Order-naries: Redux

by CTVulpin

Chapter 15: Scattered Forces

Everything was bubbles.

Pinkie Pie rubbed her eyes, looked again, and realized her first impression hadn’t been quite right. Everything was merely covered in bubbles. Soap bubbles, mostly, but here and there she saw soda bubbles, bubbles of water, and bubbles she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the composition of. Even the street beneath her hooves was covered in a thick soapy layer, and so Pinkie tried her best to keep her legs completely still and steady as she looked around. Face-plants and pratfalls were only funny if done on purpose in front of the right audience, otherwise they just hurt. Beneath all the bubbles, Pinkie thought she recognized some of the buildings around her as belonging in Canterlot’s commercial district. The sky was a uniform pink cloud that had no apparent effect on the light passing through it; everything was colored correctly as far as she could tell. The street she was on was deserted except for her, and Soul Mage.

The golden-yellow unicorn realized that last fact at the same time Pinkie did, and his irises shrank slightly. “Gold Heart?” he asked plaintively, looking around wildly and slipping on the bubble-covered street. “Heart! Where are you?” He lost his footing and landed hard, dazed as his chin struck pavement.

“Oh no, are you ok Soul?” Pinkie asked, moving as quickly as she dared over to him.

“Sister,” Soul moaned, trying without success to get back on his hooves. “Hafta find my sister.”

“Don’t move so fast,” Pinkie advised. “You’re just making yourself more… bubbly in a bad way. Just don’t freak out please; the others have got to be somewhere around here.”

“Right… right,” Soul said, growing still except for his eyes, which were starting to twitch.

“Oh, so you’re what dropped in.” Pinkie and Soul looked up to see Discord fly in over a nearby building and stop a foot off the ground in front of them. “You two don’t look so good,” he said. “Let me help.” He snapped his fingers and the bubbles and slick soap instantly vanished from underneath the two ponies.

“Where’s my sister, Discord?” Soul asked, his voice hard with accusation.

“Search me,” the dragonequus said with a shrug. “You two are the only ones that just arrived, and I haven’t been paying much attention to the outside world.”

“Don’t mess with me Discord,” Soul growled. “I will rip you apart if I have to.”

“Hey, hey,” Pinkie said, throwing herself between Discord and Soul. “Calm down Soul. It’s not Discord’s fault; something probably just messed up Twilight’s teleportation spell.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna work Pinkie,” Discord said, gently pulling the pink pony away from Soul. “He and his sister lose it pretty quick if they’re kept apart against their will. I exploited that once, and now… Hey!” He darted forward suddenly and gripped Soul’s head firmly between his hands. “Let me ease that a little,” he said. “I’ll just help you forget Heart for a bit and-yowch!” Soul blasted him away and into the side of a building, and then held him there with a trio of spirit tendrils wrapped around his body, tail, and neck. “Ok, I instantly regret that,” Discord groaned. “Hey,” he shouted at Soul, “since when was attacking me more important that reuniting with your dear sister anyway? I’m not stopping you from sensing the general direction you should go to find her, you know.”

Soul froze, and some of the anguish melted off his face. “I just got smacked with logic by Discord,” he said in a small voice. “This is truly a dark day. I need Heart.” He released Discord, closed his eyes, and turned around slowly until he was facing an east-bound road. “This way!” he exclaimed charging forward, and promptly lost his footing and face-planted once he left the patch of street Discord had cleared of bubbles.

Discord chuckled at the sight, but at a disapproving look from Pinkie he composed himself and banished every bubble in sight. “Have fun storming the castle, or whatever gets in your way,” he said as Soul got back to his feet again and took off. “Those Changelings aren’t pushovers, despite how easy I may make it look.”

Pinkie started to run after Soul, but then stopped and looked back at Discord. “Princess Celestia knows what you’re doing here, right?” she asked.

“She told me to keep Changelings away from this part of Canterlot and the ponies in it safe from harm,” the dragonequus answered smugly. “Beyond that, I’ve got free reign.”

“Okie dokie, that’s good enough for me,” Pinkie said, and then galloped after Soul, yelling at him to slow down so she could catch up.

---

When the flare of magenta magic faded, Gale found herself standing in the middle of a large, stone-walled room, surrounded by a large squad of very startled Royal Guard unicorns. A quick glance around informed Gale that she was the only pony from the Lirin in the room at that precise moment, and so she lowered her head and flattened her ears, glancing around with a sheepish grin. “Well, this is awkward,” she said.

“Who are you, and where did you come from?” one of the guard – the squad’s sergeant if Gale understood the insignia on his armor – challenged her.

Faced with such a direct challenge, Gale’s normal confidence returned to her in a flash and she raised her head to look the sergeant square in the eye as she gave her response. “I am Gale, of the Order-naries,” she said. “I’ve come at the behest of the Princesses to help defend the city against the Changelings, along with the rest of my team and the Elements of Harmony. Unfortunately, it appears there was hiccup with the teleportation spell that’s caused us all to become seperated. I’m about to count myself lucky I ended up in the middle of you fine stallions, and not a swarm of Changelings.” She looked the room over more closely under the guise of looking at all the other guards and realized it was an armory, and along one wall was a long rack holding several saddle-mounted Gel Launchers with spare ammo containers. “Oh, I’m particularly lucky, I guess,” she said, starting toward the launchers. Two guardsponies moved to block her, and she heaved a sigh before turning back to the sergeant.

“We were just about to gear up and join the defense,” the sergeant said, “and suddenly you appear. Can you confirm your identity?”

Gale let out an insulted snort, but reason caught up to her before she could say anything belligerent. “Right, Changeling attack,” she said, calming herself. “Well, you’re all unicorns here; somepony has to know the detection spell, right?” She and the sergeant both looked around at the squad, but nopony stepped forward. Gale then looked at the sergeant with a raised eyebrow, and he just coughed in embarrassment. “Gee, this inspires confidence,” Gale deadpanned.

“A couple of us should just stay here to keep an eye on her,” one of the stallions said, glancing impatiently at the door.

“No way,” Gale said. “I came to fight Changelings, and I’m not staying behind because you don’t trust me.” She pointed to the Gel Launchers and looked the sergeant square in the eye. “Those should come with Magebane. It’ll stop any kind of magic, including Changeling disguises. Hit me with some.” She reared up and spread her front legs wide, presenting her chest as a target with confident challenge in her eyes. The sergeant met her gaze with a measuring look, and then smirked and walked over to the Gel Launchers. He settled one of them onto his back and secured the girth straps magically while checking through the ammo containers until he found one with Magebane in it. He snapped it into place on the opposite side of the saddle from the launcher and then turned to take aim at Gale. Gale held her upright pose without flinching.

“Your bravery and request for this test is almost enough to convince me,” the sergeant noted.

“Don’t be a fool,” Gale said. “Fire.” The sergeant complied, biting down on the trigger, and a Magebane gel struck Gale on the chest, knocking her off her feet and onto her back. She rolled quickly and easily to her hooves and scraped some of the gel off to flick away dismissively. “Now you can be convinced,” she said. “And if there aren’t any more objections,” she added, shooting a warning glare at one guard who had opened his mouth in what could have been a protest, “I’m going to borrow one of these launchers for myself and lend you a hoof.” At the sergeant’s approving nod, the guards parted to allow Gale access to the rack of Gel Launchers, and she looked them over critically before selecting one and putting it on. “No configuration for multiple gel types,” she said in a low voice. “All built virtually the exact same way with no consideration for individualized touches, but easily adjusted to fit most sizes. Clearly mass-produced, but with an eye toward quality over quantity. It’s not my Gel Launcher by any means, but I doubt I could find a better substitute anywhere.” She loaded it with Magebane, and then looked at the sergeant expectantly. “This is your outfit,” she said, “so I’ll follow your lead.”

“Right. Welcome aboard then.” The sergeant started barking orders and the squad quickly armed themselves for battle. To Gale’s surprise and slight satisfaction, about half the squad claimed the remaining Gel Launchers, while the remainder took up spears or hooks mounted on long poles. They formed up into a line, with Gale placed near the middle, and marched double-time out of the armory and into an unnaturally dark Canterlot street that Gale thought she recognized as being close to where she and Ash had had apartments. She looked up, dreading that the deep shadows that lay over the city came from a sky thick with Changelings, but what she saw was arguably worse. There were lots of Changelings overhead, but the darkness was due to a black haze that hung over everything, blocking the sun’s light and obscuring the black chitin of the invaders. As far as Gale could tell, the Changelings were not attempting to capture ponies, as they had during the wedding invasion, but were more intent on reaching the castle and breaking down buildings to block the roads and occupy as much of the Royal Guard’s focus as possible. Flashes of dark, dark green energy arced from Changeling horns and into walls, silently punching holes in them until they collapsed, and every now and then brightly colored flares of magical light went off at various points throughout the city, which attracted Changelings like moths to flames.

After the squad formed up with all weapons pointed skyward, the sergeant sent off a magical flare of his own, coincidently catching a group of Changelings in the burst. The insectoid ponies screeched in pain and fled from the light, but as it faded they regrouped and dove at the guardsponies, and the battle began. Gale held her fire for several moments and merely observed the guards, studying their movements and tactics in order to coordinate her own efforts smoothly with theirs. Those bearing Gel Launchers mainly fired simple sticky globs likely intended to blind the targets or foul their wings, although in actuality the Changelings managed to dodge most of the projectiles. Any Changeling that flew too low would be snared through their perforated legs by the hooked poles and pulled down to the ground to be subjected to merciless kicks and spear thrusts until they could break away and retreat into the shadows. The Changelings quickly learned to keep their distance, and returned fire with bolts of dark green magic that were just barely dispersed by rapidly-raised barriers. The unicorns were forced onto the defensive, and Gale found her role in the fight. Taking aim at a quartet of Changelings that were grouping together to attack simultaneously, she fired just as they released their magic. The Magebane met the blasts halfway, and the magic was visibly sucked into the yellow gel, which then broke down into a fine powder. Without pausing, Gale loaded the next shot and spun about to fire at and interrupt another dark blast, and then another. She wasn’t able to stop every bolt from reaching its target, but her efforts gave the guardsponies enough breathing room to mount a more effective counterattack. The sticky gels started to hit, grounding one Changeling and forcing a few more to retreat blindly, and those guards carrying the more conventional weapons switched to spellwork. The number of Changelings engaged in the battle began dwindling quickly, as those that were wounded withdrew into the nearest shadows and seemingly vanished. Within minutes, the last of them retreated, and the sergeant ordered the squad to proceed toward the castle.

“There is something very strange going on here,” Gale said. “I mean, Changelings aren’t the toughest bugs I’ve ever met, but they weren’t as quick to retreat in the last invasion.”

“They held the advantage last time,” the sergeant replied. “Soldiers are less likely to give up if victory seems possible.”

“Well I don’t know about you,” Gale said, looking up at the shadowed sky, “but it seems to me like they have a greater advantage now, boosted or altered by some dark magic. I’m starting to think these might not even be the same Changelings as last time.” The squad rounded a corner and found five Changelings in the process of pinning a pony with a distinctive rainbow-striped tail to the ground. “Rainbow Dash!” Gale cried as the guardsponies charged forward and bowled four of the Changelings away.

“Gale!” Rainbow cried happily. She threw her last assailant into the air, and then shot up to grab and slam it back onto the pavement, pinning its wings with her rear legs while leaning heavily on its head with one forehoof. “Nice, you brought the cavalry,” she said appreciatively of the Royal Guards.

“Have you been fighting all by yourself?” Gale asked.

“Didn’t have any other choice,” Rainbow answered. “I was doing pretty well for myself too, until one of ‘em got the jump on me. Uh, please don’t tell anypony that happened, ok?”

Gale rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say Dash. Now, are you going to stand on that hostage all day, or do you want to come with me and the cavalry to the castle? Hopefully from there we can find everyone else.”

Rainbow pretended to think about it for a second, and then hopped off the Changeling and turned to face it. “Sorry buddy, “she said, “looks like we’ll have to play some other time.” She turned around and gave it a firm, one-hoof buck to the face, and the Changeling promptly burst into a wisp of shadows and faded away. Rainbow, Gale, and every guard that witnessed it froze in horror. “What did I just do?” Rainbow said in an uncharacteristically weak voice.

---

“You’re sure it wasn’t deliberate?”

“Reasonably sure, yes. On your left.” Twilight turned and blasted a pair of Dark Changelings that had tried to sneak up on her, launching them deep into the crowd that pressured her and Ash from three sides. “For one thing,” Ash continued conversationally, “how would they have known we’d try teleporting out instead of landing the Lirin somewhere? And even allowing for that and the low probability that anypony could even hijack your spells in the first place, why would they drop the pair of us practically at the castle’s doorstep?”

“Ok, that makes sense,” Twilight said, zapping another Changeling that poked its head too far above the main group.

“Now, the real question,” Ash said, pulling his own weight with a mixture of lightning and force spells. “Do you want to stand around here all day protecting the doors, or go on a little pony hunt for your friends?”

A deep, droning buzz rose up in the distance and quickly smothered all other sounds. Twilight and Ash looked up to find the source of the sound, and took several steps backward in surprise as Queen Chrysalis landed in front of them, along with four Changelings that dwarfed even her in both height and weight. Everything about them except their comparatively stubby horns was thick and powerful-looking, and their hooves were merely pockmarked instead of holey. Chrysalis was only recognizable by her unique profile; every part of her that had once had color was now a flat black, except for her now-violet eyes and the white fangs she bared in a sneer at Twilight and Ash. A large black stone was wedged into a hole in her front-left leg, and it gave off a faint purplish-black aura.

“I’m not surprised to see you handling yourselves so well against my children, Twilight,” she said. “But I don’t think you’ve met the newest additions to my army.” She waved a hoof and one of the giant Changelings began walking forward slowly. “They’re much too big to pass as ponies,” Chrysalis admitted, “but once I’ve conquered Canterlot, we won’t need to hide ourselves anyway.”

“That presumes your victory, queenie,” Ash said. He traced patterns on the ground with a hoof as he gathered magic into his horn and necklace, staring the approaching tank of a Changeling in the eye fearlessly. “You know what they say about big, hulking monstrosities? They fall hard. Kiyaski!” A blinding, deafening twin bolt of lightning leaped from his horn to the big Changeling’s face, and the hulking brute absorbed it all without the tiniest flinch. “Oh. Skvetch.” His shock only got worse when the energy he’d just poured into the Changeling started to gather at the tip of its horn. “Are you skvetchte kidding me?”

“Get down, Ash!” Twilight screamed, pulling him down to the ground just before the Changeling attacked. Lightning cracked through the air again just over the ponies’ heads and tore a gaping hole in the castle doors behind them. Twilight glanced up at the hole, then at the Changelings as they started to walk toward her, and then hauled Ash up in her magic and carried him behind her as she dived through the hole. “Sorry Ash,” she said, “but I think we need a new strategy for those things.”

“You won’t hear any complaints from me, once you put me down,” Ash said. Twilight obliged, and the two ran farther into the castle as the main doors started to splinter under the hooves of the giant Changelings. “Oversized, extra strength, shrug off most attacks, that’s all fine,” Ash muttered as he ran, stopping at every door to help Twilight barricade it in the hopes of slowing down the Changelings or even giving them the slip. “To add full-strength magic reflection to that, that’s just skvetchte che– oof!” He rebounded off Princess Celestia’s side and before he or Twilight could react to her presence she swept them both into a side room and blocked the door with a chaise lounge helpfully provided by her sister, who also happened to be in the room.

“Now,” Celestia said calmly, “would one of you please explain what’s going on?”

Panic, fear, and adrenaline warred with Twilight’s rationality, and she barely managed to get them all under control before dropping her head in shame and answering. “I’m sorry, Princess Celestia. I tried to bring everypony like you asked, but something interrupted my teleportation spell and so they’re all scattered to who-knows-where. We ran into Queen Chrysalis, but she had some new kind of giant Changelings with her that were too tough for Ash, so we had to run and now they’re probably in the castle and I’m so sorry.”

“Shhh,” Celestia soothed, putting a leg around Twilight’s shoulders. “Do not worry yourself over the castle; it’s only a building after all.”

“Verily,” Princess Luna said. “So long as my sister and I are not taken by the foe, and our ponies still stand to fight, there can be no victory for the Changelings.”

“That’s a fine sentiment, Luna,” Ash said, “but if we can’t come up with a way to counter-” Just then, a Changeling crashed through the window, tumbling expertly to its hooves amid the shattered glass and trailing an aura of night-blue peppered with star-like sparkles. “Oh come on,” Ash said in exasperation, and then noticed the aura pouring off the Changeling’s head like a mane and its teal, dragon-like eyes. His jaw dropped in disbelief.

“Nightmare?” Luna and Twilight exclaimed, both recognizing the tell-tale traits of the odd Changeling.

“I’ve finally found you,” the Changeling said in a voice that lacked its species’ distinctive buzz. It then collapsed into a senseless heap as the Nightmare aura flowed out of it and leaped toward Luna.

Comments

[Leo Archon]

Uh-oh.

That's about all I can say for this chapter.

Chrysalis has the Amethyst, and the Nightmare's back with Luna. This has gone down the SNAFU express to the town of FUBAR.

[ConsciousHaze196]

Johnten: "Who turned out all the lights?", idk

[djthomp]

I loved Gale this chapter, it was pretty convenient where she landed.

And definitely Uh Oh there at the end, hopefully Luna doesn't get taken.

[UseFistNotMouth]

Hmm. Maybe tone down Luna's Olde English. She has not really used it in appearances since Luna Eclipsed. She still speaks formally and stiffly, but uses standard language.

[Emeral Bookwise]

3083077

Uh Oh there at the end, hopefully Luna doesn't get taken.

That will likely depend on who's side the nightmare essence is on. The fact it's not possessing Chrysalis actually shows some semblance of hope though, so maybe it's actually here to help...?