Chapter 17

“Wait, wait, wait!” Arthur snapped, holding up his hand to the withered-looking mare. “You’re telling us that you’re the real Princess Cadence?”

“Bullshite!” Sean barked. “How do we know ya ain’t takin’ the piss?!”

Cadence’s lips quivered at the words of Sean but she stopped when she saw Arthur send a warning glare at the other stallion. She gingerly took hold of his firm hand and used it to rise from the ground, amazed that her weakened legs could support her still. “Please, sirs, I am who I say I am. That imposter who sent you down here is a changeling, a queen to be precise.”

Sean raised his eyebrow at Cadance’s answer. “What the bloody hell is a changeling? First time I’m hearin’ of such a thing.”

“Same here, but considerin’ how we saw her transform into the grotesque figure before she sent us packing, I’m willing to take this one’s words to heart,” Arthur hummed.

“Ah, come off it, English!” Sean crossed his arms. “Ya don’t really expect to believe this soddin’ tramp?”

“Dunno, but there might be a way she can prove it.” Arthur glanced down at Cadence, making her flinch. “Can you?”

Before Cadance could answer, a rumble startled her and the others. She looked around in terror at the caves crystals fall from the top, and moved over to Arthur for protection. When it stopped, she let go of a breath she held onto but yelped when the crystal wall in front of them shattered and revealed a familiar purple unicorn who used her magic to blast the wall away. “Twilight?!”

Twilight dimmed her magic for just a moment when she saw Arthur and another stallion, but immediately flared it again when she saw the mare who banished her to these crystal caves. She advanced and grinded her teeth, with her fists clenched in rage. She was stopped by Arthur who stood in front of a frightened Cadence.

“Arthur?! What are you doing down here!? Who is this stallion and why are you protecting that fiend who turned my friends against me?!” Twilight barked out the questions, confusion having riddled her mind as of late thanks to her brother’s harsh words.

“Now this makes me wonder if we’re gonna have any more guests down here?” Sean commented out loud and stretched out his hand to Twilight. “Sean MacGuire, professional rogue and dashing stallion at your service, lass.” He greeted Twilight but was promptly cut off by Arthur’s words.

“Shaddap, Sean!” Sean shrugged irritably and looked back at Twilight. “Twilight, listen, this is gonna sound mighty shocking, but Sean here is…well, he’s from my old gang. The one I used to run with back where I’m from. In other words, he also used to be a human man like myself.”

Twilight was stumped for a moment at Arthur’s words. “That’s…that’s incredible! I have so many questions to ask and-” She paused and shook her head, which she turned towards Cadence with a snarl on her face. “Nevermind! Tell me what is that creep doing down here?!”

“Please, Twilight…it’s me…” Cadance trailed off but the glare on the younger unicorn’s face did not whether. She sniffed and pushed Arthur away gently to face Twilight. “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your-”

“Hands and do a little shake.” Twilight’s eyes widened at the nursery rhyme and greeting she learned from her foalsitter. She blinked and then smiled with a single tear that escaped from her eye before she rushed towards Cadance and enveloped her in a firm yet gentle hug. “It really is you! You actually remember!”

Cadence held onto Twilight and beamed as she nuzzled her head. “Of course I do, how could I forget the filly I love as my own little sister…”

Sean’s eyes twitched and his mouth agape at the sudden tender greeting he just witnessed. “I am so confused right now…are ye actually coddling us or is this real?”

As they separated, Arthur cleared his throat. “I guess that’s all the proof we need, since Twilight obviously vouches for ya.” Arthur held out a hand to Cadence, to which she accepted and Arthur lifted her back up to her hooves. Cadence stumbled a little, but Arthur let her lean on his arm for support. “Pleasure to properly and officially meet ya, ma’am, my name’s Arthur, Arthur Morgan. You already met my friend Sean MacGuire over there.”

“Uh…top o’ the mornin’ to ya,” Sean managed to say.

“It is a pleasure to meet you both as well,” Cadence said with a curt nod.

“Cadence, what happened to you?” Twilight wondered. “How did you end up in this strange place?”

Cadence lowered her gaze to the floor. “About a week ago, I was enjoying my visit to Auntie Lulu and getting to know her better… but when I turned in for the night, I was taken and forced down here thanks to that oversized bug!” She shouted out the last word in rage. “That queen, as she refers to herself, then went on how my love for Shining and vice-versa could feed her colony for years to come and she also went on about how Canterlot would make a perfect location to start her own kingdom, with us as a food source for them…” she trailed off and shivered in disgust at the memory of the queen monologing her plans.

“Food source? I ain’t gonna become some cockroach’s meal after coming back to life, thank you very much! If that fockin’ whore wants a piece o’ me, I’ll put me shotgun down her throat before I shove my shillelagh in any of her holes she has!” Sean said out loud, and was met with a confused look from both Twilight and Cadance.

Twilight was the first to break the silence. “What’s a shillelagh?” She asked the former Irishman, but could not get an answer when Arthur merely smacked the back of his head.

“One more foul-mouthed word outta you, Sean, I swear to God!” Arthur sneered as Sean winced from the strike. “Anyway, this bug obviously has to be stopped before any real harm can be done. First thing’s first.” Arthur looked around the cave. “Any ideas how to get outta here?”

“Well I wasn’t able to locate an exit, thanks to that imposter weakening me and sealing us inside her.” Cadence replied but then smiled when she looked at Twilight. “Luckily, thanks to my Aunt Celestia’s number one student blasting an opening for us, we might just be able to get out of her and stop that changeling.”

Twilight merely blushed bashfully and rubbed the back of her head. She looked around the area they were in and decided to use her magic again to blast another wall apart. “I think I can get us out of here, with just the right amount of magic.”

“Don’t cause the cave to collapse on us, lass…” Sean warned Twilight when she blew the crystal wall apart and felt the cave rumble around them. “Don’t want to have a timpiste marfach thanks to yer witchcraft,” he said and was met with a blank look from both mares, which made him sigh and place a hand over his face. “I sometimes wish ponies would understand me ol’ language. Fatal accident, lass, we don’t want to be pushing up daisies for next Spring.”

The group ran through the cave in search of an exit. Arthur then noticed that Sean was only armed with his pistol and probably didn’t have enough ammunition to go with it. Thankfully, he had his new and magic satchel to help out. Arthur reached into his satchel as they ran and pulled out a double barrel shotgun and a lever action rifle and tossed them both to Sean, along with ammunition pouches.

The Irish pony blinked with his mouth agape “Where the bloody hell did ya pull these out of?!” Sean yelped.

“My pack.” Arthur held up his satchel. “Dunno how, but I guess it’s magic now. You can keep them, by the way, I got plenty more.”

Sean blinked again but shrugged as he sling both guns behind his back. The group soon found an old line cart sitting on the tracks.

“Look! We can use this to escape the cave!” Twilight cheered.

“Hold up, Twilight!” Arthur grabbed Twilight’s shoulder as he placed a hand on his pistol. “We got company.”

Twilight’s ears swirled and she turned around to look at the silhouettes of three ponies approaching them. She squinted her eyes and gasped when she saw three familiar faces from her past approach them dressed in bridemares’ dresses. “Lyra…Minuette…Twinkleshine…What are you doing down here?”

“Why, we are just here as Princess Cadenza’s Bridemares, of course.” All three of them replied simultaneously with a wicked grin on their faces and their eyes aglow in green. “She thought it would be great if Twilight’s friends from her school days would be her bridemares…But then again, you didn’t really think of us as friends did you?” All three sneered at the frightened and regret-stricken mare before them.

“That’s not true! I always considered you my friends…I just wasn’t that great of a friend towards you girls…” Twilight replied somberly with her ears drooped and her eyes cast downwards.

A clicking sound emitted from behind her Sean’s revolver aimed at the three bridemares. “We can have confessions later in a booth or in a bush, lass. I highly recommend you three gread leat before we riddle you with lead. What do you think Arthur? Warning shot or full on assault?”

“I ain’t too keen on shooting women,” Arthur confessed, then cracked his knuckles. “But that don’t mean we can’t knock some sense into them.”

“Ya know what, English? I like the sounds of that better than popping them off,” Sean replied as he holstered his gun and cracked his knuckles.

“Wait! There’s another way we can handle this!” Cadence intervened.

“Yeah? Like how?” Arthur questioned.

Cadence took out a bouquet of flowers seemingly from out of nowhere. When she waved it before her, all three bridemares eyes widened and beamed in glee at the prize before them. The alicorn walked before a stunned Arthur and Sean as she continued to tempt the three bridemares with the bouquet. “There can be only one! Go and get it!” She shouted out and three the flowers into the air in the opposite direction as far as she could, which was surprisingly quite a distance.

Lyra, Minuette and Twinkleshine ran as fast they could to the thrown prize. Each mare wrestled with another to halt their progress as they departed from the captured ponies. Once they were gone, silence greeted the cave for a moment.

“That’s gas,” Sean finally broke the silence. “How did ya know that was goin’ to happen?”

“Please, any bridemares would want to catch the bouquet no matter what environment they are in.” Cadance replied with a giggle. “But now let’s get out of her and save my Shining!” She exclaimed and rushed towards the exit with Twilight in tow.

Sean whistled and shook his head. “Women, I tell ye,” he mumbled and shrugged it off. “Ye comin’, English?” He asked his friend rhetorically with a smile on his face.

“I ain’t even got the nerve to question what I witnessed…” Arthur grumbled to himself.

Palace Throne Room

The moment was set, everyone was gathered around to witness the momentous occasion of the wedding between the captain of the royal guard, Shining Armor, and the princess of love, Mi Amore Cadenza. The two had just finished saying their vows and all the ponies were smiling ear-to-ear.

“It’s a shame Twilight had to miss this…” Rarity said in a hushed voice.

“I know, what was her deal? It’s her brother’s wedding for Celestia’s sake!” Rainbow muttered.

“Maybe she couldn’t bear to see her brother get married after all,” Fluttershy said sadly.

“Hey, doesn’t Shining look a little off to you?” Spike pointed out. The mares saw how ragged Shining looked and looked as though he hadn’t slept in days.

“He probably is still nervous, but the party I set up will fix that right up!” Pinkie chirped.

“Um, has anypony seen Arthur? I haven’t seen him since before the ceremony,” Johanna said, worried.

“He didn’t return with you?” Applejack questioned, to which Johanna shook her head.

“Princess Cadence and Shining Armor,” Celestia announced, with Luna standing beside her sister while scanning the crowd for a certain gunslinger. “It is my great pleasure to announce you-”

KA-BANG!

The sudden loud explosion echoed throughout the room as the doors swung open. All heads swung to the doors to see a stallion wearing a stetson and holding a strange-looking weapon with a long metal barrel. He held the weapon upwards and the end was smoking a little as another stallion walked up next to him, holding a larger weapon with both hands.

“Nobody move!” Arthur shouted as he pointed his revolver at the fake princess of love. “I’m puttin’ a stop to these two gettin’ hitched!”

The imposter snarled and glared at Arthur. “How dare you interrupt my wedding, you scoundrel!?” I swear when this is over, I am going to bondage him and whip him until his flesh turns into mulch!

“Because it’s not your wedding, it’s mine!” Cadance shouted back and appeared from behind Arthur with Twilight next to her side.

“What?! How did you escape my bridemares?!”

A chuckle from the other pony, who stood next to Arthur with a shotgun in his hands. “Wouldn’t ye like to know, ye fockin’ cockroach!” He cocked his firearm and aimed it at the altar. “Ladies and gents, I highly recommend ye all leave these premises with haste, or ye might just become a spectator to Armageddon.”

“A-Ah don’t understand!” Applejack said. “How can there be two of ‘em?!”

“She’s a changeling!” The real Cadence accused with a sneer. “She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!”

“Ya almost had us, bitch,” Arthur scowled as he pulled back the hammer of his pistol. “But ya came up just short. Now step away from the captain with your hands up!”

“You insufferable mongrels!” The imposter hissed as her eyes glowed green. “I’ve come too far to lose what I deserve!”

A green aura surrounded the imposter. All watched in horror as her appearance changed dramatically. Her body became thinner and less curvy, her pink fur became black and oily like a carapace, her wings lost their feathers and morphed into ones similar to that of an insects, her horn turned black and jagged, her mane turned swampy green and unkempt, and her arms and legs had little holes in them. The dress she wore turned into a tattered green gown and when she opened her eyes, they were emerald green and slitted. A manic grin grew across her face as she Batam to cackle in an evil-sounding tone.

“Fuck…this just got more complicated,” Arthur said, keeping his gun aimed.

“Fockin’ hell, she’s even more gaudy than when me eyes first saw her!” Sean said, also keeping his weapon aimed.

In a blink of an eye, the changeling took into the air and airmed her magic towards the armed stallions and released a beam that caused an explosion once it impacted the spot where the two stallions stood. Unfortunately for her, one of them took to the air also and the other dodge just in time. “You dare challenge me!? Me, the Queen of All Changelings, Chrysalis! Soon to be Queen of all this land!”

“Not if we have something to say about that!” Luna shouted back and spread her wings to fly towards the queen. She lit her horn to use her magic, but instead of releasing the same kind of beam she instead summoned a spear and aimed to impale the enemy before her. “You dare try to invade my home and hurt the ponies I love?! You best say your prayers, for your going to Tartarus one way or the other!” Luna declared and attacked Chrysalis, who summoned a dome of magic to protect herself from the various attacks coming from both her and the stallions.

“Though I don’t share my sister’s crudeness, you have made a fatal mistake attacking my home and my family!” Celestia also used her magic to summon a shield and sword in her hands. “Cadie! Take Shining with you and get to cover! Twilight, I’m very sorry for my words earlier but I must ask you to take your friends and go to the Elements of Harmony! We are going to need them for what is to come!” Celestia ordered her niece and her student who both nodded and went their separate ways.

“Let’s go help the girls, Sean!” Arthur said.

“What about that bloody cockroach?!” Sean wondered.

“Celestia and Luna got this! We need to cover the girls!”

As the princesses battled against the Queen, Arthur, Sean, and the main six ran out of the castle and made their way to the tower where the Elements were being held. Sean looked up and gasped at the shield surrounding the city beginning to crack and give way. A piece of the shield broke apart, revealing a smaller changeling drone that tried to claw its way through.

“What the bloody fock are those things?!” Sean shouted.

Right as the group looked up, the shield broke down and was destroyed all together. Soon the sky was completely filled with changelings as they hissed and snarled and flew down towards the bow panicking citizens. Arthur cursed under his breath and reached into his satchel. He pulled out his Carcano Rifle and bow and slung them over his shoulder. He reached into his satchel once more and pulled out another six-shooter.

“Girls!” All the mares stopped and looked at Arthur and went wide-eyed at the two stallions holding weapons. “No matter what you see or hear, keep your heads down and keep moving! Got it?!”

“What are you gonna do, Arthur?!” Applejack wondered with anxiety in her voice.

“What I’m good at.” Arthur turned to Sean as he pulled back the hammers back on his pistols again. “Let’s go to work, Sean!”

“It’s fockin’ showtime, English!” Sean smirked as he and Arthur aimed their weapons upward. “Eat lead! Ya bunch of bloody roaches!”

KA-BLAM!

BLAM!

BANG!

KA-BANG!

With each shot that was fired from both stallions, numerous changeling soldiers were either injured or killed thanks to the weapons used. Many of the footsoldiers didn’t register what caused their brethren to fall but some did and decided to flee from the two stallions. Others decided to charge in but flew from one corner to the other to avoid the projectiles.

“Damnit I hate moving targets!” Sean protested as he missed a few shots and took cover to reload his weaponry. “Is it just me, or are they actually multiplyin’, Arthur?!” He questioned his friend who wielded a rifle to take aim at the closest changelings.

“It don’t matter! Just keep shootin’!” Arthur ordered as he fired his rifle.

The changelings fell to the ground as the bullet pierced their skulls. Arthur pulled back the hammer on his rifle, popping the used bullet out and cocked it back for the next one, and took aim again. Two changelings were about to pounce at Rainbow Dash and Sean fired his shotgun, blowing them away.

“Watch yerself, lass!” Sean said as he jumped away from a changeling and hit the butt of his gun against the drone’s head. Rainbow was a bit stunned, but kept running with her friends.

Arthur fired the last shot of his rifle and pulled back the hammer. He reached into his satchel and pulled out bullets to reload his rifle. A drone flew at Arthur to try and catch him off guard. Arthur managed to see the drone and swing his rifle to bash it away straight at its jaw. Arthur then slung his rifle back over his shoulder and pulled out his bow. He reached into his satchel and pulled out an arrow and drew it back. He aimed it at a changeling that had landed in front of Fluttershy and let loose the arrow. The arrow flew towards the drone and lodged itself into its shoulder, making it yell in pain as it fell backwards.

“Keep movin’, kid!” Arthur called out as he pulled out another arrow and let it loose.

“Y-Yes!” Fluttershy managed to say.

“Sean! How’re you on ammo?!” Arthur called out to his friend as they neared the tower.

As if to answer him, Sean’s pistols ceased to fire anymore bullets. “There goes my pistols!” He shouted and switched to his rifle, which he immediately put to use with a shot to a changeling’s head. He grimaced when he saw the remains scatter from the deceased. “Is it strange that I feel a little pity fer these fockin’ sods, English?!”

“They attacked us! They brought it on themselves!” Arthur snapped as he pulled out his pistols and began duel wielding against the changelings.

“We’re almost there! Hurry!” Twilight said as they saw the tower in sight.

Once they were close enough, Twilight used her magic to open the doors. What they met was a massive hoard of changelings from within the tower, bringing the group to a skidding halt. The changelings surrounded the group as they stood back-to-back with one another. The changelings glared mostly at the two stallions who had slain dozens of their brethren.

“Shite, any ideas Arthur?” Sean said as he aimed his rifle at the army..

“I got one, but it might get messy,” Arthur said.

“How messy we talkin’?”

“Loud and lots of blood.”

Sean grinned and looked at the mares in the group. “You lassies might wanna duck down and cover yer ears. This one’s gonna be a wee bit gruesome.”

“G-Gruesome?” Rarity gulped.

“Do as he says.” Arthur holstered his guns and reached into his satchel and pulled out a stick with a string sticking out. He then dug into his coat pocket and pulled out one of his matches and lit it, soon lighting the string as it sparked bright and hissed. Arthur reeled back and threw the stick at the board of changelings. The changelings were confused as they watched the stick hit the ground and rolled around as the string burned towards the end of the stick.

“FIRE IN THE HOLE!”

KA-BOOM!!

A loud explosion and shockwave followed with screams from the enemy. Arthur and Sean peeked from their cover and saw numerous changelings either dead with burns or dismembered. Some were still alive but were now without a few limbs and they were also losing blood fast. The few who were lucky enough to survive with all limbs intact surged towards their fallen comrades and did their best to heal them.

Arthur sighed and shook his head. He was about to stand up and go to where the ladies were, no doubt bewildered but hopefully not traumatized by the bloodbath. A crumbling sound emitted from above the sheriff, which caused him to look up and see a large chunk of a building fall towards him.

“Arthur, look out!”

He had no time to act but was caught off guard when he was tackled to the opposite side and spared from being crushed by the fallen debris. Arthur was about to thank the pony who saved him but was shocked to see he wasn’t saved by a pony, but rather a changeling.

Arthur and the changeling stared at each other for a moment before the changeling became fearful that he might be killed and flew away as fast as he could.

“Arthur!”

Arthur looked to see Sean run up to him and offer his hand. Arthur blinked and took Sean’s hand and was hoisted up.

“Jaysus, Arthur, the hell was that about? Did that bug save ya?” Sean asked.

“I…I guess it did,” Arthur scratched his head. He saw the girls trying to collect themselves and he and Sean walked over to them. “You girls alright?”

Fluttershy’s eyes darted from one corpse to the other, her breath began to hyperventilate and she grabbed a bag that Twilight summoned to breathe into. After a few moments, she turned to Arthur and looked at him like she hadn't met him before. “W-why did you have to slaughter so many of these changelings?!” She demanded to know from the sheriff who did not flinch from her stare nor her voice.

“Look, Fluttershy…” Arthur said with a stern voice after tipping his hat up with his gun. “We really didn’t have much of a choice in this matter here, this is a fight for survival. If we could have found an alternative, we’d have taken it like a hog on slop. The fact of the matter is, these changelings wanted us dead and we were just protecting ourselves from them. I’m sure you value your own life and don’t want to end up as a feast for these bugs?”

Twilight meanwhile looked at the battlefield with a teary eye and shook her head. I remember reading all those war journals and novels when I was still in Canterlot…but seeing it in real life, this is just too much! Shining, did you have to go through this too when you joined the guard?!

“Um, girls…guys…” Rainbow Dash interrupted the moment when she spoke. “I think we’re not out of the woods yet.” She said as she pointed to changelings that surrounded them from all corners. She looked up and saw the more changelings that blocked their paths of escape and their way to the Elements of Harmony. Instinctively, she and the girls backed against each other with the two stallions in front of them. She saw Sean unfurl his wings and to safeguard her from any attack. Rainbow looked up to see the Irish look back at her and give her a quick wink, which resulted in her cheeks reddening.

“Arthur, English…what do we do now?” Sean asked his friend and emitted a nervous chuckle as he sweated profusely.

Arthur had the option of blowing up the horde that stood before them, but he didn’t think these changelings would be able to fall for his ruse a second time. He held both his pistols in his hands as Sean aimed his shotgun. He glanced back at the castle and wondered how the princesses were doing against the queen. His mind then trailed to Johanna and wondered if she had escaped somewhere safe during the chaos. Arthur blinked and glanced at Twilight.

“Twilight, you got some kind of magic trick to distract these things?” Arthur wondered.

“U-Um…I believe so?” Twilight said. “I can create a small flash bang, would that work?”

“That’s plenty,” Arthur nodded. “On my mark, I want you girls and Sean to get them elements in the tower.”

“What about you?” Fluttershy wondered.

“I’m going back to the castle to help the princesses.”

“By yourself?! That’s madness!” Rarity yelped.

“I’ve been through worse, and this ain’t up for argument!” Arthur snapped and looked at Sean. “Can you keep them safe while I buy time?”

“Ya have me word, old friend,” Sean nodded.

Arthur nodded again and turned away from the group. The changelings all hissed and began to charge at them.

“Now, Twilight!”

Twilight focused her magic and her horn lit up like a firecracker. A bright flash of light illuminated the area, blinding the surrounding changeling, and Arthur took this opportunity to make a break for it and run to the castle.

“Come on, girls! Let’s get whatever ya came here for and follow Arthur!” Sean said as he reloaded his rifle.

Arthur ran down the street as fast as he could towards the castle. Several changelings followed him, some ran after him on hoof and others flew after him in the air. Arthur aimed behind him and shot at any who got close. A few drones tried to cut him off by flying in front of him and tried to tackle him. Arthur jumped out of the way and somersaulted before taking aim with his pistols and firing at their heads. Arthur stood back up as his attackers fell and kept on running. The gunslinger holstered both his pistols and pulled his rifle off his shoulder. Arthur kept on running and firing his weapon at any pursuing drone. He saw the castle in sight and didn’t slow his run. Just as he was about to run past the gates, two large changelings flew down from the sky and landed in front of the gunslinger. Arthur skid to a halt as he aimed his weapon at the two large foot soldiers blocking his way.

“Outta the way! Or you end up dead like the rest of ‘em!” Arthur warned.

The two large changelings instead charged towards the armed sheriff with their fangs showing a snarl as they advanced. They saw the earth pony ready his weapon and take aim towards them, which made them split up and not be hurt by the unknown weapon. After the first shot, they advanced again, this time by the air as they took flight.

Arthur cursed under his breath as he took aim and tried to snipe the changelings down from the sky. It proved to be difficult considering they moved faster than the other foot soldiers he faced earlier. They must be higher on the chain of command! He thought to himself when he needed to reload his rifle after the last shot, though he swore again when he realised he was out of bullets.

“Oh shit!” Once he let out the words, the two changelings were upon him. Arthur reached out for his knife, but it was knocked away by one of the changelings’ wings when they landed in front of the sheriff. Arthur looked back at his knife that lay into the distance and back at the smirking changeling. “Alright boy! You asked for it. You better clench those teeth, or you’re gonna lose them!” The sheriff punched with his left arm and followed through a haymaker that connected to the changeling’s jaw, which caused the latter to stumble backwards in shock.

The changeling growled and decided to respond in kind with a punch of its own. It was deflected unfortunately by the sheriff’s forearm and the changeling was again greeted with another fist to his face. A little dazed, he continued with trying to put the earth pony down, but was unsuccessful as he was knocked out cold by the pony’s fists.

“You like that?! Want some more boy?!”

“How about no.”

Arthur’s ears twitched and he turned around to see the other changeling slam both of his firsts connected to imitate a mace. The sheriff’s jaw was hit hard and he could feel his lights going out thanks to the sucker punch. Before his eyes closed, he could see a sudden bright light emit from somewhere but his last glimpse was that of the changeling’s grin.

Shit…!

Arthur groaned as his conciseness began to return to him and he slowly opened his eyes. He blinked as his vision returned and tried to move, but he felt like he was being held down. He looked around and saw other changelings. Some were examining his satchel as they tried to empty it but nothing came out the open end. Other changelings had his weapons and knife, each one holding each weapon warily. Arthur noticed he was sitting on his knees and the two changelings he fought were holding him place. One of them had a swollen eye and a broken fang. Arthur soon finally noticed he was in the throne room and saw Chrysalis with her back turned and Shining standing off to the side in a daze.

“What…the hell?” Arthur croaked.

“Quiet, murderer!” The changeling holding him barked.

“My Queen,” a drone said as he bowed. “We have managed to apprehend the one responsible for murdering numerous fellow drones.”

Chrysalis looked over her shoulder to the downed sheriff and smirked as she exposed her fangs. “Ah! So you’re finally awake?” She asked rhetorically and turned around fully to slaunter towards Arthur. “You know, I didn’t think much of you when I saw you…aside from being a much better looking stallion than that limp-legged captain there,” she cackled and gestured to a brainwashed Shining Armor. “But to actually go and kill my subjects…my children…in such numbers?! I could never forgive you for that!” She slapped Arthur with a backwards hand which left a red mark soon-to-be bruise on him.

“Ugh! Fuckn’ bitch…!” Arthur growled. “You’re the one who forced my hand! If you’re gonna go and threaten a whole kingdom, then you can be damn sure I’ll do what I gotta to protect it!”

“Oh, how valiant of you.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “It still doesn’t excuse you for killing my subjects!”

“Lady, any idiot who comes to invade a nation had better damn well be prepared to go to war.” Arthur leaned in and glared at Chrysalis right in her eyes. “Look at me, look at my eyes. You know what the fuck I’ve been through? You have any idea the kind of shit I had to deal with for most of my goddamn life?!” Arthur pushed against the changelings holding him down and managed to stand on his hooves and bring his face an inch towards the queen’s. “You think you’re bad?! You think this is meant to impress anyone?! You ain’t got shit on me, you ain’t got the slightest fucking inkling as to the life I’ve lived before I showed up in this world!” Chrysalis felt an unpleasant twinge of anxiety as the sheriff kept his nice cold glare. “I’ve done more harm than good in my past life, and yeah I’ve killed a whole lot fucking more people than your precious subjects! Just more bodies to add to the pile of shit! But these ponies? They accepted me, regardless of my past. I was a wanted criminal who killed, robbed, stole, and cheated people for my own gain. So you can believe me when I say, for the sake of everyone who you’ve threatened and tried to hurt, YOU CAN GO FUCK YOURSELF AND GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY FACE BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS TO YOU!”

Chrysalis’s breath was hitched for a moment before she found her voice again. “You foul-mouthed peasant! You think you have won?!” She barked back at him, but was met with a cold stare which infuriated her even further. “Don’t think your words have frightened me or my horde!” She sweated a little and gritted her teeth. She then smiled wickedly. “Why don’t I show you what happens to those who defy me?!” She spoke the last word out loud and pointed her finger to the ceiling, where two cocoons hung with both princesses inside. Inside yet still awake and aware of their surroundings.

“Geez, Sean was right…ya really are just some big cockroach? What, you couldn’t find work as a prostitute?” Arthur chuckled at his own joke, but was disgusted and worried for the princesses. Before he could meet the backlash from the queen, the throne room opened to reveal his captured friends. The sole stallion in the group was bloodied and bruised, yet supported by both Rainbow and Applejack.

“I’m sorry Arthur, I tried…” Sean apologized weakly to his friend with his swollen eyes looking at the down sheriff. He then rested his head downwards as he lost consciousness.

“Aw, the little colt fell asleep.” Chrysalis cackled and backhanded Sean while he was still unconscious.

“You fucking bitch!” Arthur struggled to free himself.

“Hmph, you do realize the reception’s been canceled?” Chrysalis mocked, then looked at her subjects. “Go! Feed!” The changelings nodded and flew off to feed on the love of the other ponies. “It’s funny, really, Twilight here was so suspicious of my behaviour all along.” Chrysalis cupped her chin, but Twilight swatted her hand away. “Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding planning to realize those suspicions were correct!”

“She weren’t the only one, ya silly bitch,” Arthur retorted. “I suspected you myself as well. Like I said before, you can’t bullshit a bullshiter.”

Chrysalis again slapped Arthur’s face, which didn't seem to bother him but did upset the mares. Particularly Applejack and Rarity.

Arthur saw Twilight sneak over to Cadance and used her magic to free her. “Go to him,” he heard her speak to her foalsitter. Before Chrysalis could do anything, the sheriff spat on the changeling's dress.

“How dare you do such vile acts, vermin!” Chrysalis flared her magic to strike Arthur down.

ZAP!

“Gah!” Arthur hit the floor when Chrysalis blasted him in his chest.

He coughed and shook his head and glared back up at Chrysalis. Arthur looked at his friends and watched him get beaten down in horror, which infuriated him that he made them worry so much. Arthur took a deep breath and forced himself on his hooves again, despite the changeling drones trying to hold him down. He heaved and pushed, gritting his teeth hard, and pulled with all his might.

“GOD…DAMN…YOU ALL!!”

Arthur forced himself to reach up and grab both his captors by their necks with nothing but his brute strength. For a moment, Arthur was surprised at himself how he was able to overpower the large changelings on his own. He squeezed their necks and slammed them down on the ground and took off in a sprint straight towards the Changeling Queen with his fist raised.

“Arthur!” His friends called out.

“I’m gonna beat so bad, your grandkids will be bruised for life!"

Chrysalis merely stood there with her arms crossed and a smug smirk on her face. “You think mere fists alone will be able to make me kneel to you?”

“Nope, but this will!” Arhtur retorted and threw dirt from the debris into Chrysalis’s eyes, which caused the latter to be stunned and blinded for a few seconds. More than enough time for what the sheriff needed. He pulled out a small hidden knife and slashed the queen’s one eye with all his rage and threw a haymaker to her cheeks.

The queen screamed as she covered the part of her face that was now bloodied thanks to the surprise attack from Arthur. The punch to her face caused her to tumble to the ground which forced her hands to be used to break the fall. Chrysalis now had a long scar that ran diagonally to her lips. She teared up and glared at the sheriff with every ounce of hatred in her. “That’s it! You are doomed! You and your ponies!”

“Not if I got anything to say about it!” Arthur pounced on Chrysalis and punched her in the face again.

Chrysalis’s horn glowed bright and blasted Arthur off of him. Arthur landed on his back and rolled out of the way just in time before another blast of magic could hit him. Arthur ran around the throne room, avoiding blasts of magic, as Chrysalis held her wounded face. The gunslinger ran towards the stunned changelings who held his firearms and body-checked the one holding his pistols and satchel. Arthur quickly picked up his pistols and satchel, shot the other drones who held his other firearms, and took shots at Chrysalis. The queen gasped and put up a shield just in time before the bullets hit her and they ricochet off her protective barrier. Arthur reached into his satchel, pulled out bullets and reloaded his guns, and charged at the queen and kept firing. Chrysalis yelled at the gunslinger in a fit of rage as she dropped her protective barrier and tried to blast him with magic again, making Arthur dodge out of the way from the explosion of magic, towards her blind spot. When Chrysalis turned around, she was met with the barrel end of his gun. The two stared each other down as Arthur pulled back the hammer of his gun one last time.

“It’s over, bug, you’re done,” Arthur said with a stern glare in his eye.

“You’re wasting your talents and strength on such a sanctimonious saccharine nation! You, a soldier and warrior of the highest level I have ever fought against. Why waste your time and skills on these ponies?! They will shun you for what you are, just as they and others have to my kind!” Chrysalis lectured Arthur as she leered back at the sheriff, with the barrel of the gun still aimed at her forehead.

Arthur stared at Chrysalis, he glanced at the wound he gave her on her face. “So what?” Arthur did the unthinkable to the group witnessing his bout with the queen, as he lowered his gun. “I’m a killer, I ain’t gonna deny that. This place is obviously still not used to how I do things. Today was proof enough that the concept of taking a life isn’t something to be considered.” Arthur shook his head shamefully. “I suppose I should apologize to you for killing your subjects, but you’re the ones who forced me and my old friend’s hands. I don’t wanna hear you tell me off that I could do whatever I please with what I can do, because I’ve already done enough of that.” Arthur holstered his pistols and looked at Chrysalis in her eyes. “To this day, I’m still unclear as to why I’m still standing and not at the Devil’s doorstep. Maybe it was some fluke? Maybe I really am dead and I got turned into…this as punishment? Or maybe the Lord took pity on me and somehow thought it was a good idea to send me here to redeem myself? I honestly can’t say, but I do know one thing.” Arthur’s glare returned. “It don’t matter as to why or how I’m here, what’s done is done. This is my home now, they’re my friends, and I’m gonna do whatever I can for those who accepted me, despite all my faults. So, with all that being said, I suggest you take what’s left of your people and leave.”

Chrysalis was stunned by his words, if only for a moment before she gritted her teeth and growled at the pony before her. “Do not think you can patronize me and think mere words will stop me from achieving my goals!” She yelled out to him and with a quick flash, struck Arthur in the chest with a beam of magic. She let out a laugh when she saw him fly and fall onto the ground with a charred mark on his chest. His grip on his pistols loosened and his hat was blown off his head as it fell to the ground, off to the side. “How do you like that, you mongrel?” She stood up and advanced towards the downed pony. She stood over him and pressed her heel into his chest, with her horn aglow with magic. “Consider this and the deaths of your friends payback for what you have done!”

“ARTHUR!” The mares yelled.

“Argh! Get…off me!” Arthur grunted.

“I was going to use you and make you my personal slave, but you’ve said and done too much!” Chrysalis cackled maniacally. “Farewell, sheriff!”

Arthur tried to grasp her leg to pull her off of him, but the blast had knocked the wind out of the gunslinger and he was in considerable pain. His clothes were in tatters and were scorched all over from her blasts of magic. Just as Chrysalis was about to finish the gunslinger, a bright light shined behind her. Chrysalis snapped her head around to see that Shining Armor had snapped out of his daze, thanks to Cadence. Their horns were together and they stared into each other’s eyes with love and affection.

“Heh…perfect timing, lovebirds,” Arthur wheezed.

“What?!” Chrysalis looked back down at Arthur with a venomous glare. “You tricked me!”

“Wasn’t hard…payback’s a bitch, ain’t it?” Arthur managed to smirk.

Shining and Cadance’s magic began to sync with each other and their horns began to glow until it became blinding to any bystander. Their bodies seemed to transmute into pure energy as the pair levitated into the air. An aura of pure harmonious magic was unleashed into a powerful wave of pinkish kinetic energy. The wave passed by the ponies harmlessly, as they felt rejuvenated by the presence. When it struck Chrysalis however, she was sent flying into the distance as she screamed in agony.

“I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE!!!” Her voice carried over as she and her army of changelings were flung into the horizon.

Once the magic deemed down with Cadence and Shining lowered onto the floor, both ponies looked into the others eyes and kissed. They removed themselves and rushed towards Celestia and Luna, where they used their magic to erase the cocoons the princesses were stuck in.

Whilst they were busy, Applejack was the first to rush over to Arthur, with the others following, and skidded to the floor with her knees and she held the sheriff in her arms as she teared up a little at the state he was in. “Are ya alrigh’, Sugarcube?!” She asked him as she held the back of his head with her hand and her other hand on his chest.

“Ugh…I’ve been worse, if you could believe it,” Arthur croaked. They all heard someone else groan as Sean managed to come to and he shook his head. “I need a vacation.”

“Fock me, I got a head for ten,” Sean groaned as he rubbed his head. “What’d I miss?”

“A pretty impressive light show, friend,” Arhur smiled weakly.

“That right?” Sean frowned when he saw the state of Arthur. “I’m powerfully sorry for not bein’ able to do my duty properly, Arthur.”

“Ya did your best, Sean, that’s all that matters,” Arthur said.

“Darling, try not to speak,” Rarity said, worriedly. “You need medical attention.”

“Just give me a bottle of whiskey and a few days of sleep, and I’ll be up and about in no time,” Arhur joked, then grunted again. From the doors, he saw a familiar mare peek her head inside. Through his blurred vision, he could see that it was his beloved mare, Johanna, which made him smile. “Ah, there she is…” When Johanna saw Arthur, she gasped in horror and rushed over to him, tears already beginning to stream down her cheeks.

“Arthur!” Johanna knelt down and gently placed her hands on his chest. “Oh my stars! You’re hurt! Please be okay!”

“Relax, darlin’, just a bit scraped up is all,” Arthur said.

“Ya look like hammered shite, English,” Sean joked as he flopped on his back with his arms and legs sprawled out. “I need a drink…or four.”

“You and me both.” Arthur’s eyes grew heavy. “I’m about to pass out now…sorry in advance…”

Arthur’s body went limp as he lost consciousness. The mares around him panicked a little, but were relieved that he was still breathing. The princesses, along with Cadence and Shining, joined the group and gathered around Arthur. They were concerned for his current state, and had him and even Sean carried to the medical wing. Celestia had some staff gather his misplaced weapons and hat in order to return them to Arthur.

“To think, he had the will to stand against somepony like Chrysalis,” Celestia said to her sister.

“Indeed, he certainly is an incredible stallion,” Luna said with a proud smile, not realising her cheeks were heating up.

As Arthur was being carried, unbeknownst to the group, there was something on both of Arthur’s shoulders under his tattered sleeves. It was a mark of a star that looked like it was shining bright and proud. In the middle of the star were two six-shooter pistols, crossing each other, and pointing upwards. It would soon be both a welcoming and shocking sight to see for the gunslinger and his friends, once he had regained consciousness.

Author's Note

Love conquers all, and bullets!

Hope you enjoyed!

~WurkyWilk has left the building…