Equestria and the Angels from the Stars

In the palace royal quarters, Princess Celestia had concluded the day court and had moved to the garden area of the castle still recovering from the Queen Changeling's earlier conquering scheme. Far away from the ruckus of squawking nobles and the necessary but stone muzzled guards and their ever attentive eyes. She needed to breath alone or in a less sterile routine-like atmosphere, she had to be in the warmth of the sun she commanded and in the company of the life which needed it to thrive. The carefully tended to flowering shrubs, native plants, and berry bushes called to her with their gently swaying leaves of nearly every color of the spectrum. To Celestia, a simple walk through the garden could clear her mind of whatever tar stuck to it which thankfully hardly occurred. When it did however, it was a time of crisis which compounded the daily antics of ruling the kingdom and this time it came from the Changelings. Even as she witnessed herself most of the love feeding species had reformed in some sense by the evolution of the drone known as Thorax. Most of his kin followed suit, but as it seemed there were backup plans by the infamous Queen of the Changelings bent on gaining her victory and revenge no matter the risks.

She looked over a plot of lavender, inhaling the floral scent that calmed her ruffled patience just as well as any gourmet cake her royal chefs could craft. The Queen known as Chrysalis was ever the devious one, a very cunning opponent on her list of evil she'd had the job of capturing and defeating in her thousands of years ruling Equestria. Her record made her a dangerous threat as she seemed to have plans over plans, and each mistake she made she covered it with more contingencies. The fact that she may even have throngs of ponies captured and being drained of their love had lead a fire in the alicorn's heart, her precious little ponies tormented and suffering for her lack of the ability to prevent it from happening. In her mind ever since they were all freed from the insidious mission to rule the lands, Celestia had wondered over what might have prevented such happenings from even taking root. From enlisting more guards, to refining the Unicorn Guard that could reveal Changelings, and even to commissioning experimental magical towers which might discover a drone within its field of affect. The last being an idea passed on by the head of her school for the Gifted Unicorns, though these were all tips of the iceberg she had created from her worry. Grown further by the missing guards and the loss of the border villages in the west, though thankfully she was old enough to not give into impulse and fly herself to the quarantine area to handle the issue through might and righteousness only a goddess like her could bring.

Looking at a hedge of hibiscus to her right, Celestia sighed almost morosely, "I can surely end this problem by myself alone, I could easily do so. But... my loyal subjects would only look to Luna and I and only us when another problem comes along of this magnitude. I can only hope Twilight and King Thorax will resolve the issue and bring sense to that Queen. The peace we could bring between ponies and Changelings is already proven, it is sad to see her so resistant."

Celestia mourned the only other demigod as the alicorns were as well, Chrysalis may not be of the same race but she hinted at a very long life after her proclamation into Equestria being the most love filled land. She could see what a truce would have been like, to share an afternoon of tea with the reformed version of the Queen Changeling. The stories they could share with each other would be a very savory day which would go on for years. As there were no other immortals or those of prolonged existence that knew her pain of seeing friends and family pass on. Deep down, when the Queen revealed her race from beyond bedtime stories to keep foals in line, it felt at first warm before the reality sank in. A hostile entity who came in to ruin the wedding of Cadence, from that sliver of a second later Celestia could only see a horror from the darkest reaches of Equis. Anypony whose lived past several lifetimes as the Queen seemed to suggest at knew how to fight and conquer, one who knew no remorse in their actions until their desires were achieved.

Fluttering her huge alabaster wings, "I pray that they can make her see the light. The more added to Tartarus and should Cerberus or the prison walls ever falter... I can only wish the best for all my little ponies. On that horrible day we may not be able to stop them all when they come seeking vengeance."

In truth, she had long been concerned for the day another escape came where not only Tirek would find his way to the surface. That void stone covered cavern which prevented magic from being exercised and only cunning tactics like a run away ball could lead to freedom. The more enemies who receded in there the more hate that existed in them, the rage of incarceration would be so hot that all would burn as if the very sun scorched the lands. Twilight had become the embodiment of magic and friendship, she had a higher rate of success in rallying in former villains to the just side.

Song birds chirped away oblivious to the alicorn's musings as they played in the little piece of artificial nature grown onto the granite pad stuck to the mountainside. Insects bounded from flower to flower, pollinating the plants and giving a future to the life which awaited creation as a seed. Even in the far distance in the airspace of the Palace sky rise where Pegasus Guards flew over patrol routes only saw their highness peacefully inspecting the assets of the zen area. Just like that, a reflection of who Celestia was to the world as she hoped to always be.

Twilight's Castle Noontime

King Thorax had arrived and in the nick of time as the girls were onto something new. After exchanging quick greetings with one another, Twilight initiated the beginnings of the meeting which summoned the new Lord of the Reformed. She took a moment to sum up what was discovered as possible scenarios to the recent attacks and foalnappings, using detailed illustrations and a list of what Starlight, Spike, and her had suddenly thought of. After chucking all they had at the new king, it became all too clear that he too was astounded to see such probably results of Chrysalis's escape. Though he was not initially forthcoming with what he knew about the hive he now lead, he furrowed his brow as the draconic slitted eyes slowly gazed upon the mares and young drake. Twilight had her fresh stack of paper ready to go with a new ink well primed for use as a hovering quill awaited his first words. Starlight kept her sight on him in hopes he had something useful for them, while Spike seemed content to finish his gems like popcorn at a show.

Thorax sighed, "I'm afraid this situation has become muddled I think? The truth is... all the drones who attacked Canterlot were gathered up by Chrysalis before she enacted the plan to capture everypony. Those you think were seemingly taken away to be used in this rouge colony were actually out harvesting love. So you are halfway right Princess Twilight, there was a second plan in action but not what you think. I found the rest of the missing ones and helped them reform too!" he gave a half smile which died away as soon as it came.

He used his green tinted magic to levitate the many papyrus scrolls and sheets into an organized pile, "Whatever Changelings are carrying out these foalnappings you spoke of, they are not of the hive I was born into. Which leads to your other assumption in that the fallen Queen has allies." he grimaced almost sadly that his recently dethroned All-Mother had taken such a turn for the worse.

"Then that leads us to figure out who could possibly be leading the survivors into thinking that Changelings have been on the offensive in the Western Frontier. Even Princess Luna has been unable to help the guards that have thus far said only gibberish and Changeling all in one!" Sparkle fumed as her quill slapped onto the crystal table, "She's not been able to see them in the dream realm either..."

Glimmer frowned, "Was there any other hive out there by chance? No other Queens alive?" she insisted on still pinning it on unreformed kin of his.

Swaying his head, "I'm sorry. I do not know of any others beyond my family. As far as any of us know we're the only ones of our kind. I wish I could be of better help on this?" Thorax let himself go limp with disappointment only to have Starlight leave her seat and proceed to his and pat him on the back with a wavering appreciation of his aid.

To say they had no where else to go was an understatement, with all the obvious out of the way there seemed to lack any other course of action to follow suit. Yet the analytical mind of Twilight would be the push they needed to get out of the new funk they'd found their mission and research mucked in. Blinking in and out of her seat and behind the two friends, she wore the look of resilience which would embolden the others to further action.

"King Thorax? You have done more than enough for us, and dismissing potential realities has been the best thing you could do for us. As a fellow friend... you have my gratitude. However, if you really want to help us then I will need your help in apprehending Chrysalis once and for all. Will you join me in going to the Western Frontier and investigating the Q-zone as well? Discord has said he's not been feeling well... or so he believes and won't help us. If you join in, we can stop this offensive and save all the ponies she's taken by force. You of all of us know what happens to ponies when they've been drained of love..." she gave a hopeful look to him, her hooves around both the King and the unicorn mare as a symbol of friendship and trust.

Spike looked on enthralled with such a comic book occurrence happening right there before him just as issue fifty four of the Power Ponies had done when faced with an elusive and powerful god bent on destruction of the old world. Popping a large sapphire into his little maw and crunching down at it just as Thorax gave his reply.

"If it's for a friend then I am happy to join in!" he grinned with his two long canines reaching over his bottom lip.

Glimmer herself smiled nearly ear to ear, the princess moving to hug the two of them close to her with success. She felt the power of friendship as strong as ever around the trio and radiating off the King himself, they had the willpower to go through the furnace of uncertainty and danger. In truth they would be diving into an unknown area which would be held at bay by two new whole regiments of Solar Guards, with what force Celestia would undoubtedly give to her as protection, they were essentially going into enemy held territory that was once peaceful trading towns. What awaited them was what they'd have to be prepared to fight against no matter how fierce it was.

Twilight could only hope she was making the right choice in forming a group to face off with the obscure threat to Equestria. She could only look to the past evil she battled and won over, using that to fortify her own levee against the fear surmounting within.

Appleloosa 1 Week Later

During Twilight's preparations to head off with King Thorax and Starlight Glimmer to the Western Quarantine Zone, she incidentally spilled the news to Applejack. The information had left the farm pony in a downright tiffy, seeing as she had family in the little town which was just a few miles away from the zone itself. The trio found themselves a fourth member and one who just wanted to ensure that her family was still safe and assist in removing the danger to them. Thankfully the others of the mane six were carefully avoided in that respect, mainly from Applejack pinkie promising to not speak a word as well.

Sparkle had received a letter of a platoon of guards the Princess had on the way over to watch over Ponyville for her and keep her friends safe in the meantime. While she was against a show of force, Celestia had promised they would only be there in a non-evasive way so as to not draw attention. While she couldn't argue with her mentor, Twilight still couldn't feel all too on board with the military presence around the very skittish ponies and her more impulsive friends. The last thing she wanted was for the entire group to come along and risk capture or replacement by these mystery Changelings or allies of Chrysalis again. Knowing Rainbow Dash and her personality it wasn't that far of a stretch to see her back into a cocoon much less than Pinkie Pie. Thoughts which plagued the Princess of Friendship on the train ride she lied about technically, the most anypony else knew was that she needed to visit the little apple orchard in the desert for a friendship problem.

After a long and uneventful ride, the trio disembarked from the Ponyville Express and onto the soil of Appleloosa, Glimmer commented on the bustling town as it seemed unaffected by the ever present danger of being captured, "Wow? You'd think these ponies would have I don't know evacuated by now?"

King Thorax nodded as he ducked under the low exit door of the train, "I'm sure that your Princesses wanted to keep them calm and happy, mentioning anything that's been happening might send them into a panic or worse."

Twilight picked up on their observations and knew right then that it was likely the case, even if she herself would have taken the chance to warn and relocate the citizens of the town. The more podded ponies that Chrysalis had to feed on the worse off their chances were.

"Whatever the Princess thinks is right is fine by me, these ponies don't need to be troubled by being sent somewhere else from their homes. It would only cause them to..." she tried to explain further only to hear Applejack behind her speak up.

"They'd down right hold their ground and bunker up is what they'd do! Ain't no Changeling menace nor no Queen get in the way of their liv'n. This is their home and they'll guard it just as any Royal Guards would themselves." she said proudly.

The farm pony stepped off the locomotive cart and gazed around at the little homestead town before them, it was a bittersweet reality for the others. After the incident with the buffalo and their stampede grounds, Appleloosians were not easy to dissuade from their land. Though in truth, it was likely rightly the only course of action for the ponies to do as it was in their nature to be possessive in the little paradise they made by their own hooves.

"Yes well, let's just find the commander of the garrison north of here and hopefully end this problem before they have to stand up to the fact that Changelings are not a tribe of buffalo. The less time we spend here the better, that way no pony knows why we're here!" Twilight happily clipped the sentence and trotted right into another pony by accident.

Thorax, Applejack, and Glimmer halted as they noticed the collision during their observation of the agri town, Twilight had bumped into the Sheriff of Appleloosa who seemed undaunted by the contact. A stout gray blue earth pony stallion with cream white mane and tail stood unaffected by the mishap wearing a zealous look about him, an obviously dedicated pony who guarded the safety and lawful lands within the zone of the habitation. Wearing a black vest with a sheriffs badge shining from daily polishing, he stood at attention once he realized he was before the presence of an alicorn royal.

"Pardon me your highness, are you alright?" his thick mustache slightly muffling his question as he stepped away and put his hoof down.

"I'm fine, I just tend to talk and walk. I wasn't looking where I was going." she lightly chuckled.

The law enforcement of the land tipped his gray hat to pardon himself still, "My apologies still, though iff'n I may ask what brings royalty out to these here parts? Last time you were here had been during the buffalo stampede and ya'll done tried to stop the fight from happening. Though our pies seemed to be the solution for the buffalo, ya'll did still end up here to snap it at the nozzle." he inquired into her as his eyes gandered upon King Thorax, "And who might this tall dark feller be?"

Just like the missing guards in the Q-zone, no ponies outside of Canterlot knew what a Changeling was. Without an image the sheriff seemed to take the mysterious creature with cautious open hooves, and Glimmer was the one to introduce them.

"Sheriff, this is King Thorax, ruler of the Southern Badlands and recognized by the Princesses themselves, honored in the Crystal Empire by Princess Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor. King Thorax this is the sheriff of Appleossa." Starlight motioned between the two to hopefully avoid xenophobia from infecting Thorax's passing.

As the King Changeling was about to raise a hoof to shake the police pony's own, instead he held still as the other took off his hat and bowed, "Pleasure to meet a delegate and friend to our great and mighty Equestria. Any ally of the princesses is a friend of ours." his words were fluid and graceful.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, joyful that they could just move on once they were done talking to the stallion. "There is no need to bow, I've only recently become king of my fellow colony, we are friends first if that's alright with you?" Thorax then offered a hoof shake this time.

"Well that's mighty humble of ya, names Tumble Weed on account of my ability to be anywhere a fight's about to break out in my little town. I do hope ya'll will enjoy your stay here if'n you do, pass'n by then I suggest ya'll try our apple and cherry pies we are famed for. Least ya'll can take with ya is a nice full stomach?" Tumble offered as the exchange ended.

Sparkle interrupted knowing they had a schedule to keep with, "I'm sure we will try Sheriff Tumble Weed, but we really gotta go. It was great meeting you, hope we will see each other again!" Twilight shoved the tall Royal Changeling, Applejack, and Glimmer from behind as she grinned sheepishly in the act, the pony officer simply nodded and let them on their way.

"Well I take it we're done here then?" Starlight quipped as Twilight moved them far enough away from others that she stopped pushing them onwards.

Thorax chuckled, "At least they are accepting of me." which Twilight huffed at the memory of how he was originally treated when Spike had tried to bring him before everypony.

Applejack extracted herself from the group and quickly sought out Braeburn, "I'll be back in a jiffy, Twi! Wait for me kay?" she called out while running off.

"If I remember right, you said there is an apple farm here right? Strange place to grow fruit in, the water requirements must have them importing much of the liquid to keep the trees producing..." Starlight rubbed her chin with a hoof as she thought about the land about them in its desert conditions.

Twilight sighed, "I'm sure that's the case unfortunately, but the soil is apparently the most fertile for large apple tree variants. A bit of a bit to pay for the produce they export, but Applejack's always said the farm's been doing quite well for itself."

It would take them two hours to evade most of the occupants of the little town with Applejack rejoining them before they left to the garrison post beyond Buffalo territory. She learned that all of her kin were safe and sound, having checked herself through her unique element to ensure they were not swapped by the enemy at large. Happy as a chicken fresh out of the winter barn and into the first warm day of spring, she trotted alongside the others.

Thorax shrugged as he knew nothing about farming or apples and let the issue drop as the others had, letting their stroll to the outskirts of Appleloosa draw out. Applejack soon rejoined the group with a happy look about her, Twilight figured she had quelled the worry and found no pony to be a disguised enemy. Though with pressing matters to attend no pony asked into the Element of Honesty about the orchards or the family she had in the area, the eerie quiet beyond the settlement drew their full attention. No buzzards, no bison, no desert creatures made a single sound no appearance as they started to trek on, just the rolling of sand particles made any sound to be heard.

When they finally neared the wooden bastion four hundred feet away, they were met by forward scouts hidden by Clear Light spells. What were tall spiky cactus plants flanking their group as they passed by them turned into unicorn guards who instantly caste a containment spell around them. Shimmering aqua magic formed a paper thin barrier which they'd not be able to break through if they were an average Changeling. Of course doing so would only call for more force to be used upon innocent travelers and a royal, so Twilight simply took the path of least resistance and one which would calm the guards.

Turning to everypony else, "I need you guys to sit down slowly and let them see we mean no harm." she asked plopping herself on her plot and looked at the two unicorns around them with a soft smile.

Thorax received a confirmation from Starlight and the two did the same, they too noticed how disarmed their captors were after being put off by a lack of an attempt to escape. If they thought it was a trick it did not show to well, only a wordless vocalization between the guards before one of them fired off a signal using a magical air burst orb. The little shiny star fired forth from one of the pair, it sparkled as it reached its climax before detonating like a firework.

"Well I'll be tanned and oiled up like a greased pig during the spring festival, ya'll were right." Applejack commented

"Do you think they'll do something to me?" Thorax asked with a shaky voice still not yet use to his new power and status.

"If they do then they'll have to go through me and Twilight first!" Glimmer affirmed with that look which even he knew that they would protect him even from the Royal Guards, even if the chances of hostility were slim.

"That signal will call out one of the high ranking officers, once I prove we are innocent we should have them get us to the garrison before that signal blast has a whole swarm of Changeling rouges on us. From what I can anticipate, these Changelings are opportunistic and won't back down from that alarm." Sparkle sighed, adjusting her wings and giving the guards around them a prim and proper alicorn of royalty.

"I hope you're right." Glimmer added with a hint of minor irritation at how the soldier ponies would likely react from her own experience.

"Don't you worry none darl'n, Twi's got a plan and we've always come out clean from them!" the farm pony joyfully noted.

The four sat quietly for ten minutes before a ranking officer finally arrived, looking no different than the others of the unit. Garbed in segmented golden armor with a few capacitor gems to fuel wards and charms to safeguard their life when combat arose. One small detail detached them from the rest, first it was actually a mare and she had a violet mohawk on her headpiece instead of a blue one. Twilight knew this meant she was a Lieutenant, likely the only one in charge as the generals wouldn't want to let themselves or higher than her rank risk capture by the enemy. While that was a sound tactic, it also meant she wouldn't be to seasoned in battle and be prone to the rules of war even under the most strict conditions where malleability would be necessary. Or so Sparkle thought from the history books of old battles pre and post Equestria, and thus she prepared herself to be ready to work with the possibly stringent mare.

Expecting a long exercise that would prove them to be Changelings or not never came, instead the acting commanding officer nodded her head to the unicorn guards. The two released the containment spell and stepped aside, giving breathing room between the supposed prisoners and the head of the snake.

The obviously dull purple coated soldier in uniform of her armor's enchantment took confident steps forward and then bowed to Twilight and her entourage, "First Lieutenant of Forward Operating Base Guinness, Storm Surge, at your command! Your highness!"

Being wrong was not something Twilight enjoyed as she lost her footing and stumbled in her initial response. The Lieutenant picked up on the likely reason for the jumbled words from the young alicorn and went to address it personally to cut time.

"Do not worry my majesty, Princess Celestia confirmed your arrival not long ago and mentioned guests of yours who I am to trust as I would any other of my own guards under my command. She also gave the the aura check to ensure it was you, my guards who encased you did such a check and that is why you are not facing further interrogation as of now. However, we must make haste! The Changeling menace out there... they sense when magic is preformed and shoot to it like a hungry timberwolf." she motioned onward with her escorts watching their flanks and the ground below them.

Twilight understandably hesitated only to have Glimmer act for her and coax her to move to her hooves, Thorax giving her a welcoming smile that he was alright with how things were going. Huffing, Sparkle followed in the tracks of the Guards until they wound up at the garrison fort and through the two logs thick doors and walls, the massive hinged entryway sealed shut behind them with several magical enchantments by the glowing locks of metal which snaked through the metal bars that held wooden poles in place. Nothing would get through it easily short of an Ursa Minor.

Immediately, the four were in awe at the amount of preparations the stationed guard had over the base of operations. One of many set and fortified to keep the line from falling further back, and what they saw only worsened what they thought was happening all along. The ground had been given layers of heavy rock, smoothed over by unicorn and earth pony talents but nonetheless several feet thick. Something had been coming out of the ground as it seemed and this was their attempt at preventing it. The walls and ramparts were studded with primed stun spells for blasting enemies into a paralyzed state, judging by the dim glow of yellow gemstones placed strategically out of sight. One tower in the middle of the entire bastion stood with four unicorn guards with four pylons of magic enhancing gems to bolster their spellwork gleamed in the intensity of the midday sun. Below them was a rock covered command center that likely housed the command structure and the only last ditch alert system should they be overrun with a side fireplace to be lit and burn intensely if worst came to head. Thorax was amazed by the level of security and the amount of guards on watch, most were along the initial walls while another two rows were positioned behind them on separate ramparts as if to retaliate if the outer units were downed somehow. Glimmer noted the Unicorn Guards had more capacitor gems in their armor not as power sources but to strengthen the damage their spells could do, she knew the differences of the addons. These guards were armed to the teeth and were ready for Tirek's second coming.

As the guard went about their routines and jobs, Storm Surge turned about face and held a very staunch look, "I present to you our F.O.B. your highness! We have learned from the survivors of what to expect and have prepared properly. I hope this meets your requirements and approval, we've had to be very careful of using magic in excess least we draw the threat to us even though we'll likely be seeing them soon. As of now we've had no contact from the foe beyond, but that will likely change soon. I suggest you bunker up and do what you need to do soon, if reports are accurate we shall see the enemy within four hours."

Glimmer gasped, "Four hours? How do you know that?"

"The last bastion to fall had an unfortunate accident with their fortification process and set off a mana burst from an inexperienced guard. They said four hours was all that passed before they had to light their fire signals, only two made it out of the thirty stationed there. It... happened before I was relocated here." she loosened up a little from her starchy unpredictable demeanor.

Grimacing, Thorax let his frills hug close to his body as an act of empathy, "Such a thing should never happen again, I am here with Princess Twilight to ensure it. First, can you tell us anything about what's trying to get into Equestria? What do they look like? Color of their eyes maybe?" he prodded.

Storm shook her head, "Those who come back from fallen forts speak of Changelings in carapace armor, some colorful... others striped with dangerous colors over black like a tiger or a leopard. Fangs... talons of some kind... utter silence during each attack, no hissing nor any war cry. The vile beasts just surge over the walls, picking off the overwatch, then burst from the soil and take out the leadership before a defense can be enacted. Sorry, I have little else to give on that." Surge saluted to the Princess, "If you need of me I need to see if my scouts have found anything. If you'll excuse me your highness, we shall reconvene in an hour once I'm assured an attack will not occur soon."

"Please, go see to them." Twilight nodded and the officer vanished in the stone tent.

The remaining guards motioned for the four towards the safest area within forty feet, silently moving them to the door while keeping watch. Twilight let the others follow in tandem as they were beyond the point of no return, from then on out she'd keep an open ear to the sky and a free part of her mind should they see Changelings or whatever was stealing lives. Thorax had been the next in line to be super observant, for he wanted to prove that Queen Chrysalis was using some other kind of help which would paint his kin in good light. The desperate nature of the old All-Mother would stain her till her final days, and this as the newly crowned royal would see to it and hopefully get her to repent.