Within the Crystal Palace, in a secret chamber reserved specifically for the occasion that it now hosted, the newest prince of Equestria had finally been born to a proud Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.
Shining could not have been more thrilled. Princess Luna had just announced Dusk Armor as the newest prince of Equestria. She took off shortly afterwards, but Cadance's affectionate whinnying and the colt's delighted outcry filled him with a warm feeling rivaling the birth of his sister. Of course, before his mind could wander too much on that note, he decided to address the knocked out Flash Sentry.
The pony had interrupted the process earlier, and out of reaction, Shining had brought his hoof rather hard onto the stallion's head. Helmet or not, it was enough to knock him out; he did warn him not to burst into the room under any circumstances, though to be fair he did knock first before entering. Now, though he wanted to cuddle up to Cadance and Dusk, he needed to address why Flash had come in the first place.
"Flash, wake up." Shining nudged his second-in-command with his hoof, gently at first. When he was given no response, he used a more forceful kick to the side.
This roused the stallion, though when his eyes fluttered open it revealed an odd green tint to them. Alarm bells went off in Shining's head, this scene being all too familiar.
Flash quickly rose to his hooves and took a few steps back, alarm on his face. "What happened?"
No rubbing of the head, not even derpy eyes. The green tint continued to get brighter until it reflected the same eye color as a familiar nightmare from his wedding.
The pegasus took some time to register the sight before him, the cuddling alicorn and her son, and the larger stallion standing in front of him with a look of suspicion.
'Flash' snickered with a sneer, the situation beginning to register. "Oh Shiny, you and Cadance really know how to spread the love around. I would have loved to just hypnotize you and send you off the balcony, but I can think of something far more rewarding than that right about now."
Shining lit his horn, forming a bubble shield around himself and the still occupied Cadance and Dusk. "Queen Chrysalis, how did you get in here?"
In a flurry of green flames, the changeling queen returned to her natural state, laughing all the same. "The better question is how I found out about this little arrangement. To put it shortly, I've been stalking this place for weeks in disguise, using my latest after a little mishap in the hallway."
Shining assumed the worst, but stood his ground. Chrysalis could not get past his bubble shield, not while she was on the outside. "I don't care how you got here. I suggest you leave."
Chrysalis cackled, her ragged horn alight in a light green aura. "Now now, after feeding off of the immense love you two have for your newborn offspring, why would I want to just up and leave? And after all the work I went through to get to this moment?"
Loosing a stream of magic, Chrysalis struck Shining's bubble shield, shattering it into several light rose colored pieces. This caught Cadance's attention, to which she responded by narrowing her eyes and lighting her own horn. Unfortunately, still weakened from her recent labor, Cadance could only muster a small, harmless glow.
Chrysalis laughed, advancing towards Shining Armor and Cadance. "I don't want the foal or the alicorn; I just want you Shining. By the time I get through with you, there won't be any love left to wring from your lifeless corpse!"
Rather than retreat closer to his wife, Shining charged forward towards Chrysalis, horn lit with magic. Chrysalis, somewhat caught off guard by this gesture, moved forward to meet Shining horn to horn.
Despite her improved strength, Chrysalis still had trouble pushing Shining backwards, his sheer physical prowess allowing him to stand steadfast, rooted in place.
A small ball of blue light levitated over the two for a brief moment before bursting into a brilliant white light. It was so intense, Shining not only was forced to close his eyes, but a splitting headache and searing pain tore through his entire head. Forced to the ground, he could hear the thump from Queen Chrysalis falling in front of him, and feel the tip of her horn dangerously scrape his face.
Not wishing to risk getting hit directly, Shining used his own horn to swat hers towards one of the walls, in case she intended on firing a magical blast. Though none came, there was still plenty to listen to.
"Shining!" Cadance's voice rang out in alarm.
"A colt?" A voice inquisitively spoke, the sound of talons and hooves hitting the entrance of the room, "She has already had the foal?"
Cadance had recognized the magical attack before it struck; Princess Celestia having once shown it to her. As a result, even after closing her eyes for the bright flash, though she still had been slightly dazed, it was nowhere to the extent of Queen Chrysalis and Shining Armor, both of whom had been blinded and forced to the ground due to the intensity of the light.
Oddly enough, even her colt seemed to avert hiss eyes, burying it into her mane, also avoiding the light blue flash. However, Cadance was not surprised when, walking through the only door in the chamber, was none other than Sunset Shimmer. When a griffon appeared next to her, that caught her a bit more off guard, especially since the griffon had an overly large rectangular shield with it.
This shield was as large as its owner, and when the owner dislodged it from its back, the strange runes on its outer portion became apparent. It was curved in a convex fashion, and near the bottom, bore an odd insignia of a griffon with an olive branch tucked in its beak.
"Shining!" Cadance gently moved Dusk underneath the covers of the bed, concealing him from view.
The griffon noticed this gesture, and looked towards Sunset in alarm. "A colt? She already had the foal?"
So this was a planned attack; whether they were involved with Chrysalis or not remained up for debate.
"Then we have no time to lose! Grab her and let's get out of here!" Sunset ordered, advancing towards Cadance. "Leave the colt, get the alicorn!"
Cadance, not wanting to risk harm to Dusk, wearily stepped from her bedding, hoping that Shining, or even Chrysalis at this point, would snap out of their flashbang-induced misery and intervene. The griffon rose her shield high above her head, and brought the outer portion crashing down onto Chrysalis's body.
Chrysalis' grunt and hiss would have been music to Cadance's ears at this point had the shield not also came crashing down atop of Shining's head afterwards. While Chrysalis seemed merely stunned, Shining slumped to the ground, a small stream of blood running down from his mane.
Cadance widened her stance, once again attempting to light her horn with magic. She could hardly stand, but she managed to channel one blast of magic to her horn. "What do you want, Sunset Shimmer?" Cadance demanded to know.
Sunset snickered, her own horn oozing with magic. "I want to complete a spell so that I can become an alicorn at long last; though it is going to require an alicorn's magic to finish. That, Cadance, is where you come in. Come peacefully, and both Shining Armor and your colt can live. Otherwise..."
Sunset's horn spouted fire, a warning flare of sorts. Sunset's smile grew wider, her finally stepping around the out of the fight Chrysalis and Shining. "Thing are going to get very hot around here. And not toaster hot; the sun kind of hot."
Cadance weighed her options. Granted, while she doubted Sunset could really set the entire room on fire, the sheets and covers were very flammable; in her weakened state, rescuing Dusk would be a breeze, but subsequent defense would make this a losing battle.
Such a decision needed to be made; go with Sunset, and risk betrayal, or not go and risk a fight with her husband unconscious, herself exhausted from foal labor, and of course, her newborn foal struggling in the sheets to find its mother.
Cadance hung her head low, allowing her mane to cover her face for a few moments. "Promise that you won't hurt Shiny or Dusk and I will go peacefully."
Sunset seemed overjoyed, extinguishing the flames and standing tall, puffing out her chest. "I figured that you would see it our way. Deal. Now hold still."
Cadance looked up just in time to see the large shield coming downwards, the griffon driving it to bash her in the head. Cadance instinctively fired off her magic blast. The griffon shifted the shield so that it would not only catch and deflect the blast, but send it at Chrysalis, whom had by now recovered from the earlier flash bang.
The attack sent her flying out into the hallway, hitting the corridor wall with a thud. She slid down and slump down to the floor, once again down for the count, for now.
However, even if she was not, when the shield connected to the top of her head, Cadance' world blacked out, all feeling being lost in her body.
The last thing she felt was a pang of fear, for with both her and Shining out of commission, who would ensure that Sunset would hold up her end of the bargain?
Flash Sentry skid, dashing down a crystal corridor with two crystal guard ponies on his flanks. His gallop came to a a slow once he saw Chrysalis thrown from his destination.
Although his heart continued to race with anxiety, it seemed that the situation was slowly taking care of itself. He had taken some time to alert the guard to the presence of Chrysalis, just moments before an explosion rocked another section of the Palace.
He sent the rest of the guards to investigate, while he and these two rushed to check up on Cadance and Shining Armor. Bashed out skulls and scorched bodies had littered the hallway before this one. That was very uncharacteristic of Chrysalis from what he had been told, and he personally recognized the kind of magic that singed and burned to the point of mummifying the victim.
And there was only one unicorn he could think of that possessed that kind of skill. Reaching the opened doorway, Flash and the two guards witnessed Cadance, head bloodied from some earlier blow, being hoisted atop of a griffon with a large shield. Then he saw the unicorn, and her eyes met his.
"Sunny, don't do this!" Flash cried out, dashing forward with the guards, "This is not worth it!"
Sunset gave a weak smile before trotting next to the griffon. "Sorry Flashy; this one is for the record." And in a flash of bright blue light, alicorn, griffon, and unicorn vanished.
In vain Flash pounced on the place where they had been, searching frantically in case it was an invisibility spell instead of a transportation one. When no fruits came of this, he turned to a small bit of movement in the bed sheets.
Roughly moving aside the covers, Flash was startled to find a small crystal with a coat blue like the waters of the tropic and wide eyes like the very crystals that make up this palace colt. The tiny frame shivered in fright, staring back at him as if he were about to take a bite out of him.
"Cadance..." Flash looked towards the now rising Shining, who was aided to his hooves by the two crystal guards.
Flash took a chance glance to see a very angry Chrysalis at the front door charging her horn. Without thinking, Flash rushed atop the bed, concealing the colt, only to feel the sharp sting of magic impacting his armor. Just as he wrapped the colt into a close embrace, he found himself flung from his place, a loud bang accompanying a burning sensation along his back.
Tossed out into the cold night air, Flash plunged downwards towards the square where Snow and Sword were still lingering. He opened his wings to break his descent, still holding close the colt. He managed to avert landing directly on his head, but his descent still caused him to tumble and roll into a building's side.
Though still mildly dazed, and almost sure that he had a mild concussion by now, Shining barely noticed the blast of magic that zipped by him, aiming for the bed where his wife and foal had lain. He could hardly turn in time before the explosion sent him careening towards the hallway.
Though disoriented, he caught sight of Chrysalis' brandished horn just in time to levitate himself to the side, her horn cutting at his left side rather than spearing through him as intended. Hitting the wall with a thud, Shining fell to his hooves, staggering just out of the way of another magical blast. This one did not explode, but its proximity left a light burn on Shining's right side.
The stallion would have joked a death by a thousand small cuts had the situation been less serious.
"Where did you take Cadance?" Chrysalis demanded with a hiss, "I want her to watch you die!"
Shining, realizing that Cadance had not been the aim for the attack, growled, his sights finally focusing on the huffing Queen. Two crystal guards were laid out on opposite ends of the door, their hooves just barely being seen from outside the room. Shining assumed that either she had been taken away by them or that she had fled with Dusk.
Either way, Chrysalis had the nerve to attack today of all days. The changeling clearly had no observance of special days.
"The only one burning here will be you, Chrysalis." Once again bringing up his bubble shield, Shining charged forward yet again, ignoring his relatively minor injuries for the time being.
Chrysalis stood her ground, horn aglow and set ready for blasting. When she let loose her attack, it impacted Shining's shield, but rather than going down completely, it merely flickered. Startled by this, Chrysalis found herself rammed by the shield, Shining pinning her to the corridor wall to the left of the door.
Chrysalis struggled and attempt to use magic against the shield, but Shining held fast, pressing harder and harder with the intent of crushing the changeling. However, Chrysalis loosed a blast of magic at the wall, sending it crumbling behind her. Shining did not let up, and merely swept her and one of the crystal guards forward.
Not wanting to get pinned yet again, Chrysalis slammed her horn into the bubble shield. This time, though the shield flickered like last time, it reformed around Chrysalis' horn. Charging up a magical blast, the changeling Queen prepared to let loose when Shining released the bubble shield and leaped back.
This was timed just as Chrysalis fired her beam; without the shield propping her, the queen fell towards the floor, her shot instead blasting a hole in the floor.
The pushed along crystal pony fell through this hole, dropping into the darkness below without so much as a shout of surprise. Chrysalis landed on her hooves though, and for a few moments, the two stared each other down, on opposite ends of the gaping hole in the floor.
"I had expected this to be much easier," Chryalis admitted with a huff, "Burning hatred is a bit of a turn off."
Shining growled, horn once again ready for attack. "You tried to harm my wife and foal, you do not seriously think that I would let you off easy for that do you?"
A blackish-green aura oozed from his horn, much to Chrysalis' chargrin. She had not expected to have to fight Shining head on in a fight like this, as her initial attack was supposed to finish him quickly. However, things clearly were not going to plan, and she looked about ready to retreat.
That's when the other crystal guard still near the door rose to his hooves and charged at Shining; without a second thought, Shining spun around and fired several blasts at the pony in rapid succession. The blasts each struck true, and went through the pony like a hot knife through butter; before the pony could even drop to the floor, however, Chrysalis took this moment to let loose her own beam of magic.
Distracted for just one moment, Shining was struck in the side and sent flying through the hole in the wall that he created earlier. Badly burned on his side, the unicorn attempt to shake off his dizziness before a chitin hoof stomped itself into his charred side. While his earlier injuries had been painful, this new injury added to insult caused him to howl in agony, before staring down the lit horn of Chyrsalis.
"I would ask if you have any last words, but then someone might come and save you," Chrysalis snickered, "And I will take the misery of your sister as a consolation prize."
Cadance's eyes fluttered awake to darkness. And cold. She could hear shouting, and based on her chain restraints, she could also assume that she had not been rescued in the time in which she had been blacked out.
Shaking her head clear of any remaining darkness caused by her ealier unconsciousness, she found her head wound attended to, and Sunset Shimmer at the helm of a cloud, shouting. If Cadance did not know any better, she would say that the cloud was being used as a flying fortress of sorts. But that was madness. Right?
"Lightning, can't this thing go any faster? We need to get Trixie out of the castle BEFORE the Wonderbolts realize that the Griffon Peacekeeping force was also here to stop us."
A pegasus with light brown eyes, a brilliant amber mane with brilliant gold stripes, and a light turquoise coat stood a few feet away from Sunset, and seemed to be piloting the cloud. She replied promptly to this request.
"If we descend to get Trixie now, there is no way that we can do that subtly. Combined, the Wonderbolts and the GPF can regain air superiority and completely screw this entire thing. I say we leave Trixie and rescue her later."
The griffon from earlier, who had been keeping an eye on Cadance and seemed to be on top her back, chuckled. "Now now, what kind of 'friends' would we be to abandon her to the mercy of the Royal Guard? I mean, we are kidnapping an alicorn in order to strip her magic in order to make an alicorn amulet. I am sure Celestia will take that well."
Cadance perked in alarm, attempting to rise, only to find that the griffon was far heavier than she had imagined. Either that, or she was still weak from earlier. Sunset noticed this and face hooved. "Great, now she knows what we plan on doing with her. Knock her back out or something Gilda."
Gilda laughed again, tapping at some black crystals on Cadance's horn playfully. "She can't use magic thanks to that suppression spell you put on her, and physically she is not going anywhere."
"Sunset, we need to make a call!" Lightning called out, looking through some sort of telescope, "Either we leave here with Cadance, or die trying to rescue Trixie now when we can just save her ass later. I vote option number two."
Gilda raised a talon in agreement. "I second that notion."
Sunset sighed, biting her lip. Cadance would have expected this to be a rather quick decision for her, and yet, here she was, actually deliberating with herself over the issue. After a few tense moments, Sunset closed her eyes, sighed, and then nodded.
"Alright, we save Trixie later. That's a promise. Get us out of here Lightning."
Needing no further coaxing, the pegasus slammed her hooves onto the cloud. Cadance could literally feel the sudden in increase in speed as the cloud transport took off for only her captives know where.
"Other than covering up a few stars, we should be able to get out of here unnoticed, as the cloud is dark and all."
Cadance looked left and right, searching for a way to escape, only to find that she was not even on the cloud itself; she was atop of the rune and blood encrusted shield that Gilda had earlier used. Realizing that escape was futile without throwing off Gilda, Cadance began trying to summon the strength to do so when Sunset Shimmer's hooves entered her view.
"We will be having none of that." Sunset's horn glowed an ominous crimson, her eyes matching. "I was going to wait till we got back to the Hideout, but I can see now that that would be a waste of time. Good thing I brought the spell circle with me."
Her horn loosed out a red light, the runes on the shield reacting in turn. Gilda swiftly dismounted, to which Cadance responded by rearing up. However, despite her efforts, an invisible barrier prevented her from leaving a small containment square just large enough to contain her body with a small jumping space. Sunset snickered all the while.
"I am sorry princess; but this is going to hurt you far more than it is going to hurt me."
Red tendrils of magic spawned from the shield, each wrapping around Cadance's limbs and muzzle in a tight grip. Her wings were stretched out, and were the situation any different, Cadance would have guessed that they were stretching her out for a strange tentacle related fetish. Of course, she knew very well that that was not the case, and stared down Sunset even as she felt a twinge of fear.
Not for her own sake, but for Shining's, whom had likely been left behind to fight Chrysalis on his own. And for Dusk, who, to her knowledge, still searched frantically for her warmth in the sheets of his birth bed.
Sunset's resolve seemed to waver under Cadance's stare, until Gilda called out, "If you are going to do it, do it sometime this evening. Otherwise, we can return the alicorn and go to jail like good little Equestrian criminals."
The sarcasm was strong in that one, Cadance noted, though it did not seem to return to Sunset her fortitude.
Lightning looked towards the hesitating Sunset with a scowl. "Trixie may or may not be saved after this. We are not going to let our courageous comrade go out in vain are we? I know it might be hard staring into those big ole' eyes of hers, but think of it this way; you have come this far. No turning back now."
That seemed to return to Sunset her resolve, to which her horn glowed more brilliantly. "Yes, you guys are right. Just in case; this is for Trixie."
A bright light enveloped the area, blinding Cadance and cutting her off from all senses. She could feel her magic, inch by inch, beginning to ooze from her body like a cloak of energy. The pain was oddly enough far less than she had expected; it was nothing compared to birthing Dusk for what felt like five hours. Of course, she knew that it had been a shorter time than that, but like hell if she would admit it to herself now that she might have went hysterical during the process.
Her magic began seeping out at a much faster rate, her strength waning with each passing second. Consciousness fluttering, the last thought that Cadance was a prayer. A prayer that Dusk would be safe from Chrysalis.
Flash awakened to the taste of blood in his mouth and a feeble crying noise. In his state, he realized that he had balled up to shelter the crystal colt from the fall and cold. Despite this, the colt still cried out, reaching with its tiny hoof towards the stars. It was almost tear jerking, but Flash felt something warm on his dropped wings.
Turning upwards, he saw the bloodied form of Queen Chrysalis; silhouetted by a lone, dark cloud, to say that she was menacing would not do her justice in this moment.
With a flick of her horn, she transformed into a perfect copy of Flash Sentry, a wicked smile on her new face.
"I want to personally see the look on her face... as for you..." Her voice faded in and out, as if she were constantly changing volume. Flash chalked it up to his senses playing tricks on him. "I would rather you join your comrades... can't have two of the same pony running around now can we?"
With a force greater than his hooves could resist, Chrysalis pried the crying newborn from Flash's hooves, her head alight in a green glow. "I'll hand deliver her nephew, personally, in a basket woven just for the occasion... her anguish... I won't stick around for. After all, I feed on love... and the mourning pews will have plenty of that to go around."
The changeling snickered, tilting her head downwards to Flash's face, the two literally just a breath's distance from each other.. "I may not get to see Cadance suffer, but in the hooves of your former lover, I am sure she'll be just fine."
Flash detected the sarcasm in that statement, moments before the bright green flash of her horn blinded his vision, and ended his ability to sense his surroundings. His thoughts began lingering toward his life and how he had spent it; his time as a member of the guard, his family, Sunset when she was not on a equcidal path to self-destruction. All in all, he did the best that he could, even when the situation demanded something more.
Yeah, he had lived a pretty good life. Even if it were to end now, he could live with some of his minor crimes. Allowing Sunset to leave the Empire all those months ago probably the worst decision he had made, in hindsight.
Weird. He was still lost in thought. Flash opened his eyes, not even realizing that he had closed them, to still see the changeling queen standing before him. He was still alive and in one piece, and the changeling queen had returned to her natural state. Her delighted smile sickened him, perhaps because he was not sure what she had been thinking of in that moment.
"Well is that not something," Chrysalis sneered, her horn glow fading, "So you do have a little more affection than for your duties."
Chrysalis snickered, levitating Flash to his hooves. "Rather than killing you, I think I would much rather use you instead. Just keep thinking of your affection for Sunset and the rest of your crowd, and all will be well."
Flash dared to utter a sentence, at least in part because he was not entirely believing this tale. "Use for me? What good is an injured royal guard pony to you?"
Chrysalis smiled wide, rubbing her head against Flash's in a false sense of affection.
"Leverage."
And with that, the world took on a green color, Flash's mind resembling the illusion world of colorful oil spills and fiery spinning wheels. His mind then settled on Sunset and Twilight, the two of them arguing over whom Flash cared more for. This distraction caused all feeling to be lost in his limbs, and he felt like a puppet being strung for manipulation.
The last words that he coherently understood for himself were not words at all, but a mixture of laughter and cackling.
Author's Note
Alright, so I had been thinking on this for awhile, and whilst writing Legion of Shadows, it dawned on me that I should go ahead and get this scene down before I lose it; it's not perfect, but it is an important plot point in Legion of Shadows. So, for both my reference and your enjoyment, I went ahead and put this down, trying my best to remove gross errors before posting it up.
