Chapter Sixteen: Divided Downfall

Augury walked slowly along the tip of the mountain that he stood upon, keeping his head low as he peaked over the snow capped mountain top. Canterlot wasn’t too far away from his position along the mountain range, the road leading into Canterlot only a ten minute walk away. Groups of Equestrian military ponies had joined the defenses within Equestria’s central city, though their numbers were significantly less than that of the royal and honor guards. With the number of guards, however, the amount of military ponies was still quite large. High security or not, the outer boundaries of Canterlot were only supervised from the borders of the city, leaving anything out in the further mountains almost unnoticeable.

A snake-like voice broke the silence on the mountain top. “What is the purpose of being up here, general? The ponies are over there. Shall we attack now?” One of the changelings with Augury asked, rubbing his front legs together as puffs of air billowed from his mouth in the cold.

“I agree. Why do we hold haste when we can be feeding on their love?” The other changeling concurred, catching up to Augury and the changeling with him.

Augury reached his hooves behind him and forced the two changelings beside him to the ground, shoving their faces into the snow. “Shut up and sit still. I’m not freezing my flank off up here just to be spotted this early on. We’re scouting out the area, hold on for a few more minutes. Changeling, get your head out of the snow and help me figure out where the watch groups are.” Augury directed.

Both of the changelings lifted their heads up and stared at Canterlot. “Yes sir, general.”

Augury sighed and rolled his eyes. “I only need one of you to help me. The other just look out for any of the guards or military ponies walking around, in case they see us.”

The two natural changelings exchanged an uncertain glance. “General, which of us is helping you?” Both of them asked.

“Do you changelings have names?”

“Not normally, no.”

“Them I’ll give you two names.” Augury turned his head to face the changeling to his right. “Your name can be Shape Shifter.” Augury put his attention at the changeling to his left. “Your name is... I don’t know, Carrot.”

“Might I ask why I received the name Carrot, general?” Carrot asked.

“Because I don’t like you. Just watch for any ponies walking around, alright?”

“If I must.”

Augury shook his head lightly and stared back at Canterlot. “Shifter, look for the ponies that are keeping surveillance on Canterlot. We’ll need to know where they are if we’re going to sneak past them.”

“I thought my name was Shape Shifter.” Shifter spoke, scratching his head.

“I’m going to kill you both...” Augury grumbled as he planted his face into the snow in front of him.

“Isn’t that cold, general?” Carrot asked.

“Okay! Enough!” Augury shouted as he lifted his head out of the snow, but quickly shut his mouth and ducked his head back down again. “Shape Shifter, have you spotted any of the surveillance groups yet?”

“You have only given me a few seconds to look, general.” Shifter said.

Augury forced himself to keep his mouth closed, making a fairly humorous face as he tried his best to not yell in anger.

“Are you alright, general?” Carrot asked.

Augury let his frustration out in a large exhale. “I’m... fine. Both of you, if you would be so kind as to shut your mouths and do as I say, I’ll think about letting you live. Does that sound like a fair trade to you?” Augury asked.

“I would suppose so, yes, general.” The two changelings reconciled.

“Good, and stop calling me general every time you speak to me. Besides, I think I found all of the groups I could. Did you two get a good look over the royal guards walking around?”

“We have gotten an idea of what their general appearance is, yes.” Carrot said.

“Alright, we’re heading in then. Follow my lead, and whatever you do, don’t talk unless you are spoken to. It’d be best if you change now. Come on, let’s go.”

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“Isn’t this a bit dangerous, general?” Carrot asked, calmly looking around the area from the path to Canterlot they walked along.

“Yes it is, but it’s the only way in. You perfected your royal guard form, right?” Augury asked.

“Yes. Shape Shifter has also gotten quite a detailed form as well.”

“Then if you two don’t mess up, this should go perfect.”

Augury and the two changelings he had brought with him slowly made their way onto the main road to Canterlot. The field in front of the city had numerous towers set not too far from Canterlot’s borders, the military ponies inside making sure nothing unauthorized approached Canterlot. The procedure of making that nothing got inside of the city, however, was handled by something more elaborate. A force field hung over the entire city of Canterlot, much like the spherical shield that had been over the city during the royal wedding. Though it appeared to be the same as his spell, Shining Armor was not the pony maintaining the shield, but his superior in another division, Thunder Rend. Augury observed as the royal and honor guards walked through the bubble, the shield’s border becoming grainy and structurally transparent to let the guards in and out of the city. Although Canterlot was protected with a barrier, royal guards within Canterlot still stood to the side of the entrance, observing whoever left or came into the city.

“Look’s like we’re going to have to sneak in while one of the authorized guards steps through. I’m gonna have to find a way to distract the guards from noticing I’m not one of them, though...” Augury thought to himself.

“Are you sure this is going to work, general?” Shape Shifter asked quietly as the three disguised changelings came close to Canterlot’s border, beginning to pass by the military watch towers.

“It’s going to work. We’ll be fine.” Augury reassured.

Unknown to the other two changelings, however, Augury would be the only changeling walking out of his untold plan. Augury swallowed lightly as he and the two changelings beside him continued closer to the shield around Canterlot, the changeling general carefully looking around him. Seeing a place for opportunity, Augury increased his pace to catch up with a group of royal guards heading into Canterlot, Carrot and Shape Shifter mimicking Augury discreetly. Like snakes in tall grass, the three changelings weaved through the royal and honor guards walking in and out of Canterlot, trying their best to keep up with the group of royal guards they followed. The shield around Canterlot came ever closer, almost close enough to touch, and Augury knew that it was time to take action. A few quick maneuvers of his hooves lashing out unnoticed, no pony was the wiser of what was happening.

Carrot and Shape Shifter quickly launched forward from Augury’s cloaked maneuvers, knocking into a large group of the royal guards in front of them. The authorized royal guards stepped into the shield’s border from the sudden movements, creating a fairly large gateway into Canterlot through the blue barrier as they stopped to examine what had happened.. As the attention of the guards leaned heavily on the two royal guards recovering their composure on the ground, Augury slipped his way through the silent commotion and through the transparent part of the barrier. Acting as fast as he could, the changeling general whipped himself around to face the two supposed royal guards he had used as a distraction, blending in without a trace of him ever being in the mess. Carrot and Shape Shifter, still laying on the ground, stared up at the royal guards around them. Their cover was blown, and their chances of survival weren’t much better.

Augury shifted his eyes to the royal guards near the edges of the draw bridge’s sides. Holding their clip boards with magic, they scanned their gaze across the plethora of honor and royal guards in one area, searching for the unauthorized guard that had slipped past. It was too late for them, however, as the uninvited visitor had already made himself a part of the city’s normals. Augury jumped slightly as he heard two large cracks come from the center of the group of guards, turning his attention back towards Carrot and Shape Shifter. Both of the changelings had been forced out of their disguises, though they wouldn’t need the cover in their position. Their heads seemed to be turned at an awkward angle, but the view only lasted a few seconds before a large blanket was spread over the limp changelings on the ground.

One of the royal guards near the blanket sparked a spell and stared down at the two changelings under their cover. “Two changelings, neither of them Augury. He’s here somewhere, keep a look out, and remember, he’s not a normal changeling. Look for dark blue magic, that’ll be our only lead on him.”

As quickly as the royal guard’s orders had ended, the group of guards near Canterlot’s entrance dispersed. Augury stayed still for a second, watching as some of the guards grabbed the blanket on the ground and slowly dragged it out of the city. His plan had worked, the only matter remaining was the capture of another of the princesses. That, and staying hidden.

The display at the entrance of Canterlot over with, Augury turned to walk further into the highly protected city. Blending in didn’t take much time, as Augury quickly found himself falling into a group of royal guards walking through the streets of Canterlot. The security within the city seemed to be at the same level it had been the previous mission Augury had been on, the only difference being the posts of Equestrian military examining the ponies walking by. Surprisingly enough, the residents of Canterlot seemed to be unbothered by the security walking around, and somehow looked as if they enjoyed having the presence of the guards of the princesses themselves in front of them. The Equestrian military, however, had mixed reactions to their existence. Their new weaponry made up for their harsh appearances, as the power to grant non-unicorns the gift of magic manipulation piqued the interest of the pegasi and earth ponies in Canterlot. Despite the civilian’s pleas to let this technology into the public, they were only met with blank stares.

Augury continued to walk in the group of guards he had joined earlier. The route they took through the Canterlot streets seemed to never end, as the royal guard at the head of the group got new destinations to scout around almost every second. With every spark in the group leader’s horn, a new area was to searched, though as they continued to walk along, Augury got a daunting feeling sink into his heart. He hadn’t made sure he was completely lost track of at the entrance, and by the route that he was suddenly trotting through, Augury knew that something was wrong. The area in front of the palace courtyard was void of any other royal guards, though a few honor guards watched from the edges of the field. Before he could even react, the changeling general found himself in the shadows of the palace hall’s entrance.

The large doors of the palace swung open slowly, Augury smiling slightly at the sight of what awaited him halfway down the hall. A line of honor guards stood strongly with spears ready at their sides, staring at Augury with determination like they never had before. The clink of a sword being drawn rung from Augury’s right, the changeling general coming to a stop as he felt the cold steel of a sword touch against his throat. The royal guards that had escorted Augury continued forward to the honor guards standing in a line, turning around and facing the impostor.

“If you don’t want this sword to run across your neck, I suggest you stand still.” Shining Armor threatened as he walked into Augury’s eyesight, glaring at the changeling general with hatred steaming from his eyes.

“Ah, the royal guard and their beloved traps. I’m surprised you were able to-” Augury was cut off by the handle of a sword ramming into the side of his face.

“I didn’t tell you to speak.” Shining Armor said sternly, positioning the sword in the air with magic so it pointed directly at Augury’s chest.

Augury chuckled lightly as he turned his face back to Shining Armor, a large bruise marked on his cheek. “A little violent, now, are we?”

The changeling’s remark was only met with another brutal swipe of the handle of Shining Armor’s sword across his head.

“You’re asking for a much harder treatment than I was planning on giving you, Augury.” Shining Armor admonished.

Augury let out another laugh as he recovered from the blow. “You’re going to end up giving me a concussion before you can even get any more answers out of-”

Once more, Augury was met face-to-handle with Shining Armor’s sword. Augury’s head spiked backwards as the handle swung upwards from the ground, making a loud knock as it connected with the changeling’s chin. The attack was enough to make Augury change out of his royal guard form as he fell backwards onto the floor, Augury landing quite harshly on his side.

“Okay... I gotta admit, that one was good...” Augury managed to wheeze out.

Shining Armor stayed as cold as he was, walking over to Augury and pointing the sword at the changeling laying on the ground. “Get up.”

“I’d rather not.”

Shining Armor growled and threw the sword’s blade down at Augury, the tip of the sword implanting into the ground next to his head. “I said get up!”

“Alright, alright, have it your way.” Augury said calmly.

Augury spat out a small bit of blood that had accumulated in his mouth as he stood on to his hooves, wiping his mouth briefly and setting his eyes on the unicorn pointing the sword in his grasp at him again.

“I’m not going to kill you now since we could use some more information, changeling, but I will make these next minutes a struggle for your life.” Shining Armor said, drawing the sword between him and Augury back to his side. “Lucky for you, I am not like Thunder Rend. We royal guards believe in fair fights. You better hope you’re good with a sword. Platinum, give the changeling a weapon.”

One of the royal guards that had escorted Augury to the palace opened his eyes wide, standing silent for a second before he spoke. “Sir?” Platinum asked.

“Give him your sword. That’s an order.” Shining Armor asserted.

“Uh... yes sir.”

The royal guard hesitantly drew his sword from its sheath, throwing it lightly handle first into the air towards the changeling out in front of Shining Armor. Augury latched onto the sword with a levitation spell before it hit him, the changeling general looking over the strong blade floating in front of him. The battle, however, started sooner than he had expected. The sound of rushing air ran past Augury’s ears and he looked up from the sword he had been given. Reacting as quick as he could, Augury lifted the sword in his grasp up in front of him, a loud clank bursting from the collision of Augury and Shining Armor’s swords. Augury focused his attention back to Shining Armor, who stood not only a few feet away from the changeling general with his mind set on forcing the blade into Augury’s head.

Augury smirked as he stared back at Shining Armor, both of them pushing as hard as they could against the other’s blade. “A fair fight, huh? That move was a little dirty, don’t you think?” Augury asked.

“You blocked it, didn’t you?” Shining Armor confuted.

“Well, if we’re going to be playing that game, then how about this!?” Augury shouted.

The changeling general quickly kicked his back hooves off to the side, keeping his front hooves in place. Augury’s back legs swung out from behind him with great speed, his back hooves connecting with large force against the side Shining Armor’s front legs. Shining Armor’s legs swept out from under him, but found himself flying backwards instead of sideways as Augury brought his back hooves around for another strike, this time taking a direct route to the falling unicorn. Shining Armor stumbled back from the forceful kick, brining his sword along with him as he regained his composure back on all four of his hooves.

“A swift kick. You’re more capable in hoof-to-hoof combat than I expected.” Shining Armor admitted as Augury turned himself to face his opponent.

A voice spoke out from behind Shining Armor. “Do you want us to help, captain?” One of the royal guards asked.

“I can handle this one. Stand off to the side, we’re going to need all the space we can get.” Shining Armor directed.

“Yes sir.”

Shining Armor and Augury stood still as the honor and royal guards stepped to the sides of the hall, keeping their eyes on Augury just in case.

“I see you’re true to your word.” Augury spoke, twirling his sword around at his side. “Let’s just see if you deserve the rank of captain of the royal guard.”

“I think you’ll find that I’m capable of my rank as captain.” Shining Armor retorted.

“Then let’s get this over with.”

Augury and Shining Armor kicked their legs from where they stood, each of them charging straight toward the other with their swords stationary at their sides. As Augury came close enough, Shining Armor drew his sword from his side, curving it from its position to a full horizontal swing. Augury ducked down as the sword advanced towards him at immense speeds, the changeling stopping his legs and sliding along the floor of the hall past Shining Armor. Both duelists swung around to face the other, running forward from their stationary positions and sliding to a stop not only a few meters away from each other. Swords flinging through the air, metal clashing with each swing, Augury and Shining Armor lashed out their attacks as hard as they could, sparks flying from each collision of their swords. Their dancing blades left a trail of their magic aura in the air as they swung from every direction, creating a blue and purple haze with every maneuver of their magic.

Shining Armor lifted his sword high into the air as Augury’s blade was knocked back from the rising motion, the white unicorn jumping into the air and bringing his sword down with him. Augury brought his sword back in front of him as fast as he could, standing up on his hind legs and latching onto the handle with both of his front hooves. Not only a second later, Shining Armor landed back on the ground with his sword in his hooves as well, landing on his hind legs and slamming his sword against Augury’s. The momentum of Shining Armor’s falling only added onto the force of his attack, Augury ducking down slightly after the initial wave of power.

Shining Armor smirked as he stared at Augury through the struggling metal cross between them. “You’re stronger than I thought. Surprising, for a changeling such as yourself.” Shining Armor taunted.

“You damn well know that I’m not one of them.” Augury grunted. “Your royal guards beat the hay out of me just to find out what they meant when I said I wasn’t always like this.”

“And a job well done. An assimilated changeling, huh? I can see why you have such a good grip on what goes on in Equestria. The only thing I want to find out is who you were to know all of this.”

“You’re going to have to put up a bigger fight if you want that information.”

Shining Armor chuckled lightly and leaned forward, Augury tilting himself backwards a bit. “I guess I’ll have to stop holding back.”

Augury smiled and leaned his head inwards, his face coming barely more than an inch away from Shining Armor’s. “Try me.”

With a quick chuckle and a malicious look, Shining Armor cast a spell in between him and the changeling fighting against him. A large purple burst of magic separated Shining Armor and Augury, forcing both of them backwards quite a way. They both slid to a stop facing each other, Augury partially winded by the flare of magic against his stomach. Despite the slight loss of energy, the general and captain continued on with their duel, this time with a more mystical approach.

Augury and Shining Armor jumped back into a barrage of sword strikes against each other, but their endeavors seemed to be slightly more heated. Instead of bright sparks jumping from each clash of the two duelist’s blades, large spikes of magic shot out in the direction of their slashes, some of the spikes directed toward the floor leaving a burnt mark. With every strike towards the other, both Shining Armor and Augury’s attacks grew more and more furious. Slashes becoming wider and spikes of magic flaring farther, the battle between changeling and pony slowly became a light show of blue and purple. Most of the honor and royal guards pressed themselves up against the walls of the hall to get out of the way of the hatred fueled sword fight.

Fed up with the continuous cycle of slashing at each other, Augury decided that he would have to step his performance up a notch if he were to end it. As Shining Armor got the same idea in his head, the changeling general took his opportunity to gain the upper hoof. Shining Armor drew his sword back behind him and gritted his teeth as he brought it in an arc over his head, slamming it down at Augury as hard as he could. The impact between the steel, magic build up, and floor of the hall sent a large portion of the floor into the air after a powerful release of purple magic, a cloud of debris and dust hanging in the air around the point of impact. Shining Armor breathed heavily with his head toward the ground, keeping his determined eyes fixed on the cloud of dust that covered half of the rest of the hall from the palace’s entrance. As the haze faded away from the hall’s presence, a dark blue glow radiated from within the core of the clearing cloud.

Augury stood still with his sword angled upwards in front of him, his eyes closed as he concentrated on the hemisphere of dark blue magic surrounding him. Though the strike from Shining Armor’s sword had decimated the area in front of Augury, the changeling general remained untouched within his protective barrier. A large crack had formed on the dark blue shield from Shining Armor’s devastating attack, but the barrier had done its job in keeping the changeling inside unscathed from any further damage. As the rubble still flinging through the air landed back on the ground, Augury opened his eyes to peer at his surroundings. The hemisphere of protective magic around Augury disappeared as the changeling began to walk forward, levitating his sword over to Shining Armor’s, which had been lodged in the destroyed floor quite deep.

“Was that your best, or are you just getting desperate?” Augury asked bitterly, stopping in front of the sword in the ground.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t get carried away for a second. My best, though? You haven’t seen anything yet.” Shining Armor barked as he stood up straight.

Augury smirked and brought his sword to Shining Armor’s, placing his blade on the handle. The changeling general flicked the tip of his sword upwards, Shining Armor’s sword flying out of the ground and arcing to the white unicorn. The falling sword quickly lit up with a purple aura, Shining Armor settling the blade back in front of him pointing at Augury.

“Why don’t you show me, then?” Augury insisted.

“I would love to, Augury, but this has to end before either of the princesses show up after that minor explosion.” Shining Armor said.

As soon as his sentence had ended, the white unicorn staring at Augury disappeared with a flare of magic. The changeling general stood still for a second, pricking his ears up as the sound of hoofsteps clopped on the ground behind him. Augury turned himself around and held his sword out in front of him, just fast enough for Shining Armor’s sword to land viciously onto Augury’s sword. Shining Armor and Augury stood in another stalemate, their swords glowing with each of their magical auras as they pushed the blades against each other.

“Persistent, eh?” Augury spat.

“I’m not letting you out of here until I get some answers out of you.” Shining Armor threatened.

The struggling changeling chuckled lightly, yet set his determination on keeping Shining Armor’s sword from slashing into him. “My name was Salvation. We’ve seen each other around Canterlot before, back a while.”

“Salvation? I think I remember you.”

Augury pushed harder against Shining Armor’s sword. “Really now?”

Shining Armor forced Augury back. “Yeah, you were the little reject from the School for Gifted Unicorns. I recognize your whiny voice now.”

The changeling general growled and leaned into his side of the duel further, Shining Armor stepping back slightly. “I wasn’t rejected, I was personally held out. If it wasn’t for that damn princess, you would be getting crushed under my hooves right now. Not that I would be in this situation, anyway.”

Shining Armor smiled as he had found a weak point. “Heh, but look where you are now, fighting against your own species. Didn’t get enough experience reading those military books? They’re a real help, aren’t they?”

A spark flew from the colliding blades, Augury slipping slightly as he lost his hoofing for a second. “You’re heading into territory that you would rather stay out of.”

“Territory I should have stayed out of? You would know more of that than I would. You never should have been allowed to even worked with magic in the first place. I’m surprised Celestia didn’t throw you out of magic school entirely. And because of what, you thought it would be a good idea to read up on a magic class far beyond your level of comprehension?”

“Shining Armor!”

“I remember your face at the entrance of the school. Running like a waterfall! You were there when Twilight was enrolled and officially put as Celestia’s protege!”

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“What!? But I have studied for so long! You can’t do this!” A young Salvation yelled, tears welling up in his eyes as he stared up at the princess and two royal guards in front of him.

Princess Celestia stayed as still as stone. “I have made it clear why you are not aloud in this school. You can still study in Canterlot, but you are not fit for this academy.”

“Wait! I... I want to study here! Please!”

Salvation turned his head to look at his surroundings, the tears in his eyes beginning to fall. A group of ponies had gathered around the front of the School for Gifted Unicorns, watching the ordeal in surprise. Pleading for their help would have been useless for Salvation, as most of the ponies were loyal to the princess’s word. Ready to let his tears go at full force, Salvation stopped his eyes at the only other pony his age in front of the school. A lavender filly and her older brother watched as Salvation sat down and hung his head, the distressed colt already making a puddle of tears in front of him.

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Pushed beyond his limits, Augury couldn’t help but let his inner instincts take over him. A familiar dark blue fiery glow surrounded Augury’s eyes and two other voices occupied his own, making even the honor guards standing off to the side open their eyes slightly wider in shock.

A large grin grew on Augury’s face. “What’s the matter, Shining Armor!? Resorting to petty insults about my past to compensate for your own problems!?” Augury yelled.

The smile on Shining Armor’s face quickly diminished, the white unicorn strengthening his stance. At a loss for words, Shining Armor could only push back against Augury’s increasingly powerful assault.

“Missing your sister!? What about Cadence!? Having trouble concentrating with them back on your mind, huh!?” Augury taunted.

Shining Armor felt his hooves slide backwards, the force of Augury’s attack becoming slightly overwhelming. “Leave them out of this! This fight is between you and me!”

“Hitting a little too close to home!? I enjoyed the sight of watching Twilight begin the process of turning into a changeling! It’s only a matter of time before Cadence starts to show signs of turning as well! Don’t worry, Shining, they’re in good hooves!”

“Don’t you dare lay a hoof on them!”

“Scared of them getting hurt!? You won’t have to worry about that. The only thing you have to worry about is them not recognizing you when they’re changelings!”

Fed up with Augury’s taunts, Shining Armor couldn’t hold against the duel out of sheer anger and daunting thoughts. With a quick strike from the blade of the changeling general, a large snap erupted from the struggle between the two enemies. Shining Armor stepped backwards as his sword shattered into pieces, the immense pressure from Augury’s blade shredding the metal straight from the handle. The white unicorn was only left with a magic synthesizer handle in the grasp of his levitation spell, standing with shaking legs from the energy used to hold back against Augury’s persistence. The changeling general, however, had plenty of energy still in him.

Seeing an opportunity to end the fight, Augury seized it happily. His eyes still glowing and his grin still sinister, Augury charged magical energy into the sword within his hold, the blade of the sword glowing with an intense dark blue aura. Though the spell would make the sword dull to the point it wouldn’t even cut a piece of paper, the force that would be exerted from it could crack a concrete wall in two with one blow. Augury drew the sword back as far as he could without losing concentration on it, keeping his eyes on the white unicorn in his sight. As fast as he could, the changeling general whipped the sword out from behind him. A large rush of wind burst from the release of energy against Shining Armor as the blade curved upwards into him, Shining Armor’s helmet flying from the collision. Augury followed Shining Armor with his eyes as the white unicorn flew through the air and tumbled along the floor, eventually sliding to a stop at the doors to the next portion of the hall. Though his helmet had taken most of the force, a lot of the energy had rushed through in the wind, knocking Shining Armor unconscious before he even hit the ground.

The final strike landed in the duel between general and captain, Augury stood beaten, bruised, and partially cut, yet victorious. The glow around the changeling general’s eyes and the grin spread across his face died down into nonexistence, Augury returning back to sanity as he stood unaffected by what he had done. Though Augury’s intentions were to win the fight, letting the changeling within himself take control was a little much out of what he wanted. Augury let the chipped and withered sword in his grasp drop to the floor, the changeling turning around to face the honor and royal guards within the hall. Neither group of guards had moved from the sides of the halls, either because they were good at following orders, or they knew something else would come to console the situation. One option or the other, now that the fight was over, Augury was only just a changeling stuck in a land of ponies once more.

“Glad that’s over with...” Augury exhaled as he turned his head to the unconscious captain lying down on the floor.

“Your little duel with Shining Armor may be over, but you wouldn’t have enough energy to face against me, now would you?” Thunder Rend asked from the entrance of the hall, jokingly hiding a bit of seduction in her voice as she twirled her long crimson mane.

Augury sighed loudly and slowly brought his gaze to Thunder Rend, the captain of the honor guard staring at him with an eyebrow raised. “It must take some talent to put some emotion into those dead blue eyes of yours.” Augury said calmly. “Spare me the games and get what you came here to do over with.”

“Oh you’re no fun at all. Besides, I’m only here because I was requested here. The princesses knew about Shining Armor’s little trap for you, but we decided to let him wear you down. With the amount of information you could still give us about changelings, you’re quite valuable.”

Thunder Rend smirked and stepped off to the side as she heard hoofsteps behind her. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna slowly walked through the entrance doors of the hall, both of them glaring at Augury as they halted next to Thunder Rend.

“Celestia and Luna. We meet again.” Augury said.

“It was inevitable.” Celestia spoke. “We know what you are doing and who you are going after. It’s not going to happen. Guards, restrain him.”

Augury furrowed his brow and prepared a spell, setting himself in a defensive position. “I’m afraid I’m not going to allow that.”

“Then other means will be used. Thunder Rend, if you will.” Luna said, nodding towards the captain of the honor guard.

Thunder Rend chuckled to herself and walked in front of Celestia and Luna, taking off her helmet and setting it on the floor next to her. “With pleasure.”

As hard as she could, Thunder Rend kicked her front legs off of the ground and slammed them back down, partially cracking the floor beneath her. However, her action was not to intimidate, but to create an environment fit for her magic. Her horn glowing with a blue aura, a large burst of magic launched down into the crack Thunder Rend had made. The captain of the honor guard knelt her head downward and brought it up in a quick arcing motion, making a loud boom as the magic within the floor changed its own properties. The floor of the palace hall let out periodic bursts of electricity as the stream of magic within it coursed down the hall, Thunder Rend directing the buildup of magic towards Augury. In a slight state of confusion, Augury only watched as the bursts of electricity followed a path heading straight for him. Augury felt his muscles tense up and pain suddenly shot through his entire body, Thunder Rend’s attack going directly as planned.

After a few seconds of watching Augury entrapped in a cage of electricity sprouting form underneath him, Celestia cut in. “Thunder Rend, that’s enough. He’s not going anywhere.”

Thunder Rend smirked and let go of her hold on the spell shocking Augury, the electricity holding the changeling in place disappearing. Augury stood still for a second, trying his best not to fall over, but soon gave up after what felt like all the energy within him evaporated. The changeling general fell limply onto his side, just glad to be out of Thunder Rend’s lethal magic field. A few of the honor guards standing at the sides of the hall trotted over to the defeated changeling, picking him up onto his hooves and placing a stasis ring onto his horn. Through his slowly clearing hazy vision, Augury could see the blurry figures of the princesses and Thunder Rend walk forward to him.

“Captain, should we go get Shining Armor?” One of the honor guards holding up Augury asked.

“He’ll be fine. Leave him where he is.” Thunder Rend replied bitterly.

“Unconscious with a probable concussion. Yeah, he’ll be fine.” Augury implied.

Thunder Rend stepped forward to ram her hoof into Augury’s face, but was held back as Celestia lifted her wing in front of the captain’s face, Thunder Rend shaking her head and settling back beside the two princesses.

“Now, Augury.” Celestia said as she tucked her wing snuggly against her side. “You will be taken to the caves below Canterlot again for questioning. This time, you will not escape. I expect to hear where you and Chrysalis are hiding.” Celestia turned her head to the walls of the palace hall. “Honor guards, you may leave to the caves beneath Canterlot. Royal guards, return to your posts back out in Canterlot.”

“It’ll take a little bit of convincing to get anything out of me.” Augury spoke, watching the honor and royal guards walk out of the palace’s entrance.

“Then more force than last time will have to be used.” Luna jutted in.

“And... maybe some extra help from a certain captain?” Thunder Rend asked innocently, puppy-eyeing Celestia.

“He is yours to deal with once he exits this building, Thunder Rend. Do not kill him, he may be hiding something before you...” Celestia trailed off from her last sentence, shifting her eyes from Augury as hoofsteps quickly rained within the hall.

“I’m not through with you yet!” Shining Armor shouted at the top of his lungs as he charged from the other end of the hall, blind with rage.

“Shining Armor, wait!” Thunder Rend yelled as she held her hoof out in front of her.

Trying to stop Shining Armor, however, would prove useless. Catching the two guards holding Augury off guard as they began to turn their heads to look at him, Shining Armor tackled the changeling out of the hold of the guards. Augury and Shining Armor tumbled away from Celestia, Luna, and Thunder Rend, almost knocking Luna off of her hooves as they rolled along the hall. As they came to a stop, Augury got a full grasp of what was happening, Shining Armor coming to a stop on top of him.

“You’ll pay for what you did to Twilight and Cadence! You’re mine!” Shining Armor screamed.

The captain of the royal guard lashed out into a fury as he pinned Augury against the ground, repeatedly ramming his hooves down on Augury’s face with all his might.

“Shining Armor, no! You’ll destroy the-!” Celestia began, but found her words fulfilled by the sound of a metal clink.

A few punches into the rage Shining Armor unleashed onto Augury, his anger had covered his senses. The stasis ring that had been put around Augury’s horn shattered within a matter of seconds, the magic conductive metal the ring was had been made of turning into a fine dust. Feeling the energy of magic course back into him, Augury knew it was about time to get his objective over with.

Augury lifted his hooves up as Shining Armor brought one of his hooves back down for another strike, Shining Armor’s hoof stopping abruptly against Augury’s. The changeling pinned on the floor quickly fired a large bullet of magic from his horn into Shining Armor, the white unicorn finding himself flying backwards and slamming against the wall of the palace hall. As Augury rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself back onto his hooves, he felt the floor of the hall shake violently, and the sound of electricity snapping quickly pulsed towards the changeling. Augury quickly cast a small barrier around himself, only just in time for Thunder Rend’s magic electricity to stop against the dark blue shield. After a few seconds of holding his barrier strong against Thunder Rend, Augury was able to see partially out of the blue electricity surrounding him. Through the unorganized mesh of sparks and bolts of lightning, Augury could spot Luna and Celestia building up some sort of spell between them, Thunder Rend on the other side of the bright light forming between the two princesses. Knowing he couldn’t last forever on his own energy, the changeling general knew he had to end the situation he was stuck in fast.

Augury focused harder on the barrier around him, charging a magic bullet in the barrier itself. As the bullet formed larger and stronger in the shield, Augury directed the bullet along the outline of the dark blue hemisphere protecting him, directing it straight at Thunder Rend, and firing it. The magic bullet let off a large pulse of air as it shot from the dark blue barrier, accelerating through the air towards Celestia and Luna’s spell. Although it was only a magic bullet, Celestia and Luna knew that it would interrupt their spell. Despite the spell only being at half capacity, the two princesses fired the beam of magic towards the changeling. The white beam of magic disassembled the dark blue magic bullet on impact, continuing down its path towards the changeling within the hall. Celestia and Luna, however, didn’t expect what was to come.

Augury smirked as he saw that the two princesses cast their spell before it was fully developed. The barrier protecting Augury quickly separated at the highest point of the hemisphere, splitting into sections. The sectional barrier fell flat on the floor of the hall and crushed the source of the electricity flowing from the floor, Augury’s focus turning from Thunder Rend’s extinguished spell towards the beam of magic heading straight for him. Augury brought the sectioned barrier back into a hemisphere, though he didn’t put the barrier around him. Rather, Augury set the barrier in front of him. The beam of magic sent by Celestia and Luna slammed into the dark blue barrier, creating a large crack that almost shattered the shield. As soon as all of the magic from the beam had collected in the hemisphere, Augury closed the barrier completely, creating a ball of pure magical energy trapped within a slowly degrading casing.

“I’ve waited a long time to do this, Princess Celestia.” Augury called out over the hum of the magic within its shell, smirking as he felt the barrier restraining the ball of magic crack even further.

Celestia and Luna could only gasp as their plan, which appeared seamless at the beginning, backfired tremendously. Augury hurled the dark blue bomb in his grasp towards Celestia, Luna, and Thunder Rend with a levitation spell. Before the three ponies could create a completed shield to protect themselves from the ball of magic, the dark blue casing had already shattered. The attack that Celestia and Luna had cast burst out of its shelter as it came into contact with Thunder Rend’s unfinished barrier, releasing a large explosion of bright white magic into the air. A cloud of dust was left floating in the palace hall as the explosion was done, revealing the destruction that had been left behind. The two honor guards that had not set up shields to protect themselves laid unconscious on the floor of the palace, the blast from the explosion large enough to even hit them fully. Augury let the barrier he had created disappear from around himself, taking a look at his surroundings for a second.

Shining Armor sat unmoving against the wall next to the palace entrance doors, still knocked out from Augury’s magic bullet. The massive explosion had shattered the windows lining the hall, and from the lack of Thunder Rend’s presence, she appeared to have been pushed out one of them. Augury made his way over to the two princesses laying on the floor, both of them dazed and on the verge of passing out from the power of their own magic. The changeling general too felt as if he would fall to the ground any second, the energy he had used to contain that much power within his shields almost enough to make him slip into a coma.

Augury stumbled his way over to Luna, poking at her as he stopped by her side. The princess of the night only flinched from Augury, too weak to move any more than a few inches from her place on the floor. Celestia wasn’t in much better shape either, as she could barely even move her legs without feeling like she would pass out. The changeling general pricked his ears up as he heard a distant commotion outside of the palace, the explosion from Celestia and Luna’s spell attracting quite the amount of attention from the military.

“Damn it... I’m not going to have the energy to take both of them with me...” Augury whispered to himself.

Acting on impulse, Augury knelt down and scooped Luna up onto his back, almost falling over at the use of strength to hold Luna steady.

“Alright... here goes nothing...” Augury said quietly.

The changeling general bit his lip as he built a teleportation spell in his horn, beginning to panic as he heard the voices of the military grow closer to the palace’s entrance. Augury breathed heavily as the teleportation spell died down into nothing, his heart pounding within him.

“Come on... come on!” Augury whispered.

Augury attempted to cast another teleportation spell, but only found his magic receding once more.

“Damn it, come on!” Augury yelled.

“Hey you! Drop the princess and turn around!” A voice yelled from the palace hall’s entrance.

Before the military ponies could even fire a magic bullet at the changeling holding Luna, Augury and the princess disappeared from the hall. Augury had succeeded in his objective, though there was no promise of him making it out of the teleportation spell conscious.

“Buck! He’s gone. Search the mountains and Canterlot’s perimeter, he’s around here somewhere.” The military pony at the head of the group ordered to the rest of the soldiers.

The military ponies following the sergeant nodded quickly and ran out of the palace hall, yelling to the other soldiers that had followed along to search for Augury and the princess. The sergeant turned back to the palace’s interior, scanning his eyes across the annihilated hall set in front of him. Shaking his head, the sergeant made his way over to Princess Celestia who had partially recovered from the blast.

“Are you alright, princess? You aren’t hurt, are you?” The sergeant asked, reaching out his hoof to Celestia.

“I’m fine. Thank you.” Celestia said calmly as she grabbed the sergeant’s hoof, standing back wearily onto her hooves.

“Uh... Princess Luna... she-”

“I know. I... I know.”

“We’re sending out groups to search for her and the changeling. They’re going to-”

“Have them come back.”

“Ma’am?”

“Augury and my sister are gone. You won’t be able to find them even if you tried. Go tell your troops to come back, we need the defense in Canterlot.”

“Princess, I don’t think-”

“As your princess, I order you to call you soldiers back to Canterlot and return to their posts. Am I clear?”

“Uh... yes, your highness. I’ll call them back.”

With a salute to Celestia, the sergeant turned around and ran out the entrance of the palace. The princess of the sun sighed lightly and shifted her eyes to the unconscious white unicorn across the hall. Shining Armor hadn’t moved an inch since he was knocked off of Augury, the area on the wall where Shining Armor had slammed against partially cracked. Celestia turned her head to the window behind her, staring off into the mountains beyond Canterlot. Augury and Luna were out there, and Celestia knew that, but trying to find them would be for naught.

“Luna... I’m sorry.” Celestia whispered to herself, shutting her dampening eyes as tight as she could.

Only one princess remained. Augury had to be brought to a stop.

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Phew, action scenes put out a lot of words. The length is, unfortunately, going to have to stay where it is. I would split this chapter up into two parts, but considering this whole thing takes place in the same time frame and setting, there really wasn't any good place for me to split it up.

Anyways, if you're wondering about Augury's hostility towards Celestia and the little flashback to the School for Gifted Unicorns, that will be dug into and gutted out quite a bit later on. Next Chapter: [17] Suspending The Darkness Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 37 Minutes