The shield shattered, bursting apart into millions of tiny particles engulfing the city in a fine pink dust. The changelings charged out of the sky, their bug-like wings humming causing the air to distort around them. The fiends left craters in the ground as they smashed into homes and streets about the city causing untold destruction.
Citizens who were too slow upon seeing the enemy were trapped as the changelings leapt upon their victims, sucking them dry of emotion. After the changelings were done they would smash their victims aside and leave them, broken and bloody, to die on the street.
The guards reacted as swiftly as possible, steel and bone clashed as combat began. Pegasi swooped through the air, smacking changelings down into the dirt to join their brothers on the ground while unicorn troops sent massive bolts of energy into the enemy. Blood and vitae spewed across buildings and cobblestones, staining the streets a heady mixture of dark green and violent red.
The guards were determined to hold their ground, forming a line in front of the palace. The changelings smashed against the guard’s redoubt time and time again, each charge only added to dead piling up around the ground. The guards had their steel and the changelings had their fury and it came to a stalemate as members of both sides died in droves.
Out in the streets changelings stalked in the alleyways, hunting down the scared and unsuspecting. Wood burst apart under chitinous, gapped feet broke apart doors as the scent of emotion leaked out into the street from ponies hiding inside of their homes. The screams were blood chilling as the changelings would drag their victims into the streets to suck them dry and break their skulls open. If one stayed on the streets or in their home they were signing their life away as the guards flocked from the streets to the palace where the fighting was the heaviest.
He wasn’t headed to the palace, he was headed for his home where his wife and child had been staying, waiting for the reception. In his mind he prayed that the changelings hadn’t found them yet. He sprinted up the street his armor rattling against his back and sweat beading against his forehead as he ran.
There he saw it, a squat little building the color of the sunset with a curved purple roof. The door was splintered with one portion hanging from the top hinge, swinging back and forth. Fear shot through his veins like ice, gripping his heart and causing his gut to clench. He could hear his wife screaming like a banshee and his daughter’s sobs. He picked up his pace, his heart pounding and his blood rushing in his ears.
He rounded the doorway into his house and was greeted with a blood trail leading back into his bedroom. He flapped his wings propelling himself into his home and around the corner. At the end of the trail was his screaming and bleeding wife who was doing her best to fend off the deadly attacks of the changeling. His daughter sat in the corner covering her head and sobbing covered from head to hoof in her mother’s blood. He swung out and caught the changeling in the abdomen, knocking the wind from the creature and throwing it from his wife.
He pounced upon the changeling and began to swing his hooves into it. With every strike there was an audible ‘crack’ as the hard exoskeleton of the fiend began to break apart. The stallion screamed at the changeling beneath him as his brutal assault continued. Blood and snot flew up from the beast’s face covering the guard in stinking, viscous bodily fluids. After several moments the changeling lay dead and the guard relented. His chest heaved up and down as he sucked down oxygen.
He turned his head to look at his wife. He could hear her wheezing through a tear in her throat. He moved to her. A portion of her face had been caved in and a massive portion of her throat had been torn and hung raggedly from her neck. Blood spurted from where her carotid artery was torn and with every beat of her fading heart it would erupt violently.
Croaks emitted from her massacred throat as she tried to tell him something. He felt hot tears leak down his cheeks and fall onto her body as she stopped moving and the life in her eyes faded away.
“No,” he said as he pulled her into his chest and he began to rock back and forth. “No, no, no,” from the corner the screams had died down to sniffles. He turned to see his daughter still laying there curled up into a ball her tiny wings outspread as if to protect her. He respectfully laid his wife down. He swept his hoof over her eyes shutting them for eternity.
He moved to his daughter, scooping up her tiny orange body. She struggled for a moment until she peered up to see her father’s face, soaked in blood and discolored with various bodily fluids and covered with tiny flecks of bone and bits of exoskeleton.
“It’s okay,” he whispered down to her. “I promise,” he continued to say to softly whisper down to her as her tiny hooves clamped around his neck. He stood, holding her to his chest. He turned away from his dead wife, keeping the sight from his daughter.
He walked out of the house that had been given to him through the guard. He scanned the street, looking side-to-side. His daughter wept quietly into his chest. Her tiny purple mane got up into his mouth and nostrils as he held her.
The stallion looked up to see the sky was still filled with angry, black changelings, zooming about like flies, keeping him on the ground. He moved away from his home, using his wings to keep him balanced as he ducked into an alley. He sat with his back to his house breathing heavily. He looked down at his daughter. She looked up at him her eyes were overflowing with tears and her cheeks were stained.
“Papa,” she said.
“It’s okay baby, it’s going to be okay,” he reassured her as he stroked her mane. “Papa is going to take care of everything,” he looked about.
His muscles tensed as he heard the buzz of wings. Without waiting he hopped to his hooves and unfurled his wings. He pushed off of the ground up into the sky, trying to distance himself from the doom that was coming for him and his daughter. He flapped his wings harder and harder, propelling himself through the air. Behind him he could hear the changelings as they slobbered and screeched behind him. His daughter squirmed in his grip trying to push herself closer to her father where it was safe from the danger.
No matter how hard he flapped the changelings caught him. In a flash he felt an impact across his back as a changeling rammed him. He fell from the air, folding his wings up around his body. He turned over in the air, trying to get his body between the unforgiving ground and his beloved daughter.
As he fell he looked up into the sky. It had promise of being a nice day, with few clouds in the sky and the sun shining brightly. Then his vision was blocked by a snarling changeling as it screamed it’s bloodlust at him.
He felt a rib snap as he smashed into the dirt. His body slid for a few feet until his slide was arrested as his head ran into a house. Stars danced before his vision.
“Papa, papa!” his daughter screamed as slobbering, black fiends fell from the sky, drool falling between their jaws as their multifaceted eyes locked onto the pair.
“Run!” he commanded his foal. “Head for the palace!” she looked behind herself at the changelings. “Go!” he yelled putting a hoof beneath her and pushing, launching her into the air. As she flew up into the houses she spread her tiny wings and flapped for all she was worth. His heart rose a moment as he watched the few seconds she maintained flight. He was pulled from his thoughts as a pair of fangs latched onto his rear leg.
He snarled as he whipped his head around. The beast was locked onto his leg and its two friends were about to set in as well. He reached up and pulled the helmet from his head and launched the steel into the face of the changeling about his leg. The beast squealed and relinquished its hold. The stallion moved as his training kicked in.
He swung out against the first, knocking the beast back into one of its comrades, knocking the two to the ground in a tangle of holy limbs. He came to his feet in time to meet the third as it charged into him headfirst. The changeling bowled him over and bore him to the ground. The guard roared out and swung his hoof into the thing’s face. The blow knocked the changeling from his body and he rolled on top of it and began to lay into its face, beating the creature to a pulp. He was struck with the full force of two changelings from behind and lifted into the air.
His minor flight ended with him smashing his face into the dirt forcing soil and gravel into his snout. He tried to push himself up to his feet but was smashed back into the dirt mercilessly. He felt hot fetid breath on the nape of his neck and drool dribbled onto his head. He flared his wings and flipped his body over, using his weight to press the changeling down. He flapped his wings again forcing himself off of his back to come up to his feet.
He charged into the one changeling still on its feet. He batted it down with his wings, beating the creature down. He relented his attack only to bring his foreleg down onto the thing’s skull, cracking the bone apart viciously. He turned about to see the two remaining changelings.
He reared up and flared his wings, one last brave display before he charged. The changelings leapt for him, each hissing loudly. He ran forward to meet, his wings flapping forcing the air before him to move. The changelings were slowed by the wind but not stopped and each bowled into him. He screamed as he was gored in the shoulder by a horn.
He twisted his body allowing the momentum of his attacker to continue through, throwing the changeling from his body and pulling the horn from his shoulder. The second attacked smashed into him low causing him to double over. The breath was knocked from his body and he found it impossible to breathe as the changeling followed him to the ground. The beast snapped at his throat as he threw up a hoof to block the beast. The thing’s long pink tongue snaked from its mouth to lick at his face, lacerating his face with venomous saliva.
He used his wings again to force himself over, rolling the changeling with him. He sucked in hard, forcing oxygen into his brutalized lungs. He forced his hoof into the changeling’s throat, cutting off the oxygen for the beast. Its tongue came out again and tried to lick at his face, all the while it hissed and spat as it struggled underneath him. The beast’s hot breath came out smelling of rot and sickly sweet corruption as it invaded his nostrils. He took his free hoof and smashed the changeling’s face weakly as the tendons in his shoulder burned from the goring. He raised his gaze to see the changeling’s partner trying to stand after its charge had sent it headlong into a fruit stand which the changeling had smashed through.
The guard held his hoof to the changeling’s throat, hearing it wheeze and rasp as it tried to free itself. He pushed his second hoof into the throat, adding whatever power he could to end the thing’s horrible existence.
The changeling’s struggles grew weaker and weaker as it lost air until it finally stopped. He looked up to see the last of the three shaking its head to clear its vision. The stallion was not going to let it get the jump on him. He ran, pushing his tortured muscles to their already stretched limits. He could feel exhaustion setting in as he spread his wings one last time to overtake the dazed changeling.
He smashed bodily into the fiend, sending it over into the ground. He held the thing into the dirt and used his good hoof to smash it into the ground angrily. He smashed its face repeatedly with his good hoof hoping against hope that his daughter, his precious foal, made it to safety.
The changeling stopped moving, green and black blood dripping from the thing’s skull. The guard sucked in oxygen sitting up on the corpse of his defeated foe. He tried to stand but his legs refused to work right as the bite wound shot pain up through to his hip and blood spat from the holes. His shoulder oozed and the several cuts along his face burned as the spit from the changeling’s mouth began to infect his wounds.
Stumbled his way into the wall of a house and slid down the side to come to a rest with his back to it. He looked at the street at the aftermath at what felt like the most brutal and intense fight of his life as his vision began to waver some. He wiped his face with his hoof but immediately regretted it as the acidic spit was only rubbed in deeper.
He looked up to the sky to see that it had cleared considerably but there were still changelings flying about. A thought came to his mind as his vision began to gray some as his shoulder wound began to bleed more profusely.
The thought came in the form of a verse, an old verse, to a song that he had learned back in his initiate days. He had sung the song many times over a mug of cider and over a gravestone of a fallen comrade.
“Sing with me brothers, our bloody funeral song,
Sing with me through the day and the whole night long,
He pushed himself up a bit as he found the beat in his mind. A small smile crept across his broken and bloodied face.
“We sing this day for the dead, and all of our dying,
But we mourn over the rim of a mug, no sobbing or crying,
We hope that you can hear us, as we sing for you,
You died with your honor you did what we all must do,
So hear us loud and hear us clear, the day is not yet through,
But I’ll find you in heaven or hell, brother, I’ll find you,”
He watched the horizon as three more changelings immediately veered in their course, making their way for him. They landed before him enraged beyond belief as if angered by his hubris at bleeding out. The stallion tried to stand but his limbs refused to answer his mind. The changelings descended upon him, screeching their fury to the sky keeping the stallion from finishing his song.
The streets were finally cleared and the dead rounded up. The numbers were frightening from both sides, but thanks to Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadence the death toll went no higher.
The funeral was held two days before the new wedding date was set. The graves stretched far across the fields behind the palace, reaching nearly to the horizon. Hundreds of families stood over the fresh dug graves of their husbands, fathers, wives and mothers.
Scootaloo looked down at the graves of both her parents, silent tears falling down her face. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom stood on either side doing their best to comfort their friend, behind the trio stood Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack. Fluttershy had locked herself in her room to weep and keep away from the dead. Twilight stood next to the princesses. Pinkie wandered about, giving condolences and trying her best to raise the spirits of everypony as best she could.
“Papa, mama,” Scootaloo whispered. Rainbow Dash came down to her knees and wrapped the tiny pegasus in her wings as Scootaloo.
“It’ll be okay, kid,” Rainbow promised as Scootaloo wept quietly into her chest.
“H-h-he, carried me,” Scootaloo sobbed. “He kept them from getting me,” she began to sob loudly. “Sh-she fought one off of me, it k-k-k-killed her,” she inhaled deeply and continued to sob. “Mama! Papa!” Scootaloo cried out into Rainbow Dash’s chest. Tears and snot leaked from her face like an open faucet.
Rainbow held the tiny pegasus tight, tears beginning to stream down her face as well. The friends came close to Scootaloo, each one of their eyes watering as they watched Scootaloo mourn.
“I’ll take care of you kid, I promise,” Rainbow said. Sweetie Belle couldn’t help it and burst into tears as well, adding her high pitched voice to the growing cacophony of wailing that was coming up from the field as widows and orphans stood over the graves of their lost family.
There was the sound of shifting armor from behind. Applebloom turned to see a guard coming up behind them. His coat was half black half white along the length of his body. He held his helmet under one foreleg with a set of shiny bars on the front of his armor. Applebloom nudged her sister. Applejack wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to look at the guard.
Applejack gently moved away from the group to speak with the guard.
“Um, now isn’t a good time,” Applejack said softly.
“I know, but, I am here to speak with the filly,” the guard replied just as quietly. Applejack looked over her shoulder as Rainbow came up behind her still holding Scootaloo to her chest.
“She doesn’t want to talk to you right now,” Rainbow said, her voice heavy with sorrow.
“Please,” the guard said stepping forward. “It’s about her father.” Scootaloo turned her head about to look at the guard. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were red and streaked.
“What about Papa?” she asked sniffing.
The guard knelt down, “May we speak somewhat privately?” he asked as he set his helmet on the grass. Scootaloo nodded and looked up to Rainbow. The blue pony set the filly down. Scootaloo made her way shakily over to the guard and sat in the grass in front of him. She had calmed some but the guard knew that this was part of the cycle of mourning and that she would burst forth again in a few minutes.
The guard reached into his dress saddlebag and pulled out a tiny blue box.
“He earned this,” the guard began. He opened the box to reveal a medal in the shape of Celestia’s cutie mark. “He took several of the enemy with him, inadvertently causing a distraction allowing several civilians as well as yourself to make it to safety.”
The guard handed the box to Scootaloo. “He died a hero,” he said as he rested a hoof on her shoulder, trying to comfort the filly some. It didn’t help.
“Thank you,” Scootaloo lied, she didn’t want this medal. The guard nodded and stood to leave, gathering up his helmet.
Rainbow bent down and picked Scootaloo back up and flew them to their seats in preparation of the service. Rainbow sat down and held Scootaloo as the filly wept quietly.
There was the sound of somepony tapping a microphone in a test and then Celestia began to speak.
“These brave ponies behind me,” she began. “Were victims of a horrible attack as you all know, most are the members of my personal guard and I feel each loss deep within my heart,” the princess wiped the corner of her eye and paused as she tried to gather herself. “Those ponies chose to put themselves in this position and each will be remembered in the halls of my palace as their names will be added to the lists of the honored fallen. But the worst tragedy, the most heart wrenching truth, are the bodies of the non-combatants, the bodies of the foals and mares who were at home when the changelings struck and murdered in cold blood. The loss of innocent life is abhorrent and appalling,” the princess had to pause again as a tear fell from her eye.
“I promise to you, my remaining subjects, that the enemy has been repaid in full for their horrible crimes. I mourn with you my subjects, and I will pray the fallen on their way to a comfortable afterlife,” the princess choked up and had to step away from the microphone, her eulogy over.
The civilians filed away, most still sobbing loudly. It took nearly an hour for all of them to finally leave but the guards were a patient lot. After the civilians had all left the guards moved forward to stand before the mass of graves. At the fore of the formed up group stood a lieutenant with a white and black coat, he cleared his throat and sounded out a note. The living guardsponies around him sounded the same note as they began to sing.
“Sing with me brothers, our bloody funeral song,
Sing with me through the day and the whole night long,
sing this day for the dead, and all of our dying,
But we mourn over the rim of a mug, no sobbing or crying,
We hope that you can hear us, as we sing for you,
You died with your honor you did what we all must do,
So hear us loud and hear us clear, the day is not yet through,
But we’ll find you in heaven or hell, brother, we’ll find you,
And once we join you, in halls of the dead,
We’ll laugh and remember all that was done and said,
But those of us who outlive you, dear brothers, dear friend
We’ll honor you and your end,”
There was a collective breath and the stallions began to speak as one.
“Sleep, oh brothers, we relieve you of your post and your duty. We promise to uphold your example and lead future generations by it.”
As one the guards saluted their fallen comrades, showing their respect for their dead.
Author's Note
This year is a difficult one so far for me and my family. My uncle and my step-dad have come back from Afghanistan this year and it was emotional and wonderful but my father is being deployed later this year and it's hard, welcoming back two soldiers when the my dad still has to go out, especially on my mother and me. I deal with adversity and depression through verse and this time I came up with the Funeral Song. I hope you enjoyed it.