Chapter 21: Marauders
The intense throbbing sensation from Blake’s wrists annoyed him to no bounds. It’s been three fuckin’ days, he thought frustratingly, shifting his stiff posture for the billionth time in a futile attempt to find a comfortable seating position. He’s not going to help me. I’m an idiot for even somewhat believing the son of a bitch in the first place.
Several pulsating welts and bruises dotted Blake’s paling skin, and the absence of any form of sunlight left him cold and dreary. On multiple occasions, the professor became ludicrously agitated and frustrated with Blake’s far-fetched descriptions as to how his weapons functioned, and so he aggressively threw punches at the defenseless human to vent his steeply increasing resentment towards him. Blake had taken every blow without muttering a single curse, silently vowing to get some form of revenge the moment he found himself set loose. But that time might not ever come, considering he could hardly move a few inches in any given direction.
Fortunately for him, he had the entire day “off”, as Day Break informed the previous night that he had “important” business to attend to, and wouldn’t have a smidgen of any spare time to participate in any “simple and delightful” chit-chats. Not only did this give the exhausted human a much-needed opportunity to catch his breath and reorganize his disoriented thoughts, he also had additional time to plot a way to escape the clutches of Day Break once and for all.
First off, I really need to find a way to learn the exact count of the number of goons that may be guarding the door, he thought. Regardless of whether there may be two or twenty waiting outside, stealth is the only way I’m gonna get my weapons. If I can reassemble them together, then it’s guns ablaze from there on out. Finding food and water is a priority as well, but if I can’t get my hands on any, I’m still gonna have to leave as soon as possible. Today’s gonna be the only day in a long time that I have a chance like this. I better take it while I still can.
Despite the numerous failed attempts in the past to split free from the rope-tape, Blake continued to desperately struggle in order to squirm his way out. “I can do this,” he faintly motivated to himself. “I can do this. I can do this!”
Whether it was pure determination or just sheer luck, he finally felt his right hand begin to slowly wiggle its way out. After two whole minutes of attempting different angles and various methods, his wrist decisively broke free, with the strand of rope-tape swiftly falling to the ground. He grinned at the sight. The familiar lump in his back pocket was also still there, even after a few days, and he was truthfully quite content with that fact. He cautiously slipped one of the jagged shards out of his tattered pocket, careful not to grip the edges tightly. He proceeded to cut the rope-tope tape warily, and to his favor, he made steady progress. First it was his right leg, then left. Like his wrists before, his legs were now finally unbounded.
Blake instantly stood up, but a sudden dizziness viciously blurred his mind and sight, forcing him to sit back down for a few brief moments to clear away any leftover fuzziness. Once he felt assured that he was in okay shape, he steadily attempted to stand again, using his long arms to balance himself. “That feels so nice,” Blake sighed contently, stretching his overly stiff muscles. He wished that he could sit in that room for an hour, following through with varied exercises in order to feel in tip-top condition, but time was of the essence. Vigilant could waltz into the room at any given moment, and he couldn’t lose the element of surprise by getting caught flexing his legs in an awkward stance.
He sneakily tiptoed towards the door on the opposite side of the room, modulating his breath cycles to remain utterly noiseless. He gently placed his ear on the door, listening for either bored conversations or hoofsteps clanging against the stone floor. He remained motionless, desperately trying to hear any brief or subtle noise, but not a single sound reached his rounded ears. The lingering silence slightly unnerved him, but he had to proceed nonetheless.
He slowly reached for the door handle, already formulating a basic plan on how slight he can open the door at a time. The door’s notorious squeakiness would alert any goons nearby if he happened to simply swing it wide open. This positively had to be done centimeters at a time. There couldn’t be any margin of error here. The moment he broke free of his bonds was the moment he had sealed his fate. He couldn’t predict the inevitable consequences that would follow suit if he was caught, but it was blatantly obvious that he wouldn’t be handed cake, ice cream, and birthday presents. He had already been beaten to a pulp, but there was no doubt they might try to melt his bones into a thick, sloppy pudding next.
His hand lightly clenched the handle. But before he decided to start twisting it, the audible clip-clop of thick hooves forced him to freeze in space.
“Any sign of the Royal Guards?” Vigilant asked to an unknown goon, confirming Blake’s suspicion that he and Day Break weren’t the only two ponies holding him there.
“Of coursssse not,” a thin, raspy voice buzzed in reply. “If they knew we were here, we would have been attacked long ago.”
“I see, I see,” Vigilant repeated. “I thought I would leave my post momentarily to give you guys a little welcoming present. Y’know, to show you all that you have a few ponies on your side.”
“A presssent?” another voice said, albeit in a much higher pitch than the previous one. “We do not require presssentsss. We only wisssh to feed on your love.”
“Yes, and I’m fully aware of that,” Vigilant said, “but it’s just a plain and simple ‘thank you,’ for your help with the human.”
“We have done nothing,” a third voice stated, this one rather low in tone. “We have sssat here for several daysss with only the invasssion on our thoughtsss. We do not sssee why you mussst pessster usss with thessse ssso called… presssentssss.”
“Trust me, it’s nothing too special,” Vigilant nonchalantly stated, pausing for a terse moment. “Welcome to Equestria, ya slimy, rotten buggers!”
Without any prior warning, high pitched squeals deeply penetrated Blake’s ears. He instinctively covered his ears with his hands, his ear drums clearly not ready to receive such piercing shrieks. He heard several thumps of something heavy hitting the ground multiple times over the course of a minute. We waited for few seconds after the yelps eventually died down, reluctant to remove his hands clasped over his ears. He eventually did so, realizing that he still was in imminent danger and had to proceed with his plan.
Clutching the door handle for a second time, he twisted slowly, opening the door only a small increment. He peeked a single eye out, greatly unexpected to see such carnage lying before him. He slightly flinched, seeing three separate bodies slumped against the floor, with a built jet-black stallion panting heavily over the corpses. A dagger was clenched in between his pearly-white teeth, while a dark-blue aura engulfed a rather familiar-looking combat knife, specifically the one Blake used during his wonderful journey in Europe.
He easily pushed the dilapidated, wooden door forward another couple of concise inches, and although he made sure he was one-hundred percent careful with speed in which he moved it, the door eagerly decided to creak noisily, instantly drawing the attention of Vigilant’s wandering gaze.
“Oh, shit!” Blake cursed, kicking the door wide open with full force. He splintered some of the old wood; several sharp fragments were sent flying in random directions. Blake opted to wield the second piece of shattered glass, as he was unable to find another suitable weapon anywhere around him.
Blake expected the unicorn to then charge directly at him headfirst, but much to his surprise, the unicorn proceeded to drop both weapons immediately. “I told you I was gonna get you out of here soon,” Vigilant snapped quickly in between breaths. “Guess you couldn’t be patient enough and decided to break free yourself. But you know what? I kinda like that determination. You’ve got promise, kid.”
However, Blake withdrew from lowering his guard. He took several discreet steps towards the unicorn, ready to strike at a whim. “What the hell is this?” Blake asked, briefly shivering at the creepy sight of the dead bodies. He briskly examined them. The bodies were equine in form, but the numerous holes in the limbs and wings gave the bodies an insect-like appearance.
“I’m helping you, kid. Just like I promised,” Vigilant said, unpredictably turning his back on the glass-wielding human. “Follow me, your equipment is just around the corner.”
“Give me one good reason why I should trust you,” Blake challenged, tempted to attack Vigilant while he wasn’t within the stallion’s distinct vision range. But his conscience nagged at him to stay passive, to not get into any fights that weren’t absolutely necessary. If this stallion could take down three of these insect-equines in the less than a minute, there was no doubt he could take him on fairly easily like child’s play, especially with his ridiculously stiff muscles that wouldn’t allow any sharp or jarring movements. This was a fight or flight situation, and he was leaning heavily towards making a break for it.
“Like I said before,” Vigilant said, glancing over his shoulder, “you have no reason to trust me. And though you may think I’m doing this just for you, know really that I am not. I’ve got a deep personal grudge against Day Break, and it’s clear that he holds you pretty dear to his ‘special’ project. If this is gonna piss him off in the end, then I’m gonna set this trapped little bird free from its cage.”
“…Alright, I’ll come,” Blake consented after carefully pondering the situation for a few seconds, tossing the shard aside, “but I’m keeping a close eye on you.” He cautiously stepped across the dead corpses, snatching both of the slick blades from their resting places on the freezing, rocky floor.
“I wouldn’t expect any less, kid,” Vigilant chuckled, gesturing him to hurry up.
Blake narrowed his eyes, his scrunched facial expression clearly saying, “Don’t cross me, I’m not in the mood.”
Vigilant smirked, lightly cantering towards a narrow path facing away from the stone building behind him. Blake followed suit, fairly happy that he didn’t have any abysmal cases of claustrophobia. Several dimly lit torches dotted the path, with shiny, iridescent crystals surrounding him on all sides. Blake was just short enough for the tip of his head to not hit the ceiling above him, and the path was wide enough for him to maneuver without too much difficulty.
“Where are we?” Blake inquired, concentrating on a distinct patch of clear crystals that created a beautiful reflection across the path, mixing with shades of various colors to form a disjointed rainbow.
“Right beneath Canterlot,” Vigilant replied, steadily increasing his pace. “The Crystal Caverns is what they used to call them; a mining site that was abandoned centuries ago due to unknown reasons. Only the princesses could probably tell you what really happened down here. This place is pretty Celestia-danged creepy though, if ya ask me.”
“So ponies really used to mine down here, huh?” Blake rhetorically asked. “That explains the square building out in the middle of freaking nowhere.”
“They used to be storage units,” Vigilant informed, breathing at a quickened rate due to the increased speed in which he was beginning to move. “Places where miners could store their mining equipment or be used as temporary barracks where the miners could sleep at night. There are dozens of them spread out across here. You just happened to be stored in the one farthest built from actual civilization.”
“You’d think that the Guard would have checked here to search for me,” Blake speculated, continuing to quicken his pace in order to stay behind the speedy pony.
“The Crystal Caverns have become nothing more than a mere mare’s tale, only being told as bloodcurdling campfire stories,” Vigilant said. “In a nutshell, the legend says that the reason the miners abandoned this place was because of some rampant, carnivorous creature that had escaped from Tartarus and decided to make this place his home. He began picking off ponies one by one, eating their raw flesh for food. Of course, most ponies believe the Crystal Caverns is only fictional place used to scare little fillies as a cheap horror story.”
“Trust me, I’ve seen and heard a lot worse than that,” Blake said, shaking his head at the thought of the gruesome images.
“I doubt that,” Vigilant said skeptically, stopping in front of another cube-shaped storage unit almost identical to the one Blake was kept in. “Anyways, this is where Day Break and I slept, plus it’s where we kept all of your equipment. You can put together your weapons here, plus we should eat a quick meal before we head out. I also still need to explain to you what’s probably gonna happen to Equestria soon.”
Blake lifted an eyebrow curiously. “Good, because I still need some answers.”
Vigilant’s horn became encased in a blue aura, the door handle on the door leading to the storage unit instantly doing so as well. The pair ducked inside, Blake watching the pony’s every subtle movement. There was a possibility this was all still a trap, but would Vigilant really go as far as killing several living, breathing beings in order to trick Blake into some sort of false sense of security? He highly doubted it, but if there was still even a miniscule possibility that this was all a deceitful ruse, he certainly wouldn’t overlook it.
The inside of deteriorated building wasn’t decorated at all, just like its predecessor. In fact, it seemed much more worn out, with eroded and withered away stone noticeable throughout its walls. The only contents of the room contained two sleeping bags, a small pile of crates, and Blake’s items strewn about the floor with blueprints and pieces of paper jotted with illegible notes alongside them.
“Lovely place,” Blake commented, immediately darting towards the scattered components of his assault rifle, picking every piece he could find and mentally noting which ones he had in his possession and which ones he didn’t.
“It’s not the greatest place to stay, obviously, but it still serves its purpose,” Vigilant said, diving into the crates. The unicorn tossed any littered garbage aside, then finally settled on half a loaf of bread and several rotten apples. He divided the food equally onto two separate plates, floating one towards his torn sleeping bag and the other right beside Blake. The human eyed the food apprehensively, unaware if he should proceed to devour it or not. He shrugged his shoulders, gripping onto a semi-red apple and tearing a huge chunk out of its core.
A couple of minutes later, Blake had already put together the AK-47 masterfully, the gun looking exactly as it should. He aimed the down the iron sights, digging the stock of the weapon into the arm pit of his shoulder. Still feels okay, he evaluated, tempted to pull the trigger to reassure that it was still in working condition. I probably should save ammunition though. I’ll have to take a few tests shots later. He then went through the same operation with the handgun. He couldn’t recall the name of the gun for the life of him, and the only thing he could remember about the slick gun was that it used .45 caliber rounds.
“So, would you like to tell me what the hell happened back there?” Blake asked in between mouthfuls of food, prudently aiming the pistol until it was at eye-level.
“It’s a long story, so I’m not gonna bore you with too many details,” Vigilant replied, chomping into his own food likewise. “Those bugger-like things are called changelings. They’re basically shape shifters and can take on the form of any pony they desire to. They also gain all their memories of the original pony in the process as well. Those things feed off of love, which is why they’re planning on invading Equestria. They’re in the middle of some sort of hunger crisis, with their workers not even making it past a few months old.”
“Whoa, whoa, hold on,” Blake chuckled, unable to believe what the unicorn was saying due the complete hilariousness of its context. “Are you trying to tell me that these things feed off of love? Are you serious?”
“Look, kid, this is very serious business here,” Vigilant impatiently said, locking his deep blue eyes with Blake’s. “I used to be a detective for the Manehattan Police. I was on a multitude of cases where ponies were reported missing but then mysteriously reappeared several days later. Essentially, those changelings would take on their form and replace them, feeding off the love of their loved ones. Heck, even several times those buggers murdered some poor ponies before attempting to replace them. They’re sick, heartless creatures only set on feeding off other sentient beings.”
“I see,” Blake said, nodding his head understandingly. “So again, what’s this deal with the changelings invading Equestria, and why were they working for you?”
“Day Break made a deal with the changeling’s queen,” Vigilant replied, spitting out Day Break’s name like it tasted like acid on his tongue. “He provided them with intel about the defenses of Canterlot, and in return, the changelings tracked you down and kept close watch on you when Day Break performed that teleportation spell thing.”
“If the changelings were keeping an eye on me, then why did I keep seeing a silhouette that looked strangely a lot like you?” Blake questioned curiously.
“The professor didn’t trust the changelings,” Vigilant replied, “he kept alluding to them as ‘pawns’ in some sort of chess game. So he ordered me to stalk you during your stay at the castle, trying to find the perfect moment to knock you unconscious and drag you here.”
“And looks like you did your job pretty well,” Blake deadpanned, his grip on the handgun involuntarily tightening. He fortunately caught himself, and immediately loosened his hand. “But I have to ask: if you had a personal grudge against Day Break, why you keep doing his dirty work?”
“Another long story,” Vigilant replied, suspiciously tossing the question aside. “But as a contracted mercenary, I obviously sign a contract with my clients in order to show my determination to get any job done, no matter how villainous it may be. It even says so in my job description. That dang professor tricked me, however, into signing something called a Blood Pact. It’s a form of forbidden magic designed to completely bind my free will to him. If at any time he thinks I’m not doing my job well enough, he’ll initiate the Blood Pact.”
“And?” Blake asked, gesturing with hand for him to continue.
“I collapse onto the ground as a lifeless corpse, simple as that,” Vigilant sighed, finishing the last few bites of his moldy food.
“So if you tried to run, Day Break would notice you went missing…”
“Like I said, there’s nothing I can do about it,” Vigilant said. “The only way to break the pact is to destroy the original document itself. The only problem is, I have zero clue as to where it may be.”
“That is a big problem,” Blake agreed.
“Tell me about it,” Vigilant said, shaking his head.
“Wait a second,” Blake said, an important fact dawning on him. “By helping me escape, you’re directly disobeying Day Break himself. Aren’t you just signing your own death wish by doing this?”
“Kid, I’ve done a lot of unmentionable things that I’m not proud of these last few years. But if an invasion on Equestria is imminent, somepony has to know that the invaders are already within Canterlot itself, because I’d rather be sent into the deepest pits of Tartarus rather than sitting on my sorry flank watching everypony I used to know get butchered and slaughtered by these buggers,” Vigilant disclosed.
“What are we gonna do?” Blake inquired.
“First, we’ll have to find one of the exits to the mines,” Vigilant informed him. “The closest one to us leads directly to the castle, but there’s already several patrols of buggers guarding that way, though I don’t know why. There’s another one that heads underneath the sewers, and fortunately for us, that path lies unobstructed. I scoped it out an hour ago. If we keep a steady pace, we could easily reach it in twenty minutes tops. After that, we need to find my twin brother. He’s a sergeant for the Canterlot Police and has direct connections to the princesses. We get word to him and the Royal Guard will have time to mobilize.”
“Sounds good,” Blake remarked. “I’d just like to check one more thing before we go.”
“Go ahead,” Vigilant said, “but we’re leaving in five minutes. The invasion’s gonna begin sometime today, and I’m not gonna miss the opportunity to kick some bugger flank for the world.”
Blake chuckled in response to his comment. He then quickly proceeded to pull out the leftover ammunition from his backpack, clipping the rounds into each magazine. The AK-47 had three extra mags, but he only had enough ammo to fill an entire one and slip only half into another, which left the final one devoid of anything. His handgun underwent a similar situation, with only five measly rounds to spare, almost filling the revolver. Shaking his head, he clicked the fully-loaded mag into the assault rifle, carelessly tossing everything else into his backpack. He double-checked that the safeties were both switched on, stuffing the handgun into his back pocket and lifting the assault rifle with two hands. He swiftly slipped the straps of the backpack over his arms, nodding to Vigilant.
“Let’s go.”
<><><><><><><><><>
To say that Blake’s legs were merely sore was a profound understatement. The difficult three mile trek from Vigilant and Day Break’s temporary residence to the streets of Canterlot took a definite toll on his tense, inflexible legs. It was exceedingly laborious to force his already sore legs to move step after step after step, but despite their desperate pleas to take a rest, he pushed them forward until their maximum limits.
The sun’s beaming rays hit Blake in both loving warmth and severe discomfort. On one side, his skin soaked in the loving rays as if he wouldn’t feel the brightness of the sun ever again in his lifetime. But his eyes, however, instinctively slammed themselves shut in response to the sudden brightness that they had fallen out of habit from seeing. It took several tenacious minutes to adjust, but eventually he could see clearly in the broad daylight.
“The town seems rather lively despite the giant pink bubble surrounding the city,” Blake commented, noticing several groups of high-class ponies going about their day as if nothing overly-suspicious was occurring. The human attracted the stares of several passersby, but they only fixed their attention onto him momentarily.
“You’re right, I don’t like this either,” Vigilant concurred, glancing at the force field. “But we don’t have the time to dawdle. Let’s head to the CPD headquarters. I think it’s just a few blocks down from here.”
Vigilant began sprinting at a breakneck speed, but was immediately halted when a thunderous boom slightly quaked the cement streets beneath them.
“What the hell was that?” Blake asked, the sky above them darkening as enormous, black clouds began blotting out the sun’s light.
“Oh, Celestia!” Vigilant exclaimed in awe. “That’s the invasion army, and they’re trying to force their way through the shield!”
“How many are there?” Blake asked, thoroughly astonished at the luminous sight.
“Close to fifty-thousand,” Vigilant replied grievously. “And the number of conscripts in the Royal Guard is only around five-thousand, making them outnumbered ten-to-one. Dang, they needed that extra time in order to brace for the invasion too, but it looks like it’s already under way.”
“Got any other bright ideas?” Blake inquired. “Looks like Plan A’s gone down the drain, now that we can’t alert the princesses.”
“You, human!” a boisterous voice shouted from behind them. Both Blake and Vigilant instantaneously craned their heads to search for where the loud call came from, another crackling boom pounding their ears. A member of the Royal Guard dashed towards the two, fully dressed in Greek-like armor and wielding an intimidating, slender spear. “We’ve been looking for you for the past few days. Where have you been?”
“The Crystal Caverns beneath Canterlot,” Blake answered, a third and a forth boom transpiring one after the other.
“But… those don’t exist!” the pegasus guard objected in confusion, a fifth and sixth boom shaking the streets even more so than before. By now, a plethora of ponies began to descend into a panic-like state, darting from corner to corner completely unaware as to what was going on.
“They do now,” Blake refuted. “But that’s not the issue. I need you to take us to the princesses right away.”
“But Princess Celestia is ministering the wedding between the captain and Princess Cadence, and Princess Luna is keeping watch for any foreign threat and they shouldn’t be disturbed—”
“Look at the sky for two seconds, you knucklehead!” Vigilant interrupted. “As of now, the wedding has been cancelled and Equestria is facing invasion. We need you to take us to either of the princesses now! We both have invaluable information that they need to know right away!”
Seventh and eighth booms.
“Okay, okay!” the guard conceded, turning towards the direction of the castle. “Follow me and I’ll escort the two of you directly to Princess Luna immediately!”
Ninth and tenth booms.
“Let’s go!” Blake shouted, following the guard closely.
After the eleventh and twelfth booms, the shield simply couldn’t sustain any additional damage from the changelings body-slamming onto it from above. The pink forcefield shattered into millions of tiny pieces, gravity uncomplicatedly taking over and plunging the fragments towards the streets at high velocity.
“Take cover!” Vigilant commanded, grabbing Blake and violently shoving him under a table before he could even react. The jet-black unicorn and the guard followed suit, bracing for the incoming impact. The fragments of the shield splattered similarly to raindrops as they hit the surface of the streets, disappearing after emanating a strange bright sparkle.
“And that’s just the first wave…”
Before Blake could inquire as to what he meant, dozens of electric green missiles began barreling towards the city, colliding into the buildings and streets in a multitude of tiny explosions, leaving small craters in their wake. Behind every explosion was a single changeling, promptly beginning to terrorize the still panicking ponies with their frightening features and jagged teeth. These must be the changeling’s version of paratroopers, Blake mused. All three then shifted from underneath their ephemeral cover places, taking on the several changelings that landed near their position with brute force.
Blake decided to use the butt of his gun to engage the changelings, wisely preserving ammunition for when he absolutely needed it. From what he could tell after a brief fight with two of the insect-like ponies, they weren’t particularly skillful in hand-to-hand combat as individuals, but probably used sheer numbers to overcome their adversaries. Blake had no difficulty rendering the two changelings unconscious with vicious, wild swings. He glanced towards his allies, taking note that they all had taken out six changelings altogether in less than fifteen seconds. The invaders gave them no time to recuperate, as another six landed in the near vicinity of them.
The two ponies plus the human wasted no time in waiting to initiate an attack. All three aggressively assaulted the unsuspecting changelings in a fury of steel and unmatchable power. The guard’s long spear could stab and jab at enemies from farther distances, while Vigilant used his swift magical abilities to cut and clash with his dagger from afar. Blake was forced to fight in closer quarters, but the pair changelings that dared to challenge him took a quick blows to the head, rendering them both unable to retaliate.
“They’re just gonna keep coming, we need to move somewhere else!” Vigilant shouted as a large congestion of changelings began to swarm the trio from the ground and the air. The airborne invaders dive-bombed the resisting force in hopes of forcefully toppling them over, effectively losing their balance and allowing their grounded friends to entangle them in thick green goo-like substance that closely resembled snot.
“And what do you propose?” the guard asked inquisitively as he began using the end of his spear more like a type of club, bashing the changelings’ skulls without much complication. “The majority of my detachment is still in the castle—” He paused in the middle of his sentence, wrestling an airborne changeling that decided to use his back as a landing pad. The guard shook it off effortlessly by viciously bucking his hind legs, sending it flying off into the distance. “Like I said, my squad is still the castle, and there’s no way we can link up with them when there’s an army standing between us. We need a place to hunker down immediately!”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The slight recoil from the AK-47 dug into Blake’s shoulder, its loud bursts of fire ringing in his ears. Three individual rounds flew through the air faster than the speed of sound, splitting through three separate skulls. They all found their inevitable marks as even more changelings slumped over in a heap of lifelessness.
“Keep it down, will ya?” Vigilant chuckled sarcastically as he dug his dagger deep into the flesh of an incoming changeling. “I’m trying to concentrate!”
BANG! BANG!
“Sorry, trigger finger’s feeling a bit itchy,” Blake joked in return, effectively killing a fourth but missing the fifth by mere inches. It was a big mistake, missing the pissed-off changeling charging at a full-on sprint. It struck Blake dead center in the torso with extreme force, and he ultimately crashed onto the cracked sidewalk, losing possession of the assault rifle and scraping his arm in the process. Without hesitation, he instantaneously pulled the revolver from his back pocket, aiming the sights in between the changeling’s eyes. He delicately squeezed the trigger, another BANG easily audible. There was no way to miss with the close proximity the opposing sides were sharing, and the changeling was tossed back several feet, lying stone-cold dead.
After a few brief minutes, the changelings eventually came to terms that they were not winning this fight. The surrounding invaders turned tail and retreated, leaving the defenders slightly enervated and exhausted for air.
“Where the hell are they going?” Blake wondered as he clutched the body of the AK with a hand, heaving it off the ground. He only used six rounds during that battle, but he knew that meant six rounds closer to being depleted, which bothered him beyond reason. The numbers of the invading army indubitably outnumbered their own, and he absolutely needed every bullet he could spare.
“Regrouping and probably preparing to overwhelm us, no doubt,” the guard figured, glancing towards the hundreds of changelings continuing to bomb the city via airborne attacks. “That’s not a bad idea, after all. We should head back to the castle and find the rest of the guard. They’ll be doing their best to protect the princesses, and we should be there to help defend the sisters, no matter the cost.”
“What about all the civilians?” Blake asked, raising an eyebrow. “If the guard focuses all of its energy defending the princesses, then there’ll be no one to protect all the ponies panicking within Canterlot. I think our best bet is to send several large groups of twenty guards each to round up all the civilians we can and gather them into the castle. If we can set up a tight defensive perimeter from there, we might be able to hold them off long enough to send the message that their invasion’s risks outweigh the benefits.”
“I have to admit, it’s a good idea, but I don’t call the shots,” the guard sighed, shaking his head. “Along with the rest of the Royal Guard, I can only take orders from Captain Shining Armor or the princesses themselves. This idea of yours will have to go through one of them first before rescue parties can be effectively set into motion.”
“You’ve got wings, you can probably make it to the castle quick if you lay low and take the alleyways,” Blake said, following through with a complete three-sixty to check his immediate surroundings for any unbarred roads. “In the meantime, we’ll try our best to round up all the ponies we can and probably take positions inside the CPD headquarters.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” the guard said, inching closer to Blake. “I have direct orders from Princess Luna herself that in the event we happened to find you, we’d take you to her without hesitation or delay. This is no time to play hero, and you should let the Royal Guard do the job it’s assigned to do. Neither of you have a place in the front lines, even if both of you can fight like a beast.”
Blake intimidatingly marched up to the guard, slouching his back slightly so that the two could lock eyes at an even level. “Look, buddy, I personally know what it’s like to lose family and friends who get caught in the middle of a war, and I’ll be damned before I see the same thing happen to other innocent bystanders who don’t know how to handle themselves in these kind of situations. If the princess wants to see me so badly, she can find me herself. I’m gonna stay and fight, whether you like it or not.”
“Bold words, human,” the guard said back, his stern facial expressions remaining as rock solid as ever. “Not many ponies would dare to cross a member of the Royal Guard.”
“I’m not a pony, now am I?”
“Note taken, but if you happen to mortally injure or manage to kill yourself, I’ll have your head,” the guard said jokingly, breaking the stiff eye contact. “I would never disobey direct orders in most cases, but I’ll let this one slip by, just this once.” Without another syllable escaping his lips, the guard unfurled his large, chalky-colored wings, taking off into the air with little ease.
“Let’s head out before those buggers decide to make another pass,” Vigilant urged, breaking into a light canter in the opposite direction of the CPD.
Blake painstakingly began moving his legs as well, questionably wondering why the unicorn was moving the wrong way. “I thought the headquarters was in that direction,” Blake objected, pointing a finger towards the general area they had been running to before.
“We’re finding my brother first,” Vigilant said, sweat already trickling down his forehead. “I know I’m not gonna make it to see another sunset by the end of the day. Day Break will know what I’ve done, and he’ll initiate the Blood Pact without hesitation the moment he notices I’m not where I’m supposed to be. But if I can just see my brother just one last time, then I may finally rest in peace.”
BANG! BANG!
“Ack, what was that for?!” Vigilant recoiled, his big ears drooping in order to drown out the ear-crackling noises. “You’re just gonna draw attention to ourselves!”
“There were a few more following us,” Blake shrugged, content that both rounds reached their targets without issue. “I didn’t really like that.”
“Warn me before you shoot that blasted thing next time, I don’t wanna become deaf just yet,” Vigilant joked, but voiced at the same time quite seriously.
“We’ll see.”
<><><><><><><><><><><>
The brief journey to the residence of Vigilant’s twin brother extended only a short period of time, and fortunately for the lone pair, there were no additional encounters with any of the changeling army. There were several instances where enormous patrols would sweep by the streets, forcing the two to duck into a nearby alley to remain incognito. As far as they could tell, the majority of the residents had obstructed entrance to their homes with battered and overturned furniture, and hardly any ponies entered their field of vision from the outside.
“This is it,” Vigilant informed, coming to a halt before a quaint, homely building, its architecture similar to the ones in the near vicinity. “Knowing my brother, he’d risk his life trying to protect his wife. If there was one place in Canterlot he could be at this time, it would be here. Not any force in the universe could draw him away from her, unless they both decided to leave to find better shelter.”
He beckoned Blake to accompany him, gesturing towards the front door. The human nodded in acknowledgement, double-checking the surrounding areas before tagging along. Vigilant pounded on the door boisterously in attempt to grab his brother’s attention. “Ebony, open the blasted door!” he shouted loudly. “It’s your brother!”
Silence ensued for what seemed like an eternity. Vigilant continued to knock on the door periodically every few seconds, refusing to give up hope. “I guess he’s not here,” Vigilant sighed after minutes of constant battering against the door, uncertainly departing away from it.
However, his ears instinctively perked upwards when the sound of several deadbolts unlocking caused him to jolt in surprise. A stallion’s head poked out the door, his features identical to Vigilant’s own. “Brother, is that really you?” Ebony asked skeptically, apparently unsure of what to say.
“Yes it is, Ebony,” Vigilant chuckled momentarily, smiling intently. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“Indeed it has, Vigilant,” Ebony said in reply, opening the door widely and welcoming them inside. “Perhaps you can finally tell me where you’ve disappeared off to these past few years, and why you have the human I’ve been searching for as a companion.”
“This isn’t the time and the place,” Vigilant alleged, shaking his head. “We’re planning on relocating everpony we can find to the CPD headquarters. There’s plenty of room to hold a large crowd and it will be a good fortified area we can hold until the Royal Guard can escort all of us to the castle.”
“I’m sure most ponies would rather protect their homes and loved ones rather than risk going out in the open where they can be captured. You’re going to have a tough time trying to convince ponies to leave without the guard’s escort,” Ebony stated.
“If ponies would prefer to stay inside their home, that’s great, but I’m talking about saving the ones that are still scouring the streets still trying to find a decent place to hide,” Vigilant said. “We saw the mass panic that occurred when the changelings began their attack, and I’m sure there may be hundreds either captured or hiding under an easily blown cover place. It’s just a stroke of bad luck we didn’t happen to come across any ponies on our way here. We’re both police here, Ebony, and ya know that it’s our sworn duty to protect the innocent no matter the cost.”
“I understand that, Vigilant, but I’m going to gamble Autumn’s safety by sending her out into the middle of a combat zone!” Ebony remarked. “I’m not going to do it, not with an army hanging over our heads!”
“Ebony, all I’m asking is that ya do this for old time’s sake,” Vigilant pleaded. “For the glory days when we were both considered idols and heroes. We both need to redeem ourselves from some of the terrible things we did in the past in the name of what we used to call ‘justice’ and ‘truth’, and this is the only way to do it. Please brother, don’t help just because I’m asking ya to. Help because you know it’s the right thing to do.”
Ebony speculated noiselessly for a few minutes, the pupils in his sapphire-blue eyes darting back and forth. “Alright, it may take a little bit of convincing on Autumn’s part, but I’ll help as long as the first drink’s on you.”
“I think it’ll take far more than just a few measly drinks to convince me to come,” a feminine voice giggled from behind Ebony. The stallion fumbled out of the way, revealing a ruby coated mare with a cropped light orange mane adorning a loving smile. “Maybe buying an entire bar will do the trick.”
“Hello, Autumn, long time no see. It’s good to know ya haven’t changed a single bit,” Vigilant laughed, lightly embracing his sister-in-law with a welcoming hug.
“And I’m glad your Manehattan accent is still as unique as ever,” Autumn snickered in response.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
“Dang it, Blake!” Vigilant cursed, looking quite frustrated towards the interrupting gunshots. “You’re ruining a family moment here.”
“I’m not the only one who’s going to be crashing the reunion,” Blake said, pointing in the direction of two-dozen changelings taking notice of the ponies standing idle in the open. “Ebony, you take your wife and make a break for the CPD headquarters. Vigilant and I will cover you until there’s a decent sized gap and we’ll hook up with you as soon as we can.”
“Wait, we’re going to do what?” Vigilant questioned bizarrely.
“You heard him, brother,” Ebony smirked, levitating an expertly crafted crossbow from somewhere inside the house, along with a fully stocked quiver of bolts. “You’re going to take on a regiment of changelings while the two of us take off into the sunset.”
“Remind me why I thought that coming to ya was good idea,” Vigilant murmured, bringing his dagger to bear.
“Your crazy schemes are always terrible, but for some reason, I always end up getting sucked into them,” Ebony sighed.
“That being said, who’s the true idiot now?” Vigilant pointed out.
BANG! BANG!
“Like you said, Vigilant, this is not the time or the place!” Blake barked, another few changeling bodies dropping to the ground. “You two get moving! The path from here to the CPD should be clear for the most part! If any large patrols come by, take cover in an alleyway and lay low until they pass!”
“Roger that,” Ebony nodded, friendly patting his brother on the back. “Hopefully we’ll see you in twenty?”
“You better count on it,” Vigilant said, half-smiling in return.
“C’mon, sweety. Let’s go,” Ebony gestured to his wife.
“Oh, and I don’t get an awesome weapon to use?” Autumn sarcastically joked, eyeballing her husband suspiciously.
Ebony sighed. “Mares…”
The loving couple then entered a swift running pace, dashing away from the stallion and human and into the nearby streets.
Blake and Vigilant turned towards the incoming opposition, their body stances shifting into a defensive posture. “Yippie-ki-yay, motherfuckers!” Blake chanted, carefully aiming level and squeezing the trigger several more times.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Two more extra bodies collapsed into a lifeless clump, renewing the changeling’s vigor to avenge their fallen allies. The second before the two opposing forces unavoidably collided, Blake viciously held the trigger of the assault rifle, firing mercilessly until the dreaded click, click, click of the weapon signified his current mag contained no more additional rounds. He carelessly dropped the weapon, realizing he didn’t have time to reload and sheathed his combat knife. He aggressively lunged towards the nearest changeling, the sharp blade slipping into its torso.
Squeals penetrated his ear drums, but he forced himself to ignore its cries. He proceeded to cautiously slip the knife out of the dying changeling, awkwardly tossing the body into the clump of his attacking friends, effectively knocking the balance of several more. He lurched, slashing and stabbing the blade recklessly, adrenaline renewing his body’s depletion of energy.
Blake couldn’t count how many more lied either dead or in a comatose state, but he endured any assault on his position by pushing forward briefly, then maintaining a basic defensive position, taking paces back when he need to. Vigilant opted to copy Blake’s same strategy, striking when only individuals moved forward and backpedalling away when they tried to surround him with massive numbers.
No matter how many they took out, another three took their place. It wouldn’t be long until they were both outnumbered and outmatched. If the changelings couldn’t bring them down themselves, then exhaustion surely would. With several minutes of back-and-forth skirmishes, the defending side was steadily becoming weaker and less reflexive. Unfortunately for them, the changelings noticed their increasing sloppiness, stepping forward to feign another attack, but easily dodging when the defenders tried to push on their position, sapping them of more energy with have swing, stab, or attack.
“I think your relatives are gone by now!” Blake speculated, removing his revolver and taking another couple of random potshots.
BANG! BANG!
The changelings cringed at the cacophonous noises, allowing Blake the concise moment he needed to snatch his assault rifle from the ground where it had been temporarily lost.
“You’re right, let’s get outta here!” Vigilant agreed, attempting another few slashes then breaking into a headlong sprint away from the amassing swarm of changelings.
The two were immediately pursued, half of the crowding changelings electing to take off into the air. The sound of buzzing plagued the two’s ears to no bounds as they bombed them from all directions, narrowly missing them a multitude of times. They then decided to dart into a nearby alley in attempt to shake off the chasers, speedily changing directions multiple times. As they suspected, the changelings’ numbers thinned as they lost sight of the quick defenders, though a couple persisted in maintaining an approaching distance.
“Vigilant, we’ve got three behind us!” Blake counted, his body desperately wanting to give up on him and collapse onto the grimy, filthy cement underneath him. He didn’t know how much farther he could carry himself if he didn’t take an opportunity to recharge his lost reserves of energy soon.
“We should take ‘em out…” Vigilant panted, gasping for oxygen. “The CPD isn’t too far from here. We take these guys down and we can probably crawl the rest of the way there if we want to.”
“Take a left here and wait for them to come by?” Blake suggested pointing a finger towards the next intersection.
“Sounds good,” Vigilant said, taking a sharp ninety-degree turn. The two skidded to a stop, once again opting to set themselves in an established, defensive posture. They clenched onto their weapons tightly, as if they would decide to fly out of their grasp for no reason whatsoever. A brief moment later, the three changelings turned the corner, only to see their retreaters taking the immediate fight to them. It was obvious that the changelings unexpected the sudden turn of events, and even though the pair was almost unwilling to fight for another minute, they knocked them unconscious in a matter of moments.
“Those sons of bitches never give up,” Blake coughed, leaning his full weight against the closest wall within close proximity of him.
“Tell me about it,” Vigilant agreed, his breathing relentless.
“You said we were almost there, right?” Blake inquired, wiping the storm of sweat from his forehead with a dirtied arm.
“Yeah, we’re almost there.”
<><><><><><><><><><>
“I’m a pony, I tell you!” Vigilant barked, pounding on the door to the CPD rigorously. “Let us in!”
“Back off, changeling scum!” a muffled, masculine voice came from inside. “Your disguises can’t fool us!”
“How can I prove that I’m a pony?” Vigilant asked, excessively agitated at the pony who refused to unlock the large double doors in order to allow them access to the interior of the headquarters.
“Go home! Just stay away from here!” the voice persisted, not changing his mind for even a brief second.
“That doesn’t help me at all!” Vigilant said angrily.
“Not my problem!” the voice shouted back.
“I’m gone for three minutes, and you already are denying access to ponies without even checking them out first?” a familiar second voice asked. “Open the doors, private.”
“Yes, sir…” the voice said, doubt still present in his voice.
The entrance opened imperceptibly, an acquainted face poking outwards. “You’re ten minutes late, little brother. Just like you were the day we were born thirty-five years ago,” Ebony chided playfully, allowing full entrance to the tired pair.
“I was never one to be on time, ya know that,” Vigilant said, trotting inside with Blake trailing along beside him.
“You bet. This is a heck of a birthday present, isn’t it?” Ebony laughed. “Because you know, to celebrate our birth, the changelings decide to throw us a little surprise party in the form of an invasion!”
“They’re so thoughtful,” Vigilant chucked, playing along.
While the two brothers bantered lightheartedly, Blake scoped in the immediate setting of the headquarters. Several Royal Guards held spears, swords, and crossbows at the ready, intently gazing out the window in search of any more aggressors. The bulky stallion that refused to let them in was dressed in a blue police uniform, shutting the doors snug and tight, looking rather embarrassed about his recent mistake. In the corner of the main lobby, a mother and father huddled close to their three frightened children, protecting them with their bodies as best as they could.
And entering the room from the flight of stairs on the far side was… “Lyra!” Blake announced cheerily, gaining of attention of the mint-green unicorn that now bore an enormous, toothy grin on her face.
“Blake!” Lyra shouted in response, rushing to the human and tackling him to the ground in a friendly bear-hug.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Blake asked, returning the embrace eagerly.
“Gosh, Blake, what happened to you?” Lyra question worringly, taking notice of the numerous bruises and cuts that were sprawled across his skin. “You look absolutely terrible.”
“It’s good to see you too,” Blake deadpanned, staring at her earnestly.
“No, I just really meant—”
“It’s okay, Lyra, I’m just joking,” Blake interrupted, silencing her by pressing a finger against her lips. “But if you really want to know, I happened to get in a few fights on the way here, nothing big.”
“You like you’ve just been hit by a hurricane,” Lyra said. “Plus you stink… really badly.”
“The perks of not showering for almost a week,” Blake jested. “But seriously, can you get off my stomach? I’m already having enough trouble breathing as it is.”
“Of course, sorry,” Lyra apologized, mirthfully rolling off of his torso and landing on top of her hooves delicately.
“Thank you,” Blake gasped, arduously shifting his weight onto his arms as he endeavored to stand upright.
“It’s not a problem,” Lyra smiled.
“Well, this is a swell time for you to decide to show up,” Princess Luna quipped as she gracefully entered the main lobby, causing the guards to stand at attention and bow respectfully. “At ease, gentlecolts. There is no need for such actions every single time I decide to make an entrance.” The guards nodded their heads in unison, returning to their posts at hand.
Blake snickered, walking clumsily towards the princess. Luna held out her hoof in greeting, expecting a hand to grasp around it in return. Instead, she received two lengthy arms wrapping around her neck, involuntarily seizing her into a close embrace. “Forgive me if I say that I am puzzled as to why you’re giving me such affection, Blake. I thought we merely had a simple student-teacher relationship,” Luna incredulously stated.
“Let’s just say that I had a lot of time to think these past few days, and I’m finally realizing that I’ve taken a lot for granted even with some of the fairly recent events that have taken place,” Blake said. “So this is just a plain and simple ‘thank you’, for taking me in even when you knew that I was psychologically unstable and a total prick to everyone and everything. Though I still don’t understand why, you ponies continued put up with my constant bullshit on a daily basis, but at the end of the day, you still were able to find something good about me. Something that I honestly couldn’t see before, but now I do. So again… just thank you.”
Luna smiled, her heart nearly happily breaking into several shattered fragments. She grasped her arms around his back, tugging him closer than they were previously before.
“Aww, isn’t that sweet?” Lyra chuckled, tears nearly starting to swell up in her eyes.
“I suppose it is,” Blake said, reluctantly removing himself from Luna’s arms, an important question starting to formulate inside his head. “But you guys are going to need to explain to me why you’re here and not the castle. Has something happened?”
Luna visibly drooped her head sorrowfully, sniffling almost inaudibly. “The castle was overrun, and my sister… was ultimately defeated by Queen Chrysalis. The queen is in control of Celestia and Shining Armor, and I am unsure as to where the Elements have headed off to. The Royal Guard was scattered shortly after they realized two of their leaders were captured, taking off into mass panic and spreading themselves throughout Canterlot trying to fight the changelings by their lone selves in attempt to get ‘revenge’ for the capture of the two ponies. I narrowly missed capture myself, and I found myself out of the castle being pursued by dozens of changelings. A corporal informed me of your reappearance and your idea to protect the citizens. Fortunately, I’ve managed to scrape together several platoons to coordinate search and rescue missions like you suggested, and I only sent them out a few minutes before you arrived here. But with the guard in such disarray and my sister under containment, I don’t think we can win this battle. I’m even pondering on initiating surrender…”
“Luna, don’t you dare say that,” Blake stated, gently lifting her chin so she could meet his eyes. Her quivered lips and depressed face saddened his mood. “Saying things like that can lower morale. If you let the few ponies who are actually trying fend off this invasion see you in such a state, they’re going to give up as well. You have to be strong. Be the leader that your citizens are trying to see you as. I have faith that you can find a way to win this battle, trust me.”
“You’re right,” Luna said, her expression beginning to brighten. “I am the Princess of the Night, and I shall do everything in my power to see that the ponies of Equestria have no enemies to fear, no matter how tough they seem to be.”
“That’s the spirit,” Blake grinned, ruffling the top of Luna’s head like he would a pet.
“I know that this may be difficult thing to ask of you, but can you continue to fight?” Luna inquired unsurely, also taking note of Blake’s numerous bruises like Lyra had. “We’re going to need every able-bodied stallion that can put up a decent fight if we’re going to retake the castle and defeat Queen Chrysalis.”
“I can fight, but I don’t know for how much longer,” Blake said. “I’m very inexperienced with hand-to-hand combat, and as you can see, I’ve paid quite the price for it. The only thing I can use to effectively fight with is my rifle, but that only has about a dozen rounds left in it. After I use those up, it’s pretty much going to be downgraded into a fancy-looking club.”
“Here, let me see what your weapon uses to fire with. I think I may be able to help with your predicament,” Luna hypothesized, staring at Blake intently.
“Alrighty then…” Blake said, proceeding to slip the backpack onto the ground. He speedily zipped open one of the pouches, pulling out the extra magazine he hadn’t used yet. Shaking the curved magazine furiously, he managed to knock one of the shiny bullets loose, gripping it in between two fingers and holding it front of Luna’s face to examine.
Luna’s horn began to glow dimly, snatching the bullet out of Blake’s grip. She shut her eyes snug in order to concentrate deeply, both her horn and the round illuminating brightly. A moment later, almost fifty rounds clattered against the floor, causing Blake’s jaw to smash against the ground in pure awe.
“How did you do that?” Blake asked, immediately kneeling and clipping the new rounds into his magazines.
“Duplication spell,” Luna replied, lifting her head proudly. “Any intermediate-level unicorn can perform it if they put forth a conscious effort into practice and training.”
“Well this fancy magic just saved my ass from having to fight six bad guys at once with just a small knife. Thanks, Luna,” Blake chuckled, noticing Lyra gratefully helping him by levitating the scattered rounds in a golden aura next to him for quick and easy access.
“All in the day of a princess’s work,” Luna smiled. “Now the next order of business is to plan out our next decisive actions until the search and rescue parties return…”
<><><><><><><><><><>
After a seemingly long, drawn-out hour, all the search parties had returned, each with at least fifty ponies and a few extra guards to boot. The CPD headquarters were quite crowded as all three floors were jam packed with families and neighbors alike. Trepidation still ran rampant throughout the civilians as they retold tales of watching their loved ones become captured by the changelings and rumors of how Princess Celestia herself had already lost the battle. Luna managed to quell most of their fears by promising a sound victory against the invaders, but panic still dug deep into the ponies’ minds, the emotion just waiting for an excuse to infect the ponies once again like a deadly virus.
The majority of the guards waited patiently in the lobby, eager for their next orders, while the civilians were stuck in the upstairs rooms and the storage located in the basement. “Alright, listen up gentlecolts!” Luna said, the guards immediately saluting in return. “I commend all of your excellent work on relocating these panicking ponies to the Canterlot Police HQ. However, there still may be dozens more awaiting rescue, and there’s still the issue of retaking the castle from changeling control. I see hardly any possible we can do this alone with just the hundred troops we have here right now, which is why we’re going to broaden our search radius and amass as many troops as we can. I believe if we can at least gather at least a fifth of our original numbers, we stand a fighting chance. Now I predict this battle may draw out for several days, but with our will and our pure determination, we can and we will push these invaders far into the badlands of Equestria!”
The guard broke into cheers, their vigor increasing ten-fold. Luna waited for their hurrahs to quiet down before continuing her debrief. “Now, these are your orders: I want platoons Cloud and Rune to sweep the north district, while platoon Everfree—”
“Princess Luna, we have a problem!” a guard impeded, boisterously bursting through the front doors.
Luna turned to face the newcomer, raising an eyebrow. “What is it, corporal?”
“The changelings have figured out that we’re trying to establish a base of operations at the CPD. Scouts have reported that there’s an enormous force merging on our position. They estimate around five minutes before the assault commences.”
“Thank you for your report, corporal. You may return to your post,” Luna dismissed, the guard nodding and rushing again towards the outside world. “Looks like we have a change of plan, gentlecolts. Platoons Windigo and Manticore will remain inside the CPD to protect the civilians. The rest of us will form a defensive perimeter outside the walls. Once we fend off this attack, we’ll proceed with our original plan. Any questions?”
Silence.
“Good. Stay with your platoons at all times and don’t break formation for any reason whatsoever. Let’s move!” Luna commanded, her angelic wings unfurling as she prepared to take off into the air.
“For Equestria!” the guards chanted in unison, raising their weapons into the air. The crowd funneled out the door, their princess in the lead. Blake, Vigilant, Ebony, and Lyra remained behind, waiting for the troops to leave before they even bothered to take a chance.
Blake shifted his body towards Lyra, squatting slightly so that he could look into her eyes without much difficulty. “You’re staying here. Go downstairs with the rest of the ponies. You’ll be safe there.”
“No, I’m going to fight with you!” Lyra objected. “I’m not going to sit on my flank while I watch my hometown become destroyed like this. I can handle myself, I swear!”
“This isn’t an option, Lyra,” Blake said, placing a hand on her shoulder tenderly. “You may be able to use a simple levitation spell, but there isn’t much you can do besides that. I don’t want to see you panic and end up in the grasp of a group of changelings when I can’t do anything about it. The battlefield can become very chaotic, Lyra, and I don’t think I’ll be able to keep track of you the entire time. You’re staying here, and that’s final.”
Lyra whimpered towards Blake, imitating the best face of a small puppy dog that she could. “I’ll come back from this fight in one peace, I promise,” Blake said, hugging the unicorn once again. “No tears now, only dreams.”
The unicorn smiled contently, snugging her head into his chest. “Pinkie Promise?” she pleaded.
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Blake recited, internally surprised that he could remember all the correct words and hand gestures to the phrase.
“You better come back then,” Lyra threatened. “You don’t want to see Pinkie when she hears that somepony broke a Pinkie Promise.”
“I don’t plan on it,” Blake said, letting go of the soft unicorn mare hesitatingly.
“You ready, kid?” Vigilant asked as Blake lifted his body upwards, steadily balancing himself with ease.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Their gaze focused onto the married couple on the opposite side of the room, their lips locked tightly.
“Don’t you go dying on me out there,” Autumn said as she grasped onto her husband firmly. “We still have that anniversary trip we haven’t gone on yet, plus your brother still owes us a full night’s worth of drinks.”
“That he does,” Ebony chuckled, glancing at Vigilant and playfully winking. “I’ll see you soon, honey. I’ve done a lot more dangerous things than this.”
“I’m sure you have,” Autumn said, nuzzling his cheek lovingly.
“Let’s go, lover boy, or else we’re gonna miss all the action,” Vigilant urged, jerking his head towards the door.
The couple reluctantly removed themselves from each other, Ebony smiling reassuringly. The trio’s nervousness towards the upcoming fight became apparent, and the two mares took note of it. The three then shuffled outside, joining amongst the ranks of the Royal Guards.
<><><><><><><><><><>
“They’re breaking through from the right!”
BANG!
“We need additional reinforcements on the west flank, right now!”
BANG! BANG!
“They’re trying to break through the windows! Stop them before they breach the inside!”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
“Airborne changelings are trying to bomb the CPD! We need a protective shield around it at once!”
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
“Platoons Cloud and Comet, hold your positions and form a close proximity! Don’t let those bombers break through!”
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Discord would have a field day if he was present during this battle, Blake mused, randomly remembering the unpredictable draconequus from his studies at the castle’s library. His current mag ran low and he instinctively swapped for a fresh, fully loaded one. It was becoming exceedingly difficult trying to spot a changeling who wasn’t already engaged in a close attack with another member of the Royal Guard. Friendly fire was almost the point where it was unavoidable, so he hung low until the pristine moment decided to clearly show itself.
Chaos ensued as thousands of changelings tried to breach the insanely packed group of battle-hardened warriors. Three pegasus platoons fought desperately in the skies while the remaining five took on an innumerable amount of changelings who sometimes took on the form of a guard themselves, allowing them to sneak past the line of unicorn guards. Unfortunately for them, their shape shifting magic didn’t sway Blake, as he could still easily discern their original forms. He fired upon any disguised changeling that managed to break through, and they immediately reverted back to their normal insect-like appearance once they were pumped full of a decent amount of lead.
Effective communication also became nearly impossible as the battle dragged on. At the beginning, their formations were dense and compact, but as more and more changelings broke through their thick lines, they began to crack, and every pony had to fight for himself to an extent. They still tried to remain in their assigned platoons, but as the minutes lingered, they couldn’t maintain their tight line as they were far outnumbered.
Hundreds of changeling corpses littered the streets while several dozen guards were trapped in a thick, sticky glop that they were unable to move around in. Additional guards that originally fled from the castle took notice of the grand battle occurring in the center of the capital city, and joined in amongst their fellow guards. The defenders gained reinforcements periodically, but it wasn’t enough to stop the incoming tsunami of the changeling swarm.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
“Vigilant! I could use a hand over here!” Blake yelped to the muscled unicorn as several more changelings bore down on him. Both twins, however, came to his aid when a force of over ten changelings attempted to knock them down. Magical bolts flew through the air from Ebony’s crossbow, while Vigilant’s dagger slit left and right. Before they knew it, another squad of the invaders had fallen into their metaphorical graves.
“Thanks for the assist!” Blake acknowledged, his peripheral vision catching sight of another few bombers trying to burst through the CPD’s roof. His aimed the iron sights carefully, taking into consideration the bombers’ speed and velocity.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The changelings’ destructive magic instantly failed, and their bodies bounced harmlessly against the well-constructed building.
“Nice shootin’, kid!” Vigilant complimented.
“They’re not gonna break through just yet!” Blake shouted, topping off another few rounds towards another small cluster of changelings.
“I’ve been hit!” a nearby guard yelped, clumping towards the ground as thick goo smothered him onto the street.
“We can’t hold this position much longer!” another guard informed as a huge clump of changelings piled onto him.
“More bombers incoming!”
“Pull back! Pull back!”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
“I’m stuck! Somepony help!”
“We’re being overwhelmed!”
“Get outta of our country, ya lousy buggers! Take this!”
“Protect the princess!”
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
“The princess is surrounded! All platoons, form up! We have to protect the princess!”
BANG!
“I’m goin’ down! Go on without me!”
“That’s not optional, private! You’re coming with us!”
“Bombers have busted through the CPD walls! I repeat, bombers have busted through the CPD walls!”
“Over here! We’ve got fifty changelings advancing on our position!
BANG! BANG!
“That’s not our issue! We have to protect the princess!”
“Stand down, sergeant! I can hold my own!”
“We’re guarding you whether you like it or not! We’ve already lost Princess Celestia! We’re not going to lose you, Your Highness!”
BANG!
“More bombers! More bombers!”
“Gah! They’ve got me!”
“More Royal Guards are coming from the rear! Make sure you don’t hit them!”
“That’s not going to be a problem! They’re already surrounded!”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Blake couldn’t keep track of all the events that were transpiring simultaneously. There were simply too many things for his brain to process in so little time. He kept firing, and firing, and firing until he was thoroughly depleted of all the ammunition of his AK-47.
“Goddammit!” he cursed as the final few rounds sped off into the distance, knocking the trail off of another bomber that attempted to land right smack dab in the middle of the battle. He vigorously hurled the assault rifle at a charging changeling, indenting the side of its head with a satisfying crunch. He pulled out the revolver from his back pocket, trying his absolute best to steady his arms and aim cautiously.
Luna didn’t duplicate many rounds for my revolver, so I have to make every shot count! Blake thought, placing three bullets in three individual changelings. Another five took their places. This is hopeless. There’s too many of them.
The moment Blake was almost forced to the ground by another six changelings jumping on his position, a bright pink explosion imploded forcefully from the castle, only the changelings seemingly affected by it. Every single one was promptly launched far off into the distance, the goo also vanishing into thin air, freeing the trapped guards. The defenders glanced around, obviously confused as to what had just transpired.
“Did we win?” a unicorn guard asked. “Is it over?”
“I recognize that form of magic… it was from Princess Cadence herself,” Luna paused, laughing out loud. “Talk about escape in the nick of time!”
“So this means we won?” the same guard asked a second time.
“Hear ye! Hear ye, soldiers of Equestria! We have won this battle, and the changelings have been defeated!” Luna announced vociferously, the guard immediately breaking into celebration.
“We did it!” Ebony cheered, hugging his brother tightly.
“That we did, big brother. Three cheers for Equestria, everypony!” Vigilant shouted. “Hip hip!”
“Hurrah!”
“Hip hip!”
“Hurrah!”
“HIP HIP!”
“HURRAH!”
“That, my boys, is how a true stallion cheers!” Vigilant chuckled.
“I can’t believe this finally over!” Blake smiled, clasping his hands together. “I mean, that was one hell of a fight!”
Without warning, Vigilant then lurched to the ground, grasping his chest to what looked like his heart beating irregularly out of his torso.
“Brother!” Ebony yelped rushing to his brother’s side. Vigilant’s chest rose and fell quickly, and his facing became increasingly pale.
“Dang it… D-Day B-B-Break, he’s… initiating t-the Blood P-P-Pact,” Vigilant stuttered, his lungs pleading for air.
“Who’s doing what?” Ebony asked, unable to depict what his brother was trying to say.
“B-Blake will t-tell you… everything,” Vigilant said even softer than before, his bodily systems beginning to shut down one by one. “I l-love you brother… and m-mother and… f-f-father. Y-you have a very… b-beautiful wife, brother… never let her g-g-go. G-good… bye…”
The stallion peacefully closed his eyes, and as quickly as it began, it was over. The stallion was no more, his life’s reserves coming to an abrupt end. Blake’s hands clasped over his mouth, gasping unbelievably as to the sight that lay before him. A crowd had now gathered around the lifeless corpse, as a waterfall of tears streamed down Ebony’s cheeks.
Something caught Blake’s eye, a yellow silhouette spectating from afar. He immediately recognized who it was, bringing his weapon to bear.
Day Break mouthed the words: “This isn’t over.”
Blake fired twice. Both rounds missed.
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Daaaayum.
But it will have to do, good job
12k words of goodness... any chance for repetition?
Day Break is going down, slowly and painfully.
Keep up the amazing work!
2424244
Probably not. Because there was just so much going on this chapter, I kept finding new ideas to keep writing and writing and writing. This is the longest chapter I've ever written, and geez did it kind of take a toll on me. My brain's been fried from staring at a computer screen for so long.
The next chapters will probably revert back to their normal length of 3-5 thousand words. Hope you can forgive me.
2424633
Ah, okay. If you are not comfortable with so many words, that's fine. I don't mind short chapters as long as they are good. Yours are.
And I have enough long-chapter stories around, no worries!
The whole time I was thinking "He could really use a mini-gun make short work of the it would"
An epic fight, but towards the second half (or so ) of the chapter it felt as if Blake turned into Gary Stu.
Oh, and just a tiny nitpick aside form the words left out in multiple sentences throughout the fic,
'Roger that' is a term that came about from the military whilst using Short-range radios, AKA Walkie Talkies. Since Equestria doesn't seem to have Walkie Talkies, they would not have used that.
2438439
). I feel like I should also mention this, because you probably have most likely have forgotten about it (because of the almost year-long gap in between updates), but it's mentioned a few times in the earlier chapters that Blake's father owned a gun range. That being said, he was probably taught at a young age how to properly aim and fire a rifle, how to disassemble and repair one, and he's probably had much practice with hitting targets at long distances. So yes, he does land most of his targets, but he does miss other as ones as well. He's certainly not a sniper in the US Marine Corps.
Kind of agree with you there, but when you have a piece of weaponry that's much more advanced then all of the ponies you're fighting with, it's sort of unavoidable (I mean, what's going to be more effective at long range? Crossbows or assault rifles? I think the answer is obvious
And if you're looking for the reason why Blake isn't very much swayed during the battle and remains focused and calm throughout the entire thing, well, you just have to look at his flashbacks. He's already experienced a chaotic battlefield. He sort of understands what you're supposed to do. And on the plus side for him, he doesn't have dozens of guns and explosive devices aiming towards him this time around.
If you're looking at the aspect that he still kicks ass against the changelings in hand-to-hand combat even though he explains to Lyra that he has no experience whatsoever, you just have to rewatch A Canterlot Wedding and see for yourself. If six young mares can take out dozens of changelings without breaking much of a sweat, I think it's apparent that the changelings aren't that skilled in fighting at all.
Yeah, you could say that some aspects of Blake can be seen as Gary Stu-esk, but I think from the context it shows that he's still not an invincible human powerhouse at all. He's just fortunate he happened to have dozens of allies who took the brunt of the force while he sat in the far back and picked them off one by one.
And on your pickiness on the "Roger that" portion from the dialogue, well there's been multiple references to human culture throughout the show. A few from the top of my head can be taken from Magic Duel, when Trixie squeezes Spike into a ball and shoots him into a basket (obvious allusion to Basketball), and uses a mouse to remove Pinkie's mouth and delete it into a trash bin. There's another episode (I can't remember which, but I believe it's from season one), where Pinkie speaks a couple of words in Spanish, even though it's apparent that English (or Equestrian), is pretty much the dominant language throughout Equestria. Who knows what kind of remarks they do and don't say? Sure, I could've have put more thought into that bit on my part, but I think that's kind of a coin toss there.
2438671
Okay to most, but i never mentioned guns. I'm assuming that's supposed to be a reply to someone else's comment that simply lacked the >andnumbers.
2439120
Actually, that entire lengthy thing was all in reply to your comment alone. I tried my best to cover every aspect that might've led you to that conclusion about Blake being a Gary Stu. I wasn't sure what specifically you thought made him overpowered, so I figured I would just try to explain everything in one huge comment to tie in any loose ends.
2439364
Oh. Okay.
Yay update!!!
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