Sun and Shield

Day Four

The sound of bells and screams roused Rose Wreath from a fitful sleep. Around her ponies were already getting up and filing out of the barracks. A nearby window showed what seemed to be the early morning light filling the sky. Another scream echoed through the guard sleeping quarters, this one a lot closer than before.

It was that second set of screams that got her up on her hooves. She had passed out in her armor as soon as she touched her cot, so the familiar stiffness of sleeping in the metal garment plagued her joints and neck. She pushed through the soreness and fell in line with everypony else as they filed out.

It wasn’t early in the morning like Rose thought. In fact, it was still the dead of night. The full moon was hanging high above the city and some stars were still visible overhead. It was just that multiple fires throughout the city had pushed back the veil of night and created a false dawn. Several members of the guard all froze in place as they saw flames licking over the tops of buildings and leaping into the night sky.

“Grab a weapon! We have multiple breaches in the city!” An officer she didn’t recognize was standing outside and directing the lethargic ponies coming out of the barracks towards racks of swords and spears. “Orders are to evacuate ponies into the castle walls! The Night Guard is already working on evacuations but they need help! Golden Star’s guards, you’re going out into the city! Mustang’s you’re helping set up defenses here!” He kept speaking, but Rose was already focused on the task ahead.

“Rose, thank Celestia you’re awake!” Picket appeared at her side and placed a hoof on her back. “I hope you’re well rested, because I think we have our work cut out for us.” As if on cue, a feral howl came up from the city beyond the castle walls.

“How did they even get in?” Rose’s mind slowly shook the sleep from itself and she was able to think through what was happening. “Wait, if it’s an outbreak…what if that thing from earlier spread it? She looked down at herself and thought of the other guards that had pinned it down. Were they infected now? Would they turn into those things? “Oh no…”

“The rumor is something got through the north gate again.” Picket said as he picked up a sword from the rack with his magic. “Ah!” The white unicorn grabbed his head with a hoof and dropped the sword to the ground. “Mmmf…ow…” He looked to Rose, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow. “Magic headache, I think. I’ve been overdoing it today…” He picked up the sword again and slipped it into a sheathe hanging around his barrel. “I’ll be okay.”

Rose grabbed herself a spear and tucked it under one of her wings. They followed the flow of ponies until they came upon Lieutenant Golden Star waiting at the gates of the castle walls. Even from a distance he looked tired. Heavy bags hung from his eyes and he didn’t stand as straight as usual. Then there were the splotches of dark red around his hooves that really tipped ponies off to the severity of the situation. There were other officers there with their own groups assembled in front of them.

“LISTEN UP!” Golden Star bellowed. “There’s chaos out there right now and we have to go out into it! We’re going to save every pony we can and get them behind these walls!” His jaw tightened and he turned his head to the gate briefly. “Those things out there are not Changelings! They’re not here to capture you, they don’t want to steal your magic like Tirek! They want to kill you! They will stop at nothing to achieve that goal and we must fight like Tartarus to make sure that does not happen!”

There was a moment to let everypony absorb that sentiment before he continued. “Our job is to secure and maintain corridors to get ponies from out there into here! The Night Guard is responsible for finding and securing civilians and we’re going to set up checkpoints at intersections and courtyards! Your commanding officers will direct you where to go!”

The mass of armored ponies broke up into their designated groups and orders were quickly issued in sharp loud tones. As Rose and Picket shuffled with their group, the stallion stumbled on his hooves and leaned on her before righting himself. He once again waved her off as she was about to ask if he was sure that he was okay.

“Alright everypony!” Golden Star now addressed his ponies only rather than the entire mass. “We’re in charge of securing the Canterlot Carousel intersection, The School for Gifted Unicorns, and the entrance to Restaurant Row! They’re going to be heavily trafficked and full of civilians, but our first order of business is to set up defenses!”

“GATES OPENING!” The call came from up on the wall and every eye in the courtyard fell on the gate as it was slowly cranked open. As the outer gate, a thick wooden drawbridge, fell the sounds of panicked screams truly flooded the space. Before the walls had dampened them and kept back the heat from the blaze that was raging across Canterlot. Now they were faced with the brunt of both.

A stream of civilians and Night Guards flooded in once the inner gate was even cracked open. There were scores of bloodied and harried individuals amongst them not even limited to just the civilians either. She saw members of the Night Guard with holes in their leathery wings and teeth marks in their armor.

“I don’t think I want to go out there…” Picket whispered.

“But we need to.” Rose answered flatly as she looked into the burning city.

“Alright, let’s move out guardsponies! Double time!”

There was no hesitation as the order activated the hooves of the columns of armored guards. Their hooves struck the pavement in time with one another as they filed out into the city, not even to restore order but to save who they could. Immediately outside of the gates was a group of guards with spiked wooden barricades, which consisted of a long unbroken log with spiked rods pushed through the central core to keep it upright and deter those who would rush it, spread out in front of them in a semicircle. One of the creatures had already impaled itself on a spike after having tried to jump over it, now it sank onto the pikes still twitching while its blood filled the cracks between cobblestones in the street.

Howls of the damned and screams of the doomed flooded the air as the guards fanned out and went their own ways. Along the way to their destinations, they saw little outposts of guards already set up at certain intersections. Some of them had the barricades the guards at the castle gates had erected, others had carts and furniture pulled from nearby houses piled to make a wall. More often than not, if it was a four way intersection, two streets would be blocked off in order to create a single corridor to funnel ponies through.

The further out from the castle they got, the less defenses they encountered and the more carnage they saw. Golden Star had been right, there was only one mode these things seemed to know: kill. Mares, stallions, foals…there was no quarter given. Batponies, pegasi, earth ponies, all types of blood watered the streets of Canterlot.

A window shattered nearby and one of those things tumbled into the street, a stallion’s neck in its twisted jaws. It was yet another unicorn with beady black eyes and a sword-like horn jutting from its deformed head. Blood seeped out between its curled lips as its teeth collapsed the poor pony’s windpipe. It dropped the victim, who hit the ground like a forgotten doll, then stalked towards the guards.

“Keep moving!” The Lieutenant called out, before barking orders to the ponies around him that were lost in the din of the moment. Rose, Picket, and the vast majority of them kept moving even as the sound of unleashed magic and steel echoed from behind them.

They finally reached their first destination, Canterlot Carousel. It was a small two story building decorated in pink, purple and white with gemstone accents. The only resemblance it had to its namesake was the circular shape and the vague tent shape of the roof. It belonged to one of Princess Twilight’s friends and was a popular spot for ponies with too much money, but that was all most ponies knew of it. It sat at a three way intersection with a thick stone wall behind it that housed some old defunct fortification.

A third of the company of guards split off and took up residence in the spot, Rose and Picket among them. They were all going door to door to get ponies out of their houses when something unexpected happened.

All at once, everypony in armor changed. The enchantment on every piece of guard armor in the vicinity failed simultaneously and the familiar hues of white and gray that flooded the ranks disappeared in an instant. They all looked around, clearly confused as they saw their counterparts ‘out of uniform’ for what was likely the first time.

Rose lifted her hoof and confirmed that even hers was gone. Instead of the slate gray fur that usually resided under her armor, now only the dark red coat from her private life was there. She looked to Picket and still found the same white unicorn, the only difference being his white mane now turned golden blond. They both looked at each other with astonishment before Picket broke the stalemate.

“I…like your mane?” He gave an unsure grin. “I’m not really sure what I expected with a name like Rose Wreath. Green, I guess?” She looked up in vain, trying to catch sight of her mane. She knew what color it was, a deep gold with a white stripe down one side, why did she try to look? “But how did this happen…?”

“I don’t know…” Rose was just as confused. They had just gotten this charm refreshed yesterday. It shouldn’t have run out yet. For it to fail, not just on them but everypony else all at once? Something had to be seriously wrong beyond the obvious.

“Rose, Picket! Clear the Carousel!” The call came from somepony in the group, not Golden but just as authoritative. It was enough of an order from somepony who sounded in charge that they followed it without hesitation.

Rose took the lead and her wing tightened around the spear tucked under it. She stood parallel to the door and raised a hoof to knock on it. There was no immediate reply, but there was a noise coming from inside. It sounded like somepony rummaging around in the dark.

“Canterlot Royal Guard!” Rose belted out in as deep of a voice she could manage. “We’re coming in to get you somewhere safe!” She looked back at Picket, who had his sword drawn and in his mouth, and he gave her a nod. She put her shoulder into the door with all of the effort she could manage. The bolt tore through the frame and one of the hinges failed, leaving the door to swing inwards at an angle. Rose followed it inside, her spear leveled.

“Light, coming up.” Picket whispered to her as they entered the darkened interior. Her eyes were kept on the space in front of her but she could see and hear his horn sputter. “Argh, come on…ow…” It took a few seconds, but he eventually conjured a light that revealed the room in front of them.

The Canterlot Carousel’s interior was as circular as its exterior. Racks of fancy clothes well out of Rose’s budget were strewn across the floor, and what looked to be a semicircular stage took up one whole side of the room only for now it was shrouded in a dark purple curtain. A staircase hugged the opposite wall and terminated in a landing that expanded into the darkness above where her companion’s light couldn’t reach.

“Hello?” Rose called out, dropping her harder tone she had used before breaking down the door. She walked into the building until she was standing in the middle of the room and her eyes searched the darkness for signs of life. “I know it’s scary outside, but we’re here to get you to the castle! It’s safe there!” The curtain covering the stage rattled and something clattered from behind it. Both of the guards turned and faced it, their weapons pointed and ready. “It’s okay to come out…” Rose was suddenly a lot less sure than she had been that they were there to help. It seemed like they might be the ones in need of help before too long.

The curtain split and one of those creatures jumped out onto the floor of the boutique. Another unicorn on gangly legs, its cerulean coat stretched thin over the elongated body. A shaggy mane of hues of orange and purple fell around its eyes and it let out a vicious howl that seemed to shake the building around it.

That old urge to flee built up in Rose’s chest and threatened to break free, but she pushed it back down. Even if she listened to it, there was no way she could beat it to the door. Turning her back or side to it was also a patently bad idea. She had to face it down and hope to Celestia above that the other guards outside would come to help.

“Picket, go get-” before she could even finish the order, the light from her unicorn friend’s horn died and the building was once again bathed in darkness. The only source of light was the gentle moonlight that spilled through the windows. It was just enough to see the beast in front of her, but that was it.

Then the creature’s horn lit up and supplied even more light. The golden magic glow from its horn cast long shadows across the room from the various racks of clothing. It also let Rose see, for at least a moment, that Picket was on the ground clutching his head.

Action needed to be taken. She knew these things liked to use their magic, so she had to strike first. There was no use being on the back hoof here, reacting would get her killed. Her wing extended, the end still curled tightly around the shaft of the spear. She took a short hop backwards, planted her hooves and drove forward as she threw the spear. It cut through the air like the bolt of magic it was attempting to beat.

The tip broke the thin skin of the beast’s front leg. It threw its head back and let out a feral scream of pain and its magic buildup released at the same time, sending a stream of raw magic straight through the ceiling above. It must’ve hit something vital, as a large chunk of the roof came down and landed squarely on the head of the beast with a sickening crunch. Rose felt the splatter go across her armored chest and neck, but tried not to dwell on it.

Even more of the soft moonlight illuminated the boutique thanks to the new skylight and brought Rose’s attention back to Picket. He was writhing around on the ground in pain and whimpering. She quickly rushed to his side and placed a hoof on his head.

“Hey, hey Picket!” She took his helmet off and let his golden mane spill out onto the floor. “What happened? Are you hurt?” He only answered with another cry of pain. “Don’t worry, I’m here. I’ll get you help. Just hang on. Please. Just hang on.” Her heart started to seize in her chest and she could feel tears well up in her eyes. She didn’t see any blood, nor any injury. She couldn’t tell what was wrong, how was she supposed to help? She needed to, but she just didn’t know how.

“RAAAAAAAGH!”

The whimpers and whines erupted into a rage filled scream. Rose got to her hooves and stumbled backwards. Picket’s mouth, now frozen and still letting out the terrible sound, changed in front of her eyes. The flat teeth of an herbivore shattered and sharpened, lengthening until they pushed down against the bottom of his mouth. His muzzle cracked and lengthened while his pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. The screams continued and the sound of bones cracking joined the chorus of carnage as his legs grew longer and longer, the bones telescoping with crunches and cracks as the pony writhed in incredible pain. The golden armor wrapped around his chest split at the seams as if it was made of tissue paper when his body got too big for it. His horn then extended and shed one side until a sharpened edge was left instead of the usual blunt protrusion.

When all was said and done, something that decidedly wasn’t Picket now laid on the ground, its chest raising and falling slowly. Rose’s eyes stayed fixed on the thing that used to be her friend. Her hooves carried her backwards slowly, the thought of potentially waking the beast that had once been Picket filled her head. She had gotten lucky with the last one and had a lot of help with the first one, but doing this alone…

Rose backed right into one of the racks of clothing that littered the place and it clattered to the ground. Picket’s head shot up, his now beady black eyes glared right at her. Like a newborn foal, he took to his gangly hooves and stumbled a little at first. Her eyes tracked across the floor to the other dead monster crushed beneath the fallen roof and the shaft of the spear that was sticking out from the rubble. She moved to get it.

Picket was faster.

The malformed jaws of the creature closed around Rose’s helmet before she was even halfway to her weapon. The masterfully crafted helm began to crumple as if it was made of tin and she could feel the pressure on her head as its casing got smaller and smaller. In a blind panic, one of her hooves shot up and connected with Picket’s throat, causing him to pull away in a howl of pain. As he did so, his razor sharp teeth caught on one of her ears and she could feel the flesh ripping in half as he lunged backwards.

The pain didn’t have time to set in as the pegasus spread her wings and launched herself towards the hole in the ceiling without a second thought. Why this had not been the first course of action, she wasn’t sure. The night air, once cool but now made scorching by the fires ravaging the city, stung the open wound on her head.

The crumpled helmet came off with some difficulty and a little grunt and cry of pain as it scraped against the mangled ear. One side of her ear was still upright, but the other was now flat against her golden mane and was spilling blood onto her head. The urge to fix it, to try to piece it together, was removed in a flash by a bolt of magic grazing her breastplate. It was enough to superheat the metal and burn the skin underneath. Not that she had any time to try to free herself from her armor or wallow in the agonizing pain as another bolt was loosed by Picket that was aimed right at her again.

The nearby airspace out of range of the hole in Canterlot Carousel’s roof offered a much worse view than just looking down on Picket. Before she had gone into the building, it had been chaotic but it had also been relatively distant. They had run into one of those things on their way here, but only one. Now they were everywhere.

Wherever she looked, there were more of those monsters. Even down below where her squad had been deposited to put up barricades, now there were half a dozen of those things fighting over whatever was left of the bodies of her comrades. Some of the new monsters were still wearing remnants of their royal guard attire, mainly scraps on their backs or the slot on the helmet that plumed their mane still remained. She hadn’t even heard them turn…then again, she had been occupied.

Rose Wreath wasn’t the only one in the sky right now. The airspace above the rooftops was awash in throngs of pegasi and batponies, all of them either looking around in horror or dodging beams of magic being hurled at them by the monsters below. Screams of those unable to get away filled the air, as did the unearthly howls of those turned. All around was death, destruction, and mayhem.

There was nothing she could do about it.

Taking on one of those things was a challenge. It required overwhelming numbers or luck, both of which she had been blessed with the two times she had emerged victorious over the creatures. Even merely escaping one had cost her two injuries of varying severity. There weren’t enough guards in all of Equestria to deal with an entire city of those things. There might not be enough ponies in all of Equestria to deal with this if it was in other cities as well.

“PONIES, TO ME!”

An earth shattering voice pierced the din of chaos that erupted from the city. In the distance, a dark blue pony bigger than most hovered above the castle walls. Lances of blue magic erupted from her horn and lashed out at something on the ground. Behind her a dome of golden light erupted around the castle and covered the walls. Any of the magic thrown at it by the creatures bounced off the glorious light.

It was all Rose needed to see. Like a moth to a flame, she buzzed towards the light. In the sea of chaos that was around her, it was the light that led her to a safe harbor. The pain in her body seemed to evaporate as she got closer and she could almost feel the light of the sun on her skin as it filled her with warmth, even in the depths of the night.

Even as she flew across the city towards the palace’s gate she was accosted by the things. Some of them had somehow gotten onto the roofs of buildings and were firing wild beams at the fleeing pegasi. The screams of the innocent, howls of the turned and the sound of magic being fired constantly turned what should’ve been a calm Canterlot night into a warzone.

A pegasus ahead of her, either a guard who had lost their armor or maybe just a civilian hoping to get to safety, took a lance of bright blue magic to their wing. One half of the appendage was suddenly separated from the other and the pony plummeted to the pavement. No sooner than the body had hit the ground had a swarm of those creatures descended upon it to end the suffering. The screams were covered up by victorious cries from the monsters.

When she finally got to where Princess Luna was stationed, right above the gate to the palace, she briefly understood the majesty of the night. Luna wore a harsh scowl and whipped her head as she threw out streams of magic to keep the savage beasts that besieged the city at bay. What had taken overwhelming force by normal ponies only took a mere thought and move of the head for the alicorn. In the light of the moon, with the stars of her mane fading into the night sky and the darkness surrounding her, Rose got it. The eternal protector, the pony who kept the nightmares at bay and did the job that nopony else could. That was who Luna was and it was why the ponies loved her.

“Please get inside now!” Princess Luna barked at everypony as they approached. “We do not know how long we will be able to keep this up!” There were some unchanged ponies running towards the castle gates down the main avenue of the city, but they were soon swallowed by a wave of the feral creatures. “EVERYPONY IN! NOW!” Princess Luna bellowed out again in that tone only a Princess could produce. That got everypony who was loitering around the entrance, mainly guards who were trying to aid the alicorn above and what little fleeing civilians there were, to move inside the castle walls.

As soon as they were in, the gates were closed as fast as they possibly could be and Princess Luna herself phased through Celestia’s barrier and landed amongst the panicked ponies. She was immediately bombarded with questions and panicked pleas for assistance. In response she raised a hoof, and the ponies around her went silent.

“There are many questions that even We do not know the answer to.” The calm and level tone was betrayed by a sigh that accompanied it. “We are working tirelessly to figure out what is happening and how We can stop it. Until such a time that the city is…habitable we are opening our home to the ponies who need it.” She then turned and talked directly to the guards, mainly batponies and pegasi with a few earth ponies mixed in. “Where are the…” her words trailed off as her bright blue eyes turned to the gate. The princesses’ eyes widened as she came to some realization before quashing the thought and addressing the guards again. “I suggest you all get aid if you need it then report to your commanding officers. Do not expect rest. It is going to be a very long day.”