"A Real Threat to Equestria"
The news that the Changelings who had replaced Celestia and Luna in Canterlot were still on the loose had caused all of Canterlot to be on high alert. But, Hopper and Thumper were clever in their attempt to disguise themselves from the Canterlot royal guard. No sooner did they return to Canterlot the very next morning, did they disperse themselves from the patrol and retreated to an abandoned warehouse not far from Canterlot castle.
"So now what do we do?" asked Thumper as he and Hopper removed their disguises.
"The first thing we do is to find out where our targets are going to be and where," answered Hopper. "If we are to eliminate our targets for good, we must have them all gathered at the same time. Now, if I were a princess of Equestria, where would I go?"
For the next few moments, the two brothers thought of where the princesses were most likely to be. Then, Hopper got an idea.
"Wait a second, brother," he said. "Our queen would always hold meetings before we went out on conquests, did she not?"
"Yes, she would always hold meetings or briefings," remarked Thumper. "We should attack the princesses when they hold their next conference with their warriors. But, there is something else, what if they are all not together?"
"Don't be stupid, Thumper," chuckled Hopper holding a stick of dynamite in his claw. "They'll all be there, don't you see? Whenever Equestria has something major as seeing their most beloved leaders and equals be captured, they pull out all the stops. Besides, our fellow Changelings will keep the most loyal warriors focused on them, leaving us to finish them off once and for all."
Still holding the stick of dynamite in his claw, Hopper flew over and placed it on the table next to an alarm clock.
"Now, you see, Thumper," explained Hopper, holding the empty alarm clock up for him to see. "This clock will hold the power to eliminate our enemies once and for all. If we can't hold them, then we'll kill them and all the love meant for them will be for our Queen to feed on until her strength returns."
"Indeed, brother," remarked Thumper, again. "Your plan sounds fool proof and capable of setting in motion our plans. But, there is also the matter of what if our plan fails. I mean, do we need to consider the fact that one or all of the princesses could survive the inevitable blast of our weapon?"
"They won't survive, Thumper," reassured Hopper. "Not as long as we have a backup bomb to carry out equal devastation. By the time that the bombs are detonated, we will have been on our way to find our Queen, wherever she can be. Then, once we find her, we gather whatever left of our forces that we have and launch a far bigger, deadlier invasion of Equestria while the ponies of Equestria more their dear, departed leaders."
The two Changelings shared an evil laugh and then proceeded to get to work, putting together the weapons that they hoped would put an end to the lives of Equestria's four princesses. It took about an hour to put the bombs together and once they were done, two sticks of dynamite, a black round bomb and four firecrackers, one for each princess that was being targeted.
"Not bad work if I do say so myself," laughed Hopper as he and Thumper admired their work. "These two bombs have the power to carry out atrocities that will put all of our plans to shame!"
"Now what?" asked Thumper.
"We scout," answered Hopper as he reassumed the form of a Royal Guardspony. "Then, we make our move."
Following suit, Thumper assumed his Royal Guardspony form and followed his brother out of the warehouse.
…
Meanwhile, in a large meeting room in Canterlot castle, the Princesses along with their royal advisors sat at a round table. The disguised Hopper and Thumper entered the castle and took the shift of a pair of retiring guards.
"We thank you all for coming together on such short notice," said Celestia as she sat at the head of the round table with Luna, Cadence and Twilight on her right and left sides. "The news that the two Changelings who replaced me and Princess Luna are still on the loose is indeed very disturbing."
"All of our forces had been out all night," said a well dressed gray pony in black clothing. "However, we had managed to capture about 10 more Changelings east of Rainbow Falls. What do you wish for me to do with them?"
"Question them without the use of violence, Instant Justice," ordered Luna. "We cannot risk having a retribution if any of the Changelings in captivity are harmed. We cannot use violence no matter how hard we try."
"Very well," sighed Instant Justice. "But, I must warn you all that if any of these Changelings get south of the Everfree Forest or up into the Frozen north, they will never be found."
At that moment, another pony raised his hoof, asking for permission to speak.
"I don't think that they would want to escape," said the pony. "We all know that Changelings loyal to Chrysalis are devoted to each other and have no fear in any parts of their body, not even a fear of dying."
"Mr. McColt, we are completely aware of that," replied Twilight. "The goal for us all is to not allow for any Changelings to be harmed in any way unless they are dangerous. But, we must let our subjects know of what is going on."
Hearing this made both the disguised Hopper and Thumper turn to each other and wink an eye to one another. Both of them knew that an inevitable conference was the culmination of their ultimate plan.
"When do you think we should hold the conference?" asked Cadence. "I would like to hold one as soon as possible, for the sake of the safety of the Crystal Empire as well as our family."
"I agree with Princess Cadence," remarked Twilight. "The sooner we let our subjects know, the sooner we can assure their safety."
The entire table nodded in reply and agreement to this suggestion made by Twilight.
"Then, it is my belief," said Celestia. "That we hold the conference later this afternoon at the latest. These Changelings could come back at any time and we must be ready along with our subjects. Is everypony in agreement?"
"Aye," the entire table said.
"Very good," concluded Celestia. "Make an announcement throughout Equestria that we will be holding a conference about the progress with the hunt for any dangerous followers of Chrysalis. This meeting is adjourned."
…
With the banging of a rainbow striped gavel, the meeting came to an end and the group dispersed. However, the princesses were left alone while Hopper and Thumper watched with keen interest.
"I just hope that we can get the message out quickly," sighed Twilight, sitting back in the chair she was sitting in. "But there is something else that is on my mind."
"What is it, Twilight?" asked Celestia.
"Starlight was wondering if evil Changelings like Chrysalis can be reformed," she answered. "I don't know if that would be possible considering what we all saw after we were rescued. You all agree with me that not everypony can be reformed, can you?"
"As much as I hate to agree with you, Twilight," remarked Cadence. "I do. I still can't forget what Chrysalis did to me during my wedding to Shining Armor, throwing me in the Canterlot caves while she tried to carry out her ultimate conquest."
"We all agree on that," said Celestia as she walked out to the window overlooking the streets of Canterlot. "I believe in second chances, but only to those who I feel deserve a second chance. Twilight, I know that Starlight Glimmer wants to give Chrysalis a second chance, but it won't be possible."
From across the room, the disguised Hopper and Thumper scowled at the idea of Chrysalis being reformed. They were not going to allow that to happen to their queen in any sense of the word.
"That's what I said to her," answered Twilight, walking over to join her mentor at the window. "Just because she got a second chance, Discord got a second chance and even Trixie got a second chance doesn't mean that Chrysalis will either."
"You are also forgetting me, Twilight," remarked Luna, feeling slightly hurt. "I, too was given a second chance after I was freed from being Nightmare Moon."
"Sorry about that, Luna," corrected Twilight, realizing her error. "You too, were given a second chance at redemption and in a sense, it began my journey to becoming the Princess of Friendship."
Luna smiled and accepted Twilight's apology. Then, Celestia moved away from the window and headed towards the door.
"Come," she said to the other princesses. "We must prepare for the meeting with our subjects later on today."
Hopper and Thumper watched as the four princesses left the meeting hall and once they were gone, their replacements arrived and they quickly darted back to the warehouse.
"When do we set the timers?" asked Thumper.
"Once we find out which room the meeting will take place," said Hopper, who then proceeded to set the timer. "As for the time, why don't we give it about 6 hours for the bombs to tick down? That will give us plenty of time to find out the location and plant the bombs before they explode."
Chuckling evilly, the two Changelings disappeared from the warehouse and returned to the castle to seek out potential rooms for the meeting, once again disguised as royal guardsponies. Finally, they saw what appeared to be several guards setting up what appeared to be a stage in the room where Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding was eventually held both the fake and real weddings.
"The room where our Queen's greatest conquest almost succeeded," chuckled Hopper as he thought to himself. "How does it feel, princesses? Knowing that you will all die in the same room where our Queen nearly carried out her greatest conquest, only to be ruined by you all, especially you Princess Cadence! Well that all ends today with your lives paying the price of our defeat!"
Moving forward, Hopper and Thumper proceeded to help out in preparing the stage for the meeting and planted their clock bombs underneath the stage, their ticking sounds quieted as much as possible.
"Farewell, princesses," laughed Hopper. "May you rot in Tartarus after today!"
The clock was set and soon, Equestria would be plunged into chaos once again…
"Not Everypony Deserves a Second Chance"
Author's Note
Disclaimer: I do not own "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" or its characters. They are property of Hasbro Studios and DHX Media.
Author's Note: This is a remake of my story, "Patriots of Equestria," which was mirrored after the Boston Marathon Bombings. After careful consideration, I have decided to remake the story minus the Boston Marathon Bombing mirroring. Special thanks to Kilreez for his input and inspiration.
"Not Everypony Deserves a Second Chance"
Starlight Glimmer stood in front of her new mirror that was given to her by Twilight Sparkle, admiring herself in the reflection. But, she wasn't happy, she wasn't smiling. Something was on her mind and it was not related to the thought of no longer being Twilight's student.
"There is no revenge you could ever conceive of that will come close to what I will exact upon you one day, Starlight Glimmer!"
The sounds of an angry voice continued to play repeatedly in Starlight's mind, causing the young unicorn to feel uneased and distressed.
"Starlight," called a purple alicorn causing Starlight to turn around and face her mentor. "Is everything all right? You've been awfully quiet since your ceremony today."
"Just a lot on my mind, that's all," sighed Starlight. "I don't know what is going on, but for some odd reason, Chrysalis' voice keeps playing in my head. I think she's going to come back stronger than ever."
"I don't think that's going to happen," reassured Twilight, trying to get her student to not worry about Chrysalis. "Chrysalis is weakened now and alone. Besides, myself and the other princesses have dispatched patrols to find any remaining followers of hers and neutralize any threat they might have."
However, Starlight was not changed by her mentor's reassurance.
"Twilight, you know how capable these creatures are," warned Starlight. "Besides, how else do you think that you and the others were captured so easily? I mean, weren't you all asleep in bed when you were captured?"
"Yes, we were," remarked Twilight, remembering how she and her friends were captured. "Not to mention that my brother still holds a grudge against Chrysalis for almost ruining the Royal Wedding a little while back. I can only imagine if he probably wants Chrysalis dead."
Starlight climbed over to her bed and got into it, sighing heavily. She was still wearing the medal that she had received at her ceremony that day, but this was just a medal and nothing more. In her mind, no award could replace the recent events with the Changelings. There was also something else on her mind that affected Starlight greatly.
"Before you go, Twilight," said Starlight. "There is something else I need to talk to you about concerning Chrysalis."
"What about?" asked Twilight. "You aren't still thinking about your failure to reform Chrysalis, aren't you?"
"Well, actually, yes," answered Starlight, having decided in taking off her medal from around her neck and placing it on the nightstand. "Part of me feels like Chrysalis can be redeemed, but I know for a fact that she won't listen."
Twilight sighed and sat down next to her student.
"She won't listen, Starlight," said Twilight, reluctantly. "I really don't like to say this, but not everypony in Equestria can be reformed, Starlight. Discord and Trixie were exceptions to the rule. They understood how important friendship is and look at them now."
"But maybe if I could just at least reason with her…" Starlight started to say, only to be interrupted by Twilight.
"Chrysalis cannot be reasoned with, no matter how hard you try," interrupted Twilight. "If she remains a threat, then I am afraid we must treat her like one."
Starlight couldn't bring herself to believe such a fact. Ever since Twilight had given her a second chance and had taken Starlight under her wing, the former leader of Our Town felt that everypony she encountered deserved a second chance.
"I hope you are mistaken, Twilight," Starlight replied as she fell asleep in her bed. "I can only hope you are mistaken."
…
Twilight sighed again and leaving her student to sleep, she returned to her library and was met by her dragon assistant, Spike, who was holding what appeared to be a scroll in his claws.
"Sorry to bother you so late, Twilight," he said. "But this came from Princess Celestia and I thought you should read it."
Taking the scroll in her aura, Twilight read what was on it and as she read it, her eyes crossed and she looked back at Spike with a stern glance.
"What did it say?" Spike wondered.
"It's an update about the hunt for some of Chrysalis' followers," answered Twilight. "Apparently, two of them, whom are believed to be the Changelings that replaced Celestia and Luna, have not yet been found. Celestia wants me to issue a warning to all of Ponyville about them since they appear to be very dangerous."
"Perhaps it's better to be safe than sorry," remarked Spike as Twilight trotted over to her desk. "I mean, I don't think the Changelings would even bother coming back, not after the fact that Thorax is now in charge."
"Just because Thorax is in charge, doesn't mean that the threat has gone away," said Twilight as she began writing down a warning to all of Ponyville. "It's like I said to Starlight, not everypony can be redeemed, Spike, no matter how hard we try."
"Can't we just have Discord go after the Changelings?" suggested Spike. "He's reformed and even though he is still a thorn in your side, technically, his Chaos magic can subdue any threat."
Twilight merely rolled her eyes in disgust at the thought of having Discord go after the Changelings. In her mind, Discord was still a liability for any major threat against Equestria.
"I think that is a 'no,'" guessed Spike. "But, you got to at least consider it, Twilight. I know that Discord betrayed us for Tirek, but that's in the past now. You got to move on and I mean, after all, he was one of our rescuers from Chrysalis."
"He was only in it for Fluttershy, Spike," said Twilight as she used a duplication spell to make copies of the warning to Ponyville's residents. "Now, get ready to post these all over Ponyville. The sooner they know about it, the sooner they can be prepared."
Heeding his friend's advice, Spike did as he was told. Soon, the messages were duplicated and dispatched throughout Ponyville.
…
Meanwhile, in the darkened confines of the Everfree Forest, a group of Royal Guardsponies were scouring the forest for any sign of Chrysalis' followers.
"Did you find any more?" one of them asked.
"Nothing, sergeant," replied one of the guards. "They couldn't have gone far. This forest is wide and open, so search every inch of it! And remember to use your unmasking spell on every creature that you encounter!"
Spreading out, the guards searched through every square inch of the forest. It didn't matter if the armor that they were wearing was slowing them down, they had a job to protect Equestria from harm. As one of the guards searched in the north end of the forest, he saw what appeared to be a pony hiding in the bushes.
"HALT!" he shouted, using his magic to detect the pony. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"
But, the pony didn't comply with the guard's order and remained in the bush, staying completely still.
"COME OUT AND GIVE YOURSELF UP!" shouted the guard again, his horn glowing with rage. His shouts caught the attention of the other guardsponies who came rushing to the scene, their horns also glowing with rage. "WE KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE, CHANGELING! THERE IS NOWHERE LEFT TO RUN, NOWHERE TO HIDE!"
The guards remained steadfast for any sign of movement that the pony in the bushes might make. Then, after a few seconds later, the guards saw a flash of light and they saw their target fly towards them.
"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, FOOLS!" cried the Changeling, laughing loudly as he flew as fast as his wings could carry them. "QUEEN CHRYSALIS SHALL RISE AGAIN!"
The guards tried to catch up, but it was no use. The Changeling was simply too fast for them.
"What do we do?" panted one of the guards. "Do we keep following them or do we retreat?"
"At this rate, we won't know where they are going," said a guard. "Perhaps we should return to Canterlot and report what we have seen to the Princesses."
"Perhaps that is a good idea," added another guard and soon, they all began to make their way out of the Forest.
…
Just as the guards were making their way out of the forest, the Changeling that they were trying to catch flew to a part of the forest where another Changeling was waiting for him.
"They won't catch us now," gasped the Changeling as he landed in front of his comrade. "I've already flown too fast for them to even attempt to try and stop us now. Which allows us to prepare for our ultimate plan of revenge. Do you have the materials we need, Thumper?"
"Right here, Hopper my brother," laughed Thumper, handing his brother a bag containing what appeared to be materials. "Managed to steal them just before the guards could spot me."
"Excellent," said Hopper, evilly as he picked at some of the bomb making materials. "Those pathetic guards are going to be short of a few bits of weapons used to scare us out of hiding. Well, they are going to learn the hard way of what happens when you overthrow our beloved Queen Chrysalis."
Just then, the two brothers heard more guardsponies walking around and they immediately headed for another secluded part of the forest. Once they were clear of the guards, they looked through their explosive goods again.
"We can't keep moving like this, brother," said Thumper. "If we are going to act, we need to act now."
"No, you idiot," hissed Hopper, giving his brother a glare. "We need time to scout a potential target to carry out our plans. Nothing would make our Queen's return to power more satisfying than to see Equestria's most beloved ponies dead. We must return to Canterlot and once we find out where all of our targets are going to be, then we make our move. Understand?"
"Yes, my brother," answered Thumper, using his abilities to change into a royal guardspony. "I understand."
Hopper soon joined his brother and the two brothers made their way back to Canterlot now disguised as Royal Guardsponies and soon, they would set in motion their plan to restore Queen Chrysalis to power in the worst way possible…
