For a United Equestria

by lulii999

Chapter 3: The Calm Before The Storm

Celestia, Luna, and Discord’s departure from Canterlot went unnoticed, save for a select few like Twilight and her friends. They left, cloaked in darkness conjured by Luna, for the territory of an unknown enemy. By the time they reached the Eastern border of Equestria, the sounds of late night chatter and merrymaking dissolved into quiet. The further they moved away from their homeland, the stronger the silence grew. Even the twinkling of Luna’s stars so far above them faded away. Yet they marched on, wary of any danger they might come to sense.
A few more hours of walking, Discord grew impatient, and he grew bored. He glanced towards Luna, walking by Celestia’s side, and a mischevious smile widened across his face. In secrecy, he conjured a ball of snow into his palm, levitated it away from the two alicorns beside him, and WHAM!
He used his magic to throw it at full throttle towards Luna’s side.
Luna shrieked and her elder sister jumped, Luna had aimed an attack in the direction from which the snowball came from – but nothing was there. She looked around everywhere for her attacker, her face manical. Her eyes then rested on Discord, who cracked up laughing on the spot: “You should’ve seen your FACE!! Priceless!”
Luna’s features contorted in anger: “IS THIS ALL A JOKE TO YOU? THE FATE OF THOUSANDS OF PONIES RESTS SQUARELY ON OUR SHOULDERS, AND YOU THINK TH –”
Discord crossed his arms and held his nose high: “Well excuse me for trying to liven things up a bit”
Luna just looked at him in exasperation, astounded by his lack of sense “Why, you insolent, ungrateful, f–”
“Will you two just stop bickering?! I’ve had enough!” Celestia came between the pair, who had just come round as the two took to charging magical auras for attack.
“She started it” Discord started, pointing a finger at Luna.
“But ‘Tia–” Luna started
“No buts, Luna. I don’t care what that act of misconduct from both of you was or how it started. The both of you should know better! We could be in the middle of enemy territory, and you could be drawing attention to us all.”
“But nothing sees past my cloaks” whispered Luna under her elder sister’s stern gaze.
“But maybe this enemy can. We wouldn’t know. Therefore we must act with caution. I expect such behavior from both you and Discord, okay?” said Celestia, lifting her sister’s head with her wingtip. She turned towards Discord, “Okay, Discord? Discord?” she repeated when he didn’t reply.
Discord’s gaze seemed to be fixed upon a certain spot in mid air, yet nothing but dry, barren wasteland covered all that the eye could see. “Do you see that?”, he was looking in the direction which Luna’s spell had taken after the snowball hit her.
“Whelp, there’s nothing to be seen” said Luna, rolling her eyes. Celestia however, narrowed her eyes as she approached Discord, and squinted in the direction which his finger was pointing to. It looked like radiating heat, but how? It was the middle of winter, and the environment was near freezing in temperature. “Something’s not right” Celestia said as Luna neared her. She knelt down, picked a miniscule pebble up off the dry ground, and gently threw it in that direction. It disappeared.
“An invisibility spell. Odd” said Luna
“I think we’ve found it,” Celestia whispered, looking around “this is the point past the dragon’s nest; where Brego’s patrol was attacked”
“If we’re going in, better strengthen the power of these magic cloaks of yours, Lulu” remarked Discord.
Luna scowled, but saw the necessity of his suggestion. With a deep breath she strengthened her cloaks of darkness.
“Brace yourselves, you two, we don’t know what we might face in there. Keep on guard, and try not to make much sound” Celestia murmured. Her companions nodded. With deep breaths, sweating brows, and racing hearts, they stepped forward.
But no matter what precautions they took, nothing could have prepared them for what they encountered.

***********

There was a foul rotting stench in the air as they stepped onto what looked like a completely different world. The sky was littered with greenish black clouds accompanied by a yellowish haze being spat out from the cracks in the ground; which itself was as black as the coat of Nightmare Moon. It was mostly flat save for a few hills and craters here and there, but gradually as the trio inched forward, they saw that they were anything but hills.
Corpses of griffons, buffalos, zebras, and ponies were stacked on top of each other, dried blood weaving patterns on their skins, intertwining with that of a neighboring corpse.
CRACK
Discord, being ahead of the princesses, stepped on something fragile. When he looked down to his foot, he made a muffled noise and immediately yanked his goat’s leg back in revulsion. The sisters’ eyes widened. It was a stallion, a royal guard from one of the earlier patrols to be exact. His skin, coat, and some muscle fascia had eroded away. Upon his face lay frozen an expression of uttermost agony. His ribcage had been broken open, and his decomposing lungs still hung there, but his heart was missing. At this, Celestia’s knees gave way, and she fell to the bloodsoaked ground in disbelief, gaping at the guard’s body with silent tears cascading down her pearly white cheeks. Deeply saddened, Luna nuzzled her sister’s shivering shoulder. Celestia considered her subjects to be her children, especially her guards and the rest of the castle staff.
Luna, of course, felt a similar feeling towards her subjects. She was new to the feeling after being gone for so many years, but nevertheless, the motherly instinct was there and it screamed in pain and sorrow inside her. She looked towards her sister’s tortured face as she looked around to find more lifeless, rotting faces of those she once knew.
“Erm, ladies? I think you should come over here,” said Discord, beckoning them to come over to where he stood.
“Give us a moment to mourn, will you?” snapped Luna.
“I-It’s ok, Luna” whispered Celestia, getting up and walking towards Discord with a wing around Luna, “What is it, Discord?”.
Discord pointed at a body piled among others in the large heap behind which they took refuge in. It was another stallion of Celestia’s royal guard who, like all the rest around it, had an agonized look on his face, a broken ribcage, and no heart. This one must have been among the more recent patrols, as his skin and features were not yet decomposed. He was a pony that Celestia recognized almost immediately, but it couldn’t be…
“Brego?” breathed Celestia, astonished, turning to Discord.
“That’s what I thought, but isn’t this guy supposed to be in Canterlot?” he said, a confused look on his face.
“Isn’t he supposed to be alive?” asked Luna.
“We left him in the infirmary just mere hours ago” said Celestia. How could there be two of them? What sort of evil is responsible behind all this? And assuming the pony corpse in front of them was Brego in truth, then who was that back in Canterlot?
As questions raced through Celestia’s mind, Luna peered over the hill of carcasses onto the rest of their environment, and her eyes immediately rested on a reddish pile of what appeared to be…
…ponies’ hearts…
Her eyes widening in horror, her sister and Discord, both of whose features freshly distorted with revulsion, joined her. As their eyes examined the area, they could see black creatures roaming around. They each had a glowing pair of eyes, some of which were yellow, and others that were red.
“Changelings?” gasped Celestia, glancing to her companions.

“Indeed, Princess. Oh, it’s been far too long...”

Author's Note:

This gon be good...
BTW: As you're reading this, I recommend you listen to the following 2 songs, if you want to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKTAtHRy7w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh9mu0IFXM4

It's what I listened to as I wrote way the Changeling Nest look like.
Anyways, Happy reading :)

Comments

[Tachyon Xenophile]

Any changelings?

[lulii999]

2333677 Wait for it... XDDD

[Scipio Smith]

This isn't the most technically accomplished fic I've read by any stretch...but I'm not sure that really matters when I really want to find out what happens next.

Bravo.

[lulii999]

2338738 Really, oh wow that means a lot. It's my first long fic. I hope you like the upcoming chapters. Thanks a lot <3