1 Canterlot under siege

Canterlot, present day.

To say that the city was in a state of chaos would be an understatement… Ponies ran panicked in the streets, fleeing to their homes, fleeing from their homes or trying to escape the city altogether. And that was just the civilians… The Solar and Lunar Guard were split up between trying to make some sort of order from the chaos, and trying to contain the reason behind it. And the reason? An army of pony-like bugs… The Changelings. Less than an hour ago the shield that had kept them away failed and the black swarm poured onto the streets, overtaking the outer defenses without much trouble.

While the streets were bad, the castle had it worse… The guards there were almost completely wiped out, either dead or cocooned. Only a few small pockets of resistance remained, and they were quickly being eliminated one by one…

Back on the streets, six mares were racing ahead of the horde. Their destination was the Canterlot Tower, where the Elements of Harmony were kept. This was the city’s only hope… But they were out of luck, as a group of Changelings ambushed them. The girls grouped together, using hooves and magic (and Pinkie’s Party Cannon) to fend off the bugs. Ironically, they fared better than the Guards, but then again, Chrysalis wanted them alive. Otherwise… Otherwise the six friends would’ve been smears on the pavement by now.

Still, even if they were not to be harmed the Changelings’ superior numbers were taking their toll on them. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were dogpiled several times already, only the quick intervention of their friends saving them. The six were strong, but they were all reaching their limits…

All seemed lost when Twilight tried to blast a Changeling that was about to tackle Applejack, only for her horn to give out a few pathetic-looking sparks… Seeing that the bugs grinned, their sharp fangs gleaming in the sunlight. WIth a slow, menacing gait they advanced on the panting group, ready to capture them for their Queen...

Unfortunately they didn’t notice the Cavalry arriving, in the form of Princess Luna, clad in  silver armor. The Night Alicorn clashed into a cluster of Changelings, flattening a couple of unfortunate ones under her hooves and scattering the rest.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Luna called out, bucking a Changeling in the face. “We have an urgent task for thee!” She shouted, slipping in her old speech patterns without noticing. Around her dozens of Night Guards dropped from the skies, trying to give their ruler and the six mares some breathing room.

“We know, Princess Luna. We need to get to Canterlot Tower and gather the Elements.” The panting mare replied as she used the lull in battle to recover her magic somewhat.

“That is my sister’s task. We have another one for thee. Thou must enter the Tower and shout out these words:” Luna leaned over the Element of Magic and whispered something in her ear. “Thou must use these exact words.”

“But why, Princess?” Twilight asked, glancing towards a battered Applejack who was helped by a pair of Night Guards. “What will that accomplish?”

“It will help us in case the Elements fail.” Luna’s statement made Twilight gasp. The Elements of Harmony failing? It was something that the young mare couldn’t even begin to imagine, yet alone think of as reality…

“What? But Princess, the Elements…”

“The Elements of Harmony are a weapon. And like any weapon they have their faults!” Luna interrupted her, irritation clear in her voice. Any further confrontation between the two were interrupted as a Changeling spell whizzed past the Alicorn’s head. “Our time is running out! We shalt clear thee a path through these vile bugs! Prepare thyself and thy friends, Twilight Sparkle. Thou shalt need to gallop faster than ever before!” The unicorn gulped and moved to tell her friends the plan as Luna faced the changelings. She could see the mangled corpses of her guards and the bugs being trampled under the combatants’ hooves as the ponies fought bravely.

WIth a roar Luna charged into the fray, her horn blazing as she cast battle spells that haven’t been seen in centuries. Her armor was stained with green ichor as her hooves kicked left and right, smashing the black chitin of the Changelings with ease.

With Luna rejoining the battle the pressure on the Guards lessened. It didn’t take long for a hole in the Changelings’ ranks to be opened.

“Go!” Luna shouted at the girls. The six friends didn’t need to be told twice as they rushed through the gap. Several changelings tried to follow them, only to be taken out by long-range spell fire.

“Go girls… Go, and bring him back…” Luna whispered, watching the six mares disappear behind a building before she resumed fighting. Most of the guards she had taken were dead or incapacitated, and the Changelings were now swarming her. It was only a matter of time until she was overwhelmed, but she would be damned if she wasn’t going to take as many of them with her…

The six girls arrived at the gates to the Tower. Scores of Changelings were following them, almost literally nipping at their heels. With a grunt Twilight and Applejack pushed the doors open and raced inside. Thankfully, there no Changelings inside, or at least none they could see.

“Hurry girls, we need to get to the Elements!” Twilight shouted as she used her magic to close the doors, buying them a few precious seconds. The six mares ran into the tower’s spacious first floor, heading to the stairwell that would lead them to the vault.

And that was when the trap was sprung… Dozens of Changelings descended from the alcoves, having used their abilities to hide in plain sight. The girls were surrounded by a circle of black chitin and sharp fangs, with no exit in sight.

Twilight could see the moment her friends realized that they weren’t getting out of this fight… They were too exhausted to fight. There was only one thing they could do - surrender and hope that Chrysalis would make a mistake and allow them to fight back.

But Twilight still had one more thing to do. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she intoned the verse that Luna whispered to her:

“Will balance be captured in the real world and tranquility be restored?

Will I be fighting according to some floating illusion?

Will I be asking my current life’s path to assume a pursuit of the truth?

Will I be travelling inner signs, or the opposite side of the mirror?”

Everyone paused. The Changelings and the mares looked around, expecting for something to happen. A minute passed in silence… with nothing happening. The Changelings relaxed, snickering at the mares as Twilight slumped to the ground. This was their last hope… And it was just crushed. All the six friends could do was follow the Changelings as they were led out of the Tower.

Nobody noticed the faint silver outline of a sigil reminiscent of the letter C in a circle slowly being inscribed in the tiles...

Princess Celestia, Diarch of the Sun slowly opened her magenta eyes and looked around. The world looked strange… Tinted green and… Was it upside-down? Yes, it was, but why? What happened?

A fanged black face appeared in her vision, bringing with it the memories of the wedding… Of how she was just about to marry her niece to her personal student’s brother, when Twilight and a disheveled Cadence stormed in… Of how the youngest Alicorn had turned into a Changeling Queen, a creature she hadn’t seen in centuries. She was quickly overpowered by the Queen Chrysalis before she fainted. And now she was cocooned.

A tear dropped down from her eye. She had failed… She had failed her subjects, her beloved little ponies… With her down only her sister remained to try and fight against the Changelings alongside the Elements of Harmony.

”Sister?” Celestia’s eyes shot wide open as the telepathic message reached her mind. She could hear the Changeling Queen and her niece speak somewhere below her, but she tuned them out in order to concentrate on her sister.

”Luna! Thank goodness… You need to help Twilight and the Elements! They need to get to the Tower and…”

”I already did what I could, sister.” Celestia blinked. Why was Luna talking in past tense like that? As if sensing her question her sister’s voice echoed again: ”Look to your right…” Slowly Celestia turned her head and gasped. There, just a few meters away from her, hung another cocoon. The dark blue Alicorn inside it was clearly seen, her cyan eyes locking with Celestia’s.

”No...” No, this couldn’t be. If her sister was captured, then what chance would the Elements have?

”Calm down, sister. I have bought them enough time to get to the Elements. And...” Whatever else Luna was going to say was lost as the doors to the chamber opened and the six mares they were talking around walked in… escorted by a dozen changelings. Celestia heard Chrysalis say something cheeky to Cadance, but it sounded muted to her, as if she was hearing it from several rooms away…

The six friends looked up at the two imprisoned Princesses. Applejack sighed and lowered her head. Fluttershy squeaked and fainted, and Rarity looked close to joining her. Rainbow Dash stopped struggling against the guards, dropping to the floor. Pinkie’s mane seemed to deflate like a balloon. Twilight froze, her eyes wide and her mouth opened in disbelief.

“No… P-Princess… No, this can’t be…” She tried to deny it. “No, we were so close… I even recited that verse you told me…” Chrysalis’ dark laughter interrupted the pony.

“How naive… Thinking that you could defeat me and my Swarm.” She chuckled and looked at the Changelings that had escorted them here. “Go. Feed.” She commanded. The black bugs hissed and chittered as they flew out of the chamber. The doors were enveloped in a sickly green aura and shut closed, cutting off the six mares’ only route out. The mares gulped before looking at Chrysalis as she approached them. “It’s funny really… Twilight here was suspicious of my behaviour all along…” She gently grasped the unicorn’s chin, looking in her eyes. The defeated mare did nothing, just stared blankly back…

“Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in…” The bug queen’s monologue was cut off as the doors to the chamber slammed open and a Changeling rushed in. This one was larger than the rest and clad in armor.

“My Queen…” The Changeling bowed in front of the scowling Chrysalis.

“General Thorax, I thought I commanded you to assault Canterlot, not to bother me.” The Changeling Queen growled. “Whatever it is, it better be important, or you will feel my full displeasure.”

“My Queen, we have a problem. Our army is being slaughtered by…” The general began, only to be interrupted by Chrysalis’ hiss.

“You came to me and interrupted me only to tell me that the ponies have mounted a counter-offensive? Send the Swarm after them! Crush them under our numbers!” She shouted and turned around to continue her monologue.

“But my Queen, you do not understand. The creature is not a pony!” Chrysalis once again turned back to the general as the ponies watched in confusion.

“You mean to tell me that a single creature is killing off your finest troops?” She hissed, venom dripping from her voice.

“Y-yes, my Queen…” Thorax replied, shaking under Chrysalis’ gaze. “It looks like a Minotaur, but the form is w-wrong. A-and it is fast, using a sword and unknown magic, unlike any Minotaur we ever encountered…”

While the Changeling General tried to describe the creature that was causing trouble for his armies, the two Princesses were having another telepathic conversation:

”Luna… You… You didn’t…” Celestia’s mental voice conveyed confusion, disbelief and a small trace of hope… It was hard to say if she was hoping that her sister did what she was thinking, or if she was hoping that she didn’t…

”I did not, Tia…” Luna began. ”But Twilight did. She spoke the verse. She has awakened him…”

”So he is back...” Celestia didn’t know whether to be happy or concerned… On one hand, the one creature that could save them was free and laying waste on the Changeling army. On another… He was a creature of war, of conflict and strife… He was something that had no place in this peaceful world...

Her train of thought halted. Was it peaceful anymore? With so many things happening in less than an year? Starting with her sister’s return, which caused mass panic throughout the land with her prolonged night… The arrogant dragon that had blackened the skies with its smoke… Parasprites emerging in populated areas… The Diamond Dogs becoming bold enough to take pony slaves again…The conflicts in the frontier towns, like Appleloosa… Discord’s release… And finally the Changeling attack.

And that was just in Equestria. Her mind drifted to the reports she read over the last few months. Of troubles in the neighboring countries… Of things that hadn’t been seen in… In a thousand years…

Suddenly the realization hit her. He was back just in time…

Everyone in the room looked up at the cocoon as the Solar Diarch burst out into uncontrollable laughter. Only Luna didn’t think that she had gone mad.

“What are you laughing about?” Chrysalis shouted angrily. “Do you find slaughter funny? Or have you finally lost your mind?” Celestia needed several seconds to compose herself before she could reply:

“Oh, no, I assure you, I’m still of sound mind. No, I laugh because you have no chance against what is coming. I would suggest you run, Chrysalis. It would save you from his wrath.” The Princess’ voice was smug and mocking… Something that shocked everypony in the room, especially Twilight and Cadence, the two ponies who knew her best. Celestia was always kind and motherly, with a hint of mischievousness when she was doing her pranks. This was the first time the two had seen her like this…

“Is that so…” Chrysalis grit her teeth. “I don’t know what you have unleashed, but it will fall under the might of the Swarm! General Thorax!” She shouted at the armored Changeling. “Send every drone, every soldier against that thing! I want its head brought to me!”

A Changeling flew through the open doors just as she shouted that, its body skidding onto the floor and leaving behind a trail of blood. Chrysalis looked horrified at the mangled corpse that stopped in her feet. A voice drew everyone’s attention back to the doors.

“How about you get the whole package, not just my head?”