I coughed and hacked, trying to expel the crystal dust from my lungs. Blowing down that wall with that much magical, kinetic force may have been overkill. The purple unicorn thought. Maybe next time a more concentrated blast over a smaller area, of course that would require a magnitude more power to accomplish, but would it be worth it? Maybe I should re-read On Kinetic Projection and Magic Restoration for Dummies? Or maybe I should.. A happy cry derailed my train of thought.

"Twilight! Is that you?"

I looked toward the voice, and saw Cadance rising slowly off the ground. Cadence, my old foal-sitter, or otherwise known as, A CHANGELING QUEEN IN DISGUISE! I galloped with fury over the wall's remnants towards my former caretaker.

"HOW DARE YOU IMPERSONATE HER!" I shouted as I reached her. I tackled her to the ground with as much force as I could, eliciting a pained yelp from the bug.

"Twilight it's me!"

"Lies! Lies!" I snorted. "You cant trick me again!"

Then the fraud did something she could never do. She pushed me off of her and got up, and began a song with a short dance. I was in complete disbelief.

"Sunshine Sunshine ladybugs awake..." I watched as the impostor mirrored mine and Cadence's greeting. Complete with the flank shake. My pupils dilated as I realized this was no impostor, it actually was Cadence, my old foal sitter! My eyes began to water as I reached out to hug her. But something yanked my tail, pulling me into the air. I flailed for a bit before I found myself upside down, and face to face with one of the most terrifying creatures I have ever seen. I must have been almost 3 meters off the ground looking at the utterly infuriated face of what I can only describe as a hairless minotaur, sans horns.

"I will tolerate no violence pony! Attack my charge again and I shall..." The hulking creature was cut off.

"LET HER GO" I heard Cadence shout from below me

"Remember what I said about how somepony was impersonating me!"

A look of understanding came upon the strange beings face, and he lowered me to the ground, I backed up and examined him. I have never seen anything like him before! He is like some strange cross between a minotaur and a diamond dog, but with no hair! I continued to examine him when Cadence spun me around and began to examine me as a mother would, worry dotting her face.

"Are you alright Twilight?" She finally asked, looking at me intently.

" My tail is kinda sore but after that i'm OK," I turned my attention back to the being towering behind us.

"What are you, who are you, why are you protecting Cadence?" I asked as I looked from his strange lower appendages, to the furry cloth around his waist, then up to his bearded face. All the pain and surprise of what just happened completely forgotten. Before he answered he made a show of looking from Cadence to me and back again. Cadence gave a nod beside me.

"I am a human, I am called Wrath, and I am indebted to Cadence," He narrowed his eyes, and I remembered his volume and anger when he had held me.

"Do not attack her again" I gave a fervent nod, and, satisfied, he turned his attention back to the Alicorn now beside me.

"I will lead the way out, I remember the way." She nodded to him, and he turned and began into the room I was just in.

"So how did you end up down here Twilight..."

Cadence and I followed Wrath as he broke down wall after wall of solid crystal with nothing but brute force. Cadence and I followed and watched him as we talked. I recounted the tale of my suspicion of the impostor, which she promptly told me was a changeling, and she recounted the events of how her own capture unfolded, complete with how she came to be in company with the colossal Wrath. A shiver went down my spine when she told me of his supposed crime.

After a particularly sturdy wall (which took exactly three blows from Wrath to crumble into dust) we felt a cool breeze, and saw the sky. The dome shield of magic my brother had been maintaining was still firmly in place. I was overcome with excitement.

"Look Cadence! Shiney's shield is still up!" Gauging by where the sun is in the sky, and the time or year as well as our relative latitude, I would speculate the wedding has just started.

"That means we can still stop the wedding! We have no time to waste," I began to channel the teleportation spell.

"I'll just teleport us right into the throne room, and we will beat the changeling queen!" Just before the flash of magic went off, I barely heard a desperate sounding shout from Wrath.

"WAIT".

The teleportation magic had already been activated, my body was enveloped in the familiar magic. Roughly a second later, I felt the slightly dazing effects of long range teleportation as my hooves met a familiar, velvety red carpet. I raised my eyes and looked about.

We were in the throne room alright.

The flash of teleportation magic faded, and I am still right where I was. If only teleportation magic could effect me. I inwardly lamented. If only they knew it didn't.

I found myself just past what appeared to be a metal gate, lead to by a road comprised of two long metal bars, with smaller perpendicular bars running inside them. I followed them with my gaze, they stopped at a long brick building with a..... red.... roof? What building material could they use for a red roof? Dragons scales perhaps? I walked through the grass and left the crystal hole behind me. As I approached the building I saw its immediate area littered with ponies. Curious; unicorns, pegasai, and earth ponies aplenty, but I don't see a single alicorn. I approached with renewed vigor. I must get to the palace, and these ponies will tell me, or show me, the way.

Once they caught sight of me, every pony garbed in what I can only barely describe as armor turned towards me. The pegasai took to the air, and the earth ponies and unicorns advanced holding swords and spears of either steel or magic. I stopped walking and allowed them to encircle me. I stood tall and proud, and searched for the pony in charge. After I spotted the captains blue feathered cap, I looked him in the eye.

"There is a threat to your kingdom, pony. Lead me to your castle and I shall see it slain."

The ponies looked at me in shock. Fuzzy ears folded and unfolded as they gave fervent glances to one another. Eventually the blue feather-capped pony cleared his throat.

"We royal guard were stationed here. Our orders, to stop any and all suspicious creatures from entering the city. We can not allow you to pass without just cause." I scowled deep, the extent of my expression evident in the ponies faces. Some looked angry, but most fearful.

"And would slaughtering a changeling queen qualify as just cause?"

The guards looked aghast, my question bouncing about in their heads. They looked again to one another, slack-jawed. What pathetic guards are these? That the mere mention of bloodshed freezes their minds, and stops their bodies? I could force my way by them easily. It would not even be a fight. I opened my mouth to offer them a more peaceable solution, when a deafening crack boomed around us. I looked up, and saw not a flock, not a swarm, but an absolute ocean of insect-like creatures pounding at the shield. A large crack spider-webbed across the whole of it. After several moments, the insects rose up as one, and pounded the shield again, cracking it further.

"Do you believe me now?!" I shouted and I tore past the stunned ponies toward the city proper. I dashed right into a crowd of ponies, who seemed to be torn weather or not to scream because of me, or because of what was transpiring above. They decided on both. I sighed, and took a great breath.

"PONIES OF CANTERLOT CITY!" The crowd ceased their noise and stared at me, anxious and frightened, but I had their attention. "GET INSIDE, BARRICADE THE DOORS! GATHER ANYTHING TO BE USED AS A WEAPON, AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT PANIC!" I looked about the crowd. Some ponies nodded and began making their way into the nearby buildings, but before so much as a third of them made it inside, a final thud echoed from the heavens, and the shatter of glass breaking fell from high. The remaining crowd immediately caved into hysteria, screaming and running about.

"God fucking DAMNIT"

All hell had broken loose. The damnable bugs were everywhere, I could barely see the sky behind their swarming, buzzing masses. It's Time

I took position as the bugs came crashing down into the remaining crowd and myself. I grabbed the closest changeling by its neck, and used it as a club to ward off the bugs from my body. I was surrounded on all sides and from all angles. I grinned the sweetest grin a bearded warrior ever grinned, and crushed the throat of the bug I held, dropping his corpse to the ground. The changelings stared in awe and rage. They expected little to no resistance. I theorized. Well I am going to show them one hell of a resistance! The blood from the fallen changeling misted into the air around my body, and I charged into the wall of changelings, grabbing wildly as my familiar magics began to take effect.

I grabbed two changelings by their necks and applied just enough pressure to suffocate, but not kill. I began to laugh as I used their bodies to bludgeon two more unfortunate bugs. I crushed the necks and tore both fore-hoofs from one of the more recent corpses, all but ignoring the green blasts of magic impacting my body. With every kill, the bloody mist around me grew thicker, and spread further. Already it was stable enough to ward off basic magic attacks.

Using my impromptu bludgeons I bashed my way through the growing swarm. With every changeling that fell, several more took its place, which was perfectly fine by me. Eventually a literal cloud of red mist surrounded me, I laughed insanely as my vision dulled at the edges, becoming overset by a red haze.

Somewhere in the haze of my mind, A voice of reason cried out.

"You bloody monster, you killed them all!" An enraged alicorn general shouted. "This was supposed to be a rout! Not a bloodbath! The King was right, you are nothing more than a killing machine, get out of my army!" The general's face was furious, but there was an undertone of disappointment I had not noticed before. Where they not enemies? Did they not all deserve to die?

"HA, when it all goes to hell, you will come groveling back, begging me for my aid. My way is the only way to fight, fool!" Ah yes, I remember leaving the battlefield in a rage to hunt a dragon after that, I still don't know what that old fool thought was right but...

"Some of those soldiers were our own..." What?!

I lowered the two forehoof clubs I was wielding as the red haze left my vision. The bloody mist around me faded, leaving something right out of a nightmare. Blood and body parts were everywhere. The streets literally ran red with blood. I heard a whimper from below me. I looked down to see a foal. Female, her coat was a light red, and her mane cloud white. As I stared into her wide sky blue irised eyes, I realized this young filly was blind.

"Mommy! Where are you Mommy!" She cried. She was balled up and shaking, calling out for her mother. I realized with horror, that if I had not come to my senses, a moment later this young filly would have shared the fate of the surrounding corpses. I, no......I...I... Looking around, I noted with great distress that not a single changeling was alive in the area. They had all either fled to easier prey, or lay as corpses on the ground. I turned back to the filly, my mid reeling, but like I always have, I began to do what needed to be done. I took a knee, dropping the bludgeons from my dripping hands.

"Little one, are you hurt?" I asked as gently as I could, but my deep gravley voice had other plans. At hearing my voice her ears shot up.

"You, you're not a monster are you?.... There was so much screaming........its so quiet now, where is my mommy?" Her little voice struck me somewhere deep, and I struggled to come up with an answer.

"I am not a monster," I dumbly said.

"You're not?"

"No, can I take you somewhere safe?"

"WIll my mommy be there?" She asked, the hope in her voice pure.

"I........ I don't know, but its not safe here, will you let me take you somewhere safe?"

"O-o-ok, just don't let the monsters hurt me."

"I wont" I replied honestly. I grabbed her balled up form daintily, as if clutching a flower, and began towards the closest house.

"What are you?" The small pony asked as I knocked upon the door. I remained silent, a shutter opened and whomever was inside saw the young filly. As the door began to unlock I gave her my answer.

"A human," I set her down gingerly in front of the door. The ponies inside quickly grabbed the child, but just before the door slammed I heard.

"Thank you mister human,"

..............

My mind was numb. I almost just killed an innocent child in cold blood, maybe they were right, maybe I am a monster.......

Everything is perfect! I thought triumphantly. Celestia is beaten, the real Cadence is defeated, the elements of harmony are nullified, its all gone according to plan, could this day get any better? The throne room doors burst open, as if in response, and three of my changelings walked in. Upon seeing the center changeling, I noticed his condition, as did the ponies in the room as well as the elements, who were closest to the door.

"Oh, my...."

"What in tarnation?!"

"What the buck!?"

"That changeling doesn't look very happy,"

"Dreadful, what brute could do such a thing!"

"*GASP* He is brutal after all..."

The changeling was missing a wing, which was very obviously torn from its back painfully, the open wound spitting blood. A large indent was crushed into the carapace, and lay just behind the wing joints, causing a very obvious and pronounced limp. And some organ damage I suspect. The two uninjured escorts immediately began speaking once I gave them the signal to speak, in the form of a subtle nod.

"My queen! No changelings have returned from the eastern-most district of canterlot except for him!" He wildly gestured to his injured peer.

"He says a monster is there, using strange magic to defeat everything in sight! He says the monster is on his way here, and aims for you, my queen," The changeling bowed in respect ( and quite possibly fear) as he finished speaking.

"Do you mean to tell me..." I began, anger in my voice. "...that the full two regiments of soldiers I sent to that quadrant of the city have been defeated?" I looked between the two healthy changelings. Unexpectedly, the answer came from the wounded one, who could only barely speak. Every soul in the room listened intently to the battered voice.

"No my queen..." He was overcome with a violent coughing fit, and doubled over. His companions helped him back up after he had finished. When he lifted his face to resume speaking, blood dripped from his fangs. ".....they have not been merely defeated, they have been butchered...to the very......last.......ling" The changeling fell to the floor, limp. Both his escorts checked his throat. They shook their heads and said in unison,

"He's dead,"

It seems today could, in fact, get a little better.

Author's Note

Well, this chapter you see why that gore tag is there I suppose.

Please leave a comment and enjoy! I tried to make this one a little longer, and it is, but not much.