changeling. But why haven’t you transformed yet?”
“I’ve tried, but it doesn’t seem to work. I can feel it in me though, so I know it will happen soon..”
“I see your wings are already sparkling. Just like Thorax’s were before he transformed. Then you’re on your way,” Spike told her, smiling.
Flurry stood next to Elytra, as Twilight and Sandbar joined in.
“Well Elytra, if you’re with us, then we could really use your help right now. I’m guessing Chrysalis has already taken over the wedding?”
“Even worse: she went further than she did with Shining Armor and Cadance’s wedding and got the kiss from Cheese Sandwich. She’s transformed into a higher form and is more powerful than anyone else. I don’t even think Discord can defeat her.”
“Yikes. That’s not good.”
“Elytra, since you know where everyone else is, why don’t you go with Twilight and Spike,” Flurry told Elytra. “I’ll take Sandbar back to Ponyville and we’ll figure out how to get the Elements back.”
“Oh great. The changelings took the Elements?” Sandbar responded.
“Sadly yes.”
“Well Twilight, if you don’t mind, I’m going with Flurry and Sandbar. I made a promise after all.” Spike said, standing next to Flurry and putting his wing around her.
“You did,” Twilight told Spike. “Alright, Spike. Don’t you lose her. Elytra, come with me and show me where the others are.”
“Yes, Princess Twilight,” Elytra said.
“Hey, Elytra?” asked Flurry.
“Yes, Flurry?”
“If you find my parents, tell them I love them and I’m doing okay.”
“I will.”
“And Spike,” said Twilight, “Once you get to Ponyville, stay out of the town for a while until Sandbar can regroup with the others. Find a way to get the Elements back to the teachers.”
“You got it, Twilight,” Spike said with Flurry and Sandbar by his side.
“May the Magic of Friendship be with us all,” Twilight said.
Elsewhere in Ponyville, the invasion worsened throughout the night. The entire town had been taken over. Most buildings were either overrun by changelings or used as hiding spots for citizens still in town, but they did not last long. Drone and brute changelings were out patrolling for any ponies still trying to escape. The spy changelings would creep into houses and weed out anypony hiding in them. The ponies would then be encased in pods and hung on trees for harvesting.
Royal guards and military zeppelins hovered several miles outside of Ponyville. With Tempest Shadow now appointed as an emergency regent, she commanded the fleet to keep an eye on them while other guards abroad tried their best to locate Princess Twilight Sparkle. The entire countryside was on high alert and several allied countries like the Midnight Kingdom, Yakyakistan, Griffonstone and Seaquestria had already assembled their military forces to surround the area. The good changelings remaining in their kingdom were in disarray as word had gotten out that King Thorax had been captured, though this had yet to be confirmed. Dragon Lord Ember and all the dragons of her land were aware of the situation, but they could only assemble younger, smaller dragons that would not cause too much destruction. No one had made any moves yet against Queen Chrysalis. She was too powerful and her changelings were too great in number for them to risk an offensive. There were too many innocent beings in the town that would be treated like hostages, so there was no plan to help.
As dawn began to break that next morning, Chrysalis waited in the center of town where some changelings had gathered to bring her news. She was not pleased to hear about the earlier escape.
“You let them escape?!” she bellowed.
“Apologies, my queen, but we were closing in fast and then they all just suddenly teleported,” said the elite captain, groveling before her.
“It must have been that fool Discord! The little princess had her horn disabled!” said a drone next to him.
“No matter. We’ve got the Elements and Starlight Glimmer, though I still wait for that traitor Thorax to be brought before me. First, take these fools to have their love drained with the others. Is that clear?!”
“Yes, Queen Chrysalis!” they shouted in unison.
Chrysalis spread her wings and buzzed like a helicopter, carrying the pod with Starlight inside. The spy changelings that captured the Elements of Harmony followed her. The changelings left behind turned back and surrounded Sunburst, Trixie, Buttercream, Pinkie, Cheese and Maud in their pods.
“So who wants to carry the big, fat one?” asked one drone.
“The dragon or the bride?” another one responded as they all snickered.
Suddenly, a squad of new, black and orange “hyper” changelings could be seen. They were recently spawned by Chrysalis, but had become full-grown adults and some had evolved into elites already. They landed behind all of them and walked towards the pods.
“You all return to your posts. We are taking these pods,” said one elite in a monstrous voice similar to Chysalis’s.
The drones all looked confused.
“What?” asked one of them. “But the Queen told us to-”
“Have any of you learned the memory copy spell?!” the elite barked.
“Uh…no.”
“These six could have valuable memories. We are taking over to copy their memories and then report on any findings to the queen. The rest of you return to your posts at once!”
“Alright, alright. Come on, guys. Let’s go.”
The regular changelings all grumbled and flew off. After they were gone, the hyper changelings took flight, picked up the pods and carried them away, outside of Ponyville. For several minutes, they carried them over the Everfree Forest until they reached the castle ruins. They flew in through the whole in the ceiling that lead to the room where Nightmare Moon was defeated. They placed them all on the ground and then stood in front of the pods and readied their horns. The captain elite nodded his head to them all. They fired low-powered beams at the pods to cut them open to free the prisoners. Trixie coughed and slowly opened her eyes as the captain stood over her. His eyes were not angry anymore and his voice sounded familiar.
“Trixie, are you okay?” he asked.
“Th…Thorax?” Trixie responded.
“Hey.”
The elite transformed into Thorax while all the rest of the black changelings transformed into the reformed changelings that attended the wedding with him. Among them were his body guards, his brother Pharynx, and a few that were able to infiltrate the invasion from the outside. Trixie smiled and hugged Thorax as the others got up and dried themselves off from the sedative fluids.”
“Thorax! You guys came for us!” Pinkie cheered.
“We’ve been preparing for a moment like this for a while now,” said a large changeling bodyguard that resembled a maroon rhinocerous beetle.
“King Thorax and the rest of us got out of the town hall just as Queen Chrysalis started the invasion and we acted quickly,” added another large changeling next to him that resembled a brown Hercules beetle.
“And I heard what was happening right away and had to come in for my brother,” said Pharynx.
“Sorry we got to you so late. It’s been rough keeping these disguises up so long,” Thorax told them.
“It’s okay. Better late than never,” Cheese said, putting his arm around Pinkie.
“Wait…my family! Have they gotten here yet?” asked Buttercream.
Thorax nodded his head and walked over to the window in the back. He shone his antlers to signal someone in the forest. Several dragons then flew out of the trees several hundred yards away. They flew up and landed in through the ceiling. Before them were Barb, Scorch, Singe, and several fighting-age dragons their size. Butter flew forward and hugged Barb as Scorch and Singe joined in.
“GUYS! I knew you’d make it!”
“We had a bit of a trek getting down here. It’s our first time visiting Equestria and the farthest me and the boys have been away from home,” Barb said.
“And it was a pain having to fly around the Canterlot mountain, so no one would see us,” Scorch added.
“But we weren’t gonna give up on our little sis!” Singe said, hugging Butter from behind and tickling her as she giggled.
“So guys, what about Billow? Did she make it?” Butter asked.
“Billow?” asked Scorch.
“You mean Princess Billow of the Southern Drakes? Haven’t seen her yet,” Barb responded.
“I sent her a letter too. Hopefully she’ll show up soon. What about Mom and Dad?”
“Right over there,” Barb said, pointing to the window next to Thorax.
Butter looked to see Smite and Chara peering in through the window. They were standing outside of one end of the castle on the forest floor to get at everyone else’s level. Buttercream flew out of an opening in the window to meet both of them. They put their hands out for her to land in them and nuzzled her with their snouts.
“MOMMY! DADDY!” Buttercream squealed.
“Buttercream! You’re safe!” said Chara.
“We were so worried when the courier brought your letter. I need a better way to get letters from you directly,” Smite told his daughter.
“I’m just so happy to see you guys!”
“And Spike?” asked Chara.
“He was captured and hidden somewhere. I don’t know where.”
“GRRRR! That queen is going to pay for what she’s done to my son!” Smite grumbled, as steam emitted from his nostrils.
“King Thorax, how is the situation in Ponyville?” Chara asked, turning to speak to Thorax through the window.
“Not good. Seemingly everyone’s been captured and we only managed to rescue these guys.”
“We need to get to the Elements of Harmony,” said Sunburst, stepping forward. “They are quite possibly the only thing that can stop Queen Chrysalis.”
“If we can. It’ll be pretty difficult with her around,” Maud advised.
“You leave her to me,” said a stern voice behind them.
They all looked back at the entrance to see a tall, horned figure step into the light. It was Tirek, joined by several centaur and gargoyle guards.
“I’ve dealt with Chrysalis before; I’ll do it again.”
“Tirek? It’s…um, great to finally see you like this,” said Trixie, nervously.
“Tirek, are you sure? Her power is far too great,” Sunburst told him.
“I don’t plan on beating her, and I know she won’t listen to me. The least I can do is serve as a distraction. That should allow you time to find the Elements. Besides, that tree I replanted in Ponyville is still there and I’m not about to let them destroy what I gave back to the ponies…or harm Cozy Glow or her mother.”
“I mean… you are kinda big,” Singe said.
“Yeah, we had to avoid bringing too many dragons in so we wouldn’t wreck the place,” Scorch added.
“If I damage anything in the process, I have an easy way to fix it,” Tirek said, putting his hand around Scorpan’s necklace.
“Oh yes. The Pendant of Restoration. It’s good to see you using that for good,” Sunburst said.
Pinkie and Cheese stepped forward to speak.
“So Sunburst, what about Flurry and the kids? Are they okay?” Pinkie asked.
“They should be fine. I saw them all get instantly transported away as the changelings were closing in,” Sunburst answered.
“And before that, they all were called by the map to go find the teachers,” Trixie added.
“Well then that means we’re already on a path to victory,” Cheese said, happily.
“For now,” Sunburst continued. “Some changeling spies stole the Element artifacts, so we’re going to have to find a way to get them back. Once we cause enough of a scene in Ponyville, maybe the queen will come in and someone can get the Elements.”
“Alright everyone, here’s the plan:” said Smite as they all turned to him. “Barb, you and the others move in and distract those bigger changelings. Only use fire if you’re in air, so you don’t burn anything on the ground. King Thorax, you and your team are probably best suited to infiltrate and get those Elements. Tirek, distract the queen as best as you can. As for the rest of you ponies, I’d recommend you seek shelter elsewhere.”
“With all due respect, King Smite, this is me and Pinkie’s wedding that was taken from us, and we’re not going to let it stay like that,” Cheese boldly said.
“That’s right. Plus some of our family members are still back there,” Pinkie added, holding her fiancé’s hoof.
“And me and Trixie have a good friend back there that we’re not giving up on either,” said Sunburst.
“You said it, Sunny,” Trixie added.
Smite appeared skeptical at first, but quickly smiled.
“Who am I to keep you ponies apart from your families,” he said. “Alright. You’ll all go then. Chara and I will stay in the mountains nearby in case we’re needed. I’d love to go down and squash that Chrysalis right now, but I think our best bet is to be restricted to the skies with some of those larger changelings.”
“We’ll be alright,” added Chara. “If what Buttercream said is true about Princess Billow, then we should be getting some backup shortly.”
“Billow’s gonna be a big help, you guys,” Buttercream said, cheerfully. “She’s got a really cool axe. I’m only a little concerned about Flurry, but I’m sure she’s with Elytra since they all had to split to find the teachers.”
“Elytra?” asked Thorax as his ears perked up.
“She’s…she’s reformed?” Pharynx said, rushing over to Buttercream.
“Uh…yeah, do you guys know her?”
Thorax and Pharynx shared glances and then turned back to Buttercream.
“Elytra was an old friend of mine. Ocellus knew her too,” Pharynx explained, “Not long after Thorax rebelled and Chrysalis escaped, there were still some black changelings left. Ocellus and her family quickly reformed since they had been trying to escape for a while, but me, Elytra and Scutellum were all considering escaping. When Thorax found out about it, I ultimately decided to stay since I still cared about the hive. Elytra was still loyal to Chrysalis, so she left with Scutellum and several others.”
“Scutellum was always evil, but I sometimes wondered about Elytra,” added Thorax. “She didn’t seem like the type that would just run off with Scutellum to remain as black changelings.”
“She was disguised as me at the wedding, but I managed to see the good in her,” Maud added.
“So that was her. No wonder Maud was asking me all these questions about changeling reformation. That was Elytra all along.”
“So has she transformed yet?” Pharynx asked Buttercream.
“Not yet, but I’m rooting for her.”
“Well, we’ll figure that out later. If we’re going to do this, we best act now. Is everyone ready?” Thorax asked everyone.
“I’d say we’re good to go,” Barb said, checking on her brothers and all the other dragons behind them.
Tirek nodded to all his body guards and the changelings did the same to each other. They all looked out one of the broken windows. Ponyville was just in view and the sun was beginning to rise.
“Alright, guys. Let’s do this. For Ponyville. For Equestria,” Sunburst said, boldly.
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11691816
Good the season 10 comics were a total wasted potential
Well, things are starting to look brighter again! Sandbar, Twilight, and Spike set free by Flurry and Elytra, the allied nations mobilizing to combat the changelings, and an unexpected rescue for Trixie, Sunburst, and Buttercream by Thorax and Pharynx! And to top it all off, we not only have Buttercream's dragon family joining the fight, and the hope of Billow joining as well, but Tirek, too! The odds are looking a lot more hopeful now. =)
11698887
Indeed, they pretty much reversed the respect my boy Spike had with everyone and started the crap train on him again! Good riddance to that!
Alright now things are really looking up, especially with my fave purple dragon back into the fray!
Couple that with him/Butter family getting there & it really will put a big monkey wrench on bug queen's conquering plans, looking forward to more soon Alex!
Yep the tree of Harmony is actually helping us for once but still
We all make mistakes
There were too many innocent beings in the town that would be treated like hostages, so there was no plan to help.
Yeah that's basically villain 101 they knew they will have the advantage because we don't want to hurt anybody but they're not afraid to kill
Chrysalis
11698934
Although I will admit Zecora and the Pinkie x Cheese story were good
Also instead exploring tons of interesting opportunities for what happened during the time skip we got the Knights of Harmony storyline
After all the trouble Chrysalis and her army have caused here, it is refreshing to see the good Changelings again, with Thorax and Pharynx rescuing a few characters. Plus the reveal that is friends with them and Ocellus is a nice touch too.
11699058
But still what?
11699095
Its' possessive so it needs an 's.
Oh hey thorax and pharynx so glad to see them again
I guess that makes sense for him to be here but hey the more the merrier at this point
Ok it looks like things are going our way now so flurry heart and Elytra got to the location where Sandbar is and him luckily flurry heart explained to him about about Elytra she's in our side but it looks like luck came around because they also found Twilight and Spike it looks like the others are going to continue on looking for young six and Twilight looking for her friends as well meanwhile it looks like different other countries are here but unfortunately they cannot do much without risking the other innocent people getting hurt so it looks like the changelings got the upper hand speaking of which they have to change they took the other parts with them but it turns out it was thorax and pharynx and disguise and it looks like buttercream's family came as well and also Tirek as well so it looks like we got some allies here hopefully this will be enough and we get the others to come here Queen Chrysalis is going down well guess we'll find out next time
11699480
Thorax was in an earlier chapter, but this is my first time using Pharynx.
And so it begins. Also hi Pharynx, hi Thorax, hi Butters' family, glad you could come help squish some swiss cheese!
Man, I am really looking forward to when Thorax meets Chrysalis, if that's going to happen.
11699280
I actually wrote her being friends with Ocellus as i was writing this chapter. It wasn’t originally what i had planned, but it ties in well with an idea for a short story i had that revolves around Pharynx and Scutellum before Pharynx transforms in the show.
11698939
I can’t wait to write for the scenes with the dragons, especially when Billow shows up! :3
11698906
Yeah, the first good things to happen to our heroes in a while it seems. But it’s all coming together now. It’s not going to be easy fighting back against Chrysalis though.
So, Flurry and Elytra have found Sandbar, Twilight and Spike. Hopefully they find the rest soon.
Glad to see that Thorax saved Starlight and the others. Not to mention that they now have an army of their own to take back Ponyville. Still, Queen Chrysalis and her army won't be easy. I wish them the best of luck.
Let's see how the rest of Flurry's friends do with saving the Teachers.
11843501
It’s offscreen with the others due to this story getting too busy, but they’re safe where they are right now.
Yeah, I love writing lines like that with the changelings pointing out how fat the dragons sometimes are. :3
The army will be helpful, but the changelings are many. This is gonna be interesting for sure.
If Smite and Chara would know what Chrysalis done to Spike in their last battle.
11853834
It’s possible they do know, but they’re going to see enough of what she does to Spike in a later chapter that will put them both over the edge.