Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all let out a sigh of relief as they exited the hot-air balloon and walked into a Canterlot courtyard.

“We sure are lucky that that there smoke hid us from view!” exclaimed Applejack.

“Yeah, without it, we’d be goners!” added Rainbow Dash.

Twilight wasn’t as relieved.

“We may have made it into Canterlot unnoticed, but we still have to find the Royal Palace and save Princess Celestia.”

Twilight spent a moment taking in her surroundings before pulling out her map of Canterlot.  There wasn’t a pony in sight, and a thick black smoke obscured the normally majestic skyline.

“According to this map, we’re only a few blocks away from the Palace!”

“Let’s make a dash for it before anyone knows we’re here,” suggested Rainbow Dash.

“We can’t leave the balloon here alone,” retorted Twilight.  “It’s our only way back to Ponyville, and if we lose it, we won’t be able to get back in time to stop the invasion.”

“Ooh, ooh, ooh, me!  Me, me, me, pick me!  I’ll protect Alpha D-71!” shouted Pinkie Pie.

“Alpha…what?” asked Applejack.

“Alpha D-71!” replied Pinkie.  “I was doing a little thinking earlier, and we couldn’t leave our old friend balloony without a name, since he’s our way of getting home!  We need to bond and show we care, so how about a name!?  First I thought of something normal, like Super Balloon Carrier of Elite Ponies, but then I thought we needed something with a little more pizazz.  We are going on a super-secret mission to save the Princess after all, so obviously it had to be something-“

Pinkie squinted her eyes and crouched on the ground, against the side of the balloon.

“In-cog-ni-to,” she whispered in an eerie tone while waving her hooves in the air.

The other ponies stood with blank expressions on their faces as they watched Pinkie ramble on.

Twilight finally spoke up, saying, “We can’t leave anypony alone.  Fluttershy, you stay with Pinkie, so that if anything goes wrong there’ll be two of you together.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth as if to say something, but instead quietly walked back towards the balloon.

Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity began walking down the street towards the Palace.  They were surrounded on both sides by four-story buildings with broken doors and shattered windows.  It looked like nopony had lived there for months.

“Oh, how hideous!” complained Rarity.  “All of the fashion, suddenly gone!  Oh, how will Equestria fare without such elegance?”

“Ah do reckon we’ve got bigger doggies on our hooves, Rarity,” said Applejack.

“This can’t be good.  There isn’t a pony in sight!  What if-“ Rainbow Dash thought aloud, with clear trepidation in her voice.

“We can’t think like that, Rainbow.  We can only hope for the best,” said Twilight with an air of confidence.  Deep down, however, the unicorn was as terrified as the others.

“I do hope that we needn’t pass into that smoke,” said Rarity as they passed another empty intersection.  “I can’t begin to imagine what it would do to my mane!”

“Grr!”

“My sentiments exactly, Applejack.  It would be most gruesome!”

“Ah didn’t say nuthin’, Rarity,” replied the earth pony.

Rarity looked behind her to determine the source of the noise.

“Well then, would-“

Rarity stopped short, gazing back into the intersection.  To her surprise, the intersection was completely blocked off by at least a dozen large, green monsters with sharp claws and drool pouring from their faces.  The largest one was at least 8 feet tall, and he was darting towards the ponies, with the other monsters close behind.

“Run, everypony!”

The four ponies sprinted towards the Palace, but the monstrous creatures were gaining on them.

“Maybe we’ll lose them in the smoke,” suggested Twilight.

They ran straight into the puffs of smoke, hoping to lose their followers.  Even Rarity galloped into the smoke without hesitation, judging her life to be more valuable than her beautifully coiffed mane.

Twilight used her magic to clear the dense smoke directly in front of her.  Ahead of her was exactly what she had been desperately hoping she would see:  the grand doors of the Royal Palace!

Applejack was right behind Twilight, and she charged towards the doors at full speed.

BAM!

The doors shattered under the weight of Applejack’s hooves, clearing an escape for Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.  The inside of the Palace was pitch black, but that seemed irrelevant in the face of danger.  Twilight used her magic to seal the door shut behind them once all of her friends were in the room.  They all breathed a sigh of relief once the door was locked; they had escaped their pursuers.

Rarity used her magic to feel around for a light switch, and she eventually found one and illuminated the room.

But they weren’t the only ones there.

The light revealed hundreds of hideous creatures slobbering idly throughout the room.  These enormous green menaces were at least as large as the ones outside, and the light only revealed more disgusting detail.  The light momentarily blinded them, but they soon regained their bearing and began advancing towards the four intruders.

“We need to get out of here!” yelled Twilight Sparkle as she thrust open the doors through which they had just entered.

To her dismay, the creatures that had been chasing them outside were patiently waiting just behind the door.  They too advanced towards the ponies, blocking all exits.

“We’re doomed!” exclaimed a quivering Rainbow Dash.  She could have flown up to the chandelier and waited until an exit cleared, but she wasn’t going to leave her friends behind.  If they were going to be eaten by these gruesome monsters, they would be eaten together.

The ponies hugged each other as they accepted the inevitable.

“Thank you so much for being my friends,” whimpered a tearful Twilight Sparkle.  “You ponies have made my life so much fun, I wouldn’t give these last few months for anything.”

And the hordes were upon them.  The only question on their minds was how they were going to divide their prey.