Along Came The Spider

by TheHooligan

Rating: teen
Tags: Queen Chrysalis, Main 6, Princess Luna, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Romance, Changelings, Spike
Length: 11848

In one instant Chrysalis' 'perfect wedding' became her greatest defeat. Her meticulous web destroyed by the actions of one little dragonfly.

As Canterlot begins to crumble under the might of the changeling horde only a small few can hope to stop the catastrophe that should have been A Canterlot Wedding.

It was never his intention to 'Be A Hero' but when someone's life was at stake he had to do something. An act of bravely can come with its rewards, but can Spike the dragon handle the consequences as well? A spider fueled on revenge spins herself a new web with the intent to ensnare a certain dragonfly; To save the lives of his friends as well as his own Spike must survive a deadly game of deception... and obsession.

They say tartarus has no fury like that of a female scorned. Let's see how you handle a bride denied her 'special day' Spike.

A New story for your entertainment

Big ups to my beta-reader xgfhj for always bein willing to help me out.

Published 2015-07-22 20:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-07-22 20:00:02 UTC

Wedding Hymn

Chapter 1: Wedding Hymn

It was a glorious day.

The kind that made a mare giggle as she leapt out of bed. The kind that caused that same mare to chuckle mischievously as she prepared for the day’s events. The kind that willed her to cackle victoriously as she watched a kingdom fall before her eyes.

It was the perfect day to get married.

As the bride-to-be watched Celestia’s prized student run off with her friends to collect Equestria’s oh so coveted ‘Elements of Harmony’ she let another bout of laughter escape her lips. The queen of changelings had made sure that her web would ensnare any hope these ponies had of saving their kingdom, and six little heroines would find a less than warm welcome waiting outside the vault.

“You know, it was almost too easy when you think about it.” A toothy grin spread across Chrysalis’ face as she turned to the defeated princess that lay before her hooves. “It’s actually quite a shame. I had been expecting more from the so called ‘Invictus Solaris’.”

“The power of love is great… even when used for vile purposes.” As she spoke the white alicorn known as Celestia struggled to stand back to her full height. Her body may have been bruised but it was far from broken.

Chrysalis’ smile grew as she ‘tutted’ at princess Celestia’s efforts. “Oh come now, the words of a sore loser aren’t very becoming of you.” Chrysalis let out another cackle as she watched her defeated foe teeter a bit before her legs gave out. After finishing, the queen of changelings rolled her eyes and cast a glance about the large hall she was to be married in. Her hypnotized ‘better half’ still stood in place with a vacant, unblinking stare just the way she liked him; the pathetic excuse for a princess that she had masqueraded as was making feeble attempts to stir her stolen groom; and the last of the hapless attendees to the wedding had either fled or been taken away by her drones.

It was just her and the pitiful fools that she had outwitted and ultimately cast down within their own castle. With a happy ‘hmm’ Chrysalis decided that when it was all said and done, she’d have to see what she could do about replacing the tacky stained glass windows honoring the magic of friendship with something more befitting her. “Celestia dear, is there any chance that you know anyone that might be capable of turning my deserved day of victory into a work of art? Nothing too showy but something that maybe I can look at and remember this day with a bit of fondness and get a good laugh at?”

“Th-there’s the executive to the… waste disposal business down by Manehattan. I believe when he was a foal he wanted to be an artist.” Though her horn still burned in pain from the previous battle against Chrysalis, the rainbow maned alicorn managed to let out a small laugh when she saw Chrysalis narrow her pupils at her.

“...And now you’ve completely ruined those rumors I had heard about you possessing ‘divine dignity’.” It’s not like Chrysalis hadn’t been asking for some kind of aggressive response, but hearing the fallen royalty chuckle at her as if there wasn’t to be any sort of consequence riled the vicious streak within the changeling. (Not to say that there was any other streak within her, or her entire kind, that was any less unpleasant.) “Well, if you still have the energy to make jokes while my swarm burns your beloved city to the ground, then I’ll just have to emphasize why it would be better to learn your place.”

“Threaten me all you like, I c-”

“Threaten?! Oh no no no you misunderstand dear princess… I must have knocked you harder than I thought.” As she spoke, Chrysalis turned her green eyes to fix upon the ‘couple that could have been’ not too far from her.

Princess Cadance was still attempting to shake her beloved awake with no avail when she felt a tug upon her body. The sickly green aura of Chrysalis’ magic surrounded the struggling young alicorn as she was dragged between her captor and her mentor.

“Can’t take an eye off you for a single minute without you trying to fraternize with my beloved Shiny Armor.”

“His name is Shining Armor!”

“He’s my brain dead husband, I’ll call him whatever I please.” Another fanged smile grew across Chrysalis’ face as she drew in the frustrated emotions that emitted from both alicorns. Unnecessary? Yes, but even though the empty-eyed unicorn was acting as her power reservoir with all the manipulated love she was feeding off of him, she always had a sweet tooth for the emotional anguish of others. “Now back to the matter we were discussing Celestia. I was happy enough to just enslave you all, but thanks to that little jab of yours, I’m feeling a bit peckish.”

A moment passed before Celestia realized what the fanged monster before her had in mind. She hadn’t dragged Cadance over just to torment her… she was going to use her as an example. “Y-you couldn’t!”

“I certainly can, and I certainly will.” With a wink, Chrysalis’ crooked horn emitted another flash of green light, and Cadance’s anger and sadness blurred to make room for another emotion.

Fear.

As she began to feel the pink alicorn’s life energy begin to slip out from her soul, Chrysalis’ mind snatched a moment to monitor the chatter of the hive mind. All changelings drones were little more than living breathing enactors of Chrysalis’ will; her children for her to dote upon and cast away the moment it suited her. Even their thoughts were little more than a connected web of eyes and information for her to use.

The majority of Canterlot’s populace was being captured, and those still free would find themselves cornered with nowhere to run soon enough. The attack had been flawlessly carried out, with news coming in that Twilight and her small group had just been sighted near the vault. Help would not come… at least not until it was far too late, and by then, Chrysalis would turn her gaze and her horde upon the rest of Equestria. They would all fall in due time, and then she-

“Leave her alone!”

Three words. That was all the warning the now unstoppable queen of changelings received before her musings were cut off by something painfully pulling at her dark cerulean mane. A moment of complete, unreserved, shock overtook the changeling matriarch as her thoughts struggled to comprehend how any living creature would have the gall to not only harm her… but to touch her mane. It might have taken longer, but her thoughts were interrupted as the suicidal soul gave another hard tug, effectively freeing Cadance from the hold Chrysalis had on her, and sealing it’s own fate.

As he scurried across the room yelling his head off and took a clawful of hair within his grasp, Spike thought one thing as he did something he was told to never do. “If I don’t die right here, right now for this… Twilight’s mom is gonna be so mad when she hears about this.” With all the strength his scaled little body could muster, Spike the dragon tugged on a mare’s mane. It had the desired effect, but after a minute, Spike found himself frozen in place as he looked up at the pair of green slitted pupils that glared at him with enough intensity for him to let go.

“Didn’t your mother tell you that it’s rude to pull on a mare’s hair?”

The little drake could only stutter a moment as the creature that loomed above him seemed to grow in size and fully encompass his vision. Spike’s mind played with the idea of saying something clever like ‘F-funny story I was just thinking about what my friend’s mom would say...’, but a strange series of *clicks* and *clacks* emitted from the still glaring changeling, and even for his small size, he was certain she wasn’t that much bigger than him.

As she imagined the things she would do to this talking lizard for daring to touch her, it surprised Chrysalis to realize that… he was a dragon, or at least he was supposed to be. She’d seen enough to know why they were feared, and knew enough tidbits from her long life to be confused that one so small would be smack dab in the middle of an invasion. Then she remembered seeing the little cretin scampering about the castle the day before… usually in the company of Twilight. Her enslaved pet? A visiting representative that had somehow gone unnoticed by her? Questions with no answers, but Chrysalis supposed it mattered little when the little fire-breather had cut his own life short.

Spike might have met his end at that exact moment, if not for the sudden klaxon of sound that went off within Chrysalis’ head as she bared her fangs at the dragon. A portion of the hive mind was trying to warn her: a threat was headed towards the queen.

At that moment, the door to the courtyard was flung open as an equine shape crashed through and shot toward the unprepared queen.

Acting more on instinct than planning, Chrysalis’ body was covered in a flash of green flames, scorching the ground by her hooves as she shifted to avoid the charging shadow.

Spike had been spared a partial burning when Cadance’s horn glowed and she’d pulled him between herself and a now wide-eyed Celestia.

“Luna!”

Without a pause, the shadow took off after Chrysalis and collided with the changeling mid-shift, resulting in the two crashing onto the ground in a heap, giving the spectators just enough time to make out their savior. It was indeed the second princess of Equestria: Luna. While not as tall as her elder sister or her opponent, the dark furred alicorn let out a yell as she sprang up, and with a deep hum, her horn glowed, willing the door she had passed to pull off it’s great hinges and hurl itself at Chrysalis.

*Thud!*

A moment passed as Luna stood there panting, and the three pairs of eyes blinked in confusion at the turn of events. For a moment, Spike struggled free of Cadance’s protective hold over him, and thought that the threat was over… Then the sound of splintering wood filled his ears, as well as a gasp of surprise from Luna when the study door exploded outward and a raging column of green fire reached the stone ceiling.

“...I’m curious.” From the flames, Chrysalis took a step forward, revealing her completely unharmed form and casting herself in an ominous light before the green fires died away. In it’s place, a dozen buzzing drones entered from the courtyard. “Did you come here because you truly believed you could stop me? Or was it because you wanted your sister to see me break you?”

“Thy battle is not won yet foul one! You would do well to remember that we are equalled only by our sister!” Though Luna took a step forward as well, there was a hitch to her breathing, and if one took a long enough look at the alicorn, the visual clues of what must have been a prior scuffle would not be missed.

“Perhaps when your precious moon is the one sitting above us, but during the day…” The sentence hung unfinished because instead Chrysalis nodded her head, and six changelings hissed out a challenge as they barrelled toward the dark furred princess.

With the sharp smell of ozone, two of the drones were downed by Luna before they made it halfway to her, and a second later, another took a blast to it’s wing causing it to shriek and crash awkwardly to the floor. That was all the time Luna had before the remaining three were upon her. The room was filled with the drones anxious hisses as Luna struggled with the chitinous equine shaped monsters.

Seeing another of her drones being felled by an unexpected headbutt, Chrysalis rolled her eyes and motioned for the rest to join in. Luna’s presence here was not part of her plan… and that irked her. She had made sure that plenty of her changelings would direct their attention to where she knew the alicorn slept during the day, but apparently that hadn’t been enough. A rough patch that was easily crossed thanks to their numbers, and her increase in power, but still another part of her perfect plan that had not gone as she predicted.

As Chrysalis turned her attention back to Luna, she was met with one of her own minions being hurled at her via magic like a missile. The changeling looked wholly wretched to be used against it’s queen in such a way, and if it had been capable, it would have probably screeched out a thousand apologies before it collided with her. Chrysalis, on the other hoof, had zero remorse when she swatted the makeshift projectile from her view with a blast of her own magic.

Tilting her head to the side slightly, Chrysalis reavaluated the glaring alicorn. Celestia was barely able to hold herself up, Cadance was still scheduled to be used as an example, and she was still considering how to properly punish the dragon. They weren’t going anywhere. Canterlot was becoming her property as the seconds rolled by… she could allow herself some amusement.

“I suppose the old royalty will have to be completely erased for my reign to be taken seriously; won’t it?”

Instead of replying, Luna flared up her wings and her horn glowed a fierce blue.

The sounds of buzzing began to grow more audible, and as Chrysalis stepped forward, more drones came in from what remained of the door and through a few of the windows. As she flared her own wings, and willed her body to contort, Chrysalis grinned as she gave unspoken orders to her supporting newcomers.

What was left of the wedding decorations began to topple as Luna fired bolts of magic at her opponent, and in return, the grinning queen of changelings closed the distance and knocked the alicorn about the room. It was in no way a fair fight, as Luna was indeed less powerful during the day, and the surprise attack that had come for her in her sleep had been a frantic and desperate one. Handicaps or not, Luna refused to give up, rolling with each blow when she could, and doing her best to give something in return. The foe before her truly was powerful, and the best Luna could do was delay, and hope for a miracle.

As the two dueled, a few of the drones drifted to the ground and prowled toward the still staring Shining Armor. The battle, strangely enough, had not come near enough to him to cause any injury, but Chrysalis wasn’t about to risk any sort of upsets.

From her place beside Celestia who was watching the ongoing battle with concern for her sister, Cadance noticed the three changelings moving toward the stallion that she loved. With a snort, she left Celestia’s side to gallop toward them. Having been trapped within the catacombs beneath Canterlot for a time, and the fatigue of nearly being killed by Chrysalis’ spell did little for Cadance’s power, she willed her tired body forward as she crashed into the unexpecting trio.

“Cadance!” Seeing a glimpse of pink out of the corner of her eye, Celestia didn’t hesitate to try to stand up and protect the younger alicorn. Her body protested but gave into Celestia’s wishes, and before anyone could react, the white alicorn threw her weight onto the pile of struggling bodies as well, doing her best to kick out at the snapping changelings beneath her.

Across the room, Luna turned by instinct and made to offer assistance in any way she could, but then a sudden great weight fell full upon her body, and she barely had the time to will her own magic to keep the remaining pieces of the door from trying to crush her lower half. A cackle filled her ears and Luna felt the weight increase as Chrysalis perched atop the door; her own weight added as her magic willed it to push harder upon Luna.

“I figured that maybe you’d enjoy being on the other end of this trick.” As Chrysalis looked down upon the struggling alicorn below her, she could taste the emotions that began to trickle out of Luna. She would take her time slowly crushing the alicorn, making a snack out of the desperate feelings that had begun to grow as Luna tired more and more.

Amid the mass of struggling bodies, Cadance stomped a front hoof on the noggin of a glaring changeling, but just as she was about to stand and help Celestia up, a hissing from above turned her blood cold. Another two changelings chose to join the wild melee, and just as one hovered above Celestia who tossed her damaged yet still dangerous horn about to ward it off, the other landed and ran around to head toward Cadance. Both alicorns tried to better position themselves, but the entangling limbs of the defeated changelings below them slowed their movements. A flash of fangs filled Cadance’s vision, and for a moment, she shut her eyes as tight as she could and thought of her husband barely five feet away.

There was no pain. Only the sound of buzzing, and now a surprised snarl right above Cadance’s head. When the alicorn opened her eyes and looked up, she was surprised to see a familiar purple dragon clasped onto the back of the now flying changeling, biting against the chitin hide for all he was worth.

While he might have still questioned his reasons for tugging on the big changeling’s mane, Spike had a much easier time finding the reason to his newest suicidal action. It had felt right. He was barely aware of his actions until he had closed the distance and flung himself atop the lunging changeling. Even as he scraped with his claws and bit, his mind said that this was what he ought to do.

The changeling hissed and snarled as it flew erratically, trying to free itself from the attacker that it could not reach. It was like having a grumpy cat strapped to your back right after someone dumped a bucket of water on it. The scratches were little more than stings, but the biting was painful, and starting to get past the protective carapace. In a wild attempt to dislodge Spike, the changeling slammed it’s back into the wall, causing the little dragon to cough out in pain, but he refused to let go.

Chrysalis was mildly aware of some sort of altercation taking place, but the majority of her mind was watching the alicorn below her give in more and more. She could feel each breath that Luna took causing her magic to give in just a tiny bit more as her magic well lessened, and lessened. It wouldn’t be much longer now.

Another slam into the wall caused Spike to yell out, and fueled with a desperate panic, he raked his claws over the changeling's eyes.

A piercing cry finally managed to pull the queen of changelings attention from her victim, and with a raised brow she turned to see one of her minions land pitifully a few steps away. She was surprised to see that the little dragon had once again tested his luck after coming so close to his end… even more so to see he managed to critically wound one of her own. The taste of hope came off the little drake who was too busy trying to climb off the still shrieking drone to notice the number of eyes now focused upon him. His emotions had a very interesting flavor.

It was enough to make Chrysalis lick her chops for a moment, and even elicit a small chuckle when the dragon’s rich and tasty hope was suddenly spiced with fear the moment he looked up to see her looming above. The socially awkward alicorn could wait a few more moments.

As he looked up at the much larger changeling queen prowling closer, Spike had enough sense to turn and run, but a sudden force that caused his blood to run cold seized the drake and pulled him closer to the last place he wanted to be.

“Uh uh uh... Can’t let you get away this time little interloper.” A shudder ran through Chrysalis as another dab of fear escaped from the little dragonfly stuck in her web. It was enough to cause the matriarch to pause mere inches from the wide-eyed drake’s face, mouth parted slightly to reveal a fang filled mouth.

For a moment, Chrysalis locked eyes with the doomed little dragon, taking in another small taste of the waves of fear that permeated from him.

Then she closed the distance, and drank in his emotions with full force.

Both Celestia and Cadance gasped in shock from where they had finally managed to disentangle themselves. Luna’s eyes widened as she blamed herself for failing to defeat this usurper before she could claim another victim. A slowly growing crowd of drones had been drawn in by this section of the hive mind’s shared anticipation of draining the tasty morsel themselves. Spike was only able to float there as the queen of changelings feasted on his emotions… and stole his first kiss.

The swirling meal of emotions made Chrysalis’ head spin as she drew in from her victim, as if he was a simple milkshake. His unique flavor was nothing like she had ever tasted: a blend of sweet innocence and youth… and that strange tasty spice. The changeling queen briefly wondered if perhaps it had something to do with her prey’s draconic heritage or if perhaps she was tasting something else.

Spike the dragon tried to feel some sort of emotion as he was drained of his life essence, but that’s just the thing. Every emotion that should have come to bare was stripped away, leaving only a sensation of… strangeness: A kind of limbo of emotion where Spike could comprehend what was happening, but could feel less and less about it. All that he could feel was a growing fatigue, and a light headedness that was almost comforting.

Feeling the young drake nearing his end, Chrysalis pulled away and allowed herself a small grin as she watched the noticeably paler little dragon float there with a distant look in his slitted eyes. She amused herself with staring into them for a moment… and was intrigued when she saw something familiar within them. Not a familiar feeling that could be placed to a face or something from her past. Just something that made the changeling consider the drake for a moment longer.

And then she tossed his limp body behind her to the anxiously hissing drones.

As he soared in the air for a few moments Spike couldn’t help but feel a sort of clarity, even in his state. He surmised that the depleting of his emotions might have lead to his logical side being somewhat unbalanced. If he could have felt amusement, he’d have chuckled at the irony of all of Twilight’s lectures, suddenly making so much more sense now when his life was likely to end despite his efforts to ascertain why his closest friend was such a nerd nearly all her life.

It was strange looking down at the eager, hissing creatures below, knowing that they’d surely devour him… and not being able to feel the slightest amount of fear. Once again, Spike would have found some hilarity at the irony presented before him if the emotion hadn’t been drained from him. Just as few weeks prior, he had been big enough to stomp Canterlot’s invaders flat, much like the chitinous bugs they reminded him of. Spike was mere centimeters from the awaiting cluster of drones when the memory of his greed growth snagged on something.

A shiver ran through Chrysalis as she listened to the combined shouts of anguish from the three alicorns. All the odd hiccups in her plan had been made well worth it to hear that sound; the unexpected and delicious snack as a nice bonus too. Then suddenly the cries were replaced by shrieks of dismay from… behind her?

For the changeling drone that had been able to push aside it’s fellows and stand underneath the falling scaled body, it came as quite the surprise when, just as it was about to catch Spike… the little dragon tripled in size.

As Spike attempted to shake away the muddiness of his mind, he became distinctly aware of something. Apparently one of the changelings had broken his fall… and by its writhing and shrieking, it wasn’t too happy about that. Spike rolled off the noisy drone before he had even really thought to, and before he could wonder at it, a burst of colors in his head caused the drake to groan.

And then the now much larger drake growled deeply as it rolled off the changeling it had just crippled. Honestly, Chrysalis had not been expecting that of all things to happen. She was sure that she had drained it of all but the smallest bits of emotion to sate her eager brood, and yet, somehow, the little dragon now nearly matched her height. A tinge of curiosity struck Chrysalis, and with a mental signal, more drones were now headed towards their location.

It was weird. A moment ago, Spike could barely do more than think with his body so heavily fatigued and his well of emotions dried up. Now, thoughts were becoming harder to grasp as his body felt so alien to him, and seemed to move nearly on it’s own. He could comprehend danger like when a drone came swooping down to lunge at him, but with barely any wanting to do so on his part, his left hand, now bigger than he could have sworn it should have been, struck out and knocked his would be assailant across the room. It was like seeing the world through the eyes of a body he couldn’t really control.

Across the room, Celestia and Cadance looked on with equal amounts shock at the scaled dragon that was now swiping at any changeling that got too close, the entire time, a confused and frustrated expression on his face.

It would seem that the enlarged dragon was too much for the remaining drones. They hissed and buzzed around him uncertainly, until more of them began swarming from the doorway and crashed through a few of the windows. There was a moment of pause, and then they descended as one.

As she watched the hopelessly doomed dragon try to beat back the small swarm of changelings, Chrysalis began to slowly circle the tussle. She could taste his emotions beginning to seep out again in small breathes… like a growing fire. The sweetness of hope wasn’t nearly as prevalent, instead, that spicy flavor was much bolder. As the changeling queen watched on, she was unaware that one of her fellow spectators was freeing herself.

Slowly, things were beginning to make more sense for Spike as his mind began to catch up to his body's actions. Changelings: Everywhere he looked, blue insectoid eyes glared, sharp teeth clacked, and the constant cacophony of buzzing and hisses filled his ears. It was enough to make Spike dimly appreciate not being burdened with any deeper thoughts or wants than to just pummel every last one of them. Spike was never a violent creature, but an alien sensation of satisfaction swelled up in the drake every time his scaled fist connected with something, or his claws managed to knick a changeling that had moved too slow. It was odd… as well as a little scary. When the changelings began to attack in mass, and started to pull his body down with their combined weight, the dragon noticed a shape approaching quickly.

Perhaps she may not have been the changeling matron’s peer in power at the time, but Luna cared little for such things when she saw Twilight’s dragon assistant begin to succumb to the onslaught of numbers. With a yell, the dark furred alicorn struck out with both hooves, knocking two changelings from atop the dragon’s chest, and with a pivot, she blasted another full in the face with her magic. If such a small dragon could find the spirit to do battle with these monsters, then so could she.

The weight upon Spike lessened and his emerald eyes took in the sight of an alicorn kicking and blasting the changelings surrounding them with an uncharacteristic vigor. As he shook his head, Spike willed himself to remember the familiar equine’s name. “...L-Luna!” It slowly came back to the dragon as he used his tail to sweep aside a changeling that had been lunging for the princess. With a deep growl, Spike fully picked himself up and flashed his fangs at another assailant, prompting it to hiss and turn tail.

“...how cliche.” Though still mildly interested, Chrysalis couldn’t help but frown a little when she watched Luna join the fray. She had thought the fight had gone out of the mare… and she had been looking forward to watching the drake finally be brought down. More of her drones flew in, and in unison the swarm began to fly in circles around the duo like a great flock of chitinous vultures. “It’s all a matter of time.”

Another changeling was felled, but Luna could feel her energy close to it’s end. She had been fighting hard since the beginning of this invasion, and it was clear to her that the moment either she or Spike tired, the other would fall shortly thereafter. There were just so many of the vile creatures, likely a fourth or more of the invading horde. As she kicked a changeling in the head and ducked under the sweep of Spike’s tail, watching as it clipped two changelings who’d ventured too close… something dawned upon the princess.

The changelings success was entirely owed to a surprise attack, as well as a number of agents that had managed to infiltrate Canterlot along with their queen. This many drones had to have come from the mass that had been sent to attack the city below. If a counterattack could be mounted, perhaps…

That’s when Luna came upon an idea, or, perhaps a gamble would be more appropriate.

As Spike took hold of a changeling that had latched onto his left arm and swung it onto the floor, his ears picked up the sound of a voice trying to reach him.

“The one known as Spike! We cannot hold back this tide of foes forever!” As she spoke, Luna’s horn hummed angrily and she willed the remaining pieces of the destroyed door to hurl themselves into the swarm of changelings.

The words entered his ears, but registered as little more than odd sounds within his mind. His instincts had little interest in words, but with a moment of concentration, Spike managed to make the noise make some semblance of sense to him. Luna needed his attention for something; he had to do his best to listen to her.

When the drake beside her nodded, Luna inwardly let out a pleased sigh. She had not been sure that she could reach Spike with his intent seemingly so focused on battle. Now, she could set her plan in motion.

“We must act with all haste!” Another screeching attacker swooped toward the pair, but with uncanny reflexes, the dark blue alicorn pivoted and struck the changeling full in the face with a kick hard enough to send it careening into four of its fellows. “You must be the one to incite the enchantment, and send the battle hymns along to our subjects.”

In his state, Spike could hardly comprehend what was being said to him; his reasoning muffled by his now empowered instincts that sought only to swat every hissing gnat that came close. With a mental growl, Spike managed to push aside his baser thoughts, and nod in understanding to the princess. “...I’ll...t-try.”

From where she stood, Chrysalis raised an amused brow toward the duo. They had slowed in their attacks, and almost looked like they were conversing. Perhaps some last ditch attempt to bolster their own morale. Try as they might, their defeat was inevitable, but as least she could say that this had been an interesting victory.

Another squadron of blue-eyed, fanged changelings charged toward Luna who now completely ceased fighting in favor of closing her eyes and fanning out her large wings. The first of the group, now mere inches away, suddenly let out a shrill cry as Spike’s tail whipped into its chitinous back and sent it careening away. Without a single pause, the purple dragon inhaled and let loose a torrent of green fire that nearly cooked the rest alive before they flew away, screeching in pain.

With a moment of breathing room now granted, Luna stomped her left hoof heavily onto the floor and let out a shout in the royal we. A shimmer of magic went through the air surrounding the alicorn and Spike before it condensed into a near transparent dome of glowing blue.

Startled, Spike was a moment away from lashing out at the seemingly imprisoning forcefield when Luna forcibly turned him around to face her now sweat-streaked face.

“We will guide you through the words as best as we can, but you must hurry.” Even in Spike’s conflicting state of mind, the princess’ words somehow seemed much more clear, and it dawned upon the drake that the magical forcefield must have been her doing.

“B-but, how will I-”

Before the drake could finish, Luna reached out toward him and placed both of her forelegs onto his shoulders. If not for the situation at hand, Spike was sure he would have been rather red-faced from the sudden closeness, but the thought was quickly brushed aside as Luna’s eyes glowed a bright white, and he could suddenly feel a new presence within his mind.

“We will speak the words, but you must be our voice. The song shall only reach so far, but if mother fate is with us, then she will give our message flight.” The sound of Luna’s voice seemed to slightly clear away the confusion and slowness of his thoughts until the only thing that he could hear was a distant echo.

Chrysalis’ smirk dissolved as she watched the dragon and princess merely sit stone still as her brood began to hammer into the forcefield. It was rather lackluster for the pair to suddenly decide to huddle beneath a forcefield that would be broken eventually. The changeling queen couldn’t help feeling a shiver of unease as the absurdity of it all continued to confuse her.

From where they stood, both Celestia and Cadance quietly tried to shepherd Shining further away. The princess of the sun paused, taking a large intake of air as she felt a stirring within her. Celestia turned her head to gaze to the shimmering dome that reeked of her sister’s magic, and her eyes widened as she looked past it to see the duo within. A chill ran through the white alicorn as she watched Spike’s mouth open, and a sound began to fill the air.

Within Spike’s mind, the distant echo grew in intensity. No longer did his emerald eyes see the strained expression upon Luna’s face, nor the forcefield that shimmered every time it was struck, or even the swarm of changelings that hissed and struck at their last line of protection. Instead, the young dragon saw images; flashes of pictures and scenes that depicted events that had come and gone long before he had even been born. As he witnessed snatches of ages long past, the echo became a song; a song so moving that Spike found himself singing along with Luna’s distant voice.

At first, one could only hear the buzzing, hissing, and cries of the swarm of changelings that continued their onslaught against the dome between them and the two figures within, but then another sound began to fill the air. A new sound that slowly but surely overcame the cacophony, until it alone filled the ears and began to escape past the large hall and into the rest of the castle.

The swarm paused uneasily as their own sounds were muffled, and their ears filled with a distressful ringing.

Chrysalis hissed in confusion as she sought out the source of the disturbance and fought the urge to try and block out the sound.

Celestia’s body spasmed as she heard the words within the sound as clear as day, as clear as the last time she had spoken the incantation herself. Beside her, Cadance shivered suddenly as well as her fiance.

Like a living breathing entity, the sound that escaped from Spike’s lips flew out into the open corridors, raced down the many hallways, leaped from any open windows, and continued to escape out from the castle itself. Ponies, young and old, twitched slightly as their ears perked up to the alien sound that whispered to them, filling the recipients with a strange sensation.

Then, even as the first sound continued to spread, a second one began to rise up. At first unidentifiable as this new sound began to sprout up at random throughout the castle, but gradually it grew in intensity as even the city below also joined in.

It was the sound of singing ponies.

Though no lyrics were spoken, each pony, softly at first, joined the original sound with their own voice until each individual spoke with the same intensity as the originator. As the entire pony population of Equestria’s capital joined together in song, the hymn’s message began to slowly echo throughout each singer’s mind.

This was a song of battle; a ballad that urged each voice to defend their homes and protect their fellows. As the message became more clear, the singing grew even more so in its volume as it reached out past the city walls and tried to find more equine ears.

Within his own mind, Spike continued to see the flashing images as his voice rang out. He saw a battle waged against an ever changing army of shadows, glowing eyes led by bipedal creatures that cackled and wrought dark magic from their fingertips. He witnessed the numerous skirmishes that resulted from Equestria being seen as a new prospect for expansion for a once ambitious gryphon empire. He even watched as both princesses sang out against one another in a battle that pitted pony against pony.

A gasp of pain escaped from Luna as she felt a crack begin to form and grow atop the barrier. The shield wouldn’t hold much longer, and once it fell, the song would be silenced. She whispered a soft apology from within Spike’s mind as desperation forced a last second decision.

Spike could barely make out the sound of Luna saying something to him within his thoughts before he felt another odd sensation. It felt like more of Luna’s strange magic was being forced into his mind, spreading like a weed as it sought something. A cold chill ran through Spike as he felt her magic grasp something within him like a hand. Then his instincts roared out suddenly, with nearly enough force to mute the song. He could feel the baser part of himself struggling and clawing within as it sought to gain dominance over his reason, but he could also feel Luna’s magic alongside it… shepherding it.

It was then that Spike’s voice doubled in strength, the note changing to a deafening roar that rang out and surged outward much like the song. As if gaining a second wind, the battle hymn reached out even farther, as the countless voices now all felt a surge of ferocity flow through them, and in turn, they all roared out in unison.

Miles away, a passing troop of pegasi, also known as the ‘Wonderbolts’, ceased their drills when a strange… yet familiar cry met their ears. The voice came to them like a high-pitched whine, prompting the leader to turn in Canterlot’s direction before she let out a neighing battle-cry. The others followed suit as the fastest and most gifted fliers of Equestria shot forward in the direction the song emitted from.

All along the countryside, earth ponies halted in their task as they heard a deep rumble reach them. Snorts and whinnies filled the air alongside the shaking sensation that came from dozens of stallions and mares galloping wherever the singing bade them.

Wherever the song could reach, unicorns felt their horns hum quietly, and their inner magic fluctuated in concert with the sound that called to them. The faint smell of ozone became more and more pronounced as the magically inclined, both masters and amateurs, began to incite what spells they knew as their own tethers to magic drew them to Canterlot.

It was during the second burst of sound that the changeling queen began to comprehend what was happening before her. The hive mind buzzed with frantic displeasure as each drone screeched in pain; the very sound that emitted all over and around Canterlot caused near physical harm to the ears of the invading army. Narrowing her eyes, Chrysalis began to prowl toward the cracking shield; whatever this last ditch plan of theirs was needed to be stopped now.

“I think I’ve allowed this to go on for much too long.” With a growl, the changeling queen’s crooked horn began to glow a malevolent green as she prepared to blast the shield to bits and silence the dragon. That is, until the painful sound that drilled into her ears was accompanied by a new voice… one that was very close to her. Chrysalis turned her head, and was greeted by a slightly unnerving image.

Mouth opened slightly as she too joined her voice in the battle hymn, Celestia, eldest princess of Equestria and demi-goddess of the sun, was rising to her full height. With a small, unladylike snort, Celestia fixed her glare toward her would-be usurper as her still damaged horn began to hum angrily. “It would seem that my land and my subjects aren’t so easily conquered.”

At this, Chrysalis bared her fangs, and her large dragonfly-like wings buzzed in agitation. She had been sure that the fight had been taken out of the alicorn during their last scuffle, but something was giving Celestia the strength to impede her. Something like…

At that moment, the hive mind, alive with the disgruntled and dazed chatter of her minions, shifted into a growing klaxon of alarm and warning. As the changeling queen circled around the glaring alicorn, she could feel a growing surge of panic sweeping through her subjects. The captured city and it’s inhabitants were fighting back.

Four hallways down and past a few doors, the infamous CMC had themselves been huddling together as a single drone hovered above them with a wicked grin. Beside them, a single royal guard was stuck to the wall by a sickly green goo that the changelings were capable of spitting. When the sound had reached their young ears, and they had added their voices to the collective singing, a sudden feeling had swept through the fillies. Their overseer had shifted his focus onto the royal guard who had been affected enough by the strange sound to start thrashing wildly in an attempt to free himself.

It was at this exact moment, as the changeling let out a low hiss as it shook it’s head in an attempt to rid itself of the grating sound that plagued it, that the three little ponies struck. With a flutter of her tiny wings, Scootaloo sprang forward and slammed her body into the larger changeling, furthering its confusion and turning it away from the guard. Sweetie Bell went straight for the imprisoned guard, her little horn humming away as she tried to free him.

The changeling had enough clarity to hiss in anger before it tried to catch the little pegasus with it’s fangs, but before it could, Applebloom had run next to it’s other side and bucked harder than she had ever bucked before. The changeling screeched loudly as it’s chitinous legs gave out and it fell to the floor snapping and fluttering its wings wildly in an attempt to right itself.

The smell of ozone filled the air as small sparks flew from Sweetie Belle’s horn, and she jabbed it into the green goo. The green bile gave off a stomach turning odor as it began to darken, and cracks started to form where the royal guard’s legs were held in place.

The three little fillies huffed loudly as their small bodies were taxed from the exertions they doled. The changeling finally managed to get its now smarting legs under itself, and as it prowled toward Applebloom and Scootaloo, the sound of heavy hooves met its ears. The guard stallion, now free, brought his entire weight to bare onto the single changeling causing the hissing opponent to crumple against the castle’s stone wall. When it failed to pick itself back up, the royal guard let out a loud exhale before he turned to check on the deservedly tuckered out fillies.

Farther still from where the wedding was to have been, out into the courtyard where a small squad of changelings were all holding their heads within their forelegs in an attempt to muffle the sound, a large portion of the royal guard all let out a loud unified neigh as the song filled them. The combined thrashing and struggling made quick work of the goop that held the guards in place, and the battle fevered mares and stallions were upon the changelings before a single one could screech in alarm. Without a pause, the guards began issuing orders to one another, and then galloped off to find either battle or free their brothers and sisters in arms.

As the now charged song filled the ears of Canterlot’s Equine inhabitants and was returned in full from them, every pony capable of the task began to rise up.

Within his own bakery, one ‘Pony Joe’ felt a surge of heat roll through him as he gave his own voice to the incantation. The two changelings that had crashed into his donut shop turned to glare at him as he snorted loudly and kicked free from the goo that had bound his front hooves to the counter. Before the two invaders could respond, Joe seized the handle to a coffee pot with it’s contents still bubbling hot, and threw it in their direction. The first changeling let out a noise near a squeal as hot coffee blinded its eyes and burned its chitinous hide. The second opened a fanged mouth and charged forward.

In the middle of one of Canterlot’s eloquently cobblestoned streets, four changelings hissed angrily toward a pair of unicorns. “It would seem, my dear, that these ruffians need a lesson in proper edicate.” A blue-mustachioed unicorn, with a rather gentlemanly appearance about him, flashed a smile to a beautiful- tall mare beside him. In response, the lady unicorn spoke something softly into his ear before she turned to glare at the encircling invaders.

Both unicorn’s horns shone brightly all of a sudden, blinding the changelings, and the pair used the distraction to strike. The mare levitated a nearby restaurant sign and swatted a blinking changeling through a glass window where it’s body crashed into a fashion ponnequin.

Instead of using his own magic the unicorn darted forward and struck out with his left hoof, effectively blackening one changeling’s eye, before he moved onto another and gave two swift jabs to it’s jaw and forehead rendering it unconscious.

The fourth changeling, it’s vision restored, disliked it’s chances and made to escape back to the skies, but was cut off by another now-freed pony pouncing on it’s back and dragging it to the streets.

All throughout Canterlot, changelings were quickly, and violently, having the tables turned on them. The song that had first emitted from the castle had thrown them into enough disorder for the now reinvigorated captives to start escaping and fighting back with a ferocity that seemed uncharacteristic to the normally peaceful equines.

Even the bearers of the Elements of Harmony had heard the shared sound, shared their voices with it, and now fought on with a new passion.

At the Canterlot tower, Twilight Sparkle and her friends fought on against a wave of changelings that had been waiting for them within the tower. The effects of the battle hymn could be seen clearly as Rarity kicked a changeling toward Pinkie Pie, who loaded the stunned creature into her party cannon and used it as ammo against its fellows.

With a growl, Twilight’s horn hummed to life as she blasted a charging changeling point-blank causing it to screech shrilly as it was tossed back. A quick turn of her head had the purple unicorn doing the same for another. From where she stood, Twilight could see that the duo most affected by the battle hymn charged into the drone’s ranks with near reckless abandon.

Rainbow Dash bowled over any changeling foolish enough to attempt to get in her way, the high speed she was capable of attaining giving her body the momentum of a comet. A quick turn, however, caused the mare to crash into a full squad of the hissing beasts so that the blue pegasus was now entangled in a writhing mass of hissing, biting, and kicking.

Applejack, having seen her friend’s plight, pulled her head back, then slammed it as hard as she could into an open mouth that had been issuing a challenge before the collision knocked out nearly all of the changeling’s teeth. Applejack could feel trickles of blood roll down her forehead from small wounds created by the fangs that had ended up puncturing her hat. Paying the injury no mind, Applejack took the fallen changeling’s tail in her mouth before she whipped it around and sent it hurtling toward the mass of bodies.

With a sound akin to pins being struck by a bowling ball, the changelings atop Rainbow Dash were thrown off, and the rainbow haired pegasus shook herself before giving a nearby changeling a mouthful of hoof.

Shaking her head at her friends’ carelessness, Twilight turned to see an angry-eyed Fluttershy giving a full dozen of the chitinous creatures ‘the stare’, freezing them in place, and effectively taking the fight out of them as they turned and flew to the sky in retreat.

“C’mon girls! We’re almost to the-!” Twilight let out a yell as an unseen changeling blindsided her, causing the two to roll along the ground. With more reaction than actual logic, Twilight cast a teleportation spell on the two of them, and with a bright flash, the pair were now twelve feet from the ground and quickly falling toward it. Caught by surprise, the changeling had little time to react before Twilight repositioned herself so that her attacker’s body was between her and the ground. With a loud *Thump*, the two landed with the changeling taking the brunt of it, and Twilight rolled off of it’s body a moment later, albeit a tad dazed.

All of this flashed through the mind of a now thoroughly furious Chrysalis as she jumped back to avoid a blast of magic from Celestia. With every passing second, her brood was being pushed back, and the duo within the cracking dome had been the cause of it all. The damnable noise they had made had confused the whole hive, and now it seemed to empower their captives enough to actually be pushing back her army.

Celestia dodged to the right as an angry green beam of energy shot toward her, missing her body but blasting a black scorch mark into a nearby column. The battle hymn had given her enough energy to resume her fight with Chrysalis, but her injury continued to take it’s toll on her, slowing her movements, and causing her to involuntary shudder in pain.

Within the dome, Luna’s glowing eyes dimmed as her strength continued to wane. Her gambit had worked, and now with the song complete, her subjects had been given a fighting chance. Better still, even with her vision blurring more so by the second, Luna could make out two figures opposite from her sister and the changeling queen rallying as well. As the enraged changelings continued to strike against the magical shield, the dark-furred alicorn felt her legs give out from beneath her and she stumbled to the ground. “Our t-task is done, and perhaps our treasured ponies saved.” Luna could feel her eyelids growing heavier than she could resist, and with the last few moments of blurry sight, she could see Spike’s figure hunched over her protectively. “Spike… assistance is coming, but we must k-keep her focus upon us.”

With a sound akin to shattering glass, the forcefield vanished before the buzzing cloud of changelings. But before they could react, a column of emerald fire struck out into the swarm, scattering it. Crouched above the princess of the night, Spike spewed forth another torrent of flames in a wide cone above himself; the unfortunate changelings who had been too slow shrieked in pain before falling still to the ground, and the rest all flew back alarmed. After expending his full breath, Spike let out a loud, throaty growl. Unlike his charge, he still had plenty of steam left.

Snarling in frustration at the shared pain that swept through the hive mind, Chrysalis turned away from Celestia to settle a furious glare onto the duo. Her perfect plan; undone by a mere dragon whelp and a socially stunted alicorn. Her hive disheveled in one fell swoop, more so than ever before in her entire life. Her deserved place upon a throne worthy of her greatness now slipping through her grasp. With a snarl, the changeling queen unclasped her own dragonfly-like wings, and after a brief pause, a shrill whine escaped past her jaws.

“Return to your queen!”

A simple command that instantaneously reached every changeling within the castle, Canterlot, and even the whole of Equestria. In a unified fashion, the entirety of the hive dropped any current actions and made their way toward the castle heedless of any distractions.

A moment of confusion passed through Canterlot’s citizens as well as the now arriving bands of ponies who had been lead by the battle hymn to help ward off the attackers. For the slightest second, all who watched the invaders wing toward the castle pondered if they had won, but concern for their sovereign drove the hope away, and now every pony began to gallop down the streets making way towards the castle themselves.

Upon the now reclaimed outer wall of Canterlot, a guards pony turned his head northward. His equine ears perked curiously as he picked up a sound that reminded him of an approaching tornado.

As she felt the rest of her brood coming closer, Chrysalis would have allowed herself a calming intake of air if she hadn’t found herself flung into the air to crash into the furthermost wall. Although it was still damaged, Celestia’s horn shone white hot as she continued to channel her magic.

It was instinctual for a changeling to give priority to destroy any threat to its queen, and the multiple screeching mouths would have torn into the white alicorn with a passion if a sudden bubble of blue magic hadn’t encircled the surprised princess. Celestia had to take a second to catch her breath as she watched the charging mass of chitinous bodies slam into the protective barrier only to be bounced back, and then fragmented by beams of blue.

“As Captain of the royal guard, I’m gonna have to ask the lot of you to keep a respectable distance from her majesty.” Both Shining Armor and his alicorn fiance Cadence charged into the straggling drones, knocking them aside until both had passed through the protective shield and stood protectively beside the weary princess.

“Enough!” From where she had landed, Chrysalis flared her wings to their full length and bared pointed teeth. What had remained of her calm had been dashed somewhere between seeing her carefully created web destroyed by the combined thrashing of a overgrown dragonfly and royal horsefly, and being thrown into a wall. Now, all Chrysalis wanted was to fully exert her power, and use it to kill the the lot of them.

As he watched Chrysalis take a step toward the trio and their forcefield, Spike decided to see if he could get away with one more dumb decision.

Outside the castle, the rest of the changeling swarm closed in on where their queen waited, but then a sudden gust of wind caused the swarm to pause. There was an approaching sound that seemed to cause the wind to suddenly shift randomly, and violently. For a moment, a few of the changelings could make out a small group of dots in the distance, then that strange sound rose up in pitch harshly and the entire swarm was thrown about as a squad of pegasi barrelled into them with the combined force of a tornado.

As Chrysalis advanced toward her new targets, she picked up on two things: The first being the hive mind once again crying out in shared frustration as something crashed into their ranks outside. The second was the ominous sound of heavy footfalls approaching her. As Chrysalis turned her head, her green eyes locked with Spike’s own emerald pupils as he crossed the distance between them and put his full weight into colliding into her with the force of a freight train.

As she was carried along by the scaled dragon, Chrysalis was shocked with utter disbelief that this one dragon continued to impede her plans. From the start, she should have ended him the moment she set eyes upon him. As the two bodies collided with the wall and crashed through to the ledge on the other side, the changeling queen swore to herself she’d make this drake pay.

Spike’s mind had been set on keeping the changeling queen’s attention on himself, and hopefully the rest of her brood as well. He had not expected a sudden cliff on the other side of the wall, and as the two went over, he growled with frustration over his own apparent unfamiliarity with the castle’s layout.

As the two fell down one floor to the waiting gardens below, Chrysalis’ body shifted with a series of pops and cracks that would have made Spike’s stomach turn in any normal situation. Before the drake could get a firm grasp upon her, the changeling queen maneuvered herself above him, and as they impacted the garden grounds, she bared her fangs.

They were grappling the minute Spike’s side had hit the ground. The air being painfully driven from his body was a soft nudge compared to the sudden series of blows that Chrysalis’ hooves, now turned into to sharp points, began to rain upon his scales. With a growl, Spike’s tail wrapped around the snarling changeling’s neck, and with a powerful flick, he was free of her for a moment.

As she landed, Chrysalis cared little for her invasion plans as her body once again began to violently contort. The last bit of power left over, thanks to her no longer entranced betrothed, was enough for her to fully reinvent her own mass, and she’d use it with as much cruelty as she could to vent upon this thorn in her side.

Before Spike could fully regain his feet, he felt a sudden pressure squeezing. Chrysalis had shifted her lower body into that of a large serpentine tail, and as she wrapped around him, her front legs trembled and stretched into muscular arms. As quickly as he could, Spike managed to grab onto Chrysalis’ left arm with his own and began hammering away at the limb with his remaining hand. The changeling shrieked at him, her other arm sprouting into four claws and raked into his exposed side, chipping away at this scales.

Back in what remained of the wedding hall, Shining Armor, Cadance, and Celestia blasted away the group of changelings that hissed in fury at being kept from their queen. Across the room, Luna’s eyes slowly began to open as she stirred from where Spike had gently let her down. She could barely make out what appeared to be her sister and two others keeping the drones from assisting their queen. As she shook her head to clear it of the cobwebs of fatigue, her ears picked up the sound of approaching hooves.

What might have been a stalemate turned sour for Spike when he actually managed to break off Chrysalis’ left arm… only for it to sprout into two more that wasted no time in taking hold of his own and pinning it behind his back. “You can’t beat me little dragonfly!”

With a grunt of pain caused by increasing pressure squeezing upon his lower half, Spike took in as much of an inhale as he could and turned his head, his furious expression meeting Chrysalis’ own. “I-I...can...try.” As he finished his muttered words, Spike exhaled, dousing Chrysalis’ face with an inferno of green flames, causing her to let go and hiss in pain.

She wasn’t just going to kill him: She was going to drain him dry, string him somewhere up high, and watch him bleed out as she made him watch her devour every damned thing he held dear. With another shudder, the burnt chitin on her body fell away to be replaced by smooth glossy replacements as Chrysalis swerved around Spike’s lashing claws and sank her own into his back. The changeling allowed a moment of satisfaction to run through herself as she listened to his pained growls and drank in some of his anger.

As much as he wished it wasn’t true, Spike could feel himself tiring. He had managed to match the changeling queen for this long, but he was nearing his limit. With a quick jerk forward, Spike managed to dislodge Chrysalis’ claws in such a way that she came forward, and with that, Spike wrapped his powerful arms around her and bit into the changeling’s shoulder with all his might. A metallic taste of blood reached his tongue and Spike could hear his opponent screech in anger.

“How dare you!” Chrysalis’ tail thrashed about and with a sickening *squelch*, it sprouted a claw at the end which latched onto Spike and threw him to the ground. Chrysalis ignored her bleeding shoulder in favor of putting her weight upon the downed drake and hammering into his face with all her might. “You… all of this was ruined because of you!”

*Wham!*

“You think you can still win little drake?!”

*Wham!*

“Do you really think one little dragon can stop ME?! The queen of changelings?!”

*Wham!* Wham!*

From the corner of her manic eyes, Chrysalis could make out the drake trying to say something as she pummeled him. “Oh! You have something to say before I kill you? Please, do tell.”

For a moment Spike merely blinked, then after a pained cough, he nodded to something behind the two of them. A chill ran down Chrysalis’ sides as she followed his line of sight to the crowd of ponies waiting a small distance away.

Celestia, Luna, the pitiful princess Cadance with her no longer zombified fiance, multiple members of the royal guard, and worst of all… Twilight Sparkle with her element of harmony humming angrily in sync with the other elements and their bearers.

She could distantly hear her drones being driven off despite their best efforts, and as her eyes locked with the combined glares of the ponies that dared her to strike the dragon again, Chrysalis muttered a curse and took a calming breath.

A moment passed and with a shrill shriek, Chrysalis doubled in size and charged at the elements of harmony in a desperate attempt to end them there and now.

The first blast took away the arm that had turned into two.

The second took Chrysalis full in the chest, stopping her in place, and causing a gush of life blood to seep down her chitinous body. As the elements primed for a final blast, Chrysalis’ body welled up like a balloon, and then with a final shriek, she exploded in a blast of green fire and burnt hide.

Every pony watching recoiled, and when the smoke cleared, the queen of changelings, Chrysalis, could be seen sprawled out, bleeding, and unconscious with a small crater created from her explosion.

As they still fought, the changelings all cried out in unison, and like wasps without a queen they buzzed about in confusion and anger until they flew off in scattered directions.

From where he lay, Spike’s eyes closed as he finally felt the adrenaline subside and the weight of his participation in the battle drove him to unconsciousness.

The changelings had been defeated, and Canterlot had been saved.

Deep below the damaged Canterlot castle an equine shape laid unmoving within the confines of an iron-barred cell. It had been left to rot within its new home once its would-be interrogators decided that their questions would be better answered when she had regained consciousness. Burned, bruised, wounded, and utterly defeated it felt safe to assume that Canterlot’s near conqueror would be no threat now that she was bound in chains, and locked within a magically sealed cell.

Once the guard’s hoof-steps had faded away into distant whispers, the captive’s left eye blinked open.

Seeing that she was truly alone Chrysalis sluggishly sat up, and stretched… or at least she would have if the chains around her neck, and legs had allowed it. For a moment Chrysalis inspected her restraints then with an amused grin she rolled her green eyes. It was clear that they had never taken a changeling captive before.

A series of *cracks* and *pops* emitted throughout Chrysalis’ body, and with barely a tug the changeling’s left leg *squelched* off. After catching herself Chrysalis watched as her leg wriggled for a moment before it shook the chain off, sprouted four insectoid legs, and skittered back to her body so that it could reattach itself. As she did the same with the rest of her legs Chrysalis allowed herself another grin as she thought back to the somewhat dramatic performance that had landed her within this new prison.

When it finally dawned upon her that she’d made the mistake of letting her anger get to her, and was now against every threat that she had plotted so hard to separate it took little time for Chrysalis to see how bad her odds were. The game had been lost for now, and the best the queen could do was count her losses, and make sure that she could be in a position to plan for a rematch. So with a mental command to ‘scatter’ sent out to her hive, Chrysalis prepared herself to take one for the team, and when the bright beam of energy had struck her Chrysalis used what was left of her power to put on a show that hopefully fooled her opponents into thinking she was near dead.

Angered by her attack or not Chrysalis had gambled that the famously kind-hearted equines of Equestria would be less than willing to finish off a supposedly unconscious enemy. Judging by her current surroundings, and her continued existence, it had payed off.

As the last leg now free of it’s own binding reattached to her body Chrysalis let out an irritated groan at herself. She had lost her cool, and allowed her victory to make her more cocky than she ought to. Another stomach churning cracking sound emitted from Chrysalis as her neck sprouted six legs and pulled itself free from her body, once free of the last chain that had held her it fused back into her now unshackled body. If she had just sank her teeth into the little drake, and given a good shake she’d be sitting on the throne instead of in such a drab dungeon.

The dragon.

As her mind focused on the image of the little purple saboteur Chrysalis’ lips curled back, and she let a low hiss escape from deep within her. Her plans had started to fall apart the moment he had dared to touch her, and her ego had allowed him every opportunity he needed.

Distracted. Tricked. Defeated.

As she thought more about what must have been her true undoer Chrysalis remembered hearing someone speak to the drake by name. “S… Spi… Spike.” As she spoke the dragon’s name out loud Chrysalis burned his image into her memory. Her web had been destroyed; children spread out further than her mind could reach, and power nearly nonexistent.

As Chrysalis let out a quiet sigh to halt the growing heat of anger within her a sharp pain caused her to hiss again. The place where she had been bitten still bled slightly, and now she was aware of a dull burning sensation around the wound. Spike seemed to have unintentionally given the changeling something to remember him by.

“As if it would have been necessary.” For a moment Chrysalis sat quietly within her cell as her shoulder continued to trickle blood, and her mind began to do what it did best: scheme. Then a cheshire smile began to grow across the changelings face to the point where one might have thought her face would split open. “I hope you don’t forget me little dragonfly, because I promise that I won't forget you… heheheheh.”

Deep within Canterlot’s darkest dungeon the sound of cackling could be heard echoing off each wall like an evil presence crawling up your spine from every direction.

End Of Chapter 1:

Author's Note

And there we have it! Probably not what you expected, but something I'm very happy to finally have ready for you all to read.

Always gotta give big ups to my beta-reader and the coolest guy in the biz xgfhj he puts up with me well, and came up with the cool title for this chapter.

I hope you enjoyed this first bit, and that you'll enjoy the rest of this ride as I try my hand at something darker in tone than I've written before. Till next time readers!