Bound to Darkness

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Epilogue
Chapter 4

Prologue

Author's Note

This is a piece I've been working on since July. Once it got into my head, I knew that I wouldn't be able to work on my other story until it was done.

Now it is. Enjoy.

Prologue

“Almost done, Spike,” Twilight Sparkle muttered, thrusting her nose back into her book. She compared one of the drawings on the page to the figure she had created on the library floor. It had only been eleven days since her brother's wedding and the changeling attack, and Twilight was hard at work ensuring that it would never happen again.

“Do we really have to do this now? It’s almost three,” Spike yawned.

“Spike, we’re almost finished creating a spell that’s never even been successfully attempted before! How can you think of sleeping at a time like this?” Twilight asked incredulously without removing her gaze from her book.

“Because it’s almost three!”

“Relax. You can sleep in,” she said dismissively, standing up and trotting around the elaborate setup she had created.

“You’re the one always telling me to go to bed earlier,” he grumbled softly.

“We’re just going to test it once. If it works and I can see through the changeling queen’s eyes, then we’ll go to bed and continue tomorrow. If it doesn’t work, we’ll record what happens instead, and then go to bed. Sound good?” Twilight replied, again not bothering to look at him.

“Fine...” he mumbled unenthusiastically. He glanced into a neatly-written scroll momentarily, going over the list of components needed. “I think we have everything ready.”

“Perfect! Let’s go over the checklist one last time,” Twilight chirped. She knelt down, examining a series of arcane glyphs on the floor and comparing them to a diagram hung on a nearby wall. She frowned as she noticed a slight discrepancy and levitated a small bag of ruby dust over to her. She poured the dust in a slow stream, carefully re-aligning the runic shape until she was certain that it patched the blueprint perfectly.

“Ruby Markings.”

“Check.”

“Salt circle around said markings?”

“Check.”

“Most complex potion I’ve ever made?” Twilight asked with a satisfied smirk, holding a vial of murky blue liquid aloft in her magic.

“Check. Modesty: not checked,” Spike grumbled.

“Oh, don’t be like that. I think I deserve to be proud of myself, I worked really hard on this!” Twilight pouted.

“I know, but you didn’t have to scream ‘success’ to all of Ponyville in the middle of the night,” Spike griped, rolling his eyes.

“Okay, maybe that was a little much, but still,” Twilight sighed. “What’s next... Oh! Pure emerald focusing lens?”

“Check,” Spike said as Twilight carefully made minute adjustments to the lens’ position on the floor.

“And lastly, a piece of the queen,” Twilight mumbled breathlessly, levitating a tiny chip of black chitin out of a nearby box. She gently placed it on the lens and took a deep breath.

“You don’t have to be that careful with it. That thing’s pretty hard,” Spike muttered.

“It’s the only one we have, and I’d like to be able to do some experiments on it later. Now check it off!” Twilight scolded.

“Fine, check. We’re all set,” Spike replied with a hint of a groan.

“Alright, stand back,” Twilight ordered gleefully. She opened the potion vial and took a sip out of it before pouring the rest on the chitin. The effect was instant; as if her mind was somehow looser inside her head. She began channeling the magic she would need for the spell, her horn glowing with bright violet light. “I’m charging the spell, casting in five seconds.”

“Be careful, Twilight,” Spike pleaded one last time.

“Oh, you worry too much!”

Her body went completely numb. She couldn’t even feel her own breathing as her vision began to tunnel, darkness appearing around the edges. Suddenly, there was a flash and she found herself face-to-face with a small changeling drone in some form of underground tunnel.

“Ha! Spike, it worked!”

“Spike? Who is Spike, my queen? What worked?” the changeling asked, a bewildered expression crossing its insectoid face.

“Wait, you heard that?” Twilight quickly squeaked in a voice that wasn’t her own, then slapped a hoof over her mouth. “I-I shouldn’t be able to speak!”

“W-why should the queen should be unable to speak?” her new companion asked.

“Because this isn’t right!” Twilight screamed, glancing around wildly. “I shouldn’t be able to look around either! I should be looking at what she’s looking at.”

Twilight looked down at her hooves; a black, holed pair of changeling hooves. She picked one up and held in front of her face.

“This- This...”

She felt herself let out a bloodcurdling shriek and her world faded to black.

Chapter 1

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 2 Author's Note

Had to fix a few glaring logical errors.

Chapter 2

Twilight opened her eyes, blinking away the blurriness to find herself sitting with her back against a cold dungeon wall, her front hooves pinned to the grey stone with a pair of heavy manacles. She didn't dare move and instead decided to try casting a spell. She gathered her magic and began to channel it into her horn but winced as something forcefully blocked it. She recognized the feeling. Someone had placed a magic ward on her horn; an enchanted silver ring that blocked the magic of whoever’s horn it was placed on.

"You're awake," a feminine voice said to her. "Good. We have many questions for you."

She shot to a sitting position and locked her eyes on the speaker. "Princess Celestia! Oh, thank heavens."

"That is a most odd response from a prisoner," another voice muttered. Twilight turned to see Princess Luna glaring at her, wearing a bewildered and suspicious frown to match her sister's. "Wouldst you mind explaining to us why we found you laying unconscious at our city's gate?"

"L-listen, this isn't what it looks like. I'm actually Twilight Sparkle," Twilight insisted desperately.

Celestia recoiled, rage flashing in her eyes. “This is a new low! Impersonating Cadance is one thing, but impersonating Twilight is far worse. You nearly shattered the friendships that have become the center of her life and I shudder to think what might have become of her had you not sent her to the caverns.”

“And for reference, your facade is far more convincing when you are properly disguised,” Luna grunted.

"No, really! I was working on that scrying spell to spy on the changelings and accidentally ended up like this," Twilight pleaded. "Now she's in my body and she's free!"

“I don’t know how you found out about Twilight’s project, but your story still doesn’t add up. Body-switching spells are magically impossible,” Celestia snarled. "Some of the best unicorns in history spent their entire lives trying. If you actually were Twilight, you’d know that."

“I do know that but I—”

“Enough!” Celestia bellowed. “I should lock you away forever for dragging Twilight into this, but first we will call her here to confront you face-to-face. Perhaps it will give her much-needed closure to know that you can never harm anypony ever again.”

She turned around and started walking to the stairs, so Twilight turned to Luna. “Luna, please! Remember Nightmare Night? You said that after Celestia, I was the best friend you’ve ever had!”

Luna recoiled, eyes wide with alarm and fear. She shook her head violently and stared at Twilight again, hesitancy crossing her features. “T-Twilight?”

A spell flew over Luna’s shoulder and struck Twilight in the throat, paralyzing her vocal chords. “How dare you toy with my sister’s emotions like that!” Celestia snarled. “Twilight was the first new friend she made after her return, and I will not see you tear them apart.”

Twilight winced at her mentors rage and glanced back at Luna. The Night Princess’ glared at her with deep loathing and turned away before calling for a guard.

“Your Highnesses?”

“Please send a chariot to Ponyville to fetch Twilight Sparkle for us. Immediately,” Celestia said to the guard, through gritted teeth. He saluted and galloped out. Celestia turned around and simply stared at Twilight.

They waited, Celestia continuing to cast her venomous glare at Twilight and Luna pointedly looking away for only a few minutes before the sound of hooves on stone announced that somepony was descending the stairs to the dungeon. All three pairs of eyes turned as the form of Twilight Sparkle appeared in the doorway. Twilight tried to scream, but only managed to exhale loudly.

"Twilight, what are you doing here already?" Celestia asked suspiciously. The skeptical frowns on both her and Luna's faces gave Twilight a moment of hope; she silently pleaded that the alicorns would see through the charade.

"I came to Canterlot for a surprise visit when I heard you caught the changeling queen. I wanted to find out what you learned from her. And see if I could help," Chrysalis murmured hesitantly. Twilight's heart sank. Chrysalis was mimicking her mannerisms perfectly. Twilight didn't know how, but Chrysalis had vastly improved since the invasion. "Then I ran into a guard at the palace entrance who said you were looking for me and I came right away."

"Thank you, Twilight," Celestia replied warmly. "So far she hasn’t given us anything useful. All she's done is claim to be you. I cast a silencing spell on her after she turned her poisonous words on Luna."

"Really? Why would she say that she was me? She's not even disguised," Chrysalis muttered, eyeing Twilight suspiciously.

"She said something about a 'body-switching spell'. Ridiculous, I know," Luna grumbled, she and Celestia both turning to their prisoner.

That's when Twilight saw it. A vial, attached to a nearly invisible string around Chrysalis' neck, slipped from her mane and hung freely. The vial began to glow a bright blood-red as Chrysalis' horn glowed a matching color. Luna and Celestia noticed the glow behind them with just enough time for shock to register on their faces before the vial exploded with an ear-shattering crack, splattering them with blood.

The Princesses collapsed where they stood, eyes wide open but completely limp. Chrysalis gave Twilight a twisted smile as a trio of guards rushed in.

"What happened?" bellowed a large unicorn wearing a crested sergeant's helmet.

"The changeling cursed the Princesses!" Chrysalis screamed, striking Twilight in the chest with a painful spell.

The guards rushed forward to examine the fallen alicorns before turning to Chrysalis. "Lady Twilight, can you restore them?"

Chrysalis cautiously stepped up to the Princesses and examined them closely. "I-I think so, but I'll need the Elements of Harmony. Can you get them for me?" she stammered perfectly.

The sergeant nodded to his two subordinates, who rushed out of the dungeons, before turning back to Chrysalis. "And their bearers?"

"Oh, yes. Them too," Chrysalis muttered, her mask slipping for the briefest moment. Unfortunately, the sergeant didn't seem to notice and rushed out.

Chrysalis turned back to Twilight and smirked smugly. "That was much better than my last performance, don't you think?" she giggled. "I've been thinking about you a lot since then. I thought about every single thing I saw you do over and over. Could you tell?"

"What about this? Do you like it? I call it 'Blood Bind'," she proclaimed proudly, pointing at the Princesses. She stepped over to the nearby wall and picked up a heavy, rust-covered chain in her magic, inspecting it closely. "It's an old spell I rediscovered a few years ago. Using the blood of the caster, it completely paralyzes the victim. They are effectively trapped in their own body. Their heart stops, their breathing stops, and they are completely unable to move. But they can still see everything, hear everything. Feel everything."

She whipped the chain across Celestia's back, rending flesh. Chrysalis purred softly and turned back towards Twilight. "Right now, precious Celestia is screaming in agony, but only she can hear it."

She dropped the chain and sauntered up to Twilight. "So here's what's going to happen: when your friends get here, we are going to turn you into a statue with those jewels of yours. It won't free the Princesses, but it'll keep my body safe and sound for a while. After that, poor Cadance will suffer a terrible, fatal, carriage accident on her way back to Canterlot."

Twilight lunged at her angrily and Chrysalis laughed. She danced up to Twilight, standing just out of the chained mare's reach and planted a peck on her nose. "Of course with all three of Equestria's Princesses... indisposed, who else would they turn to but Celestia's beloved apprentice?"

She reached up and wiped an angry tear from Twilight's cheek as rapid hoof beats announced the return of one of the guards. "It's the perfect plan," she whispered before turning to the guard.

"I have dispatched a carriage to Ponyville. The bearers will be here in short order," the sergeant grunted with a sharp salute.

"Good, good," Chrysalis sighed, shaking as if traumatized. "H-how long?"

"A little over an hour."

"Okay. In the meantime, I'm going to try to break the curse, alright?" Chrysalis asked hesitantly.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. I think I'd be better if you leave though. I don't know exactly what's going to happen," Chrysalis replied. When the guard narrowed his eyes at her she continued quickly, "Both the Princesses and I will be safe, I just want to make sure... that there's no magical interference!"

The sergeant's face flashed with comprehension and he gave her a quick bow. "Understood, ma'am." He gave her another sharp salute and galloped out.

Chrysalis turned back to Twilight with a grin and danced giddily. "A whole hour? This is wonderful, Twilight! I've wanted to have some one-on-one playtime with you for a while now," she giggled.

She sat down in front of Twilight with a contented sigh. "Did you know that I'm interested in magic? Well I am! And now that we have some time, we can practice together. Here, let me share a spell I invented with you." She stood up and backed away, pointing her glowing horn at Twilight.

Soft warmth flickered in Twilight's breast and exploded into an agonizing burn. She gasped, breathing heavily as she tried to suppress the pain, but it only spread further. In mere seconds, it erupted into mind-numbing blaze. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't even scream. Just as she began to believe that the spell had tore her apart, it subsided and she found herself hanging limply from her bindings, body contorted and writhing in pain.

"Well? Did you like it?" Chrysalis squealed excitedly. Twilight wrenched her eyes open to find Chrysalis standing mere inches away from her, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. "I call it 'soulfire'; it's my favorite! Using it on someone is... indescribable! Best feeling in the world." She sat down, closed her eyes and moaned, trembling momentarily.

Twilight gave a pained sigh and Chrysalis opened her eyes with a smile. "You’re right, soulfire isn't a very good name is it? Maybe you can help me come up with a better one. Here, I'll cast it again so you can get some inspiration."

"Lady Twilight, your friends are here!" a voice called, echoing down the hallway.

The sound of her name jerked Twilight back to consciousness. She felt nothing at first, but a headache quickly began to form as her brain slowly churned back into motion and the memories of the past hour began to surface. She couldn’t remember just how many different spells Chrysalis had ‘shared’ with her, but the deranged queen had insisted on casting all of them at least three times apiece. It hadn’t been long before Twilight’s mind shut down, merely accepting the pain for what it was: inevitable.

"Send them in!" Chrysalis called back before turning to Twilight with a pout. "Too bad; this is the most fun I think I've ever had. Oh well, all good things must end."

She fell silent as Rainbow Dash bolted into the room, closely followed by Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, all of whom immediately ran to the Princesses' limp bodies.

"Wh-what in tarnation happened here?"

"I don't know, this... monster cursed them!" Chrysalis snarled, pointing accusingly at Twilight.

“Ah thought you said there was no such thing as curses!” Applejack said as she carefully stepped up to Princess Celestia.

“Well I was wrong!” Chrysalis said exasperatedly. With the exception of Fluttershy, Twilight friends walked up to her with spiteful glares, and she simply stared pleadingly back, begging them silently to see through the facade. "We need to hurry and handle her. Did you bring the Elements?"

"Uh... yeah. Yeah we did," Rainbow muttered. “But shouldn’t we try to help the Princesses first?”

"No! We c- I mean we don’t know what else she can do. We need to take care of her now!” Chrysalis said forcefully. “After that, we can deal w— help Celestia.”

“Okay. If you say so,” Rarity replied, slightly put off. She gently placed the Tiara of Magic on Chrysalis' head and distributed the necklaces before adorning her own. They surrounded Twilight, standing in a semicircle against the dungeon wall. Chrysalis began to channel her magic with a triumphant grin and Twilight jammed her eyes shut.

Nothing happened.

"Umm, Twilight? Y'all can zap her anytime now!" Applejack grunted through grit teeth.

"I-I'm trying!" Chrysalis panted, pushing more charge into her horn for a moment before the magic flickered and died. "What's going on? Why isn't it working?"

“Well this is certainly strange,” Rarity said softly. “The Elements have never behaved like this before!”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief as Chrysalis tried again, her horn sparking and sputtering uselessly. Chrysalis let out a frustrated scream and took the Element off her head, shaking it angrily. “You’re supposed to turn her to stone, you stupid thing!” She shook it again, but the Element remained dim and silent. With one last enraged grunt, she hurled it against the ground and stormed away. It bounced noisily, landing a short distance from Twilight.

As Twilight’s friends followed Chrysalis, attempting to console the angry unicorn, Twilight herself had her attention on the Element. It was nearly two meters away; out of her reach, but maybe if she stretched out...

“Oh no you don’t!”

Twilight snapped her head up to see Rainbow Dash glaring at her from across the dungeon. Without another moment’s hesitation, Twilight redoubled her efforts to reach her Element as Rainbow shot across the room. Straining against her binding and stretching out as much as she could bear, Twilight managed to nudge the tiara with her back hoof.

The resulting light stopped Rainbow in mid-charge, drawing all eyes in the room to the Element of Magic as it glowed intensely. The chromatic pegasus backed away slowly, eyes wide with confusion and fear. “Wh-what?”

“B-b-but only Twilight’s supposed to be able to use the Element of Magic!” Applejack stammered. “Why’s it reactin’ to her?”

“I don’t know! This is... No. No, this can’t be right,” Rarity said, glancing rapidly between Twilight, Chrysalis and the Element. “Each of our Elements only responds to its wielder.”

“That means that that thing is Twilight! But she can’t be Twilight, because Twilight’s right here,” Pinkie lilted, pointing between the two as she spoke. “But the Element is saying that that’s Twilight, and the Elements can’t lie. So if that’s Twilight, then who the heck are you?” All five of Twilight’s friends turned to Chrysalis in unison, their steely glares demanding an explanation.

“Well, I... She... It’s obvious that...” Chrysalis gibbered, glancing around wildly at them. Finally, she closed her eyes and shook her head, a malicious smirk alighting her face. “Oh, screw it. You’ve got me.”

Five jaws hung open as her posture changed and she slid into a more arrogant mannerism. “And I was so close this time too! I suppose that’s what I get for underestimating the Elements.”

“Who are you really?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“Oh puh-leeese, you cannot truly be this dense!” Chrysalis groaned.

“She’s the changeling queen,” Fluttershy said nervously.

“Finally! I knew you wouldn’t be able to forget me,” Chrysalis said, elation glowing in her eyes as Twilight’s friends all gasped.

“What did you do to her? Fix it now!” Rainbow bellowed, advancing on Chrysalis.

“I will do no such thing! Unless... you intend to force me?” Chrysalis asked, her voice taunting and arrogant.

“If we have to!” Applejack snarled.

“Then, by all means, try,” Chrysalis said with a faked giggle.

Twilight’s friends pounced on her, but were all thrown back by a ring of energy expanding from Chrysalis’ horn. Each of them slammed hard into the dungeon walls, pinned by Chrysalis’ spell. “You ponies are all so predictable,” Chrysalis sighed.

She sauntered up to Twilight and gave her a wistful smirk. “Well, my dear Twilight, it seems that you’ve once again managed to foil my plans, and in a way that I could never have anticipated. I suppose I could just kill your friends now and take that small victory, but that just wouldn’t be playing fair, would it?” Chrysalis cooed patronizingly. “Instead, we will call this a draw. I will retreat for now and come up with a new plan so that we may play again. Soon.”

She let the thinly-veiled threat hang in the air for a few seconds, then seized Twilight’s head in her hooves and kissed her forcefully. Not even bothering to avoid the fangs, she whipped her tongue around the inside of Twilight mouth, then backed away, scooped up the Element of Magic in her hoof, and teleported with a flash. As soon as she disappeared, her magic dissipated and Twilight’s friends all fell to the ground, confused, but ultimately unhurt.

They immediately stood up and cautiously made their way over to Twilight, standing a length away from her. For the longest time, none of them spoke, mesmerized by the creature crying with relief before them; the being that the Element of Magic insisted was their friend. Finally, Applejack spoke, softly and skeptically.

“Twilight, i-is that really you?” Twilight nodded vigorously. Rainbow lifted a hoof towards Twilight’s bindings, but Applejack stopped her. “Hold on now. As much as Ah wanna trust her, we can’t until we know for sure.”

“Yeah, well how do we do that? She can’t talk for some reason,” Rainbow replied angrily.

Applejack opened her mouth with a retort, but was cut off by Rarity. “I think I know this spell; some of the other fillies used to prank each other with it in high school. Let’s see if I remember how to undo it...”

Rarity closed her eyes and began to channel her magic. Gritting her teeth with concentration, she released it and Twilight’s head glowed white for a mere instant. As soon as the feeling returned to her throat, she began speaking rapidly. “Your name is Applejack. Your brother is Big Macintosh. Your little sister is Applebloom. Her friends are Swee-”

“Okay, okay! Ah believe ya,” Applejack interrupted, a mix of relief and amusement leaking into her voice. Without further hesitation, she and Rainbow undid the clasps keeping their friend bound to the wall and Twilight immediately hugged them both.

“Thank you! You have no idea how glad I am to see you girls,” Twilight sobbed.

“I-it’s okay, Twilight. We’re here for you now,” Rainbow said, shifting uncomfortably in Twilight’s hold. “This is so weird...”

“Where’s Spike? I-is he here?” Twilight asked suddenly, glancing towards the dungeon’s entrance.

"No, we thought he was with you. We haven't seen him since you left us that note," Rarity replied, concern rising in her voice.

"What note? ...Maybe you should start from the beginning. What's happened since the last time you saw me in Ponyville?" Twilight asked, fidgeting nervously.

"Nothin' that seemed too outta the ordinary," Applejack muttered. "'Bout five days ago we all noticed that the library wasn't open, so we went in and found a note from you sayin' that you 'n Spike had ta go to Canterlot and y'all would be back soon. That's a mite bit strange, sure, but nothin' too hair-raisin'. After that we didn't hear nothin' until this mornin' when the guards showed up and ordered us to come with 'em."

"Oh no! Chrysalis must have written that note. That means she has him," Twilight groaned, sinking to the floor.

“Uhhhh, Chrysalis?” Pinkie asked, all of Twilight’s friends mimicking her confused expression.

“The queen. That’s her name,” Twilight muttered.

Twilight’s friends all exchanged worried glances. Fluttershy stepped forward and gently placed a hoof on Twilight’s. “I-I’m sure he’s alright. I don’t think she’d hurt him.”

“Yeah, not after kissing you like-” Rainbow began before Rarity cut her off by elbowing her in the ribs.

“Ah’m with Fluttershy. She probably has him locked up somewhere like she did with Cadance,” Applejack said encouragingly. “Once we catch her, get you back into your own body, ‘n uncurse the princesses, we’ll just smack her around ‘til she tells us where he is. Then we can go rescue him!”

“I hope you’re right,” Twilight sighed sadly.

“Ah am right!”

"What about you, Twilight?" Rarity asked. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you owe us an explanation."

"Yeah, I guess I do," Twilight murmured guiltily. "Okay, you know that spell I spent most of last week inventing?" She was met with a round of nods. "It was supposed to be a sort of spying spell. Without getting into the technical aspects of it, I was trying to mix unicorn and zebra magic so that I could use a piece of Chrysalis to feel all her senses for a bit. See what she sees and such. I guess it sort of worked... Right after I finished casting the spell, I found myself in the changeling nest, in full control of Chrysalis' body, rather than just, uhhh, 'riding along' with her."

"You were in the changelings' home? What was it like? What were they like?" Fluttershy asked, ears perked with interest.

“Fluttershy, please, you can ask those questions later. Let Twilight finish,” Rarity interjected, giving Fluttershy an apologetic smile.

“Oh. Right, sorry.”

“Anyway, Chrysalis’ leg was in a cast, and one of the drones — that's what the changelings who aren't queens are called — told me that it couldn’t come off for a couple days. So I basically just waited around until they took the cast off. After that a few of their soldiers offered to escort me to Ponyville so I could get this sorted out, but Chrysalis was waiting for us just outside of the nest. She took control of the hive and knocked me out, then I woke up here,” Twilight finished.

“She actually brought you here? Why would she do that?” Pinkie asked.

“I don’t know, she’s insane,” Twilight said wearily. “This is all some kind of sick game to her.”

They sat in silence as Twilight’s words hung in the air like a dark cloud. Before long, the rapid echo of hoof beats reached their ears and they turned towards the door just as a dozen guards burst through, led by a glacial-blue pegasus stallion wearing a golden lieutenant’s helmet. He pointed at them and bellowed. “The changeling’s free! Grab her!” Four of the guards bolted towards Twilight and wrestled her to the ground as the others pulled her friends away from her.

“Wait! Let her go. We can explain,” Rarity gasped, cringing away from the angry guards.

“You had better. I have half a mind to arrest you all and be done with it,” the lieutenant growled.

“You can’t arrest us! Who do you think you are?” Rainbow said arrogantly.

"I am First Lieutenant Icewing, and I am in charge of the Canterlot garrison while Captain Shining Armor is away," he barked authoritatively. "The Captain is a good friend of mine and has placed a vast amount of trust in me, so you'll understand the distress I felt if one of my men came to me in a near-panic saying that our Princesses have been cursed. Now, after receiving assurances that Twilight Sparkle and the other Bearers had things under control, I received reports of screaming coming from down here and arrive to find Twilight Sparkle missing, our prisoner out of her chains, and the lot of you sitting around like nothing’s wrong."

He stepped up to her and leaned in, staring her down. “In short, you will answer my questions, or else. Understood?”

Rainbow searched for the buff in his face, but withered when she found none. “Yes sir,” she gulped.

“Good. But first...” He turned to a unicorn mare at his left. "Corporal, status?"

"Sir! Anti-changeling spells running at maximum efficiency, sir. Chances of even one of the bearers being under the changeling's influence are under point-two percent. The fact that the spell ward is still attached to her lowers that likelihood to less than a thousandth of a percent."

"Perfect," Lieutenant Icewing grunted, turning back to Twilight and her friends. "So, where is Twilight Sparkle?"

“She... is possessed by an evil spirit!” Rarity replied quickly. “It cursed the princesses to lure the five of us here so it could steal the Elements of Harmony, but when we realized what was happening it teleported away.”

“W-wait, I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right. Could you repeat that?” Icewing stammered.

“It’s true!” Pinkie said insistently. “It took over Twilight so that it could use her to take over Equestria!”

"You are sure? You are absolutely sure that Twilight Sparkle is possessed?" Icewing asked skeptically.

"Positive," Rarity retorted firmly.

“And why are you so sure that the spirit cursed the Princesses and not this wretch?” he asked, gesturing to Twilight.

“It, the spirit that is, told us as much,” Rarity said.

"This is just great," Icewing groaned. "Now—"

"Wait, that's it? You believe us just like that?" Rainbow asked incredulously.

"It's no secret that the five of you are close friends with Twilight Sparkle. If you say that there's something wrong with her, then I believe you," Icewing muttered, fixing his eyes on Twilight. "That, however, still doesn’t explain why you freed this monster."

“She’s not a monster, she wants to help!” Fluttershy squeaked.

Icewing frowned at the buttery pegasus. “I very much doubt that.”

“That’s true too! She said she’s very, very sorry for invading Canterlot and that it was a misunderstanding. She said that she wants to help us fix this to prove how sorry she is!” Pinkie screeched. Icewing glanced from Pinkie to Twilight and Twilight nodded vigorously, not daring to speak.

Icewing groaned and slapped a hoof over his face. “Girls, this is a creature whose entire purpose is to lie and deceive. You can’t possibly say you trust—”

"Listen, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are in grave danger!" Twilight blurted.

"W-what? Explain, changeling. Now!" the Lieutenant bellowed.

"The, uhhhh, spirit told me it wanted them dead! It said it was going to attack their carriage and make it look like an accident," Twilight stammered.

Icewing turned to the nearest guard and the Private took off running. He turned back to Twilight and took a step towards her. "Anything else I should know?"

"Umm... Yes! She's in control of some changelings," Twilight replied quickly. "Members of my hive, highly-trained soldiers."

"How many?"

"Sixteen. Well, sixteen soldiers at most, she could have many more, but they'd be civilians and not a real threat to anypony," Twilight said nervously. Several more guards took off out of the dungeon.

Icewing groaned, rubbing his forehead with a hoof. "This just got a lot worse..." He glared at Twilight, grinding his teeth. He turned to the remaining guards. "Take the changeling into custody and bring the Bearers to my office. I need some time to think."

Nearly six hours later, Twilight frowned up at the ceiling from the bed she lay on. She felt absolutely helpless; the Princesses were still paralyzed, Chrysalis was still on the loose, and she was locked in this room. Still, the Lieutenant had been nice enough to imprison her in a dorm room instead of a cell. It was cold comfort, but it was something.

Her friends knew the truth...

That was no small comfort. She was in a terrible situation, arguably a far worse situation than being stuck in Chrysalis' hive while the villainous queen had free reign of Equestria, but she wasn't alone anymore. She had her friends back, and she knew that they would do everything they could to help her set things right.

Maybe she wasn't so helpless after all...

She rolled over onto her front and groaned at the sharp ache in her injured leg. Readjusting herself a bit to relieve the pain a bit, she let out a depressed sigh. She sort of wished Rarity had just told the guards the truth, instead of making up the whole 'possession' thing, but she understood why her friend did it. In this case, the truth really was weirder than fiction. Even Celestia didn't believe it...

With a frustrated groan, she climbed off the bed and trotted to the sink in the attached bathroom. She turned the water on and let the faucet run cold for a few seconds before splashing the water on her face. She hovered over the sink and splashed her face again, then looked in the mirror and froze.

The events of the past few days flooded through her mind. Seeing Chrysalis face staring back at her... it was just too real.

A tight knot formed in her chest. Her heart rate increased to an uncomfortable level and she began to hyperventilate. She was mere moments away from a panic attack and she knew it.

Luckily for her, a loud knocking on her door interrupted her thoughts just in time to avert a crisis. "Oh! Uhhh, come in!"

She heard the door slam against the wall as it was thrown open and a voice bellowed, "Changeling, the Lieutenant demands to see you!"

Twilight moaned internally; as much as she wanted to get out of the room and as much as she needed to feel like she was doing something, this was not a conversation she wanted to have.

She looked in the mirror again and took a deep breath. "I'm coming!" she chirped in the perkiest voice she could muster, and trotted out to meet the pair of guards waiting for her. One on each side of her, they led her to the end of the hall, up one flight of stairs to the third floor, and to a door halfway down the hall. One of them knocked once then motioned her to go through.

She took a deep breath and entered, finding herself in a very spartan office, near barren with sterile-white walls and a single desk seated at the center. Sitting behind the desk with a tired frown was Lieutenant Icewing. He motioned for her to sit on the cushion across from him and she did so silently, waiting for him to speak.

But there was something wrong; an absence in her head... She couldn’t sense his emotions, but his glare told her all she needed to know. He was actively guarding himself against her. He had practiced suppressing his emotions, just in case he was in this very situation.

He stared at her for a few moments before opening his mouth. "Two hours ago, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's carriage was attacked by a force of one dozen changelings," he grumbled, allowing his words to hang in the air for a few seconds. "Fortunately, we had been able to pass some recently-gained intelligence to the Captain; and instead of finding him and the Princess, they opened the carriage to find a ready squad of soldiers armed with anti-changeling spells. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are safe, and four changelings now lie dead.

As elated as Twilight was, she couldn’t help but wince at the news. She wanted Shining Armor and Cadance to be safe more than anything, but bloodshed hadn’t been the way she had hoped it would go. The hive had already suffered enough without losing more of its sisters.

“Princess Cadance has been taken to a safe house in a secret location and the Captain is being smuggled back to Canterlot. It will be slow going, but he’ll get here."

“That’s good. I’m glad that they’re safe,” Twilight murmured.

"Shining Armor is a good friend of mine and your warning quite probably saved not only his life, but the life of Princess Cadance as well. As much as I hate saying it, we owe you a debt, and the Royal Guard always repays its debts," he continued. "As such, I feel I should at least offer you the courtesy of informing you that every soldier in Equestria has been told to consider the... renegade members of your hive to be highly dangerous and expendable. Following Equestrian law, we will attempt to apprehend them unharmed if the opportunity arises, but our troops have been ordered to disable them as quickly as possible, even if it requires fatal measures."

"I... understand," Twilight replied carefully, reminding herself once again to play the part of the changeling queen. "I'd prefer you didn't kill them, but I can't ask you to put your ponies at risk."

"Good. I was afraid you'd make this difficult. Now, to business," Icewing grunted. He opened a drawer in his desk and took out a small, translucent crystal pyramid, and placed it gently on his desktop. "Do you know what this is?"

"I-it's a vision crystal. They can record events as they happen and replay them, like a magical security camera," Twilight explained nervously, her heart rate increasing again. "They're experimental though, they can't record sound yet, and they're very expensive to make."

"You'd be surprised how easy it is to procure one when national security is at stake," Icewing chuckled, smiling momentarily. Suddenly, he dropped the smile and locked his eyes on Twilight in a hard glare. "This one was in the dungeon you woke up in. Let me show you something." He tapped the crystal, and a scene appeared before them.

A vial exploding and two Alicorns falling.

"I don't think we need to see what happens next," Icewing muttered. He opened the drawer and slid the crystal back in before sitting back in his chair and massaging his temples. "I've never met Twilight Sparkle, but I know for a fact that she would never torture another living being. I had difficulty believing anything you or the Bearers had told me until I saw this."

"So what happens now?" Twilight asked hesitantly. She knew she was pushing her luck, but couldn't help asking.

"This has put me in a very uncomfortable position, changeling. May I call you that?" he asked with a sigh. Twilight nodded and he continued. "Equestria is in trouble and you know more about the danger that faces us than anyone. I have no way of knowing if anything you tell me is the truth or a lie beyond what I believe. I really have no choice but to trust you to be honest with me; I hope you'll do the same."

"Okay."

He sighed again and leaned forward. “The Element Bearers all assured me that you want to help us break the curses on the Princesses, and end the possession of Twilight Sparkle. Are they wrong?"

"No. I want to help," Twilight said with an affirmative nod.

“Why?”

The question hit Twilight like a train; she hadn’t been prepared for that. “Because... I’ve made some mistakes in the past. Terrible mistakes. I just want to make things right.”

Icewing cocked his head slightly at her, and for the first time, she could sense his feelings. Self-doubt, mixed with uncertainty. For whatever reason, her answer troubled him; unnerved him. He had expected that answer about as much as she had expected the question. "And just how can you help us?" he asked skeptically.

"I... I am very good with magic. As good as Twilight Sparkle," Twilight explained hopefully.

Icewing shook his head and groaned. "I am not removing the ward. That would require far more trust than I'm willing to give."

"I can fix her," Twilight said insistently. When Icewing gave her a confused frown, she continued, "If you can bring her back to the castle, alive and unhurt, I can fix her and then she can try to break the curse on the Princesses. I might even be able to do it if you get me a piece of Twilight. A strand of hair or something."

"Are you sure? Are you absolutely positive?" Icewing asked forcefully, leaning forward aggressively.

"Yes. Without a doubt."

He sat back in his chair again, considering her. After a brief moment, he slid an amulet across the table. "Put this on. It will monitor your movements and tell us if you remove it. You will wear it at all times and if you take it off, I'm locking you in a cell. If you leave this wing of the palace without my explicit permission, I'll lock you in a cell. If you become uncooperative or break into a locked room, I'll lock you in a cell. However, if you stay cooperative and helpful, you may wander this wing of the palace at your leisure. Deal?"

Twilight stared at it a moment, then glanced at him skeptically. “R-really?”

“Yes. I have ordered you to be placed under a form of house arrest rather than be incarcerated in the dungeon; consider this small freedom to be the reward you’re owed for saving my friend and my princess. That being said, you won’t be getting anything unless you agree to my terms,” he replied, a ghost of a smirk crossing his face. “So, do we have a deal or not?”

Without a second thought, Twilight took the amulet in her hooves and slipped it around her neck. "Deal!"

"Good," Icewing replied curtly. "You can stay in the second floor room you were locked in before. Is there anything you'll be needing?"

"Some water and a sandwich would be nice. It's probably been at least a day since I've eaten," Twilight replied hopefully.

"There is a mess hall on the ground floor. They'll prepare whatever you want, within reason," Icewing said with a solemn nod. "There's also a lounge on each floor you may bring your food to if you prefer."

"Great! Are we done?" Twilight asked happily.

"Yes, for the moment. I'll send somepony to retrieve you when I know more," he replied, motioning for her to leave with a hoof.

She gave him a polite nod and trotted out.

Twilight stumbled out of the mess hall, a satisfied grin on her face. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until she took the first bite. She didn't know whether it was due to Chrysalis being malnourished or herself not eating anything that wasn't completely disgusting for at least four days, but once she started eating, she didn't stop until she had packed down three large daisy sandwiches.

She slowly made her way back to her room, pushed the door open, and grinned at the sight within. "Girls! You came to see me!"

“Of course we did! We wanted to make sure you were okay,” Pinkie said, bouncing over to hug her.

“Yeah! We wanted to make sure that big jerk didn’t try anything too,” Rainbow grunted.

“He’s not a jerk, Rainbow, I’m in the body of a changeling,” Twilight said impassively.

“Still, dear, we were worried about you. We did our best to convince him that you weren’t a threat, but I don’t think he was listening,” Rarity replied nervously.

“He listened. I’m under house arrest. I’m confined to this wing of the palace as long as I behave myself,” Twilight smiled.

“Well that’s a relief! We were afraid that he was gonna lock you up again. Or worse,” Applejack said with a shudder.

“Well he didn’t and I’m grateful. Thank you,” Twilight replied. She smiled at each of them in turn, stopping to giggle at the expression on Fluttershy’s face. “Let me guess. You still want to hear about the changelings?”

“I-if you don’t mind...” Fluttershy said. “It’s alright if you’d rather not talk about it now. Or ever.”

“No, it’s okay,” Twilight snickered. She trotted over to the bed and nestled down between Fluttershy and Rarity.

“So, was it like? Was their hole all dark and slimy, and filled with the bones of ponies they’ve hurt?” Rainbow asked distastefully.

“Not at all. Their nest was actually very clean all things considering. And the changelings themselves were actually pretty sweet. Well, most of them,” Twilight replied with a small smile.

“Really? Do tell,” Rarity gasped.

“They all really care for each other, and each one has a different role to play. Some gather food, some protect the hive, some dig new tunnels and so on,” Twilight explained. “They all cooperate for the good of the hive.”

“You almost make them sound like ponies,” Fluttershy observed.

"Well, almost. They’re still a lot different than us. They’re really sort of strange. Not in a bad way, mind you, but they’re still very strange creatures," Twilight muttered. "For instance, the drones all knew right away that I wasn't Chrysalis, but very few of them seemed to care. One went so far as to say 'a queen is a queen'!"

"Whoa... That's really weird," Rainbow grumbled. "If something like that happened to Princess Celestia, we'd all freak!"

"I know! And not only were they totally fine with it, they went about their business like nothing had even happened. Well, the uninjured ones did," Twilight replied softly. "That... was the worst part; the invasion really messed things up for them, they're all suffering."

"Don't tell me you feel bad for them," Rainbow asked skeptically. "They attacked us!"

"I know, and that's how I felt at first, but when I actually saw it..." Twilight murmured, staring away pensively as she trailed off. "Chrysalis forced them to invade Canterlot with their entire hive, 2,200 changelings; most of them weren't even soldiers, and they lost all but about 120 of them. Most of the ones that are left are too hurt to do, well, anything, and all of their healers were killed in the fighting. I saw the room they were using as a hospital; there was one there who was no bigger than a little filly. Sh-she had both her wings torn off."

"Oh, heavens!" Rarity gasped, clapping her hooves over her mouth. "T-that's terrible! I-I had no idea."

"It gets worse: they're all starving," Twilight sighed. "They're out of food and the few who are able to go out and look for food can't gather enough to feed the whole hive. And to top it all off, they said that instead of trying to solve the hive's problems, Chrysalis has just sat around pouting since the invasion."

"Is there something we can do to help them?" Fluttershy asked.

"I’d really like to, but we need to find Chrysalis first," Twilight grumbled. "Otherwise, I... I'll..." She trailed off with a deep yawn.

"You look like you need some sleep, Twilight," Rarity said.

"Yeah, today was... long," Twilight murmured, stumbling over her words.

"We'll leave you alone. Just remember to let us know if the guards start messing with you," Rainbow growled.

"Thanks, Dash," Twilight wearied. "I'll see you girls in the morning, okay?"

Her friends all smiled at her and filed out but for Fluttershy, who lingered, frowning worriedly at Twilight. "Umm, Twilight? You were in the dungeon alone with her for a long time, weren't you?"

Twilight stared at her for a few seconds, painfully aware of where Fluttershy's thoughts were headed. "Yeah."

"Did she... hurt you?"

For the briefest moment, Twilight considered lying. Simply shaking her head and letting Fluttershy walk away none the wiser, but she couldn't. She broke down and nodded slowly, beginning to cry as Fluttershy silently hugged her.

Chapter 3

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 5

Flowing blood.

To Celestia, it was the first indication that something had changed. The curse had stopped her heartbeat, so the wound Chrysalis had inflicted on her had never bled. But now she could feel the warm fluid pouring freely over her back and for once in her life, she was grateful for the painful sensation of it slipping out.

She tried to move, but found herself impossibly stiff. She didn’t have time to ease herself into motion; she had to move. Groaning with the strain, she first managed to twitch, then even bend her leg.

“D-did she just move?”

“Oh, hells, she did! Princess Luna too!”

She blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Then, with a monumental effort, she managed to get a leg beneath herself and roll over onto her belly.

“Shit, what do we do?”

“Kill the hostages! The queen said leave none of them alive!”

Celestia’s muscles screamed with pain as she pushed herself upright, panicing at the changelings’ words, but before she could even turn her head in their direction, a deafening crack shook the room. All seven changelings slammed hard into the opposite wall and slid to the floor in a crumpled heap.

She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Luna seething at the changelings from her own spot on the floor, a disturbingly familiar shadow stirring in her eyes.

“Y-you will not hurt them again! I will kill you first!” As she began charging up a second spell, Celestia lunged in her direction and gently placed a hoof on her sister’s.

“L-Luna, stop, please! They are beaten,” she croaked. Luna shot her a furious glare for a moment before softening at the sight of Celestia’s expression and took a deep breath, shaking her head.

Rarity rushed to her side, and Pinkie Pie to Luna’s as Twilight Velvet made straight for the hole Twilight and Chrysalis had made. Velvet danced agitatedly as Rarity helped Celestia to her hooves, glancing quickly between the alicorn and the hole. “P-princess, please! I-”

“I will bring her back, Twilight Velvet, I swear it,” Celestia interrupted tiredly.

“T-thank you...”

Celestia stepped warily over to the dark portal and stared down momentarily before glancing back at Luna.

“I will be along shortly, sister. First I would bind the changelings to ensure that they remain harmless while we search for Twilight,” Luna muttered, motioning Celestia on.

Celestia nodded grimly and leapt through the gap. Lighting her horn, she soared carefully down the slope and heard Luna catch up to her just as she entered a narrow tunnel. Her heart was racing and her breath shallow, nervous that she’d never find Twilight in the massive caverns, but the feeling was quickly replaced by dread as the signs of battle became more and more pronounced. Flying faster with each pile of rubble she passed, she simply followed the carnage until she spotted two bodies lying on the stone.

She dove down, slamming into the ground and skidding to a stop over the changeling body. Slowly and carefully she laid a hoof on it and flinched when it moved. “T-twilight?”

Trembling, the changeling gazed up at her with a haunted stare and Celestia broke down, hugging her tight. “I-I’m sorry, Twilight. I should have recognized you. I let my anger blind me to the truth. I am so sorry!”

Weeping, she cradled Twilight to her chest, allowing her apprentice to silently curl up against her as Luna landed to inspect the other body. Celestia watched her sister mournfully for a minute before speaking again. “Luna?”

The Princess of the Night glanced at her over her shoulder momentarily before returning her stare back to the body. She sighed and shook her head. Her heart sinking, Celestia choked back a sob and buried her face in Twilight’s mane.

“Twilight, what were you thinking?” Luna asked sadly, leaning up against Twilight and stroking her back comfortingly.

“S-she was going to kill you! I had no choice!” Twilight wailed, beginning to cry openly.

“Shhh, Twilight, it’s okay,” Celestia whispered. “It’s going to be alright. She can’t hurt anypony ever again.”

“We’re proud of you, Twilight,” Luna murmured as she pulled Twilight closer, tears flowing down both their muzzles.

They let her cry until her bawls faded to mere sniffles before Celestia pulled her away again, rubbing her shoulders tenderly. “Twilight, listen to me. Everything’s going to be alright, I promise. We’ll find what we can of Spike and give him the proper burial he deserves; but right now, we need to go back to the castle. Everypony’s really worried and they’re waiting for us to return.”

Twilight stared blankly at her for the few seconds it took for her words to register and nodded. Celestia smiled and offered her a hoof as Luna stepped over to Twilight's lifeless body, lifted it with a spell and gently draped it across her back. She leaned into Celestia and whispered, "You guide her out; I believe that Twilight has been traumatized enough today without having to stare at... this the entire way back."

Celestia nodded before turning back to Twilight. "Come, my little pony. Just do as I do and you'll be fine."

The three of them took off, making their way through the caverns and back to the tunnel Twilight chased Chrysalis through. They ascended the slope and carefully swooped through the hole Twilight made when she had initially attacked Chrysalis.

As they landed, Twilight's mother bounded over to her and hugged her tight, the room breathing a collective sigh of relief that died in the air as Luna entered and carefully deposited Twilight’s body on the floor. Nopony in the room moved for nearly a full minute before Twilight’s mom stumbled over to the corpse, touched it once, and broke down into tears.

“W-what in tarnation happened down there?” Applejack asked as she and Twilight’s father moved to comfort the grieving mare.

“Faced with no other option, Twilight made a difficult choice,” Luna muttered cryptically.

“The queen... Chrysalis had Twilight’s back to the wall,” Celestia sighed. “The only way for Twilight to ensure our safety was to immediately break the Blood Bind, and the only way for her to accomplish that was to end Chrysalis’ life.”

“S-so it was either your body or us,” Rarity murmured, stepping slowly up to Twilight. With a sob, she threw her hooves around her friend.

No sooner had Rarity spoke than the rest of Twilight’s friends and family moved in to hug her. They remained that way for a few minutes before Celestia spoke up. “Everypony, I know that we are all in a highly emotional state and that we are all hurting, but I fear that we are not done yet. Twilight, Luna, and I must discuss what is to be done with the surviving changelings. I would also very much like for Rainbow Dash and Applejack to have their wounds treated. If you would all please move upstairs, we will join you shortly.”

Twilight’s friends and parents all nodded sadly and slowly made their way out, leaving Twilight and the princesses alone.

“So, Twilight, what do you want me to do with them?” Luna asked agitatedly. Twilight raised her head to see Luna glaring at the seven remaining changeling soldiers, each pinned to the dungeon was in uncomfortably contorted positions by solidified shadows.

Twilight stared at them and felt a hot flash of anger well up in her chest. She stood up and stomped over to the one in the center and leered at her. “I recognize this one. 2,987. She helped me when I was stuck in their burrow.” Twilight leaned towards the drone with a threatening sneer. “Let her down.”

The shadows dispersed and Twilight drove a hoof into 29-87’s gut, sending the soldier sprawling across the ground. “P-please, your dragon-”

“Don’t you dare speak of him!” Twilight shrieked, throwing a kick into the drone’s jaw.

“N-no, please!” 29-87 gasped. “We didn’t have anything to do with that. He was dead long before she ambushed you at the hive! We-”

“You think that’s all I’m upset about?” Twilight interrupted hysterically, kicking her again and again. “I was kidnapped, tortured, my friends and family were almost killed, and now I’m stuck like this; all because you betrayed me!”

“We didn’t have a choice. We—”

“Don’t lie!” Twilight screamed, pressing a choking hoof on 29-87’s throat. “The rest of the hive had a choice and they chose to stay with me! I thought you were my friend. We were going to try for peace between our people, and you just threw it away!”

“Twilight, that’s enough. Hurting her will not change what’s been done,” Celestia interrupted softly, gently placing a hoof of Twilight’s shoulder.

Twilight wheeled around at her with a glare. “Princess, you can’t ask me to just forgive her for what she’s done.”

“That is exactly what I am asking of you, Twilight,” Celestia replied softly. “Rage and hate are like poisons, Twilight, you must let go.”

“I-I know that,” Twilight stuttered, grinding her teeth. “I just... I can’t. I’m so angry that it hurts and I just want to make her hurt!”

“I understand that, Twilight, but that isn’t who you are,” Celestia said urgingly. “This drone has played a part in a grave injustice inflicted upon you, and your hurt and anger are clouding your judgment. Causing her pain will do nothing to alleviate your own, and you will regret it later. Do not become like the monster you just destroyed.“

Twilight hung her head, feeling thoroughly ashamed. “I want to let go, I really do, but I just can’t!” she replied tearfully.

“Over time, the pain will fade and perhaps then you will find yourself able to forgive,” Celestia smiled, hugging Twilight with one hoof. “In the meantime, I am here for you.”

As Twilight leaned into the hug, she felt something brush against her forelegs and opened her eyes to see 37-22 staring up at her with eyes full of concern. "We go home now?"

"H-home?" Twilight whimpered.

"Back to the nest?" the drone asked timidly, hopefully.

"The nest? B-b-but this isn't how it was supposed to be! Everything was supposed to be back to normal, not messed up forever," Twilight whined. The full implications of the day's events stormed into her mind, but her complaints died in her throat as 37-22's emotions leaked into her thoughts.

"Queen doesn't want the hive?" It was more of a statement than a question. The drone understood that Twilight hated the thought of returning to the nest, but didn't understand why. Confusion, fear, and despair swam through her head, and Twilight could feel all of it.

"No, that's not what I meant! I mean I..." Twilight stammered, trailing off helplessly. She gave Celestia a pleading glance, but the alicorn was only able to return it with a weak shrug. She glanced back to 37-22 and sighed. "Ju-just wait here..."

She stood up and turned around, towering over 29-87 and growled. "You. Up. Now."

The injured soldier slowly clambered to her hooves and faced Twilight with a pained bow. Twilight pointed sharply at a nearby isolation cell and 29-87 limped into it fearfully. Twilight glanced at Celestia and gestured for her to follow before entering the cell herself.

She waited for Celestia to enter before trying to slam the solid steel door shut, only for it to bounce off Luna’s hoof. She gave Twilight a disapproving frown and closed the door softly as Celestia shot a luminous orb into one of the corners. Giving 29-87 a disgusted glance, Twilight began pacing angrily across the cell.

"P-please, my queen I beg you," 29-87 whimpered, trembling violently. Twilight shot her a venomous glare and she shrank back. "Please make it quick. It's all I ask."

"I'm not going to kill you," Twilight grumbled quietly.

"Mercy... She is merciful," 29-87 breathed, collapsing to her haunches. "Thank—"

"I said that I wasn't going to kill you, not that I'm forgiving you. So stand up, shut up, and do as you're told!" Twilight snarled, stomping towards 29-87 and prodding her in the chest. The drone snapped back to her hooves and shot to attention as Twilight resumed her pacing.

The former unicorn shot her a few additional glares before speaking again. "I'm going to ask you a series of questions. You're going to answer either 'yes' or 'no' unless I specifically ask for more information. Not a word otherwise; got it?"

"Y-yes," the changeling croaked.

"Chrysalis is dead. That makes me the sole ruler of the hive, correct?" Twilight grumbled, glancing quickly over her shoulder to ensure that the princesses were watching.

"Yes."

"The sole undisputed ruler? No chances of a succession crisis or revolt?"

"Yes," 29-87 murmured with a nod.

"Good," Twilight grunted. "Now here's the big question: if I left the hive to its own devices, would it survive?"

"No."

The abrupt bluntness of the soldier's reply stopped Twilight in her tracks and she turned to stare at her. "What if I ensured that the hive was protected and its needs filled?"

"Still no."

Twilight frowned at her, confused. "Why not?"

"W-well, among changelings, the queen is the hive," 29-87 explained quickly. "She may not manage each and every task, but she provides us with direction and purpose." She glanced nervously between Twilight and the princesses. "A hive without a queen would just... exist! We'd go through the motions of life, but it'd be aimless."

"Like a brain-dead pony on life support. Not dead, but also not alive," Luna muttered. "I wouldn't wish that on anything. I imagine that members of the hive would eventually just lie down and wait for death, having lost the will to live."

29-87 nodded grimly. "A-and even if we didn't become too depressed to work, the collective hive would die anyway; only a queen can produce new drones. We'd have six or seven years. Fewer if the foragers die first."

"I see," Twilight grunted through pursed lips. "Okay, now I want to know about feeding. When changelings drain love from ponies, what exactly happens to the pony?"

"We don't actually drain love, we just absorb it," 29-87 inserted before withering under three pairs of suspicious eyes. She continued insistently, as if begging them to believe her. "Sentient beings give off emotional energy and changelings are sensitive to it. That's how we can— how you can— sense what others are feeling," she stated directly at Twilight. "When we feed, we just suck up the love that's already being directed at us; like a sponge!"

"So it doesn't hurt the pony at all?" Celestia asked skeptically. "No adverse effects?"

"...No."

"You hesitated," Twilight growled threateningly. "Why?"

"I-it doesn't affect the pony, but if a changeling feeds off of a single pony long enough, that'll become attuned to that pony's emotions and it'll be easier for them to hypnotize that pony," 29-97 muttered guiltily. "But that's an effect on the changeling, not the pony."

Twilight nodded. She paused for a few seconds, grinding her teeth. "I've got one last question, and it’s the most important one yet. I want you to think about it before you answer me. Really think about it; got it?"

29-87 nodded slowly and Twilight spoke slowly and deliberately. "Is is possible for a changeling hive to live alongside ponies without negatively affecting them?"

The soldier's eyes flicked between her interrogators, and she opened her mouth slowly. "...Yes."

"Get out."

The cell door slid open and 29-87 gave Twilight an incredulous glance before retreating through. The door slammed shut again and Twilight let out the breath she had been holding, staring at the ground pensively. Celestia and Luna exchanged worried frowns and stepped up to her.

"'Tis a cruel choice fate has laid before you, Twilight Sparkle," Luna breathed tenderly. She lifted up Twilight's chin to look into her eyes. "But nonetheless, you have a choice! You don't owe them anything."

"My sister's right, Twilight. After all that's happened, you are entitled to walk away and return to your old life as much as is possible," Celestia cooed.

"...No. No I can't," Twilight sniffed.

"Twilight, you can walk away. Nopony will judge you for it," Celestia replied insistently. "You have a choice!"

"No I don't. Most of them are no more mature than foals and they've spent their lives scared and hungry," Twilight mumbled. "Even if nopony else would judge me, I don't think I could live with myself if I left them to die."

The Princesses shared another pair of frowns before Celestia spoke again. “If that is what you’ve decided, then we will support you. However we can.”

“Agreed,” Luna muttered. “And Twilight? For what it’s worth, I believe that you are doing the right thing.”

Twilight sighed. After taking a minute to collect herself, she opened the door and the three filed out. Twilight slowly stepped up to 37-22 and leaned down. “I have a few more things I need to take care of here. After that, do you think you could lead me back to the nest?”

First confusion, then joy, and, finally, excitement flashed across the drone’s face and through Twilight’s mind. “Queen’s coming home?”

Twilight simply nodded her reply and 37-22 bowed deeply to her. She stood back to her full height and gave Luna a nod. The alicorn dismissed her spell and the other six soldiers fell to the ground gracelessly, taking a few seconds to get their bearings before standing to face her. “Okay, listen up, because I’m only going to say this once,” she barked. “I am Twilight Sparkle, Queen of this hive. While I am certainly furious with the six of you, I feel it’s in the best interests of all to put the past behind us. As such, I will mete no punishment to those who follow orders and serve me as you served your former queen. Understood?”

The six nodded in unison and snapped to attention.

“Good. Your first orders are to go upstairs and apologize to the guards you hurt today,” Twilight spat forcefully. “After that you are to clean up the mess you made, then go right back to the nest. The rest of the hive is there, scared and defenseless.”

The soldiers all gaped at her incredulously, but slowly made their way towards the staircase, looking over their shoulders at her the entire way. When they were completely out of view, Twilight turned to 29-87 and frowned. “You, on the other hoof, aren’t so lucky.”

29-87 grimaced and bowed her head, fear. “What additional punishments do you deem necessary, my Queen?”

“You punishment is that I’m making you my personal assistant from here on out,” Twilight stated.

“B-but I’m a soldier!” 29-87 whimpered.

“Maybe so, but you’re done soldiering from now on,” Twilight snapped, immediately regretting it. She softened her expression and spoke quieter. “Listen, I’m in way over my head here and I’m going to need help. I’m a changeling queen who knows next to nothing about changelings and I don’t want to cause the hive any further harm. I know that you’re intelligent, dedicated, and that you care deeply about your sisters, so I want you at my side to guide me. Besides, I don’t trust you to protect me, so if you can’t be my steward, you’re useless to me. Understand?”

Twilight offered the drone a hoof, and 29-87 touched it tenderly before bowing. “I-I can accept that. I guess...”

“Good. Our first order of business when we get back to the nest will be to go over everything. And I mean everything. We’re going to review every rule, regulation, law, or policy Chrysalis ever made, and anything I don’t like will be changed immediately.”

“As you wish, my Queen,” 29-87 grunted.

“And I’m starting by giving you all names. This number system is seriously getting on my nerves,” Twilight grumbled. “From now on, you’re ‘Paenitet’.”

“Paenitet. What does that mean?” Paenitet asked, rolling her new nomen across her tongue.

“It means ‘regret’ in the language of the ancient Roamans,” Twilight said with a nod. “As I said before, I haven’t forgiven you yet. I want you to remember how I became your queen, and how you could’ve prevented all this. Once you’ve earned my forgiveness, then I’ll give you a new name.”

“Oh, oh! I get one too?” 37-22 asked excitedly, bouncing up and down in a very Pinkie Pie-ish manner.

“Yes, you get one too,” Twilight giggled. “You’re ‘Amica’. It means ‘friend’.”

Amica stopped bouncing and cocked her head at Twilight. “Amica, Amica... I like!.”

“Good. Now why don’t you two go upstairs and see a medic? I’d like you both looked at, especially you, Paenitet,” Twilight said with a guilty twitch. As they left, she turned to Celestia and gave an exhausted sigh.

“This is going to be a paperwork nightmare,” Celestia grumbled. “First Luna and I have to go put out all the proverbial fires that started over the past few days, then we’ll need to come up with a cover story to explain your disappearance; we’ll also need to draft up pardon letters for your hive... Hey, Luna could you— Luna? Where did she go?” Celestia quickly glanced around the now empty room before shouting for her sister one more time. “Luna!”

“What?” the night princess groaned, her head appearing from the stairwell.

“There’s much to be done. Can—”

“No, I can’t. I’m busy.”

“With what?”

“Well, as Twilight said, she’s going to need help, so that help I intend to provide,” Luna retorted smugly. “First I am going to secure food aid for Twilight’s starving brood and organize a caravan. After that I am going to go over Equestria’s various geological maps to locate a more suitable location for their burrow.”

“We have a perfectly good nest already, why dig another?” Twilight asked blandly.

“Because it would be much easier for us to help you if your nest was more conveniently located,” Luna nodded. “Sending caravans to the badlands every time you need something is quite impractical.”

“Wonderful idea, Luna,” Celestia proclaimed.

“Then I shall get to it,” Luna stated, disappearing up the staircase again.

“After all these years, her sharpness still manages to surprise me at times,” Celestia mused, turning to her faithful student. “I guess this means I get all the boring stuff for myself.”

Epilogue

Royal Edict: Pardon For Changelings
by Front Page

Citing the recent heroism and selflessness displayed during the recent crisis, Princess Celestia has issued a full pardon to the changeling hive.

Three days ago, Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia reappeared to us to announce that her four day absence was caused by a dark curse placed on her my an evil spirit possessing her protégé, Lady Twilight Sparkle. She went on to explain that the curse was broken by a changeling queen, whom our Princess said was the younger sister of the changeling queen "Chrysalis" who invaded Canterlot late last month.

Today, Princess Celestia appeared to announce that this new queen had led a coup against Chrysalis, removing the evil queen from power and executing her, thus vanquishing the threat she posed to Equestria forever. Our Princess also announced that She and Her sister, Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna, were granting a full pardon to the changeling hive in thanks for its new queen’s actions this past week and allowing it to relocate to Equestria to recover from the damage of the coup and the failed invasion from several weeks ago.

The announcement was met with mixed reactions from the citizens of Canterlot. While many are understandably nervous about allowing a group of creatures who were attacking us less than a month ago to settle in Equestria, an even larger number said they were willing to give the changelings a chance.

"I'm not too keen on the idea of letting changelings roam free in Equestria," says Donut Joe, a baker from Upper Canterlot. "That being said, they did save our princesses, so I think they at least deserve the benefit of the doubt."

Unfortunately, our Princess' announcement was not entirely a happy one. In what was obviously a painful speech for her, she also announced that the juvenile dragon known as Spike was slain during the recent crisis. Many residents of Upper Canterlot will remember him as a good-natured soul could almost always be found at Twilight Sparkle's side. We've been notified that all citizens of Canterlot and Ponyville are invited to attend a public memorial ceremony — to be held this Tuesday — to commemorate our late friend. Spike's obituary, penned by Princess Celestia herself, can be found on Page 3 of today's paper.

In other news, it was announced today that Twilight Sparkle has made a full recovery from her ordeal, but was so traumatized that she has sworn off the use of magic and left for The Farlands to study dragons in their natural habitat.

"It’s... believable,” Twilight said skeptically as she reached the end of the article, “but anypony who knows me really well will probably be a bit suspicious.”

“Than it is lucky for us that most of those ponies already know,” Luna said with a teasing grin. “Is that all you gleaned from the article though? I thought you might be more excited at the prospect of lasting peace.”

“It’s true, I didn't expect any pony to react that positively," Twilight mused. “But why the cover-up?”

“To be honest, the truth is a bit too fantastical to seem true at all,” Luna giggled. “Besides, if it became general knowledge that a body-switching spell is actually possible, we’d have mass panic and every ambitious noble in Canterlot would try to discover it themselves. Now, about why we're here in the first place..."

"It's perfect, Luna. Not too far from either Canterlot or Ponyville, and just secluded enough to stay hidden," Twilight replied, casting her gaze over the wooded hill.

"It's what's under it that's special," Luna snickered excitedly. "We are standing atop a massive deposit of limestone bedrock — the largest known deposit in Equestria. Perfect for carving out a new home. We will even provide guards to ensure you can break ground in secret, and if you get lucky, there may even be caverns large enough to serve as chambers all their own.."

"That's impressive," Twilight chuckled. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"

Luna waved her off and smiled warmly. "What of the caravan? Did it arrive intact?"

"Yes it did. The whole hive gorged themselves; they were so stuffed that I had to give them the day off," Twilight giggled. "We still need to secure a supply of love, but we've got enough stored to last us a while."

"But, Twilight, you already have a source of love!" Luna snickered, pulling Twilight into a tight hug. "Us! Me, Celestia, Cadance, your friends and family! We all love you dearly and will provide as much as we can." Twilight sat silently, enjoying the energizing tingle of Luna's love. Until the alicorn pulled away and smiled.

"Thanks..." Twilight sighed, words incapable of expressing her gratitude.

"You are very welcome," Luna replied. "Now I must get back to Canterlot. And I am sure that you'd be best served by returning to your new family as well." She gave Twilight one last hug and took off, leaving the changeling queen alone on the grassy knoll.

Twilight smiled— to herself, to the world, and extended her wings to fly home.

Chapter 4

“What exactly happened?” Twilight asked Icewing desperately as they galloped up to the castle gate.

“They snuck up from the deep cells and caught us by surprise,” he growled. “By the time we even realized they were there, they had already captured the Princesses and Ms. Sparkle’s parents. Once we discovered them, we fought back, but only succeeded in slaying a few of the invaders before they managed to get down into the dungeons and threatened to kill the captives if we didn’t back off.”

“Did you?” Twilight asked worriedly.

“I didn’t see any other choice. I called my troops back and told them to keep the intruders trapped down there, but the Bearers ignored my orders and went in anyway... We haven’t heard from them since.”

“No!” Twilight gasped, stopping in mid step.

“Now, Twilight — or the possessing spirit, rather — wants to see you. She said she’s going to begin executing the hostages if we don’t turn you over, starting with Princess Celestia,” Icewing mumbled apologetically.

“This... can’t get much worse, can it?” Twilight groaned, receiving only a shake of Icewing’s head in reply.

“Listen, Queenie, I’ve come to respect you over the past couple days, so I hate to do this,” Icewing muttered to her with a pained glare, “but you’re going in there. I’m not giving you a choice; you are going to go in there, and do whatever you need to do to get me back my Princesses.”

“I was going in anyway, even if you tried to stop me,” Twilight muttered, eying him angrily. “This has to end, and it has to end now. Before anypony else gets hurt.”

“I’m glad,” he replied. “I’ll have a team escort you the dungeons, but after that, you’re on your own. If I were to guess, they’d have taken the hostages down to the lowest level, where you were imprisoned when we first found you.”

“Can you at least take this off?” Twilight murmured, pointing to the magic ward on her head. ‘If they start throwing spells, we’ll all be in trouble if I can’t defend myself.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Icewing muttered, reaching up and slipping it off her horn.

The effect was immediate as Twilight felt her magic rushing back into her, energizing her in a way she hadn’t felt in almost a week. “Thank you. I... There’s a good chance we won’t see each other again, so I guess this is goodbye.”

“Goodbye, changeling. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us,” he murmured, offering his hoof, which she took gratefully. “Good luck in there, and heaven help us all.”

Four Royal Guards surrounded her and began herding her towards the castle. The five of them silently walked the halls to the dungeon with the air of a procession heading to the gallows. As they descended deeper and deeper below the castle, signs of fighting became more and more common; smears of blood— both red and green— and eventually, changeling corpses. Finally, they reached the dungeons and the guards stopped, so Twilight proceeded on her own.

Slowly, she descended the staircase, emerging in a hallway of cells and proceeded towards the door at the far end— the door to the deep cells. As she trode through the silence, more changeling corpses appeared out of the darkness. She passed them quickly, making a conscious effort not to look, but the sound of a soft sob froze her where she stood. She swooped down to inspect the bodies and found one trembling.

“37-22? Oh, no, are you okay?” The drone flinched at her voice Twilight’s heart leapt into her throat as she looked her over. One of the small changeling’s eyes was swollen nearly shut and she was covered in green blood, though Twilight couldn’t tell if it was hers or not. Twilight looked closer at the corpses she lay next to; these ones weren’t the soldiers that had followed Chrysalis, they were the ones Twilight had left at the castle. “What happened?”

“W-we tried to help,” the drone sniffled. “We followed queen’s friends, but old queen hurt us. S-she killed them. She killed my sisters!”

Twilight tried to speak, but couldn’t. Instead, she knelt down and hugged the drone to her chest, allowing her to cry for a few minutes. “I-I have to stop her. She’s gone too far.”

“I-I want to help,” 37-22 mumbled into Twilight’s chest.

“No. I... I have to do this alone,” Twilight murmured. She smiled sadly down at the drone — her done. “You already helped. You helped a lot. Now I have to finish what we started.” She stood up and stroked 37-22’s cheek tenderly. “Wait here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Twilight steeled herself with one last deep breath, turned around, and descended the final staircase.

“Oh, finally! I thought I might actually get blood on my hooves,” Twilight heard her own voice grumble as she emerged from the stairway. She quickly took stock of the situation. Her friends and parents were huddled together in the far corner, surrounded by seven sword-wielding changelings. They seemed mostly unhurt but for Applejack and Rainbow Dash, both of whom were bloodied and beaten. Celestia and Luna lay on their sides in the opposite corner beneath a pony-sized hole in the wall with Chrysalis standing over them. “Oh well, there’s always later...”

Twilight ignored Chrysalis’ morbid quip and stared intently at her friends. “Is everypony okay?”

“Y-yeah, we’re all here,” Rainbow stammered through swollen lips. “I’m sorry, Twilight. We tried.”

“I know, Rainbow. You always do,” Twilight cooed nervously.

“S-she was too strong. We tried to fight, but she just blasted us. Then she had us beat up.”

“J-just rest, Dash. Everything’s going to be alright,” Twilight said. “I’ll make sure of it, I promise.”

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Twilight," Chrysalis sang gleefully. Twilight short her a loathing glare and she giggled. "I am ready to accept your unconditional surrender, Twilight."

"Fine, I surrender. Just let them go," Twilight pleaded hopelessly.

"Just let them- I said 'unconditional', Twilight! This 'playing hard to get' was fun and endearing at first, but I am running out of patience. I have won and I want my prize," Chrysalis growled, advancing on Twilight.

"I'll be your prize! Just please, let them go and I'll do whatever you want! I swear-"

"No! No more bargaining! Either you surrender right now or I'll-" Chrysalis screamed before cutting herself off. She took a deep breath and chuckled, shaking her head. "I am sorry, love, I shouldn't have shouted at you. I knew that you would never give up so easily, and yet I still allowed my frustrations to get to me."

"I will simply have to break you the way I should have from the start," she snickered, gesturing to Twilight's friends. “So, tell me, which one do you think will scream loudest? The dragon passed out before it could even yelp. Hardly satisfying.”

“No, Spike! What happened to him? What did you do?” Twilight choked.

“Whatever do you mean?” Chrysalis murmured, fluttering her eyelashes innocently.

“Don’t you play dumb with me! He wasn’t in Ponyville and he isn’t here,” Twilight screamed, taking an aggressive step forward. “Where is he?”

Chrysalis grinned sadistically. “I never wanted to involve him, you know. I’ve always had immense respect for dragons and their power, even the soft, pathetic ones.”

Twilight was on the verge of losing it. She stomped forward again. “What did you do to him? Where is he?”

“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest,” Chrysalis sighed. “His head is buried behind your library, but I can’t account for the res—”

Chrysalis was cut off as Twilight barreled into her with a feral scream, driving her back into the far wall, which collapsed behind them. They tumbled down a steep slope for a ways before Twilight crashed to the bottom in a heap while Chrysalis teleported just before the collision and landed softly on her feet.

“Oh... This. Is. Wonderful!” Chrysalis squealed.

“I’m going to kill you!” Twilight screeched, lunging at her and missing as Chrysalis deftly ducked to the side.

“You are in so much pain right now,” Chrysalis murmured with a pleasured moan. “Ohhhh, the only way this could be better is if I was in my own body so I could taste it for myself.”

Twilight snarled and shot a powerful rage-fueled bolt of lightning at her that Chrysalis easily ducked under. She blinked at the flames that erupted from behind her and turned back to Twilight with a twisted grin.

“Oh! You are really mad. I should’ve thought of killing your loved ones sooner!”

She teleported a short distance to avoid another bolt of lightning and galloped down a nearby tunnel, giggling the entire time. “Chase me, Twilight!”

Seeing red, Twilight stormed down the dark passage after her. She followed it for nearly twenty meters before it opened up into the crystal caves beneath the mountain. Twilight’s face appeared in over a dozen of the nearby crystals as Chrysalis laughed; reveling in the fact that Twilight would challenge her here yet again. Twilight had shattered the three closest crystals with magical blasts when Chrysalis stepped out from behind one of the remaining pillars, giving her a smug grin before teleporting away.

“I’m going to spare your friends, Twilight,” a voice called from somewhere to her left. She turned and ran after it, scanning every corner for her quarry. “If I kill any of them then I run the risk of the Elements picking new bearers. It’ll be much safer to keep them alive. Imprisoned. Down here.”

Twilight fired a few blasts into the darkness and screamed in frustration. Suddenly a dim glow lit the area and Twilight found herself in a massive chamber with crystals of nearly every size and color jutting like teeth from nearly every surface.

“Ahh... This is where we will play out little game, Sparkle. Catch me if you can!” Chrysalis’ voice echoed through the chamber. “Just like we did before, when I was masquerading as Cadance. Oh, Cadance... Such a gorgeous creature. It's a shame, but she will have to die. She and your brother. They're just too dangerous to be allowed to live."

Trembling with rage, Twilight shot a beam in the direction of the voice, shattering a nearby crystal, only for a laugh to echo from the opposite direction. "Come out you wretch!" she screamed, blasting apart four more crystals.

"I plan on showing your parents mercy; after all, I have them to thank for providing me with you. I'll keep them around long enough to watch what becomes of you before I banish them to opposite ends of the world."

Twilight snarled and took off into the air, wobbling as she tried to stabilize herself.

"Flying? Oh, that's cheating. Too bad that it won't work."

Twilight hovered near the cavern's ceiling, watching like a hawk for even the slightest movement. A shadow shifted at the edge of her vision and she turned and fired, only to hear a taunting laugh from somewhere behind her. "Where are you, Chrysalis?"

A violet light flashed below her. "Right here!"

It flashed again somewhere in the distance. "And now I'm here!" Chrysalis giggled.

Twilight snarled in frustration and fired a few shots randomly into the darkness and waivered as her head began to spin. Somehow, she was running out of magic. Chrysalis appeared perched upon a nearby crystal and Twilight spun in the air to shoot her, but instead her horn only sparked and sputtered.

“Oh dear! Been forgetting to feed, have we?” Chrysalis cackled. “You know, I can see the advantage of being a pony; generating your own magic. I think I prefer just sapping love from others though, power comes much easier that way.”

Pulling from her reserves deep inside of her, Twilight managed to fire off another blast of lightning, but she wasn’t quick enough. Chrysalis teleported away with a laugh. Twilight groaned painfully; in her anger, she had been putting far too much force behind her spells and had used up far too much magic. If she didn’t start being more careful...

A flash of magic appeared just above her head; she reflexively shot a blast at it and had just enough time to realize her mistake and cast a shielding spell before the section of rock above her collapsed, throwing her to the floor.

"You should be more careful with my body, Twilight. Then again, you'll be the one inhabiting it for the next couple years, so I'm not that worried."

Twilight sat up with a groan and blinked the dust out of her eyes to see Chrysalis grinning at her from a few yards away. She released a quick charge at the Queen's head, but Chrysalis had already teleported away.

She struggled to her hooves and glared around suspiciously, fully aware that her foe was watching her from some hidden space.

"I don't think I'll kill Princess Luna," a voice whispered in her ear. She twisted around and slashed at it with her horn, but Chrysalis deftly swooped under her blow and ducked into a thin crevasse between two crystals. "The way her nose scrunches when she gets angry is just too adorable! I might simply saw off her horn, break her wings, and throw a dog collar around her neck. Keep her chained to my throne."

With a scream, Twilight blasted the crystals blocking her way and charged down the passage she created into another clearing.

"Celestia though... Oh, she's a much different story."

"You shut up!" Twilight grunted, halfway between sobbing and shouting.

"Poor Celly looks like she's put on a little weight. Too much left-over wedding cake, maybe? That's okay though; I like them plump."

A dim violet glow caught Twilight's eye and she bolted in its direction. Following it through a narrow gap, she found herself in a circle of crystals, each one displaying a magnified image of her own face.

"The skinny ones are all bone and sinew; hardly worth the time it takes to cook them."

Despite her best efforts, Twilight was unable to prevent the gruesome image of her mentor's charred corpse from entering her thoughts and something on her mind snapped. A nebulous orb of energy exploded from her horn, violently shattering everything it came in contact with and blowing the crystal circle apart. Chrysalis' dumbfounded face surrounded Twilight momentarily, reflected in a hundred crystal shards, before everything was blown backwards by the shockwave.

Twilight crouched to leap onto her foe, but found herself unable. Alarms were going off in her mind as a torrent of Chrysalis' emotions flooded into her mind, paralyzing her. She stumbled, staggering around as she attempted to ward off the unwelcome intrusion. As her vision blurred, she saw Chrysalis sit up, eyes wide with shock.

Chrysalis stared down at the gashes on Twilight's body. She touched her head with a hoof and gaped at it, blinking incredulously at the sight of blood.

“Y-you hurt me... But why? I thought you loved me,” Chrysalis said quietly.

“Love you? Chrysalis, I hate you,” Twilight growled, trying to stabilize her own thoughts.

“N-no, that can’t be right,” Chrysalis moaned. “You think about me all the time, just like I think about you. That spell, you were trying to find me-”

“So that we could arrest you! If everything had gone right, you’d be locked in a cell right now and I’d never have to think about you again,” Twilight glowered.

“You’re lying!” Chrysalis screamed, tears beginning to run down her face. “You want me.”

“You’re delusional, Chrysalis!” Twilight screeched. “All I wanted was for you to leave me and Equestria alone. I wanted to feel safe. I wanted my friends and family to feel safe. Nothing would have made me happier than if you had just crawled back into your hole and never bothered anypony ever again.”

“B-but I’ve given you everything I could think of! I gave you my attention, my affection-”

Twilight stomped a hoof as an uncontrolled spark shot from her horn. “You tortured me and killed my little brother! You call that affection?”

“Yes! I was sharing myself with you. I thought you were enjoying it!” Chrysalis whined.

“Why would I enjoy that? What could possibly make you think that I’d want any of that?” Twilight snarled.

“But I was enjoying it... Why weren’t you? I don’t understand! Twilight, please, make me understand!” Chrysalis cried, the volume of her voice steadily rising. “Why won’t you love me?

“Because you’re a monster!”

Chrysalis immediately stopped crying as Twilight’s voice echoed throughout the otherwise silent cave. Horrified, despaired, disbelieving; Chrysalis simply sat staring blankly at Twilight and twitched. Twilight couldn’t help but grin. The feelings of heartbreak emanating from Chrysalis awoke something primal deep inside of her and she stepped forward menacingly, gleefully intending to wound the queen even deeper.

“I will never feel anything but loathing for you, Chrysalis,” she said softly. “All I want is to see you pay for what you’ve done. To see you suffer the way I have.”

Chrysalis hung her head, shaking with sobs. “N-no. No, I will not accept this.” She stood up and shot Twilight an enraged glare, her tears still shimmering in her eyes. “I am Chrysalis, greatest of all changeling queens, and I will not be refused my desire. If you will not love me by choice, then I will force you to love me.”

Trembling with rage, she stepped forward menacingly and leered at Twilight.. “Let me show you how it’s done...”

She teleported away, disappearing altogether. Within seconds the pieces of shattered crystal littering the floor were surrounded by a violet glow and slowly floated into the air. They coalesced in the center of the room and with a blinding flash, fused into one massive crystal pillar. Chrysalis appeared on top of it and glared down at Twilight. “My turn.”

A bolt of crimson lightning shot down from Chrysalis’ horn and Twilight dove out of the way with not a moment to spare. She rolled to her hooves, eyes wide and heart racing as her senses were heightened by the sudden surge of adrenaline. She glanced over to the spot she had just been standing, gaped at the smoking black scorch mark, and had just enough time to construct a magic shield before Chrysalis cast another spell.

The second bolt hit her shield with the force of a freight train and shattered her shield, throwing her backwards. She rolled onto her hooves again and took off running, not a moment too soon as a third lightning spell struck the ground. She risked a glance behind her and saw Chrysalis unleashing a steady electrical arc, creating a shallow black trench in the ground as her spell followed Twilight.

She dove behind one of the larger intact crystals in the area, but Chrysalis’ spell caught her ankle at the last moment. She gasped and choked as a searing pain shot up her entire leg and sent her sprawling. The pain subsided almost immediately, and she sat up, back against the crystal, using it as a shield as she caught her breath. Chrysalis had been toying with her from the start. Now not only was Twilight exhausted and nearly out of magic, but Chrysalis was on the verge of a rampage.

She felt a dull heat on her back and bolted from her cover a mere instant before it exploded under Chrysalis’ dark spell. She tore across the floor, zigging and zagging desperately, bouncing from cover to cover. She took every last opportunity to catch her breath, but her shelter never lasted more than a few seconds under the enraged queen’s assault.

"I’m not just going to torture you, Twilight, I’m going to introduce you to a level of agony you didn’t know existed!”

Twilight lunged at a bounder on the floor and rebounded off of it, towards Chrysalis’ pillar, but skidded to a stop and took off to her left as the stream of lightning appeared in front of her. She dove past it, twisting her body around its beam and felt its heat singe her tail as Chrysalis sent it after her.

"I’m personally going to make you suffer day in and day out for years. I’ll make you suffer until you learn to like it!”

Twilight could feel the curse gaining on her and teleported a few hooves away, using up more of her precious magical reserves. Thirty more seconds. That’s all she needed. If she could last thirty more seconds...

"But I won’t stop there. I’m going to keep torturing you, every day, and you’ll love me for it. You will beg on your knees for me to hurt you. You’ll grant my every wish, fulfill my every desire, just so I’ll bring the pain back. You'll be my perfect little slave. My own little pony."

Twilight swooped in a wide arc, dancing around the spell before stopping and turning, facing Chrysalis defiantly. The queen hesitated, stunned by Twilight's bravado and her spell crackled out. "Have you finally decided to end your pointless struggle?"

"No," Twilight sighed smugly, "I wanted to tell you that you're not the only one who's studied ancient magics. Look around you."

"What are you babbling on about?" Chrysalis hissed. She glanced in every direction and froze when her gaze hit the floor. The scorch marks on the floor, rather than being a haphazard mess, were etched into a series of geometric figures around her. Twilight had actually tricked her into carving a roughly-hewn glyph on the floor.

Chrysalis stared down at Twilight, eyes full of terror as the glyph began to glow green. "Checkmate, Chrysalis."

"Oh shi-"

The floor around the crystal pillar erupted upward, shattering it and violently flinging Chrysalis from her perch. She cast a bubble shield around her less than a second before she slammed into a nearby wall which collapsed under the impact. She rebounded off the wall and was thrown to the ground, bouncing several meters before roughly sliding to a stop on her back.

Twilight was upon her in an instant, pinning Chrysalis down with one hoof on her horn, another on her throat. Before she could say a word, Chrysalis began cackling madly. “Oh, that was brilliant, Twilight! I would have never thought of that. You really outsmarted me this time.”

Twilight choked off the rest of Chrysalis’ laughter by pressing down with her hoof. “Then why are you laughing? It’s over, Chrysalis; I beat you. Now either undo the Blood Bind, or I’ll do it myself!”

“Oh, Twilight, Twilight, Twilight... You won this little scuffle, but I still have my hostages! You may drag me back up to the castle and triumphantly deposit me in front of your loved ones, but it would be for naught. I ordered my soldiers to execute them in the event that you disable me. All of them,” Chrysalis cooed patronizingly. “Checkmate, Sparkle.”

“Y-you... but I-”

"You've lost, Twilight," Chrysalis snickered. "Now let me up; I'm already going to punish your friends for your transgressions and I'm going to make it worse for every second you hold me here."

"I... No," Twilight stammered.

"No? What do you mean no?" Chrysalis snarled. "Disobey me again and I'll make you watch as I flay your loved ones alive! No, I'll make you flay them! Now, let me up!"

"You're wrong. There's still one thing I can do; one last move I can make," Twilight whimpered.

"Oh just stop! You and I both know that there's nothing you can do," Chrysalis yelled.

“The Blood Bind uses the caster’s life energy to sustain itself. If there’s no life energy for it to draw from, then the princesses will be free,” Twilight mumbled, trembling at the thought of what she was about to do.

Chrysalis gaped at her for a moment, bewildered, before terror flashed across her features and she gave a disbelieving shout. "No! You wouldn't da-"

She was choked off as Twilight leaned heavily on her throat. Chrysalis thrashed beneath the weight, slapping at Twilight’s legs and swiping at her face. As she began to turn blue and her eyes bugged out of her head, she managed to get her horn out from under Twilight’s hoof. As Twilight gave one final forceful push, Chrysalis fired off one final, vengeful spell into her killer’s face just as her neck snapped.