Unquenchable Fire

The Smallest Actions…

(Announcement bill for Shining Armor’s and Princess Cadance’s procession, from the private collection of Twilight Sparkle)

Attention, ponies!

Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor from the Crystal Empire have chosen to come back to Canterlot for a visit. The palace will host a procession at noon in two days. Don’t miss this event! The procession will close with a festival, which will last until midnight. We hope to see you there!

After Ponyville’s cookout, the Mane 6, as well as Nimbus and Mecha, all set out for Canterlot to begin preparations for the big day. They expected hard work, and were not let down. On the first day of preparations, Mecha and Nimbus ended up staying up all night to place decorations. By the time the ponies were finished, Canterlot was covered in streamers and banners of all sorts. Rarity had even enlisted the help of a road repair crew to stud the main road to the palace with sapphires, which she’d collected with the help of Spike. The second day turned out to be even more work, with Twilight managing the order of festivities for the following day and holding meetings with every event supervisor… one-on-one. Everypony was busy, and by the time night fell on the second day, they were all exhausted. Their work had paid off, however. Canterlot was glistening, and was without a doubt ready for the next day’s celebration. Content with their work, the six mares headed off for a spa Rarity had been meaning to try for a while. The two stallions, on the other hand, each took quick showers and wandered off to find a good game of poker. Everypony knew that even though the physically exhausting part of preparation was over, tomorrow, when Shining Armor and Princess Cadance arrived, they would be put to the ultimate mental test. They’d never been responsible for running a procession before, and they could only hope this would turn out well.

Finally, the day arrived. Twilight stirred from her bed, groggily getting up and trotting over to the mirror, to comb her hair.

She sighed as she saw her sagging eyes and stretched her sore muscles. The last two days had taken a lot out of her and her friends. In all honesty, she’d felt better during that little time travel incident a while back.

“At least there’s no future Twilight nagging me about what I should do next,” Twilight said to her reflection. “Then again, I suppose I shouldn’t say anything yet…”

She strapped on her saddlebag and pushed open the door to her quarters. Princess Celestia had set them all up with the best rooms in the palace, but that meant that getting to the dining hall involved going down three separate staircases- not something she particularly enjoyed. Her legs nearly cramped up several times on the way down, and the strain from the previous days’ activities was quite obvious.

On the last flight of stairs, Twilight heard a crash and a yelp. She hurried forward, surging down the stairs and almost running into Pinkie Pie, who was tangled up amongst a pile of balloons, streamers, and other party supplies.

“Pinkie, what happened?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, nothing really,” Pinkie replied. “I just got a bit tangled up coming down the stairs, that’s all.”

Using her magic, Twilight untangled Pinkie and her supplies. “Mind if I help you carry some of this? I assume you’re going to breakfast?”

“That’s right!” Pinkie said, “and I decided that today’s breakfast should be more like a party! As for helping me-” Pinkie began to stagger around with all of the supplies, “-I could probably use some help. Breakfast is waiting!”

Twilight shrugged. It was pointless to debate the subject of parties with Pinkie Pie. She’d learned that a long time ago. As they both reached the bottom of the stairs and turned the corner, they could see that the only ponies awake were Nimbus and Mecha, and neither looked to be in good condition. Nimbus was sitting slumped forward, absently drumming his hoof on the table. His eyes were bleary, and his body was covered with scratches. Mecha had a black and swollen eye, and appeared to be picking splinters out of his flank.

“What happened to you two?” Twilight asked.

Nimbus looked up. “Oh, hey Twilight. Yeah, that’s kind of a long story…”

“I’ve got time.”

“Well,” Mecha said, joining Nimbus in the conversation, “it all started last night when Nimbus and I found the perfect poker joint.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“It seems Mecha’s pretty good at Appaloosa Hold ‘Em,” Nimbus said, “in fact, he’s kind of an ace at the game.”

“And Nimbus here’s pretty much got Blackjack down to a science,” Mecha added.

“Yeah,” said Nimbus. “Long story short, there were a few cheating accusations lobbed our way. There was a fight, things got broken, ponies lost consciousness…”

Mecha chuckled, “like that guy I hit over the head with a chair…”

“Oh, that was brilliant!” Nimbus said, high-hoofing Mecha. “Anyway, we eventually got thrown out of the place. And that really wasn’t fun. Ever been thrown through a closed door?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Well, Mecha went first,” Nimbus said, gesturing to Mecha who was still dealing with the splinters, “as you can see. Let’s just say it’s an experience I’d rather not repeat.”

Twilight nodded. “I see.” She and Pinkie took seats at the table, and Pinkie strung up a few balloons.

“Well,” Pinkie Pie said, “we can all be happy today! Because Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are coming!”

“Oh yeah,” said Mecha, “I almost forgot- that’s another thing. Nimbus and I both got assigned to security by Luna. I tried pulling the ‘she owes me one’ card, but she used her ‘begging’ eyes. Those eyes… I just can’t say no to them.”

Twilight laughed. “Well, that means you’ll probably get to meet the procession before any of us. You’re lucky.”

“You know how exhausting it is to work a security detail?” Nimbus asked. “Imagine… trying to sort books in your library while skateboarding through hoops of fire with a blindfold on.”

Twilight scratched her chin thoughtfully. “You know, that might be a good way to improve my organizational skills…”

Mecha facehoofed himself. “That’s not really what we meant. It’s just-“

“Howdy, y’all!”

Applejack entered the dining hall and sat down next to Twilight. “Looks like it’s gonna be a good day!”

Nimbus and Mecha shared a look of dejectedness. Applejack noticed immediately.

“What’s up with them?”

Twilight shook her head. “Nothing. Just ignore it.”

Mecha and Nimbus stood. “Well,” Nimbus said, “we need to go meet our details. We’ll see you later!”

“Bah, y’all!” Applejack said as the rest of the mares came down into the dining hall.

“Did we just miss Nimbus and Mecha?” Rarity asked.

“Yep,” Pinkie said.

“Aw shoot,” Rainbow Dash said. “I was going to ask Nimbus if he wanted to go buzz a few Canterlot houses with me today.”

Twilight shot Rainbow Dash a withering glare and Rainbow Dash grinned sheepishly.

“Er… or not?”

“We have to be on our best behavior for Princess Celestia,” Twilight explained. “The last thing we want her to see is us breaking flight altitude restrictions.”

“How’d you know about those?” Dash asked.

“Simple,” Twilight said, “I made them.”

Rainbow Dash swore under her breath and took a seat.

“I really don’t mind restrictions,” Fluttershy said quietly, “I just really hope I don’t make Princess Celestia mad.”

“You’ll be fine,” Twilight reassured her. “Just relax and have some fun today. Leave the worrying to me.”

…

As the royal chariot bearing Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor arrived, a brown earth pony wearing a royal guardspony’s uniform stepped up and opened the door.

“A pleasure to see you both,” he said, “the Princesses have been expecting you.”

“It’s good to be back,” Shining Armor said, grinning and stepping down from the chariot. He then proceeded to offer his hoof to Cadance, who accepted his assistance in escorting her to the ground.

“Please,” the guard said, “follow me.”

He led the two down the red  carpet and into Canterlot palace, stopping at the doors to the throne room.

“Have a wonderful stay in Canterlot.”

Princess Cadance smiled. “And you have a wonderful day.”

The guard smiled, standing back as the two ponies opened the door and stepped inside. When they were out of sight, he sighed. It wasn’t every day that one had the privilege of escorting royalty. He stepped away to move back to his post, but as he walked into one of the many shadowy passages leading to the guard post, something hit him from behind. He let out a cry as he fell to the ground. He rolled onto his back, attempting to catch a glimpse of his assailant, but before he could do anything, a hoof was clamped over his mouth. All he could see in the darkness was a pair of green eyes. He struggled, but the mysterious… thing held him down. Then it spoke.

“I’d like to thank you in advance for the use of this armor,” it said. As the guard watched, the figure leaned closer, coming into full view. He could see features shifting, and by the time he could actually see his assailant, he was horrified. Staring back down at him was an exact replica of himself.

His eyes widened and he shook his head. There was no doubt in his mind now that he had been attacked by a Changeling.

“It’s a pity, really. Your Princess will die shortly… and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

The Changeling/guard stabbed down into the guard’s neck with his horn, severing an artery. The guard’s struggles became weaker as he lost blood, until finally he grew still, lying in a pool of his own lifeblood.

The Changeling chuckled wickedly, removing the guard’s armor and placing it on himself.

“Now I just need to dispose of you. Then my real task can begin."

He shivered with excitement as he looked at the town of Canterlot behind him.

"And for the glory of the Hive, I shall not fail.”

…

“Twily!”

Twilight Sparkle looked up from her checklist just in time to see her big brother in front of her, resplendent in his royal attire, with Princess Cadance beside him.

“Hey, Shining Armor!” Twilight cried, running up to her brother and hugging him. “How’ve you been?”

Shining Armor chuckled. “I’ve been just fine. Yourself?”

“Never better,” Twilight replied, “and with you two here, today’s going to be just wonderful!”

“I really hope you didn’t strain yourself too much preparing for our arrival,” Princess Cadance said, looking worried.

“Oh, we’re all fine,” said Twilight. “Did you already meet with Nimbus and Mecha?”

“Yeah,” Shining Armor said, “glad to see Mecha’s finally got an airborne friend. Maybe Nimbus’ll help with his fear of heights.”

Twilight laughed. “I doubt it. Mecha’s pretty adamant about not flying.”

A clock in the palace sounded and Twilight checked the time. “Oh my, we have to get moving!” she said to Shining Armor and Cadance, “the procession’s going to start in an hour, and you two are supposed to meet Rarity, along with Princesses Celestia and Luna!”

“Calm down now, Twilight,” Shining Armor said, “where can we find Rarity?”

“She’s at the procession’s starting spot, which is…” Twilight checked her clipboard hurriedly, “in the courtyard.”

“Thank you so much, Twilight,” said Princess Cadance, “you’re doing wonderfully. Good luck!”

“See you after the procession!” Shining Armor added. “Maybe I’ll be able to beat you at apple-bobbing.”

“You’re on!” Twilight said with a wink.

Shining Armor turned away with Cadance, and headed for the courtyard. He turned to his wife. “You know, I wonder if Celestia’s got plans for Twilight… seems like she’s been getting more responsibility every time I see her.”

Cadance shrugged. “Perhaps she does have plans for her. I, for one, have faith in Twilight Sparkle. If there’s anypony here who has the potential for great things someday, it’s her and her friends.”

“Definitely,” Shining Armor agreed, pushing open the door to the courtyard. Standing in front of him was Rarity.

“Well there you are, dears!” said Rarity, gushing with happiness, “I’m so honored to meet you again!”

Rarity began looking up and down the ponies’ garments, touching up spots here and there and talking all the while.

“I take it things are going well in the Crystal Empire? That place is simply beautiful, you know.”

“Oh yes,” Cadance said as Rarity took a polishing cloth to her hooves, “everything’s just fine.”

“Fantastic,” said Rarity, moving on to Shining Armor’s suit with a lint roller. When she was finished, she took a few steps back and glanced at the two. “Hmm… yes. Perfect!” her eyes snapped to the right as she caught a movement in her peripheral vision. One of the guards had noticed her and was backing away quickly, to avoid his inspection. Rarity bolted after him.

“Stop! Wait! Going out into Canterlot without letting me check you over is a crime against fashion! Punishable by model-training!”

Shining Armor and Cadance shared a smile as Princess Luna and Celestia entered the courtyard.

“We are so pleased to see thou,” Luna said.

“The pleasure is ours,” Shining Armor replied. “Are we ready to begin the procession?”

“Follow my sister and I,” Celestia said in response, heading for the palace gate. When the guards opened it, Shining Armor was slack-jawed. The streets of Canterlot were much different than they’d been earlier. Throngs of ponies flooded the streets, making way for the royal procession that was about to begin.

Shining Armor turned to Cadance. “You know, I’d hate to admit it, but this is probably the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done!”

Cadance giggled. “Crowds scare you?”

“Yes! I mean- there are so many ways this could go wrong! All of these unguarded alleys, not to mention the crowds…”

“That’s your former guard’s side talking, isn’t it?” Cadance asked.

“I guess so,” said Shining Armor.

“Well try to relax. This is going to be fun! And believe me- there’s nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.”

The sound of blaring trumpets snapped Shining Armor’s attention back to the procession as they began to move, walking down the streets.

“Nothing to worry about,” Shining Armor thought to himself, “I sure hope so.”

…

The Changeling guard slowly and silently trotted up the stairs to the top floor of one of Canterlot’s tallest towers. He knew the location would be the ideal place for a guard, and therefore the best place to perform his work without being stopped. As he reached the top of the stairs and rounded a corner, he drew in a sharp breath and ducked back. A guard was posted no more than five feet from him.

Calmly, he walked up behind the guard. The pony turned around to see what looked like another guard standing behind him.

“Noble Sword, what are you doing up here? I thought you were on duty with the parade security detail today.”

“Uh… plans changed,” the Changeling said, thinking quickly. “I’m relieving you.”

The guard raised an eyebrow. “Really, now? You mind if I check that with Nimbus and Mecha?”

He began reaching for a radio when a blast of green magic vaporized it in front of his hooves.

“Nopony’s going to tell anypony anything,” the Changeling said, advancing on the guard.

“N- Noble? You alright?”

“Noble Sword is dead,” the Changeling said, reverting to his original form, “perhaps you can give him my regards in a few moments.”

The guard barely had time to draw his sword before a magical projectile was fired into his chest, piercing his heart. The pony died seconds later.

“Too easy,” the Changeling said, switching to the form of the guard he’d just killed and taking his place at the tower’s balcony. The procession was coming into view right before his eyes. Quickly, he lowered his horn and took aim…

…

Twilight Sparkle watched from the sidelines as the parade wound into Canterlot’s town square. This part of the route had been her idea. The procession would walk right under one of Canterlot’s tallest towers- truly a majestic sight. She couldn’t wait to see them with the town as a backdrop. Nothing would be able to capture the beauty of the image.

Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw a flash of green.

“Huh?” she said, turning towards the source.

…

Shining Armor had calmed considerably since starting the parade. Walking next to Princess Cadance, watching the crowd enthralled by her beauty, he realized how lucky he was to have such a mare as his wife. He recalled how close he’d come to never marrying the real Cadance at all, at the hooves of the Changelings, and shivered. The Changelings had been truly evil creatures, and simply remembering them was enough to raise his mane.

They were in Canterlot’s town square now, and Shining Armor could see his little sister standing on the side of the road, waving. Shining Armor waved back, grinning. Then, in the same manner as Twilight, Shining Armor caught a green flash out of the corner of his eye. In a split second, then, several things happened. Shining Armor raised his head towards the source, identified the flash as a spell, and further identified said spell as a magical projectile. Watching the flight path, he also knew who the spell was aimed for.

“Get down!” Shining Armor yelled, pushing Princess Celestia, who had been trotting on his right side, to the ground quickly, eliciting gasps from the ground. He hadn’t been fast enough, however. The magical bolt impacted Celestia’s left flank, and she cried out as green sparks danced across her hide. Shining Armor swiveled around and fired a magical bolt of his own back at the source. Moments later, a small, black form fell out of Canterlot’s tallest tower, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Shining Armor turned back towards the Princess, who was gritting her teeth and convulsing as the sparks sank into her body. Luna hurried to her sister’s side.

“Tia,” she breathed, “Tia, please… stay with us.”

Twilight Sparkle was the next to arrive, racing to Shining Armor’s side. “Princess Celestia,” she said, “Princess, can you hear me?”

Celestia cracked her eyes open. “Twilight… Sparkle…” she said weakly. Then her eyes closed and she lay still. Shining Armor put a hoof to her neck, checking her pulse.

“She’s alive,” he said, “just unconscious. We need to get her help.”

As if on cue, three paramedics arrived, and with Shining Armor’s and Cadance’s help, loaded Princess Celestia onto a stretcher, which they then placed into the back of a white carriage and rushed away.

“That carriage is from the Caring Hooves Emergency Outreach Center,” Twilight said to Shining Armor. “I’m going there now!”

Shining Armor nodded. “I understand. I’ll be with you later.”

Shining Armor turned back to Cadance. “I want to get a closer look at the body that fell into the square. I need to know who did this.”

Cadance nodded. “We’ll do this together.”

A crowd had already formed around the body, but they quickly stepped aside when Shining Armor and Cadance arrived. Before their eyes was a monstrosity- something both had hoped they would never see again.

“By the Crystal Heart,” Cadance whispered, “I thought they were gone forever…”

Broken and twisted, and laying in a pool of its own green blood, was a Changeling.

Shining Armor looked up with concern at his wife. “What does this mean?”

“I don’t know,” Cadance replied, “but with Changelings, nothing is clear.” Cadance glanced around at the crowd.

“Come, Shining Armor, let’s calm these ponies before things get even farther out of hoof.”

…

Medical Facility: Caring Hooves Emergency Outreach Center

Physician: Dr. Gentle Hoof

Patient Description: Patient is Princess Celestia. Appears to have suffered deep wound in left flank, with extensive neurological damage throughout body. Excessive pain forced patient into unconsciousness upon receiving wound. Wound most likely due to magical bolt, infused with a spell designed to attack the nervous system.

Treatment: Life support and magical infusions. If necessary, surgery.

In the Outreach center, Twilight hurried to keep up with Celestia. The stretcher was wheeled into a small, bright white room, where nurses and doctors immediately began powering up machines and checking medical tools. An IV was inserted into Celestia’s front right leg, and Twilight winced. She’d never been fond of needles. As the fluid began to move into her system, Celestia began to stir slightly. Behind Twilight, her friends entered the room, Nimbus with his flight suit and helmet.

“We came as soon as we heard,” Applejack said to Twilight. The purple Unicorn didn’t respond. Instead, her eyes welled up with tears as she turned back to her mentor, lying still.

“According to Shining Armor, the Changelings are responsible,” Mecha said. “If we’d just… I don’t know. I just feel like there was something we could’ve done.”

“There was nothing thou couldst have done,” Princess Luna said, entering the room with Shining Armor and Cadance behind her.

“Why now?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know,” Cadance said, shaking her head, “it’s altogether possible this was the work of a rogue, acting under his own agenda.”

The ponies stood still, watching Celestia for any sign of life, when Nimbus’s helmet crackled to life. Nimbus immediately placed the helmet on his head and switched on his comm.

“This is Nimbus,” he said as the others watched him, “go ahead.”

He stood still, evidently listening to orders on the other end. Finally, he nodded. “Understood. I’ll rendezvous with Stormchaser en route. Nimbus out.”

Nimbus looked to the others. “It’s Manehatten,” he explained, “somepony at the early warning station in the Crystal Empire spotted a large flight of what he said were ‘pitch-black Pegasi’ headed on a direct course for Manehatten. I’m supposed to meet up with my squadron and partner on the way. I probably won’t be back for a while.”

“Arm yourself for the worst,” said Mecha.

“And take care of yourself,” Rainbow Dash added. “We’ve still got some rooftop-buzzing to do.”

Nimbus smiled. “I’ll do my best.” He turned to Luna as he walked out. “I hope your sister recovers quickly.”

Luna smiled weakly. “Our sister is strong, and we are confident she will recover. Thou must think of thine own safety for the moment.”

Nimbus nodded. “Thank you.”

Then without another word, he was out the door, headed for the unknown.

…

Caramel Swirl stopped her piano playing and trotted to her window on the fifth floor of the Smiling Mare apartment suite. Her parents had sworn that Manehatten would be the best place to learn the piano, but for the life of her, she couldn’t see how. Distractions were everywhere. First the sounds of activity outside, and now this… droning sound.

Caramel turned towards where the sound was coming from, and instantly noticed what appeared to be a large, black cloud headed for the city.

“Weird,” she said, “nopony said anything about storms today…”

Caramel sat back down at her piano and began to play again, trying to block out the noise, which was growing increasingly louder.

Then the screams began.