Chapter 1View OnlineThe Evergreen BurnsChapter 1Screams of panic were all that could be heard on that day. The day the changelings attacked The village of Evergreen Helm. "Hello sir," Spark said, greeting his captain Gen. Childhood friends, Gen and Spark always dreamed of being royal guards for the princesses. When they were both declined entry to the royal guards they came to the village of Evergreen Helm to be guards for the small town. Gen, being older and stronger than Spark eventually became the captain of the town defence unit. "Hello Spark, How is today looking?" Gen said, greeting his long time friend. "Fairly good sir, I haven't had any troubles with the townsponies. The sky is darker than usual today though." "I'm sure it's nothing we need to worry about. Probably just the pegasi scheduling some rain." Gen looked up at the sky, He agreed it was unusually dark. He'd just told Spark that so he wouldn't worry. "Oh well," Spark said walking away. On his patrols, Spark passed by the local mage Soulstring's house. A violet colored unicorn, she was considered one of the best at magic. Spark admired her from afar, barely ever talking to her. He knew that her and Gen Were very close and there were rumors going around that she and him were seeing eachother. Then there was Callie and Fang. They were the ponies in charge of the village and it's people. "Hey Sparky!" called callie. Sparky was a nickname she had given him the day he came to the village. He didn't mind it but he didn't like her using it too often around other ponies. Fang was the head mistress of the village, although she was away on a buisness trip to Baltimare on that day. "Morning Callie, the sky seems a bit dark today don't you think?" "Well now that you mention it-" She stopped talking, Immediately the two ponies looked up into the sky. Callie screamed when she saw what was happening. Changelings, creatures that could take forms of other ponies, were flying down in the hundreds onto the city. Spark pulled out his bow, drew an arrow and fired. 2 seconds later a changeling fell out of the sky, others following it. "Get inside!" Spark screamed at Callie. The mare was frozen in shock at what was happening but she snapped back to reality. "What are we going to do?!" "I told you to get inside! The guards will handle it!" He screamed at her. The mare anger and fear in his eyes. "But our houses won't protect us from them!" "Then get in the catacombs! And hurry!" The mare quickly ran to the secret entrance door. As she was walking in she felt a tug on her arm, she looked back and realized she was being pulled out by a changeling. She started to scream but it put it's claw over her mouth. Gen saw what was happening and ran over. cutting down the changeling and ushering her inside the tomb. He closed the door and found Spark, who was getting more civilians to go to the catacombs. "What the hell is going on?!" Gen yelled to Spark. Spark, seeing Gen there, got calmed down for a second before another changeling was on him. A quick stab through the chest with his sword made it howl with pain and drp dead. "Changelings! They're everywhere!" Spark yelled as he ran towards Gen. "I'll get the civilians into the caves! You stay here and defend the city!" Said Gen as he was making his way back towards the catacombs. There was a sudden explosion, Spark turned to see where it came from when he saw Soulstring's alchemy tower burning. Spark quickly flew up to the tower and saw Soulstring in the top room on the floor crying. "Soulstring!" The unicorn looked up and saw Spark at her window. She opened it and Spark carried her down. "What's happening? Why are the changelings attacking us?" "We don't know! Come on, let's get you into the caves beneath the city." Spark and Soulstring dashed for the catacomb entrance. When they got there,the door was already closed and locked from the inside. "Oh no. How could this happen!" Spark said as he banged on the door. It was clear that no one inside was going to open it. "That house! Over there!" Soulstring grabbed Spark's hand and led him to the nearest house. She opened the door and was greeted with a downward stroke from a sword. Spark hastily stepped in and blocked it with his own and then pushed on the attacker, sending him flying across the room. Spark looked up again to see that it was private Cain of the guard unit, his wife and foal beside him. "Cain what do you think you're doing you coward! The city is at ruin and it is about to fall!" Spark exclaimed with fury in his eyes. Spark and Soulstring quickly went into the house and shut the door. The two stallions proceeded to board it up. "I- I'm sorry Spark... My family and I didn't get to the caves in time. I needed to protect them. Cain pleaded. Spark turned to him, a look of seriousness on his face. "When you were picked to be in the defence squadron you made a comittment to the city. I understand that your family comes first but there are countless dead corpses on the streets right now. You could have prevented that. But it's too late now. The city is nearly lost." Hours passed, the group was still inside the house when Soulstring finally spoke up. "Spark, I know what you pegasi do. With that ranbow factory of yours, You pegasi are so judgemental that you kill any ponies who can't pass their flight test and turn them into rainbows. You make me sick." Soulstrings said to Spark who seemed shocked at this sudden outburst. "What you don't know strings, Is that some of us are against that. And we always have been. Some of us believe that people make mistakes, and they do deserve a second chance. But other times, they don't. What I am trying to say here is that I am against the rainbow factory and against the murder of innocent ponies. But I am not going to go join that stupid resistance against it. It's a lost cause anyway, Celestia approved it.
Everything ChangesView OnlineThe Evergreen BurnsEverything ChangesThe small group of survivors sat in the small house, waiting for it to be over for the changelings, or them. There was a sudden banging on the door. Spark moved quickly to hold the door shut, cain following him. Soulstrings moved over to the window, she looked out and saw a horde of changelings banging on the door with their maces and clubs. She screamed and moved back from the window. "Just hold the door Cain. They can't get in through the barricades we've installed." Spark tried to reassure him but it wasn't doing much. The other guard had an urge to move over to his family and protect them from any danger. There was a hard bang on the door that knocked Spark and cain onto the floor. The door burst open, changelings quickly flowing in. "Bow!" Spark shouted to Cain. The two guards pulled out their bows and fired off shots at the changelings. One changeling dodged an arrow shot and jumped on top of Spark, knocking him down. Sparn pulled out an arrow from his quiver and stabbed the changeling in the throat. He jumped to his feet and pulled out his sword. Moving over to Soulstrings. Soulstrings was gone, she had escaped up the stairs along with the others. Cain ran up the stairs after them, leaving Spark to fend off the horde. A changeling aimed a thrust at Spark, who then jumped out of the way and slashed at it's head. Spark knew he was never going to survive if he stayed down here, he moved up the stairs. He found Soulstrings alone in a room. Spark quickly shut the door and pushed a desk up against it. Seeing Spark, Soulstrings dashed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Spark held her close and whispered into her ear, "Whatever it takes, I will get you out of here alive." soulstrings looked up into his comforting eyes and knew that if she stuck with him she would be alright. "Cain and his family left." She said to Spark. He didn't know what to think, to be happy that Cain got his family out, or to be enraged that he left Soulstrings here. He didn't have time to think about that at the moment, he had to get her out some way. He saw a window in the room and kicked it out. He picked up Soulstrings and flew out. The city was burning. There were ponies being lined up and then executed. He flew directly to the catacombs, but he was followed by the angry group of changelings that stormed the house. He set Soulstrings down by the large locked door that had barred their entry earlier. He quickly pulled out his bow and fired off 2 shots in a heartbeat. He then retrieved his sword from his back and flew at the changelings. Soulstrings knew she had to do something, he would surely die if she didn't act quickly. She flared up her horn and shot a burst of magic into the group of changelings, sending them flying and hitting the ground hard. "Thanks. Where'd you learn how to do that? "Oh just something I taught myself." she said with a grin on her face. "Think you could use that trick on the door?" Soulstrings turned to the door and her horn flared up again sending a bolt of magic at the door. The entrance exploded and Spark turned to her in amazement once again. The moment didn't last very long since more changelings were coming their way. Spark moved Soulstrings inside the caves. She tried to grab his hoof and pull him in with her but he quickly pulled away. She looked at him confused but then realization dawned on her face. He wasn't coming. "No. Spark you can't stay out here. They will kill you!" she pleaded with him to come inside but the determined look on his face told her that no amount of begging could change his mind. "Spark, I need you. Please. You saved my life countless times today and now I know who I want to be with for the rest of my life, you." Spark turned back to her, he was the happiest he could have ever been. That moment didn't last long. A changeling flew up behind him, Spark turned to face it but it was too quick and it stabbed him through the chest. Soulstrings knocked it away then ran over to Spark who had fallen down and was bleeding out. She tried to use her magic to heal him but the wound was too deep. She was starting to tear up and Spark put his hoof around her. "Go, get in the catacombs and warn the others. There is another way out through there." Spark took his hoof away and said one final thing to her. "I'm sorry." Gen quickly emerged from the large entrance and saw Soulstrings sitting over hs dying friend. He grabbed her and pulled her into the caves. As the other ponies were quickly barricading the entrance she could see changelings swarming over his body. She kicked and screamed trying to get free of Gen's strong grip. A week had passed since the changeling attack. The guard force from Baltimare showed up a day after and cleared everything out. It tuned out that Fang had mentioned the unusually dark sky and they recognized it as the changelings. Many funerals were performed and Spark's was one of them. Gen, Callie, Fang and Soulstrings attended it. When it was Soulstrings turn to speak, she could barely get through the first sentence without crying. Spark was reguarded as a hero by the town and it's people. A monument was erected in his honor 2 months prior ro the attack. Soulstrings never forgot the words he said to her in the house. "Some ponies deserve a second chance, and others don't."
Chapter 3View OnlineThe Evergreen BurnsChapter 3And there she sat, in her tower at the top of the village. Things had changed since the changeling attack. It had bee a month since and things were never truly the same. Gen missed his friend dearly and it killed him to think that he could have done something besides cower in fear in the caves. Soulstrings was also of some interest. She had fallen into a deep depression since Spark had died and she rarely came out of her tower. The only times ponies would see her was when she would visit his grave in the catacombs. Callie and Fang had tried to get her to come out but she would just stay in there and sit. The two mares had sent Gen over to talk to her since they knew the two were very close. Or at least used to be. "Soulstrings are you in there?" Gen said as he knocked on the door. "Just go away, leave me here to die." As Gen heard the reply his heart sank. He hadn't known that she was this depressed. He could hear sobbing and whimpering on the other side of the door. "Soulstrings, If you don't open this door then I will bust it down! You need help." as he said that he heard growling from the inside. Suddenly the door flew open, Soulstrings standing in the doorway with an enraged look on her face. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" she screamed at him. He stepped back a few paces and looked to see that his sword was still at his side. "We're all sorry about Spark. It wasn't your fault." he tried to reassure her but he was just making her angrier. She managed a calm look on her face but inside she was boiling up. "I could have saved him, I was too slow and now he's dead..." Soulstrings began crying again and slammed the door shut. -- Soulstring went back into the top room of her tower and began to cry again. She wished there was some way she could bring Spark back. She suddenly realized that there was still one option. "Necromancy..." she smiled at herself in the mirror. She knew that it was illegal to raise ponies from the dead and if a pony was caught doing it, they would be executed. She went over to her book cabinet and dug through, finding an old book about necromancy and famous necromancers. She looked through the spells and found a raise corpse spell. She went over to a cage she had in her living room that housed her pet rabbit. She shot a bolt of magic into the cage and the rabbit suddenly fell over silent. Her horn started to glow as she resited the spell. A puff of dust went over to the rabbit and suddenly he sprung back to life. Fresh as a button and suprisingly unaware of what had happened to him. Soulstrings shrieked with joy and ran back up to her study. Soulstrings had perfected the spell to raise Spark back, but she didn't know if it would work on ponies or anything bigger. She had to test it first. She had called Cain to come over for some tea and he had accepted the offer. He was due to show up at noon. She was ready when she heard a knock on her door. She ran over to the door and opened it. "Hello Soulstrings. I must say it is very nice of you to invite me over." Cain stepped in the house and Soulstrings directed him to the living kitchen. "Oh it's all my pleasure..." she grabbed the rat poison from her pantry and put it in one of the tea cups. She brought it over to Cain then seated herself across the table from him. They both took a sip of the tea and she could tell the poison was taking effect. "Wh-what's in this?" Cain said drowsily. "Oh nothing much. Just my special ingredient." the way the mare said it had worried him but he couldn't put his finger on what it was before he blacked out and fell on the floor. Soulstrings laughed maniacally and dragged his body onto her couch. When he would awake she wanted him to think that he passed out. She said the spell and a puff of dust went over his body again. He snapped awake. "What... What happened?" He asked hurriedly. "Oh you just fainted. I think you could use some rest." as she said that he seemed confused once more. "Oh my. I thank you for inviting me over but I must go." and with that, he walked out the door and headed home. Soulstrings broke out laughing and fell onto the couch. She would have her Spark back if it was the last thing she did. --
Chapter 4View OnlineThe Evergreen BurnsChapter 4Slowly, she walked. Knowing she couldn't turn back. Soulstrings made her way to the tomb Spark was buried in. 'This is it' she thought to herself, 'Spark is mine...' Soulstrings had tested the spell on many more ponies. Killing them and then successfully reanimating them from the dead. She knew she was ready. She wouldn't be stopped... Little did she know, Gen was shadowing her. All of the guards were taught shadowing in their cadet years. They were virtually masters at it. Soulstrings carefully opened the large door to the catacombs which had been repaired from when she blasted it open during the invasion. She stepped inside and the door started to close. Gen stepped in and blocked it from shutting all the way with his hoof. He then made his way inside the tomb after Soulstrings. He rounded a corner and heard her saying some words. He moved closer to the sound of her voice. He could see a faint glow down the corridor and laid his hoof on the hilt of his sword. "Rise from the ashes, Come back to the world..." Gen saw her over Spark's tomb. He heard her spell and his heart immediately dropped. She was trying to bring Spark back from the dead. A crime which was punishable only by death. A burst of light came out of the mare's horn and went into the coffin where Spark's body was. Soulstrings moved to lift the lid of the coffic up, to find that Spark was fully awake inside. "Soulstrings, what happened? What am I doing here?" He glanced down and realized he was still wearing his armor and sword. All guards were put to rest that way if killed in combat. He slowly got out of the coffin only to be met with a big hug from the violet mare. He wondered what had happened and what he should do. Spark heard the sound of steel on leather and he turned to see Gen moving forward with his sabre drawn. A look of pain on his face. Soulstrings quickly got back up and moved back from the angry and sad stallion. She knew he was going to kill her. "Why would you do it? I never wanted to do this to you..." Gen raised his sabre up and then started the downstroke towards the mare. Spark quickly drew his own sword and stepped in just in tine to block the mare from any harm. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Spark yelled to his friend. "Spark... She brought you back from the dead. She must die." Spark was shocked at this sudden news. He looked around and realized he was in the catacombs. It must be true. Gen took Spark's moment of weakness and kicked him away with his free hoof. Spark was sent sprawling on the stone floor of the room. Gen moved closer to Soulstrings now as Spark struggled to catch his breath. The kick had knocked the wind out of him. He heard Soulstrings scream and he feared the worst. He turned to see Gen holding her in the air with his hoof. The adrenaline was now in Spark as the guard suddenly leapt to his feet and charged headfirst into Gen's side. Knocking Soulstrings out of his hooves and sending them both to the ground. Spark landed rapid punches in Gen's face as the other pony tried failingly to block them. Gen's eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and his eyes closed unconsious. Spark got up off of the other stallion and ran to Soulstrings who was on the ground crying. He threw his hooves around her and embraced her in a tight hug. "It's okay. Everything is okay now..." He was really unsure about how everything was going to turn out. He'd not known that the mare was going to do something so drastic like this. Soulstrings looked up at him and kised him passionately. Before Soulstrings could make a move to let him escape with her. He frowned. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be dead, but yet... He was alive. Soulstrings tried to pull him by his hoof out of the tomb but he stood there. She looked at him and saw a tear going down his cheek. She went over to him and brushed it away. In a choaky voice he finally spoke to her. "Soulstrings... There is nothing I'd rather do on this world, than be with you. But if I was meant to die. Then you can't change that... And neither can I." he saw the tears already rolling down the mare's cheeks too and he quickly brushed them away with his hoof. "Please," He said in a calm tone. "I need you to be strong. For the both of us." Soulstrings looked up at him and kissed him one last time. She said a few words, and his body was transferred back into the coffin. To remain untouched by ponykind forever more. Epilogue Soulstrings performed a mind erasing spell on Gen and he forgot the whole thing. She never did think of him as more than a friend after the incident. She lost her depressive nature and still visited Spark's grave every day after. Author's Note Finally finished this story. It was really fun writing it and I hope that you guys enjoy more of my stories to come. Thank you for reading.