That day, even from the morning, things seemed off. It wasn't paranoia, but just a lingering feeling in my chest that I couldn't get rid of. School was off for the day and since we couldn't go and occupy the wedding, my father took me to go get ice cream as a treat for how well I was doing in school, academic wise that is. We were there for an hour or so, and it was nearing noon when we got up to leave. I was the first to hear it, That low and ominous buzzing sound. My father and I just simply shook it off however. When we exited the shop, that’s when we noticed what was emitting it.

There were hundreds of them. Those creatures. Crashing into the barrier, that had appeared just a few days ago, attempting to break it. We stood there, awestruck, all the while the barrier was cracking. We didn't know what to do, whether to run, go back inside the shop, or anything else. It wasn't until the barrier cracked and the hundreds of monsters flooded the streets that we did something. My dad immediately took me by the hoof and damn near bolted. We ran through the streets of Canterlot. All the while the monsters, that I would soon know as Changelings, continuously rained down on the city. There were hundreds of ponies running, screaming, flying, and fighting, just to get away from those beasts.

Not five minutes into the attack was when the explosions started raining down. My father and I were about to enter one of the many restaurants, to try and get some cover, when before we even knew it, a bolt flew from who knows where, and crashed into the restaurant, engulfing it into green flames. Then all around us we heard the bangs, and booms of what seemed like hundreds of blasts raining down on Canterlot. It seemed like almost anywhere we went to take shelter, it was then destroyed by one of the bolts.

We decided our best bet was to try to get into our house, and then into our basement. We ran through the path to our home, dodging the various explosions that just barely missed us. We were 20 meters from our door when it happened, a bolt flew and landed just a few feet from us. We both went flying.

I landed with a hard “oomph”. My vision was blurry, I couldn't see any further than a few inches from my face. I could however make out the large black figure that landed in front of me. The creature chirped and trilled, and as it walked towards me, my vision came back, i realized that it was one of the monsters attacking. I backed up, trying to get away from the monster, I was only a meter or two away from it when it started to charge up its horn. Fear and adrenaline shot through my body but fear took over and I couldn't move, it continued to charge up and before I knew it, it fired.

Even though the bolt fired at near breakneck speed, to me it was in slow motion. The bolt fired out with a bright green flash, leaving a trail behind it. The air whistled as the fast approaching bolt came, preparing to take my life. There was no way I could dodge the bolt, it was too fast. But my father was faster..

Time sped up as I saw him jump in front of the bolt. With a large green flash, we were both blown back as the bolt made contact, creating a large aftershock into the air.

I regained consciousness a few moments after we landed. I looked around and the monster was gone. There was a small crater in the ground, I immediately looked around for my father. I didn't know where he was, he had took the blast head on, I didn't know where he landed. I spun around in circles, trying to find him, when my eyes laid rest on a large, smoking lump on the ground nearly ten feet away. . Realization hit me as I stared harder. My eyes widened, and my heart dropped when i realized what had happened. I went as fast as my legs could carry me without falling over, and the closer I got, the more I could see. My father, was still alive, a large hole in his chest was clearly visible. I got to him, and gently hugged him. I tried to speak, but all I could get out were sobs. He grabbed my hoof, and with the last of his strength, muttered six last words.

“I'm sorry honey..I love you”

The words echoed in my ears as I watched the life slip from my father's eyes. His hoof slipped from mine as the last of it left.

I sat there, heart broken, the explosions still ringing in my ears, mixed in with my father's last words, were enough to break me. Memories flashed through my mind, I couldn't believe he was gone, I couldn't believe that he threw his life away for me. Why had it tried to kill me, why was this even happening? What drove these creatures to attack Canterlot, and why had they been successful? Those thoughts ran through my head and minutes later an aura rang out from the castle, it drove the creatures away. Within minutes the Royal guard swept the city, and pulled me away from my father's body.

I kicked and screamed as I was pulled away from my protector, why were they doing this, why did they have to take me away from the one pony that I cared about? They brought me to the barracks, as where most of the other ponies of Canterlot were, many of whom that were injured being mended and cared for.

An hour or two after we were brought in, they released us. They had finished taking care of the bodies..

That night the official death count was released. There were close to twenty deaths, almost half of them were children, and the princesses never acknowledged it, no one but those who lost a somepony did. That night there were fireworks, there were parties, and almost everypony was happy..

Author's Note

I hope youve enjoyed! Next chapter out Friday!