Twilight and Friends Save Christmas

Chapters

Time to Nut Up or Shut Up
Boots on the Ground
We're Going In Loud (Which Might Be a Bad Idea)

Time to Nut Up or Shut Up

Way out in the badlands, where the sun rarely shone, a nasty queen changeling spoke with a nasty tone.

"The ponies have Christmas, so happy and gay!" She grunted in disgust, and on the floor she did lay. "I hate them after my invasion of Canterlot! After being flung that far, I'm not feeling so hot!"

The changeling queen grimaced, and from the floor she did stand. She walked over to a shining orb which showed the pony land. "I must find a way to defeat them, I must! I'll make this latest attempt at Christmas a bust!"

Beside her, her a minion of hers turned and did mutter, "what the heck is she doing?" The other one shrugged to his brother.

The changeling queen cackled and bounced in delight. "Come now my children! We shall remove this Christmasy blight! The ponies will wake up tomorrow morn, and find there is no Christmas, so they shall..." The changeling queen faltered. "M-mourn."

The changelings did sigh, remembering the last invasion where they were blown sky high. Still, she was their queen, and had good ideas sometimes. They gathered behind her, and gave moral boosting war cries.

"Christmas well not come for Equestria!" The evil changeling queen squeed. "I will take over the North Pole, and make all of them bleed!"

* * * *

Twilight Sparkle smiled a she adjusted the Christmas star on her flawlessly decorated tree. She hopped off of her ladder and stepped back to admire her handiwork, relishing the fact that the tree was perfect, just like it was every year. And her friends said that checklists never came in handy.

Spike waked up beside her, a similar smile on his face. He leaned against her side and gently nuzzled her. "It looks beautiful, Twilight. Probably our best Christmas tree yet."

"Certainly our best one since we came to Ponyville." Twilight reached a hoof out and delicately touched one of the tinsel strings. "The tinsel and the popcorn strings are alternating and exactly three inches apart, the ornaments are magically fixed to the tree..." A slight frown crossed Twilight's face as she scanned her tree one more time. "Though given the fact that my mom is inevitably going to send me yet another ornament, I wonder if we're going to have room for it next year."

Spike shrugged and slightly adjusted a glass ornament of three fillies on a sled. "Eh, it'll be fine. We'll find a way like we always do."

Twilight's smile returned and she affectionately ruffled Spike's head spines. "You're right, Spike. I'm sure we will."

Before Spike could respond, his cheeks bulged out, and he made a noise of regurgitation that Twilight had come to associate with Princess Celestia sending her a letter. With a small burst of flame, Spike burped out a rolled up scroll sealed with the royal seal. Twilight caught it in her magic before it hit the ground.

"I wonder what it is," Spike said, gingerly rubbing his chest.

Twilight shrugged. "Probably just her wishing me a merry Christmas," she said as she broke the seal. She unfurled the scroll and cleared her throat.

"Dear Twilight,

I must ask you and your friends to come to Canterlot immediately! A grave matter has arisen, and I believe that you are the only ponies that can solve it. You will find train tickets waiting for you at the train station. I wish I could give more details, but I'd rather wait to discuss this in private. Please do not wait!

Princess Celestia."

Twilight gulped and put the scroll down. "Spike, we have a problem. You go get Rarity and Pinkie. I'll go get Rainbow, Fluttershy and Applejack." Twilight flew over to the coat closet and pulled out to scarves, one of which she tossed to Spike and the other she wrapped around her own neck. "Tell them to meet me at the Canterlot train station as soon as they can and tell them that Princess Celestia wants us. They don't need to bring anything."

Spike saluted and the two of them ran out the door into the chilly winter night.

* * * *

Twenty minutes later, the seven of them sat in a private car on the five 'o clock train to Canterlot. Twilight's friends each looked at her with looks of confusion on their faces. It was Applejack who broke the silence.

"So, Princess Celestia just said that she wanted us in Canterlot, but didn't say why?" Applejack grunted and crossed her forelegs. "Ah hope it's for a good reason. Ah was just about ta make the apple figgy pudding with Granny Smith 'n Apple Bloom! This was the year we were gonna show her how!"

"While I am not the Element of Honesty, Applejack, I must say that apple figgy pudding sounds revolting." Rarity shrugged when Applejack turned and glared at her. "All that to say, I'm sure that Princess Celestia wouldn't call us to Canterlot on Christmas Eve unless it was most important."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Pinkie grinned and began bouncing in her seat. "Maybe she wants us to save Christmas like in one of those cheesy Christmas specials they play on TV the entire time between Nightmare Night and Christmas!"

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Ah highly doubt that, Pinkie. Ah mean, it's a whole world-wide holiday. Ah doubt that six ponies could 'save' Christmas."

Pinkie's grin turned into a deep frown and she crossed her forelegs. "Humph. Well, I bet you that we do."

Applejack smirked and raised her eyebrows. "Ten bits that we save Christmas like in one of those cheesy Christmas specials?"

Pinkies grin returned and she held out her hoof. "Ten bits."

Applejack bumped Pinkie's hoof, triggering a rather spectacular eye roll from Rarity.

"Well whatever's going on, I'd better not get home late enough that I get to my house at the same time as Santa Claus gets there," Rainbow grumbled. "I didn't even get time to put out milk and cookies! Do you have any idea what those two things combined would do for my chances of making it onto the 'nice' list next year?"

"I didn't have time for that either," Fluttershy mumbled.

Rarity snorted and gave her two friends an amused smile. "Putting out milk and cookies for Santa Claus? Really now, I think we're all grown mares and can admit to ourselves that Santa Clause isn't real. I mean, I'm more than happy to keep up the masquerade for Sweetie Belle, of course, but as for me, I'm perfectly content--"

"Rarity..." Fluttershy whispered. Rarity looked over at Fluttershy, who was shakily pointing at something behind her. A slight frown creased Rarity's face, and she looked to where Fluttershy was pointing. Her look of confusion turned to one of full-blown horror when she saw Twilight glaring at Rarity, her hooves over Spike's ear holes. The damage had been done, however, as the look on Spike's face matched Rarity's look of pure horror.

"Er..." Rarity flinched back and flattened her ears. "I mean... I was... kidding, of course."

Twilight lowered her hooves and wrapped her forelegs around Spike. "Good going, Rarity."

"Yeah, good going, Rarity!" Rainbow snarled. She put a hoof on Spike's head. "Now you're on the 'naughty' list because you don't believe in Santa Claus!"

"Rarity's on the 'naughty' list?" Spike alternated between looking at Rainbow, Rarity and Twilight. "Or is Santa Claus not real?"

"Of course he's real, Spike!" Rarity gently patted his shoulder. "I was just kidding!"

"No you weren't," Spike mumbled. He sighed and leaned his head into Twilight's chest. "No you weren't."

"Spike, I--"

"Let it go, Rarity." Twilight shook her head in disgust. "You've said enough."

Rarity sighed and leaned her head against the train window, trying not to think about the looks she was getting. It was going to be a long ride to Canterlot.

* * * *

A long ride to Canterlot later, the group arrived and disembarked from the train, where a royal chariot waited for them at the station. The group got on and the chariot took them to the castle where Princess Celestia was already waiting for them at the castle entrance. They got off of the chariot and rushed over to the princesses.

"Princess Celestia, we came over as soon as we got your letter!" Twilight said, rushing over to her fellow princess with the rest of her friends behind her.

"And I am glad for it." Celestia gave Twilight a quick nuzzle. "Was the train ride uneventful?"

Twilight looked back at her friends and gave Rarity a subtle glare. "Mostly."

"Excellent, then there isn't any time to waste. You must follow me." Celestia turned and walked back into the castle, with the rest following beside her. "I'm afraid that something terrible has happened, my little ponies. Something that could alter the course of our beloved Christmas as we know it forever."

Twilight gasped. "What? What happened?"

"Five hours ago, Queen Chrysalis invaded another part of the world."

"Queen Chrysalis?" Applejack tilted her head. "You mean that bug thing that attacked Canterlot during the royal weddin'?"

"One and the same, I'm afraid," Celestia said gravely.

"That's positively dreadful!" Rarity cried. "Where did she attack?"

"That's the worst part about it. She attacked..." Celestia turned around and faced them all. "The North Pole."

Spike, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all gasped, while the rest gave Celestia looks of confusion. "Wait... the North Pole? As in where Santa Claus lives?"

"Exactly where Santa Claus lives, dear Rarity." Celestia resumed her walking, and the rest began following her again. "It was a complete surprise attack at Santa's Workshop. His elves are not prepared to deal with an attack force of that size." Celestia's grimace shifted subtly to one of annoyance. "Or one at all, really. Had Santa just listened to me after the wedding and tightened up his defenses..." Celestia shook her head. "It is unimportant. What is important is that without Santa Claus and his elves to deliver the toys that they have spent all year making, we won't. Have. Christmas!"

The ponies all gasped again, save for Rarity whose look of confusion only deepened. "Er... that doesn't make much sense, Princess Celestia. I mean, yes, if Santa Claus can't deliver toys then the amount of material goods received will be lessened, but I still have my gifts that I'm giving Sweetie Belle, my friends and my parents, not to mention the fact that I'm spending all day with them, so--"

"I'm sorry, Rarity, but even with those wonderful things, Christmas will be ruined without Santa Claus," Celestia said sadly. "The reasons are long and complex, and I don't have time to explain all of them to you, but just trust me on this."

Rarity gave a quiet scoff and flattened her ears. "I see," she muttered under her breath.

"Now, then," Celestia continued as if there hadn't been dramatic tension ruining interruption, "your mission is very simple in theory, but in practice it may be the most difficult thing that you have ever done. I would not ask this of all of you if I thought this task outside of your skill set, but do know that it is dangerous."

Twilight gave a confident smile and motioned back to her friends. "Princess Celestia, I think that I speak for all of us when I say that we're willing to do whatever it takes to get Santa Claus back and save Christmas!"

"I'm very glad to hear that." The group stopped in front of a blank doorway down a dark, seemingly abandoned hallway. "For you need our most powerful weapons if you are going to defeat the changelings. I need you to go into the North Pole and repel the changeling occupiers and save Santa Claus. Once you locate and free him, provided he has not been too badly injured, he can use his own magic to repel any additional invaders."

"But how can we get inside?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, we gave up the Elements to the Tree of Harmony, and the Box of Harmony doesn't exactly open on command. What do we use to fight the changelings?"

At this, Celestia's smile widened, and she pressed a hidden button on the wall. "Why, superior firepower, of course."

The wall behind Celestia retracted into the floor, revealing a secret room. When they looked inside the room, Twilight and her friends gasped.

Inside the room was every single gun imaginable hanging up against the wall or resting on racks in the middle of the room. Arctic camo battle armor sat on ponniquins, complete with all of the trappings. The six ponies and Spike slowly walked into the room, their jaws nearly on the floor.

"Is this... is this for us?" Rainbow Dash whispered.

Celestia chuckled and put a hoof on a set of battle armor. "It is indeed. I've had this battle armor custom made for all of you in case of an emergency like this." Celestia ignited her horn and lifted the helmet off of the ponniquin. She gently placed it on Rainbow Dash's head and clicked the chin strap shut. "This one is yours, if the cutie mark insignia on the shoulder patch is any indication."

Rainbow Dash shuddered as a feeling of pure testosterone and awesomeness coursed through her body. "M-my battle armor. She walked up to the armor and ran her hoof down the shoulder patch which was indeed emblazoned with her cutie mark.

"Oh, and there's this too," Celestia said before pushing a button on the side of Rainbow's helmet. When the helmet was pushed, a pair of white sunglasses flipped down from the helmet, covering Rainbow Dash's eyes. Rainbow Dash squeed and flew into the air.

"This is the best thing ever!" She looked down at the ponies below her. "You all have this green glow around you!"

"That is a spell I installed into the glasses so that you could tell friend from foe. The glasses are also equipped with night vision, heat vision, and so on. Anything you need to see."

"So yer saying that we gotta use alla this stuff ta go to th' North Pole ta go kill changelin's and rescue Santa Claus." Applejack walked over to a set of armor with her cutie mark on the shoulder patch. "Am Ah hearin' that right?"

Celestia nodded. "Indeed you are, Applejack. Obviously a scenario with more... minimal casualties would be preferable, but given the circumstances, I think this is the only option."

"Why can't you just send the army in?" Fluttershy whimpered. "They'd be better at this, right?"

Celestia sighed and shook her head. "I'm afraid that if they see a whole army coming they may execute Santa Claus and Christmas will be ruined forever." Celestia walked over to Fluttershy, pointedly ignoring Rarity's disbelieving glare, and put a wing on her back. "Trust me, my little pony, this is the best way."

Fluttershy whimpered, but slowly nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll trust you." She walked over to the next suit in line, the one that bore her cutie mark, and took the helmet off of the stand. Taking a deep breath, she put it on and flipped the sunglasses down. "Not as heavy as I thought it would be."

Celestia gave a light laugh. "Well, it would hardly be an effective suit of armor if the weight of the helmet hurt your spine, dear Fluttershy." Celestia turned to the rest of the group and motioned to the stands. "Alright. It is time to suit up. "

The next twenty minutes were spent with each of the ponies putting on their various pieces of armor. Spike and Celestia went around as needed and helped put on whatever the ponies required assistance with. Applejack, with great reluctance, switched out her hat for the helmet, but Celestia assured her that it would be quite safe. Eventually, the six of them were ready.

Almost.

"Now that you are dressed for battle, there is one more thing that you need to do." Celestia levitated a large pair of scissors into the air. "Mane and tail cuts. Specifically to Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity."

Rarity squeaked and backed up a few steps. "Oh, that's not necessary at all, Princess Celestia! M-my mane and tail are just fine!"

Celestia shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Rarity, for you see, your mane and tail will be a detriment to you during the fight, and you need to have a shorter mane and tail so that your enemies do not have an obvious target to grab onto, and so that you do not get them caught on anything. It would also be best to keep your mane out of your eyes."

"P-Princess, Celestia, I must question this!"

"I'm sorry, Rarity." Celestia snapped the scissors shut in a vaguely ominous manner. "But keep this in mind: this is not my fault. If the changelings did not attack the North Pole, you would not have to endure this. It is their fault entirely. Try to remember that while on the field of battle."

"I..." Rarity's eyes narrowed, and her jaw dropped ever so slightly while she tried to come up with a retort, but before she could, Celestia levitated the scissors over to Rarity and, with a few quick snips, shortened her tail and cut her mane down to the point where it could be put in a ponytail. Rarity squeaked and tried to catch her falling mane strands, but the damage was done. Celestia levitated a few mane bands over to Rarity, who huffed and tied her mane and tail up while Celestia got to work on Rarity's friends.

Once Celestia had finished her barbering skills, she swept the cut hair away. "Now that you're ready, it is time for the best part: picking your weapons."

"So when you say that..." Rainbow Dash looked all over the room at the weapons. "You mean anything, right?"

Celestia nodded. "Of course, Rainbow Dash. Anything at all. Choose whatever you feel would best play to your strengths. Do you want to spray bullety death upon your changeling foes? Do you want to hit them from afar? Fly through the air firing two pistols? The choice is yours."

Rainbow Dash bolted towards a rack of guns on the wall opposite the group. "Icallautomaticrifles!" She snatched a Baretta AR70/90 off of the wall and cradled it close like it was her firstborn. "So awesome!" she moaned.

Applejack rolled her eyes at her prismatic friend and trotted over to a rack of shotguns. She eyed them critically with a small sigh. "Well, Granny Smith did always say that an Apple who couldn't use a shotgun wasn't a real Apple at all." She took a pump-action Remington 870 off of the wall and looked down the barrel.

"Indeed?" Celestia said, walking up to Applejack. "So you would give your filly sister a shotgun?"

"We got her a mini Benelli M4 for Hearth's Warming Eve." Applejack grimaced. "Wished she was a better shot with it, though." She looked up at Celestia who was staring down at her with a raised eyebrow and chuckled. "Don't worry, we got her the proper foal permits and whatnot."

"I see." Celestia clicked her tongue and walked over to Pinkie Pie, who was tapping her jaw and scanning a rack of flamethrowers. "Are you sure about this, Pinkie? These aren't exactly ideal for close-combat situations, after all, and I am unsure of exactly how much use you will get out of it before its fuel supply is depleted."

Pinkie Pie sighed and looked up at Celestia, her eyes wide and watery. "Please," she whimpered, "let me dream." She took a Flammenwerfer 41 off of the wall and gently strapped it onto her back. "It's not that heavy, Princess Celestia!" Pinkie trotted over to the section of the room housing the pistols. "And I promise that I'll have backup for when it does run out!"

Celestia gave a wing shrug and shook her head. "If that is truly what you wish, then I will not stop you. I must advise you to be careful, however. Playing with fire in this setting is a dangerous thing."

Pinkie's beaming grin returned, and she snapped her hoof up in a sharp salute. "Yes, Princess Celestia, ma'am! You have my Pinkie Promise that I'll be extra careful!"

"Very well." With Pinkie settled, Celestia moved over to Twilight, who was examining an Armalite AR-10 A2. She raised it in the air with her magic and looked down the sight, nodding her head in approval.

"You wish for that one, my most faithful of students?"

Twilight nodded and lowered the gun. "I think so. It's not terribly heavy, and a semi-automatic gun will help me conserve ammunition." Twilight grimaced and glanced over at Rainbow Dash, who had grabbed an AK-47 to go along with her other gun, and was holding them both and giggling like a madpony. "Unlike certain others I could mention."

"A wise decision, I think. I believe that you will be able to handle the kickback of that weapon with your magical capabilities quite well."

Twilight nodded and grabbed a few stacks of ammunition off of the rack. "I think so too. Unless there are way too many changelings out there, we should have a pretty good chance of this."

"I agree." Content that her student had things well in hoof, Celestia trotted over to Rarity, who was looking at a rack of sniper rifles with Fluttershy. "And what of you, Rarity? You want to snipe your opponents?"

Rarity nodded. "I think so, Princess Celestia. Fluttershy has agreed to be my spotter, given that she'd rather not be directly involved in the carnage." Rarity illuminated her horn and took a Barrett M98B off of the rack. "And to be honest, I'd rather not stand two inches in front of a changeling, only to shoot it in the face with a shotgun and get overly messy as a result."

"Hey, are y'all sayin' that ah'm a moron for choosin' a shotgun!" Applejack growled as she loaded her weapon.

Rarity gave a slow, pained sigh and shook her head. "No, Applejack darling, I'm merely saying that some of us do not wish to spend the post-mission party cleaning ten gallons of changeling goo off of us." Rarity tossed what remained of her mane back. "I think this is the far more lady-like way to slaughter dozens of changelings."

Rainbow Dash snorted. "Yeah, shooting at them from a half-mile away. Real brave of ya, Rares."

"I will not dignify that ignorant comment with a response!" Rarity stuck her nose in the air and hoofed a pair of high-powered binoculars to Fluttershy, who squeaked and clutched them close to her body.

"It matters not, my little pony," Celestia said, putting a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "Some support is necessary for this mission, and you two can see things that the rest of your friends cannot."

"Exactly," Rarity said, shooting Rainbow a smug grin.

"With all of that said, if you have all chosen your weapons..." Celestia walked into the middle of the room, waiting for the ponies to circle around her. "I think you are all ready to take back the North Pole."

Boots on the Ground

Magically silenced helicopter blades cut through the air as six silent ponies checked and double-checked their weapons and armor. More out of nervousness than anything. Still, now that the excitement had worn off, the six ponies began to fully realize what they had been asked to do.

Twilight stared out the window, grateful that the helicopter had been magically heated. Snowflakes floated to the ground outside, and even from this distance, Twilight could see the twinkling lights of Santa's workshop in the distance. She took a deep breath and tapped the side of her helmet to make sure her communicator was working.

"You ready, girls? We're about there," she said.

"Totally ready!" Rainbow said, her voice coming from both beside Twilight and crackling through the headset. "Let's go save Christmas!"

The helicopter began its descent, causing each of the mares to hang on to the nearest bolted down object. The co-pilot turned to look at them.

"Clear the ramp! Thirty seconds!" He nodded at each of them. "Faust be with you."

"Alright, girls, when we get out, left side stick, right side stick, move fast and clear any changelings you find!" She took another deep breath. "And when we get out there, I want to see a little space between all of us. One mare is a waste of time, six mares is the right opportunity. Don't get too far away that any of the others can't back you up." She grabbed Fluttershy's shoulder to help calm both of them down. "Keep the snow out of your weapons. Keep those actions clear. I'll see you on the ground."

The helicopter touched down, jarring the mares out of their position for a moment. Twilight heard the helicopter blades stop whirring. It was time.

The back door of the chopper opened up, and the six mares leaped out of it, pointing their guns in every direction. Rainbow began zooming around, looking for any changelings that were intent on ambushing the group. Finding nothing, she landed nest to Twilight and shouldered her weapon.

"And ideas?" she asked, looking down at the workshop. "I don't see anypony."

"Maybe they're all inside," Twilight mused. "We don't even know how many changelings are here. Princess Celestia did say that Santa's defenses were rather weak, so maybe they took the workshop with a token force."

"With Santa's powers and the number of elves here? Not likely," Pinkie said, shaking her head solemnly. "I think that we just can't see them yet, but there are a lot of them around here."

"Pinkie's right," Rarity said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I think I got the first one now."

The group rushed over to Rarity as the helicopter took to the air once more. Rarity had already laid down in the snow, looking through the scope of her gun. "I could be wrong, but I think I see a scout."

Fluttershy picked up her binoculars and looked through them. "Where?"

"At about two o' clock," Rarity muttered. "Right on top of the roof of the building that looks like a gingerbread house."

"That don't really narrow it down, Rarity," Applejack grumbled. "But..." She looked in the direction Rarity had indicated. "Yep, Ah think Ah see him, too. Got some kind of red glow around him."

"Well then what are we waiting for?!" Rainbow hissed. "Let's get him!"

"Hold on, Rainbow," Twilight said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "I'd hate to run into a trap. Rarity, can you see anything else? How much do you think we'd alert the rest if you took him out?"

"I can't see anything else as of yet," Rarity said, rubbing the trigger of her rifle. "But we're going to have to start fighting sometime, won't we? Fluttershy, can you see anything else?"

"Yeah. I see three of them right outside of the other building that looks like a gingerbread house." She paused. "No... sorry, four. I don't think that they'd notice if you took out the one you're looking at."

Rarity took a deep breath and steadied herself. "You'd better be right, Fluttershy. Apparently if we make one wrong move, Christmas will be ruined forever."

"Okay, then, girls, here's the plan." Twilight sat down next to Rarity, scanning the workshop in front of them. "Rarity's going to take the shot. Once she does, we move fast and take out the changelings in front of that building. Princess Celestia has put silencing spells on all of our guns, but that won't help if they have time to sound the alarm. We need to move fast."

Rainbow laughed confidently. "Ha! Fast is my middle name, Twilight!"

"Right, whatever," Twilight grumbled. "Just make sure you're all ready to go when Rarity gets the shot off." Twilight put her hoof on Rarity's back. "On your mark."

Rarity inhaled, held the breath for a moment, then exhaled, squeezing the trigger at the same time. Had the weapons not been silenced by magic, Twilight imagined that she'd need some time to recover from the noise. Even silenced, she could still hear a little pop when the gun went off.

"It's down, Twilight," Fluttershy said, putting her binoculars down. "I think you can go now."

Without another word, the other four ponies rushed down the hill, making mental notes about the possible locations of changelings. Rainbow flew above them, scanning the rest of the workshop from her position. Twilight merely focused on the four changelings in front of her, drawing ever closer with each passing hoofstep.

One changeling looked in Twilight's direction and its jaw dropped. Too late to do anything about what was about to happen. Twilight raised her gun and squeezed off two shots, both colliding with the skull of the unfortunate changeling. The other three looked just in time to see their fellow falling to the ground before Applejack and Pinkie were on them. Pinkie had foregone her flamethrower for the moment, instead using her secondary weapon to clear the small group.

"Targets down, targets down," Twilight said in to her communicator as the red glow around the changelings faded away. "Rarity, do you see anything?"

"I see a changeling coming your way," Rarity's voice said through the headset. "He's... down. I got him."

"Good. If you think that you can handle things out here, then the four of us are going in. Have you switched to night vision?"

"Ah, good idea, Twilight. I hadn't even thought about that. Switching to night vision."

"Me too," Fluttershy said.

"Good. Alrighty then, girls, cover me." Twilight ran up to the nearest door, pointing her weapon at it. "I'm going to open this on three. One--"

"Got another one, Twilight," Rarity said. "You might want to hurry: I think there are more changelings out here than we thought. Either that or they're starting to come out of the buildings."

"I copy, Rarity, just do what you can, but don't give away your position. If it gets to be too much, let us know and we'll do what we can."

"Understood."

"Good. Then two..." Twilight's magic wrapped around the trigger of her gun as her friends took position behind her. "Three."

Twilight pulled the door open and stuck her gun inside, looking down the sights for any signs of hostiles. Finding nothing, she slid into the building and ducked behind the nearest counter.

"I think you're all clear to come in, but watch your six," Twilight whispered. "If what Rarity's saying is true, then they'll probably start finding the bodies soon. We're going to have no margin for error once that happens."

"Twilight, there really are a lot of them coming out! I think one just spotted the first kill."

Twilight grimaced and reloaded her weapon. "Don't shoot unless you have to, Rarity! Don't let them know where you are. I think we're in the main building, but I can't be sure until we start looking. Just--"

Twilight immediately stopped talking when she heard the loud buzzing of insectoid wings outside of the building they had just gone into. The deafening noise told her that they seemed to be dealing with more than just a few changelings. There had to be dozens of them out there. She motioned her friends onward, keeping a close eye on the shadows. She suddenly felt grateful for the spells woven into their helmets. She'd be able to spot a foe much easier.

"Twilight," Rainbow whispered, following the group from behind while watching the door. "What happens if they come in here? They're gonna know that something's up!"

"Yeah," Pinkie agreed. "Didn't Princess Celestia say that they might start killing elves or something if they found out that they'd been compromised?"

"I think she said that, but we can't be sure if they really will, especially if they think we're only a small force. If I know Chrysalis, she won't hesitate to gloat if she thinks she can win. She might not kill anybody just on that alone."

"But if she finds out we're here then we could be in big trouble," Rainbow hissed. "I mean, we're armed with awesome weapons and all, but I don't think we have the firepower to take out an army that big."

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but her reply died in her throat when she heard the creak of the door behind her. The four ponies whirled around and took what little cover they could find as a lone changeling poked his head through the open door. He began scanning the room for any signs of life, his wings buzzing. Twilight held her breath and began slowly raising her weapon. Just as the changeling was in her sights, she heard a single noise. Quiet in its own right, but in the silent room, it might as well have been a cannon going off. She'd bumped the end of her gun into a nearby box.

Her friends looked at her in horror as the changeling turned his head to look directly at Twilight.

Author's Note

Short chapter, I know, but hey, just thought I'd get something out there.

After a year.

I also have a Patreon!

And one patron: WesFox134

We're Going In Loud (Which Might Be a Bad Idea)

Time slowed to a crawl as the changeling stared at the six of them. Twilight didn't make any sudden movements, hoping that it had somehow missed them and they could continue their mission with some modicum of stealth. There was still that possibility. There was always that possibility.

Then Rainbow Dash made her move.

"Alright, stealth time is over. Let's rock!"

She shot into the air and fired a burst at the changeling with little thought to precise accuracy and more embracing the long dismissed tactic of "spray and pray." In this instance it worked, as the changeling was riddled with bullets. It screeched as the force of the attack sent it flying back into a wall, and with one final twitch of its wings, it laid still.

"Aww yeah!" Rainbow cried, pumping her hoof. "Did you see that?! He was like 'whaaa?' and I was like 'let's rock!' and then he was like 'bleugh!"

"Yeah, and do you know what all of the other changelings are like?"

Rainbow looked down at the other three who were all glaring at her. "I dunno. I'm not hearing anything. Maybe they haven't heard us yet."

Suddenly the air was filled with a deafening "SKREEE" and the sound of hundreds of buzzing insectiod wings could be heard flying in their direction. Twilight pointed to the nearest window. "That. The changelings are 'like' that."

"Well, we've gotten outta worse situations than this," Applejack said, checking that her gun was good to go. "Y'all ready?"

Rainbow grinned and reloaded her gun. "I was born ready for this."

"Oh good," Twilight muttered.

Before anypony could say anything else, every single window in the room shattered as changeling drones began pouring through, teeth bared and compound eyes fixed on the four of them.

Twilight sighed and rubbed her temple. "Of course." With that, the four of them raised their guns and began firing. Twilight lit her horn and crated a shield around the group as they began randomly firing into the black mass of changelings. Pinkie kicked a large canister into the mass, splashing wood varnish onto several of them.

"Well, let's see," Pinkie said with a grin. She raised her flamethrower and shot out a wall of flame, lighting the wood varnish and setting dozens of changelings aflame as she laughed like a maniac. "Yes! Yes! Burn, filly, burn!"

"Ah'm learning so much about Pinkie," Applejack groaned as she topped off her gun.

"Well you'll never share that knowledge if we don't get out of here!" Twilight cried. She pressed the comms in her ear. "Rarity! Fluttershy! We're in a bit of a bind here!"

"We noticed that, darling," Rarity said. "We've been looking at the schematics for the workshop and have found that there should be a vent right behind the machine that makes dolls."

Twilight glanced around at her and grimaced. "Rarity, there are a lot of machines here that make dolls. What kind of dolls?!"

"Er... hang on. Oh, the Baby Talking Tattletail ones!"

"Dolls might not be the right word for those things," Applejack said. "Either way, let's get goin'!"

"Okay girls, I see the vent! Get ready to go!" Twilight cried.

Before the group could say anything, Twilight's horn flashed blinding everybody in the room before she teleported her friends into the vent. The group heard the shrill shouting of the changeling horde behind them and slowly began shimmying their way through.

"Nice going, Twilight," Rainbow Dash whispered as Twilight cast a sound spell around them. "As awesome as we were, I don't know how long we could have held out."

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied before groaning and thunking her head on the floor of the vent. "Not gonna lie, between the flash spell and the teleportation of four ponies, I need a moment. If we get caught or killed then it's probably not going to be long before Rarity and Fluttershy are found, and from there it's game over. Christmas will be ruined forever."

"Well, we'll just have to make sure that that doesn't happen!" Pinkie squeaked as she reloaded. "There aren't infinite changelings, right? We had to have gotten a lot of them."

"Yeah, but did you see all of them?" Twilight said. "When we were fighting it didn't look like we were even making a dent in the mass. Chrysalis has been busy, it seems."

Applejack sighed and facehooved. "'Hey girls, how about you head on over to the North Pole and try ta save Christmas. You'll have guns, guns and more guns. Oh, and there are a ton of changelin's there. No big deal. Ah'm sure you can handle all of them. Point, shoot, and Christmas will be saved. Sure thing, Princess Celestia. Ah'm happy ta help.'" She shot Twilight a weary look. "How about next time we save Christmas by having a friendship problem at a resort somewhere."

Pinkie's ears perked up. "Yeah! I've heard about this one that has this supposedly awesome beach that--"

"How about we survive all of this first, then we'll think about how to save Christmas next year?" Twilight grumbled. "Yes? Good? All in favor?" The others all muttered agreements, and Twilight nodded. "Okay, so let's think about all of this logically. That probably wasn't even all of the changelings that are here. If we try that again, we're sure to be overwhelmed. How many vents can Santa's workshop even have? Thanks to all of this, Chrysalis definitely knows that we're here, which makes things more difficult. She'll definitely have all of them on the lookout for us."

"Gotta agree with ya there," Applejack said. "We need ta find where she's keepin' Santa Claus and maybe try for a stealthy extraction."

"Yeah, that sounds like us," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"If nothing else, we definitely can't make this into a straight fight," Twilight said. "Unless Princess Celestia wanted to firebomb most of Santa's workshop before we got in, and that would be a terrible idea. Santa Claus would probably be incinerated, not to mention the elves and everything they need to make toys. There's no point in killing Chrysalis if everything else is gone too."

"And also not her style," Pinkie pointed out.

"Currently," Twilight agreed. "There was this war about a hundred years before Luna was banished..." She waved her hoof. "Either way, we definitely can't beat them in a straight fight." She pressed her comms again. "Rarity, how well hidden are you and Fluttershy? They're definitely going to be on the lookout for anypony else after they found us."

"We've moved from our original spot to something a bit less open," Rarity said. "I've given the background pony spell my best shot, but I don't have the magic to pull it off flawlessly, especially if I have to do any shooting."

"Well, hopefully you're safe for now," Twilight replied.

"Hopefully, but I must be honest, Twilight, Ever since you triggered whatever alarm you did, they're out in force. It's not like I've been counting, but there must be hundreds if not thousands of them out here. She really did bring an army."

"I noticed," Twilight replied with a grimace. "She'd have to to take over an area as large as Santa's workshop. Have you managed to spot Santa or any of the elves?"

"Santa no, but I think I saw some of his elves being led into one of the larger buildings. It's the one that looks like a cake about three buildings to your left," Fluttershy said.

"Should we start there?" Pinkie Pie asked. "If we managed to save the elves, that would make things a lot easier for us."

"Ah don't know how many elves Santa has, but it's not like we can land a chopper there and load them all in, even if there weren't a ton of changelin's there to stop us. The LZ would be too hot, and we definitely wouldn't be able to provide support with that many enemies. Twi? How is your magic doin'?"

"Better, but I've still got a slight headache." She rubbed her temple and adjusted her helmet. "A flashbang spell of that size plus teleporting all four of us is no small feat, but I should be okay."

"Maybe if we cleared the building the elves are in of enemies, they could barricade themselves in or find some other way to keep the changelings out," Pinkie suggested. "It would definitely help us if there were a lot fewer hostages for us to have to worry about."

"True, true, but I'm not sure how we'd be able to clear it out without the entire swarm coming at us. Unless..." She pressed her comms again. "Rarity, how many changelings are around the building the elves are in versus the other ones?"

"Hold on..." The group only had to wait a few minutes before Rarity responded. "It does appear that the bulk of the forces are concentrated in that area, Twilight. It makes sense; there are the most hostages there."

"Hm." Twilight tapped her jaw, then pressed her comm. "When they attacked the building we were in, how many went there? Was it a separate part of the swarm, or did a lot of them come from other buildings to attack?"

"The swarm you had to fight all came from separate buildings," Fluttershy said. "There wasn't one place that they came from."

"Which makes sense," Twilight said. "I guess it is too much to hope that they'd leave one building completely unguarded if they wanted to attack somewhere." She took a deep breath and idly tapped the side of her helmet. "Okay, I think I have an idea. It's risky, but what isn't at this point? One wrong move will bring an army down on us, and we're hiding in a vent. We can't be in here forever. I think we need to get the elves first, then deal with the rest of them."

"What do ya got in mind?" Applejack asked.

"Okay, Rarity, is there a building with fewer of them than the rest?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, the one next to you," Rarity replied. "There appear to only be a few dozen changelings in there. No elves, as far as my helmet is telling me."

Twilight nodded. "Okay, that's good. This is still going to be risky, but I have an idea. First we--"

"ATTENTION ELEMENT SCUM!" a voice shouted out that the Mane Six all instantly recognized as Chrysalis. It was magically amplified to such a degree that they all felt as if she was almost standing next to them. "IT WAS FOOLISH OF YOU TO COME HERE! AS YOU CAN ALREADY TELL, YOU CANNOT DEFEAT MY SWARM! THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS, AND I SHALL ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE IN PEACE!"

"She'd go back on that the first opportunity she got, wouldn't she?" Rainbow Dash said dryly.

"Faster than you can say 'sonic rainboom,'" Pinkie agreed.

"IF YOU DO NOT, I SHALL BEGIN EXECUTING THE ELVES! ONE FOR EVERY... Uh... HALF HOUR YOU DO NOT SURRENDER! UH... Too much time? Yeah, too much time. Ahem. FIFTEEN MINUTES! YES, THAT'S BETTER! DO THE RIGHT THING! YOU WERE FOOLISH TO COME-- No, I already used that... UH... FIFTEEN MINUTES!"

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Well, that just made the choice for us. We'd better hurry, then."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, she'd definitely kill us the second we threw our weapons down."

"No, she'd get in as much gloating as she wanted to, then maybe torture us a bit, maybe maybe take pictures to send to Celestia, then she'd probably torture us some more before she got bored and killed us!" Pinkie said with a smile.

"Oh, yeah, much better," Applejack grumbled.

"Either way, surrender isn't an option." Twilight teleported behind the other three, but before they could ask her what she was doing, she teleported back to the front of the line and began crawling through the vent. "This is going to require speed and discretion, so everypony be on your toes and listen to me. Rainbow, you're obviously the fastest of us, so you're going to deliver the package."

Rainbow's ears perked up. "Really?! Totally, Twilight! I can deliver whatever you want!" She frowned and tilted her head. "But, uh, what am I delivering exactly?"

"This." Twilight turned as best as she could and floated a Tattletail doll into the air. "But be very, very careful." She turned back to the doll and began weaving spells into it. "And be quiet everypony. If this goes wrong, we're all going to be the last pony everypony here ever sees again."

Rainbow Dash's confident smile slowly faded. "Uh... same question, Twilight. And how careful is 'very, very'"

"Don't bump anything. I'm going to put an invisibility spell on you, and you'll need to fly into the building next to ours and put this on a table or something like that in the middle of the room. Be quick, because I can't keep that spell up forever."

"Uh..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. "S-sure thing, Twilight. You can count on me... to not bump into anything."

"Good." She teleported Rainbow Dash to the front of the group and opened a vent in front of them that led to the outside of the building. Twilight lit her horn, and Rainbow Dash turned invisible. "I should be able to keep this up for three, four minutes. That should give you plenty of time."

Rainbow bit her lip and looked down at the Tattletail. After a few seconds, she nodded and saluted, but then realized that her friends couldn't see her. After taking a deep breath, she took off.