Of Brothersby FirestormFIMChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 1Scootaloo raced through the bustling Ponyville marketplace, dodging market stalls and startled Ponies. She was going fast, even faster than she normally did while pulling her two best friends towards a day of Crusading – this time, she had a real time limit, and she couldn’t be late. I can’t believe this is finally happening! Could this day get any better? Scootaloo inwardly screamed. Apparently it could, and following the normal rules of ‘the odds’, it did as soon as the orange filly finished the thought. A rainbow trail plunged out of the clouds to come up next to the scooter. “Hey squirt! What’s got you in such a rush?” asked Rainbow Dash. “He’s coming to Ponyville today!” came the inevitably vague reply. “Whoa, a new pony’s coming moving into town? Awesome!” exclaimed Rainbow “wait, who’s coming? And why are you so excited? Usually it’s Pinkie Pie sprinting through the town to meet a new pony.” “My big brother Firestorm! You’re gonna like him for sure! He’s one of the coolest ponies ever!” “I didn’t know you had a brother.” The cyan Pegasus replied. “Huh, so he’s pretty cool is he?” “Yah! He’s the coolest! Uh… other than you of course” Scootaloo stammered, somewhat unsettled by so much attention from her idol combined with her excitement at her brother’s long-awaited move to Ponyville. “Well obviously he isn’t as cool as me, I’m Rainbow Dash, best flier in all of Equestria” At this point Rainbow, Scootaloo, and an unusually quiet Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, were nearing the outskirts of the small town. They were headed towards the small platform near the train station where travelling Pegasi and chariots from Canterlot could land. Standing alone for the moment on the platform was a visibly excited Cheerilee. “Hey Cheerilee! What’s got you so excited?” Rainbow asked. “Well seeing as you just came here with Scootaloo, I don’t need to explain that her brother is coming to town. Firestorm and I are actually old friends, so even as much as I love meeting new ponies –" “Did somepony say new ponies?!” This outburst naturally (or would it be unnaturally?) came from Pinkie Pie who had suddenly burst out from one of the boards of the platform, causing the waiting ponies to jump in surprise. “Gah! Pinkie how did you… you know what? Never mind, I probably don’t want to know.” Was the universal response voiced this time by Rainbow. “Well I had a twitch that told me that somepony said a new pony was coming to town so here I am!” Explained the currently bouncing in place party pony. “So who’s the new pony?” Now it was Scootaloo’s turn to start bouncing. “It’s my big brother Firestorm! He’s so cool! He left his old job in the Royal Guard just to come live in Ponyville with me!” This last statement received an ‘aww’ from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “I didn't know your brother quit his job just to be with you! That’s awesome!” said the youngest member of the Apple family. “Does this mean I’m gonna have another weather pony around? Sweet!” Replied Rainbow after some thought on the implications of a jobless Pegasus, and how it could help reduce her workload. “Actually” Cheerilee explained, with a tone of voice that indicated the immense patience of somepony who spent her working life dealing with foals, “Firestorm’s one of the best blacksmiths in all of Equestria, he was the best in the Guard before he left so he’ll be moving into and fixing up the old forge on the edge of town.” “A blacksmith? That’s awesome! Is he a Unicorn then?” asked the best young flyer. “No, you were right about him being a Pegasus. That’s part of what makes him such an oddity among smiths, most of them are Unicorns, and he’s actually even better than most of them.” The schoolteacher replied. “THERE HE IS!” shouted Scootaloo, pointing her hoof at a small dark spot on the horizon. Pinkie Pie, who had been unusually quiet and thoughtful after Scootaloo answered her question jumped up with a smile as wide as a mile. *GASP* “If he used to be a guardpony he probably knows Shining Armor! And if he knows Shining Armor he’s probably friends with Shining Armor ‘cause Shining Armor is such a nice pony, and if he’s friends with Shining Armor maybe he knows Twilight Sparkle! And he’s almost here! I need to go get Twilight!” With that Pinkie performed a full dive into the whole in the platform she made when she appeared. The dot on the horizon was growing steadily larger as the remaining ponies each came to the decision to ignore the fact that Pinkie just dove into a hole in the platform as apparently the fastest way to get to the library. A couple minutes later, the dot had turned into a silhouette of a Pegasus pony and a very confused and slightly irritated Twilight Sparkle had just reached the platform balanced oddly on Pinkie’s back. “Pinkie, will you please tell me what was so urgent that you had to throw me on your back and gallop here without slowing your speech to a point where anypony could even understand? Oh, hey Rainbow Dash, hey Cheerilee, hey girls!” said Twilight, becoming more excited upon noticing the other ponies around. “My big brothers coming to Ponyville today!” came Scootaloo’s enthusiastic response “And Pinkie had the idea that since he just left the Royal Guard to come here, he probably knew Shining Armor and because of that, he probably knew you.” “I didn’t know you had a brother Scootaloo, that great! What’s his name?” asked the ever-curious Twilight Sparkle. “Firestorm! The best blacksmith in Equestria!” “Really? I do know him! He and Shining Armor are really good friends, they joined the guard on the same day!” *Gasp* “That’s so amazing! You’re BBBFFs are PFFs!” Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to burst with sheer excitement. By now the waiting ponies could make out the shape of the approaching Pegasus, the position of the sun made it still it impossible to see his coat and mane colors. But they could still tell his size. “He’s almost as big as Big Macintosh!” Said Apple Bloom through her shocked expression. “Yep, he always was just a little bigger than Shining Armor” said Twilight, grinning as memories flooded back into her mind. No more than a minute later, Firestorm landed on the platform. He was a big stallion, as they had already established, with a coat the same orange as his little sister and the same violet eyes, his mane and tail however, were as unique as they come, at the base where the mane and tail met the Pegasus, they were a deep red, the kind of red that brought hot coals and embers to mind, farther out however, they were a fiery orange and yellow similar to that of Spitfire of the Wonderbolts. It was definitely obvious where he got his name from. “Firestorm!” Scootaloo shouted at the top of her voice while sprinting towards her brother as fast as her legs could carry her. “Hey Scoots!” Firestorm said laughing and pulling Scootaloo into a hug “It’s been waay too long.” They broke the hug and Firestorm got a chance to look around at the other ponies. “Hey Cheerilee, it’s good to see you again, thanks for taking care of Scootaloo for the past two years, if she’s still the Scootaloo I remember,” he grinned at the orange Pegasus filly, “and if she really is my sister it must have been a lot of work, I owe you big time.” The schoolteacher chuckled and gave the Cutie Mark Crusaders a slightly accusatory look. “Well I do recall an incident with a love poison.” This caused the three fillies to suddenly look anywhere but Cheerilee and Firestorm. “Oh really? You’ll have to tell me about that sometime” Firestorm replied with a conspiratory grin. He looked down at the two fillies next to his little sister, “and you two must be Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, Scoots talks about you in literally every one of her letters.” This got another ‘aww’ from the two, and a light blush from the third Cutie Mark Crusader. Firestorm then turned his attention to the other ponies, “you must be Rainbow Dash, the famous prospective Wonderbolt, Scootaloo talks about you a lot too, oh and Soarin’ says hi and he asked me to thank you again for saving his pie at the Gala.” “Oh-my-gosh, oh-my-gosh, oh-my-gosh!” Rainbow Dash replied, smiling even wider than Pinkie Pie. Speaking of Pinkie, she was the next one addressed by Firestorm; “And judging from all the, you know… pink, you must be Pinkie Pie, the infamous party-pony. It's good to meet you.” Then his gaze fell onto Celestia’s protégé, and his eyes widened in surprise, “Well if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle, I was hoping I’d have a chance to visit you at some point, hardly expected you to be here with a welcoming committee though. How are you doin’?” “I’m really good,” Twilight said, “I didn’t even know you were coming until after Pinkie had already dragged me here, Shining Armor didn’t mention it in his last letter.” “You always did have your face so deep in those books you didn’t know where you were going” Firestorm laughed. “But yah, your brother wasn’t happy when I told him I was leaving the Guard.” Firestorm rubbed his neck uncomfortably as he said the latter and proceeded to change the subject. “Well I’ve kept you all long enough, I should probably go down to the forge and take a look around.” “Okie Dokie Loki! Be sure to come down to Sugarcube Corner around 6 tonight for your big welcome to Ponyville party!” “I will, don’t worry Pinkie.” The other ponies left, and as Firestorm started to do the same, he looked down to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders looking up at him expectantly. “What’s up Scoots?” “Do you have to go to the forge already? You have to see the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse!” “I suppose I don’t have to go yet, where is it?” “It’s on my family’s farm; Sweet Apple Acres!” Apple Bloom answered. “Alright, let’s go see where you girls plan your crimes” the stallion joked, earning a resounding “hey!” from his sister and her friends. Fifteen minutes later they found themselves at Sweet Apple Acres. As they walked by the barn a tan mare with a tied blonde mane and tail galloped out, nearly crashing into them. The mare stumbled following the swerve to dodge the unexpected guests, and when she recovered she immediately when to apologizing. “I’m really sorry ‘bout that” she then noticed it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders, “Oh it’s you girls, I was worried it was a somepony here for business, uh… no offence. And then she noticed the unfamiliar Pegasus stallion. “Apple Bloom, who’s your friend here?” “I’m Firestorm, I just came to town today, I’m –“ “My big brother!” Scootaloo finished with all the enthusiasm of a filly of her age. “-right, and the girls wanted to show me their clubhouse, which is apparently on your farm.” Said Firestorm, somewhat wishing he could be even a little surprised about his sister’s interjection. “Well alright! I’m Applejack, you already met my sister Apple Bloom, but I’ll introduce you to the rest of us Apples.” The cowpony said, shaking Firestorms hoof energetically. “I kinda figured you were Applejack, you and your friends are fairly well known at this point, you know.” Noticing Applejacks confused expression Firestorm decided to explain; “being Celestia’s protégé, winning the best young flier competition, a popular fashionista, a brief but extremely successful modeling career, well… Pinkie Pie,” Applejack smiled knowingly at this, “a very successful rodeo pony,” Applejack blushed modestly at that, “and saving Equestria 3 times on top of all of that will tend to lead to some minor fame.” “Ah guess I never really thought about that. Anyway, come and I’ll introduce you to the rest of the family.” They walked up to the farmhouse where Firestorm saw an elderly pale-green mare asleep in a rocking chair on the porch. “Wake up Granny, there’s somepony new to meet.” Applejack’s efforts to wake the mare were rewarded by a “wah?”. “Granny Smith, this is Firestorm, he’s new in town, and little Scootaloo’s brother. Firestorm, this here’s Granny Smith.” “Nice to meet you Granny Smith” Firestorm politely said. Granny Smith replied in kind and promptly fell back asleep. “Alright well come down to the field and I’ll introduce you to Big Macintosh.” Another short walk took them to the edge of a field where a massive red stallion was finishing plowing with a plow that was so heavily rusted and damaged from use that it sent a small shiver down the professional metalworker’s spine. “Macintosh! Come over here and meet the new pony in town!” Applejack shouted at the stallion. Rather than shouting back a reply, the stallion simply left the plow and walked silently towards them. “Mac, this is Firestorm, he’s Scootaloo’s big brother and he just got into town. Firestorm, this is my big brother Big Macintosh.” “Nice to meet you Big Mac.” “Eeyup.” “I couldn’t help but notice the condition of your plow, would you all be interested in a replacement?” Firestorm asked. “Well we’ve been working on it for a couple years now, we just haven’t had the funds, but with you in town we might be able to afford it ‘cause we won’t have to pay for shippin’ it here.” Applejack replied, looking extremely grateful. “Oh don’t worry about paying for it, I’ll do it free of charge.” “Look, I know you’re just tryin’ to be nice, but us Apples are a might stubborn, and we definitely don’t need our stuff replaced for free. We ain’t a charity case.” Applejack said, grateful expression quickly replaced by one of an offended pride. “I’m not trying to say your families a charity case, I like to do my first job for everypony for free, helps spread my name around and if you like it, you’re more likely to come back. Besides, your little sister has been a good friend to mine for the last couple years so it’s only fair I pay your family back for it.” Firestorm said. Big Mac suddenly and subtly shot a glare at Firestorm at the mention of the past two years Scootaloo lived in Ponyville without any family. “Well in that case I suppose it’s ok, we’re mighty grateful.” Applejack said, expression returning to gratitude. “Right Macintosh?” “Eeyup” Big Mac replied, hiding the glare behind his usual stoic expression. “I’ll get to work on it as soon as the forge is up and running. Speaking of which, I’m gonna have to go check it out pretty soon and I promised the girls I’d let them show me their clubhouse first so I should get going. It was nice meeting you though.” Firestorm said, starting to follow the 3 excited fillies deeper into the orchard. Chapter 2A/N: an * symbol means there is a sidenote, it isn't required to read, it's just more detail that I recommend you do, each sidenote is at the bottom of it's respective scene One week later Shining Armor stalked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, other guards hurriedly getting out of his way and averting their eyes as he pass. He was not in a good mood, in fact, he hadn’t been in a good mood for quite a while. Not since he found out one of his oldest friends was turning traitor. Firestorm, one of his closest friends since joining the Guard had abandoned them, even with everything that had just happened in the wake of the Changeling invasion. Sure he gave advance warning and had claimed that he wanted to take care of his sister. I have a little sister too, and she’s been involved in literally every crisis in the past two years! Shining Armor fumed to himself, and on top of that, we don’t even know where Chrysalis went after Cadance and I threw her out of Canterlot, and he just leaves! For all we know, she’s planning another attack, and if she is, he knows we couldn’t spare any blacksmiths! Shining Armor approached the door to the briefing room where the Princesses had requested his presence, the guards on either side of the door snapping to attention and opening the door for him as he passed. The Princesses were waiting when he entered. "Yes, Princesses?" Shining Armor said as he bowed to the Royal Sisters. "Have you made a decision about my request last week?" "We have." Princess Luna said, uncharacteristically speaking first of the Alicorns. "While we still maintain that you have to learn to accept Firestorm's resignation from the Guard." Princess Celestia continued. "Luna and I have decided that, for your own peace of mind if nothing else, you will be allowed to go to Ponyville to attempt to persuade him to rejoin." The Royal Guard captain gave what was the closest thing to a smile he had given to anyone (besides perhaps Princess Cadence) in the past week. "Thank you Princesses. I will bring Firestorm back with me, he'll remember his duty soon enough." With that Shining Armor left the briefing room. The Princess of the Night sight as the door closed behind Shining Armor. "I'm still not sure if this will work 'Tia. Talking to the smith might just succeed in making him angrier." "Trust me Luna, I wouldn't insist on sending him if I wasn't sure something good could come out of it, hopefully some of his sister's lessons about friendship will rub off on him." The Solar Princess replied, a look of concern still on her face as she stared at the door her Captain had just left through, despite the confident statement. "So we're going to rely on Twilight Sparkle yet again" Luna responded. She let a mischievous smirk cross her face as the opportunity to tease her older sister presented itself. "At this rate you're going to forget how to do things for yourself, you'll just have Twilight do it for you." "I can still do thing for myself thank you very much, and Twilight is a very capable young Unicorn, it'd be insulting to waste her talents." Celestia said, smiling at the friendly prod by her sister. "Well either way, it looks like it's up to the little sister to save the day." Luna grinned. The sisters of night and day laughed at the obvious implication. Firestorm punched the corner on the red hot metal with a hoof, causing it to bend. He didn't have to worry about burning his hooves when he bucked and later punched and pushed the heated metal into the desired shape because of specially designed horse-shoes he wore that resisted heat, and coincidentally, had proven to be very effective in battle due to their extra weight and the strength of the material used to make them. His fur, however, fared somewhat worse, the sparks that bust from the metal with each blow had left countless tiny black spots on his legs where the fur had been burned, a sensation he was all to accustomed to. The expert smith inspected his work again, looking over the newly shaped plow for any flaws. It was of much higher quality than the one the Apples had been using, even before Firestorms final adjustments and when the old plow was brand-new. This was because of Firestorms' smelting technique* as well as Firestorms personal skill at a forge. Not seeing any unacceptable flaws, Firestorm poured water over the plow to cool it and waited for it to cool enough to take it to Sweet Apple Acres. *figured out by an old Unicorn smith who proceeded to make it common knowledge among craftsponies who still respected the traditions of the art An hour later, Firestorm pulled the cart containing the newly forged plow over the crest of a hill and the farmhouse came into view. Relieved that there were no more hills of considerable size that he would have to pull the heavy cart up, Firestorm continued down the path. Two minutes later, he detached himself from the cart and knocked on the door of the house. Applejack promptly opened the door with a smile. "Well hey there Firestorm! What brings you to the farm?" the cow-pony asked in her usual cheery manner. "I just finished your plow this morning and thought I should bring it up here for you." Firestorm replied politely. "Well that's great news! Macintosh! Get out here, the new plow's just showed up!" Applejack shouted back into the house, inadvertently calling more ponies than just Big Mac as the Cutie Mark Crusaders burst around the corner and out the door, accidentally tackling Firestorm. "Hey girls! It's good to see you too but would you mind letting me up so I can at least finish my delivery." "Oops, sorry Firestorm." The Crusaders replied. "We heard that you were delivering the plow and we wanted to see it." "It's ok, and of course you can see it, Apple Bloom will be seeing plenty of it in the future anyway." With that Big Mac emerged behind Applejack and Firestorm led them to where the plow was sitting in the cart. "Are you sure that we can plow with that? It looks a might nice." Macintosh said, face as stoic as ever. "Nice? I'd say it belongs in a museum as much as it does in a field!" Applejack replied, staring at the plow. "Thanks but I wouldn't go that far, most ponies don't consider it an art anymore and this one's way to simple to be put in one of the fancy museums." Firestorm responded. "And as for whether or not it works, it should work better and longer than your old one ever did, if not, I'll replace it free of charge." "There somethin' wrong with my plow?" Macintosh said, glaring at the flame-maned stallion at the perceived slight at the tool he'd used since he was a colt. "Not other than the ravages of time Big Mac. But I made this using steel almost as high quality as the stuff I used to make armor for the Guard. And I made some improvements over the standard shape that should make it go a little smoother." Firestorm said, surprised by Big Mac's sudden touchiness. "Firestorm! You haave to teach us how to do that! I just know at least one of us will have a Cutie Mark just like yours!" Scootaloo pleaded. At the mention of his Cutie Mark memories flashed through Firestorm's mind of when he learned to smith and the hammer and anvil had appeared on his flank. "Of course I'll teach you girls, I don't have any other commissions yet so I can teach you girls this afternoon, I just need to pay a visit to Twilight first. "YAY! CUTIE MARK CRUSADER BLACKSMITHS YAH!" With that the three fillies ran off to their clubhouse to plan what they'll do once they have their blacksmithing Cutie Marks. "You sure you want that trouble Firestorm? I'm not sure putting them around fire is such a good idea either." Applejack said, looking concerned over what had just occurred in front of her. "I know what you mean, that's why I'm going to see Twilight, I'm gonna ask her if there's anything she can do to Cutie Mark Crusader-proof the forge, or lacking that, fireproof it and us." Firestorm said. Applejack laughed at this. "Well I should go take care of that, I'll see you to later." Firestorm said as he turned and walked back to town. Once Firestorm was out of earshot, Applejack turned to her brother. "Alright spill it, he might not know you well enough to tell when you don't like somepony but I do. What's your problem with him?" "He left his sister without a family for years." Mac said, voice filled with disgust. "He was a guardpony, he was helping protect all of Equestria, his sister included." "He left her with somepony else, now I like Miss Cheerilee as much as the next pony, but it ain't the same as living with your flesh and blood." "Since when have you been this judgmental?" "Since he abandoned his family for his own benefit," "How many times do Ah have to say it? He was a guardpony, it was hardly a safe line of work!" "And how do you think little Scootaloo would have taken the loss of her brother? Like I said, it wasn't what was best for his family." This caused Applejack to hesitate, she hadn't thought of it that way. "I don't know, but I'm sure he had some reason for what he did." "And I'm sure there ain't a good reason for abandoning your family." Chapter 3A/N: an * symbol means there is a sidenote, it isn't required to read, it's just more detail that I recommend you do, each sidenote is at the bottom of it's respective scene "And 'The Zoology of Zebrica" goes... here." Twilight Sparkle thought aloud as she slid the book into it's place. "Done! Another wonderful re-shelving day." The librarian smiled, re-shelving was one of her favorite duties as Ponyville's librarian. "Finally" groaned a rather lazy purple dragon, revealing himself from behind another bookcase at least four times his height. "Oh, Spike." Twilight chided, "I just can't understand how you can not love re-shelving day, I mean -" Before the lavender unicorn could finish explaining the many joys of organizing the multitude of books she was interrupted by the sound of a hoof knocking on the door. "That's weird, most know they can just come in during the day, I mean, it's a library after all." Twilight trotted over to the door and opened it, revealing a familiar stallion. "Hey Twily!" Shining Armor exclaimed, an actual smile on his face at the site of his little sister. "Shining Armor! What are you doing here in Ponyville? Twilight asked, expression a mix of surprise, confusion, and excitement. "I'm here on Guard business." The Royal Guard Captain replied, face darkening for a moment at the thought of his reason for being there. "But it isn't all that urgent so I figured I'd spend the afternoon with my little sis, you know, make sure you don't get yourself into too much trouble." the older unicorn teased, smile returning as quickly as it had left. "Hey Twilight! Who is it?" Spike called, emerging from the other room. "Shining Armor? Hey!" "Hey Spike, Twilight hasn't been to hard on you has she?" Shining Armor replied. "Oh you wouldn't believe it, she's practically a slave driver." "Okay, that's enough teasing you two." Twilight said, her glare at Shining Armor rendered distinctly un-menacing by due to the smile she couldn't quite suppress. "Oh!" Spike exclaimed, "Shining Armor come here! I gotta show you something I made, I need your opinion on it." he pointed up the stairs. "It'll only take a minute." "Umm... sure." With that Shining Armor followed Spike up the stairs. Twilight made to do the same when she heard another knock on the door. "What's with this?" She asked nopony in particular, "doesn't anypony know you can just walk into a library during hours? I mean, there's a sign and everything." Twilight opened the door magically to reveal Firestorm. Of course, she thought, he's new here too. "Hey Firestorm, what can I do for you?" "Hey Twilight, I was wondering if you could help me out with something." He said. "Sure what do you need?" "I need you to help me 'Cutie Mark Crusader-proof' the forge for the afternoon, I kinda promised them I'd teach them a bit about smithing." "I'll do what I can, though I'm still not sure I like the idea of them around fire and hot metal. They tend to wreak havoc no matter what we do to prevent it." They shared a laugh at that. "You sound exactly like Applejack did." Firestorm laughed. "Thanks though, I suppose since Scoots is one of them I'd have to end up doing this eventually." "I guess so, I'll come down to the forge in a few minutes." "I'll go get started then, thanks again Twilight," Firestorm turned and left without noticing that Twilight was about to say more. "What did the traitor want?" The angry voice behind her caused Twilight to jump. "He just wanted some help getting the forge ready for three troublesome fillies. Wait, why did you call him a traitor? I thought he had just resigned from the Guard." Twilight responded when she had recovered, concern crossing her face as she processed what her had said and just how far away the smile that he had been wearing was from his face. "Whatever the official term is, he abandoned Equestria in the wake of a major crisis; he's a traitor." Shining Armor snarled. Twilight flinched at her brothers sudden fury towards one of his oldest friends. "But he left so he could take care of his sister." "If he wanted to protect his sister he'd still be serving to keep all of Equestria safe. I haven't left the Guard and you've been involved in literally every crisis in the past two years!" "But I'm a grown mare, Princess Celestia's personal student, and the embodiment of the Element of Magic; I can take care of myself." Twilight was beginning to become frustrated by Shining Armor's new-found closed mindedness. "Scootaloo's just a filly. Would you have not done anything different if everything that's happened in Ponyville happened if I was her age and lived here?" Shining Armor opened his mouth to reply then shut it, deciding there was nothing more for him to say*. Instead, he snorted angrily and stormed out of the library. Twilight left a few minutes later, still deeply concerned about her brother but deciding not to say anything to Firestorm, not yet anyway. *Definitely not because he had no counter to her argument, no, not at all Several hours later the sound of hammers could be heard from the forge. Firestorm had begun teaching his little sister and her friends the basics of smithing about four hours earlier and, both fortuitously and surprising, there had been no serious damage to the forge or anypony inside. That is, unless you count two horribly abused pieces of bronze still being pounded on by a pair of increasingly deflated (and formerly overeager) fillies. Well I guess it's not something that necessarily runs in the family, of Rarities for that matter. Firestorm thought, at this point somewhat desensitized to the works of the Pegasus and Unicorn fillies. That Apple Bloom however, she isn't bad. I'll have to teach her some more at some point. It looks like it isn't exactly her preferred material though, wood maybe? I'll have to talk to her sister about that. The Earth Pony in question was using a chisel to try and carve out the Cutie Mark Crusader insignia, unfortunately adding scratches to an otherwise reasonably well made shinguard. "Alright girls, time to close up shop." Firestorm said receiving disappointed groans from all three fillies for a variety of reasons, the most common of which being the failure of all three to receive their Cutie Marks. "But I wanted to be good at this stuff like you are." Scootaloo whined. "Try not to worry about it Scoots. All three of you are better than me at somethings, you just have to realize what those things are." Firestorm said, both trying to comfort the fillies and convince them to look at what they were already good at. With that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said their goodbyes as they were picked up by their older sisters. Scootaloo was sent back into the house to get ready for bed, it was a school night after all and she had spent the last four hours pounding on hot metal. Firestorm stayed to close the forge down for the night. As he finished the sound of a hoof on the door filled the forge. The former guardpony opened the door to reveal one of the last ponies he'd expected to see. "Captain? What are you doing here?" Firestorm asked, surprised to see his old friend in Ponyville. "You gave up the right to call me that." Shining Armor growled, "and I think you know why I'm here. this is your last chance. "My last chance? Shining, I told you I wasn't going to rejoin when I was still in Canterlot." Firestorm replied, "is this really the only reason you're here?" Firestorm was starting to get angry at his friend's constant refusal to accept his resignation. "I don't tolerate deserters." The Unicorn said, "as Captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard I order you to return to your post Lieutenant." "Order?" Firestorm's temper was quickly slipping. "I resigned Shining, you can't order me to rejoin. And I am not a deserter! I've already told you that the Guard can always buy from me at cost. But I am not leaving my sister again, not after everything that's happened here!" Firestorm was practically roaring now. "The forge is closed, get out." "This isn't over, the Princesses personally gave me permission to do this." Shining Armor snarled over his shoulder as he left, only to be met by a slamming door. Deep within the Everfree Forest, deeper even than Zecora's hut, a camp was alive with activity, the sounds of nearly a dozen forges and many more training drills echoing through the depths of the ancient forest. At the edge of the camp a group of scouts returned from their mission. They immediately went to find their commander. "Sir" one panted, the group saluting as they reached their superior. "You were told to come back only when you had news." The commander hissed, "well, report." We've seen the Pegasus smith and the Unicorn captain in Ponyville" the scout reported. "They seem to still be unaware of our presence." "Good, it seems this blow will be more devastating to our enemies than we thought." The commander thought for a minute, then he looked back to the waiting scouts. "Infiltrate the town, find out what you can about their presence and the complement of guards they brought with them." "Yes Sir" the scouts acknowledged in unison as they turned and raced back out of the camp. After the scouts had left, the officer turned to the dark opening of the largest structure in the camp. "Did you hear the scouts report, my Queen?" Queen Chrysalis stepped into the moonlight, an evil smile on her face. "Yes," she replied, "it looks like Shining Armor will be mine after all." Chapter 4“Oh my gosh! More new ponies!” Pinkie looked like she was literally about to explode, twice. “This is so exciting! I just have to throw you ponies a party! OH! And I still need to throw Shining Armor’s ‘in town on Guard Business’ party so it’ll have to be after that…” “No, no, that won’t be necessary, we aren’t going to be here long” interrupted one of the several new ponies, looking frantic. “But everypony likes a party” whined the energetic pink Earth pony. "Anyway," said Rarity, stepping past the slightly deflated party pony, "what brings you gentlecolts to Ponyville?" "Oh, umm, we just wanted to visit such a famous town." Said the pony. "Yah, you know, see where Princess Luna returned and all that." Confirmed another of the group. "Very well." Rarity said, her welcoming smile not wavering in the slightest as she spoke, "do come and visit Carousel Boutique during your stay," "Oh I'm sure we will." The pony who seemed to be the leader of the group replied. "Say, is there normally this many guards around?" "Oh goodness no, most of them came with Captain Shining Armor who's in town at the moment." Rarity replied. "Do you know why a Guard Captain would be in town?" the pony asked. "I really couldn't hazard a guess. Although he has been around the forge, but apparently he and Firestorm are old friends so I suppose that's to be expected. Twilight would probably know more." "Well thanks for the help, but we'd probably better get going." With that the group of new ponies turned and trotted towards the edge of town. "Ta ta!" Rarity called as they departed. Firestorm knocked on the barn door. It had been several days since Shining Armor's 'visit' to the forge and Firestorm had minimized his contact with other ponies while he calmed down. "Just a minute!" A familiar voice called from the other side of the barn. Firestorm waited for significantly less than a minute before the door was opened to reveal a tired Applejack. "Well hey there Firestorm! Haven't seen you in a few days. What can I do ya for?" "Hey Applejack! I was hoping to talk to you about Apple Bloom, I made a couple observations while I was teaching the Crusaders about blacksmithing." "Really? I'd be happy to talk to you about that, Big Mac and I were just finishing up with our chores for the day." "Perfect." Firestorm replied, "well first off she was actually pretty good at it, the shin guards she made were about as good as I could hope for anypony to make on their first try." "Well that's great news, I'm mighty proud of her!" Applejack exclaimed, the pride she mentioned evident in her expression. "Yes well, that's not all, otherwise she'd might have gotten her Cutie Mark. I noticed that the way she naturally tried to work the metal, especially when it came to her attempts to add designs to her work. I think smithing was close to her talent but maybe not the right material you know? The way she chipped at the metal I was thinking maybe you or Macintosh and I should help teach her about woodworking." "You know, I've thought about that too, I just didn't give it much credit 'cause I don't know all too much about it myself. I mean, I can do it alright but I'm not an expert or anything and Mac's better than me anyway. But with a craftspony like you suggesting it, I'll get Big Mac to give it a shot." "Applejack? Who's here?" A deep voice rang out from behind Applejack. "It's Firestorm! He was just stopping by to suggest the two of yah teachin' Apple Bloom about woodworkin'." Applejack called back. "Nope" Big Mac said as he appeared in the doorway. "Why not? Is there a problem Big Macintosh?" Firestorm asked, taken aback at the distaste in Mac's voice. "I'm not letting anypony who abandoned his own little sister have anything to do with mine." "What? I didn't abandon Scootaloo! I had my duty to the Guard and I felt Ponyville was a much better place for her than Canterlot was so I sent her to stay with Cheerilee until I could move here." "And left little Scootaloo without a family for two years while you made up your mind! I can appreciate loyalty to Equestria but your family comes first, and you turned your back on yours," Big Mac retorted. "I am not a traitor!" Firestorm roared. "This is the second time somepony's called me a traitor, and for opposite reasons! I will not sit by and let you call me a traitor, I don't care what you think about my decision to have Scootaloo spend the last two years here. What's done is done and there's nothing that anypony can do to change that, you or Shining Armor." With that Firestorm took off and flew towards town at full speed. Applejack glared at her older brother. "Well I hope you're happy, Macintosh, he was just tryin' to help Apple Bloom with what might be her special talent and you go and call him a traitor!" Mac gave a dark smile, "I never said he was a traitor, I said he turned his back on his family. He's the one who said traitor, He also mentioned that Shining Armor pony, do you even know why he left the Royal Guard in the first place?" "I-" Applejack hesitated, "I don't know exactly, but I'm pretty sure both he and Twi said it was so he could finally live here with Scootaloo." "And I bet Twilight heard that from Firestorm, not her brother." "Well, yah I guess so, but Shining Armor's here and I haven't heard that he's disagreed with it." "Is that so? I may have to pay him a visit and hear exactly what happened there." "No you won't, ya'll have work to do here on the farm and you know it." "I know, I'm not about to leave my family hanging." Mac grunted, looking annoyed at her sister's implication, "I'll visit him when I'm done with the plowing if he's still in town." Firestorm pounded on the red-hot metal furiously. He knew it would inevitably be one of his worst creations, he was simply using too much force and not enough care, but he didn't care, he just needed to vent. "I'm no traitor, I've done the best I can for everypony I could, both Scootaloo and the rest of Equestria." The smith Pegasus growled to himself. "Is everypony just going to judge me on the spot for something I did wrong? They're even opposite 'problems', and both Shining Armor and Big Mac are calling me traitors over them." "Firestorm?" An unusually small and timid voice asked. Firestorm turned and immediately hid his temper upon seeing his little sister standing in the doorway to the main house. "Scootaloo? What's up?" "You're hitting that metal a lot harder than usual, I can hear it from my room." The filly replied. "Sorry Scoots, I'm just stressed, I'll try to keep it down." "It's about Mr. Armor's visit isn't it?" The Crusader said, looking Firestorm in his violet eyes with her identically colored, though much more adorable, ones. Firestorm sighed. "You're getting to be really clever Scoots. Quit it, it's bugging me." This received a short giggle from Scootaloo, but her serious expression returned before Firestorm's hopes of having deflected the issue could solidify. "Yah, that's part of it, but don't worry yourself over it, I'll settle things with him." "And Big Macintosh?" Scootaloo asked, getting a raised eyebrow from her brother. "Apple Bloom told me that you got into some kind of fight with him." Firestorm sighed again. "I'll get that sorted out too, don't worry, it won't get in the way of you and Apple Bloom's crusading." "Good. And Firestorm? He might not be a trained Guardspony, but I'm still pretty sure he could hold his own in a fight." The sound of metal striking metal rang out from the forge as it's owner shaped pieces of armor and art alike. It had been two days since Firestorm payed his visit to Sweet Apple Acres and he had hardly set hoof outside of the forge since, only leaving for necessities. The two mares gulped as they crossed the street toward the entrance to the building; this would likely not be particularly pleasant. The Unicorn knocked on the heavy wood door with her hoof. The steady ringing stopped almost immediately and the mares heard metal-shod hooves crossing the room within. The door opened to reveal a slightly sleep deprived Firestorm. "Twilight, Applejack." The Pegasus asked, sounding like they were some of the last ponies he wanted to see. "What can I do for you?" "Umm... Morning Firestorm, we just had a couple of orders to place." Applejack replied, unnerved by Firestorms unwelcoming demeanor. "Depends, who would I be making them for? You two? Or did your brothers decide they can still get metalwork from a traitor?" "Firestorm," Twilight began, "I don't know why our brothers are so judgmental of you all of a sudden but that's not us, don't put that on us too." "Yah, and for the record, this stuff is for us, I'm not about to cover for Macintosh when he does something stupid." The farmer added. "Fine come in, I'll make you your jewelry or what not." AJ coughed, "Jewelry? I'm an Apple, I don't need some fancy-schmancy jewelry! I'm here to order nails and pans and such." "Well I'm here for jewelry." Twilight said, blushing slightly. Chapter 5Scootaloo skidded to a stop, panting heavily, the other Crusader's were busy helping their sisters at their respective places of work. The filly sat on the grassy hill overlooking the Everfree forest. She would never admit it, but she loved moments like these, as much as she loved crusading with her friends, the energetic Pegasus still loved the calm and beauty of the Everfree at sunset. The brilliant oranges, reds, and purples against the dark green of the treetops, the view across the farthest fields of Sweet Apple Acres, the pair of ponies talking to the forest... Wait... Scootaloo did a double take. Are those the new ponies Rarity mentioned when I was over there? Why are they here? And who are they talking to in the forest? Well, I guess I might as well be neighborly. Scootaloo sprang to her hooves and trotted down towards the unusual ponies, opting to come back for her scooter later. Once she got near one pony's head snapped towards her. "Hi! What're you two doing way out here? Are you lost or something?" Big Macintosh wiped the sweat from his brow as he unhooked the plow from his yoke. He looked back over his labor, the freshly plowed field contrasted the untamed forest looming on one side. The stallion lived for the feeling of a job well done, and this was certainly well done, he had plowed this particular field in just a day, it usually took two for him to plow the roughest field in the farm. Mac smiled, taking in the serene evening when it was shattered by a sharp scream behind him. Firestorm glided through the air, taking in the landscape below him, He always found flying to be relaxing, with the exception of those few times he was mobilized into an emergency area, and twilight was always his favorite time to fly, either one. He watched the rolling hills give way to thick forest which in turn gave way to a brilliant sunset at the horizon. He sighed, finally he was relaxing, letting the pressures of Shining Armor and Big Macintosh melt away, if only for a little while. It didn't last. A scream broke the peaceful silence, one all to familiar to Firestorm. The Pegasus' eye's widened, and he scanned the ground desperately, looking for the source of the scream. As his eyes passed the nearby field he saw a large red shape sprinting down the hill towards the forest edge. Firestorm's eyes followed the shapes trajectory until he saw what he was looking for, a spot of orange and purple, trying to escape from three larger spots, one larger than the other two and black. The former Guardpony dove, he dove at a speed and angle far riskier than any pony not trained for combat or high-intensity stunts would ever dare to. He had to reach his sister. The spots quickly became ponies, at least, four of them did, the fifth displayed insectile wings, a crooked horn, and legs filled with holes. Firestorm's blood ran cold. Not again, oh please not again. The massive changeling engulfed Scootaloo in a green aura and she screamed again. "Scootaloo!" Firestorm roared, causing one of the smaller 'ponies' to look up just in time for it's mind to register the two orange hooves before they made contact with it's face, slamming it into the ground as Firestorm pushed off of it to pursuit the changeling with his sister. "Good luck with that smith-pony," the other 'pony' hissed as it transformed back into it's true changeling form and caught Firestorm's rear hooves in it's own magical grip, causing the pony to grunt in pain as his hips momentarily dislocated as they instantly decelerated. "Get your sister Firestorm, I'll deal with this one!" The shout from behind the changeling was followed immediately by a massive red hoof slamming down on it's leg, eliciting a sharp pained hiss as the changleling's concentration broke and it's magic dissipated. Firestorm gave Macintosh a nod as he sped off after his sister as a sharp crack and another hiss announced that the massive Earth pony had indeed 'dealt with' the other changeling. Firestorm gained ground on the largest changeling fast, Scootaloo's struggling and the unavoidable strain of using magic while flying ensuring the changeling could not hope to match an in-shape Pegasus for speed. "There's nothing you can do to stop us anyway, if you want the filly, catch her." The changeling hissed, a hateful grin on it's face as it threw it's captive at a nearby tree. Firestorm bolted, sparing no energy in favor of reaching his little sister as soon as possible. He reached her at the last moment, using himself to cushion Scootaloo. It hurt, a lot. Firestorm groaned, he wished he would have the option to lay low for a couple days, but after what just happened, he knew that wouldn't be the case. "Well let's go Scoots, we're in for a busy few days." It took a few minutes of walking for the siblings to leave the forest, Luna's moon peaking over the tree's where her sister's sun had just sank from the sky. Big Mac was waiting for them, next to him were two tied up changelings who's bruises could be seen even through their chitinous skin. "Thanks for the help, I owe you big time." Firestorm said, forgetting the earlier tension between the two stallions in his relief that his sister was safe. "Eeyup" "Let's get back to town with these two, Captain Shining Armor has to know about this immediately. I'll take the smaller one if you don't mind, I'm a little sore from crashing into a tree catching Scoots." "Eeyup." Twilight looked up from her book at the knock at her door It's a little late for a run to the library isn't it? She smiled at the irony of that thought, most ponies, anyway. She opened the door to the last thing she expected to see*, Big Macintosh, Scootaloo, a battered Firestorm, and a pair of much more battered changelings. "Big Mac? Firestorm? What's going on?" "Firestorm sighed, "Hey Twilight, is your brother home? We need to talk to him along with you and your friends immediately, as you can see, something big just came up." *Seriously, she might have been less surprised to see Discord and Celestia waltzing through the streets of Ponyville than this. "So what's the big deal Twilight? You look almost as scared as you did when you were about to be ta- late on that friendship report." Rainbow dash asked as The Unicorn in question and her five friends walked into the library. "Umm, I'd like to know that too." Fluttershy added, "if you don't mind that is." "My brother and Firestorm will explain it, they know more about the situation than I do." Twilight answered. At that Firestorm looked up from the map he, Shining Armor, and Big Macintosh had been looking at. "The changelings are back, Macintosh and I stopped some of them from foal-napping Scootaloo." This was met by a chorus of gasps from the new arrivals. "We think they're coming here first, to take out you six right away, and I don't know if they knew Shining Armor was going to be here or not but I'm sure they see that as icing on the cake." "They have cake? And they're not sharing?" Pinkie scowled, "I knew that Chrysalis was a meanie." Shining Armor hesitated. "Yes, well, the Guard here can't hope to beat the changelings outright, we need reinforcements and honestly, they may just be fighting to retake Ponyville. We don't have a choice, we have to evacuate the town, Firestorm volunteered to rejoin the Guard and we'll lead what Guardponies we have and hold them off as long as we can, you girls lead the rest of the civilians out, get the Princesses and the Elements and come back with the reinforcements." "I'm staying too, you're gonna need all the help you can get." "Macintosh! You aren't a Guardpony, you're coming with Apple Bloom and Granny Smith." Applejack replied, shocked at her brother's matter-of-fact way of volunteering for what could easily be a suicide mission. "I'm gonna stay and protect the farm, it's where I belong." Mac replied, stoic expression unchanging. Applejack sighed, "Fine, but then I'm staying too, one of the other girls can bring my element." "Me too! I'm not leaving Ponyville hanging." Rainbow Dash seconded. "No." The three stallions replied in unison. "You're too important to risk here, it takes all six of you for the elements to work, if something happens to any one of you, we lose one of our best chances." Firestorm explained. Fluttershy gasped, "Wait, if the changelings are in the Everfree what about Zecora? Nopony's seen her in a while." The other five mares gasped, "You're right Fluttershy, we have to get rescue her!" Rainbow Dash ran for the door, only to be stopped by Shining Armor's magic. "Let's get a plan together first." Shining Armor said, "Any idea's Firestorm?" "Rainbow and I will find this Zecora, we can get in and out fastest and she knows the way. In the meantime you girls get started on the evacuation, you too Mac, Shining, you do what you will with your Guard, I'm not in charge there." "I couldn't agree more, let's get to it then, we can't be exactly sure how much time we have." Chapter 6Rainbow Dash and Firestorm dodged tree after tree at breakneck speeds as they made the journey to Zecora's hut, neither made a sound for fear of alerting a patrolling changeling of their presence, but that didn't keep Firestorm from being impressed, he was flying as fast as he dared but he had no doubt Rainbow was pacing to match him, she flew with a grace Firestorm had only seen from the Wonderbolts and the Princesses. Rainbow stopped suddenly enough that Firestorm had to swerve to avoid hitting the mare. "Rainbow? Why did you stop?" Firestorm didn't need an answer from his companion, before the pair was what once must have been a cottage, the burned out shell could hardly be called such now however. "I take it this was Zecora's house?" "Yah", Rainbow's expression was filled with equal parts fear, despair, and shock. "I can't believe the changelings got to her, and I didn't even know about it. Some element of loyalty I am." "Don't kick yourself over this, in the Guard you have to learn quick that you can't predict everything, some things aren't in our control. Besides, you said she was a zebra right? Well the zebras I've met were a lot tougher than they looked, let's comb the area, she could be alive." "You're right. Sorry for getting all mopey there." "Nothing to apologize for." The two began to search the area surrounding the ruined hut in silence, each occupied with the search as well as their own private thoughts about the trials to come. After several minutes of searching Rainbow found what she was looking for, a patch of white and black a midst the debris. Rainbow called over Firestorm and took a deep breath before lifting the charred wood covering the zebra and facing whatever fate could have befallen her friend. "Ah a sight I dared not hope again to see, a friendly face in the everfree." "Zercora! You're alive! Don't worry, we're here to get you to safety." "About me you must not worry, you must leave Ponyville and hurry," "We know about the Changelings Miss Zecora, an evacuation is getting prepped and you're gonna be on one of those train cars." Firestorm said as he trotted to where the zebra was lying. "I'm Firestorm by the way, I'm with the Equestrian Guard and I'll be carrying you out of here." Zecora had fallen asleep by the time they rescue party made it back to Ponyville. The town itself was full of activity despite the time of night as Guardponies readied themselves for the coming battle and civilians gathered their most precious belongings and said goodbye to their homes that they may never see again. Firestorm and Rainbow took Zecora directly to the train car that was designated to act as a makeshift hospital and left the zebra in the doctors' care before returning to the library. "You're back! Did you find Zecora?" Twilight asked when Firestorm and the Element of Loyalty had entered. "We found her, she's hurt and her hut was trashed but she'll be ok. She's in the medical car resting." Rainbow replied. "Good." Shining Armor said. "Now that you're back it's time to finish loading the train. The sooner you get to Canterlot the less time we have to hold out for." He looked at his little sister, "Twily, I can handle everything from here, get to the train and get some rest, tomorrow will be a long day for you too." "Ok." Twilight responded, giving the Guard Captain a hug. "Be careful, and be here when we get back ok?" When the unicorn mare pulled away she left a damp spot on the stallion's coat. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Shining Armor smiled sadly. Firestorm turned to Rainbow Dash, "Hey Rainbow, do me a favor and keep Scootaloo close to you on the way to Canterlot, and if anything happens to me, be there for her ok?" "Yah, no problem." Rainbow said, her usual confidence conspicuously absent. "I'll leave her with Cheerilee when we start heading back with your backup." "Thanks." The two Elements of Harmony left the treehouse and Firestorm walked up to the map on the center table. "How's it look? Do we have good positions?" "Surprisingly good, not perfect, but we should be able to limit how much their numbers mean with some creative earth- and cloud-works." "That's about as good as we could hope for. Our best chance is making it come down to the courage and ability of the Guardponies anyway." Firestorm mused, "At least we've fought these guys before, in a pitched battle each of ours is worth at least two or three drones." "And our ponies know what's at stake, and a third of them live here, they're fighting for their homes, their families." "We all are, aren't we?" Firestorm said his goodbyes to Scootaloo outside Carousel Boutique where Rarity and Sweetie Belle were preparing inside. "Stay with Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash, they'll take care of you until it's safe to come back." The older stalion told his sister. "I will." "And if anything happens to me tomorrow," Firestorm continued, his eyes filling with tears, "I just want you to know I love you, and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you in the past." Scootaloo was crying as well, "I love you too Firestorm. And it's ok, I was, and still am, really proud to say you're my brother," Firestorm found Big Macintosh by the train, saying his goodbyes to his family, all of them had tears in their eyes, including Macintosh. The pegasus waited till all their goodbyes were said before trotting up next to the red stallion. "It doesn't get easier you know, saying goodbye before a battle. It can break your heart every time, even if you're a veteran." "Eeyup." "It's not too late you know, you can still change your mind and go with your family." "Nope." Big Mac blinked the tears from his eyes and put on a determined expression. "I said I would help defend Ponyville, and I will." Firestorm nodded, "then follow me." "Where to?" "You're gonna need some armor." No Guardpony got more than a few hours of sleep that night, but they had finished their work. The defenses were as ready as they could be, and dawn was coming, it was nearly time for battle. Firestorm trotted out of his forge, fully armored in the golden armor with a ruby crest signifying his former position as smith-captain. Big Macintosh followed him out, flexing to test the mobility of his new, silver armor. "Remember Mac, those plates on the bottoms of your front horseshoes were enchanted by the Captain, they can deflect most standard magic bolts, don't be afraid to hit with them, but don't forget about that extra use, it could save your life." "Eeyup." It wasn't long before the pair had reached the place where the Ponyville Guard was to make it's stand. The hastily made earthworks and makeshift fortifications were bustling with activity as the nearly two hundred Guardponies who could make it to Ponyville over the night made the final adjustments. The Lieutenant and farmer found their Captain explaining their assignments to the officers and NCO's present. Because of Firestorm's resignation and Mac's only recent volunteering, neither of them had units assigned to them, they would go with the Captain to wherever the battle needed them. Shining Armor dismissed his officers who rushed off to form up their units. The first slivers of the sun were just beginning to show on the horizon when the sentries reported that the Changeling vanguard would be on the battlefield within the hour. The call to arms was sounded immediately and the loosely grouped formations tightened ranks within minutes. The time had almost come. Captain Shining Armor cantered out in front of his army, just far enough out to be seen by his full for but still close enough to be heard clearly. "My Friends." The Captain began, "I will not lie to you, the changeling host that is on it's way outnumbers us by at least 20 to one. But does that mean we should fear them? No! Take heart, for this can only end one way. "Remember; the Princesses used the Elements to dethrone Discord, but before that, we held the line. "Princess Celestia banished Nightmare Moon and scattered her army, but before that, we held the line. "The Elements of Harmony defeated Discord when he returned, but before that, we held the line. "The Princess' and the Elements will drive back the changelings, "But before that, WE WILL HOLD THE LINE!" Chapter 7The survivors of the Changeling vanguard fled back toward the forest, Firestorm called back the other Pegasi Guard that were pursuing. The fight had been short and one sided, only a couple Guardponies dead and a dozen wounded. Chrysalis and her commanders underestimated us, most of these changelings were pretty green, they won't make the same mistake twice. I'd like to prevent the rest of them from getting back to their lines and reporting on the battlefield, but I can't risk a single one of these ponies, every Pegasus would make a big difference in keeping air superiority. Firestorm issued orders to the Pegasus squad sergeants then flew down to where Captain Shining Armor was doing the same to the Unicorn and Earth Pony sergeants. "This is hardly even the beginning." The Unicorn Captain mused once Firestorm had landed next to him and the sergeants had gone to gather their ponies. "This is going to be a long day, and there won't be a break once the main force gets here." "That's true, but the ease and efficiency with which we broke the vanguard will have raised the Guard's moral. For the time being at least." The Smith replied, "and we should have at least another half hour to shore up the defenses before the main force arrives." "That farmer, do you think he can take it? He may be strong but he's no soldier, he might not have the right kind of endurance for this. And do you really think his resolve will last the day? I heard he resented your service before you came here, can we trust a pony who has so little respect for us to stand and fight?" "He did question my loyalty to Scootaloo because of it, true. But remember you were questioning my loyalty for the reverse reason before we knew about the changelings." Firestorm answered. after a moment he continued; "I think his loyalty to his family and farm alone will be enough for him to stand his ground, but I'll go talk to him, you have a point, we need to be absolutely certain." Big Macintosh was staring at the limp changeling body that was lying in front of him. It couldn't have been very old, or well trained; Macintosh had killed it with only a straight forward uppercut. The big farm pony was shocked, and perhaps a little scared, by just how easy it had been to snuff out the creature's life. "Probably a conscript that one." The Earth Pony stallion turned to see Firestorm landing next to him. "Or was injured during the original invasion and just got back on it's hooves. Best not to linger on it, there's no taking it back and feeding the guilt can let it consume you. It's sad to say, but it gets easier, even in the course of a single battle. You get used to dissociating it, not thinking of it as what it is, just has another enemy. It's not a pleasant job by any means, but it has to be done." "Eeyup." "Before the main changeling force gets here, you need to know what we're facing. Changelings don't need as much sleep as we do, once the fighting starts, it won't stop until one side looses. Not at nightfall, not even over two days, provided they have enough to sustain the attack." "Eeyup." "I'm telling you this because it's not too late to change your mind, you can still make for the road and likely find our reinforcements. But once the fighting starts, if you turn around you cause a crack in the line, one that the changelings will use to kill a lot of Guard ponies. I need to know if you still want to fight, and it has to be your final answer, any doubts... any desire to stay safe for your family's sake, and we can't afford the risk of letting you in our lines, so if there is, leave, there is no shame in it, many other stallions left on the trains." "Nope." Firestorm sighed, "I'm gonna need more of an answer than that." "I said I would fight to defend the farm and Ponyville, and I meant it. I'll fight and buy as much time as it takes for Applejack and her friends to get back here with help. And I'm not gonna let my sisters go through losing their home" "As good an answer as I've ever heard." "Similar to your reason for rejoining?" Firestorm hesitated, caught off guard by the red stallion's question. "Yah, I guess it is. Ponyville is my home now too, and more importantly, it's Scootaloos' home. I came here for her alone." Big Mac gave him a respectful nod which Firestorm returned before flying off to reassure Shining Armor. "Captain." Firestorm said as he landed by Shining Armor. "I talked to Macintosh, and he's in this for the long haul. I don't think his resolve is gonna break either." "Good." the Unicorn replied. Firestorm waited for a moment to see if Shining Armor would say more, when he didn't, the smith turned to go back to his post. "It's strange." the Captain mused, looking out at the battlefield, Firestorm stopped and turned around with a confused expression. "What is, Shining?" The Pegasus replied. "In a battle, I always keep the things that are most important to me in my thoughts. What I'm fighting for, you know? Twilight, Cadence, my parents, all of them." Shining Armor took a deep breath. "but this time, all I could think about was Twilight, how this was her home, and..." the Unicorn hesitated before continuing, "How I hoped that she wouldn't come here with the elements, that she wouldn't come here at all, at least not until the fighting was over. I guess I never really thought about how much she's been at the center of, how much danger she's been in. Danger that I was either not there to or unable to protect her from." Firestorm blinked, not sure if he was right about where he thought this was going. "What are you trying to say Captain?" The Royal Guard Captain looked up at the smith-pony, "I'm saying I guess I finally understand why you came here, I've always avoided the fact the Twilight's been through so much, and I guess I did the same for Scootaloo and assumed you did too. Now I'm not leaving the Guard, Twilight's old enough and more than capable of taking care of herself, but I understand why you did what you did, and after all this is over, if we're still standing, you can go back to your life here." Shining gave his friend a devious grin, "Just be ready for your house to be 'commandeered' on occasion." Firestorm smiled back, "I'd be offended if you went anywhere else."
Chapter 1Scootaloo raced through the bustling Ponyville marketplace, dodging market stalls and startled Ponies. She was going fast, even faster than she normally did while pulling her two best friends towards a day of Crusading – this time, she had a real time limit, and she couldn’t be late. I can’t believe this is finally happening! Could this day get any better? Scootaloo inwardly screamed. Apparently it could, and following the normal rules of ‘the odds’, it did as soon as the orange filly finished the thought. A rainbow trail plunged out of the clouds to come up next to the scooter. “Hey squirt! What’s got you in such a rush?” asked Rainbow Dash. “He’s coming to Ponyville today!” came the inevitably vague reply. “Whoa, a new pony’s coming moving into town? Awesome!” exclaimed Rainbow “wait, who’s coming? And why are you so excited? Usually it’s Pinkie Pie sprinting through the town to meet a new pony.” “My big brother Firestorm! You’re gonna like him for sure! He’s one of the coolest ponies ever!” “I didn’t know you had a brother.” The cyan Pegasus replied. “Huh, so he’s pretty cool is he?” “Yah! He’s the coolest! Uh… other than you of course” Scootaloo stammered, somewhat unsettled by so much attention from her idol combined with her excitement at her brother’s long-awaited move to Ponyville. “Well obviously he isn’t as cool as me, I’m Rainbow Dash, best flier in all of Equestria” At this point Rainbow, Scootaloo, and an unusually quiet Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, were nearing the outskirts of the small town. They were headed towards the small platform near the train station where travelling Pegasi and chariots from Canterlot could land. Standing alone for the moment on the platform was a visibly excited Cheerilee. “Hey Cheerilee! What’s got you so excited?” Rainbow asked. “Well seeing as you just came here with Scootaloo, I don’t need to explain that her brother is coming to town. Firestorm and I are actually old friends, so even as much as I love meeting new ponies –" “Did somepony say new ponies?!” This outburst naturally (or would it be unnaturally?) came from Pinkie Pie who had suddenly burst out from one of the boards of the platform, causing the waiting ponies to jump in surprise. “Gah! Pinkie how did you… you know what? Never mind, I probably don’t want to know.” Was the universal response voiced this time by Rainbow. “Well I had a twitch that told me that somepony said a new pony was coming to town so here I am!” Explained the currently bouncing in place party pony. “So who’s the new pony?” Now it was Scootaloo’s turn to start bouncing. “It’s my big brother Firestorm! He’s so cool! He left his old job in the Royal Guard just to come live in Ponyville with me!” This last statement received an ‘aww’ from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “I didn't know your brother quit his job just to be with you! That’s awesome!” said the youngest member of the Apple family. “Does this mean I’m gonna have another weather pony around? Sweet!” Replied Rainbow after some thought on the implications of a jobless Pegasus, and how it could help reduce her workload. “Actually” Cheerilee explained, with a tone of voice that indicated the immense patience of somepony who spent her working life dealing with foals, “Firestorm’s one of the best blacksmiths in all of Equestria, he was the best in the Guard before he left so he’ll be moving into and fixing up the old forge on the edge of town.” “A blacksmith? That’s awesome! Is he a Unicorn then?” asked the best young flyer. “No, you were right about him being a Pegasus. That’s part of what makes him such an oddity among smiths, most of them are Unicorns, and he’s actually even better than most of them.” The schoolteacher replied. “THERE HE IS!” shouted Scootaloo, pointing her hoof at a small dark spot on the horizon. Pinkie Pie, who had been unusually quiet and thoughtful after Scootaloo answered her question jumped up with a smile as wide as a mile. *GASP* “If he used to be a guardpony he probably knows Shining Armor! And if he knows Shining Armor he’s probably friends with Shining Armor ‘cause Shining Armor is such a nice pony, and if he’s friends with Shining Armor maybe he knows Twilight Sparkle! And he’s almost here! I need to go get Twilight!” With that Pinkie performed a full dive into the whole in the platform she made when she appeared. The dot on the horizon was growing steadily larger as the remaining ponies each came to the decision to ignore the fact that Pinkie just dove into a hole in the platform as apparently the fastest way to get to the library. A couple minutes later, the dot had turned into a silhouette of a Pegasus pony and a very confused and slightly irritated Twilight Sparkle had just reached the platform balanced oddly on Pinkie’s back. “Pinkie, will you please tell me what was so urgent that you had to throw me on your back and gallop here without slowing your speech to a point where anypony could even understand? Oh, hey Rainbow Dash, hey Cheerilee, hey girls!” said Twilight, becoming more excited upon noticing the other ponies around. “My big brothers coming to Ponyville today!” came Scootaloo’s enthusiastic response “And Pinkie had the idea that since he just left the Royal Guard to come here, he probably knew Shining Armor and because of that, he probably knew you.” “I didn’t know you had a brother Scootaloo, that great! What’s his name?” asked the ever-curious Twilight Sparkle. “Firestorm! The best blacksmith in Equestria!” “Really? I do know him! He and Shining Armor are really good friends, they joined the guard on the same day!” *Gasp* “That’s so amazing! You’re BBBFFs are PFFs!” Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to burst with sheer excitement. By now the waiting ponies could make out the shape of the approaching Pegasus, the position of the sun made it still it impossible to see his coat and mane colors. But they could still tell his size. “He’s almost as big as Big Macintosh!” Said Apple Bloom through her shocked expression. “Yep, he always was just a little bigger than Shining Armor” said Twilight, grinning as memories flooded back into her mind. No more than a minute later, Firestorm landed on the platform. He was a big stallion, as they had already established, with a coat the same orange as his little sister and the same violet eyes, his mane and tail however, were as unique as they come, at the base where the mane and tail met the Pegasus, they were a deep red, the kind of red that brought hot coals and embers to mind, farther out however, they were a fiery orange and yellow similar to that of Spitfire of the Wonderbolts. It was definitely obvious where he got his name from. “Firestorm!” Scootaloo shouted at the top of her voice while sprinting towards her brother as fast as her legs could carry her. “Hey Scoots!” Firestorm said laughing and pulling Scootaloo into a hug “It’s been waay too long.” They broke the hug and Firestorm got a chance to look around at the other ponies. “Hey Cheerilee, it’s good to see you again, thanks for taking care of Scootaloo for the past two years, if she’s still the Scootaloo I remember,” he grinned at the orange Pegasus filly, “and if she really is my sister it must have been a lot of work, I owe you big time.” The schoolteacher chuckled and gave the Cutie Mark Crusaders a slightly accusatory look. “Well I do recall an incident with a love poison.” This caused the three fillies to suddenly look anywhere but Cheerilee and Firestorm. “Oh really? You’ll have to tell me about that sometime” Firestorm replied with a conspiratory grin. He looked down at the two fillies next to his little sister, “and you two must be Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, Scoots talks about you in literally every one of her letters.” This got another ‘aww’ from the two, and a light blush from the third Cutie Mark Crusader. Firestorm then turned his attention to the other ponies, “you must be Rainbow Dash, the famous prospective Wonderbolt, Scootaloo talks about you a lot too, oh and Soarin’ says hi and he asked me to thank you again for saving his pie at the Gala.” “Oh-my-gosh, oh-my-gosh, oh-my-gosh!” Rainbow Dash replied, smiling even wider than Pinkie Pie. Speaking of Pinkie, she was the next one addressed by Firestorm; “And judging from all the, you know… pink, you must be Pinkie Pie, the infamous party-pony. It's good to meet you.” Then his gaze fell onto Celestia’s protégé, and his eyes widened in surprise, “Well if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle, I was hoping I’d have a chance to visit you at some point, hardly expected you to be here with a welcoming committee though. How are you doin’?” “I’m really good,” Twilight said, “I didn’t even know you were coming until after Pinkie had already dragged me here, Shining Armor didn’t mention it in his last letter.” “You always did have your face so deep in those books you didn’t know where you were going” Firestorm laughed. “But yah, your brother wasn’t happy when I told him I was leaving the Guard.” Firestorm rubbed his neck uncomfortably as he said the latter and proceeded to change the subject. “Well I’ve kept you all long enough, I should probably go down to the forge and take a look around.” “Okie Dokie Loki! Be sure to come down to Sugarcube Corner around 6 tonight for your big welcome to Ponyville party!” “I will, don’t worry Pinkie.” The other ponies left, and as Firestorm started to do the same, he looked down to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders looking up at him expectantly. “What’s up Scoots?” “Do you have to go to the forge already? You have to see the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse!” “I suppose I don’t have to go yet, where is it?” “It’s on my family’s farm; Sweet Apple Acres!” Apple Bloom answered. “Alright, let’s go see where you girls plan your crimes” the stallion joked, earning a resounding “hey!” from his sister and her friends. Fifteen minutes later they found themselves at Sweet Apple Acres. As they walked by the barn a tan mare with a tied blonde mane and tail galloped out, nearly crashing into them. The mare stumbled following the swerve to dodge the unexpected guests, and when she recovered she immediately when to apologizing. “I’m really sorry ‘bout that” she then noticed it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders, “Oh it’s you girls, I was worried it was a somepony here for business, uh… no offence. And then she noticed the unfamiliar Pegasus stallion. “Apple Bloom, who’s your friend here?” “I’m Firestorm, I just came to town today, I’m –“ “My big brother!” Scootaloo finished with all the enthusiasm of a filly of her age. “-right, and the girls wanted to show me their clubhouse, which is apparently on your farm.” Said Firestorm, somewhat wishing he could be even a little surprised about his sister’s interjection. “Well alright! I’m Applejack, you already met my sister Apple Bloom, but I’ll introduce you to the rest of us Apples.” The cowpony said, shaking Firestorms hoof energetically. “I kinda figured you were Applejack, you and your friends are fairly well known at this point, you know.” Noticing Applejacks confused expression Firestorm decided to explain; “being Celestia’s protégé, winning the best young flier competition, a popular fashionista, a brief but extremely successful modeling career, well… Pinkie Pie,” Applejack smiled knowingly at this, “a very successful rodeo pony,” Applejack blushed modestly at that, “and saving Equestria 3 times on top of all of that will tend to lead to some minor fame.” “Ah guess I never really thought about that. Anyway, come and I’ll introduce you to the rest of the family.” They walked up to the farmhouse where Firestorm saw an elderly pale-green mare asleep in a rocking chair on the porch. “Wake up Granny, there’s somepony new to meet.” Applejack’s efforts to wake the mare were rewarded by a “wah?”. “Granny Smith, this is Firestorm, he’s new in town, and little Scootaloo’s brother. Firestorm, this here’s Granny Smith.” “Nice to meet you Granny Smith” Firestorm politely said. Granny Smith replied in kind and promptly fell back asleep. “Alright well come down to the field and I’ll introduce you to Big Macintosh.” Another short walk took them to the edge of a field where a massive red stallion was finishing plowing with a plow that was so heavily rusted and damaged from use that it sent a small shiver down the professional metalworker’s spine. “Macintosh! Come over here and meet the new pony in town!” Applejack shouted at the stallion. Rather than shouting back a reply, the stallion simply left the plow and walked silently towards them. “Mac, this is Firestorm, he’s Scootaloo’s big brother and he just got into town. Firestorm, this is my big brother Big Macintosh.” “Nice to meet you Big Mac.” “Eeyup.” “I couldn’t help but notice the condition of your plow, would you all be interested in a replacement?” Firestorm asked. “Well we’ve been working on it for a couple years now, we just haven’t had the funds, but with you in town we might be able to afford it ‘cause we won’t have to pay for shippin’ it here.” Applejack replied, looking extremely grateful. “Oh don’t worry about paying for it, I’ll do it free of charge.” “Look, I know you’re just tryin’ to be nice, but us Apples are a might stubborn, and we definitely don’t need our stuff replaced for free. We ain’t a charity case.” Applejack said, grateful expression quickly replaced by one of an offended pride. “I’m not trying to say your families a charity case, I like to do my first job for everypony for free, helps spread my name around and if you like it, you’re more likely to come back. Besides, your little sister has been a good friend to mine for the last couple years so it’s only fair I pay your family back for it.” Firestorm said. Big Mac suddenly and subtly shot a glare at Firestorm at the mention of the past two years Scootaloo lived in Ponyville without any family. “Well in that case I suppose it’s ok, we’re mighty grateful.” Applejack said, expression returning to gratitude. “Right Macintosh?” “Eeyup” Big Mac replied, hiding the glare behind his usual stoic expression. “I’ll get to work on it as soon as the forge is up and running. Speaking of which, I’m gonna have to go check it out pretty soon and I promised the girls I’d let them show me their clubhouse first so I should get going. It was nice meeting you though.” Firestorm said, starting to follow the 3 excited fillies deeper into the orchard.
Chapter 2A/N: an * symbol means there is a sidenote, it isn't required to read, it's just more detail that I recommend you do, each sidenote is at the bottom of it's respective scene One week later Shining Armor stalked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, other guards hurriedly getting out of his way and averting their eyes as he pass. He was not in a good mood, in fact, he hadn’t been in a good mood for quite a while. Not since he found out one of his oldest friends was turning traitor. Firestorm, one of his closest friends since joining the Guard had abandoned them, even with everything that had just happened in the wake of the Changeling invasion. Sure he gave advance warning and had claimed that he wanted to take care of his sister. I have a little sister too, and she’s been involved in literally every crisis in the past two years! Shining Armor fumed to himself, and on top of that, we don’t even know where Chrysalis went after Cadance and I threw her out of Canterlot, and he just leaves! For all we know, she’s planning another attack, and if she is, he knows we couldn’t spare any blacksmiths! Shining Armor approached the door to the briefing room where the Princesses had requested his presence, the guards on either side of the door snapping to attention and opening the door for him as he passed. The Princesses were waiting when he entered. "Yes, Princesses?" Shining Armor said as he bowed to the Royal Sisters. "Have you made a decision about my request last week?" "We have." Princess Luna said, uncharacteristically speaking first of the Alicorns. "While we still maintain that you have to learn to accept Firestorm's resignation from the Guard." Princess Celestia continued. "Luna and I have decided that, for your own peace of mind if nothing else, you will be allowed to go to Ponyville to attempt to persuade him to rejoin." The Royal Guard captain gave what was the closest thing to a smile he had given to anyone (besides perhaps Princess Cadence) in the past week. "Thank you Princesses. I will bring Firestorm back with me, he'll remember his duty soon enough." With that Shining Armor left the briefing room. The Princess of the Night sight as the door closed behind Shining Armor. "I'm still not sure if this will work 'Tia. Talking to the smith might just succeed in making him angrier." "Trust me Luna, I wouldn't insist on sending him if I wasn't sure something good could come out of it, hopefully some of his sister's lessons about friendship will rub off on him." The Solar Princess replied, a look of concern still on her face as she stared at the door her Captain had just left through, despite the confident statement. "So we're going to rely on Twilight Sparkle yet again" Luna responded. She let a mischievous smirk cross her face as the opportunity to tease her older sister presented itself. "At this rate you're going to forget how to do things for yourself, you'll just have Twilight do it for you." "I can still do thing for myself thank you very much, and Twilight is a very capable young Unicorn, it'd be insulting to waste her talents." Celestia said, smiling at the friendly prod by her sister. "Well either way, it looks like it's up to the little sister to save the day." Luna grinned. The sisters of night and day laughed at the obvious implication. Firestorm punched the corner on the red hot metal with a hoof, causing it to bend. He didn't have to worry about burning his hooves when he bucked and later punched and pushed the heated metal into the desired shape because of specially designed horse-shoes he wore that resisted heat, and coincidentally, had proven to be very effective in battle due to their extra weight and the strength of the material used to make them. His fur, however, fared somewhat worse, the sparks that bust from the metal with each blow had left countless tiny black spots on his legs where the fur had been burned, a sensation he was all to accustomed to. The expert smith inspected his work again, looking over the newly shaped plow for any flaws. It was of much higher quality than the one the Apples had been using, even before Firestorms final adjustments and when the old plow was brand-new. This was because of Firestorms' smelting technique* as well as Firestorms personal skill at a forge. Not seeing any unacceptable flaws, Firestorm poured water over the plow to cool it and waited for it to cool enough to take it to Sweet Apple Acres. *figured out by an old Unicorn smith who proceeded to make it common knowledge among craftsponies who still respected the traditions of the art An hour later, Firestorm pulled the cart containing the newly forged plow over the crest of a hill and the farmhouse came into view. Relieved that there were no more hills of considerable size that he would have to pull the heavy cart up, Firestorm continued down the path. Two minutes later, he detached himself from the cart and knocked on the door of the house. Applejack promptly opened the door with a smile. "Well hey there Firestorm! What brings you to the farm?" the cow-pony asked in her usual cheery manner. "I just finished your plow this morning and thought I should bring it up here for you." Firestorm replied politely. "Well that's great news! Macintosh! Get out here, the new plow's just showed up!" Applejack shouted back into the house, inadvertently calling more ponies than just Big Mac as the Cutie Mark Crusaders burst around the corner and out the door, accidentally tackling Firestorm. "Hey girls! It's good to see you too but would you mind letting me up so I can at least finish my delivery." "Oops, sorry Firestorm." The Crusaders replied. "We heard that you were delivering the plow and we wanted to see it." "It's ok, and of course you can see it, Apple Bloom will be seeing plenty of it in the future anyway." With that Big Mac emerged behind Applejack and Firestorm led them to where the plow was sitting in the cart. "Are you sure that we can plow with that? It looks a might nice." Macintosh said, face as stoic as ever. "Nice? I'd say it belongs in a museum as much as it does in a field!" Applejack replied, staring at the plow. "Thanks but I wouldn't go that far, most ponies don't consider it an art anymore and this one's way to simple to be put in one of the fancy museums." Firestorm responded. "And as for whether or not it works, it should work better and longer than your old one ever did, if not, I'll replace it free of charge." "There somethin' wrong with my plow?" Macintosh said, glaring at the flame-maned stallion at the perceived slight at the tool he'd used since he was a colt. "Not other than the ravages of time Big Mac. But I made this using steel almost as high quality as the stuff I used to make armor for the Guard. And I made some improvements over the standard shape that should make it go a little smoother." Firestorm said, surprised by Big Mac's sudden touchiness. "Firestorm! You haave to teach us how to do that! I just know at least one of us will have a Cutie Mark just like yours!" Scootaloo pleaded. At the mention of his Cutie Mark memories flashed through Firestorm's mind of when he learned to smith and the hammer and anvil had appeared on his flank. "Of course I'll teach you girls, I don't have any other commissions yet so I can teach you girls this afternoon, I just need to pay a visit to Twilight first. "YAY! CUTIE MARK CRUSADER BLACKSMITHS YAH!" With that the three fillies ran off to their clubhouse to plan what they'll do once they have their blacksmithing Cutie Marks. "You sure you want that trouble Firestorm? I'm not sure putting them around fire is such a good idea either." Applejack said, looking concerned over what had just occurred in front of her. "I know what you mean, that's why I'm going to see Twilight, I'm gonna ask her if there's anything she can do to Cutie Mark Crusader-proof the forge, or lacking that, fireproof it and us." Firestorm said. Applejack laughed at this. "Well I should go take care of that, I'll see you to later." Firestorm said as he turned and walked back to town. Once Firestorm was out of earshot, Applejack turned to her brother. "Alright spill it, he might not know you well enough to tell when you don't like somepony but I do. What's your problem with him?" "He left his sister without a family for years." Mac said, voice filled with disgust. "He was a guardpony, he was helping protect all of Equestria, his sister included." "He left her with somepony else, now I like Miss Cheerilee as much as the next pony, but it ain't the same as living with your flesh and blood." "Since when have you been this judgmental?" "Since he abandoned his family for his own benefit," "How many times do Ah have to say it? He was a guardpony, it was hardly a safe line of work!" "And how do you think little Scootaloo would have taken the loss of her brother? Like I said, it wasn't what was best for his family." This caused Applejack to hesitate, she hadn't thought of it that way. "I don't know, but I'm sure he had some reason for what he did." "And I'm sure there ain't a good reason for abandoning your family."
Chapter 3A/N: an * symbol means there is a sidenote, it isn't required to read, it's just more detail that I recommend you do, each sidenote is at the bottom of it's respective scene "And 'The Zoology of Zebrica" goes... here." Twilight Sparkle thought aloud as she slid the book into it's place. "Done! Another wonderful re-shelving day." The librarian smiled, re-shelving was one of her favorite duties as Ponyville's librarian. "Finally" groaned a rather lazy purple dragon, revealing himself from behind another bookcase at least four times his height. "Oh, Spike." Twilight chided, "I just can't understand how you can not love re-shelving day, I mean -" Before the lavender unicorn could finish explaining the many joys of organizing the multitude of books she was interrupted by the sound of a hoof knocking on the door. "That's weird, most know they can just come in during the day, I mean, it's a library after all." Twilight trotted over to the door and opened it, revealing a familiar stallion. "Hey Twily!" Shining Armor exclaimed, an actual smile on his face at the site of his little sister. "Shining Armor! What are you doing here in Ponyville? Twilight asked, expression a mix of surprise, confusion, and excitement. "I'm here on Guard business." The Royal Guard Captain replied, face darkening for a moment at the thought of his reason for being there. "But it isn't all that urgent so I figured I'd spend the afternoon with my little sis, you know, make sure you don't get yourself into too much trouble." the older unicorn teased, smile returning as quickly as it had left. "Hey Twilight! Who is it?" Spike called, emerging from the other room. "Shining Armor? Hey!" "Hey Spike, Twilight hasn't been to hard on you has she?" Shining Armor replied. "Oh you wouldn't believe it, she's practically a slave driver." "Okay, that's enough teasing you two." Twilight said, her glare at Shining Armor rendered distinctly un-menacing by due to the smile she couldn't quite suppress. "Oh!" Spike exclaimed, "Shining Armor come here! I gotta show you something I made, I need your opinion on it." he pointed up the stairs. "It'll only take a minute." "Umm... sure." With that Shining Armor followed Spike up the stairs. Twilight made to do the same when she heard another knock on the door. "What's with this?" She asked nopony in particular, "doesn't anypony know you can just walk into a library during hours? I mean, there's a sign and everything." Twilight opened the door magically to reveal Firestorm. Of course, she thought, he's new here too. "Hey Firestorm, what can I do for you?" "Hey Twilight, I was wondering if you could help me out with something." He said. "Sure what do you need?" "I need you to help me 'Cutie Mark Crusader-proof' the forge for the afternoon, I kinda promised them I'd teach them a bit about smithing." "I'll do what I can, though I'm still not sure I like the idea of them around fire and hot metal. They tend to wreak havoc no matter what we do to prevent it." They shared a laugh at that. "You sound exactly like Applejack did." Firestorm laughed. "Thanks though, I suppose since Scoots is one of them I'd have to end up doing this eventually." "I guess so, I'll come down to the forge in a few minutes." "I'll go get started then, thanks again Twilight," Firestorm turned and left without noticing that Twilight was about to say more. "What did the traitor want?" The angry voice behind her caused Twilight to jump. "He just wanted some help getting the forge ready for three troublesome fillies. Wait, why did you call him a traitor? I thought he had just resigned from the Guard." Twilight responded when she had recovered, concern crossing her face as she processed what her had said and just how far away the smile that he had been wearing was from his face. "Whatever the official term is, he abandoned Equestria in the wake of a major crisis; he's a traitor." Shining Armor snarled. Twilight flinched at her brothers sudden fury towards one of his oldest friends. "But he left so he could take care of his sister." "If he wanted to protect his sister he'd still be serving to keep all of Equestria safe. I haven't left the Guard and you've been involved in literally every crisis in the past two years!" "But I'm a grown mare, Princess Celestia's personal student, and the embodiment of the Element of Magic; I can take care of myself." Twilight was beginning to become frustrated by Shining Armor's new-found closed mindedness. "Scootaloo's just a filly. Would you have not done anything different if everything that's happened in Ponyville happened if I was her age and lived here?" Shining Armor opened his mouth to reply then shut it, deciding there was nothing more for him to say*. Instead, he snorted angrily and stormed out of the library. Twilight left a few minutes later, still deeply concerned about her brother but deciding not to say anything to Firestorm, not yet anyway. *Definitely not because he had no counter to her argument, no, not at all Several hours later the sound of hammers could be heard from the forge. Firestorm had begun teaching his little sister and her friends the basics of smithing about four hours earlier and, both fortuitously and surprising, there had been no serious damage to the forge or anypony inside. That is, unless you count two horribly abused pieces of bronze still being pounded on by a pair of increasingly deflated (and formerly overeager) fillies. Well I guess it's not something that necessarily runs in the family, of Rarities for that matter. Firestorm thought, at this point somewhat desensitized to the works of the Pegasus and Unicorn fillies. That Apple Bloom however, she isn't bad. I'll have to teach her some more at some point. It looks like it isn't exactly her preferred material though, wood maybe? I'll have to talk to her sister about that. The Earth Pony in question was using a chisel to try and carve out the Cutie Mark Crusader insignia, unfortunately adding scratches to an otherwise reasonably well made shinguard. "Alright girls, time to close up shop." Firestorm said receiving disappointed groans from all three fillies for a variety of reasons, the most common of which being the failure of all three to receive their Cutie Marks. "But I wanted to be good at this stuff like you are." Scootaloo whined. "Try not to worry about it Scoots. All three of you are better than me at somethings, you just have to realize what those things are." Firestorm said, both trying to comfort the fillies and convince them to look at what they were already good at. With that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said their goodbyes as they were picked up by their older sisters. Scootaloo was sent back into the house to get ready for bed, it was a school night after all and she had spent the last four hours pounding on hot metal. Firestorm stayed to close the forge down for the night. As he finished the sound of a hoof on the door filled the forge. The former guardpony opened the door to reveal one of the last ponies he'd expected to see. "Captain? What are you doing here?" Firestorm asked, surprised to see his old friend in Ponyville. "You gave up the right to call me that." Shining Armor growled, "and I think you know why I'm here. this is your last chance. "My last chance? Shining, I told you I wasn't going to rejoin when I was still in Canterlot." Firestorm replied, "is this really the only reason you're here?" Firestorm was starting to get angry at his friend's constant refusal to accept his resignation. "I don't tolerate deserters." The Unicorn said, "as Captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard I order you to return to your post Lieutenant." "Order?" Firestorm's temper was quickly slipping. "I resigned Shining, you can't order me to rejoin. And I am not a deserter! I've already told you that the Guard can always buy from me at cost. But I am not leaving my sister again, not after everything that's happened here!" Firestorm was practically roaring now. "The forge is closed, get out." "This isn't over, the Princesses personally gave me permission to do this." Shining Armor snarled over his shoulder as he left, only to be met by a slamming door. Deep within the Everfree Forest, deeper even than Zecora's hut, a camp was alive with activity, the sounds of nearly a dozen forges and many more training drills echoing through the depths of the ancient forest. At the edge of the camp a group of scouts returned from their mission. They immediately went to find their commander. "Sir" one panted, the group saluting as they reached their superior. "You were told to come back only when you had news." The commander hissed, "well, report." We've seen the Pegasus smith and the Unicorn captain in Ponyville" the scout reported. "They seem to still be unaware of our presence." "Good, it seems this blow will be more devastating to our enemies than we thought." The commander thought for a minute, then he looked back to the waiting scouts. "Infiltrate the town, find out what you can about their presence and the complement of guards they brought with them." "Yes Sir" the scouts acknowledged in unison as they turned and raced back out of the camp. After the scouts had left, the officer turned to the dark opening of the largest structure in the camp. "Did you hear the scouts report, my Queen?" Queen Chrysalis stepped into the moonlight, an evil smile on her face. "Yes," she replied, "it looks like Shining Armor will be mine after all."
Chapter 4“Oh my gosh! More new ponies!” Pinkie looked like she was literally about to explode, twice. “This is so exciting! I just have to throw you ponies a party! OH! And I still need to throw Shining Armor’s ‘in town on Guard Business’ party so it’ll have to be after that…” “No, no, that won’t be necessary, we aren’t going to be here long” interrupted one of the several new ponies, looking frantic. “But everypony likes a party” whined the energetic pink Earth pony. "Anyway," said Rarity, stepping past the slightly deflated party pony, "what brings you gentlecolts to Ponyville?" "Oh, umm, we just wanted to visit such a famous town." Said the pony. "Yah, you know, see where Princess Luna returned and all that." Confirmed another of the group. "Very well." Rarity said, her welcoming smile not wavering in the slightest as she spoke, "do come and visit Carousel Boutique during your stay," "Oh I'm sure we will." The pony who seemed to be the leader of the group replied. "Say, is there normally this many guards around?" "Oh goodness no, most of them came with Captain Shining Armor who's in town at the moment." Rarity replied. "Do you know why a Guard Captain would be in town?" the pony asked. "I really couldn't hazard a guess. Although he has been around the forge, but apparently he and Firestorm are old friends so I suppose that's to be expected. Twilight would probably know more." "Well thanks for the help, but we'd probably better get going." With that the group of new ponies turned and trotted towards the edge of town. "Ta ta!" Rarity called as they departed. Firestorm knocked on the barn door. It had been several days since Shining Armor's 'visit' to the forge and Firestorm had minimized his contact with other ponies while he calmed down. "Just a minute!" A familiar voice called from the other side of the barn. Firestorm waited for significantly less than a minute before the door was opened to reveal a tired Applejack. "Well hey there Firestorm! Haven't seen you in a few days. What can I do ya for?" "Hey Applejack! I was hoping to talk to you about Apple Bloom, I made a couple observations while I was teaching the Crusaders about blacksmithing." "Really? I'd be happy to talk to you about that, Big Mac and I were just finishing up with our chores for the day." "Perfect." Firestorm replied, "well first off she was actually pretty good at it, the shin guards she made were about as good as I could hope for anypony to make on their first try." "Well that's great news, I'm mighty proud of her!" Applejack exclaimed, the pride she mentioned evident in her expression. "Yes well, that's not all, otherwise she'd might have gotten her Cutie Mark. I noticed that the way she naturally tried to work the metal, especially when it came to her attempts to add designs to her work. I think smithing was close to her talent but maybe not the right material you know? The way she chipped at the metal I was thinking maybe you or Macintosh and I should help teach her about woodworking." "You know, I've thought about that too, I just didn't give it much credit 'cause I don't know all too much about it myself. I mean, I can do it alright but I'm not an expert or anything and Mac's better than me anyway. But with a craftspony like you suggesting it, I'll get Big Mac to give it a shot." "Applejack? Who's here?" A deep voice rang out from behind Applejack. "It's Firestorm! He was just stopping by to suggest the two of yah teachin' Apple Bloom about woodworkin'." Applejack called back. "Nope" Big Mac said as he appeared in the doorway. "Why not? Is there a problem Big Macintosh?" Firestorm asked, taken aback at the distaste in Mac's voice. "I'm not letting anypony who abandoned his own little sister have anything to do with mine." "What? I didn't abandon Scootaloo! I had my duty to the Guard and I felt Ponyville was a much better place for her than Canterlot was so I sent her to stay with Cheerilee until I could move here." "And left little Scootaloo without a family for two years while you made up your mind! I can appreciate loyalty to Equestria but your family comes first, and you turned your back on yours," Big Mac retorted. "I am not a traitor!" Firestorm roared. "This is the second time somepony's called me a traitor, and for opposite reasons! I will not sit by and let you call me a traitor, I don't care what you think about my decision to have Scootaloo spend the last two years here. What's done is done and there's nothing that anypony can do to change that, you or Shining Armor." With that Firestorm took off and flew towards town at full speed. Applejack glared at her older brother. "Well I hope you're happy, Macintosh, he was just tryin' to help Apple Bloom with what might be her special talent and you go and call him a traitor!" Mac gave a dark smile, "I never said he was a traitor, I said he turned his back on his family. He's the one who said traitor, He also mentioned that Shining Armor pony, do you even know why he left the Royal Guard in the first place?" "I-" Applejack hesitated, "I don't know exactly, but I'm pretty sure both he and Twi said it was so he could finally live here with Scootaloo." "And I bet Twilight heard that from Firestorm, not her brother." "Well, yah I guess so, but Shining Armor's here and I haven't heard that he's disagreed with it." "Is that so? I may have to pay him a visit and hear exactly what happened there." "No you won't, ya'll have work to do here on the farm and you know it." "I know, I'm not about to leave my family hanging." Mac grunted, looking annoyed at her sister's implication, "I'll visit him when I'm done with the plowing if he's still in town." Firestorm pounded on the red-hot metal furiously. He knew it would inevitably be one of his worst creations, he was simply using too much force and not enough care, but he didn't care, he just needed to vent. "I'm no traitor, I've done the best I can for everypony I could, both Scootaloo and the rest of Equestria." The smith Pegasus growled to himself. "Is everypony just going to judge me on the spot for something I did wrong? They're even opposite 'problems', and both Shining Armor and Big Mac are calling me traitors over them." "Firestorm?" An unusually small and timid voice asked. Firestorm turned and immediately hid his temper upon seeing his little sister standing in the doorway to the main house. "Scootaloo? What's up?" "You're hitting that metal a lot harder than usual, I can hear it from my room." The filly replied. "Sorry Scoots, I'm just stressed, I'll try to keep it down." "It's about Mr. Armor's visit isn't it?" The Crusader said, looking Firestorm in his violet eyes with her identically colored, though much more adorable, ones. Firestorm sighed. "You're getting to be really clever Scoots. Quit it, it's bugging me." This received a short giggle from Scootaloo, but her serious expression returned before Firestorm's hopes of having deflected the issue could solidify. "Yah, that's part of it, but don't worry yourself over it, I'll settle things with him." "And Big Macintosh?" Scootaloo asked, getting a raised eyebrow from her brother. "Apple Bloom told me that you got into some kind of fight with him." Firestorm sighed again. "I'll get that sorted out too, don't worry, it won't get in the way of you and Apple Bloom's crusading." "Good. And Firestorm? He might not be a trained Guardspony, but I'm still pretty sure he could hold his own in a fight." The sound of metal striking metal rang out from the forge as it's owner shaped pieces of armor and art alike. It had been two days since Firestorm payed his visit to Sweet Apple Acres and he had hardly set hoof outside of the forge since, only leaving for necessities. The two mares gulped as they crossed the street toward the entrance to the building; this would likely not be particularly pleasant. The Unicorn knocked on the heavy wood door with her hoof. The steady ringing stopped almost immediately and the mares heard metal-shod hooves crossing the room within. The door opened to reveal a slightly sleep deprived Firestorm. "Twilight, Applejack." The Pegasus asked, sounding like they were some of the last ponies he wanted to see. "What can I do for you?" "Umm... Morning Firestorm, we just had a couple of orders to place." Applejack replied, unnerved by Firestorms unwelcoming demeanor. "Depends, who would I be making them for? You two? Or did your brothers decide they can still get metalwork from a traitor?" "Firestorm," Twilight began, "I don't know why our brothers are so judgmental of you all of a sudden but that's not us, don't put that on us too." "Yah, and for the record, this stuff is for us, I'm not about to cover for Macintosh when he does something stupid." The farmer added. "Fine come in, I'll make you your jewelry or what not." AJ coughed, "Jewelry? I'm an Apple, I don't need some fancy-schmancy jewelry! I'm here to order nails and pans and such." "Well I'm here for jewelry." Twilight said, blushing slightly.
Chapter 5Scootaloo skidded to a stop, panting heavily, the other Crusader's were busy helping their sisters at their respective places of work. The filly sat on the grassy hill overlooking the Everfree forest. She would never admit it, but she loved moments like these, as much as she loved crusading with her friends, the energetic Pegasus still loved the calm and beauty of the Everfree at sunset. The brilliant oranges, reds, and purples against the dark green of the treetops, the view across the farthest fields of Sweet Apple Acres, the pair of ponies talking to the forest... Wait... Scootaloo did a double take. Are those the new ponies Rarity mentioned when I was over there? Why are they here? And who are they talking to in the forest? Well, I guess I might as well be neighborly. Scootaloo sprang to her hooves and trotted down towards the unusual ponies, opting to come back for her scooter later. Once she got near one pony's head snapped towards her. "Hi! What're you two doing way out here? Are you lost or something?" Big Macintosh wiped the sweat from his brow as he unhooked the plow from his yoke. He looked back over his labor, the freshly plowed field contrasted the untamed forest looming on one side. The stallion lived for the feeling of a job well done, and this was certainly well done, he had plowed this particular field in just a day, it usually took two for him to plow the roughest field in the farm. Mac smiled, taking in the serene evening when it was shattered by a sharp scream behind him. Firestorm glided through the air, taking in the landscape below him, He always found flying to be relaxing, with the exception of those few times he was mobilized into an emergency area, and twilight was always his favorite time to fly, either one. He watched the rolling hills give way to thick forest which in turn gave way to a brilliant sunset at the horizon. He sighed, finally he was relaxing, letting the pressures of Shining Armor and Big Macintosh melt away, if only for a little while. It didn't last. A scream broke the peaceful silence, one all to familiar to Firestorm. The Pegasus' eye's widened, and he scanned the ground desperately, looking for the source of the scream. As his eyes passed the nearby field he saw a large red shape sprinting down the hill towards the forest edge. Firestorm's eyes followed the shapes trajectory until he saw what he was looking for, a spot of orange and purple, trying to escape from three larger spots, one larger than the other two and black. The former Guardpony dove, he dove at a speed and angle far riskier than any pony not trained for combat or high-intensity stunts would ever dare to. He had to reach his sister. The spots quickly became ponies, at least, four of them did, the fifth displayed insectile wings, a crooked horn, and legs filled with holes. Firestorm's blood ran cold. Not again, oh please not again. The massive changeling engulfed Scootaloo in a green aura and she screamed again. "Scootaloo!" Firestorm roared, causing one of the smaller 'ponies' to look up just in time for it's mind to register the two orange hooves before they made contact with it's face, slamming it into the ground as Firestorm pushed off of it to pursuit the changeling with his sister. "Good luck with that smith-pony," the other 'pony' hissed as it transformed back into it's true changeling form and caught Firestorm's rear hooves in it's own magical grip, causing the pony to grunt in pain as his hips momentarily dislocated as they instantly decelerated. "Get your sister Firestorm, I'll deal with this one!" The shout from behind the changeling was followed immediately by a massive red hoof slamming down on it's leg, eliciting a sharp pained hiss as the changleling's concentration broke and it's magic dissipated. Firestorm gave Macintosh a nod as he sped off after his sister as a sharp crack and another hiss announced that the massive Earth pony had indeed 'dealt with' the other changeling. Firestorm gained ground on the largest changeling fast, Scootaloo's struggling and the unavoidable strain of using magic while flying ensuring the changeling could not hope to match an in-shape Pegasus for speed. "There's nothing you can do to stop us anyway, if you want the filly, catch her." The changeling hissed, a hateful grin on it's face as it threw it's captive at a nearby tree. Firestorm bolted, sparing no energy in favor of reaching his little sister as soon as possible. He reached her at the last moment, using himself to cushion Scootaloo. It hurt, a lot. Firestorm groaned, he wished he would have the option to lay low for a couple days, but after what just happened, he knew that wouldn't be the case. "Well let's go Scoots, we're in for a busy few days." It took a few minutes of walking for the siblings to leave the forest, Luna's moon peaking over the tree's where her sister's sun had just sank from the sky. Big Mac was waiting for them, next to him were two tied up changelings who's bruises could be seen even through their chitinous skin. "Thanks for the help, I owe you big time." Firestorm said, forgetting the earlier tension between the two stallions in his relief that his sister was safe. "Eeyup" "Let's get back to town with these two, Captain Shining Armor has to know about this immediately. I'll take the smaller one if you don't mind, I'm a little sore from crashing into a tree catching Scoots." "Eeyup." Twilight looked up from her book at the knock at her door It's a little late for a run to the library isn't it? She smiled at the irony of that thought, most ponies, anyway. She opened the door to the last thing she expected to see*, Big Macintosh, Scootaloo, a battered Firestorm, and a pair of much more battered changelings. "Big Mac? Firestorm? What's going on?" "Firestorm sighed, "Hey Twilight, is your brother home? We need to talk to him along with you and your friends immediately, as you can see, something big just came up." *Seriously, she might have been less surprised to see Discord and Celestia waltzing through the streets of Ponyville than this. "So what's the big deal Twilight? You look almost as scared as you did when you were about to be ta- late on that friendship report." Rainbow dash asked as The Unicorn in question and her five friends walked into the library. "Umm, I'd like to know that too." Fluttershy added, "if you don't mind that is." "My brother and Firestorm will explain it, they know more about the situation than I do." Twilight answered. At that Firestorm looked up from the map he, Shining Armor, and Big Macintosh had been looking at. "The changelings are back, Macintosh and I stopped some of them from foal-napping Scootaloo." This was met by a chorus of gasps from the new arrivals. "We think they're coming here first, to take out you six right away, and I don't know if they knew Shining Armor was going to be here or not but I'm sure they see that as icing on the cake." "They have cake? And they're not sharing?" Pinkie scowled, "I knew that Chrysalis was a meanie." Shining Armor hesitated. "Yes, well, the Guard here can't hope to beat the changelings outright, we need reinforcements and honestly, they may just be fighting to retake Ponyville. We don't have a choice, we have to evacuate the town, Firestorm volunteered to rejoin the Guard and we'll lead what Guardponies we have and hold them off as long as we can, you girls lead the rest of the civilians out, get the Princesses and the Elements and come back with the reinforcements." "I'm staying too, you're gonna need all the help you can get." "Macintosh! You aren't a Guardpony, you're coming with Apple Bloom and Granny Smith." Applejack replied, shocked at her brother's matter-of-fact way of volunteering for what could easily be a suicide mission. "I'm gonna stay and protect the farm, it's where I belong." Mac replied, stoic expression unchanging. Applejack sighed, "Fine, but then I'm staying too, one of the other girls can bring my element." "Me too! I'm not leaving Ponyville hanging." Rainbow Dash seconded. "No." The three stallions replied in unison. "You're too important to risk here, it takes all six of you for the elements to work, if something happens to any one of you, we lose one of our best chances." Firestorm explained. Fluttershy gasped, "Wait, if the changelings are in the Everfree what about Zecora? Nopony's seen her in a while." The other five mares gasped, "You're right Fluttershy, we have to get rescue her!" Rainbow Dash ran for the door, only to be stopped by Shining Armor's magic. "Let's get a plan together first." Shining Armor said, "Any idea's Firestorm?" "Rainbow and I will find this Zecora, we can get in and out fastest and she knows the way. In the meantime you girls get started on the evacuation, you too Mac, Shining, you do what you will with your Guard, I'm not in charge there." "I couldn't agree more, let's get to it then, we can't be exactly sure how much time we have."
Chapter 6Rainbow Dash and Firestorm dodged tree after tree at breakneck speeds as they made the journey to Zecora's hut, neither made a sound for fear of alerting a patrolling changeling of their presence, but that didn't keep Firestorm from being impressed, he was flying as fast as he dared but he had no doubt Rainbow was pacing to match him, she flew with a grace Firestorm had only seen from the Wonderbolts and the Princesses. Rainbow stopped suddenly enough that Firestorm had to swerve to avoid hitting the mare. "Rainbow? Why did you stop?" Firestorm didn't need an answer from his companion, before the pair was what once must have been a cottage, the burned out shell could hardly be called such now however. "I take it this was Zecora's house?" "Yah", Rainbow's expression was filled with equal parts fear, despair, and shock. "I can't believe the changelings got to her, and I didn't even know about it. Some element of loyalty I am." "Don't kick yourself over this, in the Guard you have to learn quick that you can't predict everything, some things aren't in our control. Besides, you said she was a zebra right? Well the zebras I've met were a lot tougher than they looked, let's comb the area, she could be alive." "You're right. Sorry for getting all mopey there." "Nothing to apologize for." The two began to search the area surrounding the ruined hut in silence, each occupied with the search as well as their own private thoughts about the trials to come. After several minutes of searching Rainbow found what she was looking for, a patch of white and black a midst the debris. Rainbow called over Firestorm and took a deep breath before lifting the charred wood covering the zebra and facing whatever fate could have befallen her friend. "Ah a sight I dared not hope again to see, a friendly face in the everfree." "Zercora! You're alive! Don't worry, we're here to get you to safety." "About me you must not worry, you must leave Ponyville and hurry," "We know about the Changelings Miss Zecora, an evacuation is getting prepped and you're gonna be on one of those train cars." Firestorm said as he trotted to where the zebra was lying. "I'm Firestorm by the way, I'm with the Equestrian Guard and I'll be carrying you out of here." Zecora had fallen asleep by the time they rescue party made it back to Ponyville. The town itself was full of activity despite the time of night as Guardponies readied themselves for the coming battle and civilians gathered their most precious belongings and said goodbye to their homes that they may never see again. Firestorm and Rainbow took Zecora directly to the train car that was designated to act as a makeshift hospital and left the zebra in the doctors' care before returning to the library. "You're back! Did you find Zecora?" Twilight asked when Firestorm and the Element of Loyalty had entered. "We found her, she's hurt and her hut was trashed but she'll be ok. She's in the medical car resting." Rainbow replied. "Good." Shining Armor said. "Now that you're back it's time to finish loading the train. The sooner you get to Canterlot the less time we have to hold out for." He looked at his little sister, "Twily, I can handle everything from here, get to the train and get some rest, tomorrow will be a long day for you too." "Ok." Twilight responded, giving the Guard Captain a hug. "Be careful, and be here when we get back ok?" When the unicorn mare pulled away she left a damp spot on the stallion's coat. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Shining Armor smiled sadly. Firestorm turned to Rainbow Dash, "Hey Rainbow, do me a favor and keep Scootaloo close to you on the way to Canterlot, and if anything happens to me, be there for her ok?" "Yah, no problem." Rainbow said, her usual confidence conspicuously absent. "I'll leave her with Cheerilee when we start heading back with your backup." "Thanks." The two Elements of Harmony left the treehouse and Firestorm walked up to the map on the center table. "How's it look? Do we have good positions?" "Surprisingly good, not perfect, but we should be able to limit how much their numbers mean with some creative earth- and cloud-works." "That's about as good as we could hope for. Our best chance is making it come down to the courage and ability of the Guardponies anyway." Firestorm mused, "At least we've fought these guys before, in a pitched battle each of ours is worth at least two or three drones." "And our ponies know what's at stake, and a third of them live here, they're fighting for their homes, their families." "We all are, aren't we?" Firestorm said his goodbyes to Scootaloo outside Carousel Boutique where Rarity and Sweetie Belle were preparing inside. "Stay with Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash, they'll take care of you until it's safe to come back." The older stalion told his sister. "I will." "And if anything happens to me tomorrow," Firestorm continued, his eyes filling with tears, "I just want you to know I love you, and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you in the past." Scootaloo was crying as well, "I love you too Firestorm. And it's ok, I was, and still am, really proud to say you're my brother," Firestorm found Big Macintosh by the train, saying his goodbyes to his family, all of them had tears in their eyes, including Macintosh. The pegasus waited till all their goodbyes were said before trotting up next to the red stallion. "It doesn't get easier you know, saying goodbye before a battle. It can break your heart every time, even if you're a veteran." "Eeyup." "It's not too late you know, you can still change your mind and go with your family." "Nope." Big Mac blinked the tears from his eyes and put on a determined expression. "I said I would help defend Ponyville, and I will." Firestorm nodded, "then follow me." "Where to?" "You're gonna need some armor." No Guardpony got more than a few hours of sleep that night, but they had finished their work. The defenses were as ready as they could be, and dawn was coming, it was nearly time for battle. Firestorm trotted out of his forge, fully armored in the golden armor with a ruby crest signifying his former position as smith-captain. Big Macintosh followed him out, flexing to test the mobility of his new, silver armor. "Remember Mac, those plates on the bottoms of your front horseshoes were enchanted by the Captain, they can deflect most standard magic bolts, don't be afraid to hit with them, but don't forget about that extra use, it could save your life." "Eeyup." It wasn't long before the pair had reached the place where the Ponyville Guard was to make it's stand. The hastily made earthworks and makeshift fortifications were bustling with activity as the nearly two hundred Guardponies who could make it to Ponyville over the night made the final adjustments. The Lieutenant and farmer found their Captain explaining their assignments to the officers and NCO's present. Because of Firestorm's resignation and Mac's only recent volunteering, neither of them had units assigned to them, they would go with the Captain to wherever the battle needed them. Shining Armor dismissed his officers who rushed off to form up their units. The first slivers of the sun were just beginning to show on the horizon when the sentries reported that the Changeling vanguard would be on the battlefield within the hour. The call to arms was sounded immediately and the loosely grouped formations tightened ranks within minutes. The time had almost come. Captain Shining Armor cantered out in front of his army, just far enough out to be seen by his full for but still close enough to be heard clearly. "My Friends." The Captain began, "I will not lie to you, the changeling host that is on it's way outnumbers us by at least 20 to one. But does that mean we should fear them? No! Take heart, for this can only end one way. "Remember; the Princesses used the Elements to dethrone Discord, but before that, we held the line. "Princess Celestia banished Nightmare Moon and scattered her army, but before that, we held the line. "The Elements of Harmony defeated Discord when he returned, but before that, we held the line. "The Princess' and the Elements will drive back the changelings, "But before that, WE WILL HOLD THE LINE!"
Chapter 7The survivors of the Changeling vanguard fled back toward the forest, Firestorm called back the other Pegasi Guard that were pursuing. The fight had been short and one sided, only a couple Guardponies dead and a dozen wounded. Chrysalis and her commanders underestimated us, most of these changelings were pretty green, they won't make the same mistake twice. I'd like to prevent the rest of them from getting back to their lines and reporting on the battlefield, but I can't risk a single one of these ponies, every Pegasus would make a big difference in keeping air superiority. Firestorm issued orders to the Pegasus squad sergeants then flew down to where Captain Shining Armor was doing the same to the Unicorn and Earth Pony sergeants. "This is hardly even the beginning." The Unicorn Captain mused once Firestorm had landed next to him and the sergeants had gone to gather their ponies. "This is going to be a long day, and there won't be a break once the main force gets here." "That's true, but the ease and efficiency with which we broke the vanguard will have raised the Guard's moral. For the time being at least." The Smith replied, "and we should have at least another half hour to shore up the defenses before the main force arrives." "That farmer, do you think he can take it? He may be strong but he's no soldier, he might not have the right kind of endurance for this. And do you really think his resolve will last the day? I heard he resented your service before you came here, can we trust a pony who has so little respect for us to stand and fight?" "He did question my loyalty to Scootaloo because of it, true. But remember you were questioning my loyalty for the reverse reason before we knew about the changelings." Firestorm answered. after a moment he continued; "I think his loyalty to his family and farm alone will be enough for him to stand his ground, but I'll go talk to him, you have a point, we need to be absolutely certain." Big Macintosh was staring at the limp changeling body that was lying in front of him. It couldn't have been very old, or well trained; Macintosh had killed it with only a straight forward uppercut. The big farm pony was shocked, and perhaps a little scared, by just how easy it had been to snuff out the creature's life. "Probably a conscript that one." The Earth Pony stallion turned to see Firestorm landing next to him. "Or was injured during the original invasion and just got back on it's hooves. Best not to linger on it, there's no taking it back and feeding the guilt can let it consume you. It's sad to say, but it gets easier, even in the course of a single battle. You get used to dissociating it, not thinking of it as what it is, just has another enemy. It's not a pleasant job by any means, but it has to be done." "Eeyup." "Before the main changeling force gets here, you need to know what we're facing. Changelings don't need as much sleep as we do, once the fighting starts, it won't stop until one side looses. Not at nightfall, not even over two days, provided they have enough to sustain the attack." "Eeyup." "I'm telling you this because it's not too late to change your mind, you can still make for the road and likely find our reinforcements. But once the fighting starts, if you turn around you cause a crack in the line, one that the changelings will use to kill a lot of Guard ponies. I need to know if you still want to fight, and it has to be your final answer, any doubts... any desire to stay safe for your family's sake, and we can't afford the risk of letting you in our lines, so if there is, leave, there is no shame in it, many other stallions left on the trains." "Nope." Firestorm sighed, "I'm gonna need more of an answer than that." "I said I would fight to defend the farm and Ponyville, and I meant it. I'll fight and buy as much time as it takes for Applejack and her friends to get back here with help. And I'm not gonna let my sisters go through losing their home" "As good an answer as I've ever heard." "Similar to your reason for rejoining?" Firestorm hesitated, caught off guard by the red stallion's question. "Yah, I guess it is. Ponyville is my home now too, and more importantly, it's Scootaloos' home. I came here for her alone." Big Mac gave him a respectful nod which Firestorm returned before flying off to reassure Shining Armor. "Captain." Firestorm said as he landed by Shining Armor. "I talked to Macintosh, and he's in this for the long haul. I don't think his resolve is gonna break either." "Good." the Unicorn replied. Firestorm waited for a moment to see if Shining Armor would say more, when he didn't, the smith turned to go back to his post. "It's strange." the Captain mused, looking out at the battlefield, Firestorm stopped and turned around with a confused expression. "What is, Shining?" The Pegasus replied. "In a battle, I always keep the things that are most important to me in my thoughts. What I'm fighting for, you know? Twilight, Cadence, my parents, all of them." Shining Armor took a deep breath. "but this time, all I could think about was Twilight, how this was her home, and..." the Unicorn hesitated before continuing, "How I hoped that she wouldn't come here with the elements, that she wouldn't come here at all, at least not until the fighting was over. I guess I never really thought about how much she's been at the center of, how much danger she's been in. Danger that I was either not there to or unable to protect her from." Firestorm blinked, not sure if he was right about where he thought this was going. "What are you trying to say Captain?" The Royal Guard Captain looked up at the smith-pony, "I'm saying I guess I finally understand why you came here, I've always avoided the fact the Twilight's been through so much, and I guess I did the same for Scootaloo and assumed you did too. Now I'm not leaving the Guard, Twilight's old enough and more than capable of taking care of herself, but I understand why you did what you did, and after all this is over, if we're still standing, you can go back to your life here." Shining gave his friend a devious grin, "Just be ready for your house to be 'commandeered' on occasion." Firestorm smiled back, "I'd be offended if you went anywhere else."
