My Little Realities: C13 - Fucking Changelings

My Little Realities: C13 - Fucking Changelings

>Twilight was looking pretty upset
>you don't really understand why
>Celestia could have probably not burned a hole into the library and vaporized what could have been a source of information, but Twilight looks like someone just kicked a kitten to death in front of her
>it's not like you'd all taken a liking to Fluffy, so you're a little confused
>you decide you have a couple things that are more important to take care of right now
>Celestia seemed to at least not barbecue your ass along with the bug, hopefully you're either not going to be fried due to Luna telling her side of the story, the general pony level-headedness, or because you're useful on some level
>you go over your supplies and have a bite to eat; going to Sugarcube corner seemed like the best bet for something to keep your energy up for today
>fuck yeah sleep deprivation
>thankfully, they have coffee
>the couple at the counter looks at you a little strangely when you ask for the pot
>you ask them if they can open you a tab under Pinkie Pie's good name
>you'll pay them back, if you live to seal the deal with Vinyl or something
>they say it's no problem
>good old full pot of coffee
>this brings back memories
>you'd slowly gotten a resistance to the November Juliet
>these days you tried to drink no coffee at all unless you really had to, and when you did, a full pot hit the spot.  You got jitters after more than that, so you tried to keep it at one
>so you sit there, pounding back that coffee
>always deep in thought
>immoral, motivated aliens
>sounds like they can "grow" instead of reproduce, if they’re anything like weeds that spells disaster for everything here
>no ranged weapons yet, apart from the ship
>pretty hard to kill and very deadly in close combat
>also, there seemed to be few ponies here that could actually be useful in combat
>even the guard ponies just got turned into hamburgers
>you have a feeling that things are going to get pretty messy
>they didn't seem to care for diplomacy
>not much to barter with
>unless...
>fluffy had mentioned that...  What was it again?  The Source or something…
>maybe we could find out what they were talking about
>it had said that unicorns would lead them to whatever they were looking for...
>what if we found it, and held that as a bargaining chip or hostage somehow
>maybe that would get them to open up communications with us, get some sort of agreement or treaty
>worth a shot anyhow
>you also investigate methods of defense
>not much use trying to bargain or find whatever the creatures wanted if they just all ran in and played doctor with all you and everypony's organs
>you had quite a few guns and stuff, but it's not like you could arm every pony here
>well not ALL of them anyhow
>plus, you don't know how they'd hold or fire the guns
>you spot ponies making their way to the meeting
>better tag along
>it really wasn't what you'd call a meeting
>it's more Celestia declaring war
>all forces deployed in defensive perimeter
>curfew enforced
>Celestia looked so kind before, really motherly
>yep, don't mess with pony Princesses
>she dismisses the crowd, save for your new friends and yourself
"I fear we will have trying times ahead.  This foe is more cruel and senseless than anything we've seen before. I will be asking a lot from you all and I am sorry.  Girls, prepare yourselves with the Elements of Harmony, I think we will need them to fend off this enemy..." she finally says.  "Anon, you brought rather... effective... weapons and we'll need to use that to our advantage" she finishes
>she looks almost disgusted by the idea.  Not that surprising as you'd kinda almost killed her sister
"Princess, I'll do what I can to help.  If it means helping your ponies defend themselves, I'm all for it.  I think I can fabricate more of these with the proper tools..."
>she nods at you
"we'll see what we can supply you with" she replies
"Princess, if I may...  The creature said they were after something called the “Source”.  I'm wondering if we could use that to benefit us, maybe avoid conflict somehow"
>Celestia seems to light up considerably
"Did it give any other details?  This thing they're looking for, how could we get hold of it?"
"All it said was "the unicorns will lead us to it""
>the princess thinks hard, trying to think of what the creatures could be thinking about
>a pegasus guard flies in out of nowhere
"Princess Celestia, we're being attacked on the eastern perimeter"
"girls, Anon, please stay here and protect Ponyville along with the Elements.  I'll send for you if need be"
>the guard and her fly off
"y'all heard tha' princess, let's git our Elements and be ready if she needs us" says Applejack, trying to keep the group and herself together
>they all look pretty shaken up
>you're as emotional as a table spoon and this is even getting to you, must be pretty rough for the dandy little pony bunch
>Fluttershy, oddly enough, is somehow less useless than Twilight.  Pinkie Pie bounds off like a determined Pepe le Pew, Rarity just looks a little twitchy, nervously fiddling with her hair and Rainbow just rockets off towards some clouds
>Fluttershy nudges Twilight towards her library tree, and the half comatose purple pony trots off in a daze
>yeesh, you'll have to find out what's eating at Sparks McBookworm, and soon.  The unicorn has proven capable of pulling her weight, but her current state worries you
>they all move off to their homes and you're left alone
>the other ponies have been dismissed, most of them are busy securing their homes
>you decide to investigate Twilight
>you walk quickly to her tree house
>you hear shuffling, books being moved around by the armful, Spike's worried voice and Twilight sobbing
>you reconsider
>maybe you should let her sort her stuff out first
>you go see if the defense is holding, maybe you'll bag yourself a couple overgrown rhododendrons
>you jog east, finding something you didn't expect
>Celestia is under a temporary shelter, organizing troops and directing officers, in the center of it all is a white unicorn with a blue and white mane
>his horn shines, and a pink beam fires into the sky, it then splashes outward in a massive bubble shape, like a dome that stretches out for miles and miles, over ponyville and more
>sounds familiar...
>Celestia spots you and calls out
"Anon, is there trouble back in Ponyville?"
"I think everypony over there is okay, more or less.  I just felt like a fifth wheel over there and thought I could lend a hand here"
"Anon, that's quite thoughtful but I believe this situation is being resolved, Sir Shining Armor is protecting us.  It seems there was a false alarm...  The real enemy as not been spotted yet."
>Shining Armor?  That must be Twilight's brother.  You'd pretty much forgotten his name, but yeah that's him
"if the Plant-things aren't attacking, who is it then, Princess?"
"A threat we thought were gone from our lands...  Changelings"
>you use your left eye to zoom towards the far away edge of the field, and spot what is actually a Changeling, this time
>yeah they are black ponies, alright
>they looked like black, dead ponies with ripped skin, holes in their bodies and unnatural eyes
"that's just fucking GREAT timing..." you reply
"I don't think it's a coincidence either, Anon.  I believe they are planning to take Equestria while we fight the plant-creatures.  The Changelings are as cunning as they are cowardly.  We fought them off, they were weakened and banished, but they could very well wear us down now that we're about to fight on two fronts..."
>Celestia is oddly cold, it seems she has a highly military side
>changelings coming in for an easy kill, putting us in a crossfire? well the little bastards
"Princess, I think it's about time I take some of this pressure off"
>you head towards the edge of the pink bubble shield
"Anon, what are you doing?" the princess calls out to you
"sending them a message, Princess" you reply
>it takes you a good ten minutes to arrive in front of the edge of the dome
>you see the changelings up close
>you're hidden in the tall grass
>ugly little shits
>you pick up a rock and throw it at one
>the rock just flies out of the force field
>well now, this makes your walk not useless
>trusty rocks
>you flick the safety off your Fort rifle and point it at the correct "black, scary pony" and not goddamn bat-princess’s guards
>it's a goddamn shooting gallery
>you drop the ones farther back first
>it takes the ones up front a few seconds before they start looking around
>when they notice that their rear support is suddenly pissing cool-aid from holes that weren't there before, you're already pulling the trigger on them
>a few get away
>you let them
>can't really send a message if all the messengers have more holes in them than they should
>you tac-reload
>index dat mag with a couple rounds left at the pouch farthest back
>good to go
>search and assess, the attack group is either dead or gone
>you walk back
>Princess Celestia is waiting
"Anon, Shining Armor is reporting that the attacks have stopped.  If you did what I think you did...  How many Changelings did you...  Destroy?"
"about a dozen, Princess.  A few escaped, I think they will be more cautious, that's if they return.  It should buy us some time, at least."
”You should stay close to Twilight, you may be needed and I can contact her quickly through Spike.  I would also like you to watch over my student, Anon.  Hopefully, what’s left of the Changeling scout party will inform the Queen that we are more trouble than we’re worth.”  says Celestia
>you depart shortly after
>all things considered, the situation could be worse.  Sure, you had deadly daisies lurking in the woods, an army of cocky Changelings that want to get payback, a pissed off Princess, an injured Princess and more or less emotionally damaged magical ponies to worry about, but what else could go wrong?
>what was the saying again?  “We’re surrounded?  Good, we don’t have to go through the trouble of looking for the enemy now” or something
>you start thinking about an escape plan
>it leaves a pretty bad taste in your mouth, but you should be able to fill the battery for your bubble device
>leaving them all here to fend for themselves after you kinda accidentally opened the trans-universe door and let killer bean sprouts rape a wonderful little civilization of magical equines
>you are thinking about it, even if you don’t like it
>you’d gotten pretty close to a gruesome death already, but knowing the odds were going to diminish was just getting your brain going places even you thought were not fun
>for now, you think you should try to help out here, if only for your own sake
>you head to Twilight’s library, maybe you can find out what’s bothering her so much and see if you can talk it out