Wardaddy

"Welcome to Rainbow Burger, home of the Rainbow Burger. May I take your order?" LOL, but seriously, I got nothing. The thread reminded me of Good Burger and I'd thought I'd drop by.

Chapter 9-At Death's Door Rain cascaded down upon the jagged, black mountains of the Equestrian Badlands as a storm brewed, both above in the clouds, and on the ground below. Across the black, rocky surface, a large army of Royal Guards stomped along towards the Changeling Hive, their armor clanking as they moved. However, these were not ordinary Royal Guards. They were Celestia's one-time assault force; The Solar Knights. They came dressed in ornate black and golden armor, with the cutie mark of the princess emblazoned in gold on the front chestplate. The unicorns were taught new spells designed purely for combat, the pegasi were the elite of the elite when it came to airborne battle, and the Earth ponies were simply the best fighters in all of the Equestrian armed forces. They were fitter, faster and much more fierce than the regular Royal Guards. All in all, Shining Armor's drill sergeants had moulded them into the best of the best. Alas, Shining Armor was not there to lead them. In his place stood his adjutant and closest ally, Valiant Courage, a lieutenant in the Royal Guard. As for Shining Armor, he was accompanying the Mane 6 up a side road which ran along the main valley, through which the Knights marched. The girls ensured they remained invisible among the rocks, however that would be difficult, considering the bright colours of their respective coats. Among the six ponies, there were nerves rattling with fear. Even Pinkie was anxious about her situation, but at least she wasn't as bad as Fluttershy. She had never been to the Badlands in her lifetime, and already it was shaking her to her very core. "Twilight, I'm scared" whimpered the yellow pegasus, her body shaking like a leaf. "I know Fluttershy" replied Twilight. "Just try to relax. At least the Changelings don't know we're here". Despite acknowledging Twilight's words, Fluttershy could not relax. This was perhaps the most terrifying experience of her life, even more so than when the Ursa Major attacked Ponyville, with Trixie powerless to fend it off. After a few more moments of weaving through the rocky landscape, the Hive came into view. Truly it was a sight as fearsome as it was menacing. From the many cracks and holes in the mountain, eerie green light spewed forth, and thick black smoke rose into the sky. Truly this was a place no pony alive would look forward to entering. However, silence suddenly descended over the valley as the Knights stopped marching. Shining was the first to notice why. "Twily, hold up". "What is it?" Asked Twilight in response. Shining grit his teeth, his tail flicking with anticipation. "They're here" he growled, as his eyes fell on the gathered mass of black, fanged and armoured insects on the opposite end of the valley. Growling and sneering maliciously, the Changelings began stamping their hooves in time to the beat of a drum, lined with the skin of a griffon. One Changeling rasped a growl of fierceness as he prepared to do battle with the Solar Knights. The latter were also bracing themselves, when suddenly Valiant Courage took two steps forward, raised his hoof in the air and bellowed a cry of defiance, with his Knights following suit. As his army roared, cried and hollered behind him, Courage silenced himself and pointed his hoof at his opponents. "FOR EQUESTRIA! CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!!!!!" In that instant, the entire mass of Solar Knights charged at the Changelings, roaring with fury. The latter followed suit, the frontal battery of Changeling unicorns firing a mix of concussive and love-draining spells at the ponies. Within seconds, the two armies clashed, and all manner of hell broke loose in the valley. Back up on the side road, Shining turned to face Twilight. "This is it Twiley. Either we get into the hive now, or I'll have lost my Cady forever". With a nod, Twilight then rallied the Mane 5 to her side. "What do you say girls?". "A'hm all in Sugarcube" Answered Applejack. "Me too!" Added Pinkie. "It would be my honour" Said Rarity. "Um, yeah....as long as nopony gets hurt" Said Fluttershy timidly. Happy with the response she got, Twilight turned to face her brother. "Lets go Shiny. It's time we end this together". With that, the group moved towards the hive. The first obstacle was a bridge leading to a side gate, guarded by a mix of Changelings. Twilight would be the first to get their attention. From the best range she could get, the purple unicorn fired a concussive spell which hit the bridge. The bait worked, as one of the two Changelings guarding the gate ordered his comrades to locate the source of that spell. Using the environment to camouflage themselves as best as they could, the Mane 6 and Shining waited to pounce on the Changelings, and after a moment's waiting, they pulled the trigger. "Now!" Barked Twilight, quickly pouncing on one of the two Changelings. "What the-" Was all the lead Changeling could say before Applejack landed a devastating blow with her hind legs. Unfortunately, the Changelings at the gate saw them. "Alert the commander, quickly! I will deal with them" Said the first Changeling, before running down to the ambush, leaving his comrade to run inside. Pinkie looked up to see the Changeling galloping towards her at full blast. In short time, she pulled out her party cannon and yelled "Surprise!" before blasting a load of streamers at the insect. "AAAGH! MY EYES!" Screamed the Changeling as his hooves became tangled up in the mess. Applejack did the honours by bucking the Changeling in the face, knocking him out cold. "Come on y'all. Cadance is waitin' fer us" Said Applejack, who led the group towards the gate. The battle was well and truly on at this point. The Mane 6 knew their mission, and were ready to see it done. However, there was one important issue in the back of Twilight's mind. How would Cadance react when she saw them? Would she be still angry, or would she be delighted to see them? The answer to Twilight was obvious, but still she was concerned. Still, they had a job to do, and so she had to focus. Get in, get Cadance, get out. Meanwhile, Canterlot was buzzing with activity as construction ponies worked to repair the damage done to the city during the attack. At the request of her sister, Princess Luna was busy tending to the townsponies, ensuring that nopony was hurt and that their homes and possessions were intact. If there was any damage that the ponies wanted fixed, Luna would have her accompanying Royal Guard take down their name and address on a list, before commissioning civil service ponies to look after them as soon as possible. For the moment, all seemed well, until a pair of Royal Guards carrying two APB notices with their magic, stepped in front of her. "Your Majesty, it is with deep regret that I show you these". The two Guards moved their signs in front of them, so Luna could read them. Taking a moment to study the signs, Luna looked back up in shock. "But....how can this be?! They made nice with Lady Sparkle! And it wasn't their fault that a Changeling pulled them like puppets on a string!" "Be that as it may, Princess, Captain Armour, Princess Celestia and the five Element Bearers must be brought to face justice. Lady Sparkle was the key to putting an end to this before it even began, and there can be no greater punishment for the crime of ignoring and blatantly abandoning her to whatever fate may have befallen her than watching everypony die by the Changeling's hooves. Fortunately for them, that didn't happen, so now they must face the royal court! Oh, and princess, any attempt to interfere with the proceedings will be met with severe consequences". With that, the two Guards walked off, leaving Luna utterly shellshocked. Not only did Celestia, Shining Armor and the Element Bearers face the wrath of Twilight and the Changelings in quick succession, but now they would face the wrath of the Canterlot court! And worse still, she was powerless to intervene. However, Luna smiled as she managed to retain faith in Twilight, whom she knew would be able to step in and defend their case. Knowing this, Luna returned to work with a spring in her step.