Author's Note

First of all, I’m sorry for the angst that’s gonna start and my writers block keeping me from writing
Second of all, in case you’re confused with why Odonata’s name is different sometimes it’s because of this: whenever I’m writing it to be in Burnt Oak’s “POV” he refers/thinks of Odonata as Kim while everyone else calls him Odonata (due to the fact they don’t know his birth name, unlike Burnt)

Chapter 22: The Fall of Flygon

Odonata didn’t expect the trip home would take him and James hours, turns out the walk was much longer than either expected. It wasn’t helped by the fact that he had two grubs on his back, who constantly whined and chirped for attention (not that Odonata minded of course!). They were also paranoid about Chrysalis’s Army, as they were trying to take over the city anytime now.

James kept grumbling to himself in a different language, it sounded familiar to Odonata so he asked, “what are you speaking? I feel like I’ve heard it before.”

“Byeonrean,” James answered nonchalantly as he stared at the ground.

Odonata cocked an eyebrow, “that’s an... odd language to know? For a Thaydonese Changeling that is, I’d expect you to know Prench at most.”

The younger stopped in his tracks, seeming to realize that he never told Odonata his origins. Well he might as well, it’s not like he could really do anything bad with them, he wasn’t an idiot, “it’s a long story, are you that willing to listen?” James warned.

“It’s not like we have anything better to do, besides a good story might make these two fall asleep,” Odonata nodded, smiling kindly at his young friend.

“Well if you’re sure about this, might as well,” James mumbled, continuing, “you see, a couple of years ago...”

“I can’t wait to see him again!” Burnt Oak exclaimed as he was helped out of bed by Pear Butter, who had a look of guilt on her face.

Then she covered it up with a smile, “I’m sure he’s excited to see you too, why the last time I talked to him he was so worried about you!” Lie after lie she told, unlike her husband she was capable of doing it.

But it didn’t mean that she liked doing it, lying left a bad taste in her mouth and she feared the future consequences of this lie. She watched as Burnt left the room with a grin on his face, seeming as happy as can be.

She could only hope that Odonata hadn’t been the one to injure him, it was blatantly obvious that he was probably the perpetrator... ‘positive thoughts, Pear, just positive!’ She thought to herself as she shook her head.

Then she left the room as well with a conflicted look on her face, eventually, since she wasn’t looking up, she bumped into someone, “oh sorry about that!” She apologized with an embarrassed blush.

She looked up to see a light blue Pegasus with an orange mane and freckles on her cheeks, her name slipped Pears mind, “that’s quite alright dear, you’re Buttercup right?” The mare said.

“Y-yeah,” Pear nodded, then her hoof was grabbed to shake. “I’m Windy Whistles, you might know Sergeant Hothoof. I’m his happily married wife!” Windy introduced herself with a toothy grin on her face.

Then she raised an eyebrow, glancing at Pear’s back before questioning, “how come you’re not packed yet, haven’t you heard the news?”

Pear was confused, “wh-what news?” Windy sighed and gestured to her own back, which had a fully packed saddlebag on it.

“We’re all leaving first thing tomorrow,” Windy answered.

“Wait what?!” Pear unintentionally shouted before slapping a hoof over her mouth, then she removed it with a shocked look, “why? D-did something happen that I didn’t hear about...”

Windy winced, “apparently Chrysalis’s army is going to take the city in the morning because Queen Femina is surrendering, and the ambassador decided to save the ponies from being involved. Something like ‘our kind shouldn’t have lingered with theirs for this long’, so now we’re leaving in the morning.”

The Pegasus then tilted her head, “on the bright side though, everypony’s going home! Isn’t that an amazing thing?”

Pear breathed in and out shakily, she hadn’t expect for something like this to happen. Then she realized, did her husband know about this...“Were the soldiers informed of this?”

“Mhm,” Windy nodded, “in fact, Bow told me this morning. It’s the reason why I came over here and packed up my personal belongings, I should be going now... I’ll see you on the boat tomorrow, Buttercup!”

With that, she walked around Pear and exited the building, not knowing that she dropped the biggest bomb on the earth pony.

Odonata let out a relieved sigh as he entered his home, feeling exhausted from not only the long walk but the entire story that was told to him on the way. James had explained everything to him, from how he was an illegitimate son of an Empress to the whole Danh Van Tranh being his birth father.

It was a lot to take in but at the same time, it felt nice to be trusted like that. For James to confide such a massive secret to him... it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, it was amazing to have someone that close to him.

He smiled softly as he lightly set the saddlebags down, picking up each of his grubs and gently settling them down on the bed before pressing a single kiss to both their heads. “You both deserve some rest my sweet grubs, especially after all that crying on the way home,” he nuzzled them both one last time before fluttering up on the bed as well and resting his head.

Before he knew it, he fell into a peaceful and long awaited slumber. Odonata wasn’t a light sleeper so he didn’t wake up when the door was opened, it was Burnt Oak standing there with a bright grin on his face.

The stallion lightly shut the door and went over to the bed, scooping up both the grubs and taking a long moment to look at them. He shed a few tears as the grubs seemed to recognize him as their other parent, most likely from his scent as they nuzzled his chest with their tiny muzzles, chirping happily.

He figured that they must’ve hatched while he was gone, when he glanced towards his sleeping lover he wasn’t sure if he knew if they hatched already. A part of him wanted to wake him up but he decided not to, he looked adorable when he slept anyways.

So he looked around their home and settled on letting the grubs sleep in a small basket he found, making sure to put a pillow and blankets in it for them to be comfy. They both yawned as they were set down, huddling together for more warmth as they fell asleep.

Burnt wasn’t sure what made them so tired but then again, foals back at home mainly just slept, ate, and pooped all the time. This was probably normal for Changeling ‘grubs’ as Kim referred to them as, it would take the stallion awhile to get used to Changeling terms.

He walked to the bed he shared with Kim, settling next to him before pulling him close to his chest. The guy was a deep sleeper anyways, he wouldn’t wake up if somepony slapped him across the face.

Still, Burnt couldn’t help but whisper, “sweet dreams my angel, I love you...” before softly kissing the top of his head.

Kim seemed to subconsciously smile from the affection, making Burnt’s heart melt.

If only he knew this was the last time he’d be with his Kim for a very long time...

He woke up the next morning with a yawn, noticing that Kim still hadn’t woken up. The poor thing must’ve been exhausted from the day before, maybe he had been working the market again? He heard that it was a nightmare with all the customers yelling and demanding for lower prices.

He couldn’t help but chuckle before kissing Kim’s cheek and getting out of bed, he needed to get ready and report to the General. He had been gone for... about a week maybe from what he heard from Buttercup.

As he got ready, he noted to himself to buy baby blankets for the grubs to sleep with. Maybe he could get a good sale on them at the market since he was a soldier?

Once he was done putting on his uniform, he went over to kiss his grubs on the head before leaving with one last loving glance to his wonderful family. He couldn’t wait to finally take them all back to Equestria once this war was over... however, first things first.

He needed to find out if Kim needed emigration papers since he heard that if a Changeling had a child with an Equestrian, they’d get out of the country for free without papers. He left with this on his mind, it certainly would make everything so much easier.

He was so focused on his thoughts that he didn’t even realize that the streets were empty, if he had been paying attention he might’ve noticed the abandoned newsstand with headlines that would’ve warned him.

Before he knew it he was on military grounds, making his way to where General Fig should be residing that day. Something that pulled him out of his thoughts were the soldiers running around with their saddlebags, what in the name of Celestia were they doing?

He figured that once he talked to the General he’d get his answer. Without warning somepony grabbed his arm and yanked him back, startling him. He turned to see Bright Mac’s panicked face, “why aren’t you packed, didn’t you hear the news?!”

“News, what’s news? Did I miss something when I was gone?” Burnt had never been so confused in his life, why was he supposed to be packing?

“Burnt we’re leaving today, the ambassador’s given up on helping because the Vietrot Queen plans on surrendering!” Bright exclaimed, shaking Burnt’s shoulders.

Burnt gulped, “w-wait, we’re leaving right now?!” Bright nodded.

“Shit, Kim’s still at home!”

“Who?”

“Odonata I mean, I-I need to grab him! I’ll be back as soon as possible, cover for me—“

He hadn’t expected for Bright to shout, “no! You can’t go back, didn’t Buttercup tell you?” He grabbed Burnt’s hoof tightly, bordering pain even.

“Tell me what?!” Burnt snapped as he tried to wrench his hoof away... but Bright was stronger.

His friend’s lip quivered as he said, “you can’t bring him, I won’t let you.”

Burnt didn’t know how to react, he tried to form a sentence when they both heard something that made them freeze. It was the sound of a fence rattling, once they turned to look they saw citizens of Flygon shaking the gate and shouting to get their attention.

Bright Mac sighed shakily, “we were supposed to leave before too many of them came...”

One of their superiors went up to the Changelings and demanded silence, once they quieted down enough he ordered, “I want order and silence from all of you, the ambassador isn’t leaving until everyone’s out! The boats on the way and there’s room for you all!”

He gave an approving look to two other soldiers standing by the gates, they opened it with some hesitation and immediately Changelings began to flood the area. They fled towards the docks and some cried from happiness, they wouldn’t have to face the wrath of Chrysalis.

Burnt Oak took the confusion as a chance to run towards the exit, he needed to get out of here! Unfortunately his plan was short lived as he was stopped by Sergeant Rivera, “sorry Corporal, the General ordered for ponies to not leave the grounds for any reason.”

The smug bastard didn’t even try to hide his amusement.

“Once the ship gets here we’re gone,” his smile didn’t leave as Burnt tried to move around him.

This couldn’t be happening... he promised Kim that he’d bring him home!

He cracked out, “b-but please, I need to do something first. The love of my life is still in the city—“

“Then if he misses the ship it’ll be his fault, get to your post Corporal,” Sergeant Rivera snapped.

The younger stallion began to hyperventilate, was this his fault? Was it going to be on him if Kim didn’t get the message to flee the city, oh dear Celestia if he didn’t leave...

He might be killed by Chrysalis’s soldiers.

Burnt Oak could only walk back towards his post, for the first time praying to the Gods that Kim always talked about: ‘I know you might not bother to hear an Equestrian but please, help your loyal follower who is also the boy I want to marry.’

He just stood and watched, hoping to see the face of his lover among the crowds of Changelings. He didn’t know how much time must have passed, maybe minutes or even hours but he was startled by a soldier with a megaphone shouting something that made his heart drop.

“That’s it, no more Changelings allowed on the ship, close the gates!”

The screams from the Changelings behind the gates filled Burnt’s ears, they knew they were doomed. With shaky legs he walked to the soldier with the megaphone and asked in a weak voice, “d-didn’t the ambassador say all the Changelings?”

The soldier shook his head, “the message from him stated that Princess Celestia didn’t want to take too much of a risk with the Changelings.”

“Risk? What risk?! They just want to leave,” Burnt protested, gesturing to the Changelings who were attempting to fly over the gate only to get scared away by shots.

“Look the Princesses words not mine, she thinks their ability to change form is too much of a threat to us. She told the ambassador to only allow a couple thousand onboard, not my idea, hers.”

The cries and pleads that Burnt overhead only made this argument worse...

“Take us with you!”

“Please take our nymphs!”

“We have our papers, look!”

“They’ll kill us when they get here!”

“Don’t leave us behind here, please!”

Burnt tried to cover his ears, but their yelling was loud and clear to him.

“Let me on, my wife left already!”

“I have gold, I’ll pay whatever the price!”

Then one voice in particular caught his attention, “sir, listen to me, my husband is waiting inside! You see our children, please let us on.”

He looked to the source, seeing the desperate face of his lover. Next to Kim was James, who was hurling curses in Thaydonese towards Sergeant Rivera.

Burnt Oak immediately ran towards them but was once again stopped by the Sergeant, who held his hoof between him and the gate. “I told you if he misses the ship it’s on him, and this little maggot...” he gestured to James, who flinched at the derogatory term.

“Is the one who exposed the massacre to everyone! Even wrote his name at the bottom, proud of what you’ve done huh, Bridge?”

James shook his head, “I didn’t do that! I wasn’t even here during that, I was detained at the camp with Odonata when that imposter wrote it.”

Before Burnt could even process what James was telling him, he was grabbed by the arm and dragged away once again by Bright Mac. He heard Kim crying for Bright to let him go, but the yellow stallion didn’t listen, only tugging harder and muttering under his breath, “you can’t trust him, Buttercup was supposed to tell you that.”

“Mac let me go, what are you going on about?!” Burnt yelled, only to get thrown to the ground.

Once he gathered himself he continued to shout, “why should we be saved instead of them! They deserve to leave more than we do, I won’t leave without him!”

“He’s the one who nearly killed you, that’s why you’re not bringing him with us!” Bright snapped back, “remember when you were in the care of the nurses, that’s because Odonata fed off your love as some sort of revenge for the massacre!”

Burnt Oak glared at him, “is there even proof that this is true? Or is it some conspiracy theory you and Buttercup came up with.”

He tried to get back up when a pistol was pointed at him, making him freeze.

He knew his friend was desperate to make him stay but not this desperate... he slowly said in a calm voice, “Bright Mac, put the gun down, let’s talk this out.”

“Listen to me carefully Burnt,” Bright started with genuine sadness in his voice, “if some dreams get crushed, perhaps it’s best they were. Neither of us are cruel, war is the thing that’s destroying everyone here. The ship will be here any minute and I’m sorry that you’re hearing this now but...” he gestured to the two Changelings with a tilt of his head, “they’re not the only ones we’ll have betrayed.”

And as fate would have it, the ship arrived at that very moment. Burnt felt tears begin the fill his eyes as it really hit him, they were leaving both James and Kim behind and there was nothing he could do about it.

It was too late and Bright Mac could literally kill him if he tried to look back, leaving him with no choice but to slowly walk towards the ship with his head down. Ignoring the cries and protest from his friend and love, he stepped onto the ship.

The only thing that hurt more was the knowledge that they weren’t allowed to speak much on this event, as the General told them that Princess Celestia planned on keeping the entire thing as quiet as possible. He’d be forced to keep his mouth shut about the horrors he’s witnessed, the dear friend he and Bright Mac made, and even the love he had for one of the citizens of Flygon.

As he looked around the ship to see the handful of citizens that got on, he felt his heartbreak as he heard them whispering about not seeing a relative or friend on board. There were probably millions of Thaydonese Changelings, while they were only allowed to save around a thousand of them.

The rest of them... Gods help them, not only will they have to be forgotten but they were going to be forced to go under Chrysalis’s rule.

Burnt Oak squeezed his eyes shut, not knowing whether or not he wanted to forget everything here. On one hoof, it was hell due to the fact they were in a war, on the other hoof he made some of the best memories of his life.

“I-I’m so sorry...” a soft voice sobbed next to him, he opened his eyes to see Pear Butter standing there.

She threw her hooves around his neck, “I should’ve told you the truth in the first place! T-this is all my fault!”

He had nothing else to say but, “it’s alright Buttercup, you couldn’t have known this would happen.”

Perhaps the Fall of Flygon was truly inevitable and there was no way to stop it. And maybe them leaving James and Odonata behind was meant to happen, whether they liked it or not.