Be warned:The following pages contain explicit content, like strong language, sarcasm and brutality against colorful equines, that may disturb the kind-hearted.

Last Pony Standing
by Monki

Chapter 01 - Rush of the storm

Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, there was a white wall ... -
No no no... scrap that, this is not a fairytale, rather it’s a report about a historical incident and should be taken seriously.

To say that I am an author would be an exaggeration. While I always did enjoy books and fiction in general, I never thought about writing a book on my own. However, this isn’t a fictional novel for entertainment. Let's see, how do I start this..?

It was a beautiful summer day, when… argh no, way too cheesy... Well actually it doesn’t matter if I start my narrative with a cool line. How about I just write down how it actually happened, without literary sugarcoating? Does that sound good to you?

I remember that day like it was yesterday. Well, how could I ever forget it? The joy and the horror I faced. I still remember every detail, every spoken word and every scent I smelt. Everything had been etched into my brain, and no matter how hard I tried, I was never able to get rid of these horrid memories. Nothing in my life could have prepared me for what I was about to witness.

It all started out so peacefully.

***

It was one of those days. I was ordered to watch the northern Canterlot gate. A gate that separated the bottom of the mountain range Canterlot was built upon from a hilly plain; one that reached from the outer wall to a medium-sized forest that grew in the distance. A paved street slithered down the hill and towards the edge of the forest, bridging a slow paced river that was streaming through the plain, a couple of yards away from my post. On the other side of that wall, said street made its way up the slope towards Equestria's capital.

Almost all ponies know the sight of the southern end of Canterlot. It is a very popular picture for postcards and the train station is located there, as well. When ponies go by train, they only see that side of the city. The northern part behind the mountain on the other hoof is not quite as well-known; which is a good thing in my opinion. I had always enjoyed the peace and quiet around here. Normally guarding the northern gate would have been a rather easy job, but not that day.

It certainly could have been a nice day, since the sun was shining, birds were singing and no clouds covered the exceptional blue sky above me. With my surroundings so warm and peaceful, I had to focus to not to doze off.

Like usual I was leaning on my lance, bored, staring at the shimmering air caused by the heat of the summer sun. As far as I could remember, nothing had ever happened during my watch, and I liked this post very much because of the view. It had always been quite peaceful here, with the silent rushing of the small stream and the scent of grass lingering in the air. It was around noon when my superior, Staff Sergeant Feint, came down the hill to visit us.

"Private, report!" he ordered. Both my partner and I snapped to attention and saluted him, it was our duty.

"Everything's peaceful here, sir. No unusual things to report," my partner Paint Brush replied.

Paint Brush was an earth-pony and a private in the guard, like myself. He wore the same silver colored armor over his brown coat as I did. His iron helm hid away his bushy dark mane; while I decided to relinquish my helm, due to the heat. Paint Brush was a friend of mine and one of the three others I shared a room in the barracks with, the others being Eagle Eye and Midnight Sun. However, Midnight had other duties today. Paint Brush had a color pallet and a brush as a Cutie Mark.

During his spare time, he liked to stay in our room and draw stuff. Sometimes, when the weather was good enough to do so, he even went outside to paint a panorama. This day would have been such a day that he would have gone outside for inspiration, but unfortunately he had guard duty.

He recently painted a nice looking portrait of Princess Celestia, however he was shy and lacked the confidence to show it to her. I thought it was excellent work and I told him so. I also told him that it should be displayed in the Royal Gallery, but he disagreed. He was the youngest son of the wealthy Brush Family. His father, Wire, a stuck up douchebag, was a successful lawyer who constantly sued ponies left and right for banalities, just because he could, increasing his family's wealth by doing so. Paint refused his father's request to become a lawyer himself to take over his father's chancellery and as a result got disinherited and kicked out by the furious Wire Brush. He was more eager at his mother's advice to visit the 'Royal Academy of Art.' However, with no money left, he couldn't afford the tuition fees.

I never understood why such a talented pony joined the Royal Force in the first place, since it seemed like a waste of talent to me. I guess it was all about the money after all. I never have had a special talent. My Cutie Mark was a bright magenta colored spark, but I had no idea what it symbolized or how I even got it. I was a boring earth-pony with no horn nor wings to do great stuff with. I wasn't very bright, nor exceptionally strong either. I couldn't think of anything I was good at, so I joined the Royal Force as a last resort.

"It's one of those days again, eh?" Sergeant Feint started his small talk while rubbing off the sweat from his forehead. "Here boys, I brought you some refreshments. It's quite hot today, isn't it?" the Sergeant said chummily.

"Yes, sir, it sure is," I replied as he opened the six-pack and tossed a can of soda to each of us.

For whatever reason, this summer was much hotter than all the summers I've experienced before. That day the sun burned down on us, mercilessly, like it had for several days. Nopony knew why it was that hot, but I don't think anypony had ever dared to question Princess Celestia's handling of the sun before. To me, it felt like the sun was anxious for whatever reason, which would explain its abnormal behavior. If it weren't for the soft wind to cool us down a little, standing in front of the wall in metal armor in the burning sun would have been a torture.

Staff Sergeant Feint then lifted his head and called with a louder voice:
"Private Eagle Eye, care for a can of soda?"

The head of a white coated unicorn with red mane, wearing aviator shades, appeared in the tower window above, now looking down on us. Eagle Eye's post was on a medium-sized tower, built into the white wall, right above the opened sturdy wooden gate, we were standing in front. It was his favorite post and Sergeant Feint assigned it to him with pleasure, since that position made good use of his sharp eyes and steady aim. He was another friend of mine, and he was the champion marksman of our unit. No matter what sport, like darts, trapshooting or just throwing a crumpled-up piece of paper in a trash can, Eagle Eye was the best at it. His natural precision had won him many trophies that decorated the top of his locker in our room. Although he seemed quite crude and cocky at first, he turned out to be the most loyal friend a pony could have.

"Sure, Sarge! Lemme hav'it." Eagle Eye called down from above.

Sergeant Feint then threw one of those soda cans into the air, which was then surrounded by a silver glowing aura. Eagle used his unicorn power to catch the can in midair.

"Thanks, Sarge!" he called down cheerfully, after he had gathered his drink.

Eagle Eye has had a rough childhood. During a 'weak moment,' he told me that his father had left the family when he was little. As a result, his mother stayed drunk twenty-four-seven ever since that day. It has been Eagle Eye who cared for his mother and raised his little sister, Cherry Blossom, all by himself. As a result, he never has had any friends nor a pleasant childhood since he hadn't had the time to care for himself. After his mother passed away because of hepatic cancer several years ago, he was forced to join the guard since they paid a decent wage which he constantly sent home to his sister to spare her from orphanage. With her reaching adulthood and his mother gone, he finally had the chance to live his own life and make some friends. The Guard helped him to brighten up, however he was never able to fully dismiss his crudeness and thick-skinned character.

"Thank you, sir. What's the occasion?" I asked the Sergeant curiously while opening my can with a 'Fzzz' sound, having a sip afterwards.

"Well, although it is very hot today and I am boiling within my armor, I have a reason to celebrate this day. My wife gave birth to my first child last night. I am the daddy of a baby boy now, guys, and I couldn't be happier today. I would have brought you something stronger to celebrate with me, but as you both know, that wouldn't be allowed during guard duty," he cheerfully said with a wink.

"Congratulations, Sarge!" Paint Brush said to him happily, patting his back.

"Best wishes to the newborn foal," I added just as cheerfully.

"The Sarge's a daddy now? 'bout time, if ya ask me," Eagle commented, chuckling from above.

Feint then reached for a pocket in his uniform and pulled out a picture of a magenta-coated newborn foal and showed it to me, with overwhelming pride on his face. I chuckled lightly, thinking that showing a picture of your foal to everypony who seems interested is very cliched. I guessed it was just a natural thing for a parent to share the joy with as many ponies as possible.

"Sarge, a group o' travel'rs 's just exited the forest path," Eagle called from upstairs.

"Can you see who it is and how many they are?" he asked lifting his head again.

"A group o' four crystal-ponies, sir!"

We turned towards the forest and saw the crystal-ponies Eagle was referring to. A small party of multicolored ponies, whose manes reflected the bright sunlight, came into sight. They had left the forest and made their way down the street, just reaching the broad white stone bridge that crossed the stream.

"Don't worry, the crystal-ponies are our allies. They are probably going to visit the city," the Sarge said, waving his hoof weakly.

"Do you have a name for your foal yet, sir?" I asked him while he turned around to show the picture to Paint.

"No, my wife and I haven’t agreed on one just yet, so we'll have to discuss it some more," he said snickering.

"Hey, lemme see that picture of ya foal, too, please," Eagle called, while looking down on us.

The Sergeant lifted his hoof holding the picture towards him.

"Mighty fine kid ya got there, Sarge," he said before he lifted his head to stare at the forest again.

Staff Sergeant Feint has always been a fair and rather laid-back superior, but that day he was in a very good mood and smiled like a Cheshire cat. Although I have served the Royal Canterlot Force for several years now, I was still a Private; a Private First Class to be more specific, but we have known each other for a long time, so a friendly but respectful relationship had arisen over the years. Although I was a regular yellow-coated earth-pony with no special abilities, Staff Sergeant Feint has always treated everypony equally. That's why I started to like him in the first place.

Loyalty and respect were much more important in his opinion than any physical abilities. In fact, he was my paragon since he was an earth-pony like myself, with no superior traits, but he had made it to the rank of a Staff Sergeant without getting boastful. Everypony could easily tell that he loved his job and that he was proud to serve the Princesses. He really cared for his inferiors, and every soldier respected him for the strict but fair pony he was.

"Eagle's right, he is handsome, sir," Paint Brush commented on the picture he was just shown.

"Sev'ral more crystal-ponies 've left the forest, Sarge!" I heard Eagle’s voice calling from above.

"There must be summer vacation in the Empire, right now. Understandable that those crystal-ponies want to spend their days off in our beautiful city," he snickered before he burst into a short laugh.

Both Paint Brush and I joined him in his laughter, infected by his cheerful mood.

"But now there's a grun'load of 'em, Sarge!" Eagle called again, with a more concerned voice.

We once again turned towards the forest, seeing the street in front of the forest being crowded with dozens of crystal-ponies. I tried to count them, but soon gave up, since there were still ponies exiting the forest.

"... I've a bad feelin'-" Eagle continued.

"Relax, Private, those are crystal-ponies, remember? The same guys we helped to retake their Empire and their freedom several years ago. Something serious must have happened, though. It seems like those are escapees." His voice had lost its cheerful tone and became more worried.

"But they ain't have any luggage, sir," Eagle Eye remarked as he seemed to tense up.

"Maybe they didn't had time to gather their belongings-" I wondered aloud.

"It seems like the whole Empire is on their hooves..." Paint remarked after roughly guessing their quantity.

"Are those Changelings?" he then wondered.

"Nope, doesn't seem like Changelings to me," I replied.

Meanwhile, the first party of crystal-ponies had almost reached the northern gate. Sergeant Feint stepped towards the first group while waving his hoof. He then stopped a leg length in front of the crystal-pony closest to him.

"Good day, traveler, what brings you to Canterlot?" he asked the first pony politely.

He reached out to shake hooves with that pony, but that cyan-coated pony with a sparkling mane didn't move, having a vacant expression on its face. I saw the Sergeant standing there a few moments, irritated, still with his hoof held towards the visitor. Paint Brush and I watched the scene from the back, standing next to the gate, a couple of steps away.

"What is going on? Why are there so many of you? Did something happen in the Empire? Let me assure you that Canterlot is more than willing to offer help to our ally in case of an emergency," he told the group while looking into their faces one after another. However, all of those ponies had the same vacant expression as the cyan one. None of them moved or spoke up, and Feint finally lowered his hoof, knowing that they wouldn't greet him.

Then, all of a sudden thousands of birds fled the forest. The cloud of birds flew right over our heads, away from that forest, like something had startled them all at once. I saw birds of prey and regular smaller birds flying next to each other, seeming quite in a haste. With our heads turned up to the swarm, Sergeant Feint mumbled:

"What the-"

All of a sudden, the cyan-coated crystal-pony rushed forward towards Sergeant Feint, tackling him with a body-check. The hit took the Sarge by surprise and he stumbled backwards, falling to one knee so he wouldn't lose his balance entirely.

Another green-coated pony rushed forwards the Sarge, delivering a backhand swing with its hoof, which hit his head forcing him to recoil. Finally, a third pony positioned itself next to him, turned around and delivered a forceful applebucking kick with both of its hind legs, aimed for his head. Taken completely by surprise, Staff Sergeant Feint had no chance to parry at all.

I heard the horrible cracking sound of his skull when the blow hit his head. The limp body of my superior was knocked backwards, towards my position. After a second of astonishment, Paint had taken up a combat stance, lowering his lance while I knelt down next to the crushed Sergeant's body.

I pressed my hoof against the nasty looking laceration, but I couldn't stop the blood oozing out of his head. With my other hoof at his carotid I could feel his decelerating heart beat. Since his life essence was already exiting his body, I had no chance to revive him. He just died there in my arms, but the adrenaline rush kept me from bemoaning him, so my head stayed rather clear, given the situation. I was shocked, but knowing that we'd lost him forever, I quickly picked up Sergeant Feint's dog-tag and the picture of that little foal he had dropped and stored them in a pocket of my uniform.

"What do you want?!" I heard Paint's enraged voice calling. "Why did you do this?! This counts as a declaration of war!"

He didn't get an answer from the four crystal-ponies. They seemed unfazed and now turned towards us.

Paint realized that there was no arguing with those ponies, so he stepped forward and delivered a mighty uppercut swing with the blunt end of his lance's handle towards the head of the cyan-coated one who was still standing where he had hit the unaware Sergeant. That pony didn't wince at all and so the swing perfectly hit the head of that pony, forcing it to turn upwards. It remained like that for several moments before the pony slowly lowered its head again, staring into Paint Brush's astonished face, still with that creepy vacant expression. Then that pony continued to draw near, as if nothing had happened.

I saw how Paint's mouth dropped open and I wasn't less surprised. In normal circumstances, such a blow would have shattered a pony’s jaw at the least. Although Paint Brush had a gentle artistic mind, he could hoof out a serious beating when he had to. The bruises on my body, I got during training, proved that fact.

"What's goin' on down there?" Eagle Eye wanted to know.

"Eagle! Sound the alarm, we're under attack!" I shouted back.

"What?"

"Those crystal-ponies just killed Staff Sergeant Feint!"

"WHAT?!"

"Sound that alarm already, damn it!"

"Oh crap-" he commented, while turning away from his window.

AwooooOOOooo - AwooooOOOooo - AwooooOOOOoooooooo....-

I heard the sound of the war-horn Eagle was equipped with, in case of danger. Two blows meant that some natural disaster was going on, like a fire, a twister or a storm surge. During the recent days there had been several town fires, started by the heat and the dry climate, so two blows haven't been that uncommon, recently. Three blows, however indicated a direct attack.

Meanwhile Paint Brush had backed away from the slowly approaching crystal-ponies. The second group had almost reached the gate as well, with the third much larger group close behind.

"Close the gate!" Paint screamed.

"No time, they're already too close!" I called back.

"Guys, retreat! There's too many of 'em!" Eagle suggested, after he had regained his breath. "I'll cover ya flanks-"

Both of us backed off the approaching crystal-pony army while Eagle Eye shot several silver colored magic blasts at the enemy to give us time to get the hay out of there. Before he could turn around, Paint got attacked by the green crystal-pony, who jumped towards him trying to hit his head, however Paint had no problem dodging the attack. Paint stepped aside and delivered a counter-attack to the green-coated crystal-pony, thrusting his lance deep into the hip of the pony, using the deadly tip of his weapon this time. Although this appeared to make a serious wound which started to bleed like crazy, the crystal-pony continued to limp forward, unimpressed. Shocked, Paint let go of his weapon, unable to move, while his face became white as chalk. He just stood there, eyes wide opened.

"What- what are you?" he mumbled, staring horrified at the impaled green-one.

"Paint, come on! Get outta there!" I tried to talk some sense into that paralyzed pony. He, however, didn't move at all.

Meanwhile the invader whose leg got impaled pulled out the lance that was still in his body and thrust it deep into the torso of my comrade, while stepping forwards. The lance pierced through his armor and the blood-covered tip emerged from Paint Brush's back.

"Paint!" I screamed, both bewildered and terrified while he coughed up blood.

"Flare- get- get outta here--" were the last words he ever said to me before he collapsed on the ground in a puddle of his own blood.

With eyes wide open, I stared at my now deceased comrade. The one I had spent so many happy moments with, the same one I had to carry home on my back after quite a wild party at the 'Winged Mug' last weekend. Then I lifted my head again, noticing that those ponies now slowly came after me. Snapping out of my grief, I started to run like my own tail was on fire. I quickly activated the mechanism that dropped the portcullis, but I knew that it wouldn’t be enough to stop them forever. I knew that I needed to get help quickly.

I heard the sound of Eagle Eye's magic bullets striking down one attacker after another, to support my escape, and his comments after each successful hit, but I didn't dare to look back.

"I betcha ain't saw that one comin'- Now even ya momma won't reco'nize ya, kid- And one fer ya, too, gal- Ouch, that hada hurt- "

Then, while dashing, I heard a menacing evil laugh coming from the forest's direction. I have never heard such cruelty, such evilness, before. The sheer sound sent shivers down my spine. I looked back over my shoulder while running, but I wasn’t sure if my grief tainted my judgement or I imagined things. It looked like a cloud of black smoke that was lingering right in front of the forest. That disturbing laughter echoed in my head, and it felt like acid putrefying my mind.

I turned my head back around and ran up that mountain path like I never ran before in my life.

Blinded by the splendor and beauty of the city, the unaware pony might not see how sturdy and well fortified the capital of Equestria actually was, but for the keen eye Canterlot was built like a fortress. Although it didn't make the impression, Canterlot was built to resist and it did its job for ages with only minor changes to its defenses over the centuries.

The wall me and my friends got ordered to protect was the outer wall. The first and smaller of two major walls to protect the heart of the city with the palace and the homes of thousands of ponies. In times of peace, the gate in the northern wall was almost always opened and acted as a mere checkpoint to validate the identity of travelers. Ever since the invasion, every guard-pony was taught how to recognize a disguised Changeling to prevent them entering the city. The outer wall was built at the bottom of the mountain and separated the 'Blue Spruce Wood' and its surrounding plain from the street that crawled up the slope towards the second, more sturdy wall. Even though it didn't make the impression, the street that slithered up the hill between both walls was another defensive mechanic, since there was no cover and from the top of the second wall archers had a good position to take out attackers that tried to reach the second wall.

The pony who had designed the city must have been a genius, I thought to myself. However, all those defensive mechanics weren't exaggerated at all, since they were meant to protect the citizens living in the city, its treasures of both wisdom and wealth like the ancient scrolls and books of the Royal Library or the jewels in the Royal Vault and the princesses of course.

So it took me some time to run up the hill and after what felt like ages to me, I reached the inner defense-ring, that separated the heart of the city from the outer wall.

"Close the gates!" I shouted at the guards standing on the wall. "Close the gates, we're under attack!"

I finally entered the inner ring and quickly climbed the stairs, reaching the top of the wall, but the gates remained open. Lieutenant Silver Badge approached me.

"Private, what's going on? We heard the war-horn... three blows? Is this a false alarm?"

"No, sir, the crystal-ponies are attacking the city. They are already at the northern gate."

"The crystal-ponies? Why would they-"

"I have no clue, sir, they attacked out of the blue and they just killed Staff Sergeant Feint and Private Paint Brush-"

In exactly that moment a massive explosion happened behind me. The ground was shaking and the explosion caused my ears to become deaf for a moment, recovering rather slowly.

"Take cover!"

I barely heard Silver Badge's call because it sounded like a mere whisper accompanied by ringing in my ears caused by the explosion. I then got pushed to the ground right in time. A giant piece of white stone flew over my head, missing it by only an inch. I could feel the draft the rock produced while scorching past my head before it impacted on the ground, only a couple of steps away from me.
Silver Badge quickly got back onto his hooves and finally turned around, shouting:

"Close that gates! We're under attack! This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill! Heads up everypony, the enemy is closing in!"

Way too slowly for my taste, the gates finally closed. Several more Guards appeared on the white wall equipped with bows and crossbows while the unicorns charged their horns.

After getting back onto my hooves myself, I gazed down the hill at the approaching army and noticed that the tower, where Eagle Eye had remained in his position to cover my back, was blown to bits. Only smoke and haze was left of that white tower my friend used to be in and as a result, there now was a giant hole in the wall leaving the entrance wide open. The crystal-ponies were just hurdling over the white rubble pile which used to be the gate tower. The rock that had almost hit me was a fragment of the tower wall, I realized.

"Eagle- no! Those bastards!" I cried, sorely shocked.

"Private, go inform General Star Stripe! He needs to know what's going on here!"
Silver Badge gripped my shoulder and shook me several times until I snapped out of my grief.

"Private, hurry!" he addressed me in a stern tone, his navy blue eyes looking deep into mine.

I just nodded lamely. Then I turned my head towards the battlefield again. The crystal-ponies were now moving up the slope and had almost reached the inner defense-ring. They probably were going to besiege it. I turned around and galloped down the stairs again, and continued dashing towards the palace. While running I heard Silver Badge calling his commands:

"Everypony in position! Archers, draw! - Hold! - FIRE!"

*****

Author's Note

Finally it is finished. This is the first chapter of a fic I started writing in spring 2013. Since this fic was finished long before Season 4, there might be some inconsistencies with updated cannon now. Be warned, that I am not going to change anything if it doesn't fit into the current world order. Therefore I've added the "Alternate" Universe" tag, although the Universe does not differ that much from pre S4's Equestria.

Special thanks to JeffCvt, who did a great job proofreading this.
(http://www.fimfiction.net/user/JeffCvt)

Special thanks to Nonagon who offered valuable criticism. (http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Nonagon)

I'll upload the second chapter as soon as my proof-reader gives me the green light. There will be more information about the story and my intentions in the last chapter, too.

In the meantime you may read: "The origin of ponykind" (http://www.fimfiction.net/story/143608/the-origin-of-ponykind)
which you may view somewhat as a prequel to this one.