A Few Good Ponies

Canterlot Royal Archives

0900hrs

Princess walked down an ornately furnished hallway, sunlight pouring in through the windows basking everything in a warm yellow glow. Her bandages had been removed, and a clever application of white powder concealed the still healing scar on her side. The attack still remained secret from all but a few, and seeing such an injury would only give rise to questions and conspiracies.

Turning, she walked through a large doorway flanked by a pair of royal guards standing silently at attention as she passed. Their eyes locked forward, and their expressions blank.

She entered a large brightly lit room filled with towering bookshelves. In the center was a wooden table covered in a myriad of ancient yellowed scrolls and aged books. Gathered around the table were several ponies hard at work pouring over various texts, and jotting down notes. Noticing the princess they bowed, before an aging white earth pony mare with a gray mane approached her. A pair of thick round spectacles perched on her nose.

“Hello Dusty Scroll.” Said Celestia. “How goes the research? Have you been able to find anything on Multis?” She asked.

“We have only been able to find one text that makes mention of the name.” Replied Dusty. “We discovered it in an old guide on powerful magics and artifacts from the Pre-Discordian era.” She said, offering Celestia several pages of neatly written notes. “However, the Multis that it refers to is not a creature, but a necklace known as the Multis Circlet. It was created by a council of unicorn researchers. The purpose was to allow the wearer to join their mind with others in order to share thoughts and information quickly between them. However, something went wrong with the enchantment. Instead of simply opening a connection, it gave the wearer control of others' minds. Ripping a portion of their soul from their body, and merging it with the wearer's own consciousness. Beyond that, it makes no mention of what became of it. However, we were able to find some accounts from the council. The problem is, they are written in a Pre-Discordian language called High Equestrian. It's a dead language. We have been been hard at work attempting to translate it, but we have been unable to make any real progress.”

Celestia smiled. “You've done well here Dusty. This knowledge may be of great help. Be sure to send word if any progress is made with the translation.”

Canterlot Castle

1000hrs

Celestia entered passageway lit by flaming sconces, making her way down to the castle dungeon. On each side she was flanked by a grim faced royal unicorn guard. Their golden armor enchanted to give them matching gray coats and amber eyes.

She came to a door made from thick steel bars with a unicorn guard seated beside it. Standing up, he levitated a gold key ring that was clipped to his armor. Selecting one and sliding it into the lock, he beckoned her forward.

“Right through here princess.” He said, leading her into a dimly lit room lined with cells, before stopping in front of one.

Inside the cell sat the former guard who had attacked her. No longer in his armor, he had a teal coat with a short cropped navy blue mane.

“Ah, Princess Celestia!” He said happily. “I was wondering when you would show up to chat.”

“Multis I presume?” She replied.

“The one and only.” He replied, before stopping. “Well, I guess that's not technically accurate, but all the same.  So, to what honor do I owe this visit?”

“What do you want with us? For what reason do you attack my ponies?” She asked.

“Oh don't get me wrong, I want nothing more than to live peacefully in this world. Carve out my own little slice of heaven so to speak. But I know that you would never let that happen. Consider it a preemptive strike of sorts. If I didn't protect myself, I'm sure you'd throw me back in Tartarus at the first chance you get. You see, you ponies are all the same. Jealousy, hate, war. None of that would exist if we were all united” He replied.

“And what of free will? It's our flaws and our ambitions that make us unique, how can you take that away?” She asked.

“Individuals are weak.” He replied, and with a flash of green the stallions eyes rolled up in his head, and he fell to the ground dead.

Without hesitation, a mare in the next cell opened her mouth.

“You see? An individual is nothing. Under me, Equestria will be a utopia, all of us living as one. There will be peace! There will be harmony! There will be.......perfection.”

“No.” Replied Celestia, speaking over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. “What you are trying to do is sick, and I will do everything in my power to stop you.”

Approx 60 Miles South of Ponyville

1100hrs

Lightning Strike stood atop the train, feeling the wind blow through her mane, her tail flowing behind her. Flaring her wings, she took off quickly gaining altitude as she flew up into the clear blue sky. Well. Almost clear. She thought, narrowing her eyes at a small cloud ahead of her. Darting forward, she spun around, kicking out with her rear hooves and causing it to disappear in a puff of mist.  Fully outstretching her wings, she settled into a glide, following the train as it chugged along far below.

Suddenly she saw something bright flash past her. Looking to her left, her eyes widened. Approaching from the south were several pairs of pegasi. Each pair was strapped to a harness that held a unicorn between them. Yelping as another bolt of magic flashed past her, she barrel rolled, tucking her wings to her side as she went into a dive. The ground rushing toward her, she waited until it completely filled her vision before she opened her wings, pulling up at the last minute, she flapped her wings hard before alighting on the train.

Sticking her head in through the engine's window, she yelled “We've got company!”

Getting to his hooves, Sunrise looked up as the pegasi began to descend toward the train. Charging his horn, he fired several rapid bolts of energy at the group before ducking back down as they returned the favor. His ears flattened to his head as several bolts impacted the side of the train with loud bangs.

Two of the pegasi teams veered off, heading toward the back of the train as the third kept him pinned down.

“Lightning, distraction!” He yelled.

Giving him a nod, Lightning took off, veering to the right. As the unicorn' head turned to track Lightning, Sunrise poked his head out and fired off a blast. The bolt missed the unicorn, but managed to strike the harness, cutting one of the pegasi loose. With the sudden lack of support, the tethered unicorn pulled the pegasus down like a rock. The pegasus flapped his wings desperately, but it was no use as the pair hit the ground with a sickening smack.

Now suddenly free, the other pegasus flew at Lightning. She turned around to buck him, bit he caught her leg with a hoof as she kicked out, and used her momentum to throw her into a spin. Recovering quickly, she flashed forward and delivered a solid uppercut to his jaw. Dazed, he didn't have a chance to block the second strike as it connected with the top of his head, knocking him unconscious and sending him tumbling to the ground. One down, two to go.

Lightning landed in the coal car next to Sunrise and Screech who were standing at the back of the car with their hooves on the rim as they looked toward the rear of the train. The front of the next car, a passenger cabin, blocked their view, but they could hear the clattering of hooves over the wind as the approaching unicorns made their way toward the front of the train.

As the anticipation built, the trio stood at the ready. Screech hefting a chunk of coal with a tentacle, as Sunrise lit his horn and Lightning flared her wings.

When the door swung open, the first unicorn was completely overwhelmed as he was first struck by a flying chunk of coal, and then blasted back through the doorway by a bolt of magic. A pegasus attempted to dive bomb them from the side before a tentacle grabbed him by the hoof and slammed him off the side of the train.

Another pegasus landed behind them, rushing for the brake lever before he was tackled by Lightning, sending them in a roll across the floor as they struggled for dominance.

Out of the corner of his eye Sunrise noticed the remaining pegasi streaking off into the distance,  abandoning their comrades. As Lightning finally got the upper hand and finished off the remaining pegasus, Sunrise noticed the last unicorn approaching.

Wait....Sunrise recognized this unicorn. Yellow coat, orange mane. Yep, it was his former platoon leader Lieutenant Firefly.

“Don't make me do this!” Yelled Sunrise. “Please sir, if you're in there, you have to fight it!”

The former officer just smiled as he lit his horn. Sunrise and Firefly released their magic at the same time, the beams colliding in midair. Firefly's grin widened as his yellow beam started to push forward, slowly overtaking Sunrise's. Sweat beaded on both their faces as they locked eyes, sparks of yellow and orange arcing off of the storm of magic between them.

Suddenly a tentacle shot forward, wrapping itself around Firefly's horn and instantly extinguishing his magic. Screech grunted, making a sound that sounded vaguely like 'hot', before wrapping his other tentacles around Firefly's forelegs.

Screech opened his mouth wide, his lower jaw splitting in two, exposing his cavernous maw and dark throat. Pulling Firefly forward, he slowly engulfed his head, pushing Firefly's muzzle into the back of his throat. Releasing Firefly's horn, he then wrapped a tentacle around the unicorn's haunches, lifting his rear end into the air as his front half disappeared down Screech's throat. With a series of wet gulps, the rest of the unicorn's body was hidden from the world, only visible as a lump moving down the tatzlpony's throat. Soon all that remained was his orange tail before that too was pulled into the pink abyss. The other ponies watched with a slightly horrified expression on their faces as Screech closed his mouth. His stomach was now bulging out obscenely, and the occasional imprint of a hoof or muzzle could be seen as the pony struggled violently within. Soon though, the struggling stopped. With the bulge now still, one could almost mistake Screech as just being very fat if it weren't for the barely discernible outline of various body parts.

Walking up slowly, Sunrise placed a hoof on the tatzlpony's belly. “Did you...kill him?” He asked.

Screech shook his head.

“No....asleep.” He replied in a very heavy accent. “We can get him help.”

“Thank you.” Said Sunrise, letting out a sigh of relief. “Let's just hope there's a pony in Canterlot who can reverse the spell.”