The Siege of Canterlot

Cobalt and me turned our heads towards the barricaded door as the changelings began throwing themselves against it, trying to break it open.

“Don’t worry, they’re not gonna get through there anytime soon.” I said to Cobalt who looked worried and afraid.

I turned around and decided to take the opportunity and get some rest, sitting down on one of the many chairs in the room. Cobalt grabbed a chair and moved it in front of me, also sitting down. For a brief moment it was just us two and the dampened sound of changelings from the outside. Not sure how but... it calmed me, somehow.

“An officer, huh?” Asked Cobalt.

I raised an eyebrow at him, not sure what he meant. “I’m talking about you, pal. When and how did you become an officer?” He explained.

“Oh, well. To keep it short, I...” I paused, taking a deep, deep breath. “I saved a lot of ponies back when we were fighting around the Everfree.”

Cobalt lost his casual pose on the chair. “Oh...I’m...sorry to hear that.”

I sighed loudly. “No need, it isn’t your fault, after all.” I looked over towards the door where the changelings continued their effort to break through, with no success. “I just wish we wouldn’t have been so...cocky. So sure of victory.” I said with a bitter, quiet voice. “This war wasn’t lost due to some crazy vodoo magic by Chrysalis, nor any real advantage for her and the changelings. It was lost by us, directly. By us and our cursed mentality that we would always win. So sure of victory that we simply kept marching straight into the enemy.”

I slowly looked back over to Cobalt. “That is what’s truly saddening, in my eyes. The fact that the enemy itself didn’t win, but that we lost it ourselves.”

Cobalt nodded his head, remaining silent.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to go on about all this.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Cobalt replied. “You’re right, anyway. Everything that you said...it’s what got most of my unit killed.”

We sat in silence for about five seconds after that, but those few seconds felt like hours gone by.

Suddenly, we heard a loud crack coming from the door, turning our heads in an instant. The first few planks of wood began to break through the repeating attacks of the changelings.

“Well, let’s make it so that our cockiness doesn’t make us lose this battle, shall we?” I said to Cobalt who nodded in response.

We once again scrambled and looked for more things we could use for a defense. The first things we used were the tables and chairs. We decided to stack them on top of each other on top and next to the counter. When we ran out of chairs, however, we had to look all around the shop for things to use. Cobalt was the first to find... ‘something’, though it wasn’t exactly what we expected to find.

Cobalt called for me from inside the storage room as I was looking around multiple cardboard boxes in the kitchen, unable to find anything but grain, eggs and other cooking ingredients however. I ran off towards the storage room, ready to pull my weapon if Cobalt was in trouble. As I entered however, I was both reliefed and surprised. What he found wasn’t an object, nor a Changeling, but two ponies. One mare and one small filly, which the mother held tightly in her arms.

Cobalt turned around towards me, seemingly as surprised as I was. “Found them behind these shelves.” He said, pointing at two shelves that were pulled aside. “I was looking for something inside some bags and boxes when I heard a sound from behind one of the shelves. So I pulled these two aside and...voilà.”

I slowly moved towards the two scared ponies, careful not to make them more afraid than they already were.

“It’s alright. We’re with you.” I said to them. “You don’t need to be scared.”

The filly looked up to me, still looking scared and afraid, and asked: “Are we going to be ok?”

My mouth hung open as I wanted to say something, to reply, but didn’t know just what I’d tell a small filly in a situation like this.

“Everything’s gonna be alright, sweetie.” Said the mother, gently caressing her daughter’s cheeks. She then looked up to me. “I’m sorry for disturbing and being in the way, Sir. It was...my husband, he...” The mare stopped for a moment before continuing. “My husband decided for us to stay here instead of evaccuating and leaving, like most others.”

“Where is he?” Asked Cobalt from behind me.

“He...” Was all she could say before breaking out into tears. I looked back to Cobalt with a worried look. I could see from his face that he felt deeply guilty for even asking that question.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am.” Cobalt said, walking up to and kneeling down next to the crying mare. “I’m deeply sorry.” He said, carefully pulling the pony into a friendly hug.

“He...He went out to check on a few friends of ours down the street...” The crying mare said quietly, “He didn’t come back...It’s been 15 minutes and he still hasn’t returned home!”

I patted her on the back, looking down to the filly that she still held tightly in her arms. “I’m sure he’s still out there, Ma’am.”

“Impossible!” The mare snapped at me. “You know there are thousands of changelings out on the streets! He is dead, my husband is dead!”

“Well...we’re still alive, too, aren’t we?” I replied before she could continue crying.

“Well, yes but-”

“Then I’m certain your husband is alive and well, too.” I interrupted her. Suddenly I heard the loud banging against the door again. And it didn’t sound like the door would hold much longer. “I think it’s best we come up with a plan real quick, everypony...” I said quietly. “Or else you will never get the opportunity to reunite with your husband.”

Cobalt and me then sprinted out of the storage room back behind the counter. The barricade we had built was high but...it didn’t exactly look stable. Not stable enough to hold off an entire Changeling Armada anyway.

Cracks were starting to appear on the door and the wooden planks nailed onto it, growing larger everytime the changelings thrusted against it. We were running out of time fast. Too fast.

As Cobalt and me made ready for what was to come, drawing our weapons, sword and spear, the two ponies appeared behind the counter as well, looking at us with big eyes as we held our weapons.

Me and Cobalt looked at each other for a brief moment before turning towards them again, sheating our weapons. “What are you two doing here? It’s too dangerous!” I told them.

“It’s our home, we have the right to go anywhere we want.” Replied the mare, continuing before I was able to reply. “I know a way out of here. I thought you might want to know.”

Cobalt and me both raised an eyebrow. “A way out of here?” I asked.

“Like a tunnel?” Cobalt asked as well.

“Yes, a tunnel. Our home doesn’t have a backyard nor backdoor, so my husband instead constructed a tunnel. It was intended to be a safe route out in case of a fire or something otherwise hazardous but...”

“I suppose this is a safety hazard, of sorts, isn’t it?” I said with a gentle smile.

“Yes, I suppose so.” She replied, returning a smile as well.

“You’re not gonna let the baddies get to us, right?” Asked the small filly.

I looked at her mother for a brief moment before stroking the child’s forehead. “I promise, little one. We’re in this together.” Both the filly and her mother smiled in return. For the first time since I was in Canterlot, I felt a warmth inside, in my heart.

“So, shall we go then?” I asked, looking back at the mother.

“That’s the problem, the tunnel is locked behind a door and I have no idea where my husband left the keys to it.”

“Damn...” I said quietly, stomping a hoof on the ground. “Do you think you can go and find it in time?”

“Let’s hope so.” She said, looking over to the door as the changelings thrusted against it once more. “For our sake...”

“Right, go ahead then. We’ll try to slow them down if they get in. We have to get out of here.” I told her. She nodded affirmatively before heading back into the storage room.

As they left, I turned back towards Cobalt who looked more worried than confident at this point. “You think they’re gonna make it in time?” He asked.

“Let’s hope so.” I looked back over to the door as yet another bang echoed through the room. “I don’t wanna die in a damn bakery, after all.” I added, smiling slightly.

After yet another thrust two planks of wood splintered, falling to the ground. “Let’s hope so...” I whispered again to myself, drawing my sword. Cobalt himself readied his spear. With every thrust the banging became louder, and our breathing became louder, more nervous. One after another the planks on the door broke, and the cracks in the door began to grow larger and larger. After only a minute or so, the door couldn’t take it anymore. It broke down.

Combined with the loud sound of the door being broke down, the changelings began to storm into the room, hissing furiously as they sprinted towards us and the barricaded counter. Cobalt, using a spear, was able to stab through the several holes in the barricade, killing one after another as they attempted to throw over, dismantle or climb the barricade. I, too attempted to stab and kill the enemy, it turned out my sword was too short however, and it couldn’t reach the enemy. And while our barricade managed to hold the changelings off for the moment, we knew it was doomed to be overcome in the next coming ten minutes or so, if not less. But we had to hold them, we had to buy time in order to find that damned key.

After about two minutes, Cobalt, still poking his spear through the barricade, stabbing another Changeling in his belly, yelled to me: “Brass, watch out!” Confused, I looked up to see that one of them had made it up on top of the wall of chairs and tables. It stood there hissing violently at us before unfolding its wings, preparing to dive down on us. My brain snapped in an instant, and I grabbed a coffee mug from the ground next to me, throwing it as hard as I could towards it. The sound of the mug hitting the hard skull of the Changeling was muted behind the hissing of the other changelings. I protected my head as some of the shards rained down, fortunately not hitting me or Cobalt. Only a moment later, as I was about to look back up, I was thrown to the ground.

“Brass!” Cobalt yelled at me again. It didn’t take me long to realize why he was yelling, however, seeing as how the Changeling from above now laid on top of me. Thankfully, however, it seemed to have been knocked unconscious by the unexpected hit.

I moved my right hoof over to where my sword was, grabbing it as fast as I could. I grabbed the sword in a tight grasp, moving it over to the changeling’s throat. I closed my eyes for a single second before striking it down.

The helpless creature gasped as I dug my sword into its throat. I laid still, my right hoof on the sword that was now dug deep inside the Changeling, as it began to cough blood on me. After only a few seconds, the Changeling went silent, its head rested on my own body.

I pulled my sword out of its throat, pushing the corpse off of me in order to get back up.

“Brass, there’s more!” Shouted Cobalt again as I had just gotten back onto my hooves.

I looked up to see three changelings looking down to me with an evil smirk.

“We found it! We found it!” Yelled the mare from the storage room in the back.

I quickly looked at Cobalt before looking back up as two of the changelings jumped down, diving down towards me. With a quick dash backwards I managed to avoid their attack, causing them to hit the hard ground instead of me.

“We gotta go, Cobalt!” I shouted, slicing open the throat of one of the changelings as they laid on the ground. “Now!”

“Go! I’ll hold them off for now!” Replied Cobalt, moving over and stabbing the remaining Changeling on the ground. He rested a hoof on my shoulder and looked into my eyes, breathing heavily. “Go, Brass. Leave this to me. It’s personal.”

My mouth opened but I only managed to give out a gasp as the third Changeling dove down onto Cobalt. A loud screech of pain echoed through the room as it was impaled by Cobalt’s spear mid-air.

“Go!” Cobalt shouted at me, pushing me away from him.

“Quickly! Let’s go!” Shouted the mare from behind me, peeking her head into the room. I gulped, taking a last look at Cobalt before turning tail and running towards the storage room.

“Over here! It’s over here!” Said the mare, leading me towards a wooden door that had been hidden behind a shelf which was now moved aside.

She ran over to her child which carried the key inside her small hooves. Taking the key from her child, the mother then put the key inside the lock, turning it and finally unlocking the door.

She opened the door and once again picked up her daughter, carrying her on her arms. As they walked inside the dark tunnel behind the door, she turned around and asked: “Where is your friend?”

I stopped, turned around and looked towards the door that lead to the counter. I could hear screeching, could hear the barricade falling apart and, finally, I could hear a familiar voice in between the hisses. “I’ll avenge you, Captain! I’ll kill them all if I have to!”

I turned back around towards the mare and filly and answered: “He’s fighting his last battle.”

I quickly moved the shelf in front of the door again, so that the changelings would not spot the door and possibly pursue us any further. I then closed the door. Though just as I closed it, I could hear Cobalt’s last, final screams of terror and pain.

Then the door closed, and all was silent and dark.