Age of Inferno: Part 1

Chapters

A Normal Day
Western Patrol
The White Unicorn
An Interrupted Meeting
The Canterlot Prison

A Normal Day

Twilight

"Twilight...hey, Twilight!", a cheerful voice called her out of sleep, she lazily sat up with a yawn.

"Wha,...what is it Spike?" Twilight rubbed her eyes to stay awake. Her faithful green-and-purple assistant stood at the side of her bed.

"Don't you remember? Princess Cadence invited all of us to come to the Crystal Empire today!", Spike said, holding up her calendar for her to see.

Twilight vaguely remembered getting the letter,

"Oh...that's nice, what time are we supposed to be at the train station?" Twilight asked with another yawn, stretching out her wings.

"Nine o' clock."

"Hm? Oh, yeah. And, what time is it now?" She sat at the edge of her bed and pushed off the covers.

"Eight fifty-seven"

Twilights eyes sprung open, she jumped down from her bed and flew across the room, grabbing her saddle-bag.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner!?" Twilight asked, stuffing several items into her bag. Spike hopped down the steps,

"Well, I thought you could use the sleep, you know, after all that studying last night?"

"Uh!, Spike! I've read longer than that and still woken up early! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I, uh...kinda...slept in too..." Spike mumbled, looking down and suddenly finding his claws very interesting.

Twilight chuckled to herself,

"Oh, I guess if that's the case it's fine, Spike, but right now we need to get to the train station!" Twilight finished packing her bag and raced out the front door. Spike hopped on her back and they flew for the train station.

"Look!,"Spike pointed to a column of grayish smoke in the distance.

"We're too late!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes on her target,

"Not if I can help it." She put on a burst of speed and flew after the train. Spike lurched sideways on her back,

"Woah!," he said, holding his mouth, "Warn me next time your gonna do that!"

Twilight smiled to herself, looking over her shoulder at Spike, who was attempting not to lose what little breakfast he had.

"Hang on, the train's just up ahead.", Twilight started her descend and swooped downward to land on the caboose. After a few empty cars, she came to the rest of her friends sitting in the dining car.

"Oh, there you are, Twilight darling!" Rarity exclaimed, setting down her teacup. A blue blue flashed over her head,

"Did you fly all the way here?", Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight had to catch her breath before answering.

"Unfortunately, yes, we slept in."

"That's totally awesome! I told you guys that she could fly all the way here!", Rainbow Dash said with a fist-pump.

"We're just glad y'all could make the train," Applejack said, walking over to her, "After all, cant be a party without one of us missin."

"Thanks, Applejack. I'm glad that all of us are going to the Crystal Empire, we haven't had a good adventure in months!"

Everyone laughed, Twilight and the others sat down again and they all waited to arrive at the Crystal Empire.

"There it is!"

Everyone turned heads when Pinkie pointed out the window. They rushed to look outside, the Crystal Empire was a sight to behold in the morning, with early sunlight reflecting and spreading its colors all across the land around it. Twilight sighed, It's beautiful, and she wasn't talking about just the scenery.

As they exited the train, a certain somepony in golden armor was there to escort them to the palace.

"Hey...Flash," Twilight said, trying to conceal her blushing.

"Greetings, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess Cadence has asked me to escort you and your friends to the palace. So, if you will please follow me, we can get going." Flash Sentry bowed, then started walking dutifully down the train platform. "Come on, Twilight! he's right there! Say something!", she thought to herself.

They all followed Flash, and Twilight tried to think of something to say to him. Ever since the incident with Sunset Shimmer, Twilight had wanted to spend more time with Flash, but their feelings for each other had started in that alternate world, not here. But, Twilight thought to herself, he has the same personality, right? And does that mean he could still like me?

While lost in thought, Twilight failed to notice that they had completed their journey and stopped. She bumped right into Flash, he turned around and smiled at her,helping her up to her hooves again.

"We've got to stop bumping into each other!"

They both paused for a moment, looking into each others eyes. Twilight could tell he was struggling for something to say too. Does that mean he still likes me?

"Well, uh...here you are!", Flash opened the double doors in front of them and bowed them inside, "After you."

"Twilight!" A pink alicorn across the room caught her attention, they raced toward one another. They stopped then started dancing, while chanting,

"Sunshine, sunshine, lady bugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Princess Cadence and Twilight hugged and laughed, still enjoying one of their childhood games that had become their greeting.

"I'm so happy you all could come!" She exclaimed, leading them into the room.

The throne room had been fitted with a long table and more chairs. Dishes, platters, and utensils topped the table. All, of course, were made out of crystal, but it was the contents of the dishes and pans that got the Mane Six's attention. Cadence walked over and sat at the head of the table in her crystal throne.

"Please, enjoy the food! I want to know everything that happened since we last saw each other."

Everyone sat down along the sides of the table. No one did a whole lot of eating, except for Spike, who was stuffing his face with crystals. But all of them laughed as they chatted about the Mane Six's latest adventures. Eventually, Twilight noticed an empty chair at the opposite end of the table.

"Who's that for?" she asked. Cadence put down a goblet,

"Oh, that's for Shining Armor,"

Twilight perked up, it had also been a while since she had seen her brother.

"So, where is he?"

"He was going to come, and he was really excited about seeing you again, but at the last moment he was called out on border patrol. Sorry he couldn't come, Twilight."

She sighed,

"No, it's fine..."

The happy conversation had suddenly died. Twilight decided to bring it back,

"Hey, did you hear about the time Fluttershy turned into a vampire?"

"Really!? No, I haven't! Can you tell it to me?"

Everyone started talking again, filling in details and telling the story from their point of view. Everything was normal, everything was perfect...or was it?

Western Patrol

Shining Armor

"Take cover!" Everyone dived behind the nearest object as a wave of fire blasted the forest around them. Shining Armor could feel the heat through the boulder he was behind. "What are these things!?" One of his soldiers asked him from across the clearing. Shining Armor could only shake his head, he had never seen anything like what they were facing before. They had about the same size and shape as anypony, but the similarity stopped there. They all wore blackish-gray armor with gold lining, which was semi-normal, but the biggest difference was what they were made of, Fire. Their entire bodies pulsed and writhed with flames coming out from their armor. Their eyes were white fire, with red and orange flames streaming off. Even their manes and tails crackled with searing flames. But, even though they were made of fire they didn't burn the ground or foliage around them.

It had all happened so suddenly, Shining Armor was patrolling the Western Border of Equestria with five of his best soldiers, something he did routinely with little interest, as there was never anything exciting on border patrol.Well, that certainly changed, Shining Armor thought to himself.

They were walking past a small clearing in the forest, when a group of ten or so of the fiery stallions came out from across the clearing. Both groups just stood and stared for a while, not knowing what to make of the other. Then, one of the creatures turned around and blasted a small column of fire into the sky from its horn. The entire group turned back to Shining Armor and his patrol, and then they charged, roaring in challenge. Shining Armor could tell from the fire in their eyes that diplomacy was out of the question.

They didn't seem to have any physical weapons besides their horns, so Shining Armor briefly thought they had the advantage with spears, bad assumption.When they got close enough, Shining Armor and his patrol pointed their spears, which didn't faze their enemy at all. Some jumped, some ducked, some simply sidestepped and smashed the shafts of their spears with their bare hooves. But, no matter how, the fiery ponies destroyed their first line of defense with ease.This is going to be harder than I thought, Shining Armor thought, clenching his teeth and backing up.

He sent one of his pegasi back to Canterlot for reinforcements, he just hoped that they would get there in time. Meanwhile, the battle raged on. It was horns and magic against horns and fire. Nothing his patrol did seemed to hurt any of the creatures, at least noticeably. One unleashed a wave of fire from its horn, torching part of the clearing and the trees around it. Shining Armor and most of his patrol reacted barely in time, covering behind the nearest rock. But, one of his soldiers suffered from serious burns, not being able to get out of the way fast enough. Now, when one of the creatures raised its horn, they knew to take cover fast.

As the wave of fire subsided, Shining Armor and his three remaining soldiers jumped out from their cover, and back into the fray. When are those reinforcements getting here!? Shining Armor thought, dodging a blast of fire. What can even stop these things? Shining Armor had had just about enough of these creatures.He concentrated for a second, then his horn blasted magic, creating a small protective shield around him and his patrol. The creatures stopped, circling the shield.

"There, that'll hold 'em." he said, turning back to his injured soldier, laying on the ground.

"How are you holding up?"

The white unicorn looked up, struggling to partially stand.

"I'm...I'm fine." he said, slumping back to the ground. The unicorn had serious red burns almost covering his face and the front of his body.

"No, your not 'fine', Daring Snow, we need to get you medical help as soon as possible." Shining Armor said, kneeling down to talk. A roar from one of the creatures got his attention back, they were all barely in front of the shield, watching their every move. One reared up, cast a spell, then brought its hooves down on the shield. The shield shattered instantly, throwing Shining Armor back among a rain of magical wisps and shards.

He was lying, dazed on the ground, and vaguely saw his remaining soldiers trying again to hold the fiery stallions back. Impossible, he thought, it took an army of changelings several days to break that kind of shield! When the creature had shattered the shield, it affected Shining Armor too, as the caster of the spell. He couldn't think, he couldn't move, he hurt too much. His entire body ached and he felt drained of energy. All he could do was helplessly watch as he slowly fell into unconsciousness.

With fiery explosions, he watched each of his soldiers fall, one by one. He tried to get back up, but none of his limbs responded. The fire ponies advanced, flames streaming from their eyes and horns. Shining Armor realized that these creatures would finish him off, then probably move on to Equestria. This is it..., it's all over, he grimly thought, watching his enemies come closer with every second. I never even got the chance to say goodbye to Cadence or Twilight..., Shining Armor thought to himself, tears springing into his eyes.One of them now stood next to him, glaring through those pure-white fiery eyes, void of all emotion. Shining Armor tried to closed his eyes, waiting for the final blow.

There it was, a wave of heat and fire, exploding around him...so... why wasn't he dead? The explosion seemed to come from somewhere in front of him, not necessarily aimed at him. It still hurt, but...he wasn't... dead. Driven by curiosity, Shining Armor found the strength to partially open his eyes, and as he saw the scene before him, they opened all the way and wouldn't close.

From a ledge above them among the trees, a white blur had jumped down, landing on the fiery pony in front of Shining Armor, it exploded instantly, the flames dispersed and the empty armor clattered to the ground. Shining Armor blinked the tears out of his eyes to see his surroundings clearly, and didn't believe what he saw.

A white unicorn stood in front of Shining Armor, facing the rest of the creatures. He was completely white, with a short gray mane and tail.The white unicorn wore stunningly silver armor, helmet, chest-plate, shoulders, and four hoof-guards. Shining Armor didn't recognize where this unicorn could have come from, he had never seen armor like this before in all the kingdoms he had traveled to around Equestria.

The group of fire ponies looked at their new opponent warily, as if they had seen him before. Bravely, one of them charged at the unicorn. Then the unicorn did several things he had never seen in combat, which only made his curiosity and wonder about this unicorn grow. One, he stood up on his back two legs. Sure, he had seen ponies stand up on their back legs, but not very well, and certainly never in a fight. But this unicorn stood up just as naturally as walking on all four, like it was something he did every day, and he probably did. Two, he flicked his front two hooves, parts of his front hoof-guards detached and spiraled down, then straightened into two hard, silver blades. Then, in the blink of an eye, slashed the charging fire stallion, which died in another small fiery explosion, its armor crashing to the ground as the one before it.

The remaining group now looked cautious, with maybe even a hint of fear. Then, the unicorn took the offensive, running at them on his two back legs. Surprisingly, the rest of the creatures rose to their back to legs to meet his challenge. The unicorn was lightning fast, dodging fire and slashing with his two silver blades. One, two, three down, the unicorn didn't stop.

One of the fiery ponies caught him off guard, hitting him hard with a fire-covered hoof on his right rib cage. There was a small, sickening crunch, several of his ribs must have broken. The unicorn winced in pain, staggering back and momentarily slipping in his assault. The other creatures took advantage of the pause, pelting him with their hooves and flames. The unicorn staggered back, serious burn marks covering his right side and back, splitting his face between pure white, burning red and singed black. One of the creatures suddenly jumped, spinning around and hitting the unicorn across the face with one of its back legs.

The unicorn flew back several feet, landing on his back. The sword on his burnt leg was flung off, clattering to the ground. The ring of fire ponies paused, waiting to see the unicorns next move, but the unicorn was almost laying down, his burns making his limbs shake uncontrollably. His remaining sword spiraled back onto his leg, and then he used his left hoof to lift himself up a little. The unicorn was breathing heavily and coughing, Shining Armor could even faintly hear his skin still sizzling...how was he still alive?!

Satisfied that the unicorn couldn't do anything more, the fiery horses began to advance. The unicorn looked at his advancing opponents, shaking and trying to stand up. Tears started streaming back into Shining Armor's eyes as he realized that this white unicorn would join their fate.

As two or three of the group neared the unicorn, he looked up. Then one of them did a vicious uppercut, throwing the unicorn even farther back, almost in front of Shining Armor. The unicorn didn't react, too weak to fight back. The creatures looked at each other, reveling in their new victory. But, that would soon change...

Suddenly, a low, pulsing, vibrating sound started over the ground, emulating from...the unicorn. The unicorn started being lifted off of the ground, as a white hue started and then grew around him, outlining his shape. What was happening?!, Shining Armor thought, starting to panic, but also growing more curious. At first the unicorn was limp, but as he was two feet off the ground he straightened, his limbs pointing downward as he looked up. His eyes were as white as his pelt, glowing and shedding magical light. The sound got more powerful and fast as the white aura around the unicorn grew. Waves of magic started flooding off the unicorn, starting simple, but then intensifying in power and light, the waves didn't affect Shining Armor, but the fiery ponies around him disintegrated in the light. His burns completely covered up and healed, and then Shining Armor realized the waves of magic were affecting him.

His pain quickly subsided, strength returning to his muscles and his headache disappearing. Shining Armor quickly stood up on all fours, noticing that his troops around him did the same, even Daring Snow. How can this unicorn do this?! The remaining creatures tried to run, but the waves of magic spread outward, dispersing them instantly. The sound was deafening, the white aura and waves of magic were encircling the unicorn, Shining Armor, and his patrol, healing them of their injuries and destroying the fire ponies around them until they were all gone. The white aura completely enveloped the area around them, Shining Armor closed his eyes to avoid being blinded.

The sound abruptly stopped, as well as the magic surrounding them. All traces of the fiery ponies were gone. The unicorn dropped limp to the ground,

"Are you okay?" Shining Armor asked. The unicorn struggled to his hooves, his entire body shaking with fatigue.

"I...I'm fine," the unicorn said, right before he flopped unconscious to the ground again.

The White Unicorn

Twilight

The Mane Six and Cadence were enjoying their conversation when a guard burst into the room, echoing with a large bang. The guard ran up to Princess Cadence,

"Princess! Celestia has requested that you, Princess Twilight, and her friends all come to Canterlot as fast as possible!"

"Did she say why?"

"No, she did not, but she did make an emphasis that she needs all of you immediately."

Cadence stood up and jumped off of her throne,

"We'll leave right now, tell Flash Sentry to ready a chariot."

"At once, Princess.", the guard bowed and then ran out of the room.

Twilight was excited, Finally! Something was actually happening!. She could tell that her friends were eager for another adventure, another challenge; things were getting boring lately. All of them got up from their chairs and followed Cadence out. Twilight stayed, holding the door open. Spike was still lingering at the table, looking back at the food. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Spike, aren't you excited?"

Spike snapped out of his food-trance, grabbing a ruby on his way out.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

Twilight closed the door and glided after the others.Once they were out of the palace, a crystal chariot was outside, with two crystal pegasi hitched up to the front. Flash Sentry stood next to it.

"M'ladies," he said with a bow. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity climbed into the chariot, the rest of them could fly. Spike hopped on her back again. Cadence gave the order and they took off.

The flight was mostly uneventful, but everyone was buzzing with excitement and questions. "What was wrong? Who did it? What do we need to do? Why is it so urgent? " they all asked each other. Twilight found herself flying alongside Flash, again thinking of what to say. It had been so easy in that world! All I had to do was trip on something and he was there! But now it's so hard to get his attention! Luckily and unluckily for her, Flash decided to say something first.

"It's a beautiful day, is it not, Princess Twilight?"

Twilight jerked, startled. Flash was talking to her!? What did he say? What should she say? Twilight was so suddenly at a loss for thought that there was an awkward pause before she answered.

"Uh...yes, yes it is."

"And I agree"

Twilight looked over and saw Princess Cadence glance at her, then Flash, and then wink at her. There was a break in the clouds and Canterlot loomed out below them. Princess Cadence pointed to the road just outside the gate.

"We'll land there."

The chariot swooped downward in a descent, Twilight heard Pinkie yelling "Woo hoo!"and raising her arms, and Rarity trying to stifle a small scream.After the chariot landed, the flyers began their descent and they all landed behind it. They started walking through the gates with a nod to the guards.

Twilight stopped to talk to one of them.

"Excuse me, but do you know why the Princess has called us here?"

"She did not tell the reason to anyone but I think I know something about this meeting." the gray unicorn answered. Twilight was getting excited again but calmed herself, she had to learn how to control herself in public like the other Princesses.

"And can you tell me what it is?"

"Your brother's patrol returned a couple of hours ago, they were carrying two ponies in stretchers. One of our guard and the other I did not recognize, they went straight to the infirmary."

Twilight thanked the guard and continued inside the gate, she just hoped that her brother wasn't the one in the stretcher. So when Shining Armor met them on the steps to the castle, Twilight was relieved. She galloped up the steps and they embraced each other in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she said to Shining Armor.

"And I am too, I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to the brunch this morning, I had to go on border patrol."

"That's fine, your just doing your job."

Shining Armor turned to the rest of their party.

"Please, come inside, the Princess is waiting for all of us."

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity got off the chariot, which stayed outside the palace with the two crystal pegasi. Everyone started up the steps, the halls were big and empty, like they were expecting someone or something to happen. Twilight trotted up to Shining Armor's side.

"So...what's this all about? Is Discord out of control? Have the changelings returned?" she whispered. Shining Armor glanced around them before answering.

"No, and no, I would normally tell you but the Princesses have ordered us to silence outside of their throne room."

The rest of their walk was silent except for whispers between friends and acquaintances. Twilight was puzzled, why wouldn't the Princesses tell whatever was happening? It had to be very important and urgent to need all of them there so fast and only talk about it in their throne room, she was eager to find out what it was.

As they approached the large doors to the Princesses throne room, Twilight noticed that there were probably triple the amount of guards along the hallway to the doors. Whatever it was, it troubled the Princesses deeply. Some of the guards opened the doors for them when they came close.

Inside, Twilight and her friends look at the stained glass windows, reflecting each of their and the Princesses adventures and accomplishments for Equestria. It made them proud to see all the great things they've done. As Twilight expected, there were way more guards than there usually were, and it started to trouble her too. What could make the Princesses so paranoid?

Both of the Princesses were nervous, Twilight could tell. Princess Celestia was slowly pacing, obviously lost in deep thought. Luna was standing off to the side of the throne, nervously fidgeting. But, after they entered the room, both of them returned to their controlled, regal selves. Princess Celestia sat on her throne, Luna stood close by. Princess Luna was having her own throne constructed alongside her sisters, but it wasn't finished. The dais had been extended and centered again, and a carpenter had been assigned to design the new throne.

"Ah, Princess Twilight and Princess Cadence," Princess Celestia said, turning to each of the younger alicorns. "I am glad that all of you could come so urgently."

"I am too, Princess Celestia, shall we start the meeting?" Twilight said, containing her anxiousness.

"Certainly. Shining Armor, would you like to give your account of what happened as the firsthand witness?"

"At once, your majesty."

Her brother stepped forward in front of the group, chairs had been arranged in a semi-circle around the thrones, everyone sat down, they were going to be here a while. Shining Armor began speaking,

"I was on western border patrol with five others of the guard when we were attacked."

"By whom?" Flash asked, Shining Armor thought about his answer for a bit.

"They are, kind of hard to explain. They were like ponies, but not."

"In what way?"

"It didn't look like they had skin or bones like we do, their entire bodies were made of fire, and they wore this blackish-gray armor-"

Everyone was suddenly on the edge of their seats,

"Wait...what!? They were made of fire?" Rainbow Dash asked,

"Yes they were, and-"

"That is SO awesome!!" Rainbow Dash fluttered above her chair, with a glance from several other ponies she sat back down, embarrassed.

"There were about a dozen of them or so, they didn't even try to communicate, they just launched an attack. They soon began to overpower us, they smashed our spears and badly injured one of my troops. I put up a shield to cover us for a while, but I underestimated their magic, they quickly broke the shield and I almost loss consciousness. After I couldn't fight anymore, they dispatched the rest of my patrol, I thought I was going to die."

Shining Armor looked at Twilight briefly, she could barely believe what he was saying, but when he made eye contact, she could tell that he was truly scared for his life at that point, and probably hers too. Twilight was wondering, if these fire ponies almost killed her brother, how is he back here? Her question was soon answered.

"All of a sudden, this white unicorn jumped down from a ledge above us, he stood up on two legs and used twin swords, something I had never seen. And even more surprising, he killed several of the fire ponies, then they managed to burn him, badly. I thought it was all over again, but this unicorn kept surprising me, he did this ultra-powerful spell that killed the rest of them and healed us, and after that he lost consciousness."

"So where is he now?" Twilight asked, she wanted to meet the unicorn who saved her brother.

"We had to carry Daring Snow and the white unicorn back with us, we tried to wake him up but nothing worked. We brought both of them back to the infirmary in Canterlot, the nurses expect he should be able to come to our meeting very soon. I'm sure he could tell you more details, the Princesses and I would like to ask him several questions too."

A voice cam from the back of the room,

"And what questions might those be?"

An Interrupted Meeting

The Canterlot Prison

Roar

After the invasion of Canterlot, many changelings were taken prisoner. They were found unconscious all over Equestria, since the shield expanded outward, flinging them in every which direction. Roar was one such changeling, one moment he was closing in on a group of ponies in an alley, and the next he saw a pink wall of magic rushing toward him. After that he blacked out, waking up in a prison cell with two other changelings.

He was named Roar for one of his talents, he had a very loud voice when he chose that could be made into a terrifying roar. Because of this, he woke up with an iron cuff around his muzzle in his prison cell. He remembered waking up, the rough feeling of straw beneath him and his head throbbing. He was too weak to stand, so he lay on the floor. He felt the presence of two others in the cell, they helped him sit up on the ground against the wall. He felt something cold and hard around his muzzle, restraining him from opening his mouth, he could barely talk.

And once he had gotten the strength to open his eyes, he saw his cell-mates. They were both changelings, also prisoners. They had probably been taken captive several days before him. As he studied their features their names popped into his head, Venom and Talon. He had never really spent a lot of time with either, but Roar knew that would soon change as they were locked in this cell.

It made him very angry, being trapped. He war Roar, a good warrior in the hordes of Chrysalis's Hive, he should be out in the world, flying, fighting, and...feeding...not stuffed inside of a damp, stony prison cell. The thought of food tantalized him, but he knew there would be no one who would willingly let him feed off of their emotions and energy while he was in prison, which dampened his hopes. Sure, there would be some kind of solid food they would give to pony prisoners, but without proper food, changelings cant survive for very long...They could eat normal food, but it wasn't very filling or nourishing for changelings.

What did they want with him in this prison anyway? He asked one of they guards when he came by, for a moment he thought of tricking the guard and then draining his energy, but the guard probably saw it in his eyes.

"You can't use any of your magic here, the Princesses have put up spells in the prison that prevents you from using harmful magic, it's worthless trying."

Roar did try, and he magically sensed the Princess's spell around him like a thick fog, he wouldn't be able to penetrate it unless he had some serious power, which was impossible to get here. So Roar ended up asking the guard his question, turns out, they were just keeping all of the changelings in prison to prevent them from feeding off of the pony populace.

So, he was in a prison cell, he couldn't feed since there were no emotions available in the cell, he couldn't use magic, and he could barely talk. Roar was not one to easily give up, but this situation was hopeless. He spent his days sleeping, conserving his energy, and chatting with Talon and Venom. He got to know both of them really well, and one might even consider them friends. Roar preferred the term 'acquaintance' , or 'ally'. Venom was a good fighter, Roar had done one or two missions with her before, and she had a very flirty, sassy personality. Roar came to respect her. Talon was a simple warrior, not of any renown or fame, but he did possess a sense of humor and moderate fighting skills. He was one of the few people who could make him laugh. Laugh.

The first time Talon told a joke they were just chatting like they normally did, and when Roar attempted to laugh through his cuff, they all realized something. Laughing, positive emotions. They hadn't fed in a long time, which was slowly weakening and would eventually kill them, but now they had an idea. Roar could tell they were all thinking the same thing. He still smiled from the joke, and now also from their new realization.

"Go ahead, we all need it."

Talon and Venom immediately absorbed his happy emotion, leaving him as he was before the joke. They all smiled, they had found a way to keep each other alive. Talon told jokes and they talked, making each other happy, which they then cycled around, nourishing each other to stay alive.

And so their days fell into a schedule, sleep in as long as you wanted, eat whatever the prison rations there were delivered to them, and take naps whenever. But the highlights of their days was after lights-out, when they talked to each other, and then fed off of each others excess positive emotions. With this method, they stayed alive for far longer than they should have.

They tried to contact changelings in the other cells but the cloudy spell prevented them...for now. But little by little, Roar, Talon, and Venom grew stronger, physically and magically. Eventually they got powerful enough to go through the spell, but under the radar so none of the guard would notice. They did this by briefly changing into Princess Celestia herself, cast the communication spell, and then turned back, anyone sensing wouldn't think anything out of the ordinary of a spell cast by Princess Celestia.

When they first tried communicating, they learned that all the other changelings were starving and slowly dying, they spread their idea to all the other changeling prisoners, and soon they were all healthy again, the only problem was they were still stuck in these prison cells. The Princesses spell prevented them from feeding on the guard, casting harmful spells, and long-range communication, but gradually the changelings grew in power, ready for a breakout. Again, the only problem was that somepony would have to break in to break them all out. And so the changelings waited, survived, and rested, waiting for someone to come. And one day, they did.

It started out like any other day in the Canterlot Prison, Roar was the first one to wake up. He sat up, trying to yawn through the iron cuff around his muzzle. He had almost gotten used to the thing. It was hard to tell time in the prison, since there were no windows or outside light, torches blazed along the halls. One could ask the guard for the date, but none of them really cared, they didn't need to count down days or anything.

Roar sat alone for a while, lost in thought. Talon woke up at the other corner of the cell, stretching his hooves out. He noticed Roar staring out of the bars.

"What's up?" Talon said, walking over to sit next to Roar.

"Hm? Oh, it's just I have kind of this feeling..."

"What kind of feeling?"

Roar looked around, but there were no guards patrolling around their cell.

"Like today is the day, the day we get out of this stinking cell."

"How can you tell?"

"Can't you feel it? There is another power somewhere out there, far away but powerful enough for me to still sense it."

Roar breathed in like he could smell the far-away presence of power.

"It is full of dark purpose and magic, and it is getting closer."

Talon probed for magic with his horn, there wasn't really a need since Celestia's spell clouded around them and he doubted there was anything else. But, he did feel this power, it was indeed far away, it was large, dark, and powerful, and it was closing in on Canterlot. Talon turned to Roar,

"Yeah, I feel it too."

They both sat there, feeling the dark power race toward Canterlot. When it was close enough, they realized it was several different sources, all with the same power, probably two or three ponies. Changelings could sense magical sources better than most ponies, as they used it for hunting. The ponies were probably near the gate, judging how far away it felt.

"Do you think they have come to break us out?"

"Maybe, but you can never be sure,"

Roar stood back up and walked to the other side, nudging another black pony in a corner. Venom raised her head, bleary-eyed.

"*Yawn* What is it? You know I like to sleep in."

"Search for magic with your horn."

Seconds later, her eyes widened. She felt the power coming closer too.

"What is it?"

"We don't know, Talon and I hope it is here for the changelings in prison."

Venom stood up and they all moved to the edge of the cell, watching the hall where the entrance was, expecting other changelings or even Chrysalis, their queen, to come and break them out. The power kept getting closer, Roar sensed it was moving downward, probably going down the steps in the building above. Yes! It is here for us! Roar thought, excitement rising.

He connected with the changelings in the other cells.

Do you feel the power coming?

It was several seconds before response. Another changeling named Scythe responded,

Yes, I do. I woke up the minute I felt it coming.

Good, so the other changelings were awake and aware. Everyone was wide awake, staring at the hallway that led in or out. Hoof-steps echoed down the hallway, and three ponies came into view. Two were guards, escorting the final pony. It wasn't a changeling at all, or anypony they had seen before, but they were obviously there for them, and they reeked of dark magic.

Both guards were surprised to see every changeling in the prison awake and alert, watching out of the bars. But it didn't matter, they were sealed behind iron bars. The changelings and the guards thought their guest was strange. They wore a large black cape and hood that covered most of their features They could see their hooves and muzzle, which were black-and-gray striped. A gray horn held up the top rim of their hood. A zebra? The changelings were confused. The guards were following protocol, someone wanted to visit the occupants of the prison and they had to escort them.

The zebra walked around the prison, looking in each cell. To the guard the zebra was just looking for a specific prisoner, but to the changelings they could sense that there was something else going on. The zebra was using hidden magic, probing each cell, determining each changelings skills and power. The zebra stopped in front of Roar, Talon, and Venoms cell, staring Roar straight in the eyes, although Roar couldn't see any. Who was this strange zebra and what did they want?

The zebra smiled,

"I've found him."

The comment was specifically directed at anyone, but the guards came over anyway.

"Okay, then. We'll leave you two to talk."

The zebra didn't even turn around to talk to them, he was still fixated on Roar.

"Oh no, that won't be necessary, both of you need to stay here...and never go anywhere else!"

Roar finally saw his eyes, they flashed open, completely white and glowing. The zebra suddenly whipped around, grabbing the guard to his left around the back of his head and chin, pulling violentely. The guard's neck snapped instantly, and he fell limp. The other guard jumped back in surprise, bringing up his spear. The zebra didn't seem to notice the spear inches away from his head. Instead he made a shooing motion with one of his hooves and dropped the dead body.

"Go, get out of here, and get as many of the guard you want, I like a challenge."

The terrified guard dashed back up the hallway, racing up the stairs and yelling an alarm. Roar was initially impressed by this zebra, it took enormous strength to snap somepony's neck in one blow. But why did they want him?

"We've been looking for another good warrior like you, what is your name?"

"Roar"

"Great name for a changeling, anyway, let's get to business."

The zebra took something out from under his cloak, a necklace made of gray stone, a shape of a pony with a horn and wings spreading adorned the top, and a small red ruby was in the center. The alicorn amulet!? How had this zebra gotten the alicorn amulet? The zebra put the Alicorn Amulet on his neck, and red briefly flashed at the edges of his pure-white eyes.

The zebra concentrated on a spell, and a purplish wisp of magic with red outline came out from the amulet, floating through the bars and going right into Roar's chest. Roar jumped, startled by the sudden onslaught of...power. Roar could feel the immense power the magical wisp held, taunting him to accept it and use it. Of course, he immediately accepted the power from the wisp. He felt the magic flow through him, becoming part of him...changing him.

When he opened his eyes again, he felt different. Was everyone else shorter? Or was he...taller? Roar looked down at himself, and was startled by what he saw. When he had accepted the magic, it had changed him physically as well as magically. For one, he was taller, maybe even as tall as an alicorn. His skin seemed to take on a darkish-red color, but he still had the sharp holes and edges that dotted his limbs. He felt heat around him, he glanced over his back to see that his tail and mane had become slowly waving flames, and his wings had disappeared all together. That was the one drawback to his new form, I liked those wings.

Venom and Talon came up to his side,

"Well, this is...different." Talon said, looking over his friends new looks. Roar had to look down slightly. Shouts and rapid hoofsteps came from above, hurrying into the prison. The zebra glanced in the direction of the hallway. He gestured to the iron bars that held him in the cell.

"Let's see what you can do."

Roar felt more powerful than he had ever before, so the iron bars blocking him seemed like a mesh of sticks. He was about to blast through it when he remembered two things, the iron cuff around his mouth and the magic-blocking spell. He cast a spell that would have normally made acid rapidly erode the cuff, but instead he felt his skin heat up rapidly, melting the cuff instantly. He experimentally moved his jaw around, feeling muscles he hadn't been able to use in a very long time. He laughed at his new power, he felt like he could do anything. With a thought, fire erupted around one of his hooves, then he jumped forward and punched. The magic-blocking spell held him back momentarily, but it collapsed under the pressure of Roar's attack. The iron bars exploded outward in a fiery blast, sending bits of metal across the room, still red-hot from heat.

Roar looked at his hoof, fire receding off. Interesting, he thought, this new power is specific to fire, which I cannot get burned by. Guards rushed into the prison, gaping at Roar, then they charged. Talon and Venom rushed into combat, eager to release all of their pent-up anger from months in prison. The hooded zebra continued to puzzle Roar, he stood up on his back legs, two broad-black swords coming down from under his cloak, and then he fought like that. Meanwhile, Roar cast another spell, fiery whips spring from his horn, grabbing the bars around all the other cells, and with a strong jerk, parts of the iron bars melted off, allowing the other changelings to get out.

Talon grabbed the spear of a guard attempting to stab him, then rolled back and threw the guard over him into several changelings,who grabbed the guard and drained his energy. That reminded him, he was hungry, Talon thought as he licked his lips, unfortunately for the guard.

Venom dodged another spear, flipping behind the guard and quickly wrapping her hooves around his neck, holding him in place and choking him. Then she drained his magic, filling her with energy and power. Who's next! she thought.

Roar faced several guards in front of him, they were wary to attack since they had never seen a changeling like this before. Roar smiled. He reared back, filling his lungs with air, and then slammed down, his voice exploding in a ear-ringing roar. The guards dropped their spears and covered their ears, some were even pushed back several feet. It felt good to do the thing that had given him his name, Roar smiled again.

The guards were dropping like flies, the changelings hadn't had a good meal in months. When most of the guard lay on the ground, moaning and trying to recover energy, the rest retreated up the stairs. The changelings followed, eager to once more prey on Canterlot. Roar was about to follow them when he felt a hoof on his shoulder. He turned around, seeing the mysterious zebra.

"Let them feed, you and I have more important matters in the throne room."

The throne room? Roar liked this zebra, he had given him power and broke the changelings out of prison, he would follow him anywhere to pay him back.

"Oh, by the way, I never got your name."

The zebra turned to Roar, smiling.

"My name is Prince Ravenus."

The Canterlot Prison

An Interrupted Meeting

Twilight

Chairs skidded on the floor and heads turned to the back of the room, their guest had arrived. He was accompanied by a nurse, who helped him stand as his right arm and part of his body were in a simple cast and sling. Shining Armor did a basic job of describing him, but in person, "a white unicorn" didn't carry enough meaning or description.

He was indeed a pure white unicorn with a short gray mane and tail, but Shining Armor probably didn't have the time to notice other details. His eyes were light, silvery gray, carrying almost no emotion except for the slightest trace of sadness. He didn't wear any of his armor, but his front hoof-guards remained. He was several inches taller than anyone in the room except the Princesses. Twilight could tell he was lean, but also solid and strong.

The room was completely silent, the nurse started helping the unicorn limp forward, favoring his left hoof. The unicorn looked around at the hall as he was walking, his eyes taking notice of every single detail and summing up those he could see in the room. He came inside the ring of chairs and stood in the middle, the nurse close at hand. Shining Armor and Flash, as any soldier would, also summed up their guest. As he turned to face the Princesses, Twilight also noticed another detail, he had no cutie mark, which puzzled her.

As soon as the unicorn saw who was sitting on the throne, his eyes widened and he attempted to bow.

"Forgive me, your majesties, It is an honor to be in your presence. No pony outside of this kingdom and its allies have seen any alicorns for millennia, we thought they had all died off."

Died off? Twilight thought, why? Were there once lots of other alicorns? She was eager to hear everything this unicorn could tell them.

"It is alright, there never were many alicorns after..."Celestia paused, as if she was going to tell something, but quickly decided not to. She cleared her throat,

"I take it you are the one who assisted Shining Armor and his patrol at the Western Border, correct?"

"Correct."

"May we have your name and where you herald from?"

"Certainly, your majesty. I am Gleaming Blade, and I come from Lumos, the Kingdom of Light."

The name seemed to ring a bell with Celestia, although Twilight had never heard of this 'Kingdom of Light' before.

"Can you give us any more information about the incident at the Western Border and the creatures who were there?"

"If you do not know already, I believe I can. Your patrol encountered a scouting party of Inferno Stallions, you are right to not call them ponies, as they are mindless pawns of their creator. They are evil creatures with only one desire, and one mind. I have spent the last few years fighting them and the like."

These things sound nasty enough, Twilight thought to herself, but who is their creator? He said something about them all having one mind. She hoped her questions would be answered.

"Have these creatures been attacking Lumos, your home?"

Gleaming Blade nodded,

"Indeed, they started a war several years ago with Lumos,"

"And what of Lumos now?"

"The war destroyed my kingdom," Gleaming Blade sadly, "I am one of the two only survivors."

Celestia seemed suprised and a little bit grieved to hear this, had she known this kingdom before? Twilight guessed she would be sad to hear that it had been destroyed if she had known someone there too. But how had Celestia known this kingdom before?

"Do you know the identity of their creator?"

This time Gleaming Blade seemed surprised to hear her question.

"Yes, I do. Several months after the war started he appeared," Gleaming Blade shivered at the thought, "And when he did, we knew the rumors, legends, and myths were true. I will tell you this, for I fear of speaking his name out loud. He survived, He has found a host, and He has started again. I expect that you and your sister alone will know who I am speaking of,"

Celestia gasped, and the two Princesses looked at each other in silent conversation. Then she turned back to the circle of chairs. Princess Celestia was about to speak again, when Gleaming Blade suddenly looked around the room, then closed his eyes and sighed deeply. What was he doing? Her question was soon answered, he opened his eyes again and then spoke out loud, but to no one in particular.

"Would anyone like to step outside for a while? I don't think a throne room is the right time and place, and keep in mind there are several young mares in the room."

What is he talking about? Twilight thought, again, her question was soon answered, and afterwards she was grateful that Gleaming Blade had been in the room. Suddenly, with lightning speed Gleaming Blade turned around, the hoof guard on his left arm straightening into one of the silver blades Shining Armor had described as his arm arced around his head, coming down in a powerful slice, releasing the blade. The sword spun through the air vertically, impaling the guard closest to Princess Celestia, who had jumped toward her, spear ready. The sword went completely through, pinning his body to the wall several feet off the ground. His spear dropped to the ground and he went limp.

Shining Armor and Flash Sentry sprung to their hooves, why had one of their guards tried to assault the Princess? Everyone stopped and stared at what was happening to the body on the wall. Green flames erupted around the gray pegasi, and when they faded, he looked completely different. His skin was black, his eyes were green, holes dotted his arms and legs, his wings turned from gray feathers to green bug-like ones, and two fangs hung down from his top row of teeth. Changelings

Suddenly, similar green flames surrounded over half the guard in the room, coming out as changelings decked out in golden armor and wielding spears. Twilight panicked, leaping off of her chair and turning around to face the changelings around them. Purplish-red magic lit up her horn. Real guard members found themselves surrounded by changelings, several of them fell before they all retreated to form a semi-circle around everyone else.

Shining Armor and Flash picked up helmets and spears from behind their chairs, heading to the front of their defensive line. Gleaming Blade shrugged off his sling, the nurse accompanying him raised an eyebrow questioningly, still concerned about her patients.

"Don't worry, I heal quickly." he said reassuringly, he raised his left hoof and his sword flew out of the wall and spiraled back to its hoof-guard shape on his arm. He stood up on his hind legs, flicking both arms downward. His twin silver blades shot down, it was time to fight and defend.

The changelings launched an attack, charging with spears and flying overhead. The pegasi flew up to meet them, while the unicorns, earth-ponies, and alicorns stayed on the ground. They were pretty evenly matched, since both races now had golden armor, spears, magic, flight, and strength. But the changelings could take energy and power from their opponents emotions, and lately, there was a surplus of fear and surprise, the Guard were being quickly overwhelmed.

That is, until those behind them joined the fight. Rainbow Dash flew overhead at blinding speed, dazing changelings and knocking them out of the air. Applejack kicked with her strong hooves and dodged attacks. Pinkie Pie somehow had her party cannon...How does she do that?! And Fluttershy and Rarity cowered behind everyone else. Flash Sentry and Shining Armor were fighters, leading the shaky defensive line. Twilight, Cadence, Luna, and Celestia wielded powerful magic, being alicorns.

But the most interesting one to watch fight was Gleaming Blade, he ran on his two back legs, flipping and spinning around with his twin swords like a deadly hurricane.

Twilight leaned to the right, dodging a spear and then took flight, blasting several changelings out of the air with her magic, and then dove, firing magic bolts as quickly as she saw and enemy. She felt good, like old times, to be back having an adventure, but, still, she kinda felt...tired. Too late, she realized what was happening. She weakly fluttered to land, her energy and happy emotions literally draining from her. A changeling stood not too far from her, breathing in deeply as green energy flooded from her to the changeling. She saw the look in his eyes, now he was more powerful, he had absorbed her magic, energy, and emotions for the time being. An even better, it came from an alicorn, which just gave him more power.

Twilight realized that this was happening all around her, guard falling to the ground as they were drained, the changelings growing in power. Someone dragged her backwards, she looked up at Shining Armor, determined to protect his sister. He clutched his spear tightly and leveled it at the approaching line of changelings. She noticed others around her in a loose group, Flash, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and all the Princesses. All the guard were barely moving on the ground, drained of their energy and emotions.

But wait, where were the others? Twilight looked around frantically, some of her strength returning. There! Three of her friends were trapped at the back of the room. Pinkie Pie sat alone, looking defeated and depressed. When she saw that her mane was completely flat Twilight realized what had happened, the changelings had drained all of her happiness. Rarity and Fluttershy squeezed into the corner, several changelings closing in. No!

As Twilight watched, struggling to stand, a very interesting thing happened. As one of the changelings got close enough, Fluttershys eyes suddenly glazed red, tufts grew out of her ears, her feathers melded into leathery wings, and fangs grew from her mouth. Flutterbat jumped at the changeling, her fangs coming down on their neck. The changeling was even more surprised than Twilight. Green light faded from the changelings eyes, and the energy they had absorbed from other ponies went to Fluttershy. The drained changeling slumped to the ground and Fluttershys vampiric features vanished. When she returned to normal, even she was shocked at what had happened, the other changeling backed up slowly, joining the main group.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stepped forward, facing the advancing line.

"How dare you attack Canterlot!" Celestia yelled, rearing back and then coming down hard, sending out a wave of yellowish-white magic that knocked all of the changelings across the room. The changelings stood back up, smiling. Why weren't they hurt? Celestia was surprised for a second, and then resumed her angry and determined stance. Then it came to Twilight, they had become so powerful they could withstand and maybe even defeat the magic of the Royal Sisters, as Chrysalis had once done. But wait...what had stopped her? She remembered, hope springing back into her mind.

"Shining Armor! You remember how you and Cadence defeated Chrysalis at your wedding?"

The memory dawned on both of them, and they went to the front of the group. Cadence started the simple spell, touching horns with Shining Armor. Then the spell reacted, growing exponentially in power and size as it began to be powered by their love for each other. A pink shield of magic started at the couple, shaped like a heart and writhing with magical flames. Then it started to expand outward, heading rapidly for the cowering changelings at the other end of the room. Fear sparked in some of the changelings eyes as they remembered this particular spell.Yes! It was going to work! Twilight smiled, once again on her hooves as she recovered from being drained. And then their hope was literally shattered.

The doors burst open at the end of the room and a blackish figure jumped in front of the oncoming shield, which exploded upon contact with them, sending out a shock-wave and breaking into small magical shards. Twilight was knocked down again as the shock-wave of the explosion reached them. She stood back up, taking in the scene before her.

The black figure was a changeling, but it wasn't at the same time...It was much taller than a changeling, and it's skin was tinted a very dark red. It's horn was longer, almost like an alicorns. And it had the usual holes in its limbs like normal changelings. But the biggest difference of all was fire, it's mane, tail, and wings were all made of it. It stood sideways and on it's back legs, one arm straight out, flames curling off of their skin. Another figure walked up beside them.

"Very, very good." they said, "Eventually you will get even better at controlling your new power,"

It was hard to tell what they were, since a black cape and hood covered most of their features. All Twilight cold see of them were their front legs, muzzle, horn, and eyes. Eyes. She shivered, their eyes were pure glowing white, and strangely disturbing in a way, as if they could see into her thoughts. Their hooves and muzzle were gray-and-white striped...wait a minute, a zebra?! No, it couldn't be, they had a gray horn poking out of the top rim of their hood. But...could it? Both of the new arrivals were strange, reminding Twilight of things she had seen before and completely throwing her off in other places.

The hooded zebra looked over and pretended to finally notice the ponies in the room,

"Why, hello, Celestia! I hope we didn't disturb anything, i'm just training our new recruit. And in case your wondering, this was all just a distraction." they said, smiling and pointing out one of the large windows. The hooded zebra had a very sassy, sarcastic attitude.

Twilight quickly turned to stare out of the window, where she saw changelings amid the city, running and flying out of Canterlot. They released all the changelings that were in the prison! Twilight realized.

"Well, ta-ta! We'll have to be going now, hope you enjoy the mess we made!" The zebra and all the changelings turned to leave when several loud, commanding and rather angry voices rang out. They had finally realized what was happening and unfroze.

"STOP RIGHT THERE RAVENUS!!!"

"WE COMMAND YOU TO HALT!!!

Twilight recognized the voice of Gleaming Blade, although she had never heard him angry before. He was followed by Celestia and Luna, who were also very enraged. The hooded zebra, or 'Ravenus' as Gleaming Blade had called him, actually turned around, looking more annoyed like he had better things to do than intimidated. Ravenus sighed,

"What is it? I have a very tight schedule, you know."

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Gleaming Blade started marching toward him, Twilight and the others followed.

"How dare you openly attack the capital of Equestria! Do you have any idea who we are!?"

"Yes, I do actually. You are Celestia and Luna, daughters of-"

"Enough!!! You have invaded Canterlot and violated our borders!"

Princess Celestias horn pulsed with magic as her anger increased,

"Pfft! Like I care." the zebra said sarcastically. That was it, the temporary peace snapped. Princess Celestia blasted magic for all she was worth toward Ravenus. He looked surprised for a second, then the enormous ray of yellow magic hit him. The magic froze in place, forming into a large ball of swirling energy. And then it started to shrink. Ravenus was standing up on his back legs, compressing the ball of magic with his front hooves, gritting his teeth and limbs shaking. Once it was small enough, the ball dispersed into a small wisp. Ravenus relaxed his hooves, sighing. Then he rolled his neck and resumed speaking. His tone was much more serious than before.

"I underestimated you, Celestia, you have grown more powerful than we had initially thought,"

Twilight's mouth was hanging open. How had he done that?!! Princess Celestia was the most powerful magic wielder she had ever known! Ravenus snapped his head back to them, and he smiled. He breathed in the small magical wisp that was left of Celestia's spell.

"But WOW, what a rush!" Ravenus exclaimed, opening his arms. Celestia's magic blast reappeared, but it was...red. The magical ball erupted back into existence, large, dark, and menacing. It blasted back toward Celestia, did he absorb her spell?!

Everyone dived out of the way, the blast shot forward and destroyed the thrones at the other end of the room, flinging burnt debris and aftershock everywhere, leaving a smoking, black crater where the thrones and dais once were. And when Twilight looked back up, the changelings and Ravenus were gone.

Twilight coughed as she stood back up, the air was heavy with a burnt smell and a combination of ash and smoke. Everyone looked around at the destruction caused by one spell from a very strange zebra, and the power of the spell wasn't even his. The fiery changeling perplexed her too, as well as all of the other changelings disguised as members of the guard, how long had they been that way?

Ponies rushed in from the double doors, plenty of guard and medics, explaining the situation outside and asking what had happened in here. Twilight looked around, how had all of this happened so fast? Who were those ponies? She concluded that she needed to talk to Gleaming Blade personally, but before she could ask him, the Royal Sisters were already walking out with the mysterious white unicorn.