Chapter 5

To say Twilight had a bad day would be the understatement of the decade, getting attacked by Changelings was definitely nothing she was expecting to happen.

By the moment she regained consciousness she could tell that something was very wrong. She had no feeling in her body and no matter how hard she tried she could not get her eyes open

“Am I in a coma?” she asked herself… wait there was a echo that meant that this was a actual place, it was physical and very dark.

She could have could been foalnapped and she simply was restrained, should she shout out? well it wouldn’t hurt to try.

“Hallo? can somepony hear me?!” she shouted out.

She was expecting some reaction maybe her abductor to show himself, but what happened was that her vision suddenly got bright as if she had opened her eyes, she blinked a few times at least that is what she tried to do, she received no reaction and was starting to panic a bit.

“Twilight, are you awake?” came the voice of her mentor.

“Princess what is going on i cant feel my body and my ey...?!”

“Princess, are you alright?” Her vision suddenly was on a double door and the ponies standing in it, there was a doctor and her friends staring at her. She had to be at a really strange position because she was looking down on them.

“Twilight I know it is hard but I need you to keep calm while i explain to you what happened” came her mentors calming voice.

“You can speak to Twilight, is she ok in there, can we talk to her!?” a really worried Rainbow Dash rushed to her chest and watched her chest piece…

Wait a minute since when am I wearing Celestias chest piece and why is my fur white speaking of which were is the Princess?! Twilight thought as she was getting more panicked every moment.

Nothing made sense to her, why couldn’t she feel her body that was acting like on its own, why was she wearing Celestias jewelry and why was she so high up and where was her Mentor?

“Twilight come down I have a logical explanation for you, just listen” came The Pricesses voice.

Logical, that was good that was what she needed right now she claimed herself, her vision shifting slightly while her friends slowly backed away from her.

“First of all what do you remember?” she asked.

“Well, the day started normal I woke up, at breakfast, did my checklist that I made ready from the day before, what included buying more supplies from the marked… t-than the Changelings attacked, everything happened so fast, they did something, it hurt so much, then i blacked out” Twilight slowly explained.

“I will start when I received the message from the attack, Spike sended it to me on a piece of wood right when it happened, yes he is ok, he is a dragon Twilight don't forget that” she quickly interrupted herself as she felt her students worry “The moment I got the massage i teleported to ponyville to help...”

Princess Celestia was burning with rage, the last time that happened was when she was fighting king Sombra and her sister got hurt in the battle. When she fought Queen Chrysalis she was using her whole strength but she was not angry she was in control she could focus all her magic on one point. Right now she was bursting with uncontrolled energy ready to smite all threats that dared to harm her student.

She was expecting a battlefield, the elements fighting the Changelings,she was expecting a assassin that was attacking her student, she was expecting Chrysalis holding her student hostage and demanding the kingdom.

What she was not expecting was the sight of a destroyed marked, her student screaming her lungs out and boiling with magic, there were a few unconscious ponies, the place seemed to be filled with some kind of strange crystals and in the middle was laying one Changeling who seemed to be knocked out.

Seeing that the battle was already over Celestia quickly dismissed her rage-fire and flew down to help with first aid. Her first target being the still screaming Twilight, she was screaming no words, just a plain scream of pain.

She tried to use some medical spells on her student to see what was wrong, but instead of getting some information she had to duck to not get burned by a magical flame coming from Twilight's horn.

Confusion and shock were the first things visible of Celestias face, magical flame was a high class battle magic spell and she certainly never thought Twilight any of it out of fear she might turn out like her former student.

Magical flames need high concentration to maintain so it could not be Twilight who cast them, something was casting them from inside of her.

Celestia tried to get to her from different direction but to no avail the flames always leashed out like a whip, she tried to form a shield around her and step closer, it worked for the first five feet.

The moment she was close enough to touch her, Twilight emitted a strong magical impulse that pressed against Celestial shield and pushed her away.

“Princess!” came the week voice of a Stallion from behind her.

She quickly spun around to see the heavily wounded Big Macintosh, she could not help Twilight right now the flames made that impossible, she had to help where she could. Celestia made the short way to his side and inspected his wounds, He endured multiple stabs to his side, he is lucky they didn’t got that far in, was her thought before she casted a wave of healing magic through his body.

While she was casting the first aid spells she suddenly heard something through the screams, it was a melody, it was claiming, like the sound of a mother's voice it was not very loud but it rang through the marked, after she finished the spells she looked for the next pony who needed help, a few guards and a medic arrived at the battlefield.

She turned back the her students who stopped screaming as loud as she did the moment she arrived. It was Fluttershy who was singing the song and she did it while slowly approaching Twilight who seemed to calm down from the song.

A tendril of flames suddenly lashed out at the approaching pegasus.

“Fluttershy!” was all the princess managed scream out before the flames reached her.

To do absolutely nothing, they simply passed through her and had no effect whatsoever, The song, her singing has a calming effect on Twilight therefore whatever is controlling the flames is not seeing her as a danger, was her thought.

That is my chance, Celestia realized with the flames down she could approach, and cleans whatever has befallen her.

Fluttershy continued her approach and took Twilight into her hooves who in return stopped screaming and silently sobbed into her friend's shoulder.

She had to be quick and keep hold of her soul, that way she would be protected against the flames and could help her. Not wasting another second she made herself ready.

With the blink of an eyes she teleported next to Twilight, the magical flames reacted fast but not fast enough, within the split second she had she made herself astral and dived into Twilights body.

Only from the inside Celestia reliced how gigantic the amount of magic inside Twilight was, infact it was way too much to be carried in her body, the magic had to be used for something, a curse that was it, the power was fueling a curse, that was very bad, the amount of power that was inside the curse was way too much to overpower, even if she managed to get that much power somewhere it would burn Twilights body to ashes.

Her body! Celestia thought, if she could not get the curse away from Twilight than she could get Twilight away from the curse, the price was high she had to pull her soul out of her body and give it something to live in that way the curse would not affect her consciousness.

The purple flames were already reaching out for her soul, she had to be quick, to perform this spell she needed something to put her soul into. My chestpiece was her idea, it had a diamond in the center the ideal gem to hold magic.

With not much time left Celestia made everything ready to cast the spell, if magical flames are a high class spell than the spell to transport a soul was the work of gods, luckly Celestia was pretty close to that title and had the magical reserves to do it.

She had to call for the sun for strength and was sure that she would collapse after she completed the spell but it was for Twilights soul and she promised her mother to never let her get harmed and by her soul, she would keep that promise.

Celestia was taking hold of Twilights soul and started pulling, ripping something out of a body was definitely nothing natural, it was interfering with the reaper, taking the soul out of a body and giving it another physical shape was against nature itself and trying to hold a soul with magic is like trying to hold water with a piece of paper, you need very much paper.

After take her students soul out of her body she need to bind the soul to the stone, what was a piece of cake compared to the previous parts. The spell finished the now soulless body collapsed in Fluttershys hooves and so did Celestia. She was still conscious but completely exhausted she didn’t even had the strength to move and so allowed herself to rest and let the other ponies carry her to a fitting place for that.

“After that I woke up in this hospital bed and explained everything to your friends, after that I woke you up to connect your soul to my body, what you see now is how I see things you see hear smell and feel thing that I feel.”

Twilight was speechless, nothing her mind made up was nearly heavy as the explanation she got right now. So she did the only thing possible, she freaked out.

“I AM INSIDE YOUR BODY, how is that even possible the body of a pony is made to hold only one soul, the side effects could be desastres, what about your royal duties can you perform them with me in your body like rising and setting the sun with me in your body, what about the elements can I still use the element of magic that way I am right now!?” Twilight was in panic mode.

“Twilight!” Celestia said with raised voice.

“I am completely fine and you are not in my body you are in the diamond in my chest piece you are just using my body senses to help you see, hear, feel, the mind needs some information to work with all the time else you would fall into complete madness in a few minutes, and the last thing you need to care about are politics, and I believe your friends want to tell you something, I can speak for you.” her gaze wandered over to the ponies, still standing in the room.

“Twi, are you ok in there?” a now somewhat slower approaching Rainbow Dash asked.

“While this is a very unexpected turn of events I can say that I am fine” Celestia said for Twilight.

“What happened to the Changeling is what interests me where did they go after that attack?”

“We don't really know darling Fluttershy said they simply disappeared? was it that?” Rarity answered turning her head to her friend.

“That doesn't make any sense how can they disappear did they teleport?” Twilight asked confused

“They didn’t really disappeared they somehow have, fallen together, I guess” Fluttershy added
”I am sorry, they just did I don’t know what else you can call it”

“A, think they are dead” Applejack said ”Big Mac mention something about a big pain and he was inside that circle with you, and the doctor said something about him having a magical exhaust or something like that. A am no doctor but it is kind a obvious what happens when you run out of magic”

“Big Mac is an Earth-Pony how could he have run out of magic he can't do magic like a unicorn, right?”

“That is the same thing the Doc said, he thinks it has to do something with the spell they did on ya” AJ ansvert.

A short silence hung in the air.

“Thanks Fluttershy, I don’t know if i would be here right now without you, and princess thank you to, can we go visit Big Mac?”

“We visited him and already thanked him for trying to help you” Rainbow said.

“I gave him a get well basket with cupcakes in it and by the way here is yours but wait you can't eat that without your body, but when you can't eat it how can I give it to you, do you eat it with the Princess but is that the same as if you eat it yourself what if it isn't then you will never get your get well basket and how can you get well without your get well basket, oh no what should we do?!”

Everypony in the room was silent while Pinky continued her speech and looked at her with wide eyes after she finished.

“You should take care of yourself now because I don’t think you can stay like that forever” RD added.

“By the way where is my body right now?”

As if on command the sound of a explosion was heard not far away.

“I was really surprised to find out that the Ponyville hospital has a Doctor who is specialized in curses, those are rare at these times” Celestia stated “At least he as not to worry about hurting you, if your body can’t be saved... I am very skilled in the art of golem making. A advanced golem in for of a pony should be no problem”

Twilight would have a very worried expression right now if she had a face.

They didn’t spoke a word on there way to the emergency room, normally somepony would have stopped them but having Princess Celestia next to you helped enter many doors.

And not a minute too early, the moment they arrived, Nurse Redheart got thrown thru the doors.

Before she could hit anypony or hurt herself on the landing she got caught in a golden magical feld, and gently sat on the ground.

“I am not getting paid enough to take part in this!” she said while shaking her head, and rushing back in thru the now destroyed doors. The group right after her.

Inside the room was pure destruction what greeted them, nearly everything was in the wrong place the cupboards, at the ground, the doctors at the walls, the tiles on the floor, shattered, and in the middle of the chaos, a tied up Twilight, or her body to be exact, belts keeping her at the table and four magical restrainment rings around her horn, it was fighting the restrainments that kept it at the table but they were too tight, it fought for a while longer but after a minute it simply stopped struggling and went limp.

“That happened now the third time, Doctor Stable, the time?”

“Exactly one hour and thirty-four minutes, again”

“Ok that is good we have something, whatever it is doing it has a interval, but why, intervals mean that it is not capable doing it all in one go but doing what, it keeps the body alive but why, what do you do to the body?” to yellow coated doctor said approaching Twilights body, puting his front hooves at the table and taking a close look at it.

“Have you made any progress lifting the curse Doctor Sunny?” Celestia asked.

“I have never seen anything like this in my whole career, this is not simply a magical infection, this is partly biological, it is Changing the body on a molecular base, lifting it, I have no idea, our scans can’t breach the spell and every time we try to open the body it sends out a magical impulse to smash us against the wall and so every progress we had. The magical restraints don't help one bit. The only lead we have is when she wakes up and rampages over one minute, and your guess is as good as mine on why that happens. In your thousand years have you ever seen anything like this?”

“I never had to work in medicine so sadly I don’t have many experience on that field, do you have any other lead?” Celestia said while slowly circling Twilights body

“Her eyes” he answered while laying a hoof on her eyelid and opening it.

What greeted them was not the normal purple eye, it was a purple fire surrounding her iris and a black slit in the middle, the only thing left was the color of the eye.

At this point Twilight could only ask:”What did they do to me!?” Celestia saying it out loud for her.

“Maybe it transforms her into a Changeling” Rainbow Dash said.

Her comment got her looks that only could be described as ‘Are you serious’.

“What, it is possible” she said defending her idea.

“Why would they make her a simple Changeling, no that idea is ridiculous, no offence, it has most likely something to do with Changelings but just making her a Changeling is stupid, maybe a queen thought, what I remember is that Changelings have a queen maybe they are like ants, that the queen lays all the eggs and something happened to the last one, I mean they are kind of bugs” Doctor Stable threw in.

“If you guys could stop breeding nonsense and could say constructive things, that would be appreciated” said Doctor Sunny while inspecting her eye with a magnifying glass.

“The problem is that I have no information on Changelings whatsoever, are you sure there is not some old forbidden book about changeling magic laying in the forbidden book section in the library Princess?”

“You know most likey more about Changelings than me after watching my students body, they have been considered a old griffin rumor that I heard once, until the wedding that is” Celestia ansvert.

“No knowledge, no hints, noting if you have a plan on where to put her soul I would consider starting to work on it because the chances of saving her body are sinking into nonexistence.”

“Shur we have a hint, silly.” All ponies just stared Pinkie Pie said while she was bouncing around the room.

“And that hint is?” Rainbow Dash said while stopping her mid air in a jump.

“The Changeling that we captured after that attack, Duh”

“Princess, the prisoner is awake.” came the voice of a guard who was standing in the door.

There are many kinds of days, good days, bad day, rainy days and days where you get nearly killed are ready for dead than survive get then thrown into a dungeon to find out that you are the last one of your whole species.

For me it was definitely the last one, my whole body was iching from the tip of my horn to the base of my tale, when I woke up.

The first thing i thought i had was that I am in Tartaros waiting to be punished for my sins or maybe this cell was my punishment. I quickly dismissed that thought after feeling quite alive, well checking never hurt so I tried.

“Hello can anyling hear me!?” I shouted out with all the strenght I could get together, to my surprise I got a answer.

“Steel Wing go tell the Princess that the prisoner is awake” I heard a male voice say, stallion in pony term that was it, said. I inspected my hooves to find out that i was chained to the wall behind me and had a magical suppressor on my horn, so no magic and these cuffs where very tight so no getting out that way.

“Hey, you, where am I” I ask the guard.

“Take a guess” he answered me without turning around.

“So not the silent type, I thought you royal guards are all standing attention and not a move”

“I am not guarding a Princess right now I am guarding you and with you around I don’t care”

“Where are the others?” to get out I had to know where the rest of my squad was, I had to find them that was priority number one

“You tell me, after the light show you bugs put up all of them just disappeared, only you left behind, teleportation failure is my guess, ha server you right!” Teleportation failure? what was he talking about we never had a escape plan, Disa… ppead?.

My face fell when the realization hit me, they were gone, I was the only one left why, why was is alive, did the reaper left me behind as some kind of cruel joke, i didn’t got it why was I still there. Mimic, she was gone with her the rest of my squad. I was most likely the last Changelings alive, there was no one left I was completely alone.

I got no time to sink myself in self pity as I heard a door opening and the sound of many hooves at the ground. I looked up to see my visitor to find nopony else than the Princess of the sun herself staring at me with disgust in her eyes around her a group of 5 ponies having similar faces.

“What gives me the honor?” I said in a half joking manner addressing my visitors.

“Don’t do the stupid one we want to know what you bugs did to Twilight and we want to know how to reverse it, NOW!” said the pony with the rainbow colored mane while hammering her head against the cage I was captured in.

“I have no idea what we did to her and no idea how to cure it!”

“I SAID DON’T DO THE STUPID ONE!” She screamed.

“No reason to scream at me and I am serious, I was just following orders, I have no idea what exactly we were doing we just did as we were told”

“That is just plain stupid, following an order and having no idea what it is about who gave you that order anyway?”

“Queen Chrysalis gave it to the general and he gave it to my squad”

“And where is your bug queen” the ponies were starting to get on my nerves with permanently caling me bug.

“You know, I have a name and if you want to meet the Queen then order that tough guy over there to use his spear and ram it thru your head” I said in an angry manner while pointing at the guard.

“When Queen Chrysalis is dead than I am sure an audience with her heir can be arranged” Celestia throw in.

“Hahahahaha, if you think it is that easy go to her, I can point out where our town is on your map and you go meet her face to face” I said sarcastically.

“That easy? guard get me...”

“THERE IS NO HEIR OR CHANGELINGS LEFT TO RULE FOR THE MATTER, THEY ARE ALL GONE, ASHES IN THE WIND, DEAD, I AM THE LAST CHANGELING ALIVE!!!”

I myself was not expecting that outburst, maybe it was the tension of the last two days finally catching up to me. The ponies were looking at me with wide eyes, the act of genocide may cought up to them in that moment.

I simply had no strength left, I had enough, I already lost everything that meant something to me I just wanted to lay down and wait for the rest of my magic to run out so that I may finally join my family and friends in the afterlife.

I laid my head on my front hooves and silently stared crying.

“The... last one... left” I silently said between the sobs. I didn’t cared about anything anymore.

“Princess!... It is Twilights body we are losing it… we need those infos now or it is over with her” I heard a male voice talk.

Infos, I could do nothing for my kind but finding out what we all died for would be a nice relief.

“I-I could try to help, I am a doctor and medic, I studiet Changeling medicine for twelve years” I said with the last bit of pride I had left.

“And letting you out, no go buddy” I got the answer.

“I have eight hours to live at best and even if I somehow manage to get away where should I go?”

“Somehow A have the feeling that he says the truth” the orange one said.

“We need all help we can get, I say it is worth the risk Princess please we need something were we can start, at least, and right now we are loosing her” said the stallion in the doorway.

It was a short time of silence that greeted me befor the Princess finally spoke.

“Guards, take his chains into your hooves and accompany us to the Hospital”

The walk to the hospital was relatively uneventful except for a few old fruits and stones that got thrown in my direction while we walked at a fast pace.

Upon arrival I could tell at the sight of the room that they were running out of ideas and had a very high repair bill after they were finished.

My patient was restrained at the table in the middle of the room a heart monitor and an oxygen tube connected to her. Her skin was paled to nearly complete white.

“She is running out of air, no matter what we do we can't get her to breath.” the stallion said.

I was happy that I studiet pony anatomy bevor the attack otherwise I would have no idea where to start or why the readings were so weird in comparison to Changeling readings.

But what was the weirdest part was that those readings were not weird at all. The rate at that the heart was beating was the rate you got when only one heart of the two a Changeling got was responding.

They unlocked the chains at my hooves and I rushed to her side, channeling a scan spell that would allow me me to see inside the body.

The sight that greeted me shocked me to my bodes, She had Changeling organs in her body and if that was not shocking enough pony parts as well, it was as if a child took all the organs in both species and throw them into one place, no wonder she was dying.

But that couldn’t be it, these Changes looked controlled, whatever the spell did to her was not meant to kill her.

After I scanned her for a few more seconds I got it. Her lungs were not pony they were Changeling and Changelings don’t breath in with there mouth.

I grabbed a scalpel and started to concentrate the scan at her legs, finding my target, I placed it at its destination and did a small cut. The second the scalpel pierced her skin her chest started rising, she was breathing.

The ponys all watched while I was doing my work.

“How did you do that, no scratch that, what did you do.” cam the question from the yellow stallion.

“Changelings breath in through the holes in the legs, she has Changeling lungs in her body and her skin was blocking the holes”

“So you did make her a Changeling!” the cyan mare throw in.

“No not really from what i can tell…” the rest of what i tried to tell never reached their ears as the sound of an explosion, coming from behind me, rang through the air.

Author's Note

Happy new year!