Final Chapter: Salvation

“Are you sure it’s safe to be out in the open like this? They’re going to see us coming.” Shining Armor said, scanning the field around himself with a hoof above his head to protect his eyes from the rain.

“We’ll be fine. This side of The Hive was never protected very well. Don’t worry.” Augury replied.

Shining Armor focused his sight in front of him. “It’s kind of hard not to worry when I’m being lead by a changeling that I don’t even trust. But if Celestia thinks it’s a good idea, I suppose I don’t really have a say in the matter.”

“Trust me or not, I’m the only source that you have for information on changelings. I may have done some things before that weren’t exactly the greatest, but just put those aside now that I’m trying to help undo them, alright? Now come on, call the guards and soldiers. The Hive is just around this mountain’s base.”

Rolling his eyes partially, Shining Armor turned towards the mountain ranges behind him and Augury. His horn glowing with a purple aura, Shining Armor cast a small spell, a loud click echoing into the mountains as the spell released. A moment of silence hung in the mountains as Shining Armor waited for a response, but quickly snapped away as another click from within the mountains responded. Following their captain’s call, a large army of pegasus royal and honor guards flew through the air as they made their way to the field Augury and Shining Armor stood in, just outside of the mountains. Not long after the pegasi came into view from the snowy caps of the stone behemoths came the ground forces of the army. More than one thousand honor guards, royal guards, and military ponies marched out from the bases of the mountains, all of them converging into rows as they walked into the field neighboring the heaps of earth. Their hoofsteps against the grass of the field shook the ground only slightly, and the wings of the pegasi above the ground forces created a small gust blowing downwards onto the grass.

The previously empty field between the mountains and The Hive was soon filled with an entire small army of Equestrian soldiers, each and everyone of them staring intently at the barren and dead landscape of The Hive across the plain. A heavy downpour fell upon the outskirts of Equestria with no stop in sight, rain relentlessly pelting the soldiers marching along the field. With the sun setting in the distance behind The Hive, the sky took on a red tint as darkness began to take over. As the Equestrian soldiers came to a halt behind Shining Armor and Augury in organized sections, the only sounds within the field were breathing and the clink of rain against metal. The silence of the army stayed patient as two pegasus royal guards flew in from further off in the mountains, Augury and Shining Armor watching them as they made their way through the sky.

Shining Armor saluted the two royal guards as they both set down on the ground in front of their captain, each of them saluting back. “It’s good to see that you didn’t alert The Hive early. I hope you made sure that there wouldn’t be any surprises for us when we got here.” Shining Armor said as he lowered his hoof back to the ground.

“We checked above the clouds and the surface of the mountains.” Platinum reported. “I don’t think the changelings know that we’re coming. I think we have the jump on them this time.”

“Good.” Shining Armor looked past Valor and Platinum at The Hive. “You scouted out their home like you were told, correct?”

“Yes, captain.” Valor said.

“What did you see?”

“Well... that’s the thing.” Platinum said slowly, scratching his neck. “We didn’t really see anything. From where we were, at least.”

Shining Armor focused his eyes back on Platinum. “What do you mean you didn’t see anything?”

“Well, we saw The Hive, of course, but there weren’t any changelings.” Valor said. “Either they’re all asleep already or they’re playing chess out of sight somewhere. There weren’t any changelings visible from where we were scouting. Think something might be up?”

Augury turned his head to Shining Armor as the captain looked to him. “There aren’t any type of ceremonies or anything that would require them all to go out of sight like that. I think there might be something wrong here. Should we rethink the plan?” Augury asked.

Rubbing his chin, Shining Armor shook his head as he eyed the ground. “It doesn’t matter where they are, as long as they don’t know we’re here until we get closer to The Hive. The plan stays the same, but I guess we’re just going to have to find out where they are first.”

“Should we get the pegasi up above the clouds now, then?” Platinum asked.

“Not yet.” Shining Armor said. “Let everypony get ready before we make any major movement towards The Hive. We’ll need all the preparation we can get before this battle goes all out. Join back with the other guards for now. I’ll give the signal to start moving later.”

With a nod and a salute, Valor and Platinum lifted off of the ground and flew towards the immense army, joining with their fellow pegasi within one of the sections.

“This doesn’t feel right. They can’t just not be there.” Augury said, squinting his eyes as he stared out at The Hive. No matter how hard he looked, however, no sign of changeling life showed itself from The Hive’s surface.

“Out in the open or not, they’re going to get a surprise once the pegasi come down from the clouds as the unicorns and earth ponies start the attack.” Shining Armor said. “I’m not going to let us be pushed back again.” The captain shifted his eyes to Augury. “As much as I hate to compliment you in any way, I think we might have a chance at this with you on our side now.”

“The rain is going to make fire spells a bit hard, but I can do my best to support as much as I can.” Augury said. “What are we going for first? Suppressing the changelings or getting back your sister’s friends?”

“We’re going to have to focus on both at the same time. The pegasi and a number of unicorns can head into The Hive and make their way towards the...” Shining Armor paused for a second. “Where are they being held?”

Augury pointed towards the tallest structure within The Hive. “Unless Chrysalis has moved them somewhere else, Cadence, Luna, and the other five mares are in the spire near the center of The Hive.” He lowered his hoof back to the ground. “It’s not hard to miss, as you can see.”

“Mmhm. What about the security around this spire?”

“It’s just as normal as any other part of The Hive. Though, once they realize what we’re trying to do, they’ll more than likely try and defend the spire. If we move in quick enough, however, we’ll be able to get there. The main feeding grounds should be the main point of worry in defenses, but we’re not trying to retrieve any of them, are we?”

“If we don’t suffer too many loses and we get my sister’s friends, my wife, and Luna back, then we’ll head for the main feeding grounds. We’re at too much of a disadvantage in numbers; we can’t risk heading into highly defended areas until we thin their numbers out as well.”

“We’re in the changeling homeland, Shining Armor. There will be reinforcements and they won’t hold back. I think you would’ve realized this after what happened with the last attack that you tried to launch on The Hive.”

“We didn’t have a changeling back then.” Shining Armor suddenly grew quiet and adverted his eyes to the ground. The Hive’s perimeter had grown substantially ever since Augury had left the wasteland, the corrosion effect of the plant life almost stretching out to the mountains. Shining Armor poked at a dying piece of grass at his hoof, swallowing a small lump in his throat. “Augury?”

Almost making a rude comeback about Shining Armor using his name, Augury closed his mouth abruptly as he saw the captain’s saddened expression. “What?” Augury asked.

“They’re safe, right? Cadence and all of them. They aren’t... they aren’t hurt, are they?”

Augury thought to himself for a moment in silence. “I don’t think I have the right to say if they are or aren’t anymore. I haven’t been in The Hive for about three days now. I’m sorry, Shining Armor, but I don’t know.”

The white unicorn sunk his head down slightly. “Oh...”

“We’ll get them back.” Augury said quickly. “I know we will. We just have to stay focused and...”

Shining Armor looked up from the ground towards Augury as the changeling suddenly grew deathly silent. His eyes fixated on nowhere in particular and his ears pricked up as far as they could go, Augury listened carefully over the clink of the rain against the royal and honor guard’s metal armor. A slight buzzing noise slowly emerged from the raindrops distorting any sort of hearing capabilities, even Shining Armor beginning to hear the commotion of fluttering insect wings. The sky, despite the clouds and rain, was clear over the army waiting for their orders, no sign of any changelings in sight. The buzzing seemingly getting louder, a small panic grew into the soldiers standing in the rain, almost all of them perusing the dreary clouds for any changeling activity. However, no matter how hard they looked, there seemed to be no changelings visible within the field or anywhere around it.

“What the...” Shining Armor whispered to himself. He quickly turned himself around and looked up above the army, Platinum and Valor centering in his sight. “I thought you checked the area!” The captain called out.

Platinum shrugged in the distance. “We did! Where is that coming from!?” The royal guard yelled back.

Before Shining Armor could even open his mouth to give a response, the answer to Platinum’s question revealed itself. Beyond any hope of escaping, all the soldiers of the Equestrian army soon found themselves giving the ground below them a horrified look. Decaying faster than anything seen before by pony eyes, the field that the army stood in dried up and turned brittle within a few seconds, the previously healthy and green field now pale brown, tough, and coarse. Previously cut into sections, the field cracked loudly into pieces one by one, and with the weight of the army, fell apart. Useless as it was to run away, the ground soldiers of the Equestrian army found themselves falling into a deep pit below the field they had been standing on. Reacting as quick as they could, the pegasi above the falling army dove downwards to save their allies, but instead quickly found out where the buzzing noise had been coming from.

Out of the darkness of the pit flew changelings upon changelings, each and every one of them pouring out of the hole they had been flying in and countering the pegasi above the crater in the ground. Barely catching themselves before they hit the ground, a small portion of the soldiers falling in the pit levitated themselves in the air, though quite a few of their allies weren’t as lucky. However, as they set back down on solid ground within the crater, their sealed fates closed in on them as more and more changelings appeared on the battlefield, set on their targets with the intent of no mercy.

Barely holding onto Shining Armor, Augury flew above the crater with the captain, holding onto the white unicorn’s hoof with all that he could. Augury struggling to keep a hold on the captain, Shining Armor pulled himself up further onto Augury’s leg and cast a levitation spell on himself, lifting a part of the weight pulling on the changeling keeping him from falling. The battle raging on and the noise of screams and armor being beaten inwards too loud to speak over, Augury motioned his head towards the area over the crater. Getting enough of Augury’s point, Shining Armor redirected himself to look out at the massacre, prepared to start firing into the crowd, but fell still as his sight peered over what was happening to his army. Half of the Equestrian forces in the crater, half of them in the air, none of them knew what to do as the constant onslaught of changelings grew with every second.

“Shining Armor! Shoot! What are you doing!?” Augury shouted as loud as he could, clenching his teeth as Shining Armor’s concentration on his levitation spell left the captain.

“They... no... this can’t be...” Shining Armor muttered to himself. “We had it all planned out... we we’re going to get them back. How... could this happen?”

“Damn it, shoot! They aren’t going to-!”

Augury cut himself off as a small army of changelings separated from the battle and begun to fly towards him and Shining Armor. The captain’s weight holding him in place and the changelings closing in faster than he thought, Augury braced himself for the impact. The force of three changelings ramming into Augury seemingly enough to break down Canterlot’s walls, Shining Armor’s hoof slipped out of Augury’s grip before the entire group of changelings even passed over him. Shocked beyond comprehension by the sudden attack, the captain of the royal guard only stared at the rain falling beside him as he plummeted into the pit.

A splash of water lifted off of the ground as Augury and the group of changelings holding him slammed into the very edge of the crater, Augury sliding along the ground before coming to a stop with his hooves being held down. As the captured changeling begun to build up a spell in his horn, he soon found himself void of any magical abilities as one of the changelings that had forced him to the ground slipped a stasis ring onto his horn. Magical means of escaping taken away and his hooves restrained, the only thing Augury could do was pull as hard as he could at the changelings around him, hoping that maybe at least one of his hooves slipped out of their grasps. Almost all of Augury’s will to continue trying to escape left him as a peculiar changeling walked out of the group. Her familiar bright red eyes stared down at Augury as she came to a stop at his hind legs. She slammed a hoof onto Augury’s chest and the incapacitated changeling fell flat on his back, the changeling general standing over him leaning forward and setting her eyes not only a foot away from his own.

Ruin tilted her head sideways and rubbed the tip of her nose against Augury’s, the trapped changeling jerking his head away and growling. “It’s good to see you again, Augury.” Ruin said. “I’m sure The Hive will be thrilled to have you back.”

As Augury opened his mouth to retaliate, a powerful strike to the side of his head plunged him into unconsciousness, Augury falling limp and his struggle to escape halting to nothing. Smiling at her work, Ruin stood up straight and motioned her head to the changelings around her. A nod from each of them, the changelings lifted the out-cold Augury off the ground and slowly started off towards The Hive. Ruin smirked at the sight of Augury’s limp body being carried off into the distance, and she turned her head back to the battle over the crater. The majority of the Equestrian forces had either been cocooned or were in the process of being cocooned, the changelings around the ponies laughing to themselves quietly. The defeat couldn’t have been stopped. Nothing stood in the path of the changelings once the plan was set up, and now one of Equestria’s final hopes was gone.

______________________________________________________________________

The inside of the spire dimly stayed lit with the glow from the last remaining tree in The Hive’s borders, the cocoon hanging from the tree radiating a shallow green light. Within the cocoon still slept the lavender mare that had been put into captivity so long ago, Tranquility resting in silence as she awaited every second to be released from her prison. Her awareness of her surroundings only spread so far in her mind, the spell cast on her by Augury suppressing most of her inner thoughts into a dull hum. Despite the subtle cap on her process of thinking to herself, the lavender mare didn’t stop it from calming herself with thoughts of the past with Salvation. Though hazy, Tranquility dug deep into her memory, trying her best to find something that would console her the most. Searching, her mind only seemed to be a mass of dark blue magic.

However, something started to clear her pictures. Slowly, Tranquility could start to hear herself think and see pictures in her mind that weren’t entirely incomprehensible. Memories of Ponyville melted back into her head, along with clearer pictures of the stallion she had been longing for her entire entrapment. His light grey coat, his red-orange eyes, even his gentle smile that always said that everything would be all right in the end came into view. Even if it only was a depiction of Salvation in her head, at least seeing the face of her coltfriend made a subconscious note that she would be with him again.

Tranquility slowly opened her eyes. “...What? Am I... awake?” The lavender mare asked herself.

Though slightly limp, Tranquility pushed her hooves up against the clear side of the cocoon facing her, the numbed feeling in her hooves barely detecting the surface. The lavender mare jumped partially as she felt a pressure on one of her hooves as she pushed against the cocoon’s wall. Hesitantly, she moved her hooves away from the tinted green window, only to gasp at the sight of what was on the other side.

“...Hey baby.” Augury whispered, one of his hooves outstretched and pushing up against the side of the green casket.

Tranquility rubbed her eyes quickly, making sure that what she was seeing was actually there. “S- Salvation? Is... that you?”

A quiet jingling noise rung through the spire as Augury scooted his way closer to the cocoon. “Yeah, Quil. It’s me again.” Augury smiled. “I’ve missed you.”

The lavender mare looked around the part of the spire she could see out of the cocoon. “But... I thought you left. Why did you come back? I told you to-”

Augury tapped at the cocoon. “Tranquility, I did leave. I couldn’t take it here anymore; I had to leave. I don’t care if you wanted me to go or not... I never should have. I’m sorry, even if it was what you wanted.”

“Then... why are you here?”

The changeling on the other side of the wall sighed quietly. “It wasn’t my choice.” Augury pointed at a small bandage on the side of his head. “The Equestrian military and a lot of the royal and honor guards tried to come back to get some of the ponies that were taken from Equestria. The changelings... they knew we were coming. They knew where we would be. They ambushed us and demolished the entire army. We couldn’t do anything. So... now I’m here. Stuck.” Augury pulled at the chain around his leg, the metal links attached to the tree.

“They didn’t hurt you any more, did they?”

Augury chuckled to himself and lowered his eyes. “Aside from the harsh landing when they put me down in here, I wouldn’t say so.” He looked back up at the mare in the cocoon, Tranquility giving him a worried look. “At least they put me near you.”

Tranquility’s partial frown quickly turned into a small grin, the mare putting one of her hooves back on the clear wall. “I’m glad they did, too.”

The changeling and pony stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, each of them longing to hold each other at least one more time.

“Salvation?” Tranquility said.

“Hmm?”

“Are we... ever going to get out of this?

Augury sighed quietly and tilted his head downwards, taking a second or two to gather his thoughts. “It’s hard to say, Quil. So much has happened, and most of it is benefiting the changelings. Equestria is being worn down with every appearance of them. Even the princess is starting to lose it herself. She may not be expressing it openly... but she’s suffering. Even if she has her star student back, it’s not going to win the war.” Augury looked back up at Tranquility, the lavender mare’s eyes starting to glisten slightly. “I know I’ve said this before, and I know I haven’t yet... but I’m going to get you through this. You’ll be out of the cocoon, The Hive, and away from changelings. You’ll be back in Ponyville. Everything will be fine... I hope it will.”

Tranquility sniffled lightly. “You don’t sound very confident.”

The changeling smirked. “I’m not. But I can at least try, right? It can’t hurt anymore than it’s going to already.”

The lavender mare leaned forward, her face just barely away from the side of the cocoon. “Be careful, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt. Promise me you won’t get hurt?”

Augury shook his head slowly. “I... can’t promise you that.”

“Please Salvation. Promise me that you won’t get hurt anymore. Please.”

“I’ll...” The changeling paused to take a quick glance at his hoof. “...try.”

Tranquility shifted her eyes to the winding stairs out behind Augury, echoes of hoofsteps slowly stepping down them. “Okay.”

Nodding, Augury took his hoof down from the cocoon. “I’m gonna have to put you back to sleep, alright? The next time you wake up, you’ll be safe. I love you, sweetie.”

“I love you too. Goodnight.”

Augury shut his eyes tight at the sound of Tranquility’s words, though he quickly opened them and smiled at the mare in the cocoon. “Goodnight.”

Not long after the phrase left his mouth, Augury let the spell that had been on Tranquility seep back into her, the lavender mare slowly drifting back into her uncontrollable sleep. Augury let out a loud sigh as the hoofsteps that had been coming down the stairs grew clear within the spire, and the sound of fluttering wings made Augury’s heart pump slightly faster. Almost hating to do so, the changeling chained to the tree in the middle of the spire’s base turned around to face Queen Chrysalis as she set down behind him.

Remaining seated, Augury glared up at the queen standing over him. “What do you want?” Augury asked coldly.

Chrysalis lowered herself to the ground in front of Augury, coming eye level with her little captive. “I want to talk.” The queen said, her mouth a barely noticeable smile.

Augury turned his head away from the queen. “We’ve talked enough in the past. Unless you want to tell me something important, I’m not saying anything else to you.”

Slowly, Chrysalis extended her hoof outwards and lightly touched Augury’s chin, but was quickly dejected as Augury hit her hoof away from himself. “Now now, you don’t want the stasis ring to be put back on you, do you?”

“What difference would it make? I’ll only be stuck here.”

“You’d be a lot more helpless as well.” Chrysalis smiled as Augury hesitantly rotated back towards the queen, though his eyes stared off to the side. “It’s nice to know that you can still listen to reason.”

Augury shifted his eyes to the queen. “Reason? Or threats? Choose one.”

“Threats, if you continue on like this. I came here to talk to you about what is going to happen soon. You’ll be having a big role, I can assure you.”

“What? The big changeling parade? I’d rather not be in it.”

“No, and it’s nothing of the sort.” Chrysalis giggled to herself. “The final battle, Augury. The last chance that Equestria will have to protect itself.” The queen chuckled yet again, this time slightly more maniacal. “The downfall of ponies themselves.”

“Equestria isn’t defeated yet. There will be resistance. You can’t end this in one final battle. It’s useless.”

“Really? Almost two times the amount of changelings than the population of Equestria itself isn’t enough to bring the remaining forces that are left in Equestria down? The changelings have grown in numbers far beyond what you can ever imagine, and all of them converging on the biggest city in Equestria wouldn’t end this once and for all? They won’t stand a chance. With you back on our side, they’ll be hopeless. They know not of what we will do. They will be blind.”

“I’m not fighting for you anymore. I hope you realize that by now.”

Chrysalis took a deep breath inward and put a hoof on Augury’s cheek, the changeling sitting in front of her jerking his head away slightly. “Oh Augury. Back to your old defiant ways? I miss the old Augury. The one that would talk to me. The one that would carry out my orders.” The queen leaned closer to her captive. “The one that accepted me.”

Fed up, Augury grimaced and shoved Chrysalis away from himself. “The old Augury is only a fantasy left alone and helpless in your imagination. I’m not yours, I never will be.”

“A simple stasis ring can change that.”

Augury turned away from Chrysalis as quickly as he could. “Just go already. I don’t have anything else to say to you.”

Silently laughing to herself, Chrysalis pushed herself up onto her hooves and looked down at Augury. “The final stand for Equestria will take place tomorrow afternoon outside of Canterlot. I’m expecting you to be by my side during the fight. After tomorrow, Canterlot will be the home of the changelings, and after that, all of Equestria will be running with my subjects. Get some rest for now. You’ll need all the energy you can get to help bring Equestria to its inevitable defeat.”

Head sunk low, Augury stayed still as Chrysalis flew up to her room at the tip of the spire. As the fluttering of her wings disappeared into the higher levels of the tower and her hoofsteps grew out of earshot, the trapped changeling in the base of the spire pushed himself along the floor towards Tranquility’s cocoon. Though given the suggestion by the queen, Augury felt the sudden urge to close his eyes and fall asleep. The deprivation of rest wasn’t an all too rare occurrence to Augury as he laid down on his side, quickly feeling his eyes take control of their own actions. At least with the comfort knowing that Tranquility hadn’t been hurt as he was gone from The Hive, Augury could finally get some sort of comfort as he drifted away into a deep slumber.

______________________________________________________________________

Augury and Chrysalis squinted up at the blazing sun over Equestria’s plains, the bright blue sky clear of any sign of clouds or pegasi. The wind blowing ever so softly through his mane, Augury admired the mid-afternoon sky as he stood in the fields of Equestria alongside the creatures he hated the most. The constant chatter of changelings behind him itched at Augury’s nerves as he tried his best not to yell at all of them to shut up. His patience was already being tried enough as he had been waiting for what seemed like forever with Chrysalis for the rest of the changeling army to assemble, and now the noise that they had brought with them started to scratch away at Augury’s self-control. As a loud burst of laughter seeped through the quieter commotion in the army, Augury whipped his head around to face the crowd of changelings, almost all of the ones that could see him closing their mouths and standing up straight. Despite the loss of Augury’s position as one of their leaders, the changelings knew what he was capable of, and would rather not have his built up fury unleashed on them before the fight even began.

“Letting your temper get a little out of control, hmm?” Ruin asked, winking at Augury and nudging him on his side as she walked out from the army of changelings.

“I’ll remind you that I won’t hesitate to rip those ears of yours off in a split second.” Augury mentioned, turning his head away from the changelings and glaring at Ruin.

Ruin bit her lip and ran her eyes over Augury’s flank. “I’d like to see you try.”

“That’s enough out of both of you.” Chrysalis chimed in, raising an eyebrow at Ruin.

“He started it.” Ruin pouted, hitting her tail up against Augury.

“I don’t want to hear it.” Chrysalis said. “Now isn’t the time to be messing around. Go back and get all the changelings ready. We’ll be heading in soon.”

“Can’t we just go in now? I can’t wait any longer.”

Chrysalis growled and pointed her hoof to the changelings. “Now.”

Hanging her head slightly, Ruin sulked back into the massive crowd of changelings, though she didn’t leave without smacking her tail into Augury’s face.

Augury furrowed his brow and sighed angrily, staring at the ground beneath his hooves. “How you put up with her, I haven’t the slightest clue.”

“Practice, Augury.” Chrysalis said, smirking. She moved her hoof over and patted Augury on the back, the changeling next to her leaning away slightly. “I’m glad you finally got some sense in you this battle. Those five mares, Cadence, and Luna will provide good support against the ponies. What compelled you to bring them with this time?”

“My better judgement. I figured they could be of some use in the battle.”

“Guide them well. The ponies won’t dare lay a hoof on their princess, even if she is a changeling. They’ll be the perfect weapons.”

“...Right.” Augury paused for a second and looked up at Canterlot. The valley that lead to Canterlot from the fields where the changelings stood seemed to move slightly, and the distant sound of hooves marching made Augury’s stomach lurch slightly. “Uh... Chrysalis?”

“Yes, Augury?”

“What’s going to happen... if the changelings win?”

Queen Chrysalis chuckled to herself almost uncontrollably, though she gathered herself and sighed dreamily. “My subjects and I will thrive, that is what’s going to happen. Equestria, as I have seen it before, has so much love in it, so much food for me and my subjects to feed off of. Changelings will take Canterlot this time, and nothing will stop us from taking Equestria once this city is ours.” Chrysalis grinned and brought Augury closer to her. “And if you choose, you can be the second-hoof ruler of the new changeling driven Equestria.”

“We’ll see about that when Equestria isn’t as weak as you think it is.” Augury said, pushing himself away from the changeling queen.

“I am not underestimating them. I know what they are capable of. The only thing is that we are capable of more than what they are. Our numbers are greater, our tactics are stronger, and our ambitions won’t be hushed so easily this time. Canterlot is ours, Princess Celestia is mine, and all of Equestria will be taken by changelings. We will never starve when we take over this land. The era of changelings is at hoof.” Chrysalis giggled maliciously. “Nothing is going to stand in our way.”

Augury lowered his head down as Chrysalis let out a storm of laughter. “The outcome of this battle will decide that...” Augury whispered to himself.

The sound of a trumpet caught Augury’s attention over Chrysalis’s laughing, and the sight that slowly marched over the hills and along the river flowing from Canterlot brought Augury to a speechless and scared quietness. Thousands of Equestrian soldiers marched through the valley leading to Canterlot, each of them fully equipped with everything that they would need to prevent changelings from even coming close to Canterlot. Honor guards, royal guards, Equestrian military, they all stared out at the vast and abundant army of changelings watching their arrival. Spears ready at their sides, swords prepared to be unsheathed, wings stretched, minds straight, and fears pushed off to the side to the most possible extent, the soldiers wwere prepared to use any means necessary to stop the changelings, even if it meant to fight to the last breath. The news of the ambush on the army that was sent to retrieve the five spirits of harmony remaining in The Hive reached Equestria already, a furious fire burned in the Equestrian forces’ hearts. The sun over the ground units of the Equestrian army was reduced to a shadow with the number of pegasi flying in the sky, a dim darkness slowly engulfing the valley overlooked by Canterlot.

Against the numbers of Equestrian soldiers advancing, a familiar alicorn and unicorn both lead the front of the immense assault. Twilight Sparkle, silver armor on her hooves and body, walked steadily beside the princess of the sun, a magic synthesizer sword resting on her side. Fully equipped in elegant golden armor lining her legs, wings, and body, Princess Celestia eyed the changelings with confidence and anger as her military continued forward further onto the fields. Though she didn’t carry any sort of weapon, the determination in Celestia’s eyes was enough to send a shiver down Augury’s spine, and was enough to make Chrysalis chuckle mockingly. As the Equestrian army came halfway down the valley between the changelings and Canterlot, Celestia raised her wings at her sides, and all at once, the marching came to a halt. The sound of hooves gone from the air, Equestria’s final stand stood in an eerie and lasting silence.

Taking a moment to breathe deeply and collect his thoughts, Augury slowly extended his hooves outward, trotting quietly toward the Equestrian army across the valley.

Chrysalis eyed Augury as he came into her line of sight, raising an eyebrow. “And where do you think you’re going, Augury?” Queen Chrysalis asked, stepping forward slightly.

Augury stopped as the question reached his ears. He turned himself around to face Chrysalis. “I’m not betraying my home any longer. If I’m going to fight in this battle, it’s not going to be on your side. I’ll do anything that I need to do to protect Equestria. I’ve had enough of this. This is where it ends, and where I stand as one of them.”

Giggling to herself, Chrysalis motioned a hoof back to the changelings, and the sound of a cart being pulled made Augury’s heart jump slightly. “I was afraid you might do such a thing before we started. I’ve brought along a certain guest just in case. I think you’ll be pleased to see her again. She’ll enjoy watching you while she suffers.”

As the changelings standing at the front row of the army separated and Chrysalis’s surprise came into sight, Augury felt his legs go weak. In a stand within a harshly made and unstable cart rested Tranquility’s cocoon, the lavender mare inside still asleep and waiting to be woken up.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Augury?” Chrysalis asked, displaying Tranquility’s cocoon with a hoof. “She isn’t much of an incentive to keep around any longer now that Equestria is going to be ours. I don’t need her to have as bait for you to come back to The Hive. Join that army, and once the changelings have won, you can have the pleasure of watching her die in her cocoon. The choice is yours, Augury. Do you want to stick with my rule and conquer Equestria, or watch your precious little marefriend be disposed of right in front of your eyes before I take you by force?”

Not hesitating, Augury walked forward and stood in front of Chrysalis, his eyes slightly glowing with a dark blue aura. “There isn’t a damn thing in the world that would make me join your bucking army anymore. I’m not a changeling. I never will be.”

No need for her voice, Chrysalis smiled at Augury and pointed out towards the Equestrian army across the field. His mind made up and his intentions set, Augury gave Chrysalis one last glare before he whipped himself around and quickly trotted towards the assembly of ponies. Fluttering his wings, the false changeling lifted himself off the ground and flew across the valley as quickly as he could. The feeling of so many eyes on him, changeling and pony, slowly began to make Augury shake a little, though he knew that he had made the right decision. The sound of feathers flapping up and down tensed the lone changeling’s muscles slightly, and Princess Celestia’s bitter pink eyes sent another cold shiver through his spine.

Augury looked back at the changeling army as he landed on the ground in front of the Equestrian army. “If we lose... forgive me, Tranquility.” Augury whispered.

As the changeling approached the front row of the army, Celestia raised her wings in response to the sound of a few swords being drawn further back in the crowd, the ring of the armor plating on her wings hushing any commotion within the ponies.

Celestia focused her eyes on Augury and lowered her wings, nudging them against a saddle pack she was carrying on her back. “You made the right decision coming to us.” Celestia affirmed. “Equestria will need all the help it can get to stand up against the queen. I hope you’re ready for the fight.”

Augury nodded strongly. “Fight for our home until the end.” Augury smiled. “The Equestrian military books taught me that one.”

“And fight we shall.” Celestia motioned her head to the ground between her and Twilight, the lavender unicorn smiling at the changeling. “We aren’t giving up so easily. This is our home; we’re not going to let it go.”

Determined and honed for battle, Augury walked to Celestia’s side and turned to face the changeling army, Twilight softly rubbing her left foreleg on the changeling. For what seemed like hours, the two armies stared at each other, tension building within each of the two legions every second. Chrysalis and Celestia locked eyes from across the battlefield, the two leaders watching each other’s movements as closely as they could. Augury beamed at Ruin with his eyes unmoving, the changeling next to Chrysalis grinning at him widely.

And with one simple phrase from their leaders, the two armies, changeling and pony, ravaged the gates keeping them still.

“Holding nothing back.”

______________________________________________________________________

The battlefield between changelings and ponies rumbled with conflicts scattered throughout the valley. Changelings suppressing ponies, ponies attacking changelings, the fight was leaning in one direction one second, but soon leaned another direction the next. An excellent defense by the ponies kept the changelings at bay within the valley, any changelings that attempted to make a run for Canterlot stopped in their tracks and brought down. However, many of the Equestrian forces had been defeated themselves, and with their numbers dwindling exponentially, the soldiers of Equestria had been veering in the direction of the losing grip on the battle. Explosions of magic booming across the ground and sky, magic bullets streaming through the heated air of war, stolen swords used by the changelings clashing against armor, the fight of Equestria’s fate raged with utmost intensity. The changelings pushed harder than they had ever before, making sure no mercy was felt for their weakening victims. The fighting Equestrian soldiers still able and fit, they tried their best to retrieve their fallen comrades as the changelings took the beaten and battered units and put them in cocoons, but there was no use in trying to take the captured ponies back. The changelings too powerful of an enemy, Equestria appeared to be losing.

Augury, a small streak of blood flowing down the side of his head, shoved a changeling off of his stomach as it was smashed in the side with the blunt end of a royal guard’s spear, the changeling flying away from Augury unconscious. Recovering as quickly as he could, Augury pushed himself up onto his hooves with no hesitation. The battle already extended into early dusk, it had worn him down to the point of having to take a break for a quick moment every once and a while. His breath running dry and his head throbbing from the numerous hooves to the face he had taken, Augury surveyed the area around him for a second. Almost no where could there be a sight of the ponies winning, practically every smaller battle between changelings and ponies being taken by the changelings. Helmets flew randomly across the field as royal guards, honor guards, and military ponies were forced to the ground, their armor beaten inwards and barely holding onto the pony the metal plating was attached to.

“Son of a bitch...” Augury whispered to himself, groaning as he felt a sharp pain go up his leg when he set it on the ground.

“Augury!” A voice called out over the cries of agony in the battlefield.

The changeling catching his breath turned his head to the voice, in which two figures stood back to back.

“Keep fighting! This isn’t over yet!” Princess Celestia shouted, firing a large beam of golden magic into a group of changelings, who were quickly blasted into the air.

“Don’t give up!” Twilight added, turning around and aiding the princess as Celestia spotted another large group of changelings heading for them.

Breathing and swallowing harshly, Augury nodded subtly and rushed off into battle once more, quickly finding a few separated changelings and engaging them with all that he could.

----------

“Princess?” Twilight asked over the sound of her magic firing at numerous changelings.

“Now isn’t the time to talk, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia quickly said, lifting her wing up as a changeling leaped at her from the side, the changeling slamming to the ground as Celestia brought her wing down.

The lavender mare stopped her magic for a quick moment and looked around herself and Princess Celestia. No area within the valley seemed to be safe to take a break in, changelings running here and there as they chased barely resisting Equestrian soldiers trying to fend them off. Dirt kicked up from every inch of the valley, and the water of the river flowing through the battlefield raged wildly from the ponies and changelings galloping through it.

“Princess... we’re not going to win this... are we?” Twilight asked sorrowfully, calmly staring up at the alicorn continuing to fight beside her.

Celestia stopped her assault and looked down at Twilight. The lavender unicorn had small tears in her eyes, and her mouth curved into a frown.

Sighing, the princess knelt down to her student, and soon found herself with glistening eyes. “We’re losing, Twilight Sparkle, but we haven’t lost. We must keep fighting until the end. And if we do lose... at least you’ll be at my side.”

A short sense of comfort found its way into Twilight Sparkle’s heart, and the lavender unicorn nodded quickly. Both her and Celestia stood side by side and cast complex spells in front of them, two large and bulky swords forming in the air, one purple, and the other golden.

----------

Augury rammed head first into a changeling standing in his way as he rushed around with a spear, sending the changeling he had trampled off to the side and into the river. His eyes watering from the dust and dirt being kicked into his eyes every second, Augury pushed through determinedly as he swung the spear in his levitation spell at every changeling that crossed his path. The head of the weapon Augury carried flowed with a dark blue and fiery magic, any hit that Augury landed on his targets with the fire making a large explosion of magic that sent the changelings into the air in a ball of dark blue flames. Numerous spots across the valley had been burnt and dried up from Augury’s rampage, but the force was necessary to push back against the advancing changelings.

A shadow casting over him caught Augury’s attention as he ran along the side of the river, and a loud burst of recognizable laughter growing ever closer made Augury cringe. Before he could look up and stop her, Augury was forced the ground on his stomach as Ruin crashed into him from above, using all of herself to bring Augury to a slide against the dirt. The spear in Augury’s levitation spell broke and the weapon soared into the river. Still progressing forward as he slid along the damp grass, Augury rotated himself onto his back to face the changeling on top of him, though he was only met with a hoof to the face and a sinister, crazed, and bloodied grin.

“I hope you didn’t think that you wouldn’t see me during this!” Ruin shouted as she and Augury came to a stop, pinning him with her hind legs on each side of his body, repeatedly throwing her front hooves down at the trapped changeling’s head.

Trying his best, Augury blocked the strong and forceful kicks one by one. “I was wondering when your flank would show!” Augury yelled. “I was staring to think you were taken down before I got a chance to rip your heart out!”

Ruin, excitement pumping in her, bounced rhythmically on top of Augury, bringing both of her front hooves down at a time as hard as she could. “Oh this is so much fun! Look at your face! You’re so scared! Come on, play with me! Make this battle the one that I will remember the most!”

Augury clenched his teeth harder with each blow of Ruin’s hooves against his own, the kicks slowly bringing his hooves closer to his face with each hit. “I’ll make this battle your last! You’re not going to leave until I’ve burnt your eyes out!”

A small coo escaped Ruin’s mouth and she blushed slightly as she continued to kick at Augury. “Yes, Augury, yes! Embrace your inner changeling! Let your anger get the best of you! Unleash all of that hate! Hate me, hate me, hate me!”

His hooves pushed up against the side of his face, Augury’s head slowly made a dent in the ground as Ruin pounded her kicks into Augury’s crossed hooves. “Ruin!” Augury shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice coming out distorted and rasp as his temper began to overflow and cut loose.

Ruin opened her mouth wide and stopped hitting her hooves on Augury, her back legs twitching inwards. “Ah your voice! Your voice! I can hear it! Let him out, Augury! Let the changeling within you take over!”

The changeling on top of him stopping her assault as she planted her hooves on her face and let her tongue hang out, Augury took the chance to get her off of himself. As hard as he could, Augury lifted up his hind legs and kicked at Ruin’s back. Caught off guard and preoccupied with her thrill, Ruin flew forward from the kick and plastered her body against Augury’s, grunting slightly as her muzzle knocked into the ground beside her captive’s head. No time to spare as Ruin laid on top of him, Augury lifted his head off the ground and opened his mouth. No intent of holding back, he quickly clamped his teeth down on Ruin’s ear with full force, and the metallic taste of blood instantly filled his mouth. Before Ruin could even react, Augury jerked his head sideways, bringing the part of Ruin’s ear in his mouth with him.

A piercing scream filled Augury’s left ear and he spit out the chunk of flesh. Ruin, still letting her voice rush wild, arched her back forward and lifted her hooves up to her wounded ear, though trying her best not to rip her vocal chords as well. His plan worked better than he had anticipated, Augury shot a magic bullet into Ruin’s chest, the changeling on top of him carrying along with the bullet and flying backwards further down the river. Augury’s left ear ringing, he hastily rolled onto his stomach and arose to his hooves. Despite his quick recovery, Augury soon found himself back in Ruin’s grasp. A burning sensation coursed through Augury’s body and he jerked around in place, bright red cracks of light filling his vision. Slowly and beyond his control, Augury was lifted into the air and turned around, two bright red eyes focused on him as electricity pulsed through his body.

Ruin laughed maniacally as she walked forward, her horn crackling with the same electrocution effect that encased Augury in pain. “I’ve never felt so alive! This is what I have always wanted! Look at you! Does it hurt!? Does it!?” Ruin laughed wildly again as she stared at Augury in his cage of volts.

His muscles tense, Augury couldn’t open his mouth to say anything in response. All he could do was watch Ruin stare at him with joy, the red-eyed changeling laughing every second Augury was trapped within her spell.

Though, a sudden relief shot into Augury’s body as the spell abruptly cut off from Ruin’s attention, an honor guard interrupting Ruin’s concentration with the blade of a sword across her face. Her focus on Augury at the time, Ruin grunted quickly as a large cut lashed onto her cheek, a line of blood dripping onto the grass. Though his vision was slightly blurry and his muscles felt like they were on fire, Augury managed to catch himself on his hooves as he was put back on the ground, smoke coming off of him on various places throughout his coat. Through the glaze over Augury’s eyes, he could managed to pick out the blob of grey mass that was Ruin and the black and blue mass that was the honor guard. As his vision sharpened and Ruin was distracted with the honor guard, Augury shook his head clear and focused back on the battle. With Ruin’s eyes on the honor guard as she kicked him sideways into the river, Augury’s quick restoration allowed him to charge forward and hopefully get the jump on Ruin.

His plan quickly changed, however, a sharp pain piercing into Augury’s chest as Ruin whipped herself around to face him. Augury quickly came to a halt a few feet away from Ruin, his eyes wide and his mouth partially open in surprise. Slowly, he tilted his head downwards to meet what had stopped him in his tracks, and the sight of the handle of a magic synthesizer sword sticking out of his chest brought Augury to silence. A smirk on her face, Ruin let go of the levitation spell she had on the sword. Feeling the resistance of the spell leave the blade, Augury’s legs fell weak and he sat down, only able to let a few grunts out of his mouth as he stared at the end of the sword impaled into his chest.

Ruin casually trotted her way forward to the shocked and horrified changeling she had wounded, lifting a hoof up and tilting Augury’s head upwards so he could look at her. “You knew this was coming when you came to this battle, Augury.” Ruin said quietly. Despite the low volume of her voice, Augury could hear her clearly over any other sound within the valley. “Whether you were on The Hive’s side or Equestria’s side, you knew that I would be your end. Does it feel nice, knowing that you can finally let go? Tranquility won’t be a worry to you any longer. You don’t have to be afraid for her. She’ll be helpless and you won’t have to worry about saving her any more. You can fall asleep forever, and she won’t be your burden.”

Augury tried to speak again, but as before, a weak and hushed grunt left his mouth.

Ruin placed her hoof on Augury’s mouth. “Sh sh sh, don’t talk. You’ll die faster that way. I just want you to stare me in the eyes as your final seconds arrive. Remember me now and forever. Never, ever forget.”

Closing his eyes tightly, Augury felt a warm liquid build up in his throat, but he quickly pressed it down and managed to speak. “I’m not leaving this battlefield just yet... Ruin. Not without sending you out with me.” A dark blue aura surrounded Augury’s horn and he clenched his teeth tightly. In what seemed like an instant, the spell only let off a small spark of dark blue magic, and Augury let out an exasperated sigh.

Ruin shook her head gently and giggled to herself. “You don’t have the strength to do anything drastic, Augury. You’re a goner. Accept your fate.”

“No...” Augury whispered. He looked back up at Ruin. “You just don’t realize that some ponies don’t die.” Augury laughed to himself as Ruin put a puzzled look on her face. “Tell Frost I said hello. He’ll be excited to hear how you found out that he was the cause of your demise.”

“What are you talking abou...” Ruin trailed off from her sentence as she suddenly felt a cold sensation run through her entire body. Confused at what Augury had done, Ruin backed away from the changeling sitting in front of her. “What did you do to me?”

Augury only responded with a single mutter of laughter.

Horror taking over her smug expression, Ruin frantically looked herself over as her hooves began to form into ice. Speech lost, the freezing changeling danced around for as long as she could, trying to get the spell to stop, but only found her attempts to convert the spell useless.

Calming herself down and her eyes suddenly relaxing, Ruin smiled at Augury as the ice reached up to her chest. “Congratulations, Augury.” Ruin spoke calmly. “You managed to kill me. I’m proud of you, really.” She sighed one last time and tilted her head towards the ground. “Too bad I won’t be able to bug Chrysalis anymore. Goodbye, Augury. I’ll be seeing you.”

Whether they were tears or the ice already melting, Augury couldn’t tell, but he peacefully watched as Ruin already began to drip. Her entire body formed into ice, she stood up straight in her new ice sculpture form, staring down calmly at the ground beneath her.

“I’m sure you will be...” Augury whispered to himself as he stood up onto his hooves.

Augury focused a levitation spell on the sword in his chest and breathed inward quickly. With one swift movement, the sword slid out from the wound and flew away from Augury as the pain cut his concentration of the spell. He lifted his hoof to his chest and pressed it up against the wound, trying his best not to pass out. Augury stood still for a second, staring at the ground in front of him as he felt his hoof dampen with blood. He looked at the valley as he noticed the battlefield had grown quiet, and soon realized that the quietness wasn’t just him taking in what had happened. Changelings, thousands of them, stood alone, staring at Augury as he held onto his chest. The valley had come to a standstill as the Equestrian forces had been defeated, most if not all the soldiers in the process of being cocooned. Augury slowly scanned his eyes around the battlefield entirely. For as far as he could see through the settling dust and dirt in the air, no ponies stood or fought any longer. The battle had ended. The only ones standing, however, were the changelings.

A taller changeling slowly made her way across the field as Augury watched her with weak eyes. Queen Chrysalis, along with the assimilated five spirits of harmony, Luna, and Cadence made their way towards Augury, the queen smiling partially. The changelings around Augury slowly backed away from him as Chrysalis and the others drew closer, each of the subjects keeping their eyes on their queen. Chrysalis came to a stop a few meters in front of Augury, his back to the river. She and the wounded changeling holding his chest stared at each other for a moment, the wound on Augury’s chest explaining enough.

Chrysalis was the first to talk. “I’m sorry it had to end this way, Augury. I told her to keep you alive, but I suppose things happen that even I can’t control. I really was looking forward to having you at my side as king.”

Augury looked off behind Chrysalis as four other changelings slowly approached Chrysalis and her company. They were dragging Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle, both the princess and the lavender unicorn breathing weakly. The changelings dragging them set the unicorn and alicorn next to Chrysalis’s side, and the queen chuckled to herself.

“It seems that the changelings have won.” Chrysalis said softly. “Despite Equestria’s efforts, it couldn’t stand up against The Hive’s numbers. Everything that you have done has lead up to this moment, Augury. Thanks to you, changelings have overcome the forces that kept us out of this land. I can’t be any more grateful than I am for your help, but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to help you. This is it, Augury. The end.”

Shifting his eyes to Celestia as the princess lifted a wing off of her side to show him the saddle pack she had, Augury sighed quietly and nodded. “No, it’s not.” Augury stated, looking back towards Chrysalis.

“It’s over, Augury. You’re too injured to do anything else. You don’t have the strength to cast any spells. I wanted you to live so you could be mine, but it’s not going to happen. Please, Augury, make this easy.”

Closing his eyes and concentrating on his magic, Augury took a deep breath in. “Magical property number one hundred and forty two: conservation of magical energy.” Augury began.

Chrysalis squinted at the wounded changeling. “What-?”

“When magical energy is transferred to another object or living organism, that magical energy stays as it is, but only in a different state.” Augury continued. “If the spell that the energy has been converted into can be broken, the energy can be utilized again should the energy be conserved and contained in a unicorn’s horn within the unicorn’s capabilities. When entered back into the horn, that magical energy can be converted to other means if the unicorn can do so. No magical energy is lost during this process.” Augury opened his eyes and glared at Chrysalis. “And should it be necessary, this tactic can be used in combat when dealing with certain beings and objects, such as: assimilated changelings, charged magic crystals or weapons, and other situations in which magic is stored in a specified area.”

Blinking a few times in confusion, Chrysalis shook her head and stepped forward. “What ever you’re rambling about, I’ve heard enough of it.”

Augury centered his eyes on Celestia, who leaned her head towards him and subtly nodded. “Equestria isn’t lost yet...” Augury said quietly. “Last resorts are always an option.”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately stopped as she heard a strange sparkling noise come from behind her. As she turned around, she was met with seven glowing figures in place of where the five spirits of harmony, Luna, and Cadence had been standing, each of the figures radiating with a dark blue aura. Her confusion growing even more intense, Chrysalis could only watch as ribbons of dark blue magic streamed from each of the glowing figures, the ribbons flowing into the air above the queen and continuing through the air. Augury smirked weakly as Chrysalis turned around to stare at him. The magical energy coming off of the assimilated mares quickly snapped from their origins and flailed around, though they instantly straightened out and darted towards Augury. What had been a sparkling noise turned into a low hum of a large spell being built up, Augury’s smirk turning into a smile as the magical energy collected in his horn.

“The process of altering a being’s physical form can use quite a lot of magic.” Augury said, his horn glowing brightly to the point where Chrysalis had to shield her eyes. “Multiply that amount of magical energy by seven and you have potential for a spell that rivals that of The Elements of Harmony themselves.” He took a glance at the wound on his chest for a split second. “But unfortunately for you, Chrysalis, I’m not driven by my own wants. Equestria isn’t going to fall to a leader like you. Changelings haven’t won the war, they only won the battle.”

Within a heartbeat, the glow around Augury’s horn disappeared from sight, but another light emerged in place of it. The ground of the valley and some parts of the fields beyond the valley began to glow brightly, the center of the light sprouting out from under Augury’s hooves. Chrysalis, beginning to get what Augury was doing, started to walk towards the changeling to stop him, but soon found out what the spell Augury had casted was for. Her hooves remained on the ground, stuck without any hope of being let go. The changelings throughout the valley too found that they were trapped on the ground as well, a small panic beginning to arise in all of them.

“Augury, stop this!” Chrysalis shouted. As the queen tried to use her magic, she only produced a minor spark that fell from the tip of her horn, and a feeling of helplessness struck into her head.

“A containment spell, Chrysalis. You can’t do anything.” Augury sighed with relief as he noticed Celestia opening the saddle pack strapped around her, catching a glimpse of the five golden necklaces and golden crown within the pack. “You never could have done anything to stop this. Granted, I wasn’t expecting Ruin to do what she did, but if I need to sacrifice myself in order to save my home... I’m all for it.”

Chrysalis pulled at her hooves frantically as Princess Celestia stood up onto her hooves. The queen wasn’t the only changeling trying to break free from her containment, and quiet cries and pleas of help started to peep throughout the valley. Beginning to look for other means of escape, Chrysalis turned her head around to look at the changelings she had brought with her, but instead was met with the disoriented eyes of seven mares that had been turned back to their pony forms.

Realization dawning on her, Chrysalis looked back at Augury, her eyes starting to water. “You... planned this. All of this.”

“A letter can do so much if it’s sent before anything happens. We didn’t plan the loss of the battle, but the last resort, yes.” Augury confirmed. “The Elements of Harmony know no defeat, Chrysalis. Even you should know this.”

Chrysalis froze in shock as six mares walked out in front of her, each of them taking a place beside Augury. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight, all six of them stood in front of Augury with The Elements of Harmony fastened to themselves. Soon after them, the princesses of the sun, moon, and love walked out in front of Chrysalis. The final assault of Equestria wasn’t over just yet, and despite the slight confusion in the seven mares that had been returned to their normal selves, they knew what was going on and what had to be done.

“No... no...” The queen whispered to herself.

Augury closed his eyes as he felt himself grow a little weaker, but calmed himself and softly stared at Chrysalis. “This is it. The end.”

All at once, what had seemed like the victory for the changelings, turned to a loss that they would never recover from. The hum of Augury’s spell was soon taken over by the piercing activation of The Elements of Harmony, the six mares in control of The Elements banding together and ending the fight, once and for all.

The Elements of Harmony let off a large expansion of pure white magic from the center of The Elements themselves, an immense sphere of magic engulfing the entire valley with its elegance. As the sphere reached its limits near Canterlot, the effects of The Elements didn’t take long to show. Within the first seconds of being encircled within the radiant white magic, the changelings throughout the valley began to try to fly away as hard as they could, but were stopped in their efforts as each of them slowly turned to a fine, grey powder. The wind coming off of The Elements of Harmony blew away the mounds of dust as the changelings, one by one, disintegrated into nothing. One changeling, however, remained unharmed, and only watched as her subjects were destroyed.

Augury began to sway slightly in the place where he stood, the loss of blood beginning to get to himself. “Chrysalis...” Augury said.

The queen stopped looking around and focused her worried eyes on Augury.

“Remember the clone of Tranquility you made? The one that you were trying out memories on.”

Chrysalis, slightly shaken by the question, nodded. “Y- yes... Augury, I remember.”

“She... talked in her sleep. I don’t think you knew this, but I think some of your memories were transferred to the clone in the process.” Augury paused for a second. “In her sleep, she said something about me, something that I know Tranquility would never have a memory of, or ever would have thought of during our relationship. Do you know what it was?”

“...What?”

“She said she only wanted someone to be there for her. She said that she couldn’t stop these feelings for Augury, and that she only wanted to try to please him. She said that she wanted to stop everything and just talk with him.” Augury laughed quietly to himself. “She said she wasn’t sure if she loved him.”

Chrysalis lowered her eyes.

Augury gave the queen one last nod, and he smiled. “I’ll let you think about it.”

The glow on the ground of the valley suddenly reverted inwards back to Augury, and the bright light on his horn returned. Quickly as he closed his eyes, Augury released another spell, which headed directly for Queen Chrysalis. Too fast to react to, the spell absorbed into the changeling queen, and slowly, Chrysalis felt herself become stiff. She set her eyes on Augury as she felt herself lose feeling in her hooves and legs, trying her best not to let her tears fall from her eyes. But within a few seconds, she didn’t need to hold them back anymore, as the stone that she had become did the job for her.

And with the final changeling gone from the field, The Elements of Harmony knew they had done their job. The white sphere engulfing the field gradually disappeared from the air, and the wind that The Elements threw wildly died into the natural gust that had been in Equestria before. Along with the changelings disintegrated, the cocoons that were in the valley had been shattered, and the royal guards, honor guards, and Equestrian military ponies almost immediately rejoiced at the victory of the ponies. Cheering spread throughout the entire valley as the ponies stood up in place. The war was won, Equestria was saved, but with a cost.

Augury weakly stepped away from the river as he felt his strength degrade into a dull and shaky presence. With the magical energy he had been using from the seven mares he converted back into their pony forms gone, the source of life in Augury had left along with the changelings. However, a sense of comfort swept over Augury as he fell onto his side out of exhaustion, as for a split second, he had gotten a glimpse of his coat. The light grey stallion laying on the grass weakly looked over himself as he let go of the wound on his chest, and the sights of the insect-like wings gone from his sides, the dents in his hooves smoothed, his mane and tail no longer silky, filled his heart with joy. Augury was finally gone with his fellow changelings, resting eternally.

“Salvation!” Twilight Sparkle called out from behind the light grey stallion. The lavender unicorn ran over to Salvation’s side and sat down in front of him, jumping at the sight of the wound on his chest.

“It’s only a scratch...” Salvation joked, though he winced as a spike of pain went through the wound.

The other mares stood back by the river where they had been, staring almost in shock at the sight of the stallion that had been a changeling not only ten minutes earlier. The natural instinct of the Equestrian soldiers to return back to their princesses after the battle drew them towards the river where the princesses stood, but they quickly stopped as they saw the stallion laying on the grass, bleeding. A small circle slowly formed around Salvation as Twilight Sparkle stood up and backed away to the edge of the crowd, even the princesses themselves standing back and accepting that Salvation was beyond any sort of help. So much blood lost from his system already, the light grey stallion knew as well that he was at an end.

A frantic fury of hoofsteps broke the silence of the circle around Salvation, the ponies surrounding the wounded stallion turning their heads towards the origin of the hoofsteps. No regard to the ponies around her, a lavender mare shoved her way through the crowd as quickly as she could. Realizing who the mare was, the ponies standing around Salvation made way for the hurrying mare, each of them almost scared as to what she would do once she made it to the edge of the group. Her pathway clear, the mare raced forward without hesitation. However, once she reached the point where she could finally see the stallion in the field, her pace subtly dulled down to a worried trot. Her eyes coming across the red glaze over the grass around Salvation, Tranquility felt her heart sink, trying her best not to immediately let her emotions get the best of her.

Optional Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-cWIucsmOc

Salvation opened his eyes weakly as he lifted his head up, and upon coming across the shocked mare staring at him from the edge of the ponies around him, he couldn’t help but form his mouth into a smile. “I told you that I would try.” Salvation said quietly. “I never promised anything...”

Only able to let a small gust of air out of her mouth, Tranquility raced forward and quickly sat down beside Salvation. “No... no! Salvation... no...” Tranquility muttered slowly, tears already beginning to fall from her eyes.

The light grey stallion chuckled lightly. “I got you out of the cocoon... didn’t I? I said I would.” Salvation rested his head back on the ground. “It probably feels nice to feel the wind against you again, doesn’t it?”

Tranquility reached outwards and grabbed onto Salvation’s hoof. “You didn’t have to do this. You could have been safe. You wouldn’t be like this...”

“I couldn’t let you go, Quil. You didn’t deserve anything that happened to you. Everything was my fault. I could’ve avoided this all if I would’ve just listened to you.” Salvation coughed quietly. “Heh... but when have I ever listened to myself?”

Tranquility tightened her grip on Salvation’s hoof, the stallion laying in front of her returning the gesture as best as he could. “You said you would leave me...” Tranquility whispered. “You said would forget about me. I told you to. I wanted you to live... I didn’t want it to end like this. I... I...”

Salvation lifted his hoof to Tranquility’s mouth, the lavender mare trying her best to stop her sobs. “Happiness, time spent with the ones you love...” Salvation spoke softly. Almost immediately, Tranquility began to let her tears go. “Push aside the sadness... and stare into the sky above. Reflect on the past, keep the memories... and you’ll have nothing to fear. The present isn’t the best place to be... when within your eyes...”

Tranquility felt her tears fall harder as Salvation grew silent for a second, the lavender mare trying her best to speak clearly. “...are tears.”

Salvation’s mouth curved into a small smile, the corners of his mouth quivering only slightly. “Let the light of day... guide your dreams...”

Tranquility closed her eyes and leaned forward, resting her head on Salvation’s chest, listening to his heartbeat slowly dwindle. “Let the dark of night... cover your seams...”

Suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion come over him, Salvation’s eyes started to feel heavy as they slowly closed. “When all looks lost... think of the past...”

Her tears falling forcefully as Salvation’s heartbeat grew even weaker, Tranquility squeezed harder onto her coltfriend’s hoof. “...the memories... that will forever last.”

The light grey stallion stayed quiet for a second, opening his eyes again to look up at the sky. He lifted his hoof off of the ground and placed it gently on Tranquility’s head, slowly running his hoof down her mane. “I love you... Tranquility...”

Tranquility lifted her head up to Salvation’s head, leaning forward and pressing her lips against Salvation’s. “I love you, Salvation...”

With one last small breath, Salvation slowly let his hoof back down on the ground, his head limply rolling to the side. True to his word, Salvation had kept Tranquility safe, far from harm, no matter the consequences. Chrysalis defeated and Tranquility freed from her cocoon, Augury’s task was done.

The lavender mare resting on Salvation eased herself into a ball, letting her back push up against Salvation’s side with every sob. Her cries filled the silence that the valley had found itself in, the ponies around her watching with tears beginning to fall from their eyes as well. Despite his actions as a changeling, his sacrifice to stop the onslaught across Equestria was not an action of a changeling, but a pony. The same pony that he had been before any of the events with him and the changelings. The same pony he had been before the loss of Frost. The same pony he had been before being forced to commit atrocities against his home.

The same pony he had always been.

Salvation.

The End Next Chapter: [Epilogue] Reconstruction Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes