Change

Chapters

2 - The Same... Yet Different
3 - Flashback: Discovery
4 - The Calm Before The Storm
5 - The Storm
6 - Homecoming
7 - Flashback: Birth
8 - Post Wedding Blues
10 - The Changeling Princess
11 - In The Shadows
12 - The Badlands
13 - Flying Lessons
14 - Flashback: Hearth's Warming
15 - Captured
16 - Siblings
17 - Broken Armor
19 - Canterlot
20 - A Long Awaited Talk
21 - Arrival
22 - Serpens
23 - Lightning Strikes
24 - Aftermath
25 - A Misguided Evil
26 - Visiting Hours
27 - Flashback: Young Love
28 - The Wrath Of A Mother
29 - Recovery
30 - Act 1 Epilogue
31 - Intermission: In The Mind Of The Sun
32 - Act 2 Prologue
33 - Invitation
34 - Duty Calls
36 - Nightmare
37 - Departure
38 - Intruder
39 - The Other Queens
40 - Stories
41 - Chase
42 - The Council
43 - Flashback: Fast Friends
44 - Revelations
45 - Change Of Plans
46 - Quae Est Finis: Part 1
47 - Quae Est Finis: Part 2
48 - Quae Est Finis: Part 3
49 - All That Remains
50 - New Beginnings
51 - Act 2 Epilogue
53 - Act 3 Prologue
54 - Scarred
55 - Motherly Concern
56 - Flashback: Proposal
57 - Ponyville
58 - Old Friends
59 - Scouting Mission
60 - The Drums Of War
61 - Change: Part 1
62 - Change: Part 2
63 - The New Dawn
64 - Epilogue
1 - Prologue
9 - Broad Sword
18 - Forward onto Canterlot
35 - The Crystal Empire
52 - Intermission: A Grand Day Out

2 - The Same... Yet Different

The train journey to Canterlot was pretty standard fare. Twilight's friends talked among themselves; all of them excited about their roles in the upcoming festivities. Twilight herself just ended up sulking for most of the journey. She had not taken well to the fact that her brother had neglected to tell her he was getting married in person, on top of the fact it wasn’t until the week it was happening. She could not even remember him ever telling her he had a marefriend to begin with. She tried to think back to her last year in Canterlot, but it all became a haze of lessons and studying. Attempting to focus at all was becoming harder; her brain becoming filled with the sound of static or buzzing.

As they got closer to Canterlot, the strange buzzing got louder, until it was all she could think about. Then, all of a sudden, the noises became coherent.

"Voices!?" Twilight jolted up, confused.

"What was that sugarcube?" Applejack questioned, only just catching Twilight's muttering.

"Oh... uh it’s... it’s nothing. Just feeling a bit dizzy..."

"Is it the kind of dizzy you get when you spin around in circles pretending you're a helicopter!" Pinkie jumped up in her usual excitable mannerisms.

"A heli-what-now?" Applejack turned to her unusual pink friend.

"Yeah Pinkie I have no idea what that is..." Twilight deadpanned.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "You guys are so uncultured."

"Helicopters are a recent invention that allows non-Pegasi to fly much easier than with zeppelins, though they haven't got as much space on the inside. I believe Cherry Berry owns one and a few are being tested by the Equestrian military for their usage," Rarity clarified helpfully.

"Oh... I thought that was just Pinkie making stuff up as usual..." Applejack said sheepishly.

"Not this time, darling," Rarity smirked.

"You know what - never mind," Twilight sighed before turning back to the window and staring off into space. The buzzing was there again, but very subdued at the back of her head.

Soon enough the city of Canterlot itself came into view, but as they rounded the mountain they could tell something was off. At first glance, it would look like the city was caught in a giant bubble-gum bubble. In reality, a large pink magical shield had surrounded the entire city; a much larger version than most unicorns could cast around themselves. Twilight could feel the power through her horn, but Twilight could not detect the source, or see anything that might require this scale of defences.

As the train approached the shield; Twilight half expected them to slam into a solid wall of energy. Instead, they passed through an archway flanked by guards, where the shield inside the archway was attuned to let them pass. They slowly came to a stop at Canterlot station, and all of the passengers that exited the vehicle were greeted by a large contingent of city guards on the platform. All of the passengers had their ID's and luggage checked, but Twilight and her friends were waved straight through, on orders from Captain Shining Armor. The group passed through the guard checkpoint, and they were escorted all the way to the castle.

On their arrival, the girls all split up, each being lead to either their rooms, or their work place for the next few days. Twilight said farewell to her friends, as she went off to find her brother; intending to congratulate him and/or throttle him for not telling her he was getting married!
Twilight made her way through the castle to where her brother would be carrying out his duties. As Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, he was in charge of all of the guards in the castle, and throughout Equestria (being called ‘Captain’ was a traditional and ceremonial practice; in reality his actual rank was Colonel), and as such his office was close to the royal wing.

Twilight steadily drew closer to her destination, all the while the buzzing from before was picking up again. She was still dismissing it as a headache until;

"It's her! It's the princess!"

"What?" Twilight said out loud, looking around her.

"Twily!" a voice from a nearby battlement called out, making her forget about the buzzing.

Shining Armor dismissed the guards he was briefing, and then quickly ran down to his waiting sister, who regarded him with a withering glare.

"I've got something to say to you mister!" Twilight shouted at her approaching brother.

"Twily! Ah, I've missed you kid. How was the train ride?"

"How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married?! I'm your sister for pony's sake!"

"It's not my fault! Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?"

"Yeah, there's a big wedding coming up. Maybe you heard about it?" Twilight fired back, moving around behind him.

"It has nothing to do with the wedding. A threat has been made against Canterlot. We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I help provide additional protection.”

Twilight’s face fell after hearing this, but Shining put a hoof to her chin, and raised her head to look at him. “This, you need to see."

With a flash Shining teleported both his sister and himself up onto one of the castles upper most battlements, affording them a brilliant view of the entire city and the shield around it.

"The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders. Staying focused on the task at hoof has been my top priority.

"Okay, okay, I get it. You've got a really important job protecting all of Canterlot with a force field only you can conjure up. But still... how could you not tell me about something as big as your wedding? Am I not that important to you anymore?"

"Hey, you're my little sister; of course you're important to me. But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now."

Twilight gasped in both surprise and joy. "You want me to be your best mare?"

"Well... yeah."

"I'd be honoured!” Twilight suddenly pushed her brother back a full foreleg length, and her tone once again becomes aggressive. “But I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't even know! When did you even meet this 'Princess Mi Amore Cadenza'?"

"Twily, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadance, your old foalsitter."

"Cadance? As in THE Cadance? As in the greatest foalsitter in all the history of foalsitters?!"

"You tell me. She was your foalsitter," Shining Armor chuckled.

"Ohmygoshohmygosh! Cadance is only the most amazing pony ever! She's beautiful, she's caring, she's kind... how many ponies can just spread love wherever they go? I only know of one! And you're marrying her! You're marrying Cadance! You're marrying Cadance!"

"Am I interrupting something?" a new voice spoke out from an open doorway.

The two ponies turned to see a pink alicorn descend a few stairs and walked towards them, her gaze remaining solely on Twilight.

"Cadance! Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Cadance seemed to recoil slightly as Twilight did the little song and dance; Twilight in turn had a wave of both sadness and disappointment role over her. “Don’t you remember our sunshine dance?”

"I'm sorry Twilight I... it's just been so long since I've seen you, and that dance must have slipped my mind when you surprised me..."

"I... guess it's OK but..."

Twilight didn't get to finish her sentence before she was scooped up into a very strong loving embrace.

"I've missed you so much Twilight..."

"Hey Cadance... I've missed you too but... can't... breathe..." Twilight started to turn a new shade of purple.

"Oh!" Cadance blurted, quickly putting Twilight down before giving her an apologetic smile.

Behind Twilight, Shining Armor was doing his best not to burst out laughing. "Well... it’s good to see you two still get along so well, I was worried having spent so much time apart would have spoiled your friendship."

"Never!" both Cadance and Twilight said resolutely.

"So I see. I’m afraid I have to return to my post, try to enjoy all the tedious wedding preparations without me!"

"It will be worth it!" Twilight smiled as her brother teleported away.

Now only the two mares were left on the battlement, Cadance gave a small sigh before addressing Twilight again.

"I really wish we had more time to catch up, but we have a lot of work to do."

"It's okay Cadance, I have some things I need to grab from my parents’ house anyway."

"You do?” Twilight nodded. “OK then. Meet me by the castle kitchens when you're all done, I can hardly set up a wedding without my trusty organiser now can I? Tell you what, come by the castle dining room tonight and we'll get properly reacquainted then."

"I think I... shall," Twilight seemed to sway on the spot for a moment before she shook her head bringing herself back to her senses.

"Twilight? Are you OK?"

"Yeah it's... there's this weird buzzing in the back of my mind and it's making me feel a little dizzy every now and then..."

"Buzzing?" Cadance's face suddenly came over with a look of bemusement, Twilight saw her ear briefly flick as she concentrated for a moment before returning to her original cheery attitude.

'Attention all infiltrators in Canterlot. Immediately cease any attempt to make Head‐based Internal Vocalisation Egregore with Princess Twilight.' She paused for a second, mentally sighed and added almost as an afterthought, 'Or, for the simpletons among you — that means you, Private Pincer! — Don’t. Initiate. H.I.V.E contact!'

"Huh... the buzzing's gone... it got really intense for a few seconds, then stopped completely"

"It was probably just nerves; you've been given quite the responsibility."

"Yeah I guess..."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Cadance asked, genuine concern showing on her face.

"I'm fine! I promise!"

"OK then; I'm just looking out for a little filly I love."

Twilight nodded happily, and the two shared one final hug before parting ways, Cadance heading off to check up on the wedding preparations, and Twilight towards her parents’ house.

Her parents weren't home, that was good. Twilight slowly made her way through her fillyhood home, and climbed up the large staircase leading up to the second floor. Right at the end of the hallway was her old room.

Twilight had always known she had been adopted, and she also knew her biological parents had abandoned her on the doorstep of this very home. Her parents and brother had never hidden the truth from her, but had also made a well-known point that they didn't care. That even though their relation isn't biological; she was their daughter and sister no matter what.

But one event four years ago had cast everything she knew about herself into doubt; she had to wonder if there was more to her abandonment than anypony thought.

Twilight passed the rooms belonging to her parents and brother, and entered into the room that belonged to her. It was still untouched by her parents, despite Twilight rarely using it anymore since she moved to the castle, and then Ponyville.

Twilight looked around to doubly make sure she was alone before slinking further into the room and locking the door behind her. At the far end of the room there sat a full size mirror.

Twilight slowly walked up to the mirror and sat in front of it, looking at a lavender unicorn who sat there staring back, an uneasy expression on her face.

She sat there for a good minute, just looking at ‘herself’ in that mirror.

Then a glow engulfed the room as green flames whipped their way around Twilight, before dying away into nothingness, leaving her to look into the mirror once more.

Instead of a lavender unicorn, Twilight now stared at an equine-like creature. It had a pitch black carapace, a teal mane with a green highlight striking through it, a crooked black horn, glistening fangs and insect-like wings fluttering on its back. Twilight now stared at her true self.

It felt good to be finally able to stretch her wings after keeping them hidden for so long. She would be looking at a true stranger, were it not for the few things that seemed to carry over; her sparkling lavender eyes and the starburst cutie mark on her flank. These things made her recognisable in this form, her true form.

Every now and then Twilight would hide away from the world and look into a mirror, staring at her natural form; both out of sheer curiosity, and because she actually liked how she looked in this form. She had spent months researching in the royal library trying to find references to other things like her, and what she might be, only to find... nothing. She hadn't told anypony about her discovery; she was far too terrified of their reaction. The rational part of her mind knew they would likely accept her as she is, and still love her.

But the irrational side, the side driven by fear, would not let her speak, too afraid of losing everything and everypony; to be cast out of Pony society and shunned by the Princess. The pain brought in by this idea alone was enough to stay her hoof, forever concealing her true form.

And now there was this buzzing...

The buzzing had now died down, but she knew Cadance was wrong. It was not nerves. In her being she knew this buzzing was... natural. It felt natural and Twilight didn't know why, and that scared her.

Green flames engulfed Twilight once more as the pitch black figure in the mirror was replaced by the familiar reflection of Twilight Sparkle, unicorn and personal protégé to Princess Celestia; the form which she was most familiar with but knew was little more than a mask... no matter how hard she had tried to deny it at first.

"What am I?"

Author's Note

And so the story continues! And yet things are only beginning...

You can expect some more coming tomorrow...

(The Changeling Egregore, or groupmind, was a startling evolutionary advantage. It allowed communication between lings and close ranges, but not much else. Each ling was one their own unique wavelength; but could also be taught to pick up others. The exception to this being the Queen. While she could not tell where each ling was, she could pick up and broadcast on any and all wavelengths, and gain a vague directional pull to her conversation partner. In this case; each infiltrator in Canterlot has their own frequency that only they can hear, but they have also been conditioned to all hear one specifically for their class of ling. Chrysalis just used the class specific frequency, telling all infiltrators to STFU. Coincidentally, Twilight, being the next in line, can also pick up all frequencies, which is why she is being overwhelmed by the buzzing in her head.)

3 - Flashback: Discovery

Canterlot castle, four years ago

Twilight happily trotted her way through the hallways of Canterlot Castle, returning to her room after a lesson with Celestia. Today’s lesson had been on teleportation. Despite the fact Twilight almost trapped herself in a wall, she was still in high spirits. At the moment, her room was located in the royal wing, just down the hall from where Princess Celestia's room was. Twilight was looking forward to the restoration of the old observatory, as the princess had promised to make it her own place, as an early birthday gift.

The Royal wing was fine by her in the meantime, as it was usually quiet down there, mostly due to all of the security. It helped her with her studying. Usually the only ponies she would have contact with were the royal guards, who she knew quite well, the princess and Spike. On the weekends she would leave the castle and spend time with her family or Princess Cadance, and even more occasionally she would meet up with her school friends, Lemon Hearts, Minuette, Twinkle Shine, Lyra Heartstrings and Moondancer.

Twilight trotted down the hall; passing a couple of guard patrols, who she briefly greeted before moving on. Twilight soon came to a door at the end of the hall, behind which was her and Spike's room. Opening the door with her magic, Twilight slipped inside and closed it behind her. Her room was fairly large, with an abundance of bookshelves and a big purple bed in the corner. Next to her bed was a basket with a few comics scattered around it.

Spike wasn't in; he was likely out causing trouble for the castle staff as usual. Twilight carefully placed her saddlebags onto the bed and took out the books inside. She began to arrange them on her shelves in a neat fashion, arranged in the order she intended to read them.
But the book she was levitating, a rather large tome, suddenly slipped from her grasp, and made a loud thud as it impacted the floor. Twilight held her head as she began to feel a little faint, she didn't notice green flames whip around her, tearing away the visage of the lavender unicorn she knew, but she did see a green flash.

"Whoa, what was that?" Twilight muttered to herself as she returned to her senses.

She looked around, trying to find the source of the green flash. Twilight's eyes fell onto her ceiling height mirror, upon which a black pony-like creature was staring at her.

"Eeep!" Twilight shrieked out, falling over backwards trying to scramble away. She righted herself, and dived behind her bed. After a few seconds of nothing, Twilight stopped panicking. Deciding to be brave, she peeked up over her quilt. As she did so, the mirror showed the same black creature appear over the top of the reflected bed. It was at this point she realised the creature she saw was her.

At first Twilight sighed in relief, only then hit with a wave of realisation, and began to panic again.

"Why am I an insect pony … thing! I have holes in my legs! My horn is crooked!"

Twilight began rambling to herself; trying to make sense of what was going on, and she was failing miserably. Her thoughts changed from what was she to what would happen if somepony else found out. Would they experiment on her? Banish her?

Not likely, but the scenario crossed her mind anyway. Twilight remained in this state for a solid fifteen minutes before another voice brought her back to reality.

"Twilight? Are you OK?"

Twilight held her breath and closed her eyes, as she heard the door open and the figure of Princess Celestia enter.

'Here it comes – She’s going to banish me, she’s going to…'

"Twilight, what's wrong? You look terrified!"

Confused at the princess' reaction, Twilight opened her eyes, the mirror revealing she was once again a lavender unicorn.

"Oh, nothing, it was nothing; just another one of my panic attacks," Twilight said sheepishly.

Celestia sighed and nuzzled her student affectionately. "You know that if you need to talk that I’m always willing to listen, and you know where to find me."

"Thank you, Princess."

Celestia smiled before giving Twilight another quick nuzzle, turning and leaving the room. She had barely closed the door behind her, before Twilight ran up to the mirror.

"What the hay is going on?" Twilight muttered, thinking with more clarity.

She looked at her own reflection; and focused on the memory of how she had looked a just a few minutes prior.

As she did so, green flames once again whipped around her, and the black creature returned.

Then she focused on her unicorn self, and once again, she became just that.

"Huh, I'm a shape shifter? I wonder if I could... no Twilight, I need to focus please."

Twilight returned to her 'creature form' and observed herself intently.

Seeing herself like this... it felt natural.

"This can't be normal, more research is required!"

Twilight shifted back into her unicorn form, picked up her saddlebag and quickly rushed out of the room towards the library, both curious as to what she might find... and terrified.

Author's Note

I may have these flashbacks between chapters every now and then, though I'm not 100% certain.

This was before she got her own place that we saw in Season 1 and 5.

4 - The Calm Before The Storm

The rest of the day was spent checking up on all of Twilight's friends; seeing how the wedding preparations were coming along. Their first stop of the day was Applejack - Princess Celestia had given her run of the palace kitchens.

The food she had prepared was in Twilight’s opinion, absolutely delicious. But the way Cadance had been acting was getting to her; something was off. It wasn’t just that she was being subtly rude, but that she threw her samples into the bin.

This behaviour had really surprised Twilight, but she didn't say anything. She was also pretty sure Cadance caught her glaring in disapproval. As they progressed through the rest of the group, Cadance acted like a perfect friend, with no sign of the rude individual from earlier.

After Celestia's sun had just set, Luna's moon began to rise, bathing the young night's sky in its cool glow. Twilight and her friends were gathered around a table, outside a restaurant near one of the castle’s gates. The girls sat and talked about their day, and how their own wedding project was coming along, but Twilight herself once again sat in silence, staring into space.

"Twilight darling, are you sure you're okay?" Rarity gently addressed her friend.

"Huh?" Twilight looked at the group of mares.

"Yeah Twilight, you look like you're thinking about a really big secret that you can't tell anypony else out of fear!" Pinkie proclaimed jumping up onto the table, much to Rarity's disapproval.

The six sat in awkward silence for a few moments before Twilight cleared her throat and responded, "It's just, I can't help but feel something's a little... off."

"Off?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, has anypony else noticed anything odd about Cadance?"

"I sure haven't, she seemed really nice when she checked up on me and my bird choir," Fluttershy meekly said.

"Yeah I know but, it's how she acted towards Applejack earlier and... I don't know..."

Rainbow stretched out her exhausted wings, "Well I didn't notice anything, but then again I've been too busy working on my flying for the rainboom I'm meant to perform."

"Honestly sugarcube I jus' think the nerves are getting her a little, jus' as they're gettin' to you now. Your jus' paranoid because you want
your brother's wedding to go off without a hitch."

"Well Cadance said something similar earlier," Twilight seemed unsure.

"There you go then, no need to fret now."

"I suppose you're right," Twilight sighed. "Anypony know what time it is?"

"It's seven thirty!" Pinkie said helpfully while putting her forelegs into the positions of the arms of a clock.

"You're meeting Cadance at eight aren't you darling?" Rarity questioned.

"I am, so I should probably get a move on; see you girls at the rehearsal later?"

"Yup! It's at ten right?" Applejack asked to make sure.

"I believe so," Twilight got up from her seat and began to head towards the castle. "See you all later!"

The castle was unusually quiet that night, aside from the occasional servant or guard. Usually Luna's night court would be in effect, and bring with it a crowd of patrons, but tonight it was closed, Luna herself sitting at the top of the observation tower keeping watch for the alleged threat looming over the wedding.

Twilight entered through the two giant wooden doors that led into the castle's dining room. It was a large, or cavernous room, well lit by the magical sconces, with a large decorated table in the centre. Tonight there was a pink alicorn sat at the end, lost in thought.

"Cadance?"

Cadance seemed to jump slightly as she saw Twilight at the other end of the room, obviously having been in very deep thought. "Twilight! You surprised me, please take a seat!"

Cadance used her magic to pull a chair out, and motioned Twilight to sit down. Already dead on her hooves, she readily complied.

"So Cadance, how have you-"

"I want to apologise..."

"What?"

"For how I acted to your friend earlier; Applejack was it? I shouldn't have acted the way I did."

"Oh! It's fine, I'm sure it was just the pre-wedding jitters getting to you."

Cadance chuckled lightly. "Yes, I'm sure that's what it was, but it still doesn’t absolve my actions."

“Don’t worry about it too much; Applejack didn’t notice it, and I bet my bits she’d forgive you in a heartbeat anyway.” Cadance’s face relaxed, showing the loss of tension. “Now, I skipped on eating with the girls earlier, so what’s on the menu tonight?”

A chef quickly emerged from a side door, carrying a platter to the table. When he removed the lid, it revealed a stack of... hayburgers?

"OK, not what I was expecting when you invited me to dine with you," Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Well you do have a sweet spot for them if I do remember correctly."

Twilight blushed as memories of splattered, demolished burgers came to mind. "Yes OK, I suppose I do. Thank you. But more importantly, are the wedding preparations to your liking?"

"They are, everything is falling into place just like I hoped. Believe me when I say tomorrow will be an event Canterlot will remember for eons to come," Cadance gave a sly smirk.

"Well you're confident; this must mean the world to you!"

"It does, though not for the reason you may think," she smiled warmly to herself.

"Oh?” Twilight cocked her head to one side. “What is the reason then?"

Cadance laughed. "I can't say, it's a bit of a surprise."

"A surprise for Shiny?"

"In a way, I guess..." she replied wispily, a bemused smile gracing her face.

"Yeah, I have absolutely no idea what you're getting at... I suppose I'll just have to wait and see."

Twilight rolled her eyes, gave an exasperated sigh, and proceeded to pick up a hay burger. As Twilight began to, very messily, consume the meal Chrysalis discreetly transferred over some love energy, which Twilight greedily, and unknowingly absorbed. This was a very important event. Chrysalis needed to find out how far along the maturing process her daughter was. In order to judge how far into the change from ‘passive love ingestion’, to ‘active love ingestion’, she could test how quickly Twilight absorbed the direct energy she was given.

"Wow! This is the best hayburger I've ever tasted! Wonder what the chef's secret is..."

"Love of course!"

"Really? You couldn't have said anything more cliché."

"Well... it's true."

"Uh huh... well whatever the secret is I'm going to eat them all!"

Cadance rolled her eyes in amusement, "I thought you might."

After watching her eat half of the platter, Chrysalis estimated that Twilight was roughly fifty percent of the way through the change. This meant she knew how much more she needed in this meal. She was surprised that even when she was this far along, she hadn’t shown any signs of malnutrition; the love from her friends must be of an excellent caliber and quantity. But it also highlighted how important the event of the following days would be, and she was glad to have timed her intervention so well.

Soon Twilight had finished her meal, Cadance eating a few burgers just to save face. They talked a while longer about the wedding, and Chrysalis used this as an excuse to find out more about Twilight's life in Ponyville, and her life in general. Twilight had tried to get some details on when she and Shining became a couple but had gotten very little out of her. Twilight found this a little odd, but brushed it off into the pile of all the other oddities of the past day. Eventually they departed the dining hall, and joined the others at the wedding rehearsal. It went off without any problems.

When the clock struck midnight, the rehearsals finally came to an end and they all departed off to their respective rooms and homes. Cadance had decided to walk Twilight home, promising to meet Shining Armor back at the house later. It was yet another slight oddity; but Twilight appreciated the company all the same. Besides, being in the empty late night streets of Canterlot gave her the creeps.

"Thanks for walking me back Cadance."

"It's fine Twilight, these streets could hold many dangers this late," Cadance moved closer to Twilight, and wrapped a wing around her.

"Crime in general is extremely low here in Canterlot; in fact you won't find much of it throughout Equestria." This being the case, Twilight
still accepted the wing hug, enjoying the warmth Cadance emitted.

"True, but it does exist, and you should never let your guard down. Not for a second."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Cadance pulled her wing tighter. "Well it's my job to teach you these things."

"Who are you, my mother?" Twilight joked.

Cadance didn't answer. In fact, she had stopped moving all together.

“Cadance, are you okay?” Concern radiated from Twilight.

“It’s … it’s nothing, I just … It just hit me, that tomorrow is going to be the most important day of my life.”

Twilight nuzzled Cadance, and the two of them continued on their way.

The home of Twilight’s parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, came into view, and there were no lights on, signalling that they had likely gone to bed; not particularly surprising given how late it was.

They unlocked the door and quietly entered the house, Twilight turned to say her goodbyes to Cadance. Then she began to feel faint, all her muscles seemed to weaken leading her to collapse onto the floor.

"Twilight!"

Green flames whipped around Twilight, as spasms erupted throughout her body, her breathing became erratic and her disguise was destroyed. Twilight slipped into unconsciousness.

Acting quickly, Chrysalis began transferring some of her collected love into Twilight, the spasms slowly coming to a halt, and her breathing became steady.

Giving a sigh of relief Chrysalis, who was still disguised as Princess Cadance, picked Twilight up and carried her up to her room. Twilight was carefully placed onto her bed, and tucked in so she would be comfortable.

She quietly closed the door, before green flames whipped around her and removed the Cadance veneer. She approached Twilight and sat at her bedside, nuzzling her daughter gently.

"I'm sorry Twilight, I miscalculated how much love you would need, even with the abundance your friends and family provide, it wasn’t enough; you must be further along than I thought. That is why what happens tomorrow has to happen, if I don't collect enough love energy for your final stage, you will die, and I will not lose you, not again. I just hope you can forgive me; I love you Twilight. Soon we will be together again, and things will be how they should be, I promise."

Chrysalis just sat there for what seemed like hours afraid to leave her daughter's side, but in the end she re-enabled both Twilight's and her own disguises, and quietly left the house where two ponies and one changeling soundly slept into the night.

Author's Note

For those of you inevitably wondering nothing 'happens' between Chrysalis and Shining, for one she feels it would be incredibly wrong considering his relation to her own daughter.

Anyway take a guess what event goes down next chapter!

5 - The Storm

Celestia's sun began to creep in through the curtains, illuminating the previously dark room. Twilight's sleep filled eyes began to register the warmth upon them, and she slowly opened them up.

After registering the world around her, she sat bolt upright.

"Cadance?" Twilight called out, not able to remember how she had gotten here.

After the last few vestiges of the Sandmare were shaken off; looking around made Twilight realize she was in her own bedroom. The night before was a blur; she remembered that Cadance had walked her home, then they had started to say goodbye to each other - and then... nothing.

But before she could ruminate on the subject, her bedroom door opened up to reveal the form of Twilight Velvet.

"Good morning Twilight! Sorry we weren't awake to greet you when you came home last night, but you were out a little late, don't you think?"

"It was the wedding rehearsal, we just wanted to make sure it was perfect."

Velvet smiled. "I know dear; I still can't believe Shining is getting married today! It seems only five minutes since he was a little colt, strutting around this house playing soldier."

Night Light came up behind his wife and peeked into the room.

"So... when are you getting married then Twilight?"

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaad!" Twilight let out a high pitched whine.

Night Light chuckled. "Oh come now, you must have an eye for somepony!"

"Leave her alone Nighty,” Velvet said as she playfully swatted her husband. “Go and get ready for the wedding, it is in a few hours."

Night Light pouted, before turning away and heading back to the master bedroom.

Velvet rolled her eyes, before turning back to Twilight with a mischievous grin on her face. "So, now that he’s gone and it’s just us mares; is there anypony you’ve got an eye for?”

"That’s it!"

Twilight jumped out of bed and made a break for the door.

"And where do you think you are going?"

"I'm heading up to the castle for breakfast; Rarity has all of our dresses and final fitting is in an hour. See you at the wedding?"

"Of course dear! Now get going, I'm sure your friends are already waiting for you!”

Twilight gave Velvet a quick nuzzle before heading downstairs and out the door.

There was a great buzz going around Canterlot as everypony rushed to and fro. Tables lined the streets, getting ready for the city wide party that was soon to take place. It seemed that all of Canterlot was caught in the excitement of the imminent wedding. Twilight had to treat the streets like a slalom just to make any ground.

Things were no less rowdy at the castle. Servants made the final preparations and guards rushed to close any gaps in security. The Princesses were worried that whoever was plotting against Canterlot would try to strike on this day of celebration; so the guards were formatted to deal with any terrorist threat that could attempt an attack. They all hoped the guards’ presence and the giant shield that still shimmered above them would dissuade any such threat.

Reaching one of the uppermost towers that Rarity had been provided for both accommodations and as a workshop; Twilight was met with the sight of her friends and Cadance already getting ready.

"Ah, Twilight darling, nice of you to join us!" Rarity greeted.

"Sorry if I'm a bit late, rough night, I think."

"You think?"

"Yeah that’s the thing, I don't remember going to bed."

“You were up ridiculously late last night weren't you dear; it could just be the lack of sleep getting to you,” Rarity said as she turned to Cadance. “You didn’t keep her up too long did you?”

Cadance smiled innocently. “Now Rarity, you think I would do something to sabotage the most important day of my life?”

“Now now darling, you know what I meant. Either way, your dress is finished; feel free to head down to the main castle.”

Cadance bid everypony goodbye until later, and left the tower. It wasn’t until then that Twilight looked around and noticed something was missing.

"Hey Rarity, where are the bridesmaids?"

"Oh! Didn't you hear? Cadance's original bridesmaids are unavailable, so us five have been promoted to fill that very role!"

The five mares all nodded proudly, obviously ecstatic about their new roles.

"Unavailable? How so?"

"I am afraid I don't know the details, but something serious must have happened for them all to lose their positions. But come now, let’s not think on such things; we've got a wedding to get ready for!"

Twilight put her concerns to one side and complied with Rarity; all six friends got dressed into their brand new and exquisitely crafted dresses. Everypony complimented Rarity for what could be considered some of her greatest pieces of work yet, despite Rainbow making a comment on how it could be 20% cooler, and they put on the finishing touches. Once that was done with they went and proceeded down to the grand hall where the wedding would take place.

Invited guests, ponies and otherwise, had begun to spill into the hall. Most had already taken their seats when the element bearers arrived.

By the alter at the end of the long red carpet stood Celestia. She was looking over an extensive checklist, one that would make Twilight proud. Shining Armor himself was already on the raised dais, along with Spike who playing the role of ring bearer.

"Shiny!" Twilight rushed to and embraced her brother, trying not to mess up either of their outfits.

"Twily! Looking good LSBFF," Shining complimented his sister.

"Thanks BBBFF, you too. Nervous yet?"

"Absolutely terrified," he smirked.

Twilight giggled, before turning to great her mentor, who had placed her notes to one side and was approaching the group.

"Good morning my most faithful student," Celestia gave Twilight a warm nuzzle.

"Good morning, Princess."

"Might I say Rarity, you have outdone yourself with the dress designs again; both all of you and my niece look amazing."

Rarity blushed. "Oh it was nothing your majesty, and it’s been quite the honour to design them."

"I wouldn't have trusted the job with anypony else."

"May ah ask Princess, where has that sister o' yours gone off to?" Applejack asked, noticing Luna's absence.

It was Twilight who answered. "Applejack, Princess Luna decided she would continue her lookout duties while the wedding takes place, to better detect any threats; but she will be joining us at the reception tonight." Applejack nodded in understanding, and resumed her place to the side of the dais.

About the same time, the guests finished piling in; it would not be long before the wedding got underway.

"Cadance will be here soon my little ponies, you all better get into positions."

The six mares nodded, five of them moved to line the left side of the runway; while Twilight went off and stood by her brother.

Nopony had noticed the slight green glow that had begun to overtake Shining Armor's eyes over the last week; and nopony noticed it now as it got brighter, as the implemented mind control began to power up to full effect.

The whole hall fell into silence as the anticipation of the brides arrival grew larger and larger. Then finally, at long last the two large wooden doors of the hall swung open, and the trumpeters flared to life. The start of the music caused everypony to turn to the now open doors, revealing Cadance in a beautiful white and gold wedding dress. She was escorted in by her flower girls Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

Fluttershy's bird choir joined in and began their rendition of 'Here comes the bride'; as Cadance regally walked down the aisle. However her eyes were not fixed on Shining Armor, but on his best mare.

The buzzing began once again in Twilights head, not as loud as before, but this time it seemed... excited.

Cadance reached the altar, and Celestia began to recite her lines.

"The Princess is coming home."

Twilight was barely listening, but she heard the vows begin to be recited.

"Hang in there your highness."

Twilight knew she should be listening to what was going on in front of her, but the voices where too distracting, panic began to slowly fill Twilight’s being.

"It's time."

The buzzing finally came to an abrupt stop.

Blinking for a second, Twilight refocused on the bride and groom. Celestia looked at Cadance with a warm smile etched on her face, "And do you Cadance, take this stallion to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I... DON'T!"

Shocked gasps echoed throughout the hall; Rarity fainted but all the while Shining Armor just stood there in a zombie like fashion.

Celestia stood there, jaw agape. "Ca... Cadance? What do you mean 'You don't', why?"

A sneer appeared on Cadance’s face; "Considering his relation to my daughter, don't you think it would be a little bit wrong?"

A sinister laugh echoed throughout the hall as green flames began to whip around Cadance, pink fur gave way to pitch black chitin, a transparent silk-like mane and sharp glistening fangs, and the dress she had been wearing disintegrated around her.

Twilight froze in place; she recognized the creature before her. She was just like her.

"I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, and it is my duty to find food for all my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered, so much that it just might save the one I hold most dear. And I'm not asking."

Outside, there was an almighty crash, the noise rebounding throughout the city, as the shield shattered and began to vanish into thin air. Screams where heard as black dots were seen descending on the city. Many of those screams were from the guests as they began to flee from the hall in panic.

Celestia stamped onto the ground and approached Chrysalis threateningly. "You shall not win Changeling! I will protect my subjects no matter what! Twilight, collect the elements!"

Celestia's voice shook Twilight out of her shock induced trance and motivated her into action.

"Girls, with me!"

Using her magic Twilight tore off her dress and galloped towards the door; she was closely followed by the other element bearers, all of whom wore determined expressions and had one goal in mind - to get the Elements of Harmony.

"Twilight! Wait!" Chrysalis shouted out, desperation in her voice.

Celestia reared back to strike at Chrysalis, but was alarmed to see Chrysalis ignore her entirely, and instead pursue the element bearers out of the throne room. Celestia took chase.

All of Canterlot had been thrown into chaos. The Royal Guard had responded immediately, but the sheer size of the invasion force meant they were quickly outnumbered and subdued. The changelings rounded up both guards and civilians, and began the process of draining the love energy out of them. What the guard found the most confusing however; was the amount of restraint shown by the invaders. Ponies were either subdued by magic, holding them still, or by knocked out swiftly if they fought back. Even when they were rounded into groups, nopony received any permanent damage.

Back in the castle, six mares ran through the corridors with purpose, trying to get around the destruction and reach the vault that contained the Elements of Harmony. The route forced them to leave the relative safety of the castle buildings, and make way across a large open courtyard.

As they reached the other side, the element bearers ran straight into a large group of changelings that descended down onto them to block the entrance. The six reared up and got ready for a fight. However as they reached the changelings, they made no move, seemingly mesmerized by Twilight. Then, one by one, they began to... bow.

The mares stopped, stunned.

"OK, that’s just weird," Rainbow remarked.

"They're excited to see Twilight..." a voice sounded behind them.

The six mares jumped round to see the form of Queen Chrysalis standing there, panting slightly. But instead of the intimidating individual they had seen by the alter; she was now smiling warmly, almost affectionately. More specifically she was smiling at Twilight.

Celestia appeared behind Chrysalis. "Stop fiend! You will not harm them!"

"I never had any intention to, and I would never harm my own daughter."

"What?"

"Twilight..." Chrysalis slowly approached, hole ridden hoof outstretched.

Twilight flinched and quickly backed away from Chrysalis, much to her pain.

"Please, leave the elements be, without the love we collect today you will die!"

"What are you talking about!?" Twilight shouted.

Chrysalis sank to her knees, gave a sad sigh. "You are a changeling, Twilight, and you are my daughter, Princess to the Badlands hive! You are in the final stages of maturation, and you need this energy!"

Twilight's face was scrunched, she opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyes seemed to roll into the back of her head; and out of nowhere she collapsed to the floor.

"Twilight!" All those present shouted out in panic.

Much to everypony's shock Chrysalis rushed forwards first and cradled Twilight in her forelegs. Green flames whipped around Twilight as once again her disguise was destroyed.

While both the element bearers and Celestia had started forwards to protect Twilight from Chrysalis, now they had stopped in their tracks and just stood in sheer shock at the sight before them.

Twilight Sparkle was indeed a changeling.

As Chrysalis stared at her daughter’s unconscious form; an antennae like appendage that had started to grow out just behind her horn the night before stood proud. She was at the most critical stage; she needed that love energy, and she needed it now!

"The caves beneath Canterlot," Chrysalis squeaked out.

Celestia looked at the queen, bewildered.

"What?"

"Cadance is in the caves beneath Canterlot; my daughter would never forgive me if I left her to rot."

Chrysalis's horn glowed a bright green; and before anypony could stop her, she teleported both herself and Twilight away. The changelings that had been bowing stretched their wings and scattered themselves to the wind.

Six mares stood in silence for what seemed liked hours, but in fact was just several seconds. You could hear the pin drop, from a sound proof room, on another planet in another galaxy.

Twilight Sparkle – Celestia’s faithful student – Element of Magic – Hero of Equestria – Purger of Nightmare and sealer of Discord - and friend to all of Ponyville - was a changeling, daughter of Queen Chrysalis and Princess to her hive.

The six mares didn’t know what to think anymore.

The ‘fighting’, if it could be called that, continued for another hour. Luna and the guard formed a retaliation strike on the invading changelings. But as each group was approached, the changelings would use purely non-harmful methods to protect their gathered ponies. Only once they were outnumbered would each group relent, taking to the skies and leaving; they had got what they came for.

On the edge of their badlands territory, a large group of Changelings gathered around Queen Chrysalis. The invasion had been a success; they had collected enough energy to both save Twilight, and even feed the hive for the next few months.

Chrysalis looked at the still sleeping form slumped on her back, and smiled. There was work to be done, a lot of it, but she couldn’t feel anything other than joy.

Her daughter was finally home.

Author's Note

And thus the canon is left in the dust...

If you are unaware, I now have an editor! RC2101_Copey. All preceding chapters have been edited as will all future chapters, good thing too because my grammar sucks! :derpytongue2:

6 - Homecoming

Distorted images met Twilights dazed eyes, black figures scurrying to and fro, shades moving around through the surrounding terrain. But that’s all they were to her eyes, shades…

As quickly as her consciousness returned, it left her.

…

The next time Twilight managed to gain some semblance of consciousness, the light of Celestia’s sun was gone. Twilight spied that she was now in a well-lit, mossy brick hallway that arched towards the ceiling. Chitin like material was sewn into the structure giving it an almost organic feel.

There were even more shades now, all scrambling towards Twilight in excitement, before slowly retreating as some protective force kept them at bay. But what kept them back, or rather… was it ‘who’?

Twilight tried to make sense of her situation, to remember how she came to be here, but a pounding head kept Twilight from making any sense of her thoughts. As if something sensed her discomfort, her mind became filled with soothing voices comforting her, and it helped her drift back into a blissful sleep.

Twilight awoke with a start. She laid still for several minutes as memories of previous events caught up with her.

The Wedding.

Cadance.

Those all too familiar creatures.

And what happened just before she lost consciousness.

"You are a Changeling Twilight, you are my daughter, Princess to the Badlands hive! You are in the final stages of maturation, and you need this energy!" the frenzied Queen proclaimed.

Twilight scrunched her face, she thought back to a certain mirror, and the creature she would often see within.

Daughter…

It couldn’t be true, could it?

Twilight opened her mouth to deny the Queen's claims, but before she could all of Twilight's bodily functions seemed to rapidly shut down one by one. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as Twilight felt her disguise begin to peel away.

‘No… they can’t find out like this…’

“Twilight!” several voices shouted out as Twilight Sparkle impacted the ground, eyes closed.

The last thing Twilight felt before slipping into darkness was the feeling of somepony scooping her up into a warm, motherly embrace, stroking her mane softly as she drifted to sleep.

All memories after that were a blur, but it was the implication of her final clear memory that caused panic to fill Twilight.

“Did they see me? What I really am?” Twilight said to herself in a panicked tone.

But before her panic could go any further, Twilight sat up and took several deep breaths, just like Cadance had taught her all those years ago.

“OK Twilight, let’s focus on the immediate problems first, where the hay am I?”

Twilight examined the object on which she sat, it was a large comfortable queen-sized bed adorned with silk, most likely exported from Saddle Arabia. The bed was located at the end of a large room, centred in the middle facing the door. Just to the right of the bed was a desk with an inkwell and candle sitting on top, to the left sat a tall mirror. At the centre of the room sat a round table with comfortable looking cushions spread around. The floor was a polished wood while the walls were stone brick with chitin like materials sewn into them. But what really caught Twilight's attention was what sat along the lengths of both the left and right-hoof sides of the room…

“Books!” Twilight squealed in excitement.

Two large bookcases sat on either side of the room stretching from end to end. Twilight jumped out of her bed to examine the collection herself. Tracing a hoof along the shelf Twilight noted all the books were (thankfully) already set up in alphabetical order, but while many of the books were Equestrian in origin, Twilight saw some books she was unfamiliar with, books written in a dialect she was unfamiliar with.

As she continued to trace her hoof along the shelf she noticed something about said hoof.

It had holes in it.

Twilight groaned as her fears were confirmed, her disguise had been ripped away in front of those she held dear.

Before Twilight could think any more on the matter, the bedroom door opened with a creak and a feminine looking changeling strolled in, saddlebags hanging from her side with a red medical cross emblazed on them.

Both mares froze as their eyes met, the changeling drone's eyes widened in fear.

“Y… your highness I’m sorry for barging in bu…”

The drone saw Twilight continue to stare, unmoving. She had been made aware beforehoof of the princess’s issues when it came to panic attacks, and thus prepared herself for her inevitable reaction to waking up in a strange room and seeing one of the beings who had just attacked the city where she was raised.

Instead the drone suddenly found Twilight right up to her, almost muzzle to muzzle, with the biggest childlike grin she had ever seen etched into her face.

“You’re like me! What are we called? Where am I? Did you give me these books? Who are you? Why do we have holes in our hooves? What’s our history? Can you teach me to read your language? Do you have any more books? Do you…"

Twilight stopped herself as she saw the drone shrink down, eye twitching at the sudden bombardment.

“Oh… sorry…”

“Honestly, that’s not the reaction I expected…” the drone sighed.

“Yeah… well… anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“I am well aware, your highness. My name is Panacea, I am at your service!” Panacea bowed down in front of Twilight.

“Wait, did you just call me ‘your highness’?”

A slight bit of panic returned to Twilight.

Panacea looked up. “Perhaps your mother should do the explanations, it really isn’t my place to do so.”

“Mother?” Twilights thoughts went back to the wedding.

“You are a Changeling Twilight, you are my daughter, Princess to the Badlands hive!”

“Are we… in the Badlands?”

“We are, your highness.”

Dread fell over Twilight. “Then that means…”

Another figure emerged through the already open door. “I’m afraid it does, Twilight”.

Queen Chrysalis looked down upon Twilight, a warm motherly smile worn on her face.

“You!” Twilight shouted in anger, quickly taking up a defensive stance.

Chrysalis flinched at Twilight’s reaction to her, despite expecting it.

“Panacea, leave us.”

Panacea gave another quick bow before hastily retreating from the room.

“You’ve been here two days and you’ve already traumatised one of our subjects,” Chrysalis joked, trying to lighten the mood.

It failed.

“Two days?! Why am I here Chrysalis? What happened to my friends?!”

“Oh, I assure you that your friends, and that little city of theirs, are quite safe; I got what I needed and left, as was always my intention. Changelings are a race that stick to the shadows, if fate hadn’t forced my hoof the attack would never have happened.”

“Changeling, that’s what we’re called?”

“Yes, you seem to be taking the revelation of you not being a pony remarkably well.”

“Oh don’t worry, I’ve known for years!”

“You’ve… how?”

“My disguise failed in private, now, why did you attack us? How did fate force your hoof exactly?” Twilight demanded to know, her defensive posture not wavering.

“Love, Twilight. Both for love energy, and the love of the changeling I care for the most in this world, you.”

“Me?” Twilight deadpanned disbelievingly.

“Twilight, you’re my daughter, you’re my baby girl,” Chrysalis’s voice cracked slightly, her emotional tone making Twilight slowly drop her defensive stance.

“Impossible!”

“Is it? You already know you’re a changeling; Twilight Velvet couldn’t possibly be your birth mother! I am!”

“I…” Twilight wanted to dispute her, to deny it, but she sensed no deception within the Queen’s voice.

Panic and fear gave way to anger.

“Then why did you abandon me?! Leave me on somepony’s doorstep? And then why come back for me now?”

Chrysalis recoiled slightly, before giving a sad sigh.

“Walk with me…”

“Pardon?”

“Take a walk with me, I will explain everything.”

“With you? You’re joking right?”

“Please I… I would never harm you.”

Twilight looked up into the Queen’s pleading eyes, and then she relented.

“Fine…”

Both changelings left the bedroom behind and began to walk down long winding hallways, several drones bowed as they passed, and a few voices entered Twilight's mind.

There was silence between the two few a little while, before Chrysalis broke that silence.

“I didn’t abandon you…”

“What?”

“I didn’t abandon you! I had no choice!”

“Oh really? Queen Chrysalis, you always have a choice!”

“OK, so I did have a choice then, but it was a shitty one!”

Twilight flinched, ponies had a bit of a taboo against swearing in any form.

“I…” Chrysalis’ voice sounded pained. “I had to either give you up, or let you die.”

“Die?”

“Yes, die. Before coming here you collapsed, that was because you are a ‘Queen Class’ of Changeling. During your maturation process, your final stages of growth need a substantial amount of love energy to live – more so then you had ever absorbed before that point. While adult queens and drones can survive without love, just with standard food, we are weak without it. Eighteen years ago, soon after your birth our hive went into the worst love shortage in over two hundred years! I simply didn’t have enough love energy to feed you. During that time many of my subjects became too weak to even move out of bed. So you see, if I had kept you with me I would just have witnessed you die of starvation. I could not allow that to happen, so I sent you away.”

“To Equestria…”

“Yes, Equestria has more love than any other society I have ever encountered. The love of your adopted family, of your friends, kept you alive all this time. Hay, you even became the element of magic and defeated two beings that would have destroyed us all! I was so proud of you...”

“So I got my love energy off of my family and friends? So why an invasion?”

Chrysalis sighed, stopping just in front of a large set of guarded double doors.

“I miscalculated the love you would need, so when your final stage of maturation came about, the most crucial stage, as you were you wouldn’t have had enough love energy to survive. I had to act fast. I promise I didn’t harm a single pony that day, I even told them where to find Princess Cadance. She’s alive and well, back with her fiancé.”

“What’s so crucial about this ‘final stage’ of maturation?”

“That.” Chrysalis materialised a hoofmirror and hung it in front of Twilight, a crown-like antennae had grown out just behind her crooked horn, an appendage just like Queen Chrysalis’.

“That allows you to be connected to every Changeling within our hive, not just your class of ling, which when you were younger would have just been me.”

“Con… connected? Is that the voices I have been hearing? That buzzing from earlier?”

“Yes… though they really should be leaving you be right now.”

Twilight heard a broadcast through her mind. “Attention, while my daughter is now capable of understanding you, until I acclimatise her to the hive you will not make contact outside of emergencies."

Sure enough, the voices in Twilight's head died away, albeit begrudgingly.

“Huh, how does this hive mind work?” Twilight’s inquisitive nature kicked in.

"The Changeling Egregore, or hive mind, is a startling evolutionary advantage. It allows communication between changelings at close ranges, but not much else. Each changeling is on their own unique wavelength; but can also be taught to pick up others. The exception to this being queens like us. While I cannot tell where each changeling is, I can pick up and broadcast on any and all wavelengths, and gain a vague directional pull to my conversation partner. For example, each infiltrator in Canterlot had their own frequency that only they could hear, but they have also been conditioned to all hear one specifically for their class of changeling."

“Fascinating, it must have been such a complex evolutionary journey to reach this point…”

Chrysalis chuckled. “I know how much you love to research, and books. Later on, I will teach you our written language, so you can read all of our books and research to your heart’s content.”

“You know of my love for books?”

“Oh Twilight, while you may have been raised by the ponies, I was never far away.”

“Wait, every November fourteenth we would receive mysterious gifts, books usually. One of the earliest, however, was my Smarty Pants doll, was that… you?”

Chrysalis nodded. “I made that doll myself, I was so happy to see how much you loved that doll.”

“Yeah well, Big Macintosh seems to love it just as much nowadays…”

“Yes, well I never wanted to miss out on your birthdays just because of our situation.”

“Birthday? My birthday is on January eighteenth. Oh wait, that was the day you left me wasn’t it?”

“Yes, you were really born on November fourteenth; you spent most of those two months in a cocoon, as all Nymphs do just after birth.”

“So wait, do you give birth to all changelings like insects do or…”

“What? No! We have male and females just like the ponies do.”

“Interesting, do you…”

Chrysalis anticipated Twilight's question. "And no, we can't turn ponies into changelings, that’s a myth; reproduction works just like with ponies, male and female. Changelings can form their own relationships and produce offspring. A queen chooses her mate after very careful consideration and she is the only one who can give birth to female queens. There are no ‘male queens’. Since queens can only birth queens, it is essential we have an heir before we pass lest our hive decay without a queen to run the hive mind. Should that happen, changelings would either have to find another hive or simply die.”

“They need to be connected to the hive mind?”

“Yes, it’s written into our biology, losing it is like losing a vital organ. Your life expectancy is cut short.”

“So how long can queens live?”

“Oh thousands of years, I myself am one thousand and thirty-five years of age. I took over when my mother was killed by a rogue dragon around six hundred years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry…”

“It's fine, I moved on a long time ago...” Chrysalis sighed. “Anyway, enough of history and science lessons, there’s something I want you to see.”

Chrysalis finally placed a hoof on one of the doors and pushed it open, revealing an extremely large throne room reminiscent of Canterlot castle's. Like the rest of the structure, the walls were stone brick mixed in with chitin-like materials; the floor, however, was a dark marble. A dark purple carpet led from the door up to two obsidian thrones, the larger stood in the centre bearing down menacingly. The smaller throne sat just to its left, a lavender starburst cutie mark adorned on the backrest.

“My cutie mark?”

“Yes, I had the throne installed soon after I gave you up, the mark was added only yesterday, when I saw you still had yours. Something to do with you bearing the Element of Magic if I was to hazard a guess.”

“Never mind that, why is that throne even there?”

“Well…” Chrysalis took on an almost timid posture, where did the intimidating queen that attacked Canterlot go? “Twilight I… you’re my daughter, I love you. I want us to finally be together… as a family.”

“I already have a family! You know what? This trip has been very interesting but I can’t stay here. I would like to go home now.” Twilight stamped her hoof, resolute.

“But, Twilight you are home!”

“You think I could ever make a home with the changeling that attacked Canterlot? That harmed my brother? I know the reasons, and in time I might forgive, but I can’t forget what you did!” Twilight shouted, her anger getting the better of her.

Chrysalis looked away, defeated. “You may leave should you wish.”

Twilight recoiled, surprised by the Queen's reaction. “Just like that?”

“I’m a mother, not a jailor. At the end of the day, I just want you to be happy.”

Chrysalis rushed out of the room without another word, leaving behind a stunned Twilight.

Despite her remaining anger, Twilight couldn’t help but feel bad for her outburst, but her mind was made up. Twilight left the throne room, closing the doors behind her.

Elsewhere, in the dead of night in Canterlot, a single lone changeling love collector, one from different hive to Chrysalis’, fearfully scrambled away from his pursuers, diving into an empty alleyway and taking on the form of a brown stallion with an arcade joystick cutie mark. He really wished he could turn into a crow or something, but changeling biology only allowed for transformation into equine shaped life forms unless the changeling in question was particularly skilled with the ability.

“I thought the guards were ordered to capture, not kill…” the changeling muttered, fear in his voice.

He remained in his hiding spot for a good twenty minutes before deciding he was safe. Still disguised, he slowly trotted into the empty street. He continued to walk down the street, planning on heading to the train station and getting the hay out of the city, it was far too dangerous after that idiot queen attacked the place.

An arrow whizzed through the air and dug into the changeling's right foreleg. Shouting in pain, he fell to the ground.

Looking up he saw several Solar Guards approach him, hate written on their faces. These guards obviously were acting independently, Solar Guards were never on duty that late. The lead Solar Guard, a Pegasus with a white coat and a blonde mane, approached with his sword drawn.

“You couldn’t run from us monster!”

“I had nothing to do with the attack, I’ve lived in Canterlot for four years, and I’m a pizza delivery pony, not a soldier!”

“You’re no pony! And I don’t care if you’re are innocent or not, your race is an affront to our harmony-driven land!”

“How is what you’re doing harmonious?”

The guard didn’t answer, instead, he kicked the changeling in the stomach, hard.

“You… are… the monster,” the changeling wheezed.

The guard lifted up his sword and drove it into the changeling's heart, killing him instantly.

One of the other guards ran up to his superior and saluted. “Nice kill sir! What should we do with the creature?”

Commander Broad Sword turned to the other guard. “Whatever you like, just as long as the others don’t find out. They are too loyal to those fools of princesses, ‘capture only, no killing’ Celestia said, what a load of rubbish. We will protect Equestria from these creatures, even if they won’t.”

Twilight began to walk down corridor after corridor, looking for the exit to the hive. Her thoughts were with her family and friends, what would they think of her now? Despite her remaining fear of rejection, she wanted nothing more right now than to be reunited with them. After about ten minutes of walking, Twilight realised she was hopelessly lost and she appeared to have stumbled into a residential part of the hive. This area was a much wider corridor with potted plants running down the middle, doors ran down either side leading into the apartments the changelings called home.

“Maybe I should just ask for directions, I mean I am the Princess right? They have to tell me.”

Looking around her, Twilight could see several changeling families watching her, both nervous and confused as to why their princess seemed to be in such a hurry. It would seem Chrysalis hadn’t informed them of her imminent departure.

Twilight was about to ask a nearby couple for the directions she wanted, but she saw a small changeling female break away from the crowd and approach her. The child sat down in front of her and looked up with adoring eyes.

“You’re the Princess!”

“Well, not really but…”

“You’re really pretty!”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile at the adorable nymph. “Well thank you, nice of you to say.”

The child smiled happily. “The Queen has been so happy to have you with us again!”

“Uh, was she now…”

“Uh-huh! My parents say that the Queen loves you very much and that you’re all she talked about for the last eighteen years, waiting for the day she got you back! You’re lucky to be here, I don’t know what I would do without my mama!”

“She was… really excited to see me again huh?”

The child nodded furiously. “One time after I snuck out of the hive, Mama said that she loves me so much that if she lost me, she would’ve just stop working. It must be like that for your mama too!”

The child looked into Twilight's eyes, with adorable puppy eyes that would give Spike’s a run for his bits.

‘Guilt tripped by a child… typical.’

Twilight noticed a passing guard and called out. “Hey, do you know where the Queen might be?”

Chrysalis’ sobs were filtered out by the enchantment surrounding her room and she had ordered her drones to leave her be, no point in her subjects seeing or hearing her state. Her room was very similar to Twilight's, but instead of the bookshelves, she had collections of items she had gathered over the years, whether that be art or random trinkets.

In her hooves, Chrysalis held tightly onto a fragment of a cocoon, the very one in which Twilight had once been held. She had known there was a possibility her daughter would reject her, but she had hoped against hope that it wouldn’t turn out like that.

She was wrong.

Her daughter would be leaving her, at least she would be alive and happy, her friends and family’s love would be enough from here on out. But nothing could fill the hole that was quickly consuming Chrysalis’ heart. She slowly traced a trembling hoof over the fragment, tears staining the bedsheets.

A creak caught her attention as she heard the door open and close again, turning her head she saw the last changeling she expected standing there.

“Twilight?”

Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes, she had seen a more vulnerable side to the Queen during their talk, but nothing had prepared her for this.

“You… you really do love me, don’t you?”

Chrysalis managed a smile. “Yes… forever and always. Why are you still here?”

Twilight gingerly approached Chrysalis.

“Because… I’m going to give you a chance… Besides, I still have a bunch of questions!”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened as hope re-filled the hole in her heart. Her tears of sadness turning to joy, she jumped to pull Twilight into an embrace.

“Thank you…” she croaked out.

‘Maybe everything will work out after all’ Chrysalis mused.

Author's Note

Lots and lots of dialogue, was quite fun to write!

I'm sure Commander Broad Sword won't be a problem in the future...

7 - Flashback: Birth

Badlands Hive, Eighteen Years Ago

The entirety of the Badlands hive was in a state of celebration. Families had gathered in the hallways and plazas of the hive around the palace, eagerly awaiting the birth of the new princess. And only moments ago, it had just been announced over the hivemind; the Princess had arrived.

While the celebrations and street parties got underway, one individual lay quietly, on a bed in the royal infirmary. And in that bed, Queen Chrysalis lovingly stared at the small form in her forelegs, the medical drones’ having silently excused themselves to give the Queen personal time with her new daughter.

A small squeak came from the tiny nymph as she looked upon her mother for the first time, their eyes meeting. Chrysalis saw sparkling lavender meet her green, and a small tear slowly slid down her cheek, as a smile stretched widely across her face.

“Hello little one,” Chrysalis addressed the nymph with a small chuckle. “I have been very much looking forward to meeting you… Twilight… And I’m not the only one.”

As if on cue, the infirmary door opened, and a rather muscular changeling walked in - Virum. Virum’s parents had fled from a dying hive shortly before his birth; its queen had been killed during a skirmish with a rival hive. As such, as adoptive members of the hive, his family was of next to no social standing. He himself was a changeling who used to work in agriculture, growing crops to sate the changelings need for more physical foods. Nowadays, he was more known for being the husband of Queen Chrysalis – Duke Virum - and the father of the hive's newest princess. Chrysalis had always thought she would end up following the cliché of falling for a captain in her personal guard, but in the end it was a simple crop growing drone that had captured her heart.

“Virum, over here,” Chrysalis softly summoned her husband.

Slowly Virum approached his wife, his eyes fixed on the nymph in her hooves. “She’s beautiful honey, just like her mother.”

Chrysalis chuckled. “Well, she’s got your eyes.”

Virum indeed had glowing lavender eyes instead of the standard blue, a trait unusual among changelings.

“The best of both worlds!” Virum laughed. “I just hope we get to see her grow into the wonderful changeling I know she will be.”

Chrysalis’ mood soured slightly. “Virum… I know you’re worried about the love shortage, but it will get better… I promise.”

“And if it doesn’t? Some of the others are already starting to feel its effects, the reservoir is drying up and there are a minority that speak dissent. If we don’t get some more love energy soon… Promise me we aren’t going to lose her!” Virum couldn’t stop a few tears coming to his eyes as he looked pleadingly at his wife. “Promise me that no matter what happens she will grow up safe.”

Smiling Chrysalis used a free hoof to wipe a tear from Virums face. “I promise I will never let anything happen to Twilight.”

Virum nodded. “Okay, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have…”

He didn’t get to finish as Chrysalis pulled him into a loving kiss. Twilight watched the display in curiosity, before drifting to sleep in the comfort of her parent’s presence.

Present Day

Chrysalis awoke from her slumber with a start, looking from side to side frantically trying to find out where she was. She had been dreaming. Dreaming of better times, before the love shortage… before his death.

Looking to her side, Chrysalis saw the piece of Twilight's cocoon still sat on the bed. Sighing, she grabbed it with her green aura and gently placed it back into a small chest before she slid it under the bed. Sooner or later Chrysalis would have to tell Twilight about her father, about Virum.

Her body tensed with overwhelming emotion as her thoughts drifted to her deceased husband, yet she found comfort in the fact her daughter was back with her, and while she had yet to come to think of her as a mother, the fact she was giving her a chance… Now was not the time to dwell in the past.

Not when the future began to look so bright, and she still had a promise to keep.

Author's Note

Another flashback before we continue, sorry for the lack of a full chapter I haven't had time to write, promise to get it out for next weekend!

8 - Post Wedding Blues

Canterlot, one day before Twilight's awakening.

A somber mood blanketed the pony capital of Canterlot. An increased guard presence patrolled the streets and a tense atmosphere had built up among the civilian population. A sense of paranoia and confusion remained prominent among the population in wake of the recent attack.

Deep within the halls of Canterlot castle, a group sat in the royal dining room, contemplating the revelation that has shaken them all to their very cores.

Twilight Sparkle was a changeling.

“I just find it hard to believe that the egghead was a bug this entire time!” Rainbow groaned.

“Rainbow Dash, we will not devolve into using such derogatory terms about our friend, or her kind!” Rarity glared at the cyan Pegasus in disapproval.

“Well… it’s true!”

As the wonderbolt hopeful and the fashionista bickered, the others sat in an uncomfortable silence. Princess Celestia stared out of the window, a war going on within her own mind.

Princess Luna grew irritated with the nearby bickering and moved in to stop them. “Rarity and Rainbow Dash, your friend has been taken against her will and your bickering isn’t helping.”

“But what if Twilight was in on the plan!?” Rainbow lashed out. “What if she’s been playing us the entire time and-”

“Rainbow Dash that is quite enough,” Luna calmly, but angrily, silenced the Pegasus.

“Just because Twilight is a changeling doesn’t mean we should judge her, she’s been nothing but a friend to us and we shouldn’t abandon her now!” Fluttershy interjected with a rare bout of confidence. “I mean, would it matter if I was?”

Rainbow bowed her head and slunk back into her chair guiltily. “No, Fluttershy’s right, it doesn’t.”

“Do you think Twilight has a different name?” Pinkie pondered out loud.

The others looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“Think about it, her name might have just been part of her cover; I think Amaryllis would be a good name.”

“Ama-what now?” Applejack questioned.

“I don’t know.” Pinkie shrugged. “I just think it would be a good name for a changeling Twilight.”

“Right…” Applejack turned to Shining Armor. “How are ya parents doing?”

Shining sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on with my parents, they just about threw me out of the house when I told them… They told me that they wanted to process everything on their own for a little while.”

Cadance draped a comforting wing over her fiancé, giving him a light nuzzle.

“Well I don’t know about ya’ll, but ah don’t think Twilight had a thing to do with the attack, for her to do so wouldn’t make a lick of sense. For one thing, the Element of Magic chose her; and secondly, ah could’ve told ya if she had been lying about who she was, being the Element of Honesty an’ all, but ah couldn’t sense a scrap of deception on her part.”

“I concur with Applejack,” Cadance spoke up. “I’ve known Twilight for a very long time, since she was just a sweet little filly… or nymph –is it? She would never have taken part in such an attack, or withheld information willingly.”

“Despite the monster her mother is,” Rainbow muttered.

“I’m not sure ‘monster’ would be the word to describe the Queen,” Cadance defended quickly, and rather unexpectedly.

Celestia finally turned away from the window, finally registering the ponies before her. “Cadance? What do you mean?”

“Well, while I was down in those caves she had every opportunity to kill me, or at the very least simply leave me to rot down there. But she didn’t. Instead she made sure I was well fed, and that I remained in overall good health. If it wasn’t for the magic suppressing ring around my horn, and the straps on my wings, I might have been able to escape the caves myself.”

Celestia hummed in contemplation. “During the attack, what was the last thing Chrysalis said to us.”

The others looked at her questioningly, but none of them offered up the answer.

“She said to us, ‘Cadance is in the caves beneath Canterlot; my daughter would never forgive me if I left her to rot’; now what do you all make of that?”

A few awkward looks passed between the group. “It would appear the Queen is genuinely affectionate towards Twilight, and is desperate to get on her good side,” Luna answered.

Shining smacked the table to get everypony’s attention. “Whatever her reasons, she imprisoned my fiancé, invaded our capital and foalnapped my sister!”

Shining’s outburst was met with scowls from all three princesses, cowing him back into his seat.

“Before we make any definitive actions, we must have answers. Those answers however, likely lay with the Queen, and perhaps Twilight herself.”

“So we get the egghead back?”

“Oh oh oh!” Pinkie pulled out a black and white striped shirt, a black mask and a black beanie, all of which she promptly wore. “Jailbreak!” she exclaimed enthusiastically.

Shining looked at the pink mare in confusion. “Where did you get those?”

“Oh I keep different sets hidden around Equestria in case of jailbreak emergencies. Now I might also need a torch, some chewing gum to climb up walls with… huh, I wonder if I could make a chewing gum flavoured cake? Or perhaps a cake flavoured chewing gum?” Pinkie took a sudden intake of breath. “A chewing gum flavored cake with cake flavoured chewing gum!”

“I… well… we… what?”

It took all of Luna’s mental power to stop just short of facehoofing. “While I know you we all want Twilight back, we have to face the possibility that Twilight won't actually want to come back.”

The elements all took a huge breath in, and wore shocked expressions, but Celestia just sighed. “While it might be hard to accept, my sister may be right. Say, hypothetically, that Twilight already knew she was… different, all of her life. She would likely have felt an outcast, afraid to reveal what she truly was - a scenario that would actually go a long way to explain some of her old social anxiety. And now she is among her own kind, she may not want to leave.”

“And if she didn’t know?” Rarity questioned. “All due respect your highness, but we simply can’t know for sure unless we get Twilight back and ask the poor darling ourselves.”

“My sister and I can further discuss our response to these events later, but for now I'm more curious on how you all feel about Twilight; if she returns would you be able to accept her as a changeling, rather than a unicorn?” Luna’s stared steely at the Element Bearers, sweeping across them, and lingering on Shining Armor.

It was Rainbow that spoke up first. “OK, I know what I said five minutes ago, but like you said I was out of line. What kind of Bearer of Loyalty, or friend, would I be if I left the egghead to rot in some bee hive? Twilight’s our friend, ling or not.”

All the other Element Bearers voiced their agreements, nodding heads vigorously.

Shining also agreed with the sentiment. “She is my sister, it’s her… mother that I’ve got issues with, not her. The sins of the parent should never reflect on the child. She is, and always will be, my LSBFF.”

Luna nodded in approval. ‘I know what it is like to be judged for what you are rather than who you are, I pray Twilight doesn’t have to go through the same pain I once did.’

“I would have expected nothing less,” Celestia smiled, moving to give her sister a wing hug. “You five are welcome to stay at the castle for as long as you wish, but for now Luna, Cadance, Captain Armor and I will decide our next course of action.”

The five ponies in question all got up from their seats, and after bidding farewell to the Element Bearers began to leave the dining hall.

“Bring her back safe, won’t you princesses?” Applejack called after them.

Celestia turned to look back at the five still sitting at the table. “I promise, I will bring my student home… if that is her wish.” With that Celestia left the dining room, walking down the castle’s long winding hallways beside her sister. Celestia’s thoughts never strayed from her protégé the whole time, and she worried for her well-being.

‘Please come home to me, Twilight…’

“Captain, gather your Lunar counterpart and both of your executive officers, we will continue this in the throne room.” Shining threw a quick salute, before trotting off as asked.

Luna adopted a sly smirk. “The throne room, Tia? Then I will personally inform the servants that we aren’t eating in the dining hall, and all of that cake you require before you can effectively rule Equestria will be brought to the throne room. Is that okay with you, sister?”

“Luna!”

Author's Note

Not sure about this chapter, kept writing and re-writing the dialogue. Next chapter out later tonight!

And yes that was a Mirror's Image reference. :trollestia:

10 - The Changeling Princess

The Day After Twilight’s Awakening, Badlands Hive

A drone squirmed uneasily as Twilight, carrying all sorts of medical examination equipment, poked and prodded the unfortunate changeling with an ever so slight mad look on her face.

“A-all due respect your highness, couldn’t you research our physiology by, you know, reading our own books on the matter?” the very uncomfortable drone asked in barely concealed desperation.

Continuing her examination, Twilight answered. “All in good time! I want to get a look at our physiology myself before comparing my findings to that of others!”

The drone could only groan in exasperation as Twilight continued on.

“I mean, wow this is fascinating! When we disguise do we take on other forms physically or is it some sort of advanced projection or perception filter?”

Before the drone could begrudgingly answer the question, the door to Twilight’s room swung open and the tall form of Queen Chrysalis strutted in. “It would be, to an extent, the former my darling Twilight. Though not completely; for example, our magic colour carries over to a changeling's disguised form. Did you sleep well?”

“Oh” Twilight started. “Morning… Chrysalis. I couldn’t really sleep last night so… I just thought I’d get some research in!”

“And I’m the Guinea Pig,” the drone muttered under his breath.

“I see,” Chrysalis remarked. She tried to hide how much Twilight using her name bothered her, but a grimace still crossed her face. “Well, if you’re quite done torturing our own subjects perhaps you would like a tour around the hive? There is still much of our little society for you to see my daughter.”

“I would like that,” Twilight quickly put her equipment to one side before smiling, slightly apologetically, at the unfortunate drone. “Thanks for helping out!”

The drone stopped just short of saying 'Any time your highness', and instead chose to simply bow to the two royal changelings before rushing out of the room as fast as he politely could.

With a light chuckle Chrysalis motioned a hoof towards the door, before following Twilight out into the hallway beyond.

Back in the same residential area where Twilight had made a scene the previous day, a certain nymph scurried her way across the large hallway while bidding her friends goodbye. She burst excitably into the apartment she and her family called home, just in time to see her mother place onto the dining table the nymph’s favorite equestrian food item… waffles.

“Iuvenes, there you are my darling!” Panacea smiled warmly, becoming ever-so-slightly amused at seeing her daughter staring down the waffles; drool was even beginning to pool on the floor.

Panacea finished serving the syrup smothered waffles before motioning her daughter to take a seat at the table, instructions Iuvenes followed all too gladly.

As Iuvenes plunged her chitin clad face into the delicious treat a bedroom door opened up revealing a burly Changeling wearing dark blue armor, along with an iron, obsidian hilted sword strapped to his side. His blue orb-like eyes fell on his family, his daughter annihilating a plate of waffles and his wife staring lovingly back.

“Are you sure you can’t stay for breakfast? It’s waffles!” Panacea exclaimed.

Captain Carduus chuckled, before letting off a small sigh. “I wish I could, but now we’ve been assigned to the princess as her protection detail, I can hardly ignore my orders.”

“Honestly what’s going to harm her here, in the hive? The Queen rarely ever walks around with her personal guard detail while here so why would the princess?”

“It’s more to do with the princess being new to the hive, I believe her highness wants to familiarise Princess Twilight with all aspects of her new life, including her own protection detail.”

“So it’s just meeting and greeting then?”

“Pretty much.”

A voice pinged over the hive. “Captain, we’re all geared up and waiting on you by the atrium.”

“Understood, be there in five.”

“I’ve got to go, look after yourselves now.”

“We will,” Panacea nodded.

Carduus gave his wife a light nuzzle before giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead, she briefly looked up to give her father a gleeful smile before returning to demolishing a second plate of waffles.

With that Carduus exited his quaint apartment and marched off to perform his duties.

'Time to meet the princess’

Exiting yet another winding corridor Twilight turned her head to look up at Chrysalis. So far they had been to several residential districts, an underground play-park for the nymph’s, a nursery of several green pods containing new-borns, a library (It took a while for Chrysalis to coax Twilight out of there) and an underground farm among other areas. And still the hive stretched on with no sign of stopping.

“How big is this place exactly? It’s like a city down here!”

“It is a city. We have a population of just over ten thousand Changelings living here. Around three thousands of those drones act as soldiers and guards while the rest live more ordinary lives with ordinary jobs. Beneath the surface we’re not that much different from the ponies.”

“I see; how big a population do changeling hives usually hold?”

“We… are actually one of the smaller hives, though we are by no means the smallest. Others can go well into the tens of thousands of drones,” Chrysalis explained.

“The largest hive however belongs to Queen Crudelis, who has around two hundred thousand drones to her name,” Chrysalis spat Crudelis’s name out like it was coated in the vilest poison known to changeling kind.

Twilight went to inquire further but was stopped from doing so, as they reached a set of double doors that were only slightly larger than the others doorways before it.

“We’re here.”

“And… where is here?”

With a smug and slightly prideful grin, Chrysalis placed a hoof on the door and pushed it open. On the other side Twilight stepped onto a balcony that viewed down upon an incredibly large area, with drones, both young and old, filling the space as they walked to and fro. The area reminded Twilight of the Canterlot mall, only this place was far bigger and delved deeper into the depths of the planet's crust. The balcony sat at the very top, and from it Twilight could see several different floors filled with shops, restaurants and a great many other establishments. Each floor was connected with a large double backed stairway at the far end, though most drones seemed to prefer flying from one floor to the next. At the very bottom floor Twilight could see a large statue of a changeling queen with one hoof outstretched, in that hoof the queen held a large dazzling cyan crystal that shot a beam of light up into the air. The beam of light coalesced at the very top where there was a large fissure revealing the bright blue day's sky and the wonderful sight of Celestia’s sun. The beam of light ended at the entrance of the fissure and was creating a soft blue shield that filled the entire thing.

Twilight stood staring at the sight for a few moments before simply stating: “Wow.”

Chrysalis chuckled. “Welcome to the atrium. Do you approve?”

Twilight slowly nodded, before looking up at the large skylight, “That crystal is producing one powerful spell. I’m guessing it makes it so that on the surface there appears to be no fissure in the ground, and that anything that walks there is met with the very ground that they perceive to exist. In other words, camouflage.”

Chrysalis seemed to be surprised at Twilight’s knowledge, before remembering she was the personal protégé of Princess Celestia herself. “You are correct.”

Twilight's gaze fell away from the fissure and down to the crystal, or rather the queen holding the crystal, “And who is that? Holding the crystal?”

Chrysalis looked down on the statue below, her smile fading away into a look of long worn sorrow. “That… is my mother, Queen Avia, your grandmother. She built this hive you know, left the hive of her mother with a hooffull of loyal drones and came here.”

“Why did she leave her hive?”

“Her mother was named Queen Imperatrix, and she was rather… iron hooved. She didn’t agree with her mother’s ideas of how to rule a hive so she left, when Imperatrix died the throne went to mother’s younger sister Crudelis instead.”

Chrysalis sighed before continuing, “Do you remember what I said about your grandmother’s ultimate fate?”

“The dragon attack?”

“Yes… the ‘random’ dragon attack. The thing is I don’t believe the attack was all that random.”

Understanding dawned on Twilight. “You believe her sister caused the attack?”

“I don’t believe, I know it. Crudelis always hated mother, despite her civil persona whenever the queens would ever meet. I don’t need proof to know what I know in my heart,” Chrysalis near shouted, long held hurt and rage seeping out.

“I’m… I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

Chrysalis looked at her daughter with both prideful, and yet sad eyes. “She would have loved to meet you” she sighed.

A welcome distraction came when Chrysalis spotted a group of guards converging one floor down, standing at attention awaiting their arrival.

“Come Twilight, I have to introduce you to some changelings.”

Chrysalis opened her wings and buzzed off the balcony into the open air, she started to fly forwards, before turning back to see Twilight still on the balcony observing her own wings sheepishly, scuffing the ground with one hoof.

There was a load smack of chitin impacting chitin as Chrysalis facehoofed with some force. ‘I really need to teach her how to fly’.

Flying back to the balcony Chrysalis landed next to her embarrassed daughter, whose chitin seemed to somehow turn an even darker shade of black, “It’s fine, we’ll walk.”

Several guard stood to attention as Captain Carduus looked them over, making sure they had presented themselves as any self-respecting guard should.

“All right, the Queen pinged me over the hive and in a few moments we shall be introduced to her daughter, Princess Twilight. Now I want you all to keep a professional manner while meeting the Princess, she is new to our way of life and the last thing she needs is you miserable lot making life difficult; and if we are to be her personal protection detail the last thing we need is her being afraid of us, or worse, thinking that we're not capable of doing our jobs, understood?”

“Understood, sir!” all the guard affirmed with a salute.

Right on cue, a nearby door opened up and two royal changelings emerged from the staircase it contained. With a deep exhale Carduus marched up to the two.

“The squad is at your disposal your majesties!” Carduus reported while bowing to the two royals.

“At ease, Captain,” Chrysalis said. “Twilight, this is Captain Carduus of the Changeling Royal Guard, he will be in charge of your personal guard detail.”

“Personal guard detail? Is this necessary?”

“I know you will hardly need them in the hive itself; it’s more for if you ever leave it they are to accompany you. They will also help you get around until you can orientate yourself properly.”

Captain Carduus turned to face the Princess. “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am!” Carduus exclaimed with a salute.

“And you too. Please, relax; there really isn’t any need for all that nonsense around me. And call me Twilight,” Twilight said with a slight roll of her reptilian-like eyes.

Relaxing his posture, Carduus continued. “Right, sure thing your hi… Twilight.”

“I’ll leave you two to it then,” Chrysalis said. “Come find me when you’re finished.”

Chrysalis gave a nod to the guards before walking off towards a stretch of cafés on the other side of the floor.

Twilight turned to Carduus and for the first time examined him in detail. A shiver went down Twilight’s spine as she remembered a great many like him bearing down on Canterlot.

“So, Carduus, nice weather we’re having.”

Carduus couldn’t help but snicker at that. “Wow, that’s where this conversation is headed.”

“Well…”

“It's fine, I know you’re new to all this so I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. And besides, you’ve already made quite the impression on my daughter.”

“Your… wait, was she the…”

“The little nymph you met yesterday in the residential district? Yeah. Little Iuvenes was ecstatic to have met you. You’ve already met my wife as well, Panacea.”

“Huh, small world. So… are those stallions with you?”

Carduus smirked. “Yep, those morons are indeed with me.”

“We heard that!” a voice called out from behind Carduus.

“Yeah… they may be morons, but they’re morons who’ve got me in charge, so they’ll do their jobs just fine, so no need to be worried Twilight.”

“Wow Carduus, you should move to Canterlot and become a salespony with that little description,” another voice jeered.

“Can it!” Carduus tried to sound serious, but couldn’t help laugh. “Wasn’t it you who couldn’t figure out how to change a light bulb the other day?”

“Hey! I was drunk at the time…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the ongoing dialogue. “Well, it seems you lot are good friends.”

“Yeah…” Carduus admitted. “I’ve known them all pretty much all my life, and I’d die for any of them.”

“Well let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Let’s hope. Anyway I’ve taken up enough of your time; your mother is waiting for you.”

“Right…” Twilight said, a look of uneasiness dawning as Carduus said the word ‘mother’.

“Are… you okay?”

“It’s just… my whole life Twilight Velvet was my mother and now… how am I meant to process this?”

“You want to know what I think, Princess Twilight?”

Twilight looked questioningly at Carduus, who took it as a signal to continue.

“I know the importance of family first hoof, and I think this shouldn’t change a damn thing between you and your pony family. If anything, this is just an extension of your family rather than a replacement. Your mother loves you, as does Velvet I’m sure.”

“I… thank you for the advice. I’ll see you around Carduus,” Twilight said mulling over his words.

“Anytime, Twilight.”

Twilight found Chrysalis in a quaint little establishment called ‘Le Café Blanc’, owned by a changeling with an odd accent Twilight had only before heard when Apple Bloom had the Cutie Pox. Chrysalis sat at a table by the window looking out onto the rest of the atrium, staring into space. She only turned away when she heard the sound of hooves approaching her.

“Twilight, all went well with the guards?”

“Yep, Carduus is a nice enough stallion, and he made some good points.”

“Oh?”

Twilight took a seat opposite Chrysalis at the table. “It… it doesn’t matter. Say, does this place have any donut shops about?”

“You mean like ‘Donut Joe’s’, I know you are rather fond of that establishment.”

“Yeah...” Twilight looked down sheepishly, a light blush on her cheeks. Until her face suddenly fell. “…if it even still stands after the invasion.”

Chrysalis seemed visibly irritated by that remark. “This again? I did what I had to, and I would again.”

“It doesn’t mean I approve. You could have simply TALKED to Princess Celestia and explained the situation!” Twilight stood, all four legs planted firmly as she scowled at the Queen.

“By the time I would have done that it would have been too late. How long do you think collecting that much love by any other means would take? You would have died long before we even got close to saving you, and while I breath nothing will bring you harm!”

“I… this argument isn’t going to go anywhere...” Twilight slumped into a chair.

“Probably not,” Chrysalis agreed.

“Hey listen, while I may not agree with what you did, I still want to say thank you.”

Chrysalis looked up, confused. “For what?”

“For caring.”

A smile split her face. “Anytime, my daughter. And thank you for giving me a chance.”

“Yeah well… I would like to go back to Canterlot by the end of the week. I need to see my friends and… family. I need to make sure things are OK between us.”

“Well I can’t say how they’ll react to me, but after what I’ve seen over the past year alone, they will accept you no matter what. Though I would still ask you take Carduus and the others, your friends will accept you but I can’t speak for the rest of Equestria.”

Twilight slowly nodded in a reluctant agreement, the two sat in silence for a few minutes following before Twilight finally spoke up again.

“So… flying lessons?”

“You’re asking for them? Honestly, I was expecting to have to convince you.”

“Why? For one thing, Rainbow Dash would never stop yammering on about it if I didn’t know how to fly by the time I got back.”

Chrysalis tittered gently into her hoof. “Flying lessons it is then. Foremost however, I think we should get back to the tour, there’s still a fair bit for you to see.”

“Alright, you know this might be easier if you had a checklist of all the places we need to go.”

“Honestly, what is it with you and checklists?”

“Well you see a checklist can…”

Chrysalis’s eye twitched as Twilight entered lecture mode. ‘Well done Chrysalis, now you’ve done it.' With a sigh Chrysalis tried to keep up as Twilight droned on about checklists, for about an hour.

Author's Note

Next chapter should be out tomorrow at the latest.

11 - In The Shadows

Canterlot

Celestia sat along in her study, piles of paperwork stacked before her. However, before long a knock on the door stole her attention.

“Come in!”

Luna poked her head through the door. “Are you busy, sister?”

Celestia smiled warmly. “Actually, I would prefer company. In the last thousand years paperwork has never ceased to be dull.”

Luna nodded, and entered the room. Moving towards the piles of cushions in front of a marble fireplace as ancient as the castle itself, she took the time to examine some of the artifacts dotted around the room. They ranged from priceless works of art, to a painstakingly preserved child's drawing of a flower, with two smiling young alicorns sat either side, a drawing Luna herself had made when she was but a filly all those many winters ago.

Celestia also moved from her desk towards the cushions, plonking herself down with a thud.

“Tia, art thou well?”

“Dialect Lulu,” Celestia teased as Luna accidentally slipped back into the ancient equestrian dialect.

“My question still stands,” Luna sighed, with a role of her eyes in a very un-regal manner.

Celestia’s face fell into a frown. “No Luna, I’m not.”

“Twilight Sparkle?”

“It’s just… I consider her a daughter, I always have. I had intended for her to take her place alongside us, an equal… a princess.”

“Technically, she is a princess…”

“But not of Equestria…”

“Tia, what Twilight is hasn’t truly changed your perception of her has it?”

“What! Never! I will always care for her; I still remember a young lavender filly scurrying around the halls, trying to steal the odd cookie while she believed I wasn’t looking.” Celestia smiled at the fond memories, and Luna draped a loving wing over Celestia.

“And I truly believe, Tia, that Twilight feels the same way. She’ll come back to us, and even if she ultimately decides to stay at the hive I know she will always be there for Equestria, and for you.

Celestia internally sighed before giving Luna a sisterly nuzzle. “Thank you Luna, I don’t know how I survived without you for so long."

“Neither do I,” Luna chuckled. “Neither do I…”

Everfree Forest

Several Solar Guards, alongside civilian volunteers, roamed about their hidden cave hideout performing various tasks. Some were performing logistical analysis, some were simply moving around crates filled with both supplies and weapons, while the rest were spending their free time training.

As far as Broad Sword was concerned, everything was going perfectly to plan.

As Broad Sword approached the raised command platform at the center of the large cavern he was approached by a unicorn guard bearing the rank of lieutenant. “Sir!” The guard saluted. “What brings you to out to our cosy little home?”

“At ease Lieutenant, I’m just inspecting the troops as it were.”

“Well as you can see everything is in order, training the civilians is coming along smoothly and they should be combat ready in no time, once that’s finished our entire force will be ready to mobilise on your command.”

“Very good.”

The guard had a flash of nervousness as he spoke up again. “All due respect sir… but we are only thirty two versus Celestia knows how many changelings. My question is, how can we possibly win against those odds?”

“It’s simple really, all we need is a situation where the princesses have no choice but to resort to military action against those chitin clad freaks.”

“And… how exactly will we create such a ‘situation’ sir? “

“Leave that to me, Lieutenant. You are dismissed.”

The guard gave once final salute, and left to continue the dull and unenviable task of sifting through logistics.

Broad Sword looked down at the gathered ponies, giving a small smirk at the fruits of his labor.

“Now for what I really came here for,” Broad Sword muttered under his breath.

Leaving the command platform, Broad Sword made sure he wasn’t spotted by anypony, and slowly slunk his way to a small corner at the very back of the cave. The corner was a dead end, or at least it would seem that way to anypony else, as was the intention of the perception filter surrounding a small crack in the wall. It was just big enough to allow Broad Sword passage. The crack led through into another cavern that the Commander had placed countless charms around, from sound proofing spells to proximity charms, all there to make sure the cavern's sole contents remained undiscovered, and unable to escape.

Should the sole contents escape it would spell doom for his plans, ruin all his hard work and preparations.

For within this cavern, chained to a rocky alcove with his wings strapped down to his side, was the real Commander Broad Sword.

The exhausted Pegasus weakly looked up at the individual wearing his face. “What do you want now you changeling fuck?”

With a sinister laugh green flames enveloped Broad Sword's doppelganger as the Pegasus’ form was stripped ways to reveal an incredibly smug looking changeling that still wore Broad Sword’s armour.

“I have questions pony, questions I will have answers to.”

“Not that I have much of a choice I suppose?”

“No.”

“Right. Before you get to the extracting part, perhaps you could quell some… confusion I have on your ever so glorious master plan.”

The changeling's wings buzzed with slight irritation. “It depends on what is confusing you.”

“OK, how about… why? In your last few visits you gloated about how you have been slandering my name, making me seem to be a massive bigot and killing innocent changelings that had nothing to do with the attack, but why kill your own kind? What could you possibly have to gain?”

“It’s not about what I have to gain, it’s what Chrysalis stands to lose. My Queen is rather hoping that you ponies can do the dirty work for her and rid us, and our benefactor, of yet another rival.”

“So your hive seeks dominance over the rest, correct?”

“Not dominance, complete annihilation. It’s a cruel world out there where only the strongest survive, and we will be the strongest.”

"Stronger even than these apparent benefactors?"

"If I have anything to do with it, yes."

“You’re insane, I may not be able to do much, but others will stop you. Whether it’s the guard, the princesses, the elements or even your fellow changelings. Villainous scum like you never succeed.”

“Well isn’t that nice, I think I will be taking those memories now.”

The changeling surged forward, aiming his horn for the unfortunate commander’s forehead. On making contact, Broad Sword’s muscles tensed and he shouted out in agony as the changeling’s horn glowed a sickly green as he forcibly entered his mind, extracting everything the commander knew about Celestia’s protégé.

When all was finished, the changeling pulled away and Broad Sword’s body went limp as he tried desperately to catch sweet breaths of fresh air.

The changeling lightly hummed to himself as he processed the gathered memories and collective information from Broad Sword’s brain. “My my, hasn’t she been a busy changeling.”

“Twilight Sparkle?” Broad Sword croaked out questioningly.

“Yes, while my Queen and I had of course heard of Twilight and her exploits, our factual information on Chrysalis’ daughter had been severely lacking. Good thing I put an end to that, for if I interpret these memories correctly she will be a big threat to us, should she continue to draw breath that is…”

“Don’t you harm a hair on that mare’s head you piece of-”

“Now now,” the changeling interrupted. “You don’t want to exert yourself now do you, I mean look at you. You’re not going to last much longer now are you at this rate.”

“I would rather die than continue being your personal database!”

The changeling smiled sadistically. “Well, we better make sure you live then!”

With a flash of his horn the changeling cast a sleep spell on Broad Sword, who was much too exhausted to even try and resist it. With a heavy heart at being unable to help the innocents suffering because of the Changeling before him, Broad Sword drifted off into an restless sleep.

Satisfied with his handiwork, the changeling cast a few more charms around Broad Sword himself to make sure to prolong his currently miserable life as long as feasibly possible, before re-donning his disguise and leaving the secret cavern.

“My Queen, I assume you saw what I saw?” Broad Sword pinged over the hive mind.

“I did, good work infiltrator, you are quickly proving to be my best agent.”

Puffing up with pride, Broad Sword stopped just short of the command platform. "Thank you my Queen, how do you wish me to proceed?”

“Chrysalis is rather fond of her daughter, what better opportunity is there to stir up trouble between her hive and Equestria? Kill Twilight Sparkle, and make sure it’s one of those in that little ‘rebellion’ of yours that is the one to do it.”

“And once, my queen, that Chrysalis sees a pony killed her daughter…”

“War will almost certainly follow, a war Chrysalis will almost certainly lose.”

“She may even soften Equestria up for us.” Broad Sword grinned. “It will be done my Queen.”

Focusing back on the here and now, Broad Sword did final checks on the pony bigots that were foolish enough to have followed him, and then left the cave without another word.

‘If what I saw in the Commander's memories about Twilight are true, she will return to Equestria soon enough. Right into my waiting hooves.’

12 - The Badlands

The Badlands, three days after Twilight’s awakening.

“Sergeant, report!” barked Shining Armor with authority.

“Oh let’s see, rocks… rocks and, oh! More rocks! Just like the last Celestia knows how many times you asked,” Longshot responded snidely, peering down the scope on his crossbow.

“Watch your tone soldier!”

“Oh come on cap, it’s the three of us in the middle of nowhere, can we cut the command structure crap?”

“He has a point…” Vladimir added.

“Not you too!” Shining stomped both forelegs.

“Well Shining, this mission is tedious enough as it is, no need to make it more so.”

“What we need is discipline, I would of thought the Captain of the Lunar Guard would understand that!”

“We have Princess Luna as a role model, have you seen half of what she gets up to at the castle? She puts most pranksters to shame with her collection of whoopee cushions.”

“Oh, I heard about that! I can only imagine the nobles' faces when Celestia sat down for court!” Longshot laughed.

“Yeah, actually Celestia can be just as bad sometimes,” Shining admitted. “Sibling rivalry is a hell of a thing.”

“We all heard what happened at the gala…” Vladimir added.

Longshot holstered his crossbow and turned to face Shining. “If the princesses can push all that ‘discipline’ to one side every now and then, I’m sure you can too.”

Shining looked between the adamant faces of his peers, before groaning in frustration. “Fine, have it your way.”

The three armoured stallions continued to make their way through the Badlands, a highly inhospitable place that was seemingly just sand and rock for miles and miles on end. Each of them had saddle bags filled to the brim with supplies, namely water to keep the most dangerous predator of the Badlands at bay, dehydration. They hadn’t spotted any signs of life at all within the last couple of days, not a single vulture, insect or any other animal, never mind changelings. The three trudged on for a few more hours in silence before anypony spoke again.

“So what’s with Commander Broad Sword anyway?” Vladimir asked Shining. “He hardly seemed the character to be put in charge of apprehending any infiltrators.”

“He acted out of line, but believe me when I say he’s a good pony. I’ve known him ever since I attended the academy, and he is dedicated to protecting the innocent, no matter the species. He may have been angry after the wedding, but I trust him to do his job in a professional manner, doing otherwise would be completely out of character for him."

“I hope you’re right, Shining Armor…”

Longshot let out a groan. “How could anypony survive out here?” he asked to nopony in particular.

The sun had begun to lower readying for the coming of the night. The twilight sky glistened above them.

“Changelings must have a way, though just what that way is stumps me,” Shining replied.

“Are you sure they are even out here, Captain? What if the Queen deliberately misled us?”

“That’s kind of the whole point of this expedition, to confirm whether the hive is out here or not.”

Vladimir held up a hoof to signal the others to stop. “We should rest here for the night.”

Shining nodded. “Agreed. Longshot, you’ve got first watch.”

“Sure,” Longshot half-heatedly saluted. “Heading to rock watching duty on the double.” Shining gave him a pointed look. Longshot rolled his eyes and stood to full attention. “I mean, reporting for first watch, sir.”

With Longshot on lookout Vladimir and Shining got to work, a small cooking fire was set up, sleeping bags rolled out and rations arranged for the night. As night finally rolled in they sat by the fire, enjoying the warmth as the heat of the day gave way to the unforgiving cold of the night.

“Huh, look what I found in the bag,” Vladimir chuckled as he pulled out a small plastic bag.

“Marshmallows? Longshot…” Shining sighed. “So much for essential items only.”

“He is quite a character that one, are all military ponies like this?”

“You always get the smart mouth or the ‘oddity’ of the group. Look at Pinkie Pie.”

“The Bearer of Laughter? Yes I have heard of her… quirks.”

“Considering she comes from a family of rock farmers.”

“Rock farmers? Now there’s a profession you don’t see much anymore. The Pie’s must be quite old fashioned.”

“They are.”

Vladimir looked down at the marshmallows with a slight smirk. “Well, since these are here it would be a shame to waste them. It’s also a shame that there seem to only be enough for two ponies.”

Tearing the packet the two carefully distributed the treats evenly, all while making sure the occupied Longshot didn’t take any notice. They cooked them on the open flame, Shining held his in his magical aura while Vladimir used one of Longshot’s spare crossbow bolts.

“Twilight and I used to do this…”

Vladimir looked up at Shining, who had a sad, faraway look in his eyes.

“When she was a filly we would go into the back garden of our family’s estate, pitch a tent and cook marshmallows on an open flame. Then, before we hit the hay, I would read her a story of her choosing; she would sit silently as sleep slowly took her. Even when I joined the guard and she became Celestia’s pupil we would still find the time to continue that age old tradition of ours, even if it became a rarity. Then she moved to Ponyville…”

“Well, maybe when we get her back, you should make reviving that tradition of yours a priority.”

“Yeah… perhaps we should.”

…

“They might be underground,” Vladimir said suddenly.

“Huh?” Shining threw him a confused look.

“The changelings, it might be possible for them to survive the harshness of this place by being underground. A cavern with an underground water supply, protection from the sun… it’s how I would do it. Hay, it’s how my kind used to live, except that was within a mountain, not a forsaken wasteland.”

Shining mused for a moment, before nodding his head. “It’s certainty plausible, though that makes finding them all the harder.”

“They must have an entrance somewhere, several even.”

“Vlad, don’t you think that a species relying on stealth, and remaining unseen, would hide their entrances? A perception filter for instance.”

“Yes… keep your eyes peeled as we travel.”

“For what?”

“If you see anything odd, notable, ignore it. But if you see something so ordinary, something that makes your senses scream to move on to something else, we may have just found a perception filter.”

“You realise we're in a wasteland right?”

“Yes, but you see all these rock formations popping out all around us. I’m talking about a patch of complete nothingness, just… empty, completely empty.”

“Huh, you certainly seem to be in the know about these things.”

Vladimir smirked. “Luna taught me a few things.”

“Captains!” Longshot called in an urgent whisper, causing both stallions to swivel round to the tense looking sergeant.

“Get over here!” he beckoned.

Both Shining and Vlad moved over to Longshot’s position, the pony in question was pointing at something while looking down his weapons scope.

“Changelings. Three of them.”

Shining peered over at the distant group, there appeared to be three individuals in what seemed to be explorer attire. Two of them appeared to be unicorns while the third had the unmistakable profile of a changeling, and one of the ‘unicorns’ seemed to be heavily berating the unfortunate drone.

“I spotted three unicorns in the distance,” Longshot started. “But after a moment one of their disguises failed, and it would seem his superior didn’t take too kindly to the blunder.”

“This is perfect!” Shining exclaimed, quietly. “They could lead us right back to their hive!”

“Agreed,” Vladimir said with a nod. “But we should proceed with caution.”

The three quietly moved back to their camp and quickly packed their things, making sure the changeling group didn’t move too far off into the distance.

As Longshot packed his bags he noticed something… off.

“Guys - Where are my marshmallows?”

A little bit away from the Equestrians another group of changelings in blue armour hid within a small ditch, watching the group as they finished packing and began to follow their targets.

“They’ve taken the bait,” one of them reported.

“Very good,” the Commander of the group acknowledged. “Beta Squad, you have the Equestrians right of your tail.”

“Understood Commander, we will act none the wiser.”

“Delta Squad, are you in position?”

“Affirmative, we are ready and waiting.”

“Excellent, they should reach you by morning.”

The Commander looked up from the ditch again to see the Equestrians moving off into the distance, he quickly motioned to the others to return to the hive and he quietly followed them. All the while Shining, Vladimir and Longshot all followed the other group as discreetly as possible, completely unaware of the trap awaiting them.

Author's Note

Two chapters in one weekend? I do spoil you :twilightsmile:

13 - Flying Lessons

The Badlands hive

“Watch out for that-“

The warning came too late as Twilight slammed face first into a rather large rock, to which Chrysalis simply sighed with a facehoof.

Chrysalis, Twilight and a few snickering guards stood just outside one of the entrances to the Badlands Changeling Hive. After three days of milling about studying every single book in the library she could Chrysalis had finally managed to drag Twilight into the flying lessons she herself had actually asked for. So far the results were less than spectacular.

“Flailing your wings isn’t going to get you anywhere, you need to be in sync, unless of course you like the taste of sediment,” Chrysalis said in frustration.

“Ugh, flying is much harder than Rainbow Dash makes it out to be. At the end of the day I’m a mage, not a wonderbolt. Changeling magic I can handle just fine.”

Demonstrating her point Twilight summoned green flames around her and sank into the floor, before a second portal appeared right next to Chrysalis with Twilight stepping out.

“Wait… how did you learn that so quickly?”

Twilight glanced towards the starburst on her flank. “Well magic is kind of my thing.”

“Yes… well it still needs some work, you burnt a few hairs,” Chrysalis pointed at a few charred split ends in Twilight’s mane.

“Maybe so… but it’s still more successful than this flying business.”

“You don’t exactly have to be a wonderbolt, but having a queen kill herself because of her shoddy flying skills would be a rather pathetic way for a hive to go out,” Chrysalis groused.

“So I’m pathetic now?” Twilight frowned at her.

“That’s not what I said!” A mixture of annoyance and fear crossed her face. Insulting her daughter was the last thing she wanted to do.

Twilight sighed, relenting. “Yeah I know; it’s just so frustrating doing the same thing over and over again for five hours with no real progress. Some would say that’s the definition of insanity.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘no’ progress, when we started you couldn’t even get off the ground,” Chrysalis said trying to comfort her despondent daughter. “Let’s keep trying, I’m sure that you will get it in no time my daughter.”

“Yeah I suppose.”

Chrysalis looked at her guards, before moving closer to Twilight’s ear and speaking in a hushed tone. “Hey, can I reveal something?”

“What?” Twilight said in peeked curiosity.

Chrysalis pulled away from Twilight’s ear, instead opting to use the hive to communicate what she had to say.

Chrysalis continued. “Well, the first time I tried to fly do you know what happened?”

“What?” Twilight asked again, also over the hive.

“I crashed into the crystal in the atrium, or at least the old one as it smashed.”

“You what?” The shock registered on Twilight's face for a few moments, before she forced it back to neutral.

“Yeah, I managed to break the whole thing… and myself. We were lucky we had a single reserve crystal for emergencies, the very one you see there today. It was actually years before mother even let me attempt flight again.”

Twilight couldn’t suppress a giggle. “Wow that’s pretty bad.”

“Uh-huh, if anypony today found out my reputation would be ruined!” The internal voice sounded like Rarity, but the smile on her mother face let her know her true intent.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah I doubt that, but don’t worry, your secrets safe with me.”

Chrysalis moved away, and cast an eye over the vast wasteland. “It’s not so much my reputation with my own subjects, but more the risk of the other queens finding out.”

“The other queens?” Twilight asked questioningly, moving to verbal communication rather than over the hive.

“I would be a laughing stock to them, and there are many who look for any sign of weakness for an excuse to attack. Should they be able find the hive anyway.”

“I don’t see how a botched flight would be seen as a sign of weakness, it’s hardly logical to think that something like that from centuries ago would be relevant now.”

“Who said those queens were logical? Power is all they care for, and they don’t care how they achieve it.”

Twilight thought on that for a few seconds. “Well, surely not all queens are like that. I mean after spending time with you, I can see that you aren’t.”

“I’m not sure the Equestrians would agree, but thank you. And no, not all queens are like that, just a few like Crudelis and the late Imperatrix. Most queens just like to keep to themselves, only having contact with the others at the council. We think it’s best to distance ourselves from other queens just in case they do something stupid.”

“Like invade Canterlot?” Twilight quipped with a smirk, receiving a playful smack around the ear in return.

“I was thinking more on the lines of the war with the thestrals.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Wait what?”

“It was a very long time ago, before your princesses defeated Discord and were raised to the throne in the process. I doubt the thestrals remember it beyond stories, even our knowledge of the event is… sketchy at best. What we do know is that a hive decided to make conquest against the then reclusive thestrals, only to fail and have the entire hive slaughtered.”

“There must be more! This is an entire missing page in pony history, this requires research! There must be more books about it somewhere in the library! I mu-“

“Oh no you don’t! I didn’t drag you out here just so you could wander right back into that library again!” Twilight had started to move towards the gateway, but her rear hooves were held back by Chrysalis’s magic.

Twilight huffed in annoyance, but ultimately relented, after all, the library wasn’t going anywhere.

“Oh fine. But mother, I will one day make you see the great value books have on this world! And I suppose there also might be information deep in the Canterlot Royal Archives, so I’ll just have a peek when I visit my friends.” Twilight finished, before noticing that Queen Chrysalis was staring at her wide eyed.

“Are… you OK?” Twilight asked, concern flooding her voice.

“You… you called me mother,” Chrysalis near-whispered, her voice trembling with emotion.

Twilight shifted awkwardly. “I did? I… didn’t even notice. Not that it’s a bad thing I did but- well I…”

Chrysalis dropped to her knees, quickly wiped a single escaping tear from her eye, and grabbed Twilight into a carapace cracking hug. “You have no idea how long I have longed to hear you call me that…”

Twilight thoughts quickly shifted to Twilight Velvet, and how she suddenly felt she was betraying the mother who had painstakingly raised her. But then something said by Carduus rang in her ears.

--“You want to know what I think, Princess Twilight? I know the importance of family first hoof, and I think this shouldn’t change a damn thing between you and your pony family. If anything, this is just an extension of your family rather than a replacement. Your mother loves you, as does Velvet I’m sure.”--

A smile grew on Twilight’s muzzle, and she hugged Chrysalis back, receiving a loving nuzzle from her mother.

‘Carduus is right, this doesn’t change a thing. Velvet is my mother, and so is Chrysalis. I… love them both.’

It was then a then a thought occurred to Twilight.

“What… what happened to my father? My biological father I mean…”

Chrysalis broke away from Twilight. The light and joy from moments ago had vanished, leaving a dead look in her eyes.

In a flat, almost hollow voice. “Do you remember the reason why I had to give you up?”

“The love shortage right?”

“Yes… the thing is I’m not sure if I could have given you up. I was fifty-fifty, and more than likely would have stubbornly kept you with me despite the danger, if…”

Chrysalis took a deep breath, before releasing it in a long, sad sigh.

“If your father hadn’t passed on. The love shortage took its toll on all of us, some more than others. Your father… he became too weak from the lack of love energy and just… stopped. One minute he was here the next… I found out later why he ran out of energy so fast. He had been secretly giving it all to you.”

Twilight sat in silence, absorbing the new information. Her gut twisted and she couldn’t help but shed a tear for a stallion she would never get the chance to know, and who had probably saved her life.

“His name was Virum.”

“You… were alone for so long. I’m beginning to see things your way, in terms of Canterlot I believe. That still doesn’t mean I approve though!” Twilight added quickly.

“Neither would I expect you to. But the thought of losing you again…”

Twilight looked away from her mother for a moment, going into deep thought over a question she had been asking herself since this started.

“I have pictures of him, if you’d like to see them.”

“I would like that.”

Before either their conversation or the flying lesson could continue a Changeling guard ran up to the two royals and threw a salute.

“Your Highnesses! We’ve captured a small team of ponies tailing some of our drones!”

“What!” both royals shouted at once, making the drone realize that they probably should have informed them of the situation when it first emerged.

“Why didn’t you inform us of this before!?” Chrysalis barked at the now fearful changeling.

“I- we…”

“Ugh, never mind for now” Chrysalis growled, “Have them taken to the holding cells, but don’t place them in any. And have Carduus and his squad meet us there.”

“Yes your highness!” The changeling saluted again before running off.

Twilight gave her mother a worried look. “By holding cells I assume you mean those green pod things?”

“Yes, we adapted the pods in which we keep our young to hold prisoners, it’s much more effective than traditional means of detainment. Anyway we should go, there might be somepony there whom you know perhaps?” Chrysalis began to move towards the hive’s entrance.

Twilight herself instantly had her suspicions as to who it was.

‘Well there is only one guard I can think of who would brave a desolate wasteland right after, say… his sister was taken.’

Twilight began following her mother towards the hives entrance, both moving at a brisk pace.

‘Oh Shining what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?’

Author's Note

It's Christmas next weekend so the likelihood of me finishing and releasing a chapter is near around nill.

Merry Christmas in the meantime! :twilightsmile:

14 - Flashback: Hearth's Warming

Canterlot, Thirteen Years Ago

A lone unicorn mare made her way through a snow covered forest as the bright moonlight lit it up in wondrous fashion, the mare of the moon watching over all.

A single cottage lay up ahead, few decorations littered the walls but the festive spirit was there none-the-less. A single mare could be seen through the windows seemingly sitting at a desk, writing. Knocking on the door the unicorn mare didn’t have to wait long before a Pegasus mare opened the door. The mare’s coat colour was somewhere between dark khaki and arylide yellow, her eyes were magenta and her mane was like a greyscale rainbow.

“Hello? What do you want?”

“A.K. Yearling?”

“Yes?”

The unicorn mare adopted a sly smile. “Or perhaps I should call you Daring Do.”

Daring Do adopted a slightly alarmed look, and scrutinised the mare before her.

“What do you want?” Daring hissed threateningly.

“Oh I assure you I hold no ill will and have perfectly reasonable intentions, I simply have a request.”

“Go on…”

It was roughly six in the morning, Hearth's Warming Day. The silence in the household of Night Light and Twilight Velvet was broken when a small ball of lavender adorableness excitedly jumped up and down on the couple’s bed.

“Mum, dad! It’s Hearths Warming! It’s Hearth's Warming!” Twilight shouted excitedly.

Twilight Velvet groggily opened her eyes to examine the ecstatic filly.

“Oh Twilight, it’s six in the morning.”

“But it’s Hearth's Warming!”

“Now come on Twilight, you don’t see Shining being silly like this do you?”

“But… it’s Hearth's Warming,” Twilight said, tears forming in her eyes.

Now it was Night Light who spoke up, “Come on Twilight please don’t get upset, two more hours OK? Then we can open up presents.”

“O- OK...” The little filly finally relented, despondently jumping off the bed and walking out of the bedroom door.

Velvet sighed. “OK, now I feel bad.”

“She’ll be fine, in two hours she will be running on the ceiling in excitement.”

Velvet chuckled. “Yeah she will, come on, let’s get some sleep while we can.”

Snuggling up they closed their eyes and began to let sleep reclaim them.

It was moments later that the door opened again and the jumping started once more.

Both ponies opened their eyes to see Twilight was back jumping above Twilight Velvet with the same excited expression as before, however this time she was joined by a teenage colt with the exact same expression jumping over Night Light.

“It’s Hearth's Warming!” both of them chanted over and over.

And thus, with the realms of sleep taken cruelly from them, Night Light and Twilight Velvet had little choice but to waken and follow the excited pair downstairs.

The Hearth's Warming tree sparkled magnificently and all the colourful wrapped presents sat in anticipation. Four ponies came into the room, the elder two walking calmly, if a bit tiredly while the others sprinted in as fast as they could.

Joy spread throughout the four as they began trading and opening their presents, soon enough all the presents were opened and wrapping paper filled the living room. As the kids enthusiastically lauded through their gifts Night Light noticed something odd, one last package adorned in red and gold wraping paper, yet unopened.

“Honey, do you remember who gave that one?” he whispered quietly to his wife.

Twilight Velvet looked to what he was pointing at, adopting a confused expression. “I don’t remember that one being there yesterday.”

Shining too finally noticed the lone present and bounded over to it, looking at the label.

“Hey Twily, it’s for you!”

Twilight Sparkle instantly perked up and scrambled over to her BBBFF, who hastily handed her the gift. With the gift in her hooves Twilight too inspected the label to see who it was from.

To Twilight

Have a wonderful Hearth's Warming my dear, and enjoy.

“Huh, there’s no name…” Twilight pointed out.

“Well what are you waiting for, open it!” Shining Armor encouraged.

Smiling, Twilight gripped the paper in her magical aura and ripped it off in one fell swoop. Her eyes widened as she saw it’s contents.

“Daring Do and The Eternal Flower!” Twilight shrieked excitedly, hugging the book tightly, “And it’s signed!”

Night light and Twilight Velvet gawked. Daring Do and The Eternal Flower was the newly released book in the Daring Do series, they had tried to get one for Twilight but it had been sold out everywhere, who could have got her a copy? Let alone a signed edition? But another shock was to come.

Twilight opened the cover, to find a note on the inside.

To Twilight, enjoy this super special edition for a super special filly. Keep on being awesome.

A.K. Yearling

Now Night Light and Twilight Velvet were really confused, in contrast however Shining Armor scooped Twilight up into his lap and they started to read the book together.

None of them noticed a unicorn mare watching them from the living room window, small snowflakes falling into her mane under the beautiful early morning sky, with carol singers already starting to sing in the streets intent on brightening that morning of goodwill and friendship among all ponies and beyond.

“Happy Hearth's Warming my daughter, I love you,” Queen Chrysalis smiled, a single tear falling down her cheek.

Author's Note

Merry Christmas one and all! :twilightsmile:

15 - Captured

Earlier That Day

Celestia's sun began to rise, signaling the beginning of a brand new day. But for three ponies, it was just a direct continuation of the previous; for they did not wake in comfortable beds, or greeted by loved ones - for those three ponies were continuing their trek across a barren wasteland, endlessly tailing a group of Changelings.

"Where the hay are they going?" Longshot growled. "We've been going all night and they have done nothing of interest but WALK, lots and lots of walking..."

"Longshot?"

"Yeah boss?"

"Shut up," Shining Armor deadpanned.

But Shining knew Longshot was right, the group ahead had just been walking continuously, with seemingly no purpose. He could feel that something wasn't right.

"Hold up, they've stopped," Vladimir informed the others, holding up his hoof to signal them.

Looking around quickly, Shining spotted a nearby cluster of rocks to both hide and keep a vantage over the changelings. "That outcropping over there, move it!" Quickly the three stallions scampered over to the nearby rocks and ducked behind them.

"It's about time," Longshot gasped as he took a swig of water. "Needed the rest."

Shining turned to his Lunar counterpart. "Vlad, how's our supplies?"

"Holding steady, we should be good for a while yet. Though I would really like those changelings to hurry up, I'm a nocturnal creature - I'm not meant to be wandering through a sun heated desert during the day."

Shining looked at the two in front of him, between the heat and lack of sleep both of them were exhausted, and Shining couldn't say he was doing any better.

"When we get back, perhaps we should include wasteland survival into the standard guard training program," Vladimir suggested.

"Great, you can call it the wasteland survival guide; it'll be a hit I'm sure. You can just shove the new recruits into the badlands and hope for the best!" Longshot remarked.

Shining just rolled his eyes, he didn't have the energy to reprimand the wisecracking sergeant. Still Vladimir's suggestion might not have been such a terrible idea, it was not hard to imagine that the hostilities between Equestria and the hive would kick off into all-out war...

'No, don't think like that right now, for right now Twilight is all that matters.’ Shining looked up into the morning's sky, silently praying that his sister was OK.

Longshot unholstered his crossbow and peered over the top of the jagged rocks, looking at the other group through his weapons scope.

"What are they doing?

"Huh?"

"I asked, what are they doing now?"

"They're just standing there, and talking. That's all they ever do, just stand there and talk. And when you ask me again in five minu-"

Both Shining and Vlad were caught off guard as Longshot suddenly stopped talking. Sharing a quick worried glace, they turned back to him, "...Longshot?"

"Um, guys, you may want to look at this."

Both captains scrambled to Longshot's side and looked over in the direction of the Changeling group. Said group was now undisguised, staring right at them, and had set themselves up in a defensive formation. The sound of wings buzzing could now be heard.

Shining nudged Longshot in the side. “They spotted you didn’t they?"

"Hey, they all turned and looked directly at me, it is like they knew we were here the whole time!" Longshot protested.

And then Longshot's words finally registered in all three.

"The whole time..." Longshot muttered.

Vladimir sighed in exasperation. "This... is a trap, isn't it?"

Shining sighed. "I think so yes."

"They're right behind us aren't they?"

"Probably."

Slowly all three turned their heads back around, to the small hiding spot created by the rocks. Sure enough, standing there lining the top of the out cropping was another group of heavily armed, and very smug looking changelings.

"Well, horseapples."

The changelings sprung forwards at the group, fangs bearing down onto them. Shining did a quick one-eighty and bucked the first changeling in the face, sending both him and several teeth flying. But a moment later a flash of green bolted straight towards him - magenta aura burst to life around his horn as Shining brought up a shield to intercept the spell. Shining saw Longshot and Vladimir jump to the side as more putrid green bolts were launched through the air at the Equestrians, coming from both the changeling squad and the three they were previously following.

Dodging the spellfire, Longshot found himself just outside the cover. He quickly brought up his crossbow, aimed, and pulled the trigger. Just as the bolt was let fly, a changeling got in close and knocked his hoof to one side, causing the shot to go wide. The two struggled for a few moments before Longshot whacked him around the face with the stock of his favorite weapon. With that changeling dazed, two others piled forwards to take his place, not giving Longshot enough time to reload. One of his would-be assailants was suddenly knocked to the ground as a Captain Vladimir smacked into him head first. This caused the second to hesitate, seeing his friend go down so quickly. Longshot took the opening as a chance to give him a strong blow to the top of his head. He went down like a sack of spuds.

"Huh, thanks Vlad," Longshot thanked, breathing heavily.

The thestral looked up to respond, only to be hit straight in the face by a bolt of sickly green magic.

Longshot swung around to see the Changeling he dazed earlier now up and hissing threateningly, his horn smoking from a recently fired spell. Behind him the original Changeling group moved up to surround the EUP sergeant.

"Oh crap."

Shining Armor blasted another group of the Changelings away with a powerful blast, sweat dripping down his fur. Twilight may be the magical powerhouse of the family but he was no slouch either. Without warning, another black figure jumped at him only to receive a hoof to the face.

'How did we not notice a group this large?'

Shining finally managed to pick up his sword from their discarded equipment and supplies, and swung it at the same changeling as before as he made another attempt, slashing across his carapace. The changeling hissed in pain and made a hasty retreat away from the Solar Captain.

Panting, Shining scrambled out of the rocks and prepared for more combat. To his horror, he was met by at least half a dozen changelings holding spears to the throats of both of his friends.

Vladimir lay unconscious on the floor, while a now disarmed Longshot simply shrugged against the three holding him down. Shining Armor gazed at them disbelievingly.

"Surrender now, Captain Armor," one of the guards, the leader by the looks of him, hissed while pressing his weapon closer to Longshot's throat, drawing a little blood.

Shining stared at the sight a little longer. He took in the state of his friends, and the changeling force now surrounding him. He was still somewhat surprised they knew his name, before considering his own role in the attack on Canterlot. He begrudgingly thrust his blade down into the sand and sat on his haunches in defeat. A changeling quickly raced up to the defeated unicorn and placed a magic suppression ring onto his horn.

Straps were tied around Vladimir's wings and the unconscious thestral was swung onto the back of one of the stronger changelings. Longshot and Shining Armor were herded together in the middle of a circle of their foes with Vladimir quickly being chucked unceremoniously beside them, they then began to sift through the Equestrians' belongings.

"Well, we're not dead," Longshot pointed out. Shining glanced at his friend, but didn't make any response.

As they continued to examine the ponies' effects, Vladimir groggily came back to consciousness, the low-yield stun spell cast upon him wearing off. He looked up at the black chitin covered figures around him, and immediately wished he was still asleep.

After a while the leader of the changeling's walked up to them in a confident, authoritative manner. He stood staring at them with no visible emotion in his glowing blue eyes, before finally speaking.

"You have trespassed upon the territory of her Royal Highness Queen Chrysalis, you shall be taken back to the hive for judgement by the Queen and Princess as was ordered by her highness herself should this situation arise."

"Princess..." Shining muttered, his attention caught.

"You shall accompany us without resistance, any of said resistance would be... unwise."

"Well then..." Longshot started, a smirk on his face.

"Take me to your leader."

Twilight and Chrysalis briskly walked in silence through the halls of the Badlands Hive, nearing the prisons where the pony captives were under guard. On reaching the reinforced doorway they were greeted by Carduus and his squad, who all saluted when the royals approached.

"Your highnesses," Carduus started. "We have identified two of the Equestrians, while the third we have no previous records of."

"Well? Who are the two we know?" Chrysalis inquired.

'Could it be?' Twilight thought to herself.

"One of them is the Lunar Guard Captain Vladimir Vespertilio. The other one you may not be so happy to see; Prince Consort, and Solar Guard Captain, Shining Armor."

Twilight froze as her suspicions were confirmed.

"It would seem that the prince-to-be has come for his sister," Chrysalis smirked in amusement. “Either that, or my brief time in his life made him change who he is in love with.”

"Let them go."

All eyes turned to the changeling princess. "Your highness?"

"I said... Let. Them. Go!" Twilight demanded, obviously not willing to take no for an answer.

Carduus nervously looked at Chrysalis, but when she didn't give any objection, or a reaction of any kind he relayed their Princess' orders to the guards.

With the guards busy, Chrysalis turned to her daughter. "Your adoptive brother lies through that door, and I doubt he'll be happy to see me."

"If it's OK, I want to meet with him alone... to explain things."

"Of course my daughter, take all the time you need." Chrysalis smiled warmly, hiding a small amount of worry.

"Thank you," Twilight said, receiving and returning an affectionate nuzzle.

As the guards piled back out, Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself, and then took a step forwards.

"If you think this gets you out of today’s flying lessons..." Chrysalis grinned.

Twilight rolled her eyes, before being consumed in green flames. Chitin was replaced with lavender fur as Princess Twilight the changeling was replaced with Twilight Sparkle the unicorn once more.

Everypony was reduced to a surprised silence as their restraints were removed, including the straps on Vladimir's wings and the magical ring on Shining's horn. One by one all the changeling guards simply left the room, leaving the three alone.

"OK... what the hay was that?" Longshot blinked.

"It would appear that the Queen's claims may have been true Shining," Vladimir noted.

Shining looked at the thestral. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, who high up in their hierarchy would have any rhyme or reason to release us?"

On cue, the door opened and Shining's heart soared as a familiar lavender unicorn nervously poked her head in.

"Twily!"

Twilight gently closed the door behind her, but before she could do anything else she was grappled into a planet shattering hug to end all hugs.

"Don't ever scare me like that, ever!" Shinng held on tight to his LSBFF, as if worried she may fade away.

"Shiny... can't... breathe."

"Oh," Shining said sheepishly, quickly placing a gasping Twilight back onto the ground.

"Miss Sparkle," Vladimir greeted.

"Vlad, it’s good to see you again," Twilight greeted, catching her breath.

"Likewise ma'am. This is EUP Sergeant Longshot." Vladimir motioned at the relaxed Earth Pony beside him."

"EUP?" Twilight turned back to her brother. "You were so desperate to get me back you got the military involved?"

"That’s... part of the reason. Princess Celestia and the others are worried sick, we all want you home Twily."

"They're... not mad at me?" Her voice was sheepish, and one of her front hooves was digging little groves in the floor.

"Mad at you? Why would we ever be mad at you?" Shining remarked, surprise clear in his voice.

"Oh you know, because of the whole-"

"Twilight, I don't care if you’re a changeling, you're my sister. You didn't attack Canterlot, you aren't like them, you - are my little sister." Shining ruffled her mane.

Twilight jumped at Shining, pulling him into another, softer hug.

"It's good to see you kiddo."

Twilight broke off the hug. "Hey Shiny, you said I'm not like the others, and you mentioned Canterlot. Well the truth is..."

"I think catching up can wait until it's just us, don't you," Shining said with a glance at the other two.

"Oh, right. Well we could talk in my room."

"Your room?"

A light blush came to her cheeks, and the forehoof was at it again. "Yeah... Shiny we have a lot to talk about."

"Whatever it is Twilight, you can tell me."

"Thanks BBBFF," she said as she nuzzled him.

"Mother, could you clear the halls from here to my room, I'd rather avoid any awkward encounters on the way there. Oh, and can the others have their stuff back?"

"Consider it done my darling daughter."

Shining suddenly chuckled to himself. "All in all I think this plan went off without a hitch!"

"Getting our plots handed to us and captured was not part of the plan," Longshot deadpanned.

Twilight couldn't help but once again but roll her eyes, before moving towards the door. "Come on you, follow me. Just... don't touch any of my books? They're sorted just how I like them and I don't want you knocking over a shelf!"

"That was one time!" Shining protested as they exited the room, leaving Longshot and Vladimir behind.

"Well... that was interesting," Longhsot said.

"Kid, if you knew the details of half of what Twilight Sparkle gets up to in Ponyville, you would realise this is pretty tame in comparison."

"Try me."

"Well there was this one report titled, Lesson Zero..."

16 - Siblings

A lone changeling drone allowed himself a small smile as he looked on his work in satisfaction, duster held within his magical green aura. Not a single speck of dust inhabited the princess’ room, every corner, and every hole had been cleaned to perfection. He had taken particular care to place everything back just the way Princess Twilight had left them, his superior having wisely informed the drone about the princess’ unique… difficulties with OCD. The last thing the drone wanted to do was earn the ire of the future Changeling Queen.

Unfortunately for the drone however, Queen Chrysalis had forgot that he was even there, and thus he didn’t get her message to vacate all area’s leading from the prisons to that very room, and as the drone packed up his equipment to leave the bedroom’s door opened. A lavender unicorn mare strutted in, followed by an armor adorned alabaster unicorn stallion. When both parties saw each other they froze for a few moments, the stallion in particular stared at the drone looking very displeased, or would the word be murderous?

Suddenly the drone dropped into a low bow in front of the mare. “Princess Twilight, my apologies I didn’t realize you would return so soon, the room has been cleaned and I… I-“

Twilight mentally sighed as the drone began to hyperventilate, what did the drone honestly think she would do to him? Quickly she put on her friendliest smile as she addressed the drone. “It's fine, thank you for cleaning my room for me, I can see right away you did an excellent job.”

The drone seemed to calm slightly at the compliment.

“However right now I would like to talk to my brother in private,” Twilight finished.

The drone rose from his bow and quickly vacated the room, Shining Armor watching him go, before turning to Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, anypony would think you were the boogymare with that reaction.”

Twilight pouted while flicking a chuckling Shining Armor with her tail in mild annoyance. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up tough guy. It’s no different to how some ponies react to the princesses.”

“Heh, point taken. Not sure if I can really wrap my head around the whole you being a changeling equivalent to an alicorn, and not forgetting royalty as well.”

“Speaking of which…” Shining started, with slight hesitation. “Could I see? The ‘other’ you I mean.” He looked at the floor, waiting to be scolded.

Twilight too hesitated, before slowly nodding. “OK.” A moment later, Shining took a step backwards, as green flames whipped around the lavender form of his sister. Quicker than he could see, it began tearing the image away and warping it into a chitin clad being, far too reminiscent of the cackling figure that stole his mind and crashed his wedding.

Twilight stood before Shining, noticing his disapproval by the fact he had flinched, and now leaned slightly away from her. She began to scuff the floor once more, a despondent look on her face.

“Honestly, I prefer the real you,” Shining deadpanned.

Twilight’s head whipped up and she looked at her brother. “This IS the real me,” she truthfully insisted.

Shining didn’t answer, opting instead to observe the room in detail for the first time. “Well you’ve certainly done well for yourself Twily. Got enough books?” The change of subject was painfully obvious.

“One can never have enough books,” Twilight chuckled, trying to hide her still despondent tone.

“Erm, do you want to sit or…” Twilight motioned towards the seating cushions surrounding the circular table in the very center of the room.

Shining nodded, and took his place at one end of the table while Twilight plonked herself down at the other.

An uncomfortable silence echoed throughout the room, Twilight noticing that her brother couldn’t quite meet her reptilian-like eyes.

“Shiny, look you have every reason to be angry, I understand. What they did, to you and Cadance, it was wrong. And I could never approve of such a thing, and will never.”

“I know LSBFF, you aren’t like these monsters.”

“Monsters? BBBFF I’ve forgiven them.” Her face was stern.

“What?” His was full of surprise.

“I said; I’ve forgiven them. And they… we most certainly aren’t monsters!” Twilight said with conviction.

Anger flashed across his muzzle now. “Twilight how could you say that? You saw what they did, you know what they’re capable of.”

“They did it to save me Shining!” Twilight’s voice started to rise.

“That was then. Now they know how to fight us, what’s to stop them from finishing the job and taking Equestria?” he said calmly, the military captain in him showing through.

“They wouldn’t do something like that! If you would just walk around the halls of the hive, see the atrium and all the changelings going about their lives, we’re not so different from ponies. They laugh with their friends with a drink in hoof; they marry their special somepony, like Carduus and Panacea, fillies and colts play and laugh, like little Iuvenes. They may have done something wrong I admit, but it doesn’t define who they are, it’s not who they are. Not this hive… not MY hive.”

“Your…” Shining started, exasperation now evident in his voice. “And what of the queen? She displayed who she is crystal clear to the whole of Canterlot.”

Twilight allowed herself a chuckle as she reflected on Chrysalis’s softer side she had heavily born witness to the last few days. “Believe me, mother is not that intimidating when you truly get to know her.”

“Mother!?” Shining suddenly snapped, causing Twilight to jump in fright. “You would call that monster mother!? What is with you?”

Twilight set her legs, and stood to full height. “Don’t… you… dare ever, ever call her a monster Shining Armor! You ask what’s wrong with me, but what’s with you. The agitation, the sudden shouting. What happened to the stallion I reunited with just five minutes ago?”

“Chrysalis is twisting your mind! You can’t see her for who she truly is!”

“You’re not listening to me! Why can’t you just give them a chance, for me?”

“You’re kidding? Changelings are monsters, after what they did… I’ve seen enough.”

“Odd, I never took you for a xenophobic bigot,” Twilight muttered, tears beginning to form.

“What did you call me?”

“A bigot, a massive bigot! I would have expected this from some of the Canterlot nobles but… but not from you. You know what? Chrysalis is my mother, that doesn’t make Twilight Velvet any less so. I have friends here and… and if you could just see past your own one dimensional perceptions for one, just one minute! You could see the good in changelings.” Tears had started to flow now.

Shining just looked at Twilight in a way that broke her heart… disgust. “I honestly don’t know who you are anymore.”

Twilight sniffed. “I could say the same BBBFF…”

Shining slammed a hoof down. “Don’t call me that, changeling, only my sister calls me that.”

Twilight’s ears wilted and the tears became a full on breakdown, sobbing echoing the room before Twilight suddenly got up and bolted for the door.

Shining’s brain suddenly seemed to catch up with what he said, and a guilty expression descended onto his face. “Twily…” he called out, his call being lost amidst the sound of a mare’s sorrow.

The doors reacted with a lavender hue, swinging open as the distraught princess barreled through, completely missing the earth pony eavesdropper falling flat onto his face as the door he was leaning on jolted forwards.

Longshot looked up down the corridor as the sobs became a faint echo. Once they were gone he turned to look at his superior with a strong disgust.

“What the hay hero?”

Shining only responded by burying his head in his hooves in ultimate shame.

Queen Chrysalis sat regally on her obsidian throne, or as regally as her bored mind would allow as she went over a particularly dull report on the state and productivity of the hive’s agriculture. After she finished another report, yet another would take its place.

“Ugh, paperwork. Organisation is more my daughters forte,” Chrysalis mused to herself, taking a glance at the empty throne beside her.

“Your highness?” A voice pinged over the hive.

‘At last, a distraction from these accursed reports!’

“What is it?”

“It’s- it’s Princess Twilight your highness.”

That got her attention.

“She was crying profusely, and-"

“She was what!? Where is she now?”

“In her agitated state she may have… accidentally lashed out and demolished a wall with her magic. A-after that she, w-well, spent about five minutes apologizing during which she only became more agitated, after which she ran into your bedchambers and slammed the door!”

“No drone goes near my chambers, I’m on my way!”

Chrysalis scattered all the reports she had in her grasp to one side and sprinted immediately. Jumping off her throne, she created a portal opening beneath her leading to the one place she currently wanted to be.

Twilight lay on her mother’s bed, curled into the sheets as sorrowful sobs echoed throughout the chambers.

--“I could say the same BBBFF…”

“Don’t call me that, changeling, only my sister calls me that.”--

He had rejected her. All of her worst fears had played out right before her eyes, was this the reaction she could expect from everypony else?

She laid there for what seemed like an eternity in the depths of Tartarus, before a fiery green glow introduced a new presence in the tear filled room.

Chrysalis gingerly approached the bed, where her daughter lay. “Twilight?”

Out of nowhere Twilight lunged and held onto to Chrysalis, nuzzling her chest. “He… he…”

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Chrysalis cooed, nuzzling the top of her daughters head, taking her place on the bed next to Twilight. Right now she had to be there for her daughter; she could, and would have words with Captain Armor later.

“I just… never thought he’d…”

“I know Twilight, I’m so sorry. If I had known, I would never had left you alone with him.”

“He just wouldn’t listen, I tried to explain but…”

Twilight didn’t continue, instead the sobbing returned, and it was several long minutes before she spoke again.

“I… I need to go back to Canterlot,” Twilight sniffled. “I need to know.”

“Are you sure? Twilight I…”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“OK… if that’s what you want I will arrange passage in the morning for you and the ponies. My only condition is that you take Carduus and his squad with you.”

After a moment Twilight nodded, before burying her head in Chrysalis’ chest, letting all the built up tears fall. Chrysalis lay there as her daughter continued to sob, gently stroking her mane while draping a protective wing over her daughters trembling body. They continued to lay there like this, until all of Twilight’s tears were spent and she drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Chrysalis looked over her daughters form, this was real. She was here, after so many years.

Chrysalis gently nuzzled her daughter one last time before laying her head down, and too drifting to a peaceful slumber.

Author's Note

Will Shining Armor fall victim to the fandom's hate?

Or more importantly, will I after writing and releasing this chapter? :twilightsheepish:

Find out, in the comments section!

17 - Broken Armor

“What the hay, hero?”

Longshot couldn’t hide the contempt on his face. Not that it mattered, Shining Armor wasn't even looking at him. Instead he stared eyes wide at the floor, mumbling to himself. “What have I… I done?”

Vladimir shoved Longshot into the room, and closed the doors behind him. He had overheard the conversation too, but he wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth. It certainly hadn't sounded like the captain he had been serving alongside.

“How could you be so cold, to your…” Longshot was cut off by Vladimir putting a hoof to his mouth.

“I’ll handle this,” he turned and looked at Shining head on. “CAPTAIN ARMOR!” That startled him out of his trance, and he looked back at Vlad. “We were ordered to track this hive down, and in the event that we did, we were to act as diplomats on behalf of their highnesses. So far, your conduct has been unbecoming of not only an officer of the Solar Guard, but as a gentlecolt of Equestria, and most importantly, a brother.” Shining’s face fell ashen, Vlad knowing that his speech had the desired effect. “You have one chance to explain yourself before I have you detained, and carted back to Canterlot in chains.”

Longshot raised an eyebrow to Vladimir's reaction. “Wow Vlad, didn’t expect that from you of all ponies, I can see the papers now, 'Lunar VS Solar, Captain Vladimir locks up Solar counterpart'.”

Shining Armor that looked back at him now was a ghost of his usual self. “I’m… I’m sorry, I just can’t get the image out of my head. She just… she just looks so much like her…”

Longshot and Vladimir both looked at each other. They could both see the signs; the thousand yard stare, the uncontrollable shaking - Shining was in the middle of a P.T.S.D episode. Longshot grabbed a bed cover, and draped it around Shiny’s shoulders, before sitting next to him. Vladimir sat down with them.

“Care to explain?”

Shining gulped, but nodded; he knew he wasn't getting anywhere till he told them. “I haven't told anyone this, not even Cadance, but… I remember everything,” the pair looked at him, momentarily confused. “I mean, the lead up to the wedding. The Queen swapped out for the real Cadance about a week beforehand. I noticed straight away that something was wrong. It was a good impression, but it wasn’t good enough. So I confronted her. After she realised I wasn’t going to be fooled, she attacked. She knocked me to the ground, and touched her horn to mine. Before I knew what was happening, my mind was flooded with her presence. It felt horrible, alien. I had lost, without even knowing it. She got up, and looked at me. She told me to get up, and I did. She told me to walk in a circle, and I did. I would do everything she told me, and I had to watch myself do it, unable to get my own body to respond.”

Both Vlad and Longshot stared at Shining in horror.

“The whole time, all I could think about was Cadance – what had she done with Cadance? My next memory is waking up half an hour later, and ‘Cadance’ told me I had bumped my head. I believed her. I lived the next week out, half myself, half not. It wasn’t until we started on this trip that my memories have come back. She must have put a memory suppression spell on me, but now that I’m free, I can recall at least nine occasions where my mind woke up, and she had to recast her spell. Each time I felt like I had been hit by a freight train, and each time I relived the horrible realization I had no idea where my Cadance was.”

Shining released a sigh.

“Each night on this trip, I recall a little more. But just then, when I saw Twily in her natural form, all I could see was a younger version of her mother. The wall inside, it broke, and in that instant, I felt everything.”

His two companions were speechless. His story more than covered his sudden change.

“And the worst part is that I just hurt Twilight. I know in my heart that she isn’t a monster, and her species probably aren’t either, but the two sides in my head can’t meet up at the moment, and I took it out on her.”

Vlad placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Shining, look, if there is anything I can do for you, just let me know.”

Shining looked up from the floor, a new look of determination on his face. “There is. Get me a meeting with the Queen.”

“My Queen!”

Chrysalis rolled over in her bed. “Which ever ling saw fit to wake me from my slumber best have a good reason!” Careful not to disturb Twilight, she climbed out of bed.

“I’m sorry your highness, but Captain Armor demands an audience.”

“No one demands an audience with me, but, I really want to talk with him. Send him to the throne room, I will be there shortly.”

Shining Armor sat in the middle of the throne room, whilst Vlad and Longshot stayed by the main doors. Several of the changeling guards around the room were giving him death glares; obviously his outburst had spread around the hive.

A door to an antechamber opened, and the Queen strode in. She walked past Shining, turning around in front of him. “I have just spent the last half hour holding my crying daughter until she went to sleep. Answer for yourself, Captain Armor, before I throw you out into the ravenous desert of the Badlands.”

Shining Armor's eyes fell at the mention of Twilight’s tears, but became resolute again once she continued.

“Answer for myself? Answer for myself? How in bloody Tartarus dare you. It is YOU who need to answer for their actions!”

Taken aback by this, Chrysalis scoffed. “Me?”

“Yes, YOU! Rather than just meet with Princess Celestia, and explain the situation, you turn me into a puppet, and ruin my wedding. And to top it all off; I REMEMBER EVERYTHING!”

Shining Armor's voice reverberated around the throne room, but it still made less noise then the look on Chrysalis’s muzzle.

The word devastated doesn’t come close enough. A few seconds later, she sank to the floor. She mouthed like a fish for a few moments, before she could finally speak.

“You were never supposed to remember anything – that’s the point of the spell.” Then the true weight of her actions, the true horror she put him through, came to the forefront of her mind. “I would never have done this is I had known the spell could fail, I… I would never wish that kind of pain on my enemies.”

‘I’m not Crudelis,’ Chrysalis thought to herself.

Shining looked down at her, anger in his eyes. “Yet it is done.”

"And I regret what happened, but it is in the past now; it time to start anew, Captain."

"Regret? Do you know what it feels like? Huh? To come so close to losing sompony who you hold so dear!"

"I would think you would find that I do! My husband died protecting Twilight, whom if you will recall I in fact also very nearly lost, so don't you have the gall to lecture me on loss, Shining Armor!"

Shining's eyes widened at the queen's words, a slight bit of guilt coming up to meet the anger, but not quite enough to sate it completely, just enough to cool it. Chrysalis and Shining stared each other down, with Shining losing some of his nerve at the changeling queen's retort, and Chrysalis with regret in her eyes. It was Chrysalis who spoke again.

“Twilight will be heading back to Canterlot tomorrow, you know.”

That took Shining by surprise. “She is?”

“She wants to know whether everypony else will react the way you did.”

“They won’t.”

“But she doesn’t know that, not for certain. I’m arranging for you three to return with her, I just hope you use that time to make amends, for your sake.”

“Was that a threat?”

“No,” she responded. “It's advice, for you will never forgive yourself otherwise.”

Shining looked away. “Perhaps I… I just don’t know if now is the right time.”

“And when will be?”

“I don’t know!”

Silence reigned in the large throne room, before Shining eventual managed to speak up again.

“I’ll never forget. What you did.”

Chrysalis sighed. “Neither should you, but let’s at least try to keep it civil, for my daughter’s… for Twilight’s sake.”

After a few moments of consideration he reluctantly replied, “Agreed.”

Author's Note

This chapter was a collab between me and my editor, RC2101_Copey, with him writing about 90% of the chapter. Did I ever mention how much of a big help he is when writing this? :twilightsmile:

19 - Canterlot

The occupants of Canterlot Castle couldn’t help but cast wary looks towards the group moving their way through the castle.

The ponies leading them through the halls were familiar enough, both were captains of their respective royal guard regiments, and the pony just behind them was decked out in EUP armor. However behind these three walked five stallions armed with unsettling obsidian hilted swords, these stallions were arranged in a protective circular formation around a very self-conscious lavender mare they all recognised.

Twilight Sparkle had returned.

But of course by this point most of them had heard the rumours, and that certainly didn’t help the mutual feeling of unease among the spectators. And Twilight could hear all too well the murmurs among them.

“Is that Twilight Sparkle?”

“What is a changeling doing here?”

“You don’t actually believe those rumors do you?”

“What if she controls our minds?!”

“There you are!” a new, much happier voice emerged just ahead of them.

Twilight poked her head around the individuals in front of her to try and glimpse the pony who had said that, what she saw was a unicorn mare with a white coat, a dark brown mane, lighter brown eyes, and a cutie mark of an ink pen and inkwell.

“Twilight? Is that you?”

“Hey, Raven,” Twilight said rather meekly.

“Oh my gosh, we have to tell her highness right away!” Raven exclaimed, turning to make a mad dash to where she knew Celestia would be.

“Whoa hold up there, Raven,” Shining Armor moved to intercept her. “We’re on our way there right now so there’s no need for a mad rush, I assume she will be in her study at this time?”

Raven paused in her attempts to scamper away, stood up straight and adjusted her glasses as she calmed herself. “Erm, yes. Her highness entered her study just a few minutes ago.”

“Thanks Raven.”

“Oh, but you are alright aren’t you Twilight dear? I can’t imagine what a horrible experience you must have been put through,” a look of care and concern crossed her face.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. It wasn’t actually as bad as you think it was.”

Raven quirked an eyebrow. “Really? How so?”

“I… don’t want to talk about it here and now, maybe later?”

“Oh that’s fine, I understand. Anyway, as I said her highness is in her personal study; your return will be a tremendous weight off her shoulders. I don’t think I’ve seen her that upset in, well, ever.”

“Thanks for the directions, Raven,” Shining spoke again. “Have a good day now.”

“Thank you captain, it was so good to see you again Twilight!” Raven waved as she departed down the halls, and the group continued towards where Princess Celestia awaited.

The journey didn't take long

A walk down the castle's many hallways later and the group of ponies and changelings stopped just outside of the door leading into Celestia’s private study. To Twilight the door seemed to grow larger and more intimidating as she considered who lay within, the fear she displayed didn’t go unnoticed by the others present, and neither did it go unnoticed those actively monitoring from slightly further away.

“Twilight, I’m here if you need me,” Chrysalis spoke over the hive.

“Thank you…”

“Alright Miss Sparkle,” Vladimir addressed. “We’ll report in first, and then you can talk with the princess.”

“Yeah, sure. Um, could you all stay outside when I speak to her because, well…”

Carduus gave Twilight a sympathetic smile. “If that is your wish, just call if you need us, we’ll be right outside the door.”

The other guards seemed uneasy at the prospect of letting their princess face the princess of the sun alone, but followed their instructions, however reluctantly.

Taking on an air of professionalism, Shining Armor, Vladimir and Longshot gently opened the door and entered the room beyond.

Princess Celestia was sitting behind her desk, a mountain of paperwork sat beside her with one scroll caught within her golden magical aura. With a sigh of disapproval she placed down the piece of paper she was examining, and after signing it with a quill in all of the relevant places she stamped a big red ‘DENIED’ over the form. She then moved to place it on another pile of paperwork along with the rest of the papers marked with denied, only to jerk up slightly as she spotted she had visitors, and saw who those visitors were.

“Your highness,” Vlad moved ahead of the others, saluting to the solar princess. “Mission objective has been completed, ready to report.”

Celestia shook her head to shake off the surprise of their appearance before taking on her normal regal posture. “Go ahead captain, you located the changeling hive?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Very good, I am glad you are safe my little ponies.”

“However, before we go into details, you should know that there were… complications.” Internally, Vladimir was shaking, but his training allowed him to remain stoic.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at the statement. “Complications? How so?”

Before the lunar captain could answer, Longshot cut in. “I think you should see yourself!” he said, ignoring Vladimir’s annoyed glare. “You can come in now!” he called out to the door.

The door opened a crack, and a trembling lavender mare slowly meandered her way into the room. The sight of this mare caused Celestia’s eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates. As Twilight endured the Solar Princess’ gaze, the three stallions decided it prudent to leave them be, and quickly vacated the room, Vlad berating an unrepentant Longshot due to the latter’s interruption seconds earlier.

Now it was just Celestia and Twilight Sparkle left in the study.

“P-Prin-Princess?”

Suddenly Twilight was lifted up into a bone crushing hug backed by the power if the sun itself, Celestia having moved from behind the desk to Twilight in a speed only thought possible by a certain manic pink mare.

“Twilight? It’s really you?”

Twilight’s response was muffled within the alabaster alicorn's fur.

Celestia quickly released Twilight to allow her a chance to breath, giving her an apologetic, and yet joyful smile.

Celestia sucked in a wet sounding breath, her eyes beginning to glisten. “Forgive me my faithful student, but when you were taken from us, I was afraid I lost you.”

“You… you were?”

Celestia nodded in confirmation to her previous statement.

“T-thank you princess, but I’m fine, really!”

“Twilight, it’s just Celestia, please. Besides, from what I have gathered you and I perhaps hold the same title?” Celestia said, if just a bit teasingly.

“Well Princess-“ Celestia resisted the urge to roll her eyes at still being called princess instead of Celestia. “-i-it’s… true.”

“Can I see?”

“See what?”

Celestia poked her chest with a hoof. “You.”

Twilight cringed in hesitation, still unsure of how the solar princess would react.

“Twilight…” Celestia said gently, using a hoof to softly turn Twilight to look her in the eyes. “I promise I won’t be mad… but if you don’t want to show me, that’s fine too.”

Finally Twilight relented, and after backing up slightly allowed green flames to whip around her body, returning Princess Twilight into view.

Celestia examined Twilight’s alien form, and yet her warm smile and loving, caring eyes never faded, or even wavered for a second.

“Thank you Twilight, for trusting me; you should never be ashamed or afraid to show your true self to the world.”

“I don’t think I can show myself even if I wanted to…” Twilight mumbled to the floor.

Celestia jerked upright. “And why ever not?”

Twilight looked up at Celestia in confusion.

“Does your mother want war with Equestria?”

Twilights eye widened. “N-no!”

“Does she intend to continue with hostilities?”

“No!”

A smile settled across her muzzle. “Then I think you can be considered the first dignitary sent by the hive to negotiate a peace between our peoples. Thus, you and any changeling that may have come with you are now under the protection of the Equestrian throne.”

“Wait… what? Accepting you I expected, but this…” Chrysalis communed over the hive.

“I- I don’t know what to say. How am I meant to be an ambassador between us? What if I mess up? What if-“

“Twilight…”

“Oh, sorry,” Twilight blushed, burying the panic as deep as she could.

“Of course I would help you and make sure your position and protection is known to Equestria. As for any potential negotiations, I am confident in your abilities Twilight, I have taught you about politics to the best of my ability having known you yourself would have to deal with it someday, if not quite like this…”

“What… do you mean by that?”

Celestia sighed, “That is a conversation for later. If you still feel uncomfortable doing this alone, I’m sure Queen Chrysalis has diplomats to help out, surely?”

“What do you think mother?”

“This is sudden but… what do we have to lose by this point? I have some Changelings that I usually send to deal with other hives when my presence isn’t required, so I will send them to you. Trot carefully my daughter, some ponies may oppose this.”

“Twilight?”

Twilight snapped out of the hive communication to see Celestia wondering why she had paused in such a way.

“Sorry, mother said she agrees.”

Celestia’s eyebrow attempted to say ‘hi’ to her horn. “Wait, how…”

“Egregore, or hive mind if you prefer.” Research mode Twilight was almost showing through.

“Interesting, there is quite a bit we have to learn about changelings.”

“Changelings have an Egregore, some empathic senses… and if you’re interested I have made detailed notes on changeling biology, physiology, some of their history among other things! By the way can I use the royal library later? There is something I need to look up.”

Celestia chuckled. “Your inquisitive mind is always welcome in the royal library Twilight, as you well know. By the way, your friends are still in the castle.”

“They’re here!?”

Celestia nodded. “I will gather them in the dining hall, they will be eager to meet you.”

Celestia moved away from the changeling princess and opened the door, to find Longshot and all of the changeling guards with the exception of Carduus listening in at the door. Shining, Vlad and Carduus simply facehooved, they had tried to warn them that they would be caught.

Of the five eavesdroppers, Longshot was one that Celestia recognised, but the other four she did not.

“Friends of yours, Twilight?”

“They’re, well… my guards.”

“My my, you have guards now?” Celestia teased.

“Twilight, why aren’t you disguised?” Carduus asked.

“Well, if you were listening in…” Longshot started with a smirk.

Spike sat at the dining room table, surrounded by a rather large group of ponies. The five element bearers were there, as was Princesses Cadance and Luna.

“Why are we here exactly?” Spike asked, munching on a small plate of gems.

“My sister has something she wants to talk to you all about.” Luna said knowingly, having already been informed.

“Yeah but what is that!” Rainbow Dash blurted out, “I don’t like being kept in the dark like this.” She hovered above the group, forelegs crossed and a scowl on her face.

“I’m sure Princess Celestia has a very good reason,” Fluttershy muttered lightly.

Rainbow looked at the timid yellow Pegasus. “And what might… where’s Pinkie gone?”

The group looked around to see that the excitable pink pony had indeed vanished, and yet the door hadn’t been opened, and all the windows couldn’t be opened, neither were they smashed.

“The pink one is going to give me a migraine,” Luna sighed.

“That’s Pinkie Pie for ya. Best you jus’ accept it and let that be that,” Applejack suggested.

Luna’s eye twitched. “Thou may be correct, tis perhaps for the best.”

“Dialect,” Celestia’s voice sounded as she entered the room.

“Tia I will end you!” Luna shouted out in annoyance, turning to glare at her amused sister. “Well since you are here perhaps we can get started.”

“Started with what you highness?” Rarity asked. “Your summons were awfully sudden.”

“Captain Shining Armor, Captain Vladimir Vespertilio and Sergeant Longshot have returned.”

“Shiny’s back?” Cadance brightened up. “Is he alright?”

“He is fine, Cadance,” Celestia answered. “He and the others are just writing up their report.”

“And Twilight?”

Celestia smiled. “See for yourself.”

Celestia stood to the side to show the chitin clad form of Twilight approach sheepishly, five other now undisguised changelings standing back to give their princess some space.

“Welcome back Twilight!” a hyperactive voice exclaimed alongside masses of confetti being fired out of a cannon, the pink mare having emerged from a now broken wall. Somehow in that split second a giant banner reading ‘Welcome back from the hive Twilight’ had been set up and all of Twilight’s guards had been given party hats.

“Laughter! Did you have to break the wall?” Luna seethed as she tried to comprehend what just happened.

Pinkie shrugged. “Hey at least I didn’t break the fourth wall this time! Oh wait…”

Twilight was knocked out of her own attempts at comprehension when she was promptly glomped by a small purple dragon, and then buried under a pile of blue, yellow, orange, white and pink as her friends all tackled her into a relieved hug, none of them seeming to care about the whole changeling thing. Captain Carduus almost had a conniption.

“Hey girls, hey Spike!” Twilight hugged them back.

Reluctantly the seven untangled themselves from the cuddle pile.

“I must say darling, you really make chitin work. Now I simply must make a dress to compliment it! Your old dresses won’t really fit the new look, or your wings, but I’m sure I can make one that is simply looks fabulous on you! Free of charge of course.”

Rainbow snorted. “Of course that’s the first thing on your mind, Rares.”

“So… none of you care that I’m a changeling?” Twilight asked in slight surprise.

“Sugarcube, we wouldn’t care if you were a mish-mashed draconequus, you are our friend, end of.” Twilight could feel the emotions coming from her friends, and it was almost too much for her. Luckily, Rainbow was ready to bring her back in a way only Rainbow could...

“The real question is, do you know how to use those wings?”

“Well, I am learning, but I can’t really fly yet so…”

“WHAT! No friend of mine is being stuck on the ground if I can help it. Egghead don’t you worry, once I’m done you may ‘almost’ be as good as me.”

“Dash that’s not really necessary…”

“Oh no… I insist!” Rainbow said while pressing her face against Twilight’s, making the latter very uncomfortable.

“Simmer down Rainbow," Applejack bit down on Rainbow's tail and dragged her back. "Ah think you can let things calm down first at least.”

The multi-colored mare simply huffed in response, but did as she was told.

Now Cadance approached, seeming very unsure of herself as she looked at Twilight’s true form. Images of her time captive in the caves flashed in her mind.

Twilight saw Cadance react in this way, and her good mood was replaced with a despondent one, her face following suit.

Now that Cadance couldn’t abide.

“Twilight…” Cadance signaled, her nervousness gone. Twilight understood what Cadance was signalling immediately, much to her joy.

“Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!” both mares sang while doing the dance to go with it, at the end both broke down into a fit of giggles.

Celestia smiled as she let the group continue to catch up, Luna moved in beside her.

“I told you so,” Luna said in satisfaction.

“I know Lulu, I worried too much. However, I get the feeling our work is just beginning.”

“Indeed, any trouble on your way here?”

“A few odd looks in the corridor, but my presence kept anything more from potentially happening, I will make another announcement by days end.”

The two alicorns looked to the group again, seeing Rarity now fussing over the five hapless changeling guards, deciding how best to make them smart suits for ‘special occasions’. After she had been dragged away by a reluctant looking Spike, Twilight had managed to introduce Carduus and his squad to her friends.

“They are a curious group, aren’t they? Things were much simpler a thousand years ago.” Luna observed.

“It keeps things interesting.”

“Yes, I heard you used that to your advantage at the gala,” Luna gave her sister a frown.

“If you would attend, perhaps I wouldn’t need to go to such extremes.”

Luna dropped her glare and stuck out her tongue instead. “Not a chance.”

In the background, Cadance broke off from the group and left the dining hall entirely, as the others began to talk, undoubtedly looking for that husband-to-be of hers.

Shining Armor had finished writing his part of the report, Vlad and Longshot had since departed to get some rest and relaxation as reward for a job well done. They needed it after their time in the Badlands. Shining however had gone to his fiancé’s current residence in the castle, she of course wasn’t there. So now he stood on the balcony staring off into the distance.

“Shiny?”

Shining Armor turned around to see a familiar pink alicorn standing there.

“Cadance!” He exclaimed as he ran up to and kissed the alicorn, who kissed passionately back.

“Don’t scare me like that ever again mister!”

Shining chuckled. “You’re way too scary to risk disappointing.”

“Me? Scary?”

“The others don’t know you like I do,” he laughed, but a moment later his face fell again.

“Shiny? What’s wrong?”

"Cadance… I said some things I didn't mean, and lashed out and... I messed up, bad."

“What do you mean? Said things to whom?” She was instantly in her mothering mode.

“Twily, and I’m scared. Scared I may have driven my sister away for good.”

Cadance simply sighed. “Tell me everything.”

The barracks, Canterlot Castle

Longshot opened his provided locker and began to unload his armor and precious crossbow into it for storage.

“Sergeant Longshot?”

Longshot turned around to see a Pegasus with white fur and a blonde mane, his armor signified him as a commander of the Solar Guard.

“Can I help you sir?” he asked as he slammed the locker door shut.

“I’m Commander Broad Sword, second to Captain Shining Armor, you were a part of the mission to the Badlands, correct?”

Longshot nodded, but couldn’t help but feel something was off about this stallion.

“All mission parameters achieved I presume?”

Longshot didn’t respond, instead he stared at the commander suspiciously.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes.”

“I’m pretty sure the details are classified, sorry sir.”

“Oh don’t worry, I don’t need to know the details, all that matters is Twilight Sparkle is in Canterlot safe and sound,” Broad Sword smirked

They stood there for a few more moments. “As you were,” Broad Sword finally concluded.

With that Broad Sword departed.

A great many red flags sounded in Longshots head, and yet he had nothing more to go on than pure gut instinct, no way to prove the Commander was up to anything. It was gut instinct, nothing more, nothing less.

But that gut instinct was rarely wrong.

20 - A Long Awaited Talk

Later that day...

“So what do you say egghead, want to take those wings for a spin?” Rainbow asked as if there was no other answer but yes.

Thus she would be sorely disappointed.

“Not yet Rainbow Dash, I have other things to take care of first.”

Twilight and her friends still sat in Canterlot Castle’s extravagant dining room. Celestia and Luna had left to attend to royal duties not long after Cadance had gone. Celestia’s announcement to Canterlot had undoubtedly already taken place, only time would tell how that went.

Rainbow launched herself into the air, throwing her forelegs wide. “Oh come on! What in all of Equestria could possibly be more important than learning to fly, and being taught to fly by the best flyer in all Equestria!”

“And the most modest,” Applejack sarcastically deadpanned, to Rainbow’s irritation.

“Well, what?” Rainbow said striking through the air, closing the distance between her and Twilight immediately.

“Seeing my parents,” Twilight responded, her voice unsure.

Rainbow backed off immediately. “Oh, right. That’s pretty important after… ya know… everything.”

“Yes Rainbow… it is. Don’t mind her sugarcube, ah’m still trying to teach her a thing called tact,” said Applejack.

Rainbow snorted. “Tact? What do you know about tact?”

“A darn sight more than you ah’d wager.”

“Yeah right, prove it!”

“Um, girls. Maybe we should get back on topic… you know… if you want to…” Fluttershy suggested meekly.

Rarity spoke next. “The darling is right, this is our friend’s well-being we need to consider!”

“Girls,” Twilight started. “I appreciate the sentiment, but you really don’t need to fuss over me. It’s not like I’m dying or anything.”

“Twilight’s dying?!” Pinkie shouted out, quickly retracting her head from a box of party supplies where she was storing the banner and party hats for possible future use. Obviously she hadn’t heard most of the conversation.

A panicky Pinkie pushed her fluffy pink face into Twilight’s black chitin covered one, “Oh my gosh Twilight you can’t die yet! What about all those parties I had planned for you over the next several thousand years! I know I won’t live that long but I’m sure my kids or something could continue my good work. Besides a funeral after-party is one party I really don’t want to plan! I mean, does a funeral after-party really count as a party? It’s more like a gathering of sad ponies and I don’t like sad ponies because it makes me really really sad that everypony else is sad and my mane goes droopy and everything! I mean there was this one time when I thought Gummy had died because he was just sitting there lifelessly, but then I realised he was alive and he always sits there like that! Who knew? I just petted him on the head and said, ‘Hey Gummy, want to make cupcakes?’ and then we made cupcakes! Girls I’m hungry now after all that cupcake talk who wants cupcakes?”

…

“What were we talking about again?” Pinkie finished with a question.

Several more seconds of overly awkward silence then occurred.

“…What?” Twilight broke the silence.

Pinkie simply shrugged and stuck her head back into the box of party supplies.

“Anyway darling,” Rarity continued as if nothing had happened, probably for the best. “It’s our job as your friends to give you all the support you need in these trying times.”

“And I appreciate that Rarity, I really do. It’s just… I feel like there are some things I need to deal with myself. My parents being one of them.”

“This family business sounds like it’s gonna get pretty complicated,” Rainbow remarked.

“Not really,” Applejack said. “Ah got family all over the place, and ah never found it ta be tha’ complicated.”

Applejack turned away from Rainbow Dash and looked at Twilight. “Everything is gonna be fine Twi, and as the Element of Honest ya’ll know ah’m not lyin’.”

“Thanks Applejack,” Twilight said before sighing, “I hope you’re right, I really do.”

Household of Night Light and Twilight Velvet, Canterlot

“Bills,” Night Light said in a monotone voice as he went through the day’s mail.

“Bills,” he repeated.

Both he and Twilight Velvet sat in their household’s living room. They sat on the larger sofa as Night Light went through all the letters piled on the small table in front of them. Velvet sat beside him, lounging while reading a romance novel.

“Bills, bills, more bills.”

Velvet rolled her eyes, barely holding in a sigh.

“Oh for Celestia’s sake!” Night Light broke the pattern."

“Honey?”

“Another letter from one of our neighbors saying how we must disown our own daughter because it’s ‘undignified’ to have a creature ‘like her’ as a part of our ‘noble’ family!”

Velvet didn’t even bother to hold the sigh this time as she placed a bookmark in her novel and placed it on the table.

“If I get one more letter like this from anypony else, ‘fellow nobles’ or not I’m going to find them and show them what I think of their freaking opinions of our daughter!” Night Light shouted, lighting his horn and burning the letter to cinders.

Velvet shimmied up to Night Light and gave him a very welcome, comforting hug. “Just ignore them, Nighty. Don’t give those idiots the satisfaction of any response.”

“I’m just worried dear, I just… want our daughter back.”

“I know. Celestia made that announcement earlier, maybe if we went we would have heard some news?”

“If there was any news don’t you think we would have been told first? That if she was back she would visit us right away?”

“This is Twilight we’re talking about honey,” Velvet chuckled.

Night Light couldn’t help but chuckle himself. “Good point. Still though… wouldn’t she-“

A knock on the door interrupted whatever Night Light was going to say.

“Who could that be?” Velvet asked to nopony in particular.

Night Light got up from the sofa and made his way to the household’s entrance hall, approaching the front door. When he opened the door a couple of stoic Solar Guards could be seen standing alongside five armoured individuals with the unmistakable profiles of changeling drones.

None of this however fazed Night Light, his attention was grabbed by the form in front of him.

She was almost unrecognizable, chitin as black as night, an almost translucent looking blue mane with a green highlight and sharp fangs hanging from her muzzle. And yet she was recognized instantly. The obvious cutie mark, the timid posture… and the ever-so-familiar sparkling, lavender eyes looking up at him in absolute terror.

“D-daddy?”

“Twilight? It is you, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s me… look if this is a bad time-“

“Don’t you even think about it young lady!” Night Light blurted while pulling Twilight into a warm hug, a tear rolling down his cheek.

“You’re not mad? I guess after my friends and the princesses I really shouldn’t be surprised.”

Night Light released Twilight. “Twily, if you didn’t overreact and needlessly panic about things you wouldn’t be, well… you, now would you?”

Twilight giggled. “Very true.”

Night Light gestured Twilight to enter, the others stayed outside to give the young princess some space.

“Who was it Nighty?” Velvet called through.

“Hi,” Twilight called in as she walked towards the living room entrance.

“Twilight?” Her adoptive mother stuck her head into the hall way.

“Hey m-“

“And what time do you call this?”

“Huh?” Twilight tilted her head, confused already.

“I mean, really? Not even a single letter to say ‘hey I’m OK by the way’? Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been? Tell her Nighty!”

Night Light simply shuffled into the living room and over to the sofa nervously.

“Honestly young lady, I have half a mind to ground you!”

“But, I’m an adult.”

“And I’m your mother!” Velvet finally shouted, running up to Twilight and crushing her into yet another embrace. This was becoming a theme.

Her voice came out at a near whisper. “Please don’t scare me like that again…”

“I promise,” Twilight hugged back, how had she ever doubted them?

“Good,” Velvet said as she finally calmed down, both her and Twilight taking seats around the table. “Now, I have a feeling we have some catching up to do?”

“Yeah… how much were you told?” Her face betrayed her fears.

“Enough. What’s she like?”

“Who do you mean?”

“Your… real mother.”

“You are my real mother, just as much as she is,” Twilight assured.

Velvet smiled. “I know Twily, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just, I always knew you had other parents out there somewhere, I just never imagined she would be a queen.”

Velvet’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Which means my daughter is a princess! Take that Snooty Blue! Your son is a Prince in name only while mine will one day rule a kingdom! ‘Prince’ Blueblood my ass! You have no idea how long that old mare has been bragging about that! It’s been ever since you became Celestia’s student, Faust that whole family has a terrible ego complex.”

“Come on honey, Twilight doesn’t need to hear about your rivalry with Snooty Blue.”

Velvet huffed. “Fine, but I’m still going to shove it in her face and you can’t stop me!”

“Of course dear.”

Twilight chuckled lightly, it was good to see things haven’t changed. Everypony was right, everything was going to be just fine.

“So…” Night Light started in a way that immediately told you that your dad was about to tease you ruthlessly.

“Any of those changelings out there with you? I mean you never managed to find a coltfriend with a pony, so maybe with another changeling?”

“Dad!” Twilight groaned pleadingly.

“OK, OK sorry… so how about a marefriend?”

“DAD!”

Author's Note

Phew, finally got the reunion stuff out the way, now I can finally progress the story again!

21 - Arrival

Three days later

It had been three days since Princess Twilight Sparkle made a visit to her adoptive parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet. With that visit all of Twilight’s remaining fears and doubts about returning to Equestria were swept cleanly away.

All except for one thing.

Twilight had yet to encounter Shining Armor for any significant amount of time; she would occasionally spot him performing his duty as captain of the Solar Guard, but that was it. However on this occasion she would have little time to dwell on her and her brother's damaged relationship, for Canterlot was abuzz with both anticipation, and some lingering fears, as dignitaries from the Badlands hive were finally due to arrive.

Equestria’s media had gone haywire after Celestia’s initial announcement on Twilight’s return. Headlines surrounding the event dominated above all else, even a celebrity breakup was pushed aside in favor of this bombshell. Headlines included:

‘TWILIGHT SPARKLE: CHANGELING PRINCESS’

‘INVADER OR NEGOTIATOR: THE PRINCESS TWILIGHT DEBATE’

‘CHANGELING DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS: YEA OR NAY?’

Of course there were also the fear mongers, mainly from the daily Canterlot newspaper ‘CNN’, Canterlot News Network.

‘END IS NIGH, CHANGELINGS INFILTRATE AND MANIPULATE ROYALTY’

Twilight herself had barely left the castle since arriving, barring the one visit to her parents’ house and a trip to Donut Joe’s a day later, who was all too happy to host Twilight and her… interesting entourage.

Twilight now stood in front of the main gates of Canterlot castle, with Princess Celestia standing just to the left of her. To Twilight’s right, her five guards stood lined up in a uniform formation, which was mirrored by Celestia’s five Solar Guards on her left hoof side. The road leading from the castle was lined with barriers and guard’s keeping at bay the mass of intrigued onlookers and nosy media journalists all wanting that career defining interview.

Just across from them a carriage was just pulling up, said carriage being surrounded by an escort of guards. Out of the carriage into the gleaming sunlight of the beautiful Canterlot morning stepped three rather standard looking changelings, but according to Chrysalis they were the three most accomplished diplomats within the hive, having spent a great amount of time at other hives negotiating all sorts of deals when the queen herself was otherwise engaged.

As the three approached, their escort kept a respectful distance, and the three changelings did an excellent job of blocking out the sudden hammering of questions from the reporters and the flashing of cameras. They could honestly say in all their years working as ambassadors to other hives they had never arrived to such a wide amount of interest and fanfare. Ponies were indeed curious creatures.

As the three approached Celestia and Twilight were ready to greet them, Twilight doing her best not to look overly nervous, and Celestia with her usual motherly and welcoming smile perfected by over a thousand years of ruling Equestria.

“Princess Celestia.” The lead changeling bowed. “An honour to make your acquaintance,” he spoke with practiced professionalism.

“The honour is mine, may this be the beginning of a long lasting peace between our two peoples.”

“As is also our wish Princess Celestia.” The diplomat turned to his princess next, bowing again. “Your highness, permission to begin diplomatic negotiations with the nation of Equestria, at your leisure.”

Twilight was surprised at the question, but she quickly recovered and cleared her throat. “Of course. You may begin.”

"All that fanfare just makes me glad I’m not in attendance,” Chrysalis remarked.

“Speaking of, why aren’t you here? Shouldn’t the Queen be here for this, not just the Princess?”

“Having saved Equestria twice already ponies are more likely to trust you, myself on the other hoof…”

“Yeah, I hear you. I promise I won’t let you down!”

“I know you won’t. You will do just fine, my daughter.”

Focusing back on the here and now Twilight saw the diplomat and Celestia finish up a few more words to each other, before the latter motioned the others to follow her into the looming castle itself.

“How are you doing, Twilight?” Celestia asked as they walked through the castle’s gates, their respective guards and the newly arrived diplomats following closely behind the two royals.

“Huh? Oh! Uh, good. If you would have asked me a week and a half ago, and said this is what I would be doing, I would have thought you were crazier than Pinkie Pie.”

“Life does throw us strange hurdles,” Celestia remarked almost sadly.

Twilight looked up at her mentor, concern coloring her words. “Are… you okay Princess?”

Celestia smiled at Twilight. “I’m fine, my student. I'm just… reminiscing.”

The massive front doors of the castle closed behind them with a loud thump. Many of the guards moved on to their normal posts, only leaving the location's usual detail and the royals personal guards remaining. Raven had shown up to show the recently arrived changelings to their rooms and show them the areas of the castle they were authorized to wander.

“So… what now? Are we still on for tonight?” Twilight asked Celestia.

She nodded. “Of course.”

“OK then, until then I’ve been wanting to-” Twilight started to walk away, but was quickly stopped.

“Twilight,” Celestia spoke up again. “The meeting isn’t until this afternoon, and I believe you have someplace to be right now, correct?”

Twilight took on a look of confusion. “What… are you talking about?”

“I believe you made a promise to Rainbow Dash, something about flying lessons if I recall,” Celestia pointed out, a smirk making its way across her muzzle.

“Oh my gosh! I completely forgot! Oh she’s going to be mad, sorry Princess I’ve got to run!” Twilight said as she dashed off down a hallway away from a highly amused Celestia.

“She’s in the gardens Twilight, in the other direction,” she called after her protégé.

Twilight locked all four legs and started sliding across the marble, until she opened her wings like an air-brake. “Oh… right,” she said sheepishly, turning around and bolting in the opposite direction as her guards tried to keep up.

Before the end of the negotiations Carduus was definitely going to have a conniption.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza strolled through the halls of Canterlot Castle towards the guard barracks, where she knew her fiancé would be. The wedding, they had decided, would now take place after the diplomatic meetings were over.

Suffice to say Chrysalis was not invited.

Sure enough, she soon reached the barracks and she quickly found Shining in his own office. He was reviewing a bunch of reports from his underlings, as well as some request or another from his Lunar counterpart Vladimir as well as a complaint from a castle staff member about a ‘loudmouth EUP sergeant’ Cadance could only imagine was Longshot.

What she didn’t expect however was to arrive to find Captain Carduus already there, and beginning some sort of dialogue with the solar Captain, Cadance stood by the door to listen in.

“-besides, shouldn’t you be protecting my sister?” Shining glared.

“My squad can handle that, besides she’s why I’m here.”

“Really?” Shining Armor deadpanned.

“Really,” Carduus replied. “You know how terrified she was of rejection.”

Shining sighed. “I can hazard a guess.”

“Can you now?”

“Look, Carduus was it? I know I messed up, and I don’t need you telling me that. Besides, my family is my business,” Shining said, trying to close the conversation.

“And the emotional well-being of my friend is mine,” Carduus growled.

With Shining’s attention recaptured, Carduus continued. “Do you know what I said to her about her fears? I said, ‘I know the importance of family first hoof, and I think this shouldn’t change a damn thing between you and your pony family’, and I meant it. It shouldn’t change a damn thing, she’s still your, what did Twilight say you call her? SBFF?

“LSBFF,” Shining corrected. “Little sister best friend forever.”

After a few moments of contemplation Shining said next. “Tell me Carduus, how do I dig my way out of this one? After what I said…”

“Just talk to her, is it really that difficult?”

“Do you have a little sister?”

“No, but I have a wife. Like any couple we’ve fought, said things we came to regret. But we talked, and sorted things out, it’s not really that different.”

Shining sighed. “Cadance made the same suggestion.”

“That’s because it’s a good one,” Cadance finally made her presence known. “You should listen to us Shiny, just talk to her. It’s not too late.”

Shining stared down at his desk a few moments, before gaining a look of steely determination. “I’ll do it.”

Both Cadance and Carduus breathed a sigh of relief, it was time to put this drama to rest.

“I’m stuck today with my duties, and she with hers if I recall,” Shining continued. “But I can pull a few strings with Princess Celestia and get leave for tomorrow; I’ll catch her after the day's meeting.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Cadance agreed.

“Now if we’re done here, I best return to my squad,” Carduus said as he turned to leave.

“Hold on Carduus,” Shining called. “Me, Vlad and Longshot are getting drinks later, care to join us?”

Carduus smiled. “It’d be my pleasure.”

Author's Note

And they all lived happily ever after!

*Listens in on ear piece*

What? We're not done yet? Ok sure, but with things looking up as they are what could possibly go wrong? :pinkiecrazy:

22 - Serpens

A rose coloured mare walked blissfully through the Canterlot castle gardens. In all her years working as a maid, her one favorite thing to do in all Equestria was to take a nice, completely peaceful walk through the beautiful gardens.

The mare stopped at her usual spot, a bench just by a bush filled with the most wonderful flowers she had ever seen. She had no idea of the plant's name, but the aura they gave off was sublime to the mare's senses. She just sat there, basking in Celestia’s warm, welcoming sun that was like a loving mother giving a hug to her infant child.

The mare’s bliss was interrupted however when a shadow fell upon her. Looking up to locate the source of the shadow the mare was met with a black form speeding towards her, its chitin black as night, its fangs glistening fiercely, its slit pupils staring into her soul…

It was also screaming in terror.

The bush of flowers exploded into various debris as the changeling slammed full force into the unfortunate flora.

“Twilight!” a raspy voice called out, the mare just spotted a blue Pegasus flying towards the changeling as she vacated the area in a hurry.

Twilight spat out a crushed petal. “Ugh, I’m fine.”

Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief as five drones finally caught up with the pair. “You really gotta start flapping those wings in sync, or do you just really hate flowers?”

Twilight looked at her friend in bemusement. “Very funny Dash, how about we just call it a day.”

“Nope! We are not quitting until I get you flying!”

“But we’ve been at it for hours already! I’ve got things to do, books to read and-"

“Nope” Rainbow repeated. “Come on Twilight, flap those wings and try again!”

Carduus facehooved, at this rate the five guards would drop dead long before those two troublesome mares. “If Princess Twilight wants to call it a day, then we call it a day.”

“She is not getting out of this that easily! No friend of mine is being stuck on the ground if I can help it! And I can help it!”

“Dash, really I’m perfectly contented with walking.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight as if she had grown another head. “Wow, you must have hit your head harder than I thought.”

Twilight sighed. “Rainbow…”

Suddenly Rainbow had an idea, an awful idea. Rainbow Dash got a wonderful awful idea.

“Say Twilight… let’s make a deal…”

Twilight looked up at the evilly smirking Rainbow Dash. “A deal?”

“Yeah, you learn how to fly… and I don’t burn your books!”

Twilight gasped deeply. “You wouldn’t!”

“We all need motivation, now there’s those Starswirl books you fangirl over, famed griffon poetry, and also-"

Suddenly, following a green flash, Rainbow Dash’s vision was filled with two bright white eyes coming from a mare with a mane and wings of pure fire whose chitin had turned white with a pure righteous fury emanating from her.

"Rainbow Dash! Your persistent, strict coaching I can handle. But nopony, and I mean nopony! Threatens. My. Books!”

If Twilight was looking for any reaction from Rainbow, a victorious smirk was not it.

“Oh,” the Princess muttered, reverting back to normal as she realised something.

She was flying.

Twilight hovered perfectly in front of Rainbow Dash, her guards all peeked out of the cover they had dove behind when her outburst started.

Twilight glared at her friend. “That was a dirty trick, Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey, like I said. Everypony needs motivation.”

Both Twilight and Rainbow gently touched back down onto the ground.

“Damn, your highness,” one of her guards spoke. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

A blush made its way to Twilight’s face, only then realizing they had all seen her lose her temper.

“Definitely her mother’s daughter,” Carduus teased.

“Well at least we know how the egghead does the whole ‘on fire when angry' thing. Hey Twilight, how much can you do with the whole ‘turning into stuff’ changeling thing?”

Twilight pondered for a moment. “I don’t actually know. It’s definitely something for me to research.”

“Twilight?” a new voice called.

The group turned to see Raven approaching them.

“Oh, hey Raven. What’s going on?”

“Princess Celestia sent me to collect you, the proceedings are due to start soon.”

“Thank you Raven, I’ll be right there.”

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash. “Sorry we have to cut this short Dash.”

Rainbow snorted. “No you’re not, but I did what I came to do. And now that you’re flying, we’ll work on your acrobatic skills next!”

Twilight began to feel faint. “Acro-ac-acrobatics?”

A changeling stood in the shadows, a rose coloured mare stood next to him, her eyes glowing a soft green. The changeling watched as Princess Twilight concluded her business with the blue Pegasus, Rainbow Dash, the bearer of loyalty if he was correct.

Rainbow Dash took off into the skies as the Princess, along with her five guards, turned to follow the Sun Princess’ assistant.

The changeling turned to the slightly swaying mare, his horn glowing the same green that inhabited her eyes. “Follow them, and make sure none catch word of what’s to come.”

The changeling’s horn sputtered out, and the mare’s eyes returned to normal. She shook her head from side to side as she shook of any remaining dizziness.

“Oh my, how strange.”

The mare took note of the individual next to her, a Pegasus.

“Oh! Commander Broad Sword- I didn’t hear you coming. But I guess that’s a good thing for a guard. Do you need any help with something dearie?”

“Oh no thank you,” the Commander smiled. “Have a good day now.”

The Commander nodded his head respectfully, before departing. The mare soon followed to do her tasks for the day; some tasks she was aware of, others she would do without ever realizing.

And nopony would notice the green tinge in the very corner of her eye.

That night

The day's proceeding had gone off without a hitch, dignitaries from both sides had been introduced and diplomatic relations officially started. Now with the last rays of sunshine fading and the moon rising, almost everypony was turning in for the night, getting a good night's rest before the undoubtedly more strenuous meetings to come in the following days.

Twilight slumped into her chair as she sat down in Celestia’s private tearoom. The Solar Princess herself sat just opposite in her usual regal manner.

“You did fine my student, do not worry yourself so.”

“Fine? I barely said a word! I just let the others do all the talking, I mean, I didn’t even know where to start! I have no experience as a diplomat, a princess or anything. Mother should be doing this, not me…”

Celestia shook her head. “Have some faith in yourself, Twilight. You say you have no experience; then this is an excellent opportunity to gain some. Above all, while ponies may be wary of you, after all you’ve done they trust you. The same cannot be said for Queen Chrysalis. Besides, there wasn’t much to be said today; it was an introduction more than anything, laying the ground rules. And if I know you my faithful student, and I do, you’ve already made a checklist of things to discuss tomorrow,” Celestia noted as she smiled knowingly.

Twilight smiled sheepishly, her lavender aura sure enough bringing a clipboard out of her saddlebags that lay on the floor next to her. “Well now that you mention it…”

The door opened and a few servants filed in delivering tea and, of course, cake to the royal pair. Before they left the servant with the rose coloured coat glanced at Twilight, not that she noticed as she was too busy explaining her extensive checklist.

“-and after all that we can finally move on to trade relations!” Twilight finished enthusiastically.

“You’ve given this a lot of thought Twilight, but I doubt we can accomplish all of those things in a single session.”

“Oh I know, but it’s good to be prepared.”

Celestia nodded, before taking a sip of her tea, and a bite out of her chocolate cake. Twilight couldn’t help but grin as she remembered an article about a certain princess from a certain Gabby Gums.

Celestia grinned mischievously. "So how are you holding up, Princess?"

"It's... just Twilight,” Twilight said, uncomfortable at Princess Celestia calling her that.

"As you say, Princess."

Twilight pouted as Celestia continued to grin mischievously.

“That’s payback for me always calling you Princess, isn’t it?”

“Perhaps.”

“So…” Twilight said as she changed the subject. “How did you meet Longshot? I spoke to him yesterday and he mentioned he had met you before.”

“Ah,” Celestia briefly reminisced. “It was… interesting.”

“Interesting?”

“About a year ago, one of our outer EUP outposts was attacked by a rogue griffon raiding party, an attack I was told was thwarted by a lone sharpshooter.”

“Longshot,” Twilight realised.

Celestia nodded in confirmation. “I visited the outpost shortly thereafter, to commend him for his bravery and congratulate him on his subsequent promotion to sergeant.”

“OK then, so… how is any of that as you say… ‘interesting’.”

Celestia chuckled lightly as she thought back to the meeting. “When I finally met him, he attempted to flirt with me, right in front of everypony else.”

“He did what?” Twilight’s tea flew across the room, before Celestia caught it in her magic, and dropped it in a plant pot.

That done, she returned to her story. “I was flattered to be sure, but I had to politely turn him down. Still… it's been centuries since anypony had the courage to try.”

“But… he… why would he try and flirt with you!?”

“Twilight!” Celestia said with fake hurt. “Are you saying I’m not good enough to flirt with?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What! No, I didn’t mean-"

Twilight became less panicked and more irritated as Celestia began to laugh.

“Very funny,” Twilight tried to deadpan, however she couldn’t hold on to her irritation and too started to laugh.

After a minute or so things finally calmed and the laughing slowly ceased, when it finally stopped Celestia spoke next. “Oh Twilight. I’m going to miss you.”

The grin Twilight had been wearing quickly left her as she looked up at her mentor in confusion. “Miss me?”

Celestia sighed sadly. “You are a princess now, and I would assume you will eventually return to the hive, with your mother.”

Twilight’s ears fell. “Oh...”

“Twilight...” Celestia moved from her seat and sat down next to the smaller princess. “Know that you will always have a place here, and that as your teacher and as-“ Celestia paused for a moment, her normal regal mask breaking momentarily, a few tears breaking through the millennia old dam as she thought back to the small filly running around the castle halls, who she would sing lullabies to whenever she had a bad dream, watching her grow into a wonderful young mare with the pride only a mother could hold.

“Twilight, you couldn’t have made me prouder,” Celestia half-whispered.

Twilight, with fresh tears of her own, buried her head into Celestia’s alabaster fur as a wing was draped comfortingly around her.

Luna’s moon hung high in the sky, and the same rose colored mare from earlier stood next to a store cupboard at the very back of the castle. She had no idea why she was there, she just felt compelled to be there.

“Ah, right on time,” the voice of Broad Sword caught her attention.

The mare jumped. “Oh! It’s you again Commander! I didn’t see you there.”

“Good.”

With a green flash the image of Broad Sword was burnt away, and the creature advanced with its horn aglow. The mare tried to scream, but the green glow in her eyes came back as her mind was overtaken by changeling magic.

In a zombified voice the mare spoke. “I spied upon Twilight Sparkle and her friends as instructed, they suspect nothing, and your plans may go ahead.”

“Good, then I have no more need of you.”

“Hey, you there!” a new voice called out.

Spinning around the changeling saw a thestral Lunar Guard draw his sword. “Step away from the mare, and release her from your foul manipulation at once!”

The changeling snarled at this unwelcome interruption. However, despite being without his usual weapon at that moment, he was still far from defenseless.

“Attack,” the changeling ordered.

With a violent screech the controlled mare shot forward and launched herself at the startled thestral, who dropped his sword and began to try and pry the mare off of him, unwilling to harm an innocent maid.

Just what the changeling wanted.

As the Thestral struggled with the ravenous mare suddenly he felt two hooves grab his head from behind, he barely let out a shout as the changeling snapped his neck.

The guard slumped over, his head bent at an unnatural angle.

Briefly admiring his work, the changeling turned to the mare. “Now, as I was saying, I don’t need you anymore. Go find a nice tower, and would you kindly jump out of it.”

The zombified mare turned to leave, loyally walking to her own doom.

“Infiltrator, the Moon Princess will almost certainly notice one of her guards is missing.”

“My Queen, I will dispose of the body and I promise you my mission will be long completed before suspicion could ever point in any direction, let alone mine.”

“Be sure of it, do not fail me, Serpens. You know what that would mean.”

“Yes, we wouldn’t want to disappoint Crudelis now, would we?” Despite the sarcasm, which was out of spite more than anything, his statement was still true. His hive’s future depended on him, and he wouldn’t let them down.

23 - Lightning Strikes

The body was disposed of, that rose mare was but a stain at the bottom of one of Canterlot’s gleaming spires.

And now his plans were coming to a head.

All in all, Serpens, or Broad Sword as most knew him as of late, was extremely pleased. In fact his co-conspirators had never witnessed him in such a good mood.

All eleven conspirators stationed in Canterlot, including Broad Sword, were gathered together in a circle at their designated meeting spot, an abandoned warehouse in the lowest recesses of Canterlot. They were completely alone aside from the occasional scampering rodent living out their meager existence.

“Gentlecolts,” Broad Sword began. “We are all here under a common cause, following the same ideal. To protect Equestria from the insects that would so quickly see our great nation of harmony reduced to livestock, food.”

“Not while we still live!” one of them shouted.

Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the group, all voicing their disdain for changelings as a race.

‘Idiots,’ the disguised changeling thought to himself with great amusement. ‘If only they knew… Though I have to wonder, which of us here is the true monster? The infiltrator, or these ponies before me. It will be up to history to decide in the end, as with all things.’

Broad Sword stamped his hoof into the ground to bring the group back into order.

It worked, and all of the ponies present stopped their chatter and looked at what appeared to be their superior officer with respect and admiration. Many of them had served under the real Broad Sword for years; the Commander had served in his position far longer than Shining Armor had been in the guard at all, and it was only his raw ability that saw him rise through the ranks above Broad Sword so quickly. But of course the true Broad Sword never complained, he only ever did his duty.

‘Ever the noble heart the Commander is…’ the changeling mused as he thought of the imprisoned Pegasus. ‘Though a bit cold and gruff on the outside, always keeping to himself, too bad that little quirk made him so easy to impersonate.’

“Fear no longer my brothers and sisters in arms, for tomorrow we will strike a devastating blow to the enemy, to show them that we are not prey to be hunted.” Broad Sword nodded at a unicorn stallion, who lit his horn with a bright white glow bringing forth a holographic projection of none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Once the projection was complete Broad Sword continued, “This is the current face of the enemy. ‘Princess’ Twilight Sparkle. This… thing has been infiltrating Equestria for many years now. Moseying her way into Captain Armor’s family and no doubt inflicting all sorts of mental manipulation like we saw at the wedding, which is why the Captain can’t be trusted, not until he is truly freed from all outside control. But of course the monster didn’t stop there, oh no she wriggled her way into the highest echelons of our society, Princess Celestia herself! Becoming her student, being in such close proximity to her… do you really believe our beloved princess would have allowed that travesty of a wedding to ever happen if her mind was her own? No, I say. It’s a horrifying truth to be sure, but our princess is also compromised. Now she has even taken possession of the Element of Magic, defiling it with her hole-ridden hooves! The rest of the elements too haven fallen into her trap.”

The conspirators, of course not knowing how the Elements of Harmony actually worked, drank up his speech with the glee of school children. As Broad Sword spoke, their enthusiasm for their misguided ‘cause’ continued to rise further and further still.

“So you see fillies and gentlecolts, all of our leaders, all of our heroes have fallen victim to the greatest threat in our history since Discord himself! As such it falls to us to protect the nation we have sworn our lives to, now… are you all with me?”

Cheers spread throughout the crowd, stamping of hooves going along in collaboration. Broad Sword allowed himself a smirk as all fell into place, just as he had planned it.

“You certainly inspire your troops, Serpens,” his Queen spoke to him.

“I do my best, as I said, you have nothing to worry about. You will have Twilight Sparkle’s head, which should please Crudelis hmm?”

“Indeed.”

“What’s the plan sir?” one of the guards asked.

With another nod to the unicorn stallion the projection of Twilight changed to that of a segment of the castle.

“This hallway is open to a courtyard, as you can all see. As a commander of the Solar Guard I have all in depth knowledge of tomorrow’s proceedings, or rather the security surrounding it. Five of you shall be stationed along the hallways itself, going about your usual guard routine, the other five will hide in the courtyards bushes, waiting to pounce. Princess Twilight Sparkle and her entourage will pass through this corridor going to the meeting hall, as they pass you ambush them, and kill all changelings present. I sadly will not take part in this assault, I will be standing at the Princess’ side as Captain Armor seems to have taken leave for tomorrow. Once the Princess and her drones are dead, retreat from Canterlot and to our Everfree hideout, but do not be followed. We cannot reveal our base of operations. Any questions?”

“What of any fellow guards escorting Princess Twilight, they will try to stop us most certainly.”

Broad Sword gave a fake sigh of regret. “Sadly we cannot allow them to interfere, lethal force is authorised.”

All those gathered shared uneasy looks among each other, none liking the idea of fighting other guards.

“I know this won’t be easy,” Broad Sword continued. “But sacrifices must be made, we all swore to give our lives for Equestria, and they will be fulfilling that oath. They will be honoured for that sacrifice when victory is ours. May Faust forgive us for what we must do.”

The ponies still seemed uneasy, but they were already set on course, and wouldn’t be dissuaded now.

“I believe that is everything, you are all dismissed.”

In a uniform manner all the ponies saluted, before briskly departing the rusting old building.

For Infiltrator Serpens victory was so close.

The time to strike was now.

The sound of an alarm clock began blaring out, the disruptive and incredibly annoying sound reaching Twilight Sparkle’s ears. With a groan she reached out with her magic and silenced the infernal device, opening her eyes slowly.

Twilight was in the room she used before Celestia gave her the old observatory, the very same room where she had discovered the truth about herself. That very mirror still stood against the far wall, and Twilight couldn’t help but glance at her reflection momentarily.

Twilight sighed as she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with a black hoof. “Spike?” she called out.

Snoring could be heard from a blanket filled basket next to the bed, the sound drawing Twilight’s eyes to the lump.

“Rarity… is that for me?” Spike mumbled in his sleep, causing Twilight to roll her eyes.

“Rarity, I had always hoped you felt that wa-"

“SPIKE!” Twilight shouted while tearing away the blankets surrounding the wishful thinking/dreaming dragon.

“WHA!” Spike shouted as he flew into the air with his covers, only to fall out and onto the hard floor with a thud.

“Time to wake up Casanova, we’ve got a big day ahead!”

“Aww Twilight, I was having the most wonderful dream…”

“So I heard, come on and get ready.”

Reluctantly the young drake did as he was told, neatly placing his blankets back into his basket as his senses slowly woke up one by one. Twilight rid herself of her bedhead and went about gathering up her notes and checklists for the day, humming all the while.

“Well you seem in a particularly fine mood,” Spike noted.

“Yeah! What is there to not to be in a good mood about? Hold on, Spike have you seen the checklist on Pony-Changeling Cultural Integration and Distribution of Resources?”

“Um… want to run that by me again?”

Twilight just gave her assistant an impatient look.

“Right, big checklist let me see…”

Scanning the room he quickly saw the edge of a piece of paper sticking out from under the bed, which he promptly grabbed and examined.

“How about this, is this it?” Spike offered Twilight the scroll.

Twilight gently grabbed the scroll over with her magic and quickly examined it herself. “This is it! Thanks Spike.”

“No problem Twilight, just doing my duty as your number one assistant!”

Twilight gave Spike a quick pat on the head. “Well consider it a duty well done!” she said cheerfully. “Now come on, I bet you’re at least as hungry as I am.”

A rumble from Spike’s stomach confirmed this.

“Fair enough, some of the others may already be in the dining hall anyway, let’s go Twilight.”

Spike walked towards the bedroom door, shortly followed by Twilight. Opening the door they saw two of Twilight’s guards standing either side.

“Princess.” They both saluted as Twilight exited the room.

‘I’m never going to get used to this...’ Twilight thought to herself.

“Morning gentlecolts,” Twilight greeted, pushing past her inner thoughts about the guard’s formality. “And just call me Twilight please, there is no need to be so formal around me. Carduus doesn’t act so formal.”

“Apologies, we will keep that in mind,” one of the guards responded.

“Heading off to breakfast?” the other asked.

Twilight nodded. “Where are the others?”

“The Captain will meet us at the dining hall with the others.”

“OK then, come on lets go get some food.”

Spike quickly jumped onto Twilight’s back, sitting just between her two wings. The four of them quietly made their way through the castle heading straight for the dining room.

However, Twilight could tell something was wrong; as they passed through one hallway the young Changeling Princess spotted a few mares, maids by the looks of them, talking with a guard. Tears streamed down the fur on their faces.

“What’s with them?” Spike asked.

One of the guards looked towards the crying mares, before simply shrugging. “I’m afraid I do not know. Nothing good however if I were to hazard a guess.”

“Hold up,” Twilight quickly signaled, having spotted something out a window.

Quickly rushing out onto a nearby balcony Twilight’s gaze wandered to a nearby tower, or rather the base of it. Guards were surrounding the entire area, which had been bordered off. A coroners chariot sat nearby.

Looking quickly back into the hallway as her companions gawked at the sight, Twilight called to a passing Solar Guard. “Hey, what’s happened down there?”

The guard approached Twilight and looked to where she was pointing, before shaking his head solemnly. “I’m afraid tragedy has struck, your highness. One of the maids, I don’t know her name, jumped out of the tower.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “Suicide?”

“So it would appear, anyways I’m afraid I must get back to it. Have a pleasant day, your highness.” The guard bowed his head respectfully before making his leave.

“W-why would anypony do that?” Spike asked disbelievingly.

“Perhaps your friends have more details?” one of the changeling guards suggested.

“Right,” Twilight agreed. “Come on, let’s get moving.”

The rest of the journey was spent in silence, finally they reached the two doors leading back into the dining room, which opened with a massive creak.

Already inside sitting around the table was Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash who were all deep in discussion.

“-can you believe such a state of affairs?” Rarity asked in a shocked manner. “To simply jump off a tower to your own doom, why would you do that?”

“Girls?” Twilight called out.

“Ah, Twilight darling. How are you this morning?”

“I’m fine, but what’s going on with this mare? Why did she do it?”

“Well that’s the mystery, this mare had no reason to do what she did, she just jumped and that was it. Apparently it was quite a gory sight, I do not envy the poor souls who discovered the body.”

“The mystery?” Rainbow Dash remarked. “You make it sound like a murder rather than a suicide.”

“Indeed darling, that is what I’m implying.”

Rainbow snorted. “From what we can tell the mare jumped herself, what makes you think this is a murder? This isn’t one of your detective novels you know.”

“Just call it a hunch, combine that with no apparent motive and well…”

“Ah agree with Rainbow, for once,” Applejack voiced her opinion. “There’s no proof of foul play, from what ah can see the mare made a stupid, and tragic decision.”

“Then we must agree to disagree darling; I still bet my bits there is more to this than we realise,” Rarity maintained.

“Well simmer down about that, ‘specially around less pro-changeling folk, don’t want to give them ammunition to fire.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight, who had sat down while her friends debated, asked Applejack.

“What ah mean sugarcube, is that those who oppose you might try to pin this on a changeling, ya know with the whole mind control ability ya’ll have.”

“You don’t really think they would do that, do you?” Twilight asked worriedly.

“I wouldn’t put it past some of the so-called ‘nobility’ here in Canterlot. Ponies like Jet Set and Upper Crust come to mind,” Rarity remarked.

“Or that meanie Blueblood!” Pinkie suggested.

“Yes darling, like Blueblood.”

The two changeling guards stared at Pinkie Pie in utter confusion. “Are none of you concerned about that?”

“About what?” Spike asked.

“She appeared out of nowhere!”

Spike shrugged. “Its Pinkie Pie.”

“So how are we all this morning?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“We’re fine Pinkie,” Twilight answered her friend.

“Good,” she responded simply, before grabbing some food from the table.

But a moment later the double doors opened up again; this time Fluttershy walked in with Carduus, the other changelings, both guards and diplomats, following just behind the two. Fluttershy and Carduus were in conversation.

“Hey Flutters!” Rainbow Dash called out. “Since when were you two such good friends.”

“Oh hello Rainbow, Carduus here was just telling me about little Iuvenes, she sounds like such a little sweetie.”

“She is,” Carduus confirmed. “If a little trouble maker at times, but nymphs will be nymphs, or as you would say foals will be foals.”

“I know, in a way small children aren’t much different from the small animals I look after; take Angel for instance.”

“I doubt this Iuvenes is that evil,” Rainbow remarked.

“Oh, Angel isn’t bad, you all just misunderstand him. He is a real sweetheart at his core. You should just get to know him better… you know, if you want to.”

“You are way too understanding Flutters.”

“Now now darling, enough of that,” Rarity spoke up. “Come on in Fluttershy dear, what do you want to eat?”

Fluttershy took a seat at the table, as did Carduus and the diplomats who sat near to Twilight, the guards placed themselves near the room’s entrance.

As they all dug into their food, Carduus reached into a saddlebag and brought at several small containers filled with a soft green glowing substance within.

“Hey Twilight, try this.” Carduus slid on of the containers towards the Princess.

“What is it?”

“Just try it!"

Cautiously Twilight examined the substance within, apprehensive about the stuff. Slowly she opened the lid and took a sip, her eyes widening immediately.

“This is delicious! What is it?”

“Hang on egghead, let me try!” Rainbow quickly snatched the container, and as Carduus tried to warn her not to do so Rainbow Dash took a large swig of the green substance.

The container fell from Rainbow’s grasp as she began to splutter, luckily Twilight caught it before it spilled. Rainbow wretched as she fell onto the table, trying to rid the taste from her mouth as the drones all burst into hysterics.

“What was that!? Are you trying to poison me?” Rainbow raged as she continued to splutter.

Calming from his laughter, Carduus explained. “I tried to warn you! It’s not for consumption by anything other than changelings, lest you want to be sick.”

“What is that stuff?” Twilight asked again.

“That is the jelly-like substance usually placed into maturation pods, naturally full of nutrients for young nymphs, but it can also be infused with love fresh from the reservoir and turned into a sort of love-jelly smoothie! These fine fellows brought some over from the hive.” Carduus gestured towards the three diplomats.

“Wait! You dip your kids in that disgusting stuff?!” Rainbow shouted.

“Not this jelly specifically, this jelly was made for love infusion and drinking.”

“That’s what ya get for snatching, Rainbow!” Applejack jabbed.

“Ah shut it you! Just… keep that stuff away from me.” Rainbow quickly made her way back to her seat, trying to keep her dignity intact.

Rainbow was saved from any further jabs however when the doors opened again, Princess Luna entered the room flanked by two thestral guards, she did not look happy.

“Princess Luna!” Twilight shot up from her chair and cantered over to greet her. “Is everything alright?”

“Nay, Twilight Sparkle. Not only has one of our maids been tragically taken from this world, Vladimir has reported that a member of my guard has seemingly vanished without a trace.”

“V-vanished?” Twilight couldn’t believe her ears.

‘What’s going on today?’

“Indeed, an investigation is ongoing, and I was wondering if any of you might know anything?”

“Hold on,” Carduus spoke up. “Are we suspects in this investigation of yours?”

Luna gazed towards Carduus, before shaking her head. “No, we trust Twilight Sparkle and her friends completely, I was just hoping you had heard or seen something out of the ordinary.”

“I’m sorry Luna, but I don’t believe any of us have seen anything, have any of you?” Twilight turned to the others, who all shook their heads.

Luna sighed. “I suspected as much, as I said there is absolutely no sign of him. However, there is another matter. My sister and I are in agreement that one of our maids dying, and one of our guards disappearing at the same time as these diplomatic meetings is more than a little suspicious.”

“I knew it,” Rarity muttered to herself victoriously.

Luna continued. “As such we both would like you to be on constant alert, Twilight Sparkle, and have a few Equestrian guards accompany you today.” Luna gestured as three Solar Guards walked into the room, saluting both princesses.

“Is this really necessary?” Twilight asked.

“We are not willing to take chances on your safety Twilight, so yes, this is necessary.”

Sighing, Twilight nodded in understanding.

“Good, then we shall see you when the proceedings begin, farewell Twilight Sparkle.”

Luna quickly bid her farewells to the others and left the room, followed by her two guards, leaving the three Solar Guards behind.

“OK then Rarity, maybe you weren’t so off the mark after all…” Rainbow admitted.

Twilight sat back down at the table, and the rest of breakfast went by without incident, and once nerves had calmed conversation erupted once more. Carduus told the rest of the Element Bearers of his family, and a few more jabs were shared about various subjects. Before long however breakfast was eaten, and royal duty called.

“Mind how you go darling,” Rarity said to Twilight as they all left the dining hall, the Element Bearers would be heading off down to the city for the day while Twilight was dealing with diplomacy.

“Don’t worry about me Rarity, I will see you girls tonight?”

“Of course!”

After saying their farewells one another the two groups departed, heading in opposite directions. Twilight walked in the middle of the group with the three changeling diplomats, Carduus walked at the head of the group with two of his guards either side, a Solar Guard flanked each side while the rest followed closely behind them. Twilight felt extremely uncomfortable being surrounded by so many guards walking in formation, she didn’t believe there was any need for such extensive protection, she hadn’t needed it the previous day so why would she need it that day?

The group made their way to the castle, passing a few patrolling guards, servants and the odd noble as they went. Eventually they walked towards a corridor that opened out into a sun-filled courtyard, five solar guards were spread out lining the wall standing stoically as usual.

Those five gave Carduus a bad feeling, a feeling he couldn’t quite explain.

Soon enough the group began to move past them, everything seemed normal.

Until the group reached the middle of the line, where with a tremendous shout the five guards suddenly drew their weapons and began to surround the group, with five more bounding out of the bushes, also having their weapons drawn.

“Ambush!” Carduus called, drawing his sword.

The ten attackers surrounded the group, the eight guards protecting Twilight formed a circle around the startled diplomats and princess.

“Twilight stay back!” Carduus called out, just as the traitorous Solar Guards sprang forward with murderous intent.

The clash of steel rang down the hallways, Carduus’ blade meeting the first attacker's head on.

Down the hall a servant saw the confrontation take place, and quickly ran to get help.

Twilight watched in shock as Carduus struggled with the first attacker, steel clashing against steel. Carduus narrowly dodged a swing of the guard’s sword before parrying yet another blow, however another made its mark and left a fierce gash down one side of the captain’s torso. Undeterred, a moment later Carduus administered a well-timed kicked to the face causing the guard to shout in pain as blood poured from his muzzle, before the shout was silenced as Carduus drove his blade into the guard’s eye socket. Once the guard slumped Carduus swung his blade at the next guard within reach.

However something else caught Twilight's eye, turning around Twilight saw two of her own guards fighting three of the traitors, and losing. Before she could process what was happening, one of the traitors made one clean sweep with his sword, and took off the heads off both changeling guards, the very same two that Twilight had met outside of her room that very morning.

“NO!” Twilight screamed as she let a beam of lavender magic loose violently towards the killer, blasting him back into the wall, where he impacted with a horrifying crack before slumping over, completely still.

The other two traitors looked towards Twilight and made a run straight for her, only to be pounced upon by Carduus and one of the non-traitorous Solar Guards. Carduus was able to swiftly dispatch his target, but his ally sadly did not, instead the outmatched pony took his attackers blade straight to the abdomen. As his bloodthirsty killer turned to face Carduus, Twilight grabbed onto her weapon with her magic and quickly pulled it from her grasp, before smashing its hilt into her face.

The mare crumpled, and Carduus was quick to finish her.

Twilight saw another loyal Solar Guard fall to one of the assailant’s blades, shortly followed by a changeling guard. Maintaining their superior numbers the assailants pressed their attack on the defending group. A changeling guard and the remaining Solar Guard not with the traitors teamed on one of the attackers, jamming both of their blades into his chest as he made a swing at one of the diplomats.

Carduus swung around as another attacker veered down onto him, a Pegasus. However his flight was cut short when Carduus charged his horn and fired a lethal bolt straight into his face, bringing the Pegasus’ flight to a halt with his momentum carrying him down onto the hard stone floor of the castle.

The remaining four attackers grouped together for a joint attack, clearly intent on finishing the fight in one final push.

“ENOUGH!” Twilight bellowed, releasing a pulse that sent the attacking guards flying uncontrollably into the open courtyard.

The four landed in a heap, and as they slowly got up they saw Princess Twilight Sparkle approaching them, magical energies pouring off of her and her eyes glowing pure white, fury written on her face.

The sight and sheer power radiating from the changeling princess caused fear to course through the remaining guards, thinking quickly a unicorn in the group charged his horn and caused a blinding flash of white to consume all those present.

Twilight snarled as her vision was momentarily blocked out, but when it returned the four surviving traitors had already fled.

Silence.

Twilight slowly let go of the rage burning through her, turning around to see the three diplomats huddled together in fear, but alive.

The same couldn’t be said for all of them however.

Carduus stared down in sorrow at his three fallen friends, and regretfully at the two fallen Solar Guards who had given their lives to protect Princess Twilight.

“Twilight!?” a familiar voice echoed though the castle, followed shortly by the princess of the sun herself, accompanied by six other armed ponies, Longshot included.

Princess Celestia stopped dead at the sight that awaited her, horror visible on her face. Though heartbroken for the ponies and changelings that lay dead, she scanned the corpses for the one she feared for the most.

“I’m here,” a voice croaked from the courtyard.

The moment that voice reached her ears, she bolted into the courtyard itself and snatched Twilight into a strong, fearful embrace.

“Oh thank goodness you’re alright! What happened here?”

“It would seem there are traitors in your ranks,” Carduus answered, motioning to one of the mentioned traitors in the spot where he had fallen, “These guards attacked us, and didn’t even spare their so called ‘brothers in arms’ that helped us against them.”

“Celestia? Why would they do this?” Twilight asked with tears in her eyes, calling Celestia by her name for once. Normally that fact would cause glee in the Solar Princess, but on this occasion it brought only dread.

Reluctantly, Celestia slowly let go of Twilight. “I do not know Twilight, but I will find out.”

Celestia turned away from Twilight to talk to Carduus, who was already conversing with Longshot as the new arrivals moved to secure the area.

Twilight stood staring at the remains of the fallen bodies, so absorbed was she in the grisly sight that she barely even noticed a Solar Guard approaching her, not until he whispered into her ear.

“Queen Crudelis sends her regards,” Broad Sword informed her.

Blood sputtered from Twilight’s mouth as she felt something, an object, breach her chitin and embed itself within her. Everything seemed to lose focus as something from the object began to rapidly burn its way through her body, poisoning everything it touched.

Looking down, Twilight could see the hilt of a dagger poking out of a gushing wound, darkness began to close in around her.

“Hey!” Longshot shouted in alarm as he witnessed the deed, grabbing his crossbow and firing a bolt at Broad Sword. But he quickly took to the skies and fled, the shot unfortunately only skimming one of his hind legs.

Two Pegasi guards immediately flew off to chase after the retreating commander, Princess Celestia shot around and jumped forward, grabbing Twilight as she fell, cradling her fragile form within her hooves.

Twilight felt Celestia’s comforting embrace, she was saying something to her, something desperate and begging, but Twilight couldn’t quite make them out. Twilight tried to say something, and yet she couldn’t form the words, her body simply no longer having the strength to do so. The pain stopped, as did all other feeling as her senses began to shut down with her body.

Darkness finally engulfed her completely.

And she knew no more.

Queen Chrysalis screamed in terror as she fell from her throne in agony.

She had felt what had happened through the hive mind, felt that pony commander plunge the poisoned blade into her daughters body.

And so had every single other drone.

Author's Note

...

24 - Aftermath

“I don’t know Twilight, but I will find out,” Celestia said to the trembling mare. A mix of sorrow and fury coursed within the ancient alicorn, sorrow for those who fell defending Twilight, and unrivaled fury for those who had attempted to harm her.

To harm her daughter, or at least the closest thing to a daughter she had ever had.

Celestia fought back all her emotions and placed her regal mask back on as she approached Captain Carduus, who was already talking with a fuming Longshot. Gone was the usual witty smirk he would wear on his face; Celestia had never seen the sergeant like this.

“Carduus, where did they go?” Longshot asked Carduus.

“Longshot, I don’t know, they blinded us momentarily.”

“Captain,” Celestia addressed. “Can you explain to me what happened?”

“Princess Celestia, of course. We were on our way to the meeting hall when we came to this corridor, everything was normal, five guards were stationed here going about their duty, or so it seemed. When we passed… they jumped us, along with five more who were hiding in the courtyard. Honestly, if it wasn’t for those extra guards you placed with us, and for Princess Twilight ignoring my request for her to stay out of the fight… we wouldn’t be talking right now.”

“I see,” Said Princess Celestia. “Now was there-"

“Hey!” Longshot suddenly shouted in alarm as he reached for his weapon.

Celestia shot around, horn charged.

And then her world shattered.

Something whooshed past her towards a Pegasus fleeing the scene. However, she barely noticed any of this; time slowed down as Twilight swayed on the spot, and began to fall.

Time sped up again as Celestia leapt forward and grabbed her student before she hit the ground. Celestia examined Twilight, and her eyes were first drawn to the dagger in Twilight chest. Celestia quickly removed the blade before casting a powerful healing spell on the wound, which caused it to close immediately, albeit with a nasty scar. Celestia looked up into Twilight’s eyes hopefully, and yet her condition didn’t improve.

The blade was poisoned.

And Celestia’s spell didn’t affect it in the slightest.

“Twilight… please...” Celestia resorted to begging, unbelieving at what was happening. “Not now, not like this.”

Twilight tried to say something, but nothing came out, the fear in her eyes began to shift into something more… peaceful. Her body began to slowly go limp.

And then her eyes closed.

Celestia’s eyes widened, tears threatening to explode from the dam, before a blue hoof brought her head upwards.

“You shouldn’t have to live this again, sister,” Luna said gently. “Wake.”

…

Celestia awoke with a start, the morning sunshine creeping through the curtains. Celestia didn’t remember much from the previous night, aside from locking herself away and crying herself to sleep, away from the public eye. She was certain however that she didn’t raise, or even lower the sun.

‘Luna must have done it for me,' Celestia concluded.

Sighing, Celestia made her way out of bed, and with a wave of her horn the sheets straightened out and set themselves neatly back down onto the mattress. When she did so however she noticed a book shaped lump sticking up in the middle. Carefully extracting the object, she could confirm it was a book, a photo album to be exact.

‘I must have fallen asleep with it.’

Celestia opened the album to a creased set of pages, there was a single picture on each page. One was when Twilight had just passed her first major exam at Celestia’s school, having received top marks of course. The other, was one that Raven had snapped. It was of Celestia; she was sleeping peacefully in front of a fireplace, with a lavender filly tucked up safely beneath one of her giant wings, she had been comforting Twilight after a particularly bad nightmare the filly had endured. Tears stained that page in particular, recent tears.

“Reminiscing, are we?” another voice asked.

Celestia dropped the book onto the bed and swung around, tearing open the curtains as she did so, the sunlight eliminating a previously shadowy corner at the far end of the room.

“Tell me, Celestia,” Chrysalis started spitefully. “Why shouldn’t I burn this pathetic city to the ground?”

Celestia examined Chrysalis, and found not malice on her face. Instead all she could see was the visage of a broken mare.

“How did you get in here?”

“Oh it wasn’t hard; your methods of detecting changelings are child’s play for any infiltrator worth their salt. And believe me, my changelings have notable skill; remember the army surrounding the city, hidden in plain sight? They can attest to that. You know, if diplomatic relations between us had succeeded we could have shown you far more effective means of detection, but I suppose it’s far too late for that, isn’t it.”

“No Chrysalis, it isn’t.” Celestia maintained.

“MY DAUGHTER IS DEAD!” Chrysalis exploded. “I felt her mind go silent. And she was killed by a pony! One of your most trusted guards no less. Your kind took the singular most precious thing I had, I-"

Chrysalis looked away momentarily, trying to compose herself. “So tell me again Princess Celestia,” she choked. “Why shouldn’t I burn this pathetic city to the ground?”

Celestia realised that Chrysalis was hysterical, not thinking was a rational mind but rather that of a grieving, vengeful mother.

Celestia gave Chrysalis a meaningful look, and what she said next shocked Chrysalis into submission, and wiped away any hostile plans from her mind.

“She’s alive.”

Vladimir, Longshot and Carduus sat in a bar, not far from the Canterlot central hospital from where they had just come. They sat around a small table, pints sitting before them. The two other guards to survive defending Princess Twilight sat at the bar itself, deep in discussion. This wasn’t the usual bar where the royal guard would meet, but when they had been attacked by their own, that was the last place they wanted to be. Carduus wasn’t at the hospital himself, but he had a large bandage around his torso with small holes cut in to it to make room for his wings. Once he had been discharged by the doctors he had intended to get some sleep, but the others had convinced him he needed a drink.

Longshot took a swig from his glass before slamming it down onto the table. “I should have done something. I knew there was something wrong with the ‘Commander’, and I did nothing. That bucking traitor.”

“Longshot,” Vlad started. “You can’t blame yourself for this, there is no way you could have truly known this was going to happen. And there is no way you could have incriminated Broad Sword on a hunch.”

“Was there any sign of him?” Carduus asked.

Vladimir sighed. “I’m afraid not, according to the two who perused him, it’s like he just vanished. Though, they think he may have had something to do with the missing guard, and the maid.”

“They think he killed them.”

“They likely came across his plans, so he disposed of them.”

“Sweet Celestia,” Longshot muttered. “How about Luna, did she find any others working with him?"

“Those we know we can trust are doing a full sweep of the guard; so far we have found no others among us working with them. However, several guards apparently have been doing some suspicious activity, but the Commander had been using his position to cover for them. Those guards included the ones that attacked you, Carduus. Not only that, but the others included have not been reporting for their shifts as of late, once again any incidents were covered by Broad Sword.”

“He could do that?”

“He is… was Shining’s second in command, he had access to all the reports, rosters etcetera.”

“Damn,” Carduus said, picking up his own glass and drinking from it.

“I’m sorry about your friends by the way,” Vladimir said apologetically to Carduus. “Soldiers are soldiers, and they gave their lives in the name of duty. I respect that.”

“Sorry? Yeah, so am I. Served with all of them for years, I would have died for any of them. Instead, it’s they who perished, and I have to live with that.”

“It’s never easy losing those under your command, let alone friends. I’ve already made a request to have their names recorded and honoured.”

“Thank you, my friend, thank you.”

Throughout the entire back and forth, Longshot had been thinking to himself, oblivious of the other two, until he was struck by a revelation: “Guys,” he caught their attention. “Did any of you hear what Broad Sword whispered to Twi before he… you know.”

“He whispered something?” Carduus asked in surprise.

“What, you didn’t hear anything over that hive voodoo crap you do?”

“Hive mind. And no, none of us did. The Queen only found out who did it when I told her after, and in fact she only knew the attack was going on when ‘it’ happened, she can’t listen in all the time.”

“What, you didn’t think to tell her right away?”

“Don’t you dare criticize me sergeant, I was rather busy trying to keep Twilight and the diplomats alive.”

“Shit I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry Carduus, alright.”

After a few moments of silence, Longshot spoke again. “I can only imagine how Chrysalis feels, and you all saw Celestia. I never believed I’d see the day our Princess broke down. Has anypony told her pony parents yet?”

“Luna did,” Vladimir confirmed. “Shining Armor has also been informed, he did not react… well.”

“You blame him? What must be going through that stallions mind… especially after what happened between them.”

“I can’t even imagine, but I can tell you this. If Broad Sword believes he and his followers can hide for long, then he is a fool.”

Nurse Red Heart sat behind the reception desk of Canterlot Central, she had been visiting some old friends when news of Twilight Sparkle’s horrific injury flooded in, and since she had dealt with Twilight’s medical needs back in Ponyville she had immediately offered her services. Now she sat behind the desk sorting through files relating to Twilight’s medical history, when shouting reached her ears.

“Where is she?!” Shining Armor shouted as he burst into the room, bolting straight to the reception desk where a startled Red Heart sat. A flustered Princess Mi Amore Cadenza followed shortly behind him.

“You m-must be Shining Armor, right?” Red Heart asked.

“Where. Is. My. Sister?!”

“Sir, I’m afraid she’s not taking visitors right now and-"

“It’s OK, you can tell him,” Princess Cadance assured.

With the Princess’ approval Red Heart told him. “She’s in the royal wing, in the room normally reserved for Princess Celestia should she ever need medical attention.”

Shining Armor bolted off immediately, leaving Cadance to be the one to say “Thank you” to the mare, before she quickly followed him.

Red Heart looked after the two ponies in shock, before regaining her faculties and continuing her work.

“Not dead… how is that possible? Her mind is silent in the hive, I felt her succumb…” Chrysalis' voice slowly descended into a whisper.

“She was left on the precipice of death. Broad Sword’s blade was coated in a poison engineered specifically to resist any magical means of healing, but I was able to keep her heart beating long enough to get her to the hospital where the doctors were able to rid Twilight of the foul poison within her.”

“Then, why is she still silent?”

Celestia looked downcast, and continued with a sad sigh. “The poison had already done considerable damage despite our best efforts, there was only so much we could do. She has been left in a deep coma, one which..."

Now it was Celestia’s turn to look away. “One which she may never wake from.”

Chrysalis slumped to the floor. “But there is a chance, right?”

Celestia looked back to Chrysalis’ pleading form, and slowly nodded in confirmation.

“Then it is a chance you gave her… I feel I must apologise. My previous threats were unnecessary, and wholly unwelcome.”

“You have nothing to apologise for Chrysalis, I know what you are going through, more than you realise.”

“No, I think I have a pretty good idea why," she stated. "I had changelings in place in case hostilities began, and have now told my forces to stand down; but I would request I keep a smaller force around the hospital in disguise, watching for any more traitors who would wish to do my daughter harm.”

“I agree, having them there will take a weight off of my shoulders, considering how devoted they are to her protection.”

“Indeed, now please… can you take me to her?”

“I was planning to visit her myself, and I would be honoured to have you accompany me.”

“Thank you Celestia, but… one last thing.”

“Oh?”

“When we find this Broad Sword… he dies. No arrests, no court cases. Equestria doesn’t hold the death penalty, and imprisonment simply won’t do. He dies, and you will not stop me.

The first real smile graced Celestia’s face that day, but it wasn’t a smile anypony would ever want to see. “Oh Chrysalis, who ever said I was going to allow him to live?”

Chrysalis seemed genuinely surprised. “Hold on, just like that? No concern about how ponies would view you because of it?”

“I will cross that bridge when I come to it, but Broad Sword nearly killed somepony who I greatly care for, and love. Not to mention royalty.”

“Then it would appear he will have the full wrath of the sun to contend with, thank you… my friend."

The hospital was getting closer, larger, and more oppressive as five mares walked towards the looming building.

“It’s not fair!” Fluttershy squeaked, of all of them the timid mare looked the most ragged, none of them had gotten much sleep the previous night, “Why did this have to happen.”

Pinkie, whose mane was vastly more deflated than usual spoke next, “It was that meanie, if I ever get my hooves on him… I have a special dungeon with his name on it.”

Of course she didn’t really, yet – her party planning basement had room for expansion.

“Ah would certainly rough him up somethin’ fierce, that no good backstabbin’…”

“How do you think he’d taste as a cupcake?” Pinkamena asked.

Rainbow shouted in frustration. “Does it really matter, any of us making all these plans? The deed’s done, Twilight’s hurt and where were we? Enjoying ourselves out and about! We should have been there, we should of…” Rainbow trailed off.

“There’s nothing we could have done sugarcube, none of y’all could have seen this coming.”

“She is right, none of us expected the fiend to do what he did. All we can do now is be there for the poor dear, and let the princesses and the guard deal with this,” Rarity added.

“Aww, but I really wanted to use the dungeon!” Pinkamena complained.

“Can we… um… please stop talking about it now?” Fluttershy meekly asked.

“She’s right, Twilight needs us now so we can’t simply stand around thinking about what ifs, come on girls, let’s get moving,” Rarity agreed.

The two guards outside the royal wing in the hospital momentarily reached for their weapons as they saw two figures steaming towards them, until they saw who they were.

Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, with Shining Armor heading straight into the only occupied room, and with Cadance stopping just short, catching her breath.

As Shining entered the room he came to a dead stop at the sight that awaited him. Twilight lay in the hospital bed, mask over her muzzle and with various medical machines all connected to her, each one undoubtedly keeping her alive.

“T-Twilight?” Shining called out softly, receiving no answer.

Slowly her approached the bed, and pulled up a chair to sit on.

“Hey LSBFF, I came as soon as I could. Our parents will be visiting shortly, as will the others I’m sure.”

Shining Armor looked down on his sister’s peaceful face, his own showing much regret.

“I’m sorry Twily. I wasn’t there for you, and I don’t just mean with what happened yesterday. All those things I said… I was so, so wrong. And I didn’t mean any of it, Faust knows I didn’t really mean any of it. I lashed out and now you’re here on this bed and-“

Shining took a deep breath.

“I love you Twily… you will always be my LSBFF, whether you’re a pony or a changeling it really doesn’t matter in the slightest, I will always be here for you."

Shining gently nuzzled his sister affectionately, before his attention was caught by his fiancé standing by the door watching the display, five mares standing closely behind her.

“Come on in,” Shining called out.

Nodding her head towards the element bearers Cadance entered the room with the others following shortly behind, all taking up positions around the bed to keep Twilight company, all of them wishing for one thing.

Wishing Twilight would just wake up.

Author's Note

The photo

25 - A Misguided Evil

Everfree Hideout, A Few Hours After The Attempted Assassination

Serpens was still in good mood, and that mood had remained ever since his successful mission.

Sure it was unfortunate that he had to take things into his own hooves, and that now he could no longer walk around Canterlot with the face of the commander, but that was the beauty of being a changeling, he could just pick a new one. Not that it mattered anyway, Princess Twilight Sparkle was dead, any self-respecting changeling queen would seek revenge for the death of their daughter, revenge on the hive, or in this case kingdom that had spawned the killer.

The fact that he had also been able to lose the Royal Guard so easily added to his contentment. Serpens was in a very good mood.

Now all he had to do was sit back and watch the fireworks as Chrysalis and Equestria tore each other apart. Whoever survived would be easy pickings for Crudelis and her horde, and Serpens’ own hive would get to survive another day.

‘Crudelis may even let us in on some of the spoils,’ Serpens thought to himself.

All that was left to do was to heal the true Broad Sword’s wounds, and make him presentable so that he does not look like he’d been imprisoned for any amount of time. And then kill him. Once that was done, he could just be dumped somewhere for some random pony to find, it would matter little who.

Serpens, in his arrogance, just had to tell his ‘guest’ the good news.

“Greetings Broad Sword,” Serpens said cheerfully as he shifted back to his true self.

The imprisoned Pegasus opened his eyes a little, and managed to look up at his captor. “What do you want? You’ve already taken just about every ounce of information and memories I possess, what more could you possibly need me for?”

Serpens began circling the restrained pony. “Oh yes I have indeed taken all I can from your small pony mind, it is always interesting getting such a unique perspective on an individual’s life, and I’ve got to say you really should have asked her out to prom, missed opportunity there.”

Bending his neck to follow his movement around the room, Broad Sword stopped and snarled. “What has got you in such a cheerful mood?”

Serpens grin grew. “Oh come now Broad Sword, you of all ponies should know the satisfaction that comes with a job well done!”

Broad Sword narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I won, Twilight Sparkle is dead!” He practically started pronking.

Broad Sword’s eyes shot open momentarily, before he shook his head and snorted. “And why should I believe your word? For all I know you are saying that just to torment me.”

Serpens finished his current lap of his captive, and settled down right in front of him, looking him square in the face. “Oh, I am saying it just to torment you; but that doesn’t mean it’s any less true!”

The full weight of his words hit, and Broad deflated back down to the ground. “You are a sick bastard, you know that?”

Serpens chuckled. “Oh I know, believe me I do. Anyway, I’ve got a few things to finish up. You’ll be seeing me again real soon, one final time.”

Serpens lit up with green flames as he transformed back into his disguise, and began to make his way towards then exit. Before he reached it however, he turned back around and looked at the captive pony.

“Oh, and one more thing, you know that mare you should have asked out to prom? That one who you always lacked the courage to ask out after?”

Broad Sword stared daggers at the changeling infiltrator, he was not exactly pleased at having his mind and the privacy of his own memories violated.

Serpens simply smiled at Broad Sword’s silence. “Well… I didn’t have to make her jump out of that tower… but how could I resist?”

With that Serpens turned and left the hidden cavern holding the pony commander, the smirk he wore not leaving as he went. It only grew larger at the strangled cry he heard coming from behind him.

Serpens passed the perception filter that was hiding the smaller cavern, and proceeded back into the larger cave that held their hidden sanctuary.

“Commander!” one of the ponies he was deceiving approached him and saluted.

Quickly hiding his grin, he replied to his call. “Yes lieutenant, what is it?” the disguised changeling asked.

“Reporting a lot of activity in Canterlot, our attack has definitely riled things up, we will have a more detailed analysis of the situation soon. Also, the survivors are recovering from their injuries and should be back to duty shortly.”

“Very good, now if you will excuse me the hour is late and I grow weary. You are dismissed.”

“Yes sir,” the lieutenant saluted again before marching off to do whatever it was he did, Serpens didn’t really care at that moment, he just wanted to get some sleep.

Past the central platform at the far end of the cave an array of tents had been set up, in true fashion the commanding officer got the biggest. Serpens stepped inside a large white tent decorated with the flag of Equestria in various places. The inside had a rug floor, a table, a workstation with various utensils scattered around it and a double bed in the far corner.

Serpens trudged over to the bed while removing the gold armor he had been wearing, and flopped down onto it, falling asleep almost immediately.

…

Serpens attacked the training dummy with brutal efficiency, imagining it to be his greatest potential foe. He swung the broadsword down onto the dummy’s head and split it open like a melon, he retracted the sword and examined it. It wasn’t his usual style of weapon, but it would do, and he would need to become proficient with it for the mission ahead of him.

“Are you sure about this, your highness?” a voice asked. Serpens recognized it as the changeling sent to represent the interests of Queen Crudelis while arranging the mission’s details. As Serpens continued to train he decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Yes, tell Crudelis she has nothing to fear,” another voice, the voice of his queen, Queen Vespula spoke. “He will get the job done; he has an advantage that my other infiltrators lack.”

“And what might that be?”

The voices sounded as if they were moving towards him down the entry tunnel.

Vespula smirked. “A conscience.”

“Be that as it may, his methods seem a little… robust. He may not be able to stay incognito as well as some of the others.”

“Perhaps not, but he is manipulative and completely loyal to me, not to mention our best fighter. He could down a queen given the chance.”

By this point, the two changelings had entered the training cavern. But Serpens kept his eyes on the dummies, going through training movements.

“I imagine that will help,” the representative pointed towards the bright red rune embedded within Serpens’ blade.

“Yes, give Crudelis my thanks for that little contribution.”

The representative examined Serpens for a moment, before turning back to Queen Vespula.

“I assume you have come up with a plan to replace this ‘Broad Sword’.”

“Of course, your informants have already detailed Chrysalis’ plan to retrieve her daughter. He will use the chaos of the conflict as a shield for his activities, and he will take part in the city's defense when the deed is done. We ourselves have also identified several individuals within the guard who may be easily manipulated by Serpens with enough honeyed words from their ‘commanding officer’.”

“Well it fills me with confidence that you have done your homework, but I still wish I could say the same about your choice in infiltrator.”

Vespula slammed her hoof into the floor. The noise was loud enough to make Serpens lose decorum and look upon the pair. Vespula was glaring at the smaller changeling. “My decision is final, do not question me again.”

The changeling was not daunted by the threat. “Threats, Vespula? In your position, do you think that is wise? I will forget about it this time and will deliver my report to Queen Crudelis, as I have been instructed. I wish your infiltrator luck, and I truly hope he isn’t going to be your undoing, Queen Vespula. You know the price of failure, my Queen isn’t as forgiving as I am.”

...

Serpens slowly opened his eyes, his dream, or rather memory, was still fresh on his mind.

“Commander!” a panicked voice called out.

Groaning, Serpens got out of the large bed and quickly placed his armor back on. Marching out of the tent he was met with the same lieutenant from earlier, but this time he was looking rather frazzled. He motioned the pony to follow him as he made his way up onto the central platform.

“What is it? What in these early hours could have gotten you so panicked?”

“I-it’s Princess Twilight sir, I have news!”

The disguised changeling raised an eyebrow. “News? She is dead, what news could you possibly have of that creature?”

“That’s precisely it though sir, our reports have just come back and apparently she isn’t! She’s alive and being treated at the hospital in Canterlot!”

“What!?” His impression of the Canterlot Royal Voice was commendable.

Panicked, the guard stumbled backwards. “I don’t know how but she has survived our attack sir, our reports confirm it. Sir wh-"

The pony stopped as his commander glared at him murderously.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Serpens spoke again. “Everypony off the platform, I need to think. And prepare the golems. Just in case we have company in the near future.”

The pony gulped, before quickly vacating the area before he had to face more of the commander’s ire. All the others who had been standing on the platform shortly followed him off.

Serpens propped himself up against the war map as he tried to stop his incoming rage. Twilight Sparkle had somehow survived, and what was the last thing he had said to her?

--“Queen Crudelis sends her regards.”--

Serpens gritted his teeth, plans would need to be made. Even if she was alive there was no way she could possibly be conscious after having the poison befoul her body. Twilight Sparkle needed to die before she woke.

‘Why couldn’t that mare just die?!’ Serpens thought bitterly.

He was not in a good mood.

26 - Visiting Hours

Carduus, Vladimir and Longshot exited the bar they had been sitting in for the last few hours. The streets of Canterlot ahead were mostly empty, and the three headed down the lonely street in the direction of the castle.

“Are you sure you want to go back on duty with your injury?” Longshot asked his changeling friend.

“It’s just a scratch, I will be fine. I just need my gear, and then I’m making sure Twilight is safe; as I should already be doing.”

“The Princess is hardly going to leave her undefended after what happened, you worry too much.”

“I thought I was worrying too much about five guards lining a hallway, and then look what happened!”

Vladimir, who was leading the group, stopped; he put a hoof on Carduus’ shoulder and gave the changeling a sympathetic look. “Carduus, you need to stop beating yourself up. You couldn’t have prevented what happened.”

“Let’s… let’s just get back to the castle, all right?”

They walked the rest of the way in silence until they finally reached the gleaming spires of Canterlot Castle. The castle was under somewhat of a lockdown after what happened, Solar and Lunar guards filled the courtyards and roamed the corridors in a coordinate effort to prevent any further mishaps and catch any possible remaining traitors potentially trying to flee the castle before they were discovered.

The gates of the castle had countless reporters, and a few onlookers, crowding around the entrance. Despite the Princess’s best efforts, word had gotten around the city that a ‘changeling dignitary’ had nearly been assassinated and was receiving urgent medical attention. It had yet to be confirmed to them however if anypony was killed during the attack, and who the dignitary was; though given the activity many outlets had correctly assumed Princess Twilight was the victim.

It was safe to say the media was having a field day.

The two ponies and one changeling wisely decided to shy away from the main entrance and instead opted to use one of the side entrances not open to the general public, which took them into one of the castle’s many courtyards. From there they entered the castle proper and quickly made their way towards the armory.

However, they never made it. As they were walking down one of the corridors, it came out of nowhere. Even before Vladimir or Longshot had a chance to react, Carduus was knocked cleanly off of his hooves and he slammed head first into the wall opposite. The two ponies were about to sound the alarm, until the black missile spoke:

“DADDY!!!!” Iuvenes shouted as she tried to bury herself in her father’s chest.

“H-hey s-s-sweety,” Carduus slurred as he realised ‘concussion’ might need to be added to his list of injuries.

“Iuvenes!” Panacea shouted out as she emerged from the same adjacent corridor Iuvenes had. “Let your father up!”

“Yes mother…” Iuvenes reluctantly did as she was told, and Carduus managed to get to his hooves as his wife approached him.

Only to receive a slap in the face.

“Ow!” Carduus complained. “What was that for?!”

“I told you not to get hurt!” Panacea shouted, grabbing onto him and pulling the changeling captain into a passionate kiss.

“And… what was that for?” a slightly bewildered Carduus asked.

“For not getting killed,” Panacea smiled.

A cough caught both of their attention, and they turned to see Vladimir and Longshot standing awkwardly to one side, having witnessed the entire affair.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Panacea blushed visibly – quite the feat for a black chitin creature. “Are you friends of my husband?” she asked.

It was Carduus who spoke, “Erm, honey; this is Captain Vladimir Vespertilio and Sergeant Longshot, they work for the Equestrian royal guard and military respectively.”

“Oh? Well it’s lovely to meet you both!” Panacea shook both of their hooves. “I’m Panacea, Carduus’ wife.”

“A pleasure,” Vladimir greeted.

Carduus looked at his other half. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you would be back at the hive."

"We all felt what happened to Princess Twilight, I was scared for you. The Queen told me you were fine but I had to see for myself."

Iuvenes peaked out from between her mother’s hooves, and looked at Longshot quizzically. “Why does he have a crossbow butt tattoo?”

“Iuvenes…” Panacea sighed with a face hoof, while Longshot merely gave the nymph a friendly smile.

“That, oh that was something I got to show how cool I am! And that I’m good with a crossbow.”

Iuvenes looked doubtful. “But then why does that one have a bat tattoo?” she pointed at Vladimir.

“Oh, he got jealous and got his own!”

Vladimir raised an eyebrow at the ongoing conversation. Iuvenes sat down, and her face wore a quizzical expression.

Tilting her head to the side, she enquired: “But... then why do all the other ponies have them too?”

“Well they all saw mine and decided they wanted their own, I’m very popular you see.”

Longshot and Panacea wore grins. Vladimir and Carduus just decided to facehoof.

Iuvenes put her hoof to her chin as she thought over what Longshot said. “Hmm, I don’t know. You are not trying to trick me are you?”

Longshot feigned offence. “Moi? Trick you? Why I never!” he stuck his nose in the air as if he was one of the over-dramatic Canterlot nobles.

“Oh for Celestia’s sake, Sergeant stop teasing the poor kid!” Vladimir insisted. “It’s called a cutie mark, and all ponies get them when they discover their special talents.”

“Oh,” Iuvenes said. “So if he is good at using a crossbow, does that mean you're good at being a… bat?”

Vladimir’s eye twitched.

Queen Chrysalis walked through the halls of Canterlot hospital, having taken the form of a black mare with a green mane. Not the most inconspicuous disguise but it was enough to get her through without much hassle.

Celestia and Chrysalis had parted ways when the former got called away by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza for one reason or another after the pink princess had returned to the castle in a hurry; so Chrysalis had headed off to the hospital by herself.

Of course she was never really alone, not with so many agents hiding in the crowds just waiting for some foolish pony to try and cause trouble.

A scenario that had luckily not yet played out.

As Chrysalis approached the royal wing she briefly passed the element bearers as they headed in the opposite direction, likely having just come from visiting Twilight themselves.

When she approached the guards standing idly by the entrance they moved to block her, before she was consumed by green fire, and she morphed from her pony disguise into her usual self. The two ponies were momentarily caught off guard and reached for their weapons, before realising who it was before them, and standing aside to let her past. However, they couldn’t stop themselves from eyeing the Changeling Queen with suspicion as she walked on past.

Shining Armor and a pony whom she recognised as Night Light stood just outside the door to Twilight’s current residence, and they stopped their conversation when they spotted the Queen. She hesitated momentarily as they stared in her direction and an awkward silence ensued, before moving forward towards the door.

As she passed, Shining Armor merely looked away, while Night Light gave her a respectful nod, before the two returned to their conversation.

As she pushed the door open, her heart tightened in her chest as she spotted her beloved daughter lying in a bed, various machines surrounding her with one in particular beeping away as the mare slept.

Chrysalis barely heard the door swing closed behind her as she fell on her rump and found herself unable to turn away from the sight that was any parent’s worst nightmare. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, the changeling queen’s gaze slowly left that of her injured daughter and towards the mare sitting at her bedside.

Twilight Velvet had made no acknowledgments of Chrysalis’ presence, instead she remained seated at Twilight’s side, holding one of her hooves in her own and holding a book with telekinesis, reading from it.

Chrysalis realised it was the same Daring Do book she herself had given Twilight as a Hearthswarming gift so many years ago.

“Twilight Velvet?” Chrysalis called out softly, the mare in question finally lowering the book and slowly turning to face Chrysalis.

“So, we finally meet,” she said.

Chrysalis shuffled awkwardly. “So, how you are feeling?”

“I’m fine. Or as well as I can be given the circumstances.”

“Yes well, I just wanted to thank you. For taking care my daughter for so many years.”

“No.”

Chrysalis blinked in confusion. “No? ‘No’ what?”

Velvet sat up straight in the chair. “No, I didn’t take care of your daughter all these years - I took care of mine. Until recently I never knew about you, I took care of her because I love her, and always will.”

Chrysalis looked away. “I’m… glad that Twilight had somepony who cared so much in her life, and was there when I couldn’t be…”

Twilight Velvet got up from her seat and walked slowly over to the Changeling Queen, and much to her surprise she quickly enveloped Chrysalis in hug. She was even more surprised to find herself hugging back.

“And I’m glad that her real mother also cares for her so much…”

--“You are my real mother.”-- Twilight’s words played back in Velvet’s ears.

Velvet sighed. “And I’m glad we can both be here for her,” she said as she broke away.

“Thank you,” Chrysalis said sincerely. “But, there is something I must do.”

Velvet looked up at the tall queen. “Do what?”

“I can no longer feel her within the hive mind, and according to Princess Celestia, the Moon Princess has had trouble piercing the veil surrounding her dreams. Now that I am here I may be able to access the parts of her brain that connect to the hive mind manually, I need to know what she sees in her dreams, and if she is in pain.”

Velvet looked down on Twilight’s seemingly peaceful face, before looking back at Chrysalis and nodding.

Chrysalis took up her place next to Twilight, her jagged horn lit up a brilliant emerald green as she lowered it to meet Twilight’s, she closed her eyes in concentration as she let the images come to her.

…

Carduus drove his blade into the guard’s eye socket. Once the guard slumped Carduus swung his blade at the next guard. However something else caught my eye, turning around I saw two of my own guards fighting three of those… traitors, and they were losing. Before I could process what was happening one of the traitors did one clean sweep with his sword, and took off the heads off both changeling guards, the very same two that I had met outside of my room that very morning. They didn’t deserve that, they didn’t deserve to die! Why was this happening?

“NO!” I screamed, I sent a beam of lavender magic violently towards the killer, blasting him back into the wall, where he impacted with a horrifying crack before slumping over, completely still. I had killed him. I had actually killed somepony.

I had barely gotten over the immediate shock of what I had to do when the other two traitors looked in my direction and made a run straight for me, only to be pounced upon by Carduus and one of the non-traitorous Solar Guards. Carduus swiftly dispatched his target but much to my ongoing horror his friend sadly did not, instead he took a blade to the abdomen. As his killer turned to face Carduus, I instinctively grabbed onto her weapon with my magic and pulled it from her grasp-

Chrysalis cringed as she looked on Twilight’s dream, and could only watch in silent horror as the image shifted.

-sends her regards,” the guard, Broad Sword I believe, whispered to me.

I barely had time to consider what he had said before blood sputtered from my mouth as I felt something breach my chitin and embed itself within my body. Looking down I could see the hilt of a dagger poking out of a gushing wound, darkness began to close in around me. In that moment my blood became fire, it was the worst physical pain I had ever felt, I had read enough books in my time to recognise the effects of an extremely potent poison. I collapsed to the floor as somepony caught me, the pain seemed to leave my body as I failed to say something.

I had wanted to say “I’m okay, I think I’m okay” to reassure the pony, Celestia I think? Who was holding onto me.

Why was this happening?

The scene shifted again, reverting back to the initial fight again, Chrysalis has seen enough.

…

Chrysalis took in a sharp intake of air as she exited Twilight’s mind, she nearly collapsed as she struggled to resist breaking into uncontrollable sobbing.

‘But who sent their regards?’ Chrysalis mulled over the incomplete sentence she had heard.

“W-what? What did you see?”

Chrysalis briefly entertained lying to Velvet, to give her a comforting lie to conceal the horrific truth of what had just been witnessed, but she knew the mare was far too intelligent to be taken in by such a lie.

“She’s in pain, so much pain. She is reliving what happened over and over. I could feel what she felt and..."

Velvet too now had tears in her eyes. “Oh Celestia, my poor sweet, innocent baby…” Velvet reached out and grabbed onto Twilight, sobbing into her chitin.

Chrysalis fought back her tears as steely determination took the forefront, she would find the ones who did this to her precious child, and she would end them. And nothing would stop her.

Celestia and Cadance were walking down one of the many corridors in Canterlot castle, en route to somewhere only Cadance knew.

“Twilight’s condition hasn’t changed, the doctors are keeping an eye on her,” Cadance informed Celestia.

The solar alicorn sighed. “All we can do now is hope for the best, until then I intend to help Queen Chrysalis find those responsible.”

Cadance gave a small smile. “Well aunty, I have something that might be able to help with that.”

Cadance pointed towards a small door at the end of the corridor they walked down, before stopping in front of it.

“Why are we stopping here? Cadance, what have you done?”

“I haven’t done anything, but something happened while I was leaving the hospital…”

Celestia looked at her adopted niece quizzically as Cadance opened the door to reveal a sparse room with a single table in the centre. Sitting at the table, a Solar Guard was restrained, with two others standing beside him watching the pony like hawks.

Celestia couldn’t hide her confusion. “Cadance? What is this? Why is he restrained?”

“This pony approached me as I left the hospital, he claims to have been part of a group of guards who followed Broad Sword in his schemes.”

“What?” Celestia glared at the pony, who wilted under the wrathful gaze of the sun.

“He claimed to me that he no longer believes what they are doing is right, and that he has information for us.”

Celestia nodded, but maintained her glare. “Get me Luna, she and I will talk with this guard.”

“I will, but there was one piece of information he mentioned specifically he could provide us…”

“And that was?”

“He knows where Broad Sword is hiding; he knows where their hideout is.”

27 - Flashback: Young Love

Broad Sword thought quietly to himself. He was still chained up in that Celestia-forsaken cave, and he was starting to think he would never see the sun again. He thought over his life, as ponies do when they think they are about to die. He thought of happy and sad times, of victories and mistakes he had made.

Canterlot, Many Years Prior To Broad Sword's Imprisonment

It was a bright day outside Canterlot High School, several teenage colts and fillies moved to and fro, a general excitement about as thoughts turned to the nearing prom.

A far younger Broad Sword sat just outside the school, a rose coloured mare standing next to him.

“So… what do you intend to do after prom, when we graduate?” Sunny Aura asked Broad Sword.

“Well, I actually sent in an application for the academy.”

“A Solar Guard huh? You hoping to get close to the Princess?” Sunny teased.

Broad Sword puffed his cheeks in annoyance. “No! I just want to be able to protect ponies, that’s all.”

“Well, I think that is very noble of you!”

Broad Sword blushed. “It’s… erm- well I’ve seen you helping plenty of ponies around school! You’re practically considered a heroine around here! You do all that volunteer work, you help your classmates, you’re pretty…”

“Oh, I wouldn’t describe myself as a heroine, I’m not anything really.”

“You know your problem, you’re too humble!”

Sunny giggled. “If you say so!”

“So, what do you plan on doing Sunny?”

“Me? Oh I’ve got an aunt working in the castle and she apparently knows the Princess, she promised to talk to her and get me an apprenticeship there.”

“Well look at you, knowing ponies in high places!” Broad Sword laughed. “Though this does mean, should I become a guard, we may see each other quite often around the castle!”

“Yeah! I would like that! Oh, that reminds me! Have you got a date to the prom yet?”

“Um… no, I haven’t.”

“Well? I haven’t either…”

“Um…” Broad Sword wanted to ask her out so badly, to take her to the prom. But at that moment his brain broke down and he panicked. “SorryI’vegottogoseeyoulater!”

Without any other explanation Broad Sword took off into the air and rushed away.

Sunny Aura took that as a rejection, and was left with tears in her eyes.

Broad Sword sighed, he had never asked to the prom, in fact he never even showed up. Neither did Sunny herself as far as he knew. Ever since then they had grown apart, he barely saw her anymore.

New resolve entered his heart, Sunny was still single as far as he knew, he knew that if he ever got out of this he would ask her out, fix the mistakes of the past.

That was when Serpens entered the cavern.

“Greetings Broad Sword,” Serpens said cheerfully as he shifted back to his true self.

Serpens began circling the restrained pony, ready to shatter his world.

Author's Note

A bit of filler, poor Broad Sword. :fluttercry:

Full chapter coming tomorrow, and it is a doozy.

28 - The Wrath Of A Mother

A light flickered above the heads of the three ponies that inhabited one of Canterlot Castle’s two interrogation rooms. The room was located deep beneath the castle itself, just off from where the grimy and vastly disused castle dungeons were located. Two of the ponies in the room were Princesses Celestia and Luna, the third was a very uncomfortable looking pegasus stallion who sat in a metal chair behind the only other furnishing in the room, a table with various items scattered about. To the stallion’s right there was a blacked out window where a few guards stood on the other side just watching and waiting for him to cause trouble.

Celestia gave the disgraced Solar Guard an extremely stern look. “You know why you are here,” she simply stated.

“Yes, I surrendered myself to you in hopes of fair judgment, and in the hopes of stopping the commander before anypony else gets hurt.”

“Then,” Luna spoke. “Let us begin.”

Luna brought up a folder in her magic with the guard’s picture on the front, Luna opened and began to read some information from it. “Private Harvest Leaf, twenty one years of age, a Pegasus born in the city of Cloudsdale. Your file states you have garnered a reputation for your physical prowess and hoof-to-hoof fighting skills. It also states you had a… childhood imaginary dragon friend called doodles?”

Harvest chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, not sure why that was included in my file.”

Luna raised an eyebrow at that, but chose to stay on subject. “Witness testimony places you as one of the ponies who attacked Princess Twilight Sparkle and caused the deaths of five individuals protecting her. Captain Carduus was injured and Princess Twilight herself is in a deep coma, your crimes warrant you be charged with treason. Do you understand the charges levied against you?”

“Yes, your highness.”

Luna remained calm as she continued, but nopony could mistake the underlying fury in her tone. “Considering the intended target, nopony would bat an eye if we were to simply hand you to Queen Chrysalis for judgement, and believe me when I say she will be far less forgiving. SO, Harvest Leaf, tell us the truth, the whole truth. At this point lying will only make things worse for yourself.”

“Yes, I imagine you have all sorts of lie detector spells in place,” Harvest noted. “I will do as you ask and answer all questions provided.”

“Very good,” Luna nodded to Celestia to begin.

“Harvest Leaf, could you please detail the events leading up to and during the events of the attack on Twilight Sparkle.”

“Yes, your highness. It started soon after the wedding…”

Harvest Leaf described to the princesses how Broad Sword had approached him and several others soon after the wedding, how he had demonised the changelings, painted them as monstrous tricksters and used just the right honeyed words to convince them of his sincerity. He told them of their secret meetings and the princesses only grew angrier when he told them of the innocent changelings they had hunted down and killed within the city. He told them of their hidden base within the Everfree Forest, and ended with his part in the attempted assassination, and the hours following.

“-and since I wasn’t as banged up as the others, I was authorised to go on patrol. I used the opportunity to run straight here and well… the rest you know.”

Celestia thought over what had just been said. “The Everfree Forest, a place barely anypony goes. No wonder the Commander chose to make a base there, but at least we now know where he is.”

“There is one more thing,” Harvest interrupted. “When Broad Sword finds out Twilight is alive, and he likely already has, he will likely activate the golems as a precaution.”

“Golems?” Luna said questioningly. “How did he get his hooves on golems?”

“Apparently a top mage in Celestia’s School owed him a favour… or two. Either way, they will bolster the force already on site.”

“Well in any case you have been most helpful, Harvest Leaf. But there is one last thing I want to know...” Luna leaned forwards. “You have told us how you came to be here, but you haven’t told us why. Why have you abandoned your fellow conspirators and sold them out? What changed your mind?”

“Several things,” he responded. “The fear and fury Princess Twilight showed during the attack, the behaviour of some of the other changelings we have hunted…” Harvest’s eye became downcast. “And her…”

“Her?” Luna interrupted.

Bringing his head back up to face Luna, he replied; “You know, the maid that died. Well, the thing is, there are many whispers that the commander was responsible.”

Luna looked him in the eyes. “That maid’s name was Sunny Aura.”

“Yes, I know. I knew her. Rumour has it she was Broad Sword’s old flame. Now I didn’t know much about the situation between those two, but in my experience she was the humblest pony this side of Equestria; she also had a pet chameleon named Dandy.”

“You’re going on a tangent Private Leaf, please stay on subject.”

“Right, sorry. Anyway a few of us started to believe he had a hoof in her death. Just before I left I even worked up the courage to ask him and… he was indifferent. He didn’t answer yes or no but…”

Harvest Leaf sighed. “When I talked to the others afterwards they just didn’t seem to care as much as they really should have. It was then I realised who it was I was fighting with, and I wanted no part in it. So I requested to go on patrol, and flew here as fast as my wings could take me.”

“I see… is that all?”

“Yes, your highness. That is everything I can tell you.” Harvest slumped in his seat.

“Very well,” Luna nodded towards the blacked out window, and two Solar Guards walked in and stood either side of Harvest Leaf.

Luna stood to the side as Celestia stood regally directly opposite Harvest Leaf, she spread her wings as she delivered her verdict. “Private Harvest Leaf of the Equestrian Solar Guard, you shall be imprisoned within the dungeons until your court martial at a later date. We can’t ignore the crimes you have committed against the harmony of Equestria and the surrounding lands, but the assistance you have provided today will also be taken into account when judgement is rendered. Do you have anything else to say in your defence?”

Harvest Leaf hung his head dejectedly as he rose to his hooves. “No, your highness.”

“Very well, take him away.”

The two Solar Guards led Harvest Leaf out of the interrogation room, leaving the two royal sisters alone.

“Sister,” Luna addressed. “What do you intend to do?”

“I will talk with Chrysalis, but this group must be wiped out soon to prevent another catastrophe. I do not intend to let Broad Sword escape, and we must pray that the others surrender to us if they do not wish to share his inevitable fate. I will be there, as I know Chrysalis will almost certainly will. I imagine your captain and Sergeant Longshot will also volunteer readily.”

“Be careful not to let your personal feelings get in the way Tia, they are a very dangerous thing in the middle of battle.”

Celestia gave her little sister a smile. “Do not worry Lulu, I promise I will be fine. The fate of Broad Sword’s co-conspirators is still up to them when the time comes, but Broad Sword’s sentence has been relegated to Queen Chrysalis to decide considering the circumstances, and we both know what the verdict will be.”

“Funny how that leaves your pristine image intact.”

“Luna?” Surprise and hurt tinged Celestia’s voice.

“You cannot fool me Tia, I know you want him dead just as much as Chrysalis, just… please be careful. Such dark thoughts can lead to much more trouble down the road.”

Celestia lifted one large alabaster wing over Luna. “Then it is a good thing I have my little sister to keep me in check,” she smiled as she gave her sister a little nuzzle.

Luna nuzzled back. “I said it once, and I will say it again. How did you last without me for a thousand years?”

Celestia chuckled. “It is a mystery to us all.”

A peaceful scene painted the late afternoon countryside just outside Canterlot, a small rabbit emerged from his hole, it could see that night was falling fast but there was still vestiges of sunlight remaining. Its ear twitched as it happily observed its surroundings and took several breaths of wonderful fresh air. However, its head darted to the side as the sounds of blades whipping through the air made itself know. Spooked, the rabbit immediately jumped back into its hole as four shadows formed and moved onwards extremely fast.

“Yeeehaaaaaw!” Longshot shouted shouted with his best impression of a country accent. He was hanging out the door of one of the four helicopters speeding through the air towards Everfree.

Vladimir was not quite enjoying the ride as much as his friend was, and he was near cowering at the very back of the vehicle’s crew compartment. He was joined by Queen Chrysalis, who also did not look like she was having a very good time.

“These machines are death-traps!” she shouted at Celestia, who was crouched towards the front of the compartment. “I would feel much more comfortable flying with my own wings!”

“Unless you’re Rainbow Dash, these are much quicker!” Celestia shouted back over the sound of the rotors. “You’re not scared are you?” she asked with a mischievous smirk.

Chrysalis growled. “A Changeling Queen does not get scared over such trivial things! I simply don’t want to crash into the ground and go up in a fiery explosion!”

“H-honestly your highness,” Vladimir spoke. “I’m with Queen Chrysalis on this one!”

“Oh come on Vlad!” Longshot laughed. “How is this not exciting?”

The four helicopters flew through the air; they had never been deployed in an actual operation before, so the ponies who created and maintained them were all too eager to test them out in the field. However, they were likely disappointed when they were told they wouldn’t be used in combat, just to get them close to the target in a timely manner. They planned to set down far enough away so that they wouldn’t be fired upon, but close enough so that those deployed could quickly hoof it out from there. Each chopper contained five armoured individuals, two containing five changeling soldiers each, another containing entirely EUP troopers, and the final one containing Vladimir, Longshot and three more EUP ponies, the silver EUP armour contrasting greatly with Vladimir’s dark blue. That particular helicopter was also hosting Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia, the latter in full royal body armor and she was carrying a large golden halberd. The former however didn’t have any armour, nor a weapon.

“Queen Chrysalis,” Celestia called out. “May I inquire on the lack of armaments?”

“I am a fully grown Changeling Queen! My chitin is as strong as any armour, and magic is my preferred weapon!”

“As it is mine, but what happens in close quarters engagements?”

Chrysalis simply smiled and displayed her carnivorous fangs.

Celestia shook her head in disapproval. “Do not get overconfident, Chrysalis. Having a weapon to fall back on would not go amiss.”

“Do not worry about me, Princess. I am more curious about the armour you are wearing, it looks old, and I don’t believe any of my changelings have ever witnessed you wear it.”

“It is old, I last wore it when we warred with the griffons during the Expansion Wars, and before that during the war against the tyrant King Sombra. However, ever since that night a thousand years ago it has remained in the armoury, simply gaining dust like an old museum piece.”

“Not glad to be wearing it again then?”

“The nostalgia isn’t worth what is to come,” Celestia replied solemnly. “And it reminds me of times I would like to forget.”

“Hey Vlad,” Longshot called back to the Lunar Captain. “Where is Carduus and Shining? I didn’t think they would want to miss this?”

“With their families, at the hospital,” Vladimir responded. “Now we’ve got a job to do, so focus and let’s do it well!”

After a short trip the four helicopters performed a rapid descent, coming to a hover just meters above the ground a short distance away from a large treeline. The changeling and pony soldiers quickly flew or rappelled down from the helicopters and landed on the ground below, quickly moving into formation. As Celestia touched down just behind Queen Chrysalis she lit her horn a soft gold as the last vestiges of sunlight slipped beneath the horizon, and somewhere in Canterlot Princess Luna raised the moon high into the sky. With the power of the sun behind her, Celestia’s horn made the immediate area as clear as day.

The four aviation vehicles took off again as soon as their passengers were gone, the choppers' pilots intent on setting down in the nearby town of Ponyville until extraction was needed.

“Okay then!” Vladimir called out. “They will likely be ready to meet us so I want tight formations and for everypony to be on constant alert, move out!”

Serpens sat by the war map on the command platform within the Everfree hideout. Plans were laid out on the table, and notes were made on the map itself as the changeling figured out exactly how to kill Twilight during her stay at the hospital, and still make a clean getaway. He believed he was making progress, until the lieutenant that kept bothering him bothered him yet again.

“Sir, four helicopters just touched down outside the forest and those it deployed are heading straight for us! We have minutes at best!”

Serpens gave a shout of frustration, throwing some of his notes off the table in anger. “Damn them all! At least now we know why Harvest Leaf vanished! What are we facing?”

“About twenty changelings and ponies, the Queen and even Princess Celestia are among them! Sir, some of us aren’t comfortable facing off against the Prin-“

“That’s not Celestia!”

“Sir?”

“Do you really think the Princess would enter battle herself, she wouldn’t risk herself like that for the parasites, manipulation or not. She’s a changeling in disguise, deal with them without mercy!”

Foolishly, the Lieutenant bought it as always. “Yes sir!”

“Good! Now have everypony and all the golems converge at the entrance chokepoint, be ready to fight!”

The Lieutenant saluted before running off to carry out his orders, a scramble of hooves following as they all got ready for the coming fight.

Serpens growled to himself, bringing up his broadsword and examining the softly glowing red rune within it.

“If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me, Chrysalis.”

Vladimir saw the entrance to the target cave ahead, and a flurry of movement was coming from within.

“We have contacts! Princess your orders?”

“Form up behind me, the Commander’s fate is sealed but I want to give these ponies a chance.”

The group emerged from the dense tree’s lining the edge of the forest and quickly formed up on the cave. Then they were met with what Vladimir counted as twenty five fully armed ponies, and around ten golems, all of which were waiting for them. The golems were near featureless impersonations of ponies with large retractable blades attached to their forelimbs, but Vladimir knew all too well that they didn’t need the blades to effectively kill a pony.

At the head of the enemy group a single pony stepped forwards, his armour signifying him as a lieutenant of the Solar Guard.

“Hold there parasites! You will go no further!”

Celestia stepped forwards from the group and addressed the misguided ponies. “Hear me ponies of the Solar Guard, for I am your princess and I command you to stop this madness! If you surrender yourselves now you shall be treated mercifully, but should you continue down this path of disharmony you shall face the full wrath of the sun!”

“Quiet you parasite!” the Lieutenant shouted. “You can’t fool us; the princess would never attack her own ponies, nor would she ever taint herself with battle.”

Celestia furrowed her eyebrows at the ignorant pony. “You know very little, Lieutenant. I have faced conflict you can only see in your deepest nightmares! I have faced Discord, the Tyrant King, and my own sister. I am Princess Celestia, and even though you outnumber us you cannot hope to defeat us. I am asking again, stand down now. This is your last chance!”

“Lies and manipulations!” the Lieutenant shouted, and Celestia sighed as she knew what was about to happen. “True protectors of Equestria, kill the-"

He never finished his final order as Celestia struck first. Her anger, her pain, and the end of her patience merged together, and with one lethal golden lance of magic from Celestia’s horn his head flew through the air, landing in front of one of the enemy golems.

And then all hell broke loose.

Immediately the clash of steel could be heard as blades clanged off one another. Two EUP soldiers flanked one of the traitorous Solar Guards and dug the blades into his chest, once they retracted their swords from the dead pony one of them turned around only to be knocked through the air by one of the golems with a vicious kick. As Vladimir fought with one of their enemies Longshot fired a bolt at one of the opposing side's own crossbow wielding troops, and was rewarded with a shout of pain and the pony falling to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his eye socket. Simultaneously, Celestia took to the air and fired a devastating beam through the battle field, causing the Solar Guards to run for cover. One unfortunate mare was caught in the blast, and she was reduced to ash in moments.

Several ponies moved to surround Chrysalis and strike at her, only for her to release a pulse of magic that sent them all flying backwards and be lost in the crowd. One of the golems jumped out at her and released its blade, making a lunging stab for the Queen’s neck. Chrysalis simply sidestepped and a quick flash of her horn reduced the golem to mere rubble, the momentum making it rain small rocks on her forelegs for a second or two. Scanning the battlefield, Chrysalis realised Broad Sword himself wasn’t in attendance. Realising that he must still be inside the cave, Chrysalis quickly released a beam of magic into a small group of enemy ponies to knock them to the side and create an opening directly to the cave, which Chrysalis quickly sprinted right for.

As the Queen entered the cave Longshot noticed what she was doing and moved to follow her in, not wanting the Changeling Queen to face what lay within alone.

Chrysalis didn’t see Longshot also break away from the fight and move to follow her inside, if she did she might have waited for him, but with adrenalin pumping through her veins she continued onwards by herself.

As Chrysalis ran into the cave the sound of the fighting outside became more muffled, as she reached the centre of the cave she saw several tents littered around, there were also supply crates, cooking fires and a raised metal platform in the centre.

Broad Sword looked down at the changeling queen from up on the platform, smirked and then simply walking away.

Snarling, Chrysalis made her way up the ramp and onto the platform itself, a map of Equestria sat on a war table. Broad Sword himself sat down at the other end, a glass of what looked like whiskey in his hoof.

“Why you arrogant…” Chrysalis growled, her horn lighting up with a green aura, which grasped the table and sent it flying off the platform, leaving nothing between Chrysalis and her prey. Broad Sword simply rolled his eyes as he downed the last of his whiskey in one go, and threw the glass off of the platform, the sound of smashing glass echoing throughout the cave.

“I was going to offer you a drink, but I take it you would have refused,” the Commander grinned.

“Your crimes have gone unpunished long enough! Celestia will make short work of your followers, and I will deal with you.”

“Well ‘followers’ is a bit of a strong word, cannon fodder is far closer to what they are. And while my initial plans may have failed, I may still save them… if I kill you. If I do it quickly enough I myself may yet escape, and then I will be back for your precious daughter.”

If Chrysalis was going to ask who exactly the ‘they’ were that he wanted to save, because they certainly were not the ponies outside, that chance was lost at Broad Sword’s last comment.

“You will never touch her again!” she shouted in anger, her horn charging with deadly power.

“Now now, let’s not be too hasty!” Broad Sword said as he unsheathed his sword, a broadsword of all things, a sword that glowed red with intense magical power.

“W-what?” Chrysalis stammered as she felt her magical energies simply drain away, studying the sword closely she could see a red rune embedded within the blade.

“Useful little thing, provided by my benefactor… just in case. This rune is incredibly rare, but then again I believe you recognise it?”

“That rune was an heirloom of Queen Imperatrix, where did you get that?! It was meant to have been buried with her!”

“It was, until I needed it. It’s not like your grandmother needed it anymore, she is dead after all. Besides, I hear that your mother and Imperatrix weren’t too chummy anyhow. And now, without your magic, what are you?”

With a shout Chrysalis rushed forward, her fangs glaring. With a shake of his head Broad Sword brought up his weapon and struck out, forcing Chrysalis to dive away. One strike was followed by another, and another. Chrysalis was defenceless, and she couldn’t get close enough to use her fangs without being sliced in two, all she could do was dodge Broad Sword’s blows, which were getting closer each time.

‘Why did Celestia have to be right?’ she mentally kicked herself.

The next swing grazed Chrysalis’ cheek, Broad Sword smirked as he went for one final blow.

An arrow struck next to Broad Sword as Longshot burst onto the platform, he quickly reloaded and took a more aimed shot straight at Broad Sword’s snarling face.

Broad Sword deflected the arrow with the flat edge of his blade before flying forwards towards the earth pony. Chrysalis tried to intercept him, but a kick to the face sent her over the platforms edge.

Longshot tried to hit Broad Sword with the stock of his weapon, but it was knocked from his grasp before he was able. Longshot dodged two swings in quick succession before an opening allowed him to tackle Broad Sword to the ground, the two struggling over the rune imbedded sword. As the two struggled, Longshot administered several punches to the face, drawing blood from Broad Sword’s muzzle, the Commander however responded in kind. Broad Sword’s first and only punch, which was surprisingly strong, dazed the sergeant, allowing Broad Sword to kick Longshot off. As Longshot struggled on the floor his opponent picked up his sword and used the opportunity to drive his blade into a gap in Longshot’s silver EUP armour.

Longshot went still.

Chrysalis recovered from her fall just as the blow was delivered, the changeling queen watching in horror. However, she also realised she had been knocked outside the rune’s area of effect, so Chrysalis lit up her horn and unleashed a devastating beam onto the foundations of the platform, bringing the whole thing crumbling down. The debris obscured the commander from sight as it came down, kicking up plenty of dirt and dust lining the cave floor. Chrysalis kept her distance, surveying the wreckage for signs of life as the dust cleared.

Chrysalis barely noticed the figure out of the corner of her eye strike out from behind. Jumping to the side Chrysalis narrowly dodged Broad Sword’s attack, before trying to blast him with magic, only for the rune’s effects to once again take place.

Chrysalis stood, the last attack having driven her up against the cave wall. “How did you get behind me?”

“You will never know,” Broad Sword smirked again, bringing his sword up for what he planned to be the killing blow.

Only for another arrow to strike him in the foreleg, causing the Commander to shout in pain as he dropped his blade.

Longshot smiled at Chrysalis when she spotted him emerge from the wreckage. “Smug bastard,” he called out to Broad Sword before collapsing, heavily wounded.

Broad Sword tried to reach for his blade, only for it to be picked up by a black, hole ridden hoof, with another rolling him over and keeping him pinned. Broad Sword looked up at Chrysalis’ hate filled face as she drove his own blade into his chest.

A silence filled the cavern as Chrysalis stepped off of the dying commander, leaving the sword embedded in him. The fighting outside also seemed to come to a stop, the shouting and sounds of battle ceasing to be.

Coughing up blood, Broad Sword looked up at Chrysalis, their eyes meeting as he spoke one last time. "You have no idea what you have unleashed today, Chrysalis. And as darkness takes me I must lament on my failure… My family, my friends... my Queen.”

Broad Sword’s head dropped and his eyes closed as green flames racked over his body, revealing the changeling beneath.

“I have doomed them all."

And with those parting words, Infiltrator Serpens was dead.

Chrysalis stared, eyes wide at the sight. Chrysalis realised he must have used changeling magic to create a portal to escape the collapsing platform and get behind her, but who was this changeling? And where was the true Commander Broad Sword? However, she was drawn away from the issue as she remembered her injured ally and quickly rushed to his aid.

However, when she arrived Longshot was completely still, his crossbow still in his grasp, and his signature smirk still on his face. Chrysalis, now free from the rune’s effects, scanned his body, hoping against hope for a sign of life.

None.

Longshot had made the ultimate sacrifice.

Chrysalis knelt down and sighed in regret at the sergeant’s fate. Moments later Celestia and the EUP with her stormed the cave, changelings following closely behind. Some of the EUP and changelings were worse for wear, but Celestia herself was as pristine as always.

“Chrysalis!” Celestia called as she rushed to the changeling queen’s side, spotting Longshot when she got there.

“Longshot?” Celestia called, sorrow filling her heart on realising the sergeants final fate. “What happened?”

“The fiend claimed his last victim.”

“And where is Broad Sword now?”

Chrysalis pointed towards the dead changeling. “I don’t think it ever was Broad Sword.”

Celestia’s eyes were drawn to the deceased infiltrator. “A changeling? Then where is the real Commander?”

Vladimir had also spotted what had become of his friend, but there would be time for mourning later, for now he had a job to do. As he and the EUP spread through the cave he spotted an unremarkable area of particularly no importance. So unimportant, he wanted to look away.

“Hold up!” Vladimir shouted. “There’s a perception filter over here!”

All the guards converged onto the spot Vladimir had pointed out, one of the unicorns in the group lit up her horn and dispelled the filter, revealing a passageway previously hidden from sight.

“It would seem Luna’s special training paid off,” Celestia remarked.

“I don’t see any other casualties among us,” Chrysalis noted.

“That’s because there weren’t any, which I myself made certain of, though some of my ponies and your changelings did take some nasty injuries. Aside from a few scars, I am confident everypony will make a full recovery. However, our adversaries foolishly fought to the last pony, they’re gone.”

Broad Sword’s head hung low as several sounds roused him from his sleep. After a little while however, the sounds ceased and sleep began to reclaim the exhausted Pegasus.

Only for the sound of approaching hooves to rouse him once again.

“Sweet Celestia, is that who I think it is?” a familiar voice could be heard.

“Captain Vespertilio?” Broad Sword weakly whispered, looking up at the approaching ponies.

“Commander? Medic! Somepony get a medic!” Vladimir called back to the ponies following him, all of whom scrambled out to get Broad Sword some help leaving only the Commander and Vladimir in the small cavern.

Despite everything, Broad Sword managed to chuckle, “You have no idea how good it is to see you!”

“I can imagine, are you aware of what has transpired?”

“Y-yes, I know everything. I may also have some information you don’t know; that changeling was an arrogant bastard, he tended to like gloating, and relayed all of his ‘glorious’ achievements to me.”

“Right, well, all the hostiles are neutralised, so let’s get you out of here.”

As Vladimir got to work on releasing Broad Sword’s restraints he didn’t notice an equine shaped figure approaching from behind, blade raised.

Broad Sword did however.

The moment he was free Broad Sword darted forwards, grabbed Vladimir’s blade and sliced it straight through the golem’s neck, its head slowly sliding off as a baffled Vladimir watched.

“You missed one,” Broad Sword remarked, before he collapsed, too weak to stand.

As the four helicopters descended on Canterlot they were met with a flurry of activity. Several ambulance chariots were ready to receive the wounded, and guards moved to keep back yet more pesky reporters.

As the choppers landed and powered down medics rushed forwards to see to the less seriously wounded, while stretchers were brought out to receive those with more serious injuries and needed immediate medical attention. Broad Sword was loaded onto one such stretcher and rushed into an ambulance. Vladimir was tempted to go with him and make sure he was alright, but before anything else there was a letter he had to write.

Vladimir looked over to one stretcher being loaded into an ambulance, but unlike the others the pony on that stretcher wasn’t going to any operating theatre. Longshot was wearing a black bag.

He was going to the morgue.

Vladimir sighed as Longshot was taken away and looked down at the crossbow he carried in his hooves. He would make sure the weapon was laid to rest with its rightful owner when the time came.

For now he had to write a letter to an unsuspecting family in Manehatten.

Author's Note

'The Wrath Of A Mother', I think that can apply to both Chrysalis and Celestia in this case. Serpens should just be glad Velvet didn't get her hooves on him.

Either way this story-arc is reaching its conclusion, but the story itself is far from over, onwards we go!

29 - Recovery

Rain poured down onto Canterlot, the city’s weather pegasi fulfilling their duties with the scheduled downpour. As was usual around this time, most of the city’s inhabitants had retreated indoors to escape the rain, with the exception of a few.

The first exceptions were group of fillies and colts, splashing and playing in the mud as all children do some point in their young lives.

The second set out in the rain was a pair of captains; Vladimir Vespertilio and Carduus. Both stood in front of a completely dry casket, in one of Canterlot’s many cemeteries. This particular one was just a short distance away from the castle, wherein the grave stones were more akin to large works of art, meticulously created by the most skilled of craftsponies.

This was because this cemetery was reserved for the most distinguished war heroes, honoured as such by the princesses themselves.

It was here that Commander Hurricane was interred; she had been moved from her original burial place after the Capital City of Everfree was abandoned and left to the nature’s reclamation after Nightmare Moon.

It was also here that the famed Nights Watch was laid to rest; knights who fell defending a rather large wall up in the north, fighting against undead ponies brought about by remaining vestiges of King Sombra’s dark magic.

And now it was here the posthumously promoted Sergeant-Major Longshot was to be put to rest.

The area around the casket had been kept clear of rain out of respect for the fallen soldier, and after the service, those attending had slowly drifted away indoors where they would discuss their memories of the smart mouthed sergeant over food and drink. Now only Vladimir and Carduus remained in front of the simple, but elegantly crafted casket, on which sat a picture of the pony in question, signature smirk on his face, and all the medals he had earned during his service to the Equestrian crown; and one of them was new.

Eventually though, even they had to move on, Carduus was the first to go. The changeling heading towards the castle where his wife and young daughter were still staying.

Vladimir stayed a little while longer out of respect for his friend, but he too eventually had to leave. With a final salute to Longshot, he turned and exited the cemetery entirely, intent on returning back to his duties as captain of the Lunar Guard.

The next day

The Sun shined brilliantly, almost blindingly to his still sensitive eyes, through the curtains as Commander Broad Sword of the Equestrian Solar Guard peered through; looking them down onto the street below. A few carts and carriages passed through the street, as ponies carried on with their daily lives as they normally did. Though he could spot a few ‘ponies’ loitering around intersections, and in other key spots, examining the crowd intently. Broad Sword knew enough to recognise them as sentries of Queen Chrysalis, guards who had been stationed around the hospital for the protection of their princess.

And Broad Sword couldn’t help but feel a stab of regret at his role in her predicament, and in other atrocities committed in recent days.

His hospital room was fairly standard; flowers sat just by the bed, after having been placed there by his big sister when she and their parents had visited earlier. He had even received a ‘get well soon’ card from his colleagues in the guard.

But so far nopony had discussed with him what had happened, or rather what he had been made out to be by the mysterious infiltrator. However, he knew that was about to change when the door opened and, as regal as ever, in strode the Princess of the Sun.

“Your Highness!” He threw a quick salute. “I was expecting your visit,” he said to Princess Celestia as he turned his wheelchair to face her properly.

“It is good to see you up and about Broad Sword,” Celestia stated as she gave him her usual motherly smile. “How are you feeling?”

Broad Sword shifted in his seat. “Good, all things considered. My body took quite the beating being hung up like that for so long, that bast- changeling, that changeling only just kept me from dying; my comfort wasn’t high on his priorities list. The doctors want me to stay in here a few more days for observation, and I’m to stay in this damned chair until I can walk without cracking my jaw into the pavement.

“I will make sure the doctors make you comfortable during your stay here,” Celestia assured.

“No need, your highness. Compared to my last accommodations this is a life of luxury. Besides, I enjoy your company as always, but we both know you aren’t here just to make a social call.”

Celestia sighed. “I’m afraid not; I was rather hoping you could give us some insight into who our mysterious infiltrator was, as well as his motives.”

“Well he wasn’t exactly tight lipped, he loved to brag. He talked about how once Twilight Sparkle was dead, Equestria and Chrysalis’ hive would wage war with one another. Then, whoever won that fight would then be taken out by whoever was sponsoring this little operation.”

“Did he give any indication who his queen was?”

“I’m afraid he didn’t give that much detail, but… I don’t think his hive is truly even behind this.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”

“Perhaps I should start from the beginning, it started at the wedding-“

Broad Sword explained how he had carried out his duties for the wedding’s security, him being in charge of the Solar Guard with their captain himself being the groom. He then told Celestia how when the ‘invasion’ began, the unexpected attack completely overwhelmed their defences, which were not meant to deal with the type of attack that had occurred. During this time he was split off from the other guards, where the changeling was lying in wait. He told the princess of how he woke in the cavern, and how over time the changeling would brag about his achievements, and arrogantly gloat to the commander.

Celestia’s attention was particularly caught when he told of how the infiltrator had let slip that that his actions would ‘both save and strengthen his hive’. Broad Sword had inquired what his hive needed saving from, but the only answer he received was, ‘there are far worse things out there than me’. He ended his story with how Vladimir had found him, and how he had saved the captain from the golem, all of which Celestia had read in Vladimir’s report.

“-and that is pretty much everything,” Broad Sword concluded. “Is there anything else?”

A smile graced Celestia’s face. “No, you have been most helpful, please take it easy and get well soon Commander.”

“I will Princess; I hope you find the lings who did this… and take them down.”

“That is the intent,” Celestia simply stated as she exited the hospital room, leaving Broad Sword alone.

“Did you get all of that?” Celestia asked the individual standing just outside the door.

“Everything,” Chrysalis responded. “And it links in with the infiltrators final words. He may have been a monster, there is no denying that. But it apparently his hive was seemingly coerced into acting out the will of another, under threat of annihilation. They were just puppets.”

“But who was the puppet master?” Celestia asked.

“Oh, there are plenty of queens who would literally kill to turn Equestria into their personal love farm. However, very few would ever be brave enough to do it. And to target my hive specifically in conjuncture with those plans…”

“Any particular suspects?” She enquired.

Chrysalis thought on this a moment. “Out of the twenty queens in existence, I can think of four. All of whom have hives far larger than mine.”

Celestia sighed. “Then I entrust you with investigating this matter further, we have had no experience with the political structure of the hives and I fear direct involvement at this time will only complicate matters.”

“I agree,” Chrysalis nodded.

“However, that being said,” Celestia looked Chrysalis dead in the eyes. “Should you require Equestria’s aid in the near future, all you need do is ask.”

Chrysalis smiled. “I thank you for your assistance Celestia, and with our negotiators continuing their talks I would say the shared future of our two peoples look bright on this day. Now if you will excuse me, I will be spending the foreseeable future at my daughter’s side.”

Celestia couldn’t help but wish that was what she could do, but the day was still young, and her duties called. So with a simple nod the two parted ways, with Celestia heading back to Canterlot Castle where day court would soon commence.

But as Queen Chrysalis went, one though stayed on her mind.

‘Four potential queens… but in the end I know it was you… Crudelis. If only there was proof…’

-sends her regards,” the guard, Broad Sword I believe, whispered to me.

There was a stab of pain, and once more it repeated. Over and over Twilight witnessed the events that ended her last conscious moments in the outside world, and only the smallest fragments of her mind even realised what was happening.

And just like every other time, events repeated.

Carduus drove his blade into the guard’s eye socket. Once the guard slumped Carduus swung his blade at the next guard. However, something else caught my eye. Turning around I saw two of my own guards fighting three of those… traitors, and they were losing. Before I could process what was happening one of the traitors did one clean sweep with his sword, and took off the heads off both changeling guards, the very same two that I had met outside of my room that very morning. They didn’t deserve that, they didn’t deserve to die! Why was this happening?

“NO!” I screamed, I sent a beam of lavender magic violently towards the killer-

Only this time her beam of magic met… nothing. Twilight Sparkle floated within a blank void, there was nothing as far as the eye could see.

“Hello?” Twilight called out, and voices responded to her call.

Suddenly hundreds, if not thousands of voices all called out in excitement as for the first time in days Twilight's connection to the hive was reestablished. Twilight hadn’t realised they were gone, but now that they were back the once alien voices welcomed her like a soft blanket after a hard day’s work. They were excited, as her reemergence in the hive mind could only mean one thing.

A bright white light enveloped Twilight, and she closed her eyes to protect them from the flash. When it was all over, her body ached as if it hadn’t moved in days. Slowly she opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by her family, both pony and changeling, all watching her expectantly.

“H-hi?” Twilight said, slightly confused.

“Twilight!” they all shouted at once, glomping her already weakened body, which threatened to turn into dust at the contact.

“Ow! Hey!” Twilight croaked out underneath the mass of bodies, who all retracted and gave her sheepish, apologetic smiles.

“See, I knew you would make it back to us,” Night Light said confidently.

“We were so worried for you dear,” Velvet tearfully admitted.

“Worried for me? What happe-" Then it hit her like the friendship express.

The attack, the poisoned dagger, repeating events over and over…

She had been in a coma.

“Oh sweet Celestia, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you like that, I-"

“Shh, there-there my daughter,” Chrysalis cooed. “You’re safe now, and those ponies can’t hurt you anymore.”

“W-what do you mean?”

Chrysalis smiled warmly. “All will be explained later, for now just rest.”

After a moment Twilight weakly nodded. “OK… I will.”

“Twily?” a nervous voice said from behind Night Light.

Twilight turned to look at the voices owner, and Shining Armor stepped into view, before collapsing at her bedside into a grovelling position.

“Twily, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean any of those nasty things I said, and I-"

Twilight smiled at her brother as she put a hoof on his shoulder. “BBBFF, there is nothing to apologise for.”

Shining looked down at his LSBFF in disbelief, before scooping her into another, gentler hug; one which she returned all too gladly.

After everything they had all been through, everything that had happened within recent times... For the first time since it all began a single certainty dominated all of their minds.

Everything was going to be fine.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the hospital Broad Sword had wheeled himself out of his room, and now sat in front of the large window looking over the hospitals back courtyard, which was far more pleasant to observe than a simple street. The gardeners had done an outstanding job of maintaining it.

“Hey, are you OK?” a voice asked.

Broad Sword turned to see a white coloured mare with a scarlet mane and eyes along with a snowflake cutie mark sit beside him by the window. He noticed her right foreleg was in a sling.

“Wait, you’re Commander Broad Sword right? I hear even after spending weeks tied up, you saved Captain Vladimir’s ass when he was meant to be saving yours!” she laughed quietly.

Initially caught off guard, Broad Sword soon couldn’t help but laugh in return. “We saved each other I think, and I can’t thank him enough for getting me out of that cave.

“It wasn’t just him you know; we all had a hoof in it!” The mare gave him a playfully stern look.

“Wait, you were there, weren’t you?”

“EUP Lieutenant Scarlet Snow, at you service,” she responded with a smirk.

“Snow? Where have I hear that name before?”

“My family are descendants of the Nights Watch, but I prefer to make my own way rather than depend on some famous long dead lineage to make a living.”

Broad Sword was still impressed, but he decided to drop the matter. “Fair enough, what are you doing up here anyway?”

“Same reason as you I reckon, wanted to get out of that hospital room. Had a broken foreleg and concussion, I’m getting unleashed unto the outside world tomorrow.”

“Oh, I really wish I was going with you; it’s better than the cave, but I really want to get out of here and just go back to my duties.”

“I could break you out of here,” she jokingly suggested. “I found a black and white stripped outfit in a bush with a note saying ‘for jailbreak emergencies’, so I could use that.”

Broad Sword laughed. “Oh my savior!”

Both of them sat laughing for a few more moments, getting it out of their systems.

“So… want to get a drink later?” Broad Sword asked. “I could use the company.”

Scarlet Snow smiled. “I would like that.”

Three weeks later

Princess Twilight moved through the hallway of her hive, her ever so faithful assistant at her side.

“So Twilight, are we going to Pinkie’s party tomorrow night?” He asked hopefully. He was almost bouncing.

Twilight chuckled, and looked down to him. “Wouldn’t miss it Spike; I miss Ponyville at times, so it will be good to go for a visit.”

“I miss it too,” he agreed. “We should work out a schedule allowing regular visits.”

Twilight smiled at the idea. “Add it to the to-do list.”

Spike dropped back and rummaged through Twilight’s saddlebags. “Will do, that’s the one next to the checklist on organising checklists, right?”

“Yep, that’s the one!” Twilight responded happily.

The two came to a stop just outside the throne room.

“Spike, I just wanted to thank you for coming with me to live at the hive, I wasn’t sure you would leave Ponyville so quickly. I know I was reluctant to leave…”

Spike moved in and hugged the Changeling Princess. “Twilight, wherever you go, I go.”

“Thanks Spike,” Twilight returned the hug.

“Now come on Twilight, haven’t you got some pony nobles to deal with?”

“It’s mostly diplomats coming over to see the hive, only a couple of nobles are coming along to ‘see what all the fuss is about’.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “But yes, I better get going. Until now all negotiations have taken place in Equestria so this is fairly major.”

“Got it, I’ll make sure things are arranged back in the room for you when you finish.”

“That’s my number one assistant!” She patted his head affectionately, before using her magic to pass Spike her bags.

“Well it’s what I’m here for!” Spike chuckled as he moved off down the corridor.

After watching the young dragon go, Twilight turned to the large double doors and pushed them open.

On her obsidian throne at the end of the room, Chrysalis smiled affectionately when she spotted her daughter. Chrysalis dismissed Captain Carduus, who nodded to Twilight as he passed.

“Good morning Twilight, sleep well?”

“I did mother, thank you. Is everything ready?”

“Thanks to your exceptional organisational skills we couldn’t be more ready,” she stated as she smiled. “Now come; let us ready ourselves for the ponies’ arrival.”

Chrysalis motioned Twilight to the second obsidian throne. Twilight stared at the seat hesitantly, never before had she sat in the seat intended for her.

Eventually though, she gathered up the courage to approach, staring at her own cutie mark displayed proudly in the back rest as she went. When she sat on her throne she found it to be a perfect fit for her, the padding on the seat making it particularly comfortable.

Chrysalis looked on at her daughter with proud eyes.

‘Oh Virum, wherever you are I know that you are as proud as I am. Thank you, for everything.’

Twilight looked up at her mother and returned her smile, before looking towards the door expectantly, the ponies due to arrive any moment.

She sat up ramrod straight, channelling the regal posture her mother and Celestia always made look so easy, and found herself channelling that very same posture with little effort.

‘I could get used to this,’ Twilight thought to herself.

And when the ponies entered the throne room, they were in awe at the Queen and Princess waiting for them.

Author's Note

For those of you frustrated that Twilight didn't remember the name, don't worry... :pinkiecrazy:

30 - Act 1 Epilogue

Elsewhere, far from Equestria

Deep within a hive much like Chrysalis' own, an ancient queen sat on her menacing obsidian and bone throne, communicating with her various drones throughout the hive. The Queen had a blood red mane and eyes to match, contrasting with the standard colouration of changeling queens; and unlike Chrysalis she was well groomed and put great stock into appearances.

"My Queen!" a changeling guard captain burst in holding a scroll in his sickly green aura. "Our spies have reported in!"

Eagerly the ancient queen took the scroll, unravelled it and took in its contents.

"Well well, it would seem Chrysalis has been making friends," the Queen said in a mocking tone. "I knew I shouldn't have relied on that fool of an infiltrator to do our job for us, perhaps I should have opted for more direct oversight, sent agents of our own. They wouldn't have made such... amateur mistakes."

"It's ironic, Infiltrator Serpens was sent out by his queen with the mission to drive Equestria and the Badlands Hive apart, and all the infiltrator did was bring them together instead," the drone remarked snidely.

"It is indeed. In his failure he has forged an alliance between two of my enemies, this cannot stand."

"What should be done with Serpens' hive? They are an ally after all."

"They knew the price of failure. Burn them. Queen Vespula's hive is but a couple thousand strong, they are small and insignificant. This will teach our other 'cherished' allies not to make the same mistakes."

"It will be done my Queen, but-"

"But?"

"The Badlands Hive... if they seek help from the ponies, they must be weaker than we believed! We should strike at them now, eliminate another rival for good."

"Captain... could you have said anything more incompetent?" the Queen asked with a snarl.

The captain recoiled in fear. "My Queen?" he asked shakily.

"They are anything but weak, they have the princesses on their side and not only that, her daughter has returned, the Element of Magic no less... not to mention the fact that we don't actually know where their hive is other than 'in the Badlands somewhere'. Any future actions must be planned carefully."

"Forgive me, my Queen." The guard bowed his head. "I was out of line."

"You are forgiven, Captain. Now leave me, I have a council to call."

"The Royal Council? You are gathering the queens? All of them?"

"I am, including Chrysalis and her ilk. And double our efforts to discover her hive's exact location, if I need to destroy her personally it would be good to know where she lives."

"U-understood, Queen Crudelis."

Bowing one last time the guard slipped out of the room, cursing his own brashness. He had a lot of work ahead of him, locating all of the queens and arranging a council could take months, even years. Not once has there been a matter that had gathered the queens immediately, and he doubted this time would be any different.

Crudelis quickly turned her attention back to the scroll, reading it over and over. "So you have the princesses at your beck and call now, Chrysalis? All because of that daughter of yours, Element of Magic, hero of Equestria..." the Queen chuckled sadistically. "If you think 'Broad Sword' was the worst of your troubles, you are a bigger fool than I thought..."

"Oh I am looking forward to killing you, Twilight Sparkle."

End of Act 1

Author's Note

Moving on forward...

The story isn't over yet! Act 2 is continuing here, if there is a sequel in the future it will be separate from the 'Crudelis Arc'.

31 - Intermission: In The Mind Of The Sun

The Morning After Twilight's Attempted Assassination, Hours after Chrysalis confronted Celestia

The blinding sun cast its rays across Canterlot, its long lines spreading out all of the days wondrous light. The idyllic image it created through the balcony doors of Celestia’s personal chambers was one of the princess’s favourite parts of the day. But today it held a double edged sword to her mind.

Just looking upon it, she could not help but recall the name for this time of day; twilight. Just thinking it brought pain to her heart, her mind quickly dancing to the mare currently residing in a hospital bed. She wished to be there herself, but took solace in the fact Chrysalis was with her.

Princess Celestia sighed loudly, and let the magic drop from her quill. If that wasn’t enough on her mind, then the task she had just finished would haunt her for years. Today marked the first day in over a decade that the Royal Guard had suffered a casualty, let alone eight. What made it even worse was that they had all been, with the exception of two, traitors.

Her anger flared, before her face caught sight of the papers on her desk; eight letters addressed to the families of the fallen, with details for the funerals attached. Her mind was at war within. She was fighting between grief for the fallen, a feeling of failure for Twilight, and anger for those who had committed this atrocity.

“I know I should feel more sorrow for those guards, but I just can’t. My focus is mainly on Twilight. That doesn’t make me a bad pony, does it?”

As always, Philomena sat silently on her perch, but she cocked her head to the side.

“It’s just that she is almost the daughter I never had. I’ve grown so fond of her, and so close that I just can’t stand the thought of losing her. And then I remember it. Like I am still there; I’m turning around at Longshot’s shout, and I have to watch the colour drain from her eyes while I hold onto her.”

Celestia stood from her desk, and began pacing about the room.

“And each time I relive it, the anger at those guards grows a little more. Each time it makes it harder to remember them for who they were. Each time I demonise them more. I fear that if I dwell too much on this, I might reach a point where I do something I regret. I fear that I will want to. After Chrysalis calmed down, I realised what I said to her – I said I was willing to kill somepony. Right know, I don’t know where I stand.”

Celestia sighed. “It’s happening again. You weren’t there, a thousand years ago. The night I lost Lulu was one of the worst of my life, and I was in a dark place after. The only thing that kept me from taking a similar path to my sister was the determination to make things right, to craft an Equestria that would accept her upon her return from the moon. But with Twilight…”

Philomena flew across the room, and settled on the frame of the largest painting in the room. It was of Luna, not long after her return from the nightmare.

Celestia smiled at her beloved pet phoenix, “You’re right, as you so often are, Mena. Who better to ask about inner demons than my own sister?”

Philomena ‘cawed’ her approval, before she flew down, landing on Celestia’s back. Celestia turned her head and nuzzled her, wearing her first smile of the day. “Thank you, Mena. It is soon time to lower the sun and make way for Luna’s moon, so I shall ask her after the task is complete.”

Philomena ‘cawed’ again, before taking flight, leaving through the open balcony doors. Celestia headed out of her chambers, intent of having a light snack before she lowered the sun. But she never made it far before a voice called out for her;

“Aunty!” She turned around to greet Cadance, but was blindsided by a hug; one she returned with gusto.

“I need to borrow you, there is something you need to see.” Before Celestia could question it, Cadance had taken her wing in hers and was dragging her down the corridor. It was going to be a long day.

Canterlot Castle Interrogation Room Two, The Next Morning

‘Cadance found one.'

'She found one of the traitors.'

'He is right here, in front of me.'

'One of the ones who tried to kill my Twilight is right in front of me.'

'I could just reach out with my magic; his neck would be like a twig beneath a hoof.’

Luna continued to conduct the interrogation. She was either oblivious to Celestia’s inner turmoil, or she chose to ignore it. In truth, Celestia was barely listening, at least until she heard the word ‘Everfree’.

“The Everfree Forest, a place barely anypony goes. No wonder the Commander chose to make a base there, but at least we now know where he is.”

Her sister went back to her questions, but all she could focus on was running through her mental map of the Everfree, and all of the places she knew a group could hide. She ruminated on this until she heard Luna begin to wrap up.

“Well in any case you have been most helpful Harvest Leaf, but there is one last thing I want to know,” Luna leaned forwards. “You have told us how you came to be here, but you haven’t told us why. Why have you abandoned your fellow conspirators and sold them out? What changed your mind?”

“Her?” Luna interrupted.

Bringing his head back up to face Luna, he replied: “You know, the maid that died. Well, the thing is, there are many whispers that the commander was responsible.”

Luna looked him in the eyes. “That maid’s name was Sunny Aura.”…

“…a few of us started to believe he had a hoof in her death. Just before I left I even worked up the courage to ask him and… he was indifferent. He didn’t answer yes or no but…”

Sunny Aura. Celestia, wrapped up in the event of the past forty eight hours, had all but forgotten about her passing. She had been an excellent maid, and a good friend to many, stopping behind after work to chat, sometimes even over a cup of tea. Now it was confirmed, she was murdered.

Broad Sword’s headcount had grown, adding another member of Celestia’s circle of friends, and in her position that list wasn’t always as high as she would like. The internal fire was given more fuel. If one was to look into her eyes right then, you would practically melt.

Before she knew it, it was time to deliver her verdict, and after carefully schooling her expression as well as her voice, she spread her wings as she delivered it, “Private Harvest Leaf of the Equestrian Solar Guard, you shall be imprisoned within the dungeons until your court martial at a later date. We can’t ignore the crimes you have committed against the harmony of Equestria and the surrounding lands, but the assistance you have provided today will also be taken into account when judgement is rendered. Do you have anything else to say in your defence?”

Harvest Leaf hung his head dejectedly as he rose to his hooves. “No, your highness.”

“Very well, take him away.”

Two Solar Guards led Harvest Leaf out of the interrogation room, leaving the two royal sisters alone.

“Sister,” Luna addressed. “What do you intend to do?”

“Be careful not to let your personal feelings get in the way Tia, they are a very dangerous thing in the middle of battle.”

Celestia gave her little sister a smile. “Do not worry Lulu, I promise I will be fine. The fate of Broad Sword’s co-conspirators is still up to them when the time comes, but Broad Sword’s sentence has been relegated to Queen Chrysalis to decide, considering the circumstances, and we both know what the verdict will be.”

“Funny how that leaves your pristine image intact.”

“Luna?” Surprise and hurt tinged Celestia’s voice.

“You cannot fool me Tia, I know you want him dead just as much as Chrysalis, just… please be careful. Such dark thoughts can lead to much more trouble down the road.”

Celestia lifted one large alabaster wing over Luna. “Then it is a good thing I have my little sister to keep me in check,” she smiled as she gave her sister a little nuzzle.

Luna nuzzled back. “I said it once, and I will say it again. How did you last without me for a thousand years?”

Celestia chuckled. “It is a mystery to us all.”

That was a lie.

It wasn’t a mystery to Celestia.

She had swallowed her rage before with a divine sense of purpose, to make things ready for Luna’s return. But now she had no such purpose, and she needed an outlet. For all the love and adoration she received, despite all those truly believing her to be some kind of goddess, she knew better than anypony that she in truth was just a pony. And just as flawed.

Luna bid her farewell, she had Night Court to attend to after all. However, Celestia stayed in that room for a few more minutes. When she finally left to make preparations, the smell of burnt wood lingered on her coat. Back in the room, where the chair had once stood, was nothing more than a pile of ash.

Everfree Forest, That Night.

Celestia wasn’t sure she liked flying by helicopter, her wings were far gentler, but she couldn’t deny that it left her fresh for the battle ahead. Once the machines reached the drop zone, the passengers disembarked. While Celestia could see in the low light conditions, she lit her horn, illuminating the area around her with pure sunlight.

She had never intended to make it so bright, but right now, her fury was barely held back, and her emotions fuelled her magic. The choppers retreated, heading for Ponyville, and the raiding party headed out.

It wasn’t long before they found their target, a large cave mouth in the side of a small cliff. And the enemy had rolled out the welcome party.

“We have contacts! Princess your orders?”

“Form up behind me, the commander’s fate is sealed but I want to give these ponies a chance.”

The group emerged from the dense tree’s lining the edge of the forest and quickly formed up on the cave. At the head of the enemy group a single pony stepped forwards, his armor signifying him as a lieutenant of the Solar Guard. Being face to face with the traitors, wearing her own colour armor no less, did nothing good for Celestia’s mood.

‘No, I can’t be too hasty. They have been duped. It doesn’t absolve them of their crimes, but I have to give them a chance.’

“Hold there parasites! You will go no further!”

‘Or not. It’s like he wants to die.’

Celestia stepped forwards from the group and addressed the misguided ponies. “Hear me ponies of the Solar Guard, for I am your princess, and I command you to stop this madness! If you surrender yourselves now you shall be treated mercifully, but should you continue down this path of disharmony you shall face the full wrath of the sun!”

“Quiet you parasite!” the Lieutenant shouted. “You can’t fool us! The Princess would never attack her own ponies, nor would she ever taint herself with battle.”

Celestia sucked in a heated breath; who was this pony to question her? “You know very little, Lieutenant. I have faced conflict you can only see in your deepest nightmares! I have faced Discord, the Tyrant King, and my own sister. I am Princess Celestia, and even though you outnumber us you cannot hope to defeat us. I am asking again, stand down now. This is your last chance!”

“Lies and manipulation!” the Lieutenant shouted, and Celestia sighed as she knew what was about to happen. “True protectors of Equestria, kill the-“

The red mist descended. She had promised Broad Sword to Chrysalis, but right now, any one of the traitors would do. She channeled all of her anger into her horn, and unleashed a beam of pure burning sun.

The Lieutenant never finished his sentence. The beam hit him clean in the throat; his neck ceased to be, and his head sailed through the air, landing down in front of a golem.

Celestia had prided herself on the lack of violence Equestria had witnessed over the past years, over the fact that she hadn’t had to kill anypony since the early days.

But now all hell had broken loose.

Throughout the fight Celestia forced herself to channel her energy into protecting her ponies, to preserve their lives as the traitors fell.

But, at her hoof, some traitors still shared the Lieutenant’s fate.

And when all was said and done, she couldn’t help but fell a little hollow on the inside. The ride back to Canterlot giving her ample time to think things over.

The traitors were dead, but now the rage had subsided, she couldn’t stop herself from mourning their loss. She quickly remembered why she garnered a distaste for such affairs, and for conflict in general.

Perhaps the death of yet another friend, Longshot, was a wake up call.

Celestia would move beyond this, it would have taken some time, but she would heal and find acceptance for what she had done.

But right then and there, Twilight Sparkle was safe, and that was all that truly mattered.

Author's Note

Largely written by Copey, I just added and changed a few bits here and there.

32 - Act 2 Prologue

Everything is going well for Twilight Sparkle, she is princess of the Badlands hive, has reunited with her estranged mother, survived a plot against her life and ultimately organised a peace treaty between both of her homes, the Badlands Hive and the nation of Equestria.
But now it's time Chrysalis moved Twilight on from the tame practice of Equestrian politics, and introduced her to the dangerous battle that is changeling politics...
Among all the queens being gathered for the council one in particular stands out, one that is playing the long game, making plans...
Chrysalis' aunt is keen on meeting the latest addition to her family.
Queen Crudelis is waiting.

****

Princess Twilight Sparkle couldn’t believe her luck. The book held in her hooves could shed so much insight to her hive’s elusive past.

The apprehension was absolutely killing her. Her scholarly mind buzzing.

The changeling princess practically sprinted down the corridors towards her personal chambers, where upon reaching said chambers she burst through the doors and quickly closed them again with a almighty slam.

Without a moment to lose, she placed the book onto the desk near her bed and opened it. Her muzzle went right up to the page as she examined every word in utmost detail.

The opening paragraph seemed to be the author looking back on events before her time, and leading up to her own birth. Some other entries described life events before the author received the book and began writing in it, and the following entries eventually began to detail events as they transpired.

Twilight's attention was well and truly caught.

Almost one thousand and three hundred years before the return of Princess Luna, Equestria was a troubled land. Discord's reign of terror was an all too recent memory for the ponies; and the three tribe’s government was no more - in their place the new alicorn princesses stood, the two sisters who defeated Discord now faced the task of fixing a broken nation.

And if that wasn’t enough, during the reign of Discord, Equestria’s ally, Queen Amore of the Crystal Empire, was ousted by the tyrant King Sombra. Sombra now sought to claim Equestria and truly turn his new kingdom into the empire its name suggested. Equestria was fast becoming a warzone.

However, far from the troubles of the ponies sat a changeling hive. Queen Imperatrix cradled two new-born nymphs, one sporting a blood red mane and eyes, and the other the usual teal most changeling queens possessed.

They were twins. The elder, Avia, was born minutes before the younger, Crudelis.

They were the queen’s daughters, and she had high hopes for them both.

…

Ten Years Later

Two small changeling nymphs, Princesses Avia and Crudelis, played happily together. They were in their mother’s throne room, chasing each other around in a game of tag, each trying to best the other and giggling all the way.

They had received a good life; their mother had given them an equal share of love. Both literally and metaphorically.

However, Avia had noticed a rather… severe side to her mother. She had never acted harsh towards them, but there had been times when a drone had made a mistake and her mother would get angry. Sometimes she would see the drone again, and sometimes she wouldn’t…

And what worried her the most is how this seemed to be affecting Crudelis, Avia witnessed her snap and boss drones around. Threaten and deceive them as if it was a casual hobby. Avia loved her sister, they were nearly inseparable, but she worried for her.

She also didn’t know where the love energy they consumed came from, neither of them did.

But they were about to find out.

The door opened with a loud creak, and Queen Imperatrix strolled in, a green chrysalis held in her magic.

“Momma!” both shouted happily, rushing to great their mother.

“My darlings! I trust you have behaved yourselves?”

Both of them hastily nodded, smiles on their faces.

Imperatrix chuckled. “Good, now I want both of you to pay attention, this is important for your future duties.”

“Have you got a lesson for us?” Avia asked.

“I have, and one you must learn,” Imperatrix smirked as her horn lit up, and with a slash of her magic the chrysalis opened up and an unconscious unicorn stallion tumbled out.

“Eep!” Avia screamed in surprise. “Why did you have a pony in there?”

“This, is dinner,” Imperatrix casually responded. “Love energy must be gathered from live hosts, this pony shall be used as an example.”

Crudelis gave her mother her upmost attention, but Avia was repulsed.

“But, couldn’t it just be gathered passively by our drones?”

Imperatrix smiled. “You have always impressed me with your intelligence, my daughter. Of course we could passively collect it, which would give us more than enough to survive. But what we really want, is power. And not some abstract concept of control, taking all the love energy a pony has to offer increases our abilities tenfold. With enough, even their alicorn princesses would bow to our strength.”

“How do you take it momma?” Crudelis asked with childlike glee. “Show us!”

Imperatrix smiled again, and lit up her horn. The pony awoke with a start, screaming in pain as a green aura surrounded him and began lift up into Imperatrix’s horn.

“Momma, stop! Stop!” Avia shouted, tears in her eyes. However, neither her mother nor her sister heard her.

Soon, the pony went still, the body that was left behind being little more than a husk. Queen Imperatrix grinned viciously as she glowed with power.

“That is how you extract the love energy, it kills the livestock, but we have plenty more in that little farm they call Equestria.”

“How could you?!” Avia screamed.

Imperatrix and Crudelis turned to her, wide eyed.

“Sis?” Crudelis reached out, only to have her hoof slapped away.

“You didn’t need to kill him!” Avia cried. “We were fine with passive love, I don’t want power if that is the cost!”

“Avia! You are being childish and immatu-“

“No!” Avia ran past her family and burst her way through the doors. She ran crying all the way back to her room.

…

100 Years Later

“Mother!” Avia shouted in a rage, blasting the throne room doors to pieces.

Imperatrix kept an almost bored expressions as she turned to her daughter. “Avia, what is it now?”

“An entire village?!”

“Our race values secrecy, Avia. If I left survivors that secrecy would have been compromised. Better we be relegated to myth and legend.”

Avia’s outrage only grew. “How many ponies? How many children did you kill to feed your own strength?!”

“Not just her own,” Crudelis said, stepping over the charred remains of the door as she entered the throne room.

“You? You were a part of this?”

“Yes, sister. And if you weren’t so weak you would know of the benefits mother and myself garner from our little excursions.”

“It is not worth the price that must be paid!”

“Sister, they are just livestock,” Crudelis dismissed.

“They are sentient, living beings! With families, hopes and dreams…”

“You really are pathetic, you know that?” Crudelis sneered.

Avia recoiled in shock at her sister’s words. “Pathetic? What happened to you, Crudelis? We were inseparable once.”

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Imperatrix bluntly said. “You refuse to grow up, my daughter. It’s time you accepted that we are the predators, and they are the prey.”

“There is a better way.”

Imperatrix snorted. “For all your intelligence you are young and misguided.”

“Actually, I’m fairly certain I’m the only one who see’s sense! You kill other sapient creatures to fuel your power, you treat other changelings like slaves-"

“They are drones. They exist to serve us.”

“They need us and we need them,” Avia retorted. “Without them what are we? Exiles. Homeless. You can’t treat them the way you do.”

“Avia, enough! Leave my sight this instance!” Imperatrix shouted in anger.

“Mother, I plead with you! Turn away from this dark path!”

“Sister,” Crudelis addressed threateningly. “Leave. Now.”

Avia stared at her sister disbelievingly, and without another word she stormed out the throne room, blasting a hole through a wall instead of using the already shattered door.

Watching her sister leave, Crudelis sighed. "Why can't she just accept the reality? What will it take to get my sister back?"

"She is too emotional," Imperatrix stated. "But give her time, my daughter. She will come back to us soon enough, it is an inevitability."

Princess Crudelis glanced towards her mother, and then back to the shattered wall Avia had exited. "I hope you're right."

Unknown to them, a short way down the hall Princess Avia was met with a group of armoured drones, who all bowed when they spotted her.

“Your highness, is it time?”

“Yes, we leave tonight.”

“Then we shall follow you, my Queen.”

…

155 years later

Much had happened since the formation of the Badlands Changeling Hive. The most recent of which was the birth of Avia’s daughter, Princess Chrysalis. But outside the hive, there was some kind of disturbance occurring in Equestria, and one of Avia’s spies was investigating.

The spy was shocked to witness Celestia and Luna battling each other to the death. And she was even more surprised to find Queen Imperatrix and Princess Crudelis watching from afar. The spy settled down in a location she could easily watch both without being seen.

“It is fortuitous the sisters chose today to fight it out, it has made taking those ponies so much easier,” Crudelis noted.

“Indeed daughter, though I must wonder what spawned their… disagreement.”

“To be honest, I truly don’t care.”

Imperatrix turned away from the fight, and took on an almost sad expression. “Crudelis, I can’t do this anymore.”

Crudelis looked surprised. “Mother?”

“Avia was right, she was always right,” Imperatrix fiddled with the red runestone hanging around her neck. “All my quest for power did was drive away one of those I care for the most. It has gotten me little else. After today, no more taking ponies, we will simply move over to passive love. It tastes better anyway.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“I am!” Imperatrix shouted, still not looking at her daughter. “It’s time things changed.”

Crudelis sighed, her expression sad, but with a steel to it. “Yes… it is.”

Imperatrix gasped in surprise as she felt the blade slide across her neck. And then she didn’t make another sound.

The nearby drone had witnessed the murder, and scrambled away in terror, wanting to immediately report to Queen Avia what had transpired.

All the while the moon sadly looked on, the new silhouette of the Mare In The Moon looking down on the planet below.

Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes as she went through her grandmother’s diary, having recently discovered it hidden within the deepest parts of the library.

“I don’t think I like my great aunt very much…” Twilight muttered to herself.

Twilight decided to skim right to the end, and read the very last entry.

My changelings reported a dragon sighting near the hive, however there have been no sightings since. I am forced to conclude they were either imagining things, or that the creature moved onwards. In brighter news, I plan to take Chrysalis with me on a run out of the hive today; take her to visit Equestria. In all her years she has never visited the country. While she is no child and she has shown no signs of becoming like my sister, I still feel I need to show her first hoof that they are almost just like us, and not livestock to be harvested.

And then maybe one day she can help show the world that we are not monsters. The day the world discovers us is coming, and I hope we make the right impression.

‘That must have been the day she died,’ Twilight thought sadly.

Deciding she needed something happier to read, she closed the diary and instead grabbed the other book sitting on her desk.

Princess Twilight Sparkle sifted through her signed early edition of the latest Daring Doo novel, the only other to receive the book being Twilight’s Wonderbolt friend, Rainbow Dash. A ping over the hive mind made Twilight aware of her visitor.

“Come in,” she called out vocally.

Queen Chrysalis slipped into her daughter’s room with a smile etched onto her face. “Good morning Twilight, sleep well?”

“Just fine thank you, you know how politics can tire me out,” Twilight responded with a chuckle.

Twilight got up from her desk and embraced her mother. It had been two years since that fateful wedding of her adoptive brother, and Twilight had developed a lot since that time. She was currently around the size of Princess Luna, and with the current rate of her growth it would not be long until she stood eye level with even Celestia. Her chitin remained the same pitch black as it always was, but she now also had a dark lavender chitinous plate across her midsection much like her mother's green-blue one.

Within those years she had experienced things like the return of the Crystal Empire and the rampage of Lord Tirek, which she and her hive had helped put to an end after being given the power of three alicorns. They had even managed to redeem Discord himself! The icing on the cake for Twilight had been the recent birth of her niece, Flurry Heart.

‘She was certainly a hoofful,’ Twilight giggled to herself.

“The other queens can be a bothersome lot…” Chrysalis sighed, reluctantly breaking away from the embrace,

“And I haven’t even met them yet,” Twilight chuckled.

“Though that may soon change,” Chrysalis pondered.

Twilight tilted her head to the side, and quirked an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”

Chrysalis shook her head to remove those thoughts. “Never mind that, I’m sure I can handle diplomacy for a bit while your friends visit.”

“Well, okay. I mean, as long as you don’t go invading any capitals, we should be fine,” Twilight remarked with a mischievous smirk.

“You are never going to let that one go are you?” Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, I don’t know what you did without me for eighteen years, or the centuries preceding.”

“Oh, they were just terrible, I don’t know how I ever survived,” Chrysalis said sarcastically with a swoon fit for Rarity.

Both royals sat giggling for a few moments, before Spike entered the room and made his presence known. Spike was still young, but had developed quite a bit in the months following Flurry Heart’s birth, having undergone a growth spurt. His body and tail had elongated to the point where he now tended to walk on all fours, with him now standing as tall as an average adult pony. Also, two small wings were growing from his back. His muzzle was now also filled with several razor sharp teeth that would give many pause. He was turning into a proper little dragon, just without the rampant need for shiny things.

“Hey Twilight, they’re here! They really should thank the princesses for sending a chopper to pick them up, those things really do chop the journey time.”

Twilight could only roll her eyes at the horrible pun, while Spike grinned regardless.

“Hmph, I really don’t trust the reliability of those mechanical creations,” Chrysalis huffed.

“They’re safer than you give them credit for, don’t worry,” Twilight assured her mother. “Are you sure me taking time off isn’t too much trouble?”

“I’m sure,” Chrysalis gave her daughter one final hug before Twilight put away her book, and Chrysalis walked with her daughter to where her friends waited, but not before giving a glance to the diary that once belonged to her mother.

Author's Note

I know the time skip may be controversial, but I just didn't want the show getting in the way of things, so I skipped to where it is currently at and will forge on ahead from there.

33 - Invitation

Queen Chrysalis was walking alongside her daughter, Princess Twilight Sparkle, towards one of the hive’s main entrances. Twilight was going there to receive her special guests, the other elements, and walking with them was Twilight's assistant and close friend Spike the Dragon. The little guy had grown on Chrysalis over the last couple of years.

Chrysalis broke the silence that was threatening to build up on them. “How long are they going to be staying for, Twilight?”

Twilight looked up at her mother. “Just a couple days. Enough time for them to see the whole hive and get up to a few other things.” The smile on her face was ear to ear.

The queen raised an eyebrow. “Other things?”

Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Yeah… don’t be surprised if a giant party breaks out in the atrium; you know how Pinkie Pie is.”

She suppressed a shudder. “I’ve heard the horror stories. What else do you intend to do that hopefully doesn’t involve destroying society as we know it?”

“Well we don’t have any plans in place, so we’ll just end up making it up as we go along.”

Chrysalis looked at her daughter with an amused expression. “Making it up as you go? My daughter, I would have thought such a disorganised state of affairs would have given you a conniption.”

“Oh hardy har har,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “While it’s true I may have, say… two years ago. Now, I’m able to put that aside and just have fun; I mean that is what’s important, right?”

“Yeah, you are a real Princess of Friendship,” Carduus joked as he walked up to and fell into step with the two royals.

Twilight DID NOT jump, royals don’t. “G-Good morning Carduus, you’re in a good mood I see?” Twilight said, taking the jab in stride.

“Why shouldn’t I be? But alas, I haven’t dropped by for a social call unfortunately.”

A frown briefly crossed her muzzle, before she wiped it away. “What do you need captain?” Chrysalis asked.

“My Queen, your guest is here.”

Chrysalis’ eyes slightly widened. “Already? He wasn’t supposed to be here for another few hours!”

The four of them stopped dead in the middle of the corridor, and Twilight looked at Chrysalis in confusion.

“Mother? What guest? What are you talking about?” Twilight looked at Spike to see if he knew anything. Pulling out a clipboard of the court's daily events, Spike looked through the sheet before looking back at Twi and shrugging.

“He’s waiting for you in the throne room,” Carduus interjected.

Chrysalis sighed and turned to her daughter. “I’m sorry Twilight, but this cannot wait.”

“Some explanation would be nice.” She had turned her whole body to face her mother.

“Soon. But for now go on, find your friends and enjoy yourself.”

Twilight looked like she was about to argue, before she visibly drooped. “Well… alright. But I’d prefer not to be kept in the dark.”

“I know. But if this is what I think it is you will know soon enough.”

Before her daughter could reply, Chrysalis quickly began to walk to an adjacent hallway, Carduus following closely behind.

“What was that about?” Twilight muttered.

“Beats me,” Spike shrugged. “There is nothing on the itinerary for today. Come on Twilight, let’s not keep the others waiting.”

The blistering heat was bearing down onto five mares waiting outside one of the hives many entrances. They had been confused at first when their transport had set down on a seemingly empty patch of desert, until the perception filter was dispelled and a cave leading down to a large defensible doorway was revealed.

“Come on, can’t we go in yet?” Rainbow Dash moaned.

One of the guards dressed in the usual dark blue armour in front of the cave held up a hoof to stop the approaching Pegasus. “Sorry ma’am, but no.”

“But we’re friends of Twilight! Come on, I’m burning alive out here!”

The changeling shook his head. “We were ordered to wait until young Spike came back with Princess Twilight. You will just have to wait.”

Rainbow looked ready to punt the guard back down into the cave when a voice came from behind him.

“It’s OK, they can come in,” Twilight said as she walked past the changeling guard.

“Twilight darling,” Rarity spoke. “It’s good to see you again! It has been far too long since your last visit to Ponyville.”

The pair moved in and hugged each other. “It’s good to see you too Rarity, how are you all doing?”

“We are fine sugarcube,” Applejack said as she walked up beside the alabaster unicorn. “Just eager to get out of the sun is all.”

“Yes can we please do that?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight giggled. “Yes, we better get inside before you roast.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Pfft, you ponies. The heat is fine.”

“Spike? It’s good to see you!” Rarity approached the dragon. “It’s been months since you’ve visited. My you’ve grown since the last time we saw you, you are turning into a handsome little dragon.”

Spike blushed. “T-thanks Rarity. That means a lot coming from you.”

Twilight gave Spike a deadpan glare. “It’s been five minutes and you’ve already started crushing again?”

“Twilight!” Spike protested in embarrassment.

“Oh it’s perfectly fine Twilight, he is so cute when he blushes!” She patted Spike on the head.

“Um… can we just go inside now?” Spike sounded almost like Fluttershy for a moment.”

“I agree, like Rainbow has been saying it is rather hot out here,” Fluttershy said. “If that’s alright with you I mean.”

“Come on then!” Pinkie Pie shouted impatiently. “I need to see where the best place to have a party is!”

“I thought you might,” Twilight chuckled as she turned back towards the hive, the others following shortly behind. “And don’t worry, I know just the place.”

The two large doors to the throne room opened up and Chrysalis strolled in, Carduus at her side. At the other end of the throne room was a changeling dressed in red changeling guard armour.

“Your majesty.” He bowed his head respectfully.

“Captain, would you wait outside until I am finished?” Chrysalis said to Carduus.

“Of course, my Queen.” He nodded, before he walked out the throne room and closed the doors behind him.

“Now,” Chrysalis addressed the drone. “What does Queen Draco want of me?” She did her best to stay civil, slightly irritated at the drone’s sudden, unannounced arrival.

“Nothing, your highness, except to pass on an invitation to the Queen’s Council.”

“Ah, I presumed this would be the case. How long until it begins?”

“Three days, your highness,” the drone told her.

“Three days?” Chrysalis said in surprise.

“Yes. I do believe you were the last one to be tracked down.”

“How long did it take to set up this time?”

“Two years. Our hive was invited just before yours, and since we are one of the few who knows where you are based at it was requested we give the invitation.”

“There are two others who know where we are, what about them?”

“As far as I am aware they couldn’t be located, and thus won’t be attending.”

“I see, I trust Queen Draco didn’t divulge that information?

“No, my Queen would never betray her friends.”

Chrysalis nodded. “Good. How many queens will be attending then?”

“Fifteen out of the nineteen.”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened. “Nineteen? There were twenty the last time I checked.”

The drone winced, “I… shouldn’t say anymore. My Queen will explain more when you meet face-to-face.”

Chrysalis studied the drone for a few moments, making him nearly quiver in his chitin. However, she relented. “Very well. I accept the invitation and will be there with my daughter within the three days.”

“Very good, I will inform my Queen at once.”

The drone bowed one last time before moving towards the door, but he was stopped as a hole ridden hood blocked his path.

“Just, one last thing,” Chrysalis said. “Who was it that called the council this time around?”

“Queen Crudelis, your highness.”

Chrysalis scowled. “Crudelis. You can go, Carduus will escort you out.”

“Yes, your highness.”

With her magic Chrysalis opened the two large doors. Carduus stood to attention as his Queen came into view.”

“Captain, would you please escort our guest out.”

“Yes, my Queen!” Carduus motioned to the drone. “Come along you.”

As the two drones left her sight, the scowl now present on Chrysalis’ face darkened considerably.

Twilight laughed as one of the drones jumped when Pinkie Pie let off her party cannon. Just as predicted the atrium was abuzz with activity as loud music played and both the ponies and drones present enjoyed the party Pinkie had set up in under an hour. As word of Pinkie Pie’s party spread throughout the hive drones had been pouring in to check what all the fuss was about, and Pinkie had been ready to greet every single one, determined to befriend them all. Sometimes the drones could swear she was in multiple places at once.

As Twilight watched the chaos unfold she sat with Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity on the third floor, just outside a restaurant at a table that overlooked the rest of the atrium. Twilight held one of the love-infused smoothies in her magical grasp, having grown rather ‘attached’ to the beverage since she first tried it two years prior.

As she took a sip of her drink, her attention was grabbed by sound of joyful laughter somehow making it to her ears over the noise of the party.

Much to Twilight’s, and everypony else’s amusement, Rainbow was playfully racing a group of nymphs around the atrium, a now eight year old Iuvenes being among them. They could only smile at their happy, giggling faces.

It wasn’t long before Rainbow conned Spike into joining in, determined to teach him how to fly ‘properly’.

“Well they seem to be enjoying themselves,” Rarity had to nearly shout over the music.

“They’ve never experienced Pinkie Pie before,” Applejack chuckled. “Most things are the best the first time, but ah think Pinkie’s parties only get better each and every time she does one.”

“Agreed,” Rarity smiled.

They might have heard Fluttershy also agree, but her quiet voice was lost in the music.

“I must ask, Twilight, who is that regal figure down there?” Rarity pointed down at the statue below. “It doesn’t seem to depict your mother.”

“That’s my grandmother, Avia.”

“I see, she must have been quite a sight in her time, rivalling that of Celestia if the statue is anything to go by.”

“Maybe...” Twilight’s thoughts went back to the diary. “I recently found a-"

“Twilight, sorry to tear you away from the... festivities. But I need to talk to you, urgently.” Chrysalis spoke over the hive.

“Is it about the guest you received?”

“Yes.”

Twilight sighed. “I’ll be right there.”

“Sorry girls, duty calls.”

“We understand sugarcube. We’ll be here when you get back.”

Twilight nodded gratefully, before opening her wings and flying off towards the atrium’s exit, making sure to grab Spike as she went.

As Queen Draco’s messenger left the hive the perception filter shimmered briefly as he passed through it, before returning to normal, hiding the hive away from all untrained eyes. He carried two large saddlebags on his back, filled with supplies for his trip.

All the while he was unaware of the two drones watching him from afar.

They crouched low behind a large outcropping of rocks, having been following the red armoured drone since he began his journey.

The two drones in question, one male and one female, were clad in armour coloured a mix of dark blue and an even darker red. Both had grins fixed on their faces as they watched the other drone spread his wings and fly away, heading in the direction of Equestria where up north and past the frozen lands of the Crystal Empire his hive was located.

The male drone turned to his counterpart. “We’ve found it, finally. There is no doubt that this is where Queen Chrysalis hides.”

Author's Note

The Pinkie Pie has been unleashed onto changeling kind, they shall never be the same again. :pinkiecrazy:

34 - Duty Calls

Equestria, Crystal Express

The Crystal Express sped along the tracks towards its destination. Over time, the many passengers could see the lush green grass of Equestria give way to the ice and snow of the frozen north. Giant mountains could be seen in the distance, reaching high into the sky as if to touch Celestia’s sun itself. And of course, somewhere within those mountains was an oasis of crystal, where the Crystal Heart kept out the cold and protected the ponies who called it home.

The Crystal Empire.

A former city state which was now home to Equestria’s third ruling alicorn princess. A city displaced in time, its population previously terrorised by the tyrant king himself - Sombra. He was little more than a memory now; the Crystal Heart having turned him into atoms thanks to the efforts of the Element Bearers, Spike the Dragon and the Crystal Prince and Princess, Shining Armor and Cadance.

Twilight was fascinated to discover the Crystal Empire’s past relations with the changeling race, finding that they had made deals with the less hostile queens, who would get a supply of love from the heart in trade for various items of value, as well as protection against other hostile queens. After the Crystal Empire’s return, Cadance had been more than happy to create such a deal with Chrysalis, and with their protection and that of the EUP the other queens hadn’t dared approach the city, aside from the occasional scout or love collector trying their luck.

However, none of that was of particular concern to the three ponies sitting in first class, courtesy of Prince Armor himself.

The first was Captain Vladimir Vespertilio, who sat comfortable in his seat as he watched the distant mountains out of the window, drink in hoof.

Across from him sat the two newlyweds.

Captain Broad Sword of Celestia’s Solar Guard, and Lieutenant Scarlet Snow of the EUP, the latter with her head on Broad Sword’s shoulder as she slept the journey away. Broad Sword himself gently stroked her mane as sleep threatened to claim him as well, dragging him to Luna’s world of dreams.

At least until Vladimir spoke.

“So… how was the honeymoon?” Vladimir asked.

Broad Sword raised an eyebrow to go with his amused smirk. “An entire train journey and you only now ask?”

“Hey, I’ve been busy. You may have had two weeks in Saddle Arabia, on top of your extra week now, but I only started shore leave this morning,” Vladimir pointed out.

“That still doesn’t explain the train journey.” His smirk grew.

“Oh just answer the damn question; just because you’re now Captain of the Solar Guard in Shining’s place doesn’t give you free reign to be a prick!” Vladimir laughed.

“Funny you should say that, I believe Scarlet said those exact words after I pushed her into the pool.”

Now Vladimir raised an eyebrow. “Trying to earn a divorce already, dear Broad Sword?”

“Oh she got her revenge, only it was in the sea. When we were on a boat. A mile offshore.”

Vladimir’s laugh echoed loudly throughout the cabin, stirring Scarlet from her sleep.

“Oh, what did I miss?” She groggily asked.

“Nothing dear,” Broad Sword said, nuzzling the top of her head.

Vladimir shook his head. “Ah well. It’s good to see you lighten up for a change, what gives with that?”

“It’s called being happily married to a wonderful mare,” he replied.

“Aww, you can be sweet sometimes,” Scarlet pecked him on the cheek. “You should still learn how to swim though.”

Vladimir spluttered as he inhaled some of his drink when he heard Scarlet’s words. “Learn? You don’t know how to swim?!”

Broad Sword groaned. “I know how to swim!”

“Splashing about like a foal doesn’t count as swimming,” Scarlet jabbed.

“I was just surprised, I wasn’t expecting to be dumped in the freezing cold ocean quite so suddenly.”

“Uh-huh,” said a very sceptical Scarlet Snow.

Vladimir chuckled. “So, it was a good honeymoon then?”

“Yes,” both of them responded, smiling at the memory of it.

“Well, I’m happy for you, both of you. And at least now Scarlet and Princess Cadance can share the embarrassing bits,” Vladimir said with a sly smile.

“No, no they can’t, nuh-uh,” Broad Sword said, however futile it was.

“We’ll see,” Scarlet smirked. “What I want to see is Broad Sword with Flurry Heart. It would be interesting to see how he handles a foal,” she teased.

“My cousin has a foal and I am great with children, so don’t you worry.”

Scarlet leaned back into her seat, a much softer smile on her face. “That’s… good to know.”

Broad Sword looked over at his wife. “Scarlet? Are you alright?”

“I’m perfectly fine; you don’t having anything to worry about.” She yawned and stretched, removing the last vestiges of her slumber. “How long until we arrive?”

“Only a couple of hours,” Vladimir said. “It will be good to see Shining again, I haven’t seen him since he went off to play prince in the empire.

Scarlet chuckled. “Well we all heard about his daughter’s, erm, magical prowess so… what could-"

Vladimir gave Scarlet a deadpan glare. “If you say ‘what could possibly go wrong’, I’m going to end you.”

Badlands Hive

Twilight’s wings buzzed as she flew through the hive, Spike just keeping up a short ways behind her. After one near miss with a wall that Twilight maintained had appeared out of nowhere, they came upon the throne room at last.

Dropping down onto the floor, Twilight looked up at the two large doors before her.

“Are you sure there was nothing on the itinerary about mother’s guest? She did say he was hours early so maybe you looked in the wrong place?”

Spike gave her a deadpan look. “Twilight, I’ve been over the list a dozen times. I even went through a couple of other scrolls I keep around for any note of it. I know every meeting, every visitor and everything else that has to be kept track of around here, it is my job after all. There was nothing, no sign of this visitor.”

Twilight frowned. “It’s strange. She so rarely keeps anything from me, and with her reluctance to talk about it earlier… Something serious must be happening.

“Well, then why are we standing out here? The answers are right through that door.”

“Oh, right. Here goes…” Twilight said as she pushed the two large doors open with a massive creak.

At the other end of the room Queen Chrysalis sat on her throne. If they could tell one thing it was that she was furious about something. A snarl was on her face and her hooves almost cracked the ground with the pressure she was applying to the bottom of her throne.

However, as soon as she saw Twilight she tried to replace that look with a warm motherly smile. An endeavour that was only partially successful.

“Twilight, Spike. I’m glad you’re both here.”

“Mother? What’s going on?” Twilight asked. “Where is your ‘guest’?”

“Gone. Returned to his hive up past the frozen north.”

“Past the frozen north? But how? Nopony has ever been past the frozen north!”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “You answered your own question. No pony has ever been past the frozen north, at least that we know of. Changelings however…”

“So, there is a hive up there?”

“I have mentioned Queen Draco before, surely?”

“Oh! Of course. She’s an old friend of yours, right? You write every now and then? Or at least you do when it is possible to do so.”

Chrysalis nodded. “Indeed, sadly sending messengers back and forth isn’t always feasible. However, we’ve been friends ever since we met at what was the first Queen’s Council we had both ever experienced, back when we were barely older than nymphs. Well, it would appear we will get to experience some nostalgia.”

“Nostalgia? Wait, you mentioned the Council… has-“

“Yes, Queen Draco’s messenger invited us to the Council, which is due to start in three days.”

“Us? I’m… going to the Council?” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Oh my gosh! The Council is practically the centre of changeling society! The books I could write from the information gathered there on changeling cultures and policies! I could-"

“Twilight!” Chrysalis broke her out of her ‘moment’. “Priorities please?”

Twilight blushed with a sheepish chuckle. “Right… sorry.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Be careful Twilight, you will find the court a dangerous place indeed. And other queens might not take kindly to your… ‘research’.”

“I will… keep that in mind,” Twilight sighed in defeat.

“Good. Now, Spike...” The dragon in question perked up at being addressed. “I want you to prepare for our imminent departure, we leave tomorrow.”

“But, what about our friends?” Twilight asked.

“I’m afraid their visit will have to be cancelled, I’m sure our drones will be kind enough to escort them back to Equestria.”

“Alright, I’ll break the news to them when we are finished here…”

Chrysalis nodded. “Now, Spike, make sure everything is organised and ready to go if you please.”

“Aye aye!” Spike saluted, span on the spot and marched out of the door, closing it behind him.

As soon as he was gone, Chrysalis sighed and slouched in her chair. “Now he is gone, we must talk.”

“Are you alright? You didn’t exactly look happy when we came in.”

“You spotted that huh? It is true I have a lot on my mind.”

“Why?” Twilight walked up and sat next to her mother. “What’s gotten you so worked up? Is it the Council?”

“Partially. It’s more to do with who is arranging it, and why.”

Twilight sat attentively, simply waiting for Chrysalis to continue.

“It’s Crudelis. Crudelis is arranging the council this time.”

“Ah,” Twilight said in understanding. “So she’s got you wound up? I’m not exactly a fan of her, but what has she done? Why has her arranging the Queens' Council got you so worried?”

“She has not done anything, yet. But she has the biggest hive in existence and not once in all her years has she arranged a council. Even when one is set up she was notorious for not attending them, preferring to make alliances behind closed doors away from the sight of other queens. She is a puppet master, it’s how she operates, always has been.”

Chrysalis sighed. “And yet, here we are.”

Twilight looked at her mother with concern. “Something tells me there is more…”

Chrysalis glanced towards her daughter. “Attentive as always. Yes, there is more. Crudelis began to make arrangements for the council two years ago, soon after your return!” The end of the sentence turned into a growl as Chrysalis’ hoof did finally begin to crack the ground.

“She was responsible for your near death! I know it! And now she has something planned, but I would die before I let her take you away from me!”

Chrysalis grabbed Twilight and pulled her into a fearful embrace, refusing to let go. “I will not let her take you as she took your grandmother,” she whispered.

“Hey,” Twilight said softly. “It will be alright, she would be stupid to try something at the council. From what I’ve studied unprovoked attacks on other queens at the council is a grievous offense. The other queens would tear her apart.”

Chrysalis sighed, reluctantly releasing her daughter. “Yes. I suppose you are correct. Nevertheless, we must be cautious while we attend.”

“You know, we could always not attend,” Twilight suggested.

“No. The other queens may have important subjects to discuss. It is our duty as royal changelings to attend.”

“Duty Calls,” Twilight muttered. “Then we will just have to be careful. Plus maybe my ‘research mode’ could figure out her plans?” She smiled.

Chrysalis snorted. “The mighty Queen Crudelis, brought down by book smarts. That would be the day.”

Twilight giggled. “It has worked before! Besides, Carduus will be there. You know how seriously all the drones take our safety.”

“True,” Chrysalis admitted. “But I’m your mother, it’s my job to worry about you.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Between you, Velvet and Celestia it’s a miracle I can get anything done.”

“Oh hush you,” Chrysalis playfully pushed Twilight away. “Come, we best help Spike prepare. And you need to talk to your friends.”

“One last thing,” Twilight held up a hoof. “Where exactly is the council?”

“Ah, one moment,” Chrysalis’ horn lit up a bright green.

In front of the two mares a giant green map of Equestria came to life, bathing the whole room in a green glow. The map scrolled to the east, moving across the ocean and into the Griffon Empire, further it moved until it came to a rest on the border of the Griffon Empire and the very outer edges of Zebrica. The map zoomed in to a large dome-like building in the middle of a dense forest, a small clearing separated the building from the treeline.

“That building, it looks ancient,” Twilight noted, seeing the foliage seeking to reclaim the building for nature.

“The first known changeling hive, it’s been there since before the pony hearthswarming event, and possibly even further back. It may even predate the lost alicorn you call Faust.”

“Older than the princess’ mother? The history that building must contain…” Twilight’s inner scholar was screaming like a filly.

“Drones from various hives keep the forest from reclaiming it, and give the structure repairs when they are needed. They also make sure the perception filter masking it is maintained, we don’t want a certain Daring Do raiding the place like some lost ark. Or some overexcited former protégé of the sun princess,” Chrysalis jabbed.

“I promise to behave when we get there,” Twilight chuckled.

“Good, some of the other queens have likely already arrived.”

The First Hive, On The Edge Of Zebrica

The large dome structure of the first hive lay before Queen Draco as she and her escorts approached. She could see sentries from various hives working in unison to protect the many queens that would be attending the council.

“Queen Draco…” a voice called out, one Draco was not particular thrilled to hear.

“Queen Crudelis.” She turned to meet the queen with the blood red mane. “What do I owe the pleasure?”

“Do I need a reason to greet another Changeling Queen to such a coveted occasion,” Crudelis stated as she approached, only to be stopped by two drones in red armour blocking her path.

“Control your drones, Draco,” Crudelis snarled.

“You always have some agenda Crudelis. As for my drones, they are performing their duties as they should be performed, keeping me away from threats.”

Crudelis glared at Draco spitefully, bearing her fangs slightly.

“If that is all, I will be on my way. Have a pleasant day,” Draco nonchalantly said as she continued to walk past the other queen.

“Very well Draco, but tell me, you did invite my niece did you not?

Draco stopped in her tracks, before turning to glare at Crudelis.

“I will take that as a yes.”

“What is it to you?” Draco asked.

“I am organising the council am I not, it is useful to know the attendees. Besides, I am keen to finally meet that little daughter of hers, she is family after all.”

In but a second Draco was in Crudelis’ face, fangs bared. “Don’t you even think about touching Twilight Sparkle. Chrysalis is a friend, and I will be damned sure to protect her daughter from the likes of you.”

Crudelis smiled innocently. “Harm Twilight? Oh Draco I would never dream of it, I would never lay a hoof on her!” Suddenly, her smile turned into a smirk, “Not here anyway.”

“I’m warning you Crudelis, stay away from them both. Understood?”

“Perfectly.”

Draco backed off, and briefly glared at Crudelis in disgust. She then turned away and continued to walk towards the building, her guards following shortly after.

Crudelis didn’t lose her smirk.

“My Queen! Preparations are proceeding as planned.”

“Very good, we don’t want anything to ruin Chrysalis’ homecoming gift now, do we?”

“No, my Queen.”

Crudelis chuckled. “Now, what is it my niece so loves saying?”

She considered for a moment, before it came to her. “Ah that is it…” The ancient queen’s smirk widened.

“This day is going to be perfect, the kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small...”

36 - Nightmare

The Badlands Hive

Carduus, Spike and Twilight Sparkle stood in a small side room connecting to the hive’s main storage chambers. These rooms were adjacent to the central love reservoir and contained what seemed to be unlimited supplies of food, equipment, building materials, weapons and everything else they could possibly need. The room they currently inhabited was a plain square shape, with a central table that had various utensils spilled out all over it.

Spike the Dragon glanced over a list of names one last time, before putting down that particular scroll and picking up another in his claws.

“And that is the guard roster arranged,” Spike scribbled a check next to the completed task. “Now that we know who’s coming and who’s not, we just need to pack.”

Carduus snorted. “I swear, ever since you two came along this hive has been on a tighter schedule than ever in its entire thousand year history.”

Spike chuckled at the Captain’s comment. “Well what can I say? We pride ourselves on not being tardy, right Twilight?”

Twilight nodded in return, with a smile on her face. “Most definitely.”

Carduus could do naught but shake his head.

Twilight looked down at a checklist of her own, scanning through a few pages intently. She nodded whenever she saw everything was in order, scribbled in a few notes here and there as reminders for later, and after everything was ordered in a way she was happy with she gave a satisfied sigh and placed the list down onto a nearby table.

“Alright then, everything is ordered into a few easy steps, consisting of most important to least important. And then each section of importance is listed in the most logical order with a nice little numerical guide to-"

“Whoa Princess, we get it,” Carduus stopped Twilight in her ranting tracks. “It’s organised, I’m sure we’ll manage from here.”

Twilight grinned sheepishly, lowering herself slightly. “Yes, of course! Sorry I almost got carried away there… again...” She chuckled to herself.

Carduus raised an amused eyebrow.

With a cough, Twilight stood up straight again. “Anyway… Will you be OK sorting this without me for a little while? It’s been a few hours so Pinkie’s party should have calmed a bit. I really need to talk to them, to explain things.”

“You can count on us, your highness,” Carduus said, throwing a salute. “We’ll have everything arranged for when you get back.”

“Thanks, if you need my help at any point I’m a single ping over the hive mind away,” Twilight assured, before trotting over to the single wooden door acting as an entrance and exit to the room, and leaving the other two to it.

Rolling his eyes, Carduus walked up to the wooden table and picked up Twilight’s checklist, a small creased frown appeared on his features as he read the top of page one.

“Step one, please take a moment to go over the list at least three times, and take in every detail, making sure you understand the importance of- seriously?” Carduus looked rather bemused by it all. A common thing when it came to Twilight and her checklists.

“She’s just being thorough,” Spike shrugged, taking the checklist from Carduus’ grasp.

“I know but… can we just skip that first step? Just this once?”

Spike gave Carduus a fang filled smirk. “No pony, or changeling, defies the checklist.” Spike picked up a quill, and promptly began step one.

Carduus deflated.

The Crystal Empire

The royal carriage made its way down the long highway leading directly to the very front of the palace ahead. The journey was smooth and comfortable, thanks to the material the road; a surface that, along with the rest of the empire, was made of cut crystal. Other carriages came and went down various side streets, all giving the royal carriage right of way. The crystal ponies went about their day-to-day lives as they walked down the pathways either side, entering and exiting the various houses and establishments lining them. Many stopped to gawk as the carriage passed them, foals and fillies waved with gleeful grins and the odd pony even bowed as they passed, all knowing that at least one of their royals would be riding within. Even though the windows, from the outside, were blacked out.

“Oh my gosh, I love this place!” Scarlet near squeed as she looked out the window. “It’s so different from anywhere in Equestria I’ve ever been! And I’ve been to pretty much all of it in the EUP some time or another.”

“Well I’m glad you like it,” Shining Armor said. “We’ve put a lot of time and effort in bringing this place up to speed with the modern world. It’s not been entirely easy for the crystal ponies, most of whom were born well over a thousand years ago. The economy was nothing. Their farming practices, education system, all obsolete. Among other things.”

Shining sighed. “There were so many problems. I know there are some crystal ponies who, at first, would have preferred to remain a city state separate from Equestria. But they couldn’t have denied that on their own this city would have simply wasted away in the snow.”

“At least they’ve kept their cultural identity,” Vladimir pointed out. “My kind lost much of ours after Princess Luna was banished, and Equestrian culture began to override our own. It’s only thanks to Princess Luna’s efforts now that some of the old thestral traditions are beginning to make a comeback.”

“Annexation can cause problems like that,” Shining admitted. “But this place means a lot to Cadance, it's part of her family’s history, part of her. She takes her role as the Crystal Princess very seriously, and is adamant about keeping the empire intact as it is.”

Scarlet tore herself away from the window and looked at Shining. “Oh yeah, Princess Cadance is descended from Queen Amore, right?”

Shining nodded. “Yes. As she found out in her early teens.”

“In her teens? She didn’t know before then?”

“She found out on her ascension from Pegasus to alicorn, defeating a dark magic wielder named Prisma with her own innate love magic. She never really knew her biological parents, they abandoned her in some forest as a child with nought but a name. Her real parents though, were earth ponies who found and raised her. They are a nice couple, we just visited them a few weeks back.”

“When I was a recruit, I was on the team tasked with tracking down her biological parents,” Broad Sword chimed in. “We never did find them though.”

“It’s for the best,” Shining Armor grimaced. “Ponies like that don’t deserve a wonderful mare like Cady as a daughter.” Shining’s attention was caught by something else out the window, a shadow creeping over the carriage as they passed under the palace. “Ah, we have arrived.”

Sure enough, the carriage slowly crept to a halt, several servants were ready and waiting to receive the luggage on arrival.

Shining Armor opened the carriage door and stepped outside, his guests following shortly behind as the servants shot past to grab everything, and bring it to the guest rooms assigned to the three visitors in the palace itself.

In the middle of the organised chaos, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza herself slid her way through the other ponies to greet the arrivals, Princess Flurry Heart sat contently on her back between her two large pink wings.

“There you are!” Cadance walked up to her husband, and gave him a quick nuzzle, before she turned to the rest of the group. “I trust the trip was comfortable?”

“Your highness!” Both Vladimir and Broad Sword snapped to attention out of habit, causing the other three to roll their eyes.

“Come on dear,” Scarlet jabbed her husband in the ribs. “You can stop embarrassing yourself now.”

Cadance tittered behind a hoof. “She is right you know. You are our personal guests, so I won’t have any of that this week, if you don’t mind.”

“Er… sorry,” Vladimir rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Force of habit; when you are Captain of the Guard for seven years without any leave, stuff tends to stick.”

Cadance’s eyes locked onto Broad Sword and Scarlet. “And there are the newlyweds, I always love to see a true romance flourish like this.”

Shining rolled his eyes behind his wife’s back, but she noticed and he received a swat from her tail across his face.

“Cadance,” Scarlet greeted cheerfully. “It’s good to see you again, and I really must thank you again for officiating at our wedding!”

“A Captain of the Royal Guard and an officer of the EUP. After everything you two have done, I just had to perform the ceremony!” Cadance beamed. “Besides, as the Princess of Love, how could I resist?”

Flurry Heart poked her head up above her mother's, looking curiously down onto the new ponies.

“Hello there!” Scarlet said to the young princess. “You must be Flurry Heart. Oh you are adorable,” she said, booping the baby alicorn on the nose.

Flurry Heart gurgled happily at the attention, burying herself in her mother’s mane.

“I think she likes you,” Cadance chuckled. “Come on, let’s get you all inside. Once you get settled in, we can show you around the palace.”

Cadance pointed a wing towards the palace’s entrance, and Shining led Broad Sword and Vladimir forward while Cadance and Scarlet Snow took up the rear.

“And you can tell me all about the honeymoon,” Cadance whispered into Scarlet’s ear, mischievous grin on her face.

A somewhat evil smile crept onto Scarlet’s muzzle. “Oh, I plan to.”

With that, Celestia’s sun began to set into the horizon.

Badlands

Twilight walked into the large atrium that sat in the very centre of the hive. And found it empty. Obvious signs of Pinkie’s party were everywhere, from streamers to confetti from Pinkie’s party cannon. A few tables and chairs were broken, probably from Rainbow Dash’s flying brigade of mischief.

But now the atrium was quiet.

And it wasn’t just that the party had ended.

There wasn’t a soul in sight.

“Hello?” Twilight called out, receiving no reply to her call.

Twilight flew up to the exact spot where she and her friends had been sitting earlier. She saw what little was left of their drinks and meals still on the table, though there was no sign of the ponies themselves.

“Rarity? Applejack? Anypony?” Twilight tried again.

And still Twilight could see and hear nothing but the sound of her own hooves echoing through the vast cavern.

“Mother, do you know where my friends are?” Twilight decided to see if Chrysalis knew something she didn’t, or had missed.

No reply.

“Mother?”

Still nothing.

Twilight was dumbfounded. She tried again, and again. Both times she received only dead silence. She then tried contacting Carduus, Panacea, several of her guards, random drones across the hive, and even little Iuvenes.

Not one responded.

“W-wha…” Twilight stammered as she tried to rid herself of the creeping sense of loneliness coming down upon her.

That was when a hoof touched her shoulder.

With a frightened gasp, Twilight whipped around to face whoever crept up on her, fangs bared out of instinct.

Instead of a pony or a changeling, she found a long corridor.

“Huh? Wasn’t I just in the atrium?” Twilight said out loud, extremely confused.

With little choice, she began to walk down the corridor.

And so she walked, and she walked, and she walked some more.

And yet the corridor never seemed to end.

Twilight was more than a little nervous now. However, tired of making no progress, she decided to backtrack and see if she missed anything.

The walk back was far shorter than it should have been, and it led to a single wooden door. Slowly, she pushed the door open, cautiously making her way inside.

That was when she saw the bodies.

Twilight stood there, frozen, literally unable to move as she looked down onto the six corpses in the room.

And she recognised all of them.

Three were some of the changeling guards she had with them on the day she was injured, and two more were members of the Solar Guard she also had with her that day. All of them were killed by the assassins.

The final was the broken body of Sergeant Longshot, his battered crossbow laying just a few metres away, blood soaked into the frame.

“What is this?! Where am I?” Twilight screamed out, tears breaching her eyes.

“They died for you Twilight…” A figure appeared in the very edges of Twilight's vision, its appearance flickering violently between the figure of the then Commander Broad Sword, and a changeling. But both were deformed, and horrifying in appearance.

“They died BECAUSE OF YOU, Twilight.”

“N-no. You killed them! But you’re dead, mother killed you! How are you here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” the figure questioned, but didn’t go any further into it. “How many more will die before you just let me kill you?”

“W-what?”

“How many more will die for you?” The figure repeated.

Twilight blinked, and when she opened her eyes again there were many, many more bodies. She could see her friends, family, and the princesses. All lying in pools of their own blood.

“No! What have you done?!”

“Finished the job. Queen-,” The name, the one that had eluded Twilight’s memory for so long, came as little more than static to Twilight’s ears, “-sends her regards.”

A knife flicked past Twilight, held in a putrid green aura. The changeling princess desperately tried to move, to call on her magic. To do something.

And yet all she could do was look on the knife as it slowly moved towards her heart.

“ENOUGH!” A blue beam of magic shot through the air, evaporating both the figure and the knife that was just inches from Twilight.

“P-princess Luna?” Twilight gasped as she found her motor functions return to her.

The guardian of dreams approached Twilight with a sympathetic smile. “Are you well, Twilight Sparkle?”

“I… think so?”

Luna nodded. “Good. It is early morning and my sister will soon raise the sun, so perhaps it will be best to leave this place and rise from your bed. Do not fear, I will ensure your dreams tonight are not as disturbing as this.”

Before Twilight could say anything further, Luna placed her horn on Twilight and sent a jolt of blue magic through her.

Twilight awoke with a start. Breathing heavily she looked over at her surroundings. She was in her own bed, and a nearby clock on her desk displayed the time at being a little past four in the morning. With an annoyed groan at her memories of the nightmare, Twilight slumped back down onto her pillow.

“Sugarcube?” a groggy Applejack called from the sofa she slept on.

Twilight remembered the previous night. She had told her friends of their trip being cut short. They were disappointed, but understood. To make the most of the single night they had, they decided to have a slumber party in Twilight’s room. Now they were all either crashed out on the sofas in the centre of the room, or on mattresses a few drones had brought in. Their snores reached Twilight’s ears, and yet she found their mere presence comforting after what she had just experienced.

“Applejack? You’re awake?”

“Am now,” was the reply. “What time is it?”

“Four.”

Applejack groaned. “Did ya have a nightmare or summit?”

“Yeah, about… you know, that day.”

Applejack sighed. “Want to talk about it?”

“There is nothing to be said that hasn’t been said before. I just wish I could remember the name. At least Luna saved me from the ending.”

“Try not to think about it too much. So, we getting up or what? I’m used to rising before the Princess’ sun.”

“Nah, that’s alright,” Twilight said. “We should get away with a couple more hours.”

“Well alright, jus’ take it easy, ya hear.”

“Don’t worry AJ, I will.”

Silence followed that, and soon Applejack was asleep once more.

Twilight however, laid awake for the remaining hours of darkness.

Author's Note

Over 10,000 views?!?! :pinkiegasp:

Seriously, why do you guys like this story? :twilightsheepish:

37 - Departure

Crystal Empire

Soronis sat quietly in the cellar as she mentally prepared herself for what she had to do. Accessing and taking some of the stored love within the Crystal Heart was damn near impossible, but she had to try. For the sake of her beloved little sister, she had to try.

But she was scared, terrified even, and rightfully so. She had no idea what the ponies would do to her if she was discovered, but there was little doubt it would be something severe.

As much as she tried to hide it, Puellula could still tell something was bothering her sister, so she and slowly approached Soronis, gently nuzzling the teenage changeling.

“Soronis? What’s wrong?” Puellula asked.

Soronis smiled lovingly at her sister. “Nothing, everything is going to be fine.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” The puppy dog eyes came out.

“No!” Soronis exclaimed quickly, picking up her sister into a warm embrace. “You did nothing wrong. I’m just going out for a bit, OK?”

Puellula sniffled. “Do you have to, I don’t like being alone.”

“I know,” Soronis nuzzled Puellula gently on the head. “I will only be gone a few hours. But whatever happens. And I mean whatever happens. You stay down here, understand? Do not risk yourself, just stay safe and I promise I will be back soon.”

“O-Ok…” Her voice was slightly muffled, but Soronis felt her nod her head.

Soronis gently placed Puellula down onto the grimy floor, “Be a good girl for me?”

Puellula nodded again.

Soronis gave her sister one final nuzzle, before ascending the stairs up to the cellar door. Stopping in front of the hatch, she took a deep breath and then surrounded herself in green flames. The image of a random and completely ordinary crystal pony replaced the visage of a changeling, and then placed a hoof on the hatch and pushed it open. She clambered out into the alleyway behind the tavern, making sure to close up the cellar behind her.

Slowly, with nervous steps, she then began her journey towards the palace under which the Crystal Heart would be located.

The Badlands

The blistering heat pressed down onto the Badlands, searing its surface and keeping up with the area’s hostile reputation.

Carduus grunted as he and a few other drones finished lifting the final boxes of supplies and equipment into one of two magically enchanted carriages sitting in the dried up landscape. Once they were lifted inside he gave a nod to two of the hive’s strongest flyers, who immediately gave a salute and took their places in front of the carriage, morphing themselves into a Pegasus disguise as they did so.

The two carriages were set up just outside one of the hive’s entrances. The drones that would be accompanying the royals to the council stood vigilant in full armor, weapons dangling by their sides. Spike, who would be going with them, was standing between the two vehicles, his usual checklist in his claws as he oversaw the final preparations. The young dragon offered a smile to Princess Twilight and her friends as they exited the hive and made their way over to the group.

“All set over here,” Carduus reported to a nearby Queen Chrysalis.

“Secured and ready to go, your highness,” a drone near the second carriage also reported.

“Very good,” Chrysalis responded. “Ready for departure within five minutes, and shift into disguise. We don’t want to give the griffons a scare.”

With a salute, Carduus shifted into a black Pegasus with a silvery mane. A shield with his own favoured weapon striking over it was chosen to represent a cutie mark.

“Griffons?” asked Fluttershy questioningly, who was standing with Twilight along with the rest of the girls.

“We haven’t really had much contact with them,” Twilight explained. “So it is far less likely to catch much attention if we are seen as a group of nomad pegasi rather than a marauding changeling queen with a small army of drones.”

“Oh, I suppose that makes sense,” Fluttershy said.

“Well, do have a safe trip darling,” Rarity said to her changeling friend. “It is an awful long journey, and flying for most of it will place quite the strain on those wings of yours.”

“Don’t worry Rarity,” Twilight smiled. “I’ve been practicing.”

“Been taking notes from the best?” Rainbow asked, doing a quick loop just to punctuate who exactly ‘the best’ was.

“Carduus has been giving me a few pointers,” Twilight shot back with a smirk.

Rainbow just hung dumbly in the air for a few moments, before crossing her fore hooves in a huff.

Twilight shook her head slightly. “If it makes you feel any better, the next time I visit Ponyville I will allow my famous Wonderbolt friend teach me a few tricks.”

Rainbow cheered up immediately. “Aw yeah! I’ve been waiting two years for you to ask me!”

Twilight chuckled. “I know.”

“Yeah well, how long is the trip anyway? It’s not like you guys can just rainboom over there.”

“About two days, give or take,” Twilight responded. “We should arrive just in time for the council.”

“Well, just give me a heads up if you need any back up, a word to Spitfire I could have the Wonderbolts show up and kick some flank on a moment’s notice,” Rainbow offered, slightly dubious of the whole council affair.

“Thank you for the offer Rainbow Dash, but I don’t think that will be necessary. No changeling would dream of starting anything at the council, it would violate traditions the changelings as a whole hold very dear.”

“Ah don’t know sugarcube,” Applejack voiced her agreement with Rainbow. “With what you told us about this great aunt of yours, Crudelis was it? Something about this whole darn thing rubs me up the wrong apple tree. Ah know ah once said that that anypony of relation to y’all was practically family, but ah think she may be an exception.”

“That makes two of us,” Twilight muttered. “Please don’t worry Applejack. Even if she has the largest hive, I don’t think aggravating every other queen is high on her to do list.”

“Enough of the doom and gloom,” Pinkie butted, or, more accurately - bounced in. “Thanks for having us over Twilight, it was fun and we should do it again!”

“Sorry it was cut so short,” Twilight apologised. “But yes, we should. And I think the others are certainly going to miss your parties.”

“Don’t you worry!” The pink party pony winked. “I have something awesome planned for the next one!”

“I dread to think,” Chrysalis deadpanned as she approached the group.

“Aw don’t be like that, Chryssi!” Pinkie suddenly appeared next to and leaned up against the Changeling Queen casually. “My next party involves you, and you will definitely enjoy yourself! Cross my heart hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “One, stop leaning on me please. Two, we shall see. Three, never call me Chryssi ever, ever again.”

“No can do, Chryssi!” Pinkie proclaimed happily.

Chrysalis could only groan.

Twilight chuckled behind a hoof. “Come on mother, would it really be so bad to join in? Believe it or not but I truly believe you are capable of enjoying yourself every now and then.”

“Is that so?” Chrysalis deadpanned.

Twilight only smiled ever so innocently.

“Oh fine!” Chrysalis gave in. “Pinkamina Pie, I promise to join in on your next visit to the hive, happy?”

Pinkie shook her head. “You have to Pinkie promise.”

“Seriously?”

“Do it…”

Twilight gave her mother a quick nudge, while the others all tried to hide grins behind their hooves.

Chrysalis mumbled something.

“Come on,” Pinkie continued to pressure the queen. “Even Fluttershy can do better than that.”

“Thanks… I think?” the yellow Pegasus in question said.

Chrysalis sighed, and then reluctantly began the motions. “Cross my heart hope to fly stick a cupcake in my- ow!” Chrysalis gently rubbed her eye after accidentally poking it.

The girls could no longer contain their laughter and burst into a fit of giggles, much to the changeling queen’s expense.

“See? That wasn’t so hard!” Pinkie gave Chrysalis a side hug.

“Right…” Chrysalis pried Pinkie off of her with her magic, and deposited her next to Rarity. “Well enough of this demeaning situation. Twilight, we must be going, unless you want to be tardy to your first queen’s council?”

That spurred Twilight into action. “Um, of course not! Leaving, now, alright then!”

Twilight turned to her friends. “I’ll be seeing you girls soon, alright?”

“You have safe travels now sugarcube, ya hear?” Applejack approached and hugged her friend.

“Will do Applejack, same goes to you on your trip back to Equestria.”

“We’ll be fine darling,” Rarity assured. “Oh and do try to enjoy yourself. I know you do so enjoy delving into different aspects of various cultures.”

The group all hugged and shared a few friendly nuzzles, saying their farewells as the group parted ways. As they split, the group of five ponies were escorted back into the hive to await transport back to Equestria while Twilight took her place by her mother’s side, and together they began to approach the waiting changelings.

“You’ve never been so far from Equestria before, have you Twilight?” Chrysalis asked her daughter.

“No,” Twilight confirmed. “The furthest I’ve been is a brief visit to a Griffon coastal city with Celestia once when I was a filly. She was there to set up some kind of trade with them.”

“Well then, we shall be traveling through the Griffon mainland and right up to the Zebra border. It should be quite the experience, yes?”

Twilight happily nodded in return.

“Your highness!” The disguised Carduus approached. “Is it time?”

“We are ready, Captain.”

“Very well, then we shall depart at once!” Carduus turned to address the gathered disguised changelings, “Changelings! I want this journey to be clean, swift and without incident. Stay in a tight formation around the carriages and be on constant alert for any sign of hostilities, understood?”

“Yes, Captain!” A chorus of voices confirmed at once.

“Very good. Now spreads your wings and move out!” The flock of ‘pegasi’ immediately spread their wings wide and took to the air, moving to cover the two carriages as the changeling pulling them got a run up and pulled the enchanted vehicles into the air with the others.

Green flames surrounded Chryaslis and her tall form was replaced with a black Pegasus mare with a teal mane and green cocoon cutie mark.

“Come then my daughter, let us be off,” Chrysalis said as she took to the air after her drones.

Twilight nodded, and green flames surrounded her next. The visage of the pony Twilight Sparkle, the one the princess had worn for much of her life, returned to the world. The only difference was that instead of a unicorn horn, she had the wings of a Pegasus on either side of her barrel.

Briefly receiving a wave of nostalgia as she looked down on a lavender hoof, she spread her own wings and quickly got back into position next to her mother.

Rainbow Dash stood at the entrance to the hive, watching as the disguised changelings became mere shades far in the distance. She was alone in the entrance with the others, both pony and changeling, having already entered the underground structure.

At least until Pinkie Pie bounced up next to the cyan Pegasus.

“Sup Dashie?”

“Hey Pinks, why aren’t you inside?”

“You were up here by yourself, so I came back up here too!” The pink pony answered, still pronking up and down.

“Ah,” Rainbow simply said as she smiled. “Welp, I’m coming in now anyway. Come on.”

Rainbow turned back to the hive, with Pinkie Pie following shortly after.

Once they entered the hive proper, the doorway closed behind them and the perception filter took effect once more. The two walked (or bounced if you’re Pinkie Pie) down the large corridor, until they reached an intersection.

“Hold on Dashie, I’m just going to go down that hallway a moment, go on without me.”

“Um… why?” Rainbow asked.

“It is a super-duper secret!” Pinkie exclaimed happily as she bounced her way down the adjacent corridor.

Rainbow watched her bounce away into the darkness, and simply rolled her eyes and continued on. A short way away Rainbow Dash almost bumped straight into a mare bouncing up the other way.

“Woah!” Rainbow screeched to a halt in order to avoid the collision, the other mare just stopped dead, momentum be damned.

“Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow looked at the pink mare in front of her.

“There you are Dashie! I thought you got lose or something!” Pinkie Pie smiled widely.

“But how did you get here first?” Rainbow asked in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean-“ Rainbow paused with a sigh mid-sentence, “Never mind, just you being you.”

Rainbow Dash simply walked past Pinkie Pie and continued walking down the hallway knowing the pink mare would most likely follow on.

Pinkie Pie sat motionless for a moment, looking on at her friend in genuine confusion.

A short distance away another Pinkie Pie grinned as green flames flickered around her body, extremely pleased that her spur of the moment plan to use the pink pony’s strange abilities to her advantage had been such an extreme success.

And now she just had to wait for the royals to return.

Author's Note

We are now a little over halfway through all currently planned chapters. Pretty strange when you consider I originally intended for it to be between 12 and 15 chapters long.

Oh, and here is a little teaser for what is to come (WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS):
http://imgur.com/fCVnPcb

38 - Intruder

The Crystal Empire

Scarlet was shaking.

She was nervous. She was scared. She was excited. There were so many emotions that ran through her system as Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor got up to leave the dining room, leaving her and her husband alone.

They had just finished eating an exquisite lunch prepared by the palace’s chief chef, a rather young, but enthusiastic crystal pony who had apparently been bouncing on the walls when the princess had offered him the position soon after King Sombra was defeated and killed. The dining room itself had the same crystal architecture as everything else in the empire, with two types of banners decorating the walls; the first banner type had Shining Armor’s cutie mark and the other Princess Cadance’s. A large chandelier hung above the table, and the table itself was decorated with several crystalline candle holders atop a blue and pink table cloth.

Vladimir hadn’t attended lunch with them, as he was visiting a friend who had volunteered to join and train new members of the crystal guard when the empire returned. As for Cadance and Shining Armor, their meals were eaten and royal duties called out to them both. Broad Sword had finished his, but Scarlet Snow was being deliberately slow in eating her dessert.

Cadance paused halfway through the door, and turned to them. “We are sorry to leave you like this, but my court is to start soon,” she apologised. “And Shining has to go and meet with some of the guard. Will you two be alright?”

“We’ll be fine,” Broad Sword assured. “Once Scarlet has finished her meal I’m sure we can think of something to do.”

“Well, alright then,” Cadance conceded. “If you need anything, I’m sure any of the palace guard or staff will be willing to help. Have fun you two.” Nodding her head slightly, Cadance slipped from the room.

Scarlet sighed in relief as Cadance left the room. Now it was just her and Broad Sword left together. If there was ever a time to reveal the ‘small’ fact that she was pregnant with his child, now was the time.

“Out with it then,” Broad Sword chuckled.

Scarlet gawked at her husband. “I’m sorry?”

“You’re fighting, going slow with your food. You want to tell me something and wanted us to be alone to say it. I assume it has to do with what you tried to tell me yesterday?”

“Y-yes,” Scarlet lowered her spoon next to her vanilla and chocolate ice cream dessert. “There is something I have wanted to tell you. I went to the doctors just before we left, I had a test done.”

Broad Sword adopted a concerned expression. “Test? Is something wrong, you’re not ill are you?”

“No!” Scarlet said quickly. “Nothing is wrong, the complete opposite in fact!”

Now that she had his undivided attention, and with nothing stopping her, no distraction, it was time. She breathed deeply in and out a few times to calm her growing nerves, and then opened her mouth.

“Honey, something wonderful has-"

Just then, because obviously some cruel outside force just loved to mess with them, the doors to the dining room flung open and slammed heavily against the wall, chipping the crystal. Moments later Shining Armor, Vladimir and another orange Pegasus guard came running in.

Scarlet’s face slammed into the table from sheer exasperation.

“Scarlet, Broad Sword, we need you to come quickly!” Shining waved the two towards him.

The two ponies scrambled from the seats and headed towards the crystal prince, the urgency apparent in his posture.

“Shining? What happened?” Broad Sword asked hurriedly.

Shining gestured to the Pegasus and Thestral beside him. “Vladimir and Flash Sentry caught a changeling trying to take the crystal heart!”

“What?!” both ponies shouted at the news.

Shining turned to the Pegasus. “Sentry, go gather the rest of the guard. I want this changeling found!”

“Yes, your highness!” the Pegasus saluted, and then galloped off to carry out his orders.

“Vladimir, Broad Sword and Scarlet, you three are with me.”

“Do we have any idea which hive the drone belongs to?” Broad Sword asked.

“No idea,” Vladimir answered. “Shining, could your sister help with that?”

Shining Armor shook his head. “No, she and Chrysalis would have already departed for the Council and will be out of reach. We are on our own.”

“Council?” Vladimir asked questioningly. “What council?”

“Queens' Council, long story,” Shining dismissed. “Twily has only told me a bit in her letters.”

“Well, she may have young Spike with her. Why not send a letter?”

“No, she’s going to be under enough pressure. The last thing she need is to be worrying about us.”

“What else can you tell us?” Scarlet interjected.

Vladimir shrugged. “Not much. There was one, couldn’t tell the gender from a distance. The changeling ran as soon as Flash and I spotted it. But where there is one there could be more, and I could see an opportunistic queen trying to gain the heart for themselves. The amount of love in that thing would make a queen more powerful than any of our own princesses or even the other queens.”

“Agreed,” Shining said. “Which is why it must be defended. I will have the guard stay close to it while this threat is present, anypony who approaches will be subject to a scanning spell just to be safe. As for us, we are going to catch ourselves a changeling.”

Earlier That Day

Soronis tried to stay calm as she walked down the pathway on the side of the grand highway leading directly to the palace. The giant gleaming jewel sprawled out before her, and her objective lay beneath it.

She kept her breathing steady as she passed all sorts of ponies. Families, young couples going on their first date, and one odd pegasus visitor to the empire who flew into a shop’s sign and plonked down onto the path. The mare just didn’t know what went wrong.

After several more minutes of walking, during which she passed by several establishments and she tried not to make eye contact with any of the city’s many ponies. Soronis finally came up on her destination; in front of her the crystal palace itself sat what just seemed like mere metres away. She could even see the heart as it gently span on its pedestal.

Soronis began to move towards the heart, but stopped when she saw the four large archways that made up the palace’s base were roped off with guards standing in front of them, keeping out trespassers.

She had guessed it wouldn’t be as easy as just walking up to the thing.

Concealing herself in a nearby shadow covered alleyway, Soronis sat in darkness for a while, watching the guards as they patrolled around the city centre.

Eventually she came up with a plan, and reluctantly carried it out.

She waited for about an hour, and then she finally spotted a lone guard exiting the palace, still in his armour. However, his relaxed demeanour compared to the stone faces of his peers gave away that he had just come off duty, and was heading home for the day. The guard had a golden shimmering crystal coat and an orange mane, it contrasted slightly with the blue and purple colouration most crystal ponies had. The young changeling waited as the guard passed the checkpoint unopposed and walked across the street, and as luck would have it, right past the alleyway Soronis was hiding in.

She emerged as he passed.

“Help, please!” Soronis called out to the guard.

The guard stopped in his tracks and spun to spot the owner of the voice. “Ma’am?” He slipped back into his trained professionalism. “What is the matter?”

“It’s my baby sister!” Soronis lied. “She is hurt really bad, and she needs help, please!”

“Oh shit,” Soronis heard the guard mutter under his breath. “Hold on ma’am, I will get help.”

“No!” she objected. “She needs help now, it can’t wait.”

The guard considered for a few moment, but then nodded. “Alright ma’am, it will be OK. Can you take me to her?”

Soronis nodded and turned back towards the alleyway, motioning the guard to follow.

The crystal pony guard quickly followed Soronis down an alleyway. Soronis kept slightly ahead of him, and then turned a sharp corner. When he also turned the corner he was met with the black shape of a changeling drone, a drone whose horn was glowing a bright green as she charged a spell.

“By crystals!” the guard shouted in surprise, quickly reaching for his holstered blade.

Only for a green bolt to shoot from the changeling’s horn and impact the pony in the face. The guard slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Soronis stayed frozen for a few moment, before releasing the breath she had been holding in.

“Sorry,” Soronis whispered apologetically as she removed the guard’s armour and weapons, a green glow filling the alley a moment later as she took his form.

Soronis shuddered, not being a fan of taking a disguise of the opposite gender. But desperate times called for desperate measures. She lifted and put on his armour and armaments, before making sure the guard was OK, and placing a basic sleeping spell on him for good measure. Her time in her hive’s library studying magical theory had paid off.

She missed that library.

She missed her family.

She missed it all.

Soronis fought back tears as she banished thoughts of her destroyed home from her mind. After regaining her composure, she made her way out of the alley and back towards the castle.

“Golden Flash,” one of the guards greeted as the disguised Soronis approached the roped off area. “I though you went home for the day?”

“Yeah I…uh, forgot something in the barracks,” Soronis lied. “I just need to quickly retrieve it and then be on my way.”

The guard, a lieutenant judging by the pin on his armor, shook his head. “You really should keep a better eye on your stuff, Private. Go on then.”

“Thank you sir,” Soronis nodded, before passing by the guards and heading inwards, towards the doors leading into the palace at first.

Soronis stopped a short way in, and examined her surroundings. She could see the guards around the edges were all facing outwards, not inwards. And there were few civilians passing by at the present time, and those who did were not paying any particular attention to the heart.

Not knowing how long her luck would hold out, Soronis knew she had to act quickly. She turned away from the doors she was initially heading towards, and began to walk towards the heart at a brisk pace. She stopped just in front of the object, examining it in awe. She could feel the love energy it held just from proximity, and it was powerful. She was almost afraid of it, but something about it calmed her. And when she dropped her disguise and placed her horn on its surface it stopped spinning, and simply allowed her to extract some of the love stored within. She gently began to collect some of the love, promising mentally to only take as much as she needed, and not a drop more. The heart had, for whatever reason, placed its trust in her and she intended to keep that trust.

And then everything went wrong.

…

“-the crystal ponies have really come a long way in the past few years,” Flash Sentry said to Vladimir as they walked down the staircase towards the entrance of the palace. “Credit where it was due, it wasn’t easy for them. Being a thousand years out of time and all that.”

“I know what you mean,” Vladimir said. “You and the others did a good job training them and bringing them up to speed.”

“They deserve the credit, not us,” Flash disputed. “We only helped when necessary. The crystal ponies are a tough group, given all they have been through.”

“What about all you have been through?” Vladimir smirked. “Hitting on the Prince’s sister, for instance?”

Flash groaned. “I did no such thing, we bumped into each other a while back and she acted… odd. Almost like she knew me or something. Didn’t stop Prince Armor from putting me on latrine duty for a month after the fact.”

“Whatever happened to that mirror they were all fussing over anyway?” Vladimir asked. “Did you ever find out what that was all about?”

“I have no idea what happened to the mirror,” Flash sighed. “As for why there was a big fuss over the thing, when I tried to look into it everything came back with a big red ‘classified’ stamp over everything. In the end we took the hint and left it well alone.”

“Fair enough,” Vladimir said as they reached the doorway at the bottom of the stairs.

Vladimir placed a hoof on one of the doors, and pulled it open. Flash Sentry exited the building first with Vladimir following behind and closing the large door as he went.

“It still is weird though,” Vladimir said. “I wonder if that mirror- hey!” Vladimir suddenly shouted in panic.

The two ponies both caught sight of a changeling drone in crystal guard armor interacting with the Crystal Heart, drawing energy out of it.

“Stop that changeling!” Vladimir barked out as both he and Flash bolted towards it.

…

Soronis was nearly finished when she heard a voice from the palace entrance.

“Stop that changeling!”

Soronis instantly cut her connection and spun around. She spotted a Pegasus and thestral charging at her, the Pegasus had his sword drawn. Panic and dread immediately filled her being, and she quickly tore off her armour and flung it towards the two ponies with her magic, while simply dropping Golden Flash’s sword to the ground.

The two ponies cursed as the armour collided with them, and Soronis took the opportunity to turn and dart in the opposite direction, giving a flap of her wings to boost her speed. Her panic only began to rise as all the other guards turned and also spotted her, a few arrows flew over her head as a few of those guards armed with crossbows opened fire. She flew towards the alleyway she had initially hid in, but had to go through a group of guards to get to it. One of the guards rushed forwards to meet her, sword raised. However, Soronis utilised some of the extraordinarily pure love energy from the heart to magically boost herself through the group, and those guards who did not jump out of the way were knocked to the ground in a heap.

She quickly entered the alleyway, hoping the pursuing guards would stop for the unconscious Golden Flash and thus let her gain some ground between her and them.

It partially worked, and those who didn’t stop soon lost sight of their target as she bobbed and weaved through the various alleys and backstreets.

After what seemed like hours of flying through the empire, Soronis finally allowed herself to rest in the shadow of a large building. She tried to stop herself from hyperventilating as she processed what had just happened. The whole city would be on alert, every single pony would be looking for her. She had to get the love energy to Puellula, but she couldn’t return to the cellar.

At least, not yet.

Soronis realised she would have to wait until things calmed down before she could return. Doing otherwise could put Puellula at risk of being discovered if she was spotted or followed. She would just have to lay low until things calmed down, and try not to get caught.

“Don’t worry Puellula, I will be there soon. Just hold on.”

Author's Note

I am a cruel person for what I did with poor Scarlet.

Also just to let you know, I have retconned Scarlet to have a white coat and scarlet mane and eyes instead of scarlet coat and brown mane (I think it looks better). I have changed the description in her initial introduction accordingly.

39 - The Other Queens

The Border of Zebrica, The First Changeling Hive

Twilight, who was still in her Pegasus form, looked down in awe at the sprawling structure jutting out the trees just as they passed through the perception filter. The large stone brick dome was in pristine condition, the drones sent to maintain it having performed their duties to an almost religious degree. On each side of the dome existed a large set of double doors, each of them entrances to the large hive. From each door extended a long path reaching all the way of to the treeline, and each path was lined with statues of armoured changeling guards standing at attention, forever guarding their home. At the very peak of the dome a large crystal was imbedded into the roof, not dissimilar to the one held in the grasp of Avia back in the Badlands Hive’s atrium, keeping up the perception filter surrounding the structure.

And from her high vantage point Twilight could see changeling drones, and a lot of them. Drones from all the attending hives roamed the grounds. Guards in various armors patrolled around in joint security operations while the proceedings unfolded. Twilight could even spot a few queens around the place, some merely inspecting the décor, others in deep discussion with one another about various topics in the lead up to the council.

And then there was one queen standing directly where those from the Badlands were coming in to land, surrounded by changelings in red armour. The queen had the standard teal mane and green eyes of a queen, her mane being done up into a neat bun.

And Twilight noticed her mother visibly smile as she laid eyes on that queen.

As they came in for landing all of the drones began to shed their Pegasi disguises, with them taking point and landing before the royals or the carriages. Said carriages were next to landed, making contact onto the grassy ground and quickly coming to a halt, several drones immediately getting to work in unloading its contents.

Twilight and Chrysalis were the last to shed their disguises, and the last to land. As their black hooves made contact with the ground, the queen Twilight had spotted began to approach the pair, her guards taking position at a respectful distance. Several of Chrysalis’ drones glanced at the approaching queen cautiously, but relaxed on her identification.

“Draco,” Chrysalis greeted cheerfully. “It is a joy to see you again, my old friend.”

“And I you, Chrysalis,” Draco responded, accepting a quick, friendly embrace from the other queen. “I trust you are well?”

“As well as can be expected. How has everything been so far? Any trouble?” Chrysalis asked.

“No. Things have been quiet, and now that you’re here the council can go ahead. The first session will likely be pinned to take place tomorrow morning. However, I would actively seek to avoid Crudelis if I were you.”

“I wasn’t exactly planning on saying ‘hi’. Besides we are at the Council, what could she possible do here?”

Draco grimaced. “Hopefully nothing, but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down. My one brief encounter with that queen set off some alarm bells for me. I don’t trust her.”

“Neither do I, nor have I ever,” Chrysalis bitterly responded. “But enough about that bitch, perhaps more pleasant forms of conversation would be better suited?”

Draco chuckled. “I’m sorry, you are right. It has been too long since I have seen one of my oldest friends, this should not be a somber occasion. Come my friend, I will show you to your prearranged accommodations.”

Chrysalis held up a hoof to stop Queen Draco. “But a moment Draco, you have yet to meet my daughter.”

Chrysalis stepped aside to reveal Twilight lingering slightly back, watching the two queens curiously. Draco nodded on seeing the young princess, and stepped towards her.

“Twilight Sparkle, we meet at last. I have heard much about you,” Draco bowed her head slightly in greeting.

“Queen Draco, isn’t it? Yes, mother has mentioned you fondly before. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Please, just call me Draco.”

“Ah, right,” Twilight scuffed the ground awkwardly with a hoof. “I’ve never actually met another Changeling Queen aside from mother before now so… I don’t really know what the precedent is.”

Draco chuckled. “Then how about the precedent of how to act among friends.”

Twilight’s face lit up. “Yes, I think I can do that. Friendship is my speciality after all!”

“So I hear. Element of Magic are you not? Pretty strange when you consider the fact that your mother, when I first met her, wasn’t exactly master of the magical arts...” A mischievous grin appeared her face.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked out of curiosity.

Chrysalis’ face somehow turned a bright red through the chitin. “No! Draco, don’t you dare!”

Draco turned to the other queen. “You worry too much Chryssie! I would never dream of telling your daughter of how we first met. How, in our very first visit to this very hive that you tried to show off your recently learned ability to use portals, only to end up trapping yourself in a wall in the process of doing so.”

Chrysalis looked absolutely mortified.

Twilight on the other hoof, tried very hard to keep in a bout of giggling. “Trapped in a wall? With that and what you did to the first crystal in the atrium, your accidents would give Derpy a run for her bits!” the Princess teased her mother.

Draco raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “First crystal? What is all this about?”

“That is enough of that!” Chrysalis stepped in between the two changelings. “My daughter and my best friend, how did I ever think this was going to be a good idea?” she muttered to herself.

Both Draco and Twilight couldn’t help but titter at the expense of a rather bemused Queen Chrysalis. But when all was said and done, they relented.

“Very well then Chrysalis, we’re done. Not that I doubt you will attempt to get me back at a later date.”

“You know me too well,” Chrysalis said with mirth.

A cough caught their attention. “If your majesties are finished, we have the carriages unloaded. Now we just need a place to put them. On top of that, those who aren’t joining the security arrangements right away are keen to hit the hay,” Carduus said to the three royals.

“Ah, my apologies. You all will be staying in the east wing of the hive along with myself and my drones, and that of Queens Xerox, Plastron and Cocoon.”

“Understood,” Carduus bowed his head. “We will make our way over there right away.”

Draco turned to a few of her own guards. “You three, go with them. Help them bring in their things and point them out to their rooms if you will.”

“Yes my Queen!” All three saluted before running off towards the carriage along with Carduus.

Chrysalis spoke as Draco turned back around towards them. “Xerox, Plastron and Cocoon are in the east wing with us?”

“Yes, that is correct,” Draco confirmed.

“What about the others, who else is attending exactly?”

Draco stopped to think a moment before answering the question, “Queens Pupa, Carapace, Acadica, Tempora and Antannae are in the west wing. In the north wing we have Ingrica, Orbata, Pensylvanica, Vulgaris and Crudelis.”

“And the south wing?” Chrysalis enquired.

“That would have been reserved for Arisana, Austriaca, Germanica, Nursei and Vespula. The former four couldn’t be located. As for Vespula…” Draco trailed off.

“There are now only nineteen queens,” Chrysalis realised.

“Vespula is dead,” Draco said solemnly. “I don’t know how or why. But it will almost certainly be a point of discussion in the Council.”

“A queen is dead?” Twilight asked, eyes wide in horror. “How can you not know what happened?”

“As far as we can tell, there were no survivors,” Draco shook her head sadly. “My scouts reported heavy signs of heavy fighting. They fought down to the last stallion, mare and nymph.”

“What about bodies? Could you identify the attackers?” Chrysalis asked.

“When we arrived the other hives had already sent drones to perform clean up duties. They were burying the bodies, recovering anything useful and then scuttling what was left of the hive. It was in a cave system so it wasn’t too hard to collapse it in.”

“Then what about the first hives on the scene, did they identify them?” It was Twilight who asked this time around.

“If they did, we will find out tomorrow morning. Until then all we can do is make idle theories.

“You said they buried the bodies,” Chrysalis recollected. “Where did they bury Vespula?”

Draco motioned towards the large dome before them. “Here. Along with a great many other queens throughout our history.”

“Did you know Vespula, mother?” Twilight asked.

“No, at least not personally. But I had nothing against her either. She had a small hive, smaller than ours, and they mostly tried to keep to themselves. I can’t imagine who would actively want her dead.”

“Enough of that Chrysalis,” Draco said. “Come, I will lead you inside. I made sure you were actually provided nice rooms, since Crudelis probably would have been more than happy to stick you in a cupboard somewhere.”

“Appreciated,” Chrysalis deadpanned.

Carduus directed a few of his changelings as they picked up the various crates and bags that had been unloaded and began to take them into the hive, the drones Draco provided at their head. Once everything had been taken indoors he directed a few drones to go and park the carriages with a few others near one of the entrances, and then started to head inside himself.

As he approached the door he spotted a drone in blue and red armour speaking to Queen Xerox, a checklist held in his green aura. Carduus realised the drone was part of Crudelis’ hive, and simply tried to bypass him without making eye contact.

No luck there.

“Excuse me Queen Xerox, there is other business I must attend to for my Queen.” The drone bowed in apology.

“I understand,” Xerox bowed her head in return. “I must check in with my captain anyway. Farewell”

As the Queen turned and walked off in the opposite direction the drone intercepted Carduus and walked directly in his path.

“Captain Carduus? If you could hold a moment?”

“Sorry, no solicitors,” Carduus budged past the drone.

The drone frowned. “Jokes are all well and good, Captain, but I order you to stop!”

Carduus halted in his tracks, and turned to the changeling threateningly. “You, order me? Who do you think you are, and on whose authority?”

“My Queen is organising this council, so on hers,” the drone shot back. “Now, all I need to do is discuss your arrangements for your stay, who you have with you and other statistical information. I’m just doing my job, so make it easy will you?”

“What? I have been to one of these before, many years ago. I may have just been a rookie at the time, but I clearly remember no such information needing to be given.”

“That was when Queen Germanica was arranging the council. Now it is us,” the drone stated. "Honestly, and I thought Private Scorpion complained too much."

“Look, I can tell we are both busy changelings. So why don’t you just let me go on my way… and shove that list up your ass!”

“The quicker you cooperate, the quicker I leave, Captain. I know you and your hive have a history of insolence-"

“Insolence?” Carduus growled.

“-but the other queens have already done it, even your little friend Draco. So you will cooperate!” the drone delivered his ultimatum.

“I…” Carduus groaned in frustration.

Deciding a quick ping to his Queen over the hive mind was the best solution he asked Chrysalis what he should do. But a few short moments later he received permission, albeit reluctant, to go along with the drone.

“Very well then, but make it quick.”

“Splendid. This is just so we can keep track of everything better for organisational purposes. I’m sure your Princess would agree.”

“Just get on with,” Carduus said with little patience.

“Very well. Now, how many drones are with you?”

Twilight slumped down onto her bed, only now realising how exhausted she was from all the flying she had to do in the past couple of days. She and her mother would be sharing a room on the second floor of the east wing for the duration of the council. The room itself was decently large with various bookshelves, a fireplace with a few cushions, a work desk and a window looking down over the grounds. Twilight guessed the room had also previously been host to a double bed, but Draco had her drones swap it out for two singles in preparation for them. Their accompanying drone’s rooms were all clustered together, adjacent to one another. And just a hallway away Draco and her changelings were staying. They had yet to encounter the other three queens or their drones in the east wing as they were on different floors, but that would likely soon change.

Chrysalis had a few more words with Draco before the latter left to attend to other matters, and with two of their guards taking position by the door Chrysalis walked in and laid down next to Twilight on the latter’s bed.

“Are you well my daughter?”

“Tired,” Twilight groaned. “Celestia will be lowering the sun soon, and I’m more than ready to sleep.”

With a loving smile Chrysalis pulled Twilight towards her, draped over a gossamer wing and nuzzled her daughter on the head, “Well before you drift off to say hi to Princess Luna, I thought you would like to see the council chamber first.”

“The council chamber, as in the chamber where all the most important decisions in changeling history have been made? As in the literal centre of our very society?!” Twilight’s scholarly mind buzzed with excitement.

“Er… sure. That one.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

Twilight pondered for a second, sleep vs satisfying the scholar within her. The latter easily won out, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Yes, I would like that.”

“I thought you would,” Chrysalis smiled, “Come then, the day grows short. And I too would like to retire to bed before long.”

Author's Note

In case you missed it, Plainoasis made something Change related, and it is pretty damn awesome.

http://plainoasis.deviantart.com/art/Atrium-597756809

Also, here are the names of all the nineteen current living queens:
Xerox, Plastron, Cocoon, Pupa, Tempora, Antannae, Carapace, Acadica, Arisana, Austriaca, Germanica, Nursei, Ingrica, Orbata, Pensylvanica, Vulgaris, Chrysalis, Crudelis and Draco

Update:

“That was when Queen Germanica was arranging the council. Now it is us,” the drone stated. "Honestly, and I thought Private Scorpion complained too much."

Any of you who have read 'Queen of the Hive' know who this 'Private Scorpion' is... :raritywink:

40 - Stories

The war room within the first hive was seldom used. Any matters between queens were debated and sorted within the council chamber and thus the room had grown disused ever since the old hive was turned into the centre of changeling society rather than a conventional hive itself.

Not anymore however, as the room was now being utilised by Queen Crudelis and several of her top changeling drones. Maps of the surrounding area, Equestria and the Badlands were laid out on the table before them.

“Do you have everything?” Crudelis asked the drone holding the checklist.

“Everything is in order.” The drone levitated the list towards his Queen. “That captain from the Badlands actually thought that it was part of some scheme instead of what it was, a list of statistics to help better organise this council. Their paranoia knows no bounds.”

“And rightfully so,” another chuckled, tapping a hoof on the map of the Badlands. “Reports tell me that our agent is inside. Soon enough everything will be ready; at least it will be once she acquires the device.”

“When will these plans be placed into action my Queen?” the first drone asked.

“We can’t rush this,” Crudelis stated. “I have ordered our agent to lay low until Chrysalis and Twilight Sparkle are returning to the hive; that is when she shall acquire the device from their own storage. The moment those two return to the hive is when we strike.”

“But what of Equestria?” the changeling asked.

“What of them?” Crudelis asked bluntly.

The changeling shuffled nervously. “With Princess Twilight’s personal connection to both the Crystal Princess and the Sun Princess, I doubt her death will go unnoticed, or without consequence.”

“Let me worry about those alicorn princesses and their little ponies. I have my own plans for them, but baby steps, Lieutenant. Chrysalis and her brat must die first.”

“Yes, my Queen.”

“Good. Now, the council takes place tomorrow morning and I want it to run smoothly. Keep hostility with other hives, even the Badlands, to a minimum. I will not have these hostilities spoiling our most sacred tradition. Is that clear?”

“Yes, your highness!” All the present drones saluted with the affirmative.

“Good, you know what happens to those who disappoint me, just as Vespula did. Dismissed.”

All of the drones saluted one last time, gathered up their things and began to file out of the door. Crudelis herself gave a small hum of satisfaction as all her plans slowly but surely same together, before too exiting the room.

Twilight and her mother, Queen Chrysalis, walked through the hallways of the ancient changeling hive. Drones of various hives passed by them, as did the odd queen here and there. They were on their way to the council chamber of which Twilight Sparkle, as a long time scholar, was eager to lay eyes on for the first time.

“Who did this hive belong to originally?” the young princess asked her mother.

“Hmm?” Chrysalis was broken out of her own thoughts by her daughter’s voice, having just missed her line of questioning.

“I asked, who did this hive belong to originally?” Twilight repeated.

“Ah, now that is the question…” Chrysalis half muttered.

“Huh? Does that mean you don’t know?”

“Well, there are stories…” Chrysalis began to explain. “But none truly know what happened in this hive. The details have long been lost to time.”

“What are the stories?” Twilight’s curiosity only grew.

“There are several. Some say the hive was never actually a hive, but was purposely built for the council, or some other alternate purpose.”

Twilight seemed wholly unconvinced by that theory. “That seems… unlikely. This place seems like it once held a permanent population of changelings from what, admittedly little, I have seen of this place.”

“That is just one theory, though I do admit is one of the less likely options. The most likely is that it was just a hive to some changeling queen way back when. Perhaps that queen died, or moved on and left the place empty, only for it to be re-purposed later. Or perhaps it was home to the queen who founded the council in the first place, who knows?”

“That does seem far more plausible than the first theory. I can easily see that one being true,” Twilight nodded, being far more convinced with that theory than the first one.

“It is the most likely,” Chrysalis agreed. “But there is one other story…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You trailing off there sounded rather ominous.”

Queen Chrysalis chuckled. “Yes well, this is a rather fantastical story. One usually told to scare young nymphs just before bedtime.”

“Now it sounds really ominous,” Twilight remarked. “Used to scare foals you say?”

They stopped in the middle of the corridor just nearby to the hive’s old war room, not far from the council chamber itself.

“Do you wish to hear it?”

Twilight gave an affirmative nod. “To do a good job researching you need to hear all sides of the story to some to a set of satisfactory conclusions.”

Chrysalis smirked. “Spoken just like a princess’ protégé.”

“Oh just tell me the story,” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes.

Chrysalis giggled mischievously. “Are you sure? I did say it was used to scare young foals…”

“Mother!” Twilight fumed.

Chrysalis’ giggles turned into laughter. “Oh you are too cute when you are flustered, daughter of mine.”

Twilight gave her mother a deadpan look. “Finished?”

Chrysalis let her chuckles trail off. “Yes, I think I am quite done. Now… the story?”

“Yes, if you please.”

Chrysalis took a moment to recollect the old story, but it quickly returned to her.

“It is said long ago, all of our kind was ruled over by a single changeling, a single unifying, and oppressing voice among a single hive mind.”

“A single hive mind ruled by a single individual?” Twilight gasped. “How is that possible? If a drone tried to actively link with an entire hive as we do it would drive them insane. Only queens are able to handle that many voices at once over the Head‐based Internal Vocalisation Egregore, whereas most drones merely are able to sense most in the hive and are only actively able to speak over it to us, those in their class and family! And even we have our limits.”

Her daughter’s information dump over, Chrysalis deadpanned: “Yes Twilight, I am fully aware.”

“I know but, if a queen tried to connect every changeling in existence at once it would tear them apart!”

“This changeling was anything but ordinary,” Chrysalis continued on despite the ramblings of her daughter. “Her power was extraordinary, as was her ruthlessness. She ruled over all changelings with an iron hoof, effectively robbing all, even the queens of their free will. Our kind was completely bound to her will, we couldn’t say no. We couldn’t rebel. In short, we couldn’t truly live.”

Chrysalis gave her daughter a moment to process this information. “It is said this hive was her home. And that from here she ruled her empire with evil intent, destroying all that got in her way. This was an age when the sun and moon moved by their own accord, when nature was unregulated and the existence of alicorns were a simple myth. The zebras and griffons were closest, and were subjugated in their earliest history, history now lost to time. Ponykind however, would escape her brutality as her empire never reached the shores of what would become Equestria, never mind the original land where the three tribes lived in their founding days.”

“So long ago, this planet was so chaotic back then, and I don’t think even Discord was alive then to make it so!”

“Indeed. But that is the nature of evolution, and progression.”

“I guess so,” Twilight agreed. “So? What happened to her?”

“The same thing that happened to King Sombra, and other similar tyrants,” Chrysalis stated like it was obvious. “Apparently one day a Changeling Queen got free of her control, and brought everything crumbling to the ground. She defeated the tyrant and likely killed her, creating the society we changelings have this very day.”

“Wow… that does seem pretty fantastical,” Twilight said. “The second theory seems more likely to be true.”

“Perhaps.” Chrysalis casually stated. “But so did Nightmare Moon once. As did the Crystal Empire, and the Elements of Harmony themselves. If you recall, even we were once relegated to mere myths and legends until the wedding a couple of years ago.”

“Touché,” Twilight conceded. “All that power for a single queen to hold…”

“Actually, according to the story the changeling in question wasn’t quite a queen but something… more. And far worse.”

“I see,” Twilight hummed in contemplation. “Still, best to take it with a grain of salt. But if I can, I certainly will be putting research time into this!”

“I had a feeling you would, checklists are going to be involved I assume?”

“Of course!”

“Of course.” Chrysalis repeated in a deadpan voice. “Anyway, enough stories. I believe we were heading towards the council chamber?”

“Ah, right. We should probably get on with that...” Twilight chuckled.

Chrysalis herself chuckled in return. “Come on, let’s go.”

Just as the two royal changeling turned to continue on down the corridor, the two froze in place as the door to the war room opened and several changelings in blue and red armor came piling on out. The drones eyed the queen and princess spitefully as they sauntered on past, but did no more than that.

But that was not the worst part.

The worst part came when Queen Crudelis followed them out.

“Oh buck my life,” Chrysalis broadcasted over the entire hive.

When Crudelis spotted the two other royal changelings her blood red eyes locked on to their green and lavenders ones, an unnerving grin spreading across her face.

“Ah! There is my favourite niece!” Crudelis exclaimed in fake cheer.

“I am your only niece, Crudelis. What do you want?” Chrysalis snarled.

Crudelis rolled her eyes. “Oh please, do you have to act that way towards family? I have been dying to see you again, and to meet a certain other.”

Twilight flinched as Crudelis’ eyes locked solely onto the young princess. “Twilight Sparkle. You have no idea how pleased I am to finally meet the latest addition to our family. How are you my dear? Well I hope?”

“Fine, thank you.” Twilight responded through gritted teeth, half tempted to bear her fangs, knowing it would likely do little to intimidate the much older Changeling Queen.

“Good, I heard about that nasty business with that dastardly assassin a while back, I hope the scar doesn’t bother you too much?”

Twilight instinctively placed a hoof on the permanent mark on her chitin, while Chrysalis flashed her fangs angrily, eliciting little more than an amused smirk from Queen Crudelis.

“If you would excuse us, ‘aunt’ Crudelis. We have business to attend to.”

“Come now Chrysalis,” Crudelis smiled. “You can set all that aside for a while.”

Crudelis turned back to Twilight, “Besides, I have heard so much about you Twilight. Defeating as many evils as you have, you certainly are quite the hero back in Equestria. If you were a pony you may have even ascended to an alicorn.”

“That was the original plan, apparently…” Twilight admitted.

“I thought as much, Element of Magic.”

Twilight glared at Crudelis. “Well I have heard much about you too, Crudelis.”

“Oh?” Crudelis was all ears.

“Yes. Rather impressive how you convinced a dragon to murder a fellow queen!” Twilight accused

Crudelis snorted. “I see you are rather privy to rumours and speculation my dear, but yes my sister’s death was terribly tragic. Honestly though, it wouldn’t be that hard for any queen to convince a dragon commit such an act, a life debt is a very serious thing to their kind. Such a queen might even have a dragon like that in her service to this very day. Actually, don’t you have a dragon yourself?”

“You aren’t denying it,” Twilight pointed out spitefully.

“Aren’t I?” Crudelis smirked.

“Enough of this,” Chrysalis stood in between Crudelis and her daughter. “Don’t you have a council to run?”

Crudelis sighed. “Yes I suppose I do. But don’t worry, we’ll be seeing each other very soon.”

Crudelis brushed past Chrysalis and began to walk down the corridor in the opposite direction of where Chrysalis and Twilight were heading, much to their relief.

“She is meant to be related to us?” Twilight asked.

“Come on, the council chamber is just down the hall.”

Twilight examined the council chamber with great interest. The room was circular in shape with around thirty seats spanning the edges of the hall. The roof was made up of some kind of semi-transparent material Twilight couldn’t identify. It allowed sunlight to enter but it wasn’t transparent enough to clearly see out. In the centre of the roof the crystal keeping up the perception filter hummed away as it did its work, as it had done for thousands of years preceding that day. The floors were tiled with intricate patterns and shapes. Similar decorations adorned the walls and pillars of the structure which had all been masterfully crafted with gold and various other materials, and then well-kept over the hive’s long history.

It wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to visually replace all the council seating with one giant throne at the end of the room, as it would have looked back when it was still utilised as the hive’s throne room. And when Twilight looked at the design of the room her thoughts were brought back to the story her mother had told her. She could certainly imagine some king or changeling empress running an empire from the room she now stood in.

Her scholar side was squealing like a little filly Twilight.

Fifteen guards lined the room, one from every hive attending the council. Each held the usual stoic expression on their faces. Spike was also present, speaking to a few other drones about the event the next day.

“Hey Twilight!” Spike called when he spotted the Princess.

“Hey Spike,” Twilight replied back to the young dragon. “How are things coming along?”

“Nicely. Things are just about ready for tomorrow.”

“Good to know. But… wow! Have you seen this place?”

“Yup. It is pretty impressive. Actually, I am surprised you haven’t started excavating it already.”

Twilight groaned. “I am not that bad!”

“Uh-huh.”

Author's Note

Guess which of the three stories behind the hive is true... :trollestia:

Also, I am sure you spotted the new work-in-progress cover art? You should go check out and support its creator:
http://jesuka.deviantart.com/

41 - Chase

The Crystal Empire

The wondrous glow of the moon weaved its way throughout the shimmering crystalline structures of the Crystal Empire, illuminating Luna’s night sky. The stars twinkled down onto the planet’s surface, the far away celestial bodies forming complex and fascinating patterns which ponies and changelings, like Twilight Sparkle, loved to discover and map.

And Princess Luna would have sworn all those stars laughed when Vladimir Vespertilio crashed head first into a large dumpster.

“It’s getting away!” Vladimir shouted at his colleagues, grumpily swiping a banana peel off of his muzzle.

Shining Armor and Broad Sword shot past as Scarlet Snow briefly stopped to levitate the lunar captain out of his predicament.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“Don’t mention it,” Scarlet smirked as she took off after the others, Vladimir following closely behind.

All four ponies were armoured up in their usual gear, the three visitors to the empire having taken their armors with them. Shining was in his old purple and gold Guard Captain’s armor, Broad Sword in his all golden Solar kit, Vladimir in his blue Night Guard armor and Scarlet in her silver standard issue EUP combat armor. Scarlet however, did not wear a helmet like the other three, having never particular used one due to it potentially obstructing her spell casting.

After ducking and weaving through several alleyways they managed to catch up with the Captain of the Solar Guard and the Crystal Prince, both of whom were mere metres behind the fleeing black figure of a changeling drone.

In desperation, Soronis lit up her horn and grabbed onto a slightly out of place, but well enough hidden in the alley, ventilation box. She tore the device off the wall and flung it at the pursuing ponies.

“Watch out!” Shining Armor shouted as he lit up his horn to form a protective shield around himself and Broad Sword who were right in the path of the falling ventilation box. The pink bubble blinked to life just as the box hit, shattering into a few dozens of pieces on contact.

As Vlad and Scarlet skidded to a halt to check on their friends, all four ponies saw the young changeling flick her wings to do a ninety degrees turn into yet another alley.

“Blast!” Broad Sword shouted, his wings ruffling in annoyance. “This is getting ridiculous!”

Panting slightly, Shining Armor examined the two ponies who just caught up with himself and his successor in the Solar Guard.

“Hey? Where are the others?”

Vladimir looked over his shoulder with a sheepish grin and a shrug. “I think they fell behind.”

Shining groaned. “Extra drills for the lot of them! I swear it!”

“We need a plan,” Broad Sword said.

“What we need, is divine alicorn intervention. Why isn’t Cadance helping?” Vladimir asked.

“Um…” Shining Armor rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. “Baby alicorn tantrums.”

“Ah,” Understanding showed on the Thestral’s face. “In that case then I think her hooves are full already.”

“Her sacrifice will be honoured!” Scarlet giggled.

“I hate to burst your bubble but… the changeling?” Broad Sword interrupted.

“Right!” Shining Armor exclaimed. “Vladimir and Broad Sword, you two skulk around the exits to the alleys. While you do that myself and Scarlet will try and flush it out, understood?”

“You got it boss!” Scarlet stood at Shining’s side while Broad Sword and Vladimir nodded and took off to do their part.

Scarlet turned to Shining, “So… things usually this exciting around here?”

Shining chuckled, “Not usually. Don’t tell Cady but… I kind of missed this.”

“Love the thrill of danger huh?” Scarlet smirked.

“You’re the EUP officer, you should know,” Shining shot back.

“True enough.”

Shining Armor’s smile fell as he took on a far more serious expression. “In all seriousness though. I want you to take it easy. No overexerting yourself, that is an order.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“You’re with child are you not? It may not be showing yet but that is no reason to be reckless about things.”

Scarlet gawped at the prince of the crystal empire. “How? How did you know that?”

“To be honest, it was Cadance. She saw the way you looked at Flurry, and how you were acting around your husband,” Shining Armor smirked. “And when she told me about it she was practically squealing like a filly in a sweet shop. She really is a sucker for all things love and relationship related.”

“I can imagine,” Scarlet deadpanned.

Shining Armor laughed, and before he could stop himself he said. “You have no idea; she had an entire secret room dedicated to matching up individuals she would love to see as couples.”

“Wait, what?”

Shining’s eyes widened in slight panic. “I really shouldn’t have told you that… oh she is going to kill me.”

Now it was Scarlet’s turn to laugh. “I promise not to tell a soul.”

Shining sighed in relief. “Thanks. Anyway, have you told Broad Sword yet?”

Scarlet grimaced. “No. I’ve been trying, I swear! It’s just… I always either get cold hooves or something interrupts!”

Shining Armor shot Scarlet a sympathetic smile. “I know what you mean. Cadance had the same problem trying to tell me. Something would always get in the way and in the end just blurted it out in the middle of court.”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yes, really. And she was so nervous about telling Twilight that we ended up inviting my little sister for a get-together in Ponyville and then sent her on some elaborate treasure hunt. It is a good thing Pinkie Pie can keep a secret.”

“Never a dull life in Equestria, huh?”

“Point is,” Shining continued. “Just take your time. Tell him when you are ready.”

“Or send him on some elaborate treasure hunt?” Scarlet grinned.

“Or send him on some elaborate treasure hunt,” Shining jokingly agreed. “Speaking of a hunt, we really should get moving quicker.

“Right.”

Vladimir and Broad Sword found themselves in one of the Crystal Empire’s many streets. No other ponies were about and all was quiet.

“Where did that changeling get to?” Vladimir asked to nopony in particular.

“Keep sharp,” Broad Sword said. “Stop anypony you spot looking shifty, it could disguise itself as a crystal pony.”

“Or even one of us,” Vladimir pointed out.

Broad Sword conceded his point, with a slight scowl on his face. “Don’t remind me. Stick together.”

“Understood, I suppose we better do the same with Scarlet and Shining if we see them?”

“Just to be safe.”

“Then I hope you brought the stuff,” Vladimir motioned towards a couple of pouches Broad Sword had attached to his gleaming golden armor.

Nodding, Broad Sword opened the pouch and conjured a small container of a green paste like substance.

Vladimir examined the container. “That paste is able to dispel a changeling’s disguise, right?”

“Right,” Broad Sword nodded in confirmation. “Given to us by Queen Chrysalis and the original formulae improved upon by a zebra shamaness living in the Everfree Forest. Any changeling that comes in contact with it is immediately identified as one.”

“Improved by a shamaness? Improved how?” Vladimir asked.

“Apparently before it took up to two minutes to work. Now it is instantaneous.”

“Well,” Vladimir pointed to a nearby alleyway. “Seems we will get to put it to the test.”

Two crystal pony guards came cantering out of the alley. One was a mare and the other a stallion, both spun around when they spotted the captains of both the lunar and solar guard regiments.

“Captains!” Both began to approach.

“Hold it there you two!” Broad Sword ordered. “Who are you?”

The two ponies stopped and looked at each other nervously.

The stallion spoke, “I’m Private Valiant Shield, and this is Private Crystal Strike. We were with you when the changeling fled.”

Broad Sword handed Vladimir the container with a nod. “Hold for a moment, the group split and we need to verify you’re who you say you are.”

Vladimir opened up the container and placed some of the paste onto his hoof, which he in turn then placed onto the faces of both Valiant and Crystal, much to their chagrin.”

They waited for a few moments, and when nothing happened the two crystal ponies were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“They’re clean,” Vladimir called out to Broad Sword.

“Not anymore we’re not, that stuff smells disgusting!” Cried Crystal strike.

“Hold on,” Valiant interrupted. “What about you two, how do we know neither of you aren’t the changeling?”

Vladimir smiled. “Good catch private,” He praised the young crystal guard.

Vladimir took out more of the paste and placed an adequate bit on his own face before chucking the pot over to Broad Sword, who did the same.

Once they were all confirmed to be who they said they were, they could finally get back to business.

“What happened back there?” Broad Sword demanded to know. “Where did all of you go?”

Crystal and Valiant shared a glance. “We all got separated in the alleyways. We stuck together but I don’t know where Flash Sentry and the others ended up.”

Vladimir chuckled. “Well just to give you fair warning, Prince Armor is going to be having you do extra drills.”

“Aw crap,” Crystal muttered under her breath.

Soronis peaked gently over the edge of the alley where she was hiding. In the street just beyond four pony guards stood talking.

The changeling groaned to herself. She had been so close to getting back to her sister, she was nearly at the cellar when she stumbled right into a crystal pony who raised the alarm, and thus the chase began anew. The past couple of days had been spent diving in alley after alley with barely any sleep. She was starving too. She had stolen physical foods here and there but she absolutely refused to consume any of the love energy she was storing within her, despite what her instincts were screaming at her to do.

The energy was meant for Puellula.

And now she was trapped here, unable to return to her starving sister. At least there had been no sign the ponies had found her, which was about her only comfort at this point.

Soronis mentally weighed her options. She could go through the ponies in the street and into the other alleyway on the other side, though she couldn’t disguise herself to get past as they had that accursed green paste that could reveal changeling infiltration. She could also just try to run right past them, though that meant starting the chase all over again. And she doubted she could keep getting chased and get away forever.

Her second option was to double back into the alleys. However, there was a good chance of running into Prince Armor and the other mare that had split off from the rest and had been searching for her.

Her choices weren’t great.

But in the end she decided to go for door number two, deciding her chances at slipping by her two pursuers was still greater than the chances of escaping yet another chase with the city guards.

Luckily it turned out to be the correct choice. If she had tried option one and got past those in the street itself she would have run into Flash Sentry and two other guards coming down the very alley she was planning on slipping into, right into her own capture. On doubling back, despite a close call on an intersection she was just able to sneak past unscathed.

However, if one thing was certain it was that once again Soronis would be unable to head back to the cellar. And that Puellula would still be alone.

Fire.

Screaming.

That was all the young nymph could see and hear as her mother and older sister ushered her through the destroyed hallways of their hive. The hive mind was silent, dead along with their queen as she fell right before their very eyes. Now they ran.

Puellula didn’t know where.

She didn’t really understand why.

But they had to run.

Changelings in blue and red armor tried grabbing at them, only for her mother to lash out in desperation, stunning the changelings and allowing them a few seconds to continue running.

The exit was in sight. And they were the only three to make it there.

But it was not alright, as those changelings in red and blue were just behind them.

Puellula saw her mother and sister speak briefly. Soronis seemed distressed, tears fell down both their faces.

Puellula’s mother picked up a weapon from a fallen changeling nearby.

“I love you,” She uttered as she turned to bravely face their pursuers.

“Mama no!” Puellula screamed as Soronis levitated her up and flung her onto her back.

The clash of steel could be heard along with spellfire as Soronis ran out of the hive’s exit and into the open day on the surface.

Soronis ran until her legs finally gave way, Puellula tumbling from her back and onto the grassy surface below.

And they were alone.

…

Puellula wakened with a scream, tears flowing out of her glowing blue eyes as she looked around desperately for her mother.

Only to see a decrepit old wine cellar.

Her thoughts remained on her family. She missed her mother and her father terribly.

‘I even miss my brother. He was kinda mean, but I loved him. He was always there to protect me.’

Her stomach grumbled violently, and she weakly reached over to grab a few stale biscuits from a packet. She sniffled when she saw that she was almost out. That, combined with the near depleted love energy within her and the lack of a hive mind connection, was becoming unbearable. She knew she would have to leave soon, even if Soronis had asked her not to.

She began to cry. Soft sobs echoed throughout the cellar, and yet they went unheard.

She wanted her sister.

Where was she?

42 - The Council

The First Hive

Twilight rolled erratically underneath the covers, as a tight grimace crossed her face. Chrysalis began to rouse from her own slumber as she heard her daughter’s distress, and she blinked open a single eye to see what was going on.

Twilight was panting heavily as if she had been running. She also seemed to be locked in a death battle with her covers, and fear was evident on her features.

Chrysalis slipped out of her own bed and swiftly moved to her daughter’s side, gently placing a hoof on her shoulder and softly shaking her awake.

“Twilight?” Chrysalis quietly cooed. “It is just a nightmare, you can wake up now.”

Twilight slowly came to a halt as her eyelids fluttered open. The morning sun’s rays nearly blinded her as they made contact with her eyes, causing her to blink rapidly as she wiped away the sleep with the back of her hoof. The young princess sat up in the bed and looked around in confusion, her sleep addled mind figuring out where and when she was. Eventually her gaze rested on her mother, who was providing Twilight with a comforting smile.

“Mother? Is it morning already?” Twilight sleepily asked.

“Yes,” Chrysalis responded. “Though it seemed like the morning couldn’t come quickly enough for you, my daughter.”

Twilight chuckled sheepishly. “Y-yes. You could say that…”

“Another nightmare?”

Almost like she was a foal again, or rather nymph, Twilight simply gave a sheepish nod in confirmation. In this fact Chrysalis found some amusement, but naturally also created more motherly concern.

The Changeling Queen sighed, “Was it about… him again? Like the one Princess Luna halted before?”

“Yes,” Twilight admitted. “Except this time it took place here, in this hive. Things started out as normal, we were getting ready for the council when I took a wrong turn and got lost. After that, that assassin showed up, and then things pretty much went the same as last time.”

“Whereabouts in the sequence did I interrupt the dream?”

“Around where Luna did,” Twilight said, though her face took on an extremely disturbed expression. “Though a little later… I actually felt his blade begin to… to…”

Twilight clutched tightly onto the scar on her chest, her hooves shaking.

Chrysalis gently brought Twilight into a motherly embrace, nuzzling her gently to allay her fears.

“Why now?” Twilight shakily asked.

“Why what?” Chrysalis asked in return, still holding into her daughter.

“These dreams are only now beginning again, two years later? I am not ready to deal with post-traumatic stress syndrome.”

“Don’t be silly Twilight, why would you develop such a thing so long after the event?”

Despite the current frailty Twilight was displaying, she still managed to enter lecture mode ever so slightly. “Actually, I have read extensively on the subject, particularly after Shining Armor’s episode. My research states that symptoms first appear at least six months after the traumatic event. That could mean months, or even years later!”

“I think you are just overreacting… again,” Chrysalis chuckled in an attempt to brighten the mood.

“But-“

“Twilight, what do you feel when you think on that dream?” Chrysalis looked her daughter in the eyes.

Twilight took a moment to answer. “Fear and… frustration.”

“Frustration? And what about when you think about the actual attack?”

“Where are you going with this?” Twilight asked.

“Please Twilight, just answer the question.

“A-alright,” Twilight conceded. “When I think back on that day I feel… resentment. He tried to kill me, to kill you, and he did kill Longshot!”

“Understandable,” Chrysalis said. “Is that all?”

“I… think so? Why?” Twilight raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

Chrysalis grinned. “Why is it you feel no fear for the event, but only for the dream? And you also mentioned frustration. This is truly Princess Luna’s area of expertise, but as you mother I must also get to the bottom of this. So, could there be another reason for your dreams?”

Twilight’s eyes scrunched her muzzle as she thought back on the last two dreams. The chase and the bodies of her friends all terrified her beyond belief. Those images would stay locked away if Twilight had anything to say about it. But that wasn’t what focused her attention on, there was something else.

Twilight’s eyes widened.

‘That Celestia damned name. The one the assassin said, but I cannot recall. With this council I have been pondering that far more lately, that must be it!’

“You might be right, I think there is something else.”

“Oh?” Chrysalis said. “Care to share?”

“Not right now. Later, but not now,” Twilight responded.

Chrysalis frowned. “Are you sure? I am here to talk whenever you need me, you know that right?

“Of course I do!” Twilight gave her mother a reassuring smile. “I just need to sort some things on my own. Whether I succeed or fail, I promise I will tell you when I am ready.”

“Well, alright. Just go steady OK?” Chrysalis asked of her daughter with profound motherly concern radiating off of her.

“I will, but haven’t we got a council meeting to get ready for?”

Chrysalis looked over to a clock on the desk, which read that it was eight forty, the alarm set to go off at nine.

“True,” Chrysalis stated. “We only have twenty more minutes to sleep anyway, and the council starts at ten. We might as well get up and ready now.”

Chrysalis moved away from Twilight’s bed and with a flick of her jagged black horn green magic took hold of her own bed’s sheets and straightened them out neatly. Twilight herself quickly vacated her own bed and did the same.

Twilight moved over to the desk and brought up a small mirror in her magic as she began to sort out her bed-head. Chrysalis looked on as her daughter did up her mane, while she herself simply flattened down a few loose strands and that was that, much to Twilight’s bemusement.

“We are going into the most important event changeling’s hold and you aren’t even going to do up your mane?” Twilight deadpanned.

“Since when were you so fussed?”

“Normally I am not. But in this case it is like dining with Princess Celestia; just without exquisite silverware placement!”

Chrysalis rolled her eye. “Oh no, whatever would Celestia do without exquisite silverware placement?”

“It is the proper thing to do!” Twilight protested.

“This is the same mare that set up the Grand Galloping Gala, just so it could be ruined. Twice. Do you really think she cares for any of that, truly?” Chrysalis smirked knowingly.

“Well…”

“And do you ever go to such lengths with me?”

“What? No! Why would I?”

“Because I am Queen?” Chrysalis suggested.

“But you are my mother! Why would I-"

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

Twilight pouted. “Alright, point taken. Never mind me; the mare with the three mothers over here.”

Chrysalis laughed heartily. “I do believe we have discovered the very title history will remember you by.”

Twilight could only groan.

“The Mare with Three Mothers? Or the Three Mothered Mare?” Chrysalis mused behind a muzzle wide grin.

Twilight could only groan louder.

Chrysalis and Twilight were admitted entrance to the council chamber by the two changelings guarding the one and only doorway leading inside. One of the guards was in blue and red armor; the other wore all green armor. Carduus was talking to another guard nearby in cyan armor going over a few final security checks as the long awaited council finally was about to begin.

Seven of the queens were already sat in their respective seats. Queen Crudelis, being the event’s organiser, sat in the seat at the ‘head’ of them all, examining all new arrivals intently.

Unlike the previous day, she barely spared Twilight and Chrysalis a glance as they walked into the chamber.

The other queens seated were Xerox, Plastron, Pupa, Tempora, Antannae and Queen Cocoon. Cocoon stood out to Twilight however, this was because there was a much smaller changeling royal stood by her side, to the left. Like her mother she had a teal coloured mane and green eyes, and also just like her mother her hair was cut short with a single braid hanging down.

“Who is that?” Twilight pointed at the unknown individual.

Chrysalis looked over to where Twilight was gesturing to, and shook her head. “I do not know. I was unaware Cocoon had birthed an heir. We will find out soon enough.”

“You highnesses,” a voice called to their right.

Both royals turned to see the drone in cyan armor that Carduus was conversing with approaching them.

“Yes, what can I do for you?” Chrysalis asked.

The drone levitated a list. “Your seats.”

“Ah, I see,” Chrysalis said. “Where are we located?”

“Four seats to Queen Crudelis’ left, on Queen Cocoon’s immediate left and Queen Draco’s right.

“Thank you.”

“Hold on,” Twilight interrupted. “I thought Crudelis’ drones were taking charge of organising all of this.”

“If they had their way,” the drone responded. “I am sure you are aware of Crudelis’ mixed reputation. Queens like Vulgaris and Antannae may trust her, but others such as my Queen Xerox do not. I’m sure you can sympathise, your highness.”

“Ah, I understand.”

The drone gave a respectful nod, before going off to direct the newly arrived Queen Orbata.

“Come Twilight, we best take our seats.” Chrysalis began to move forwards.

Nodding, Twilight followed. On reaching their assigned spot Chrysalis sat down in the chair while Twilight, being only a princess and not a queen, had to make do with standing to her mother’s right. She saw Orbata take a seat directly across from them while Queens Carapace and Acadica entered together next, shortly followed by Queen Ingrica.

When Twilight eventually looked to her right, she saw she was standing right next to the other princess she had spotted earlier. Like Twilight had been, the princess was studying all the arriving queens. The princess seemed to be of Twilight’s age and was but an inch taller, if even that.

This being the only other changeling princess Twilight had met by that point, there was only one thing to do.

Make friends.

“Hi, my name is-” Twilight began in a cheerful tone.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the Princess finished without looking her way. “Yes, I know who you are. That drama in Canterlot made you light up like a pony Hearth's Warming tree. I don’t think there is a single changeling royal that doesn’t know of you by this point.”

“Oh… right,” Twilight half-chuckled. “And you are?”

The Princess turned to face Twilight for the first time. “Princess Insecta.”

“Well it is nice to meet you Insecta!” Twilight regained her cheery mannerisms.

Insecta seemed visibly uncomfortable. “Um… thanks?”

“So! Have you been to one of these before?”

“No,” Insecta responded. “It is my first time here.”

“It is? Are you nervous?”

“No,” she replied bluntly.

“Oh, alright. So… are there any other princesses you know of?”

“I have heard there is another that is far older than either of us. I do not know more than that however.”

“Vulgaris’ daughter, Imperious,” Draco said as she sat in her seat to Chrysalis’ left.

“Draco, how are you?” Chrysalis asked.

“Well. Eager to get this over with.”

“Agreed,” Chrysalis said.

On cue the final two queens, Pensylvanica and Vulgaris, entered the council chamber. When they both sat down on the opposite side of the room Twilight could see a changeling royal the size of a fully grown Changeling Queen standing by Vulgaris’ side.

“That would be Imperious then,” Insecta stated.

All conversation suddenly died as a flash of red caught the attention of all those present. When Queen Crudelis was satisfied she had all of their attention, she let her horn simmer out and spoke.

“If all are present, could all guards leave the room and take your positions outside. This is not for your ears.”

All of the guards, Carduus included, bowed to the gathered queens and left the chamber. The door was sealed shut behind them.

“Now that is taken care of,” Crudelis continued. “I am pleased to announce this council is now in session. Before we start, we have two new royals to welcome. Princesses Twilight and Insecta are new to the council, and are the heirs to their respective hives.”

All eyes turned to examine the two young princesses, and both couldn’t help but shrink back slightly under the scrutiny, causing Princess Imperious to scoff.

“We shall now move onto the first topic of this council,” Crudelis stated.

“Good,” Queen Xerox spoke. “Because we can finally get some answers.”

“Answers, dear Xerox?” Crudelis leaned casually in her chair. “Answers to what? The meaning of life?”

“Don’t play coy, Crudelis. What happened to Queen Vespula, and why is she dead?”

Murmurs spread throughout the group, all of the queens had obviously too wanted answers to that question.

“I think I can shed some light,” Draco spoke.

“Please then Draco, do tell,” Crudelis urged.

“I will. On conversing with Queens Xerox and Cocoon last night, I discovered the latter was the first queens to have drones on the scene.”

“It is true,” Cocoon confirmed.

Draco carried on. “When her drones arrived, like my own they discovered heavy fighting had taken place, and Vespula’s drones had fought to the last. Vespula herself was found in the throne room, beheaded.”

“Where are you going with this, Draco?” Crudelis asked simply.

“It must have taken a being of incredible power to take down Queen Vespula in, what appears to be, single combat. Also, when Cocoon’s drones arrived, there were no bodies of the attackers to be found.”

“So they had been cleared up beforehoof?” Vulgaris noted.

“Indeed,” Draco replied. “Except they left something behind,” Draco nodded to Queen Coccoon.

Cocoon nodded back before turning to Insecta. “My daughter, if you would please?”

Insecta’s horn lit up green as she brought around a bag from behind her mother’s seat, which she flung into the centre of the council chamber.

There was a loud, metallic clang as the bag’s contents came rolling out.

It was a charred helmet. A helmet coloured red and blue.

Voices erupted from the gathered queens as they all began to erratically shout over one another.

“Silence!” A red flashed emendated from Crudelis’ horn once more, bringing to council back to order.

“Queen Crudelis!” Xerox snarled. “Care to explain this?”

Crudelis smirked. “It appears I have been caught red hoofed. I killed Queen Vespula.”

Shock rolled through the assembled royalty.

“But why? Why kill her? She was no threat to you!” Queen Pensylvanica demanded to know.

Queen Crudelis sat at her full height. “I placed my trust in Vespula. A great amount of trust. Sadly, I was sorely disappointed with the results. She betrayed my trust, and she thus paid the price for it.”

“But death!?” Queen Orbata exclaimed. “Did she truly deserve that?”

Queen Ingrica nodded in agreement. “Look around you Crudelis. There were once thirty queens. Now there are nineteen. How much more will our numbers fall?”

“We have been worse off,” Vulgaris pointed out.

“Not by much,” Xerox rebuked.

“When she betrayed my trust she became a threat, and I dealt with it. Would you not have done the same?” Crudelis asked innocently.

As Twilight listened to the murmurs going around the room following the statement, she could tell the reactions were mixed. Some, like Vulgaris and her daughter, approved. Others, like Xerox and Cocoon, did not.

“I for one agree with Queen Crudelis, she eliminated a threat, nothing more,” Antannae said.

“Of course you would side with her, Antannae,” Queen Draco growled.

“We have our answers, but that is past now whether we agree or not,” Queen Carapace said. “What I wish to hear about is this little alliance between the Badlands Hive and Equestria.

“I agree,” Crudelis grinned as all eyes turned to Chrysalis and Twilight.

Chrysalis and Twilight glanced at each other briefly.

“What do you want to know?” Chrysalis asked after a pause.

“How, and why? Our race valued secrecy above all, now the whole world knows of us. It makes our lives just that little bit more difficult,” Queen Tempora spat.

“Why? I had to retrieve my daughter. And how? When assassins tried to kill Twilight the sun princesses assisted me in ending them, permanently.”

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed. “The lead assassin was, by the way, a changeling.”

The queens shared glances between one another, all seemed surprised. All except for Chrysalis, Draco, Crudelis and Queen Plastron.

“You mean, one of us tried to kill her through an agent?” Queen Pupa asked in surprise.

“Alright, that I didn’t know,” Insecta muttered.

“He is the one who did this,” Twilight said to the other princess, gesturing to the scar.

“Yes,” Chrysalis spoke again. “And I have my suspicions as to who is behind this.”

“Do you have any proof as to whom?” Crudelis asked.

Chrysalis glared at her aunt. “No, which is why I won’t mention names. For now.”

“There is no need,” Queen Plastron smirked. “I know who he was.”

Chrysalis and Twilight stared. “You do?”

“I once had an… agent deep in Canterlot. He was almost caught about a year ago and had to pull out due to that damned green paste you provided them, Chrysalis,” Plastron glared at the other queen. “But during his time there he saw the body, and recognised him.”

“So, who was it?” Chrysalis asked impatiently.

“His name was Serpens. And he was an agent of Queen Vespula.”

“What?” Chrysalis’ eyes widened, as did almost every other queen’s.

Crudelis could only watch on in delight.

“Are you certain?” Chrysalis nearly shouted.

“Fully,” Plastron responded. “He was her main agent, one renowned for his lack of a conscience. A cold hearted killer to his core, caring for none. Well, except for his parents and sisters according to Vespula herself when we once spoke.

“Well then,” Crudelis began. “It appears that she didn’t only betray my trust, but yours as well my dearest niece. Aren’t you glad I wiped out that snake and her hive?”

“You killed the children, not just the Queen!” Draco shouted.

“I had to be thorough.” Crudelis brushed off Draco’s accusation.

“Do you believe this?” Draco whispered over to Chrysalis.

“It didn’t sound like a lie…” Twilight reluctantly admitted.

“No, it didn’t. Plastron would have no motive to do so,” Chrysalis sighed. “But there is still a missing piece to this endless damned puzzle.”

“You still think Crudelis is involved?” Draco asked.

“I don’t know!” Chrysalis hissed.

“Well now that that mystery is sorted, can we get back to the topic at hoof?” Queen Tempora deadpanned.

“Yes, please continue,” Crudelis seconded.

“We know why. But you still revealed us Chrysalis, infiltration and gathering love is that much harder now,” Queen Pupa said.

“You could try following our example!” Twilight blurted out.

“What was that?” Tempora stared daggers at Twilight.

Twilight stood firm. “If you could create an alliance with Equestria, make peace, collecting love could become so much easier.”

“Why would they accept us? You are close to the sun princess’ heart, we don’t have that privilege,” Orbata stated.

“Not all of us frolic in the fields with little ponies,” Princess Imperious sneered. “Some of us live in the real world.”

“My brother and sister-in-law preside over the Crystal Empire. If you are willing to negotiate I could help you gain access to some of the love held in the heart.”

“Bullshit,” Imperious dismissed.

“She is correct,” Draco said. “My grandmother traded with Queen Amore.”

“She what?!” Crudelis shouted in surprise.

“They traded various items for a regular supply of love, and Amore was kind enough to keep us hidden. It was a pretty good deal until King Sombra murdered Amore.”

“Then perhaps this is something we can pursue?” Xerox asked.

Cocoon and Insecta whispered to each other briefly, before the former spoke. “We agree.”

Vulgaris shook her head. “And cast off over a millennia of tradition? Our race is meant to remain in the shadows, it is as simple as that.”

“This is likely a topic for another time, for now we should move on to more immediate matters.” Queen Crudelis said.

The Crystal Empire

Two old cellar doors creaked open as a small muzzle sheepishly poked its way out. The sun was blinding to the nymph after being cooped up in the dark wine cellar for so long, but she could no longer stay.

Puellula was terrified. She was starving to death and in her mind only her sister could make it better.

She had to find her.

It would be difficult without a hive mind, but she was one determined changeling.

Securing her small saddlebags over her back she made sure her book, scavenged comics and what little physical food she had left were all present.

She then picked a direction, and began to walk.

Author's Note

My cover art is finished! :pinkiehappy:

43 - Flashback: Fast Friends

The First Hive, Many Years Ago

“Chrysalis, stop staring,” Queen Avia warned her young daughter, who was staring in awe at the various queens scattered around the place.

“But, I have never seen so many queens before! How can you not be excited about this!?” Princess Chrysalis exclaimed.

Avia could only give a light-hearted chuckle at her daughter’s flustered features. “If you recall, I have been doing this a very long time. It is nothing new.”

Chrysalis pouted. “But what about the deep history this place must have? Imagine the books it must contain!” She shouted gleefully.

Avia rolled her eyes. “Chrysalis, if someday you have a daughter of your own and she is as enamoured with books as you are then our hive is doomed.”

“Oh hardy har,” Chrysalis deadpanned.

An amused grin graced Avia’s features. “I’ve also noticed you’ve started reading some of those pony romance novels?”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened. “What? No! Why would I ever read something like that?”

“Of Love and Loss I believe, authored by some little pony whose initials are T.Z? What does that stand for anyway?”

“Why would I know? I. Do not. Read that stuff!”

“I found it hidden under your pillow,” Avia grinned even wider.

Chrysalis just stood, unable to craft a response in a satisfactory manner.

Though she would not have to.

“Sister.”

Avia’s eyes widened at the new voice, and turned to see Queen Crudelis approaching.

“Sister…” Avia half-heartedly greeted back. “What do I owe the… pleasure?”

“This must be your daughter, Chrysalis is it?” Crudelis looked down onto the teenage changeling royal, who hid slightly behind her mother.

“You have no business with her,” Avia spat.

“Oh please Avi.” Crudelis rolled her eyes. “She is my niece.”

“Don’t call me Avi.”

Crudelis was legitimately taken aback. “What? Why not?”

“You lost that right when you murdered mother.”

Crudelis’ eyes narrowed. “I did what I had to.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Queen Avia mocked, before turning to her daughter. “Go on ahead Chrysalis, I will be along soon.”

Nodding, albeit reluctantly, Chrysalis left her mother to speak with Crudelis while she went on inside.

She found herself in a long corridor, and after about a minute of walking realised she had no idea where she was actually going.

“Ah, damn it,” Chrysalis muttered at the realisation.

She passed by a few more doors, but had yet to pass by another changeling. She was hoping to find a drone that could direct her out of the maze of a hive. Coming up on a T-junction in the corridor Chrysalis decided to take a right, and bumped head first into something.

“Owch!” Chrysalis shouted as she grabbed onto her throbbing horn, falling onto her rump in the process.

“Hey, are you alright?” another voice asked.

Chrysalis let go of her horn and looked up to see a changeling standing before her. The changeling had green draconic eyes and a teal mane done up in a neat bun, she also seemed to be about Chrysalis’ age.

“Hey, who are you?” Chrysalis asked.

“My name is Draco, yours?” Princess Draco held out a hoof.

“Chrysalis,” she responded as she accepted the hoofshake. “Could you help me? I might be a little lost.”

Draco chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry Chrysalis, I think we might be in the same boat then.”

“Oh, fantastic,” Chrysalis deadpanned.

“So, is this your first visit to the castle?” Draco asked. “It is mine.”

“Yes,” Chrysalis confirmed. “This place is amazing, don’t you think?”

“Um, I guess?” Draco shrugged.

“You guess?!” Chrysalis gawked. “Why can’t others just appreciate the history behind sites like these? I wonder who built it originally.”

“No idea. I never really thought about it.”

“Hmm,” Chrysalis tapped her chin with a hoof. “There must be a book on it somewhere.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “You really like books, huh?”

Chrysalis eyes glinted gleefully. “Are you kidding? What could be better than books and studying?”

“Anything,” Draco deadpanned.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “One day I will show the world the value of a good book.”

“I’m sure you will…” Draco smirked. “Say, since you seem to study a bunch, do you know any good spells?”

“One or two,” Chrysalis smiled. “Magical theory is one of the many areas I like to research into when I can.”

Draco’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, theory? As in, you don’t really know how to cast them?”

“Well…” Chrysalis twirled a hoof in the air. “Mother kind of has a strict policy against any unnecessary spellcasting that might blow up the hive. Or anything else that I might do to accidentally cause damage…”

“She seems kind of paranoid to me,” Draco stated.

“Perhaps. But she might have a good reason to be.”

Draco raised that eyebrow again. “What do you mean?

Chrysalis blushed in embarrassment. “Oh, there was an incident. It involved a statue, flying and one shattered crystal.”

Draco seemed rather confused. “Wait what? What do you mean by any of that?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Chrysalis quickly stated.

“Alright, are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Anyway…” Chrysalis changed the subject. “I have been practicing this one spell.”

“Oh? What is that then?”

“Portals.”

“Oh! I know about that one!” Draco exclaimed. “I’ve seen my mother and a few drones do it. I myself do not know how, but it is on my to-do list.”

“Well I can cast it!” Chrysalis stated with pride. “Want to see?”

“Sure,” Draco nodded. “Let’s see what you’ve got!”

With a happy grin Chrysalis lit up her horn a bright green. “Now, I’m only going to port myself a little to the left of us, it is just an example after all.”

Draco nodded in agreement.

“Alright, here we go!” Chrysalis activated the spell.

A tear opened in the ground beneath Chrysalis, and she quickly sank into it. A short distance away another one opened and Chrysalis emerged again.

There was just one problem.

“Um… help?” Chrysalis squeaked in embarrassment.

The portal had opened up in a wall. The wall itself had morphed and disfigured around Chrysalis, but she was now so tightly packed in that she was very, very stuck.

Draco erupted into a fit of giggles that sent her falling to the floor.

“Yeah yeah laugh it up…” Chrysalis groaned.

Draco managed to bring her giggles under control and shot Chrysalis an apologetic smile. “Sorry, but that was too funny!”

Chrysalis glared at Draco.

“Alright! I will help you out.”

Draco lit up her own horn and grabbed onto Chrysalis with a levitation spell. With both their efforts and after about a minute of trying Chrysalis popped from the wall and tumbled to the floor.

“T-thanks.”

Chrysalis looked up to see a hoof outstretched to her, Draco was offering to help Chrysalis up. Chrysalis accepted the help gratefully.

“You're welcome,” Draco smiled. “I like you Chrysalis. Do you want to hang out more?”

Chrysalis smiled back at Draco. “I would like that."

Author's Note

A bonus thing.

At least now we know where Twily truly gets her love of books and studying from. :trollestia:

44 - Revelations

The Crystal Empire

Night was falling once again, and Broad Sword stood with his wife at a blockade, located at the exit of one of the city’s numerous alleyways. They had identified the area where the mysterious changeling was seemingly keeping to, and were lying in wait for Shining and Vladimir to do their part while the other Crystal Guards kept the changeling boxed in. Their blockade was on a T-junction; from one direction Shining Armor and Vladimir would herd the changeling, while the place they were guarding was a quick exit out onto the street. The other direction only led to a dead end where the only exit was to fly up and over the buildings. While the changeling was more than capable of doing just that, the trap would already have been triggered.

Now they just had to wait.

“Where are they?” Scarlet shuffled nervously. “Do you think they encountered trouble?”

“You worry too much,” Broad Sword reassured. “They will do their job and then we can do ours. We just have to be patient.”

“I hope this plan works. It would be nice to get some shore leave in this shore leave.”

Broad Sword laughed. “Yes that would be nice. At least it doesn’t lack for excitement.”

Scarlet smiled. “True. Very true.”

Broad Sword’s face morphed into a scowl. “Since we have the time… why won’t you be returning to the EUP?”

“Huh?” Scarlet looked over towards her husband.

“You told me when we arrived you wouldn’t be returning to the EUP after this. I have yet to gain a definitive answer as to why from you,” Broad Sword said. “I enquired with Shining and even Princess Cadance about it, but all I got in return was those damned knowing smirks. You know how much I hate being out of the loop, so honey, please tell me what is going on.”

Scarlet sighed, but with a small smile formed, and Shining Armor’s words rang in her ears again. “I suppose now is a good a time as any.”

“For what!?” Broad Sword blurted out, a slight twitch in his eye.

“I…” Scarlet took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. “Broad Sword, I love you. So much. So much so I just know you are going to be a great father to our foal.”

Broad Sword froze as if he became victim to a wendigo.

“I’m pregnant,” Scarlet told her husband. “I found out when we got back to Canterlot from our honeymoon. I’ve been trying to tell you but-“

She was cut off as Broad Sword pulled her into a passionate kiss, and the two remained there contently for what seemed like days.

“You are amazing, you know that?” Broad Sword whispered as their lips parted.

“You’re not angry I took this long to tell you?” Scarlet asked nervously.

“Angry?” Broad Sword raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to be a father. How could I be angry with you?”

Scarlet breathed a sigh of relief.

“So, boy or girl?” Broad Sword asked enthusiastically.

Scarlet chuckled. “I don’t know yet, I’m due back at the hospital when we get back.”

Broad Sword took her hoof. “Well I will be there to-"

That was when the changeling nearly smacked right into them as it turned the corner, skidding to a halt mere inches away as the two ponies turned towards it, mouths agape at the surprise entrance.

The changeling stared at them for a few moments, being so close that Broad Sword and Scarlet Snow could see the changeling appeared to have a feminine build, finally cluing them in on the gender.

“Higottorunnowgobye!” the changeling blurted out as she turned tail to run in the opposite direction as fast as she could.

As she ran Shining and Vladimir skidded sharply around the corner in pursuit.

“Come on you two!” Vlad shouted as he chased the changeling drone.

Husband and wife both nodded as they fell into formation behind the Prince and Lunar Captain in pursuit of the fleeing drone.

After a few more twists and turns the alleyway opened up into a small box shaped plaza; there was a fountain in the middle and several benches spread around, the only exit that could be seen was a door leading into a building. A locked door.

Soronis looked around in panic. They just couldn’t give her a break! Every time she believed herself safe, able to return to her sister, she was quickly proven wrong. They had been at it for days, and it seemed like she had run out of road.

The changeling looked up and saw only one option of escape as the ponies came up behind her and began to bear down upon Soronis. She opened her gossamer wings and buzzed into air, flying as fast as she could to the top of the buildings.

Sparing a glance behind her, Soronis was confused to see the thestral and Pegasus not giving chase while the other two’s horns were silent.

She found out why however as she reached the top and smashed straight into a cyan magical barrier that sent her tumbling back down to the ground.

Princess Cadance landed on top of her barrier with her horn still glowing, looking down onto the crashed changeling.

“Nice one honey!” Shining Armor shouted up to his wife as he and the other began to approach the changeling.

Soronis looked up and her eyes widened fearfully as she saw them approach. She tried to get up but pain forced her back to the floor.

She was finished.

The ponies were surprised however when a small black missile shot past them from behind and took an aggressive stance in front of Soronis.

“Stay away from my sister!” Puellula screamed at the ponies.

“A child?” Broad Sword muttered.

“Puellula no!” Soronis shouted. “Run, get out of here! Please!”

The nymph didn’t listen. “If you come any closer I will hurt you. Like, really bad!” Puellula bared her small fangs in an attempt to look threatening, instead just coming off as more adorable than anything.

The barrier dispelled and Cadance dropped to the ground just behind the two changelings, causing Soronis to grab Puellula and try and hide her under a wing in an attempt at protecting her beloved sister.

However, Cadance offered no hostility, instead giving them a kind smile. “What are your names? You can call me Cadance if you would like.”

“Huh?” Soronis seemed incredibly confused.

“You’re just a child and her teenage sister, as far as I can see. And from the looks of you, you two are starving siblings, struggling to survive.”

“H-how can you tell?” Soronis stuttered.

“I am the Princess of Love. I can sense you are filled with love from the Crystal Heart, still undigested. Your sister however is starving! I can barely sense any within her.”

Tears began to brim Soronis’ eyes, and it wasn’t long before she completely broke down and tears began to rapidly fall to the floor.

“Don’t be sad sis, please?” Puellula pleaded as she gently nuzzled Soronis’ chest.

“Please don’t hurt us.” Soronis sniffled. “You are right, we are starving. We have no home to go back to, no queen, not even a hive mind. We’re dying!”

Shining Armor grimaced. “Twily told me not having a queen and hive mind is like losing a vital organ, a changeling’s life span is greatly reduced.”

“Who is Twily?” Puellula asked.

“My sister. She is a changeling herself. A princess.”

Soronis looked up. “Wait, what? Who is her mother?”

“Queen Chrysalis. She was adopted by my family when she was extremely young due to… difficulties.”

“So… you are not going to hurt us?” Soronis asked hopefully.

Vladimir smiled at the two changelings. “Kid, all you had to do was ask for help and we would have given it. Though I can’t say I didn’t enjoy such a good chase; I almost felt young again.” His smile became a smirk.

Soronis stared at the ponies in disbelief. “I… I didn’t know. I though you would do terrible things to us if you found us.”

“What are we going to do with them?” Scarlet asked. “We can’t leave them out here.

“We will take them back to the palace,” Shining said with finality. “We will get them fed, provide them some real beds and then, when my sister returns from the council, I can send her a message. She would be more than happy to welcome you into her hive.”

Soronis stared in disbelief. “A home? A hive? You are-"

“Yes,” Shining responded. “No one, pony or otherwise, deserves what you two have endured. Your days on the streets are over.”

The Prince grunted as he was glomped by the sisters. “Thank you! Thank you!” He was forced back onto his haunches.

Shining chuckled. “You’re both welcome,” he muttered as he gently pried the two off of him with his magic.

“Before we go,” Cadance interrupted. “I would really like to know why you are here at all. What happened to your hive?”

Soronis’ face fell. “We heard about this place from a small earth pony village, a place of love. After seeing our hive destroyed, it seemed the best option.”

“Your hive was destroyed?” Vladimir gawped.

“Yes. A few months after our brother went missing.”

“Your brother vanished?” Cadance gave them a look of sympathy.

“Yes,” Soronis replied as Puellula sniffled sadly. “Serpens was always rather severe to others, but he always cared deeply for us, and promised to protect us.”

“And you have no idea what happened to him?”

“No,” was the reply.

“So what happened after that?” Cadance asked softly.

“She came.”

Vespula’s Hive, Two Years Ago

The whole hive rumbled as an explosions went off somewhere within. Soronis and Puellula cowered behind their mother and father as the throne room doors suffered under the impact of a magical blast, the enchantments holding it together failing quickly. Dozens of other drones lined the room under the protection of changeling guards dressed in all black armor.

Queen Vespula sat on the throne, a look of steel on her features. She didn’t even flinch as the doors finally burst from the hinges and shattered into thousands of fragmented pieces.

Queen Crudelis casually strolled in, flanked by guards in red and blue armor. Vespula’s guards bared their fangs threateningly, but stayed guarding the civilians.

“Queen Vespula, you disappoint me. Your agent has failed.”

“I noticed,” Vespula coolly stated. “And now you destroy everything I have built.”

“You knew the consequences.”

“I never had much of a choice, did I?”

Crudelis smirked. “No.”

“Then let us do battle, Crudelis. And should I fall, you let my subjects leave.”

“Without a hive they will suffer anyway,” Crudelis pointed out.

“They will have a chance, that is enough,” Vespula rebuked.

Crudelis smirked, and charged her horn a terrifying red.

Vespula leapt from her throne and just in time to meet Crudelis’ red beam of magic with her own green, the two colours mixing as they collided and giving off terrific sparks and flames. The two queens struggled momentarily to one up the other as they pushed with all their might as the changelings looked on in anticipation.

However, Vepula’s eyes could only widen in horror as Crudelis suddenly began to gain ground and push back on Vespula’s own beam, and she could do nothing as her magic was exhausted and Crudelis’ stream of magic reached her horn. Several of her watching drones shouted out in terror.

Vespula screamed in pain as her crooked horn shattered, the queen dropping to the floor clutching her head as blood began to pour down her face and create a sickening puddle on the floor.

Crudelis calmly walked to stand over the downed queen, who looked up and spat blood into her murderer’s face.

“I hope Queen Chrysalis strikes you limb from limb for all you have done…” These were Vespula’s final words of defiance.

Unfazed, Crudelis lit up her horn with a crazed, animalistic snarl and parted Vespula’s head from her shoulders.

All of the deceased queen’s drones clutched their heads in pain as the hive mind was destroyed, their connections to their peers lost in a second.

“Wipe them out, all of them,” Crudelis declared.

Crudelis’ drones launched into action, one of the first attacks striking down the father of Soronis and Puellula before they could even react.

“Run!” their mother screamed as she grabbed onto her daughters and began to run through the chaos and out of the throne room.

Several civilians and protecting guards followed them out, many more dying in that throne room, the guards barely being able to put up a defence with the disorientation all the drones now felt in the hive mind’s absence.

One by one all fell to enemy blades and spellfire, until only three remained.

They ran and they ran until the hive’s exit was in sight, and then they stopped, Soronis looking at her mother in confusion.

“Soronis,” her mother addressed the young changeling. “Take Puellula and go.”

“W-what?” Soronis stuttered as tears streamed down her face.

“You will never make it if one of us doesn’t hold them off,” her mother tearfully said as the sound of approaching hooves became louder and louder.

Soronis’ mother placed a gently hoof onto her cheek. “Take care of each other, promise me that.”

“I… I promise.”

Her mother nodded as she picked up a nearby weapon from a fallen guard and began to walk back towards the approaching death.

“I love you.”

“Mama no!” Puellula screamed as Soronis used her magic to lift her sister onto her back and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

Present Day

“-and the rest you know,” Soronis concluded her story to the gathered ponies.

“Queen Crudelis,” Shining said. “I know that name.”

“As do I,” Cadance spoke. “I think we need to talk to Twilight.

“Agreed. Could you three take them back to the palace?” Shining asked of Broad Sword, Vladimir and Scarlet.

Vladimir nodded. “Come on you two. We’ll get you settled in.”

“One thing,” Cadance stopped them. “What was your brother’s occupation?”

“Infiltrator,” was Soronis’ reply.

Cadance nodded grimly. “You can go.”

When all the others had gone, Shining turned to his wife.

“I know that face.”

“What face?” Cadance asked.

“The foreboding ‘everything is awful’ face.”

The Princess sighed. “Crudelis already has a history with Twilight’s hive, and she destroyed the hive of this Queen Vespula, but there is something else.”

“What?”

“Crudelis destroyed their hive because an agent failed in doing something. This was the same time their brother went missing.” Shining’ eyes widened as she saw where his wife was going with what she was saying. “The same time that Twilight was nearly murdered by an unidentified changeling infiltrator posing as Broad Sword.”

“You think Serpens is the culprit?” Shining’s eyes narrowed.

“It is only speculation, but yes.”

“Which would mean Crudelis is behind all of this. And she is actively trying to kill Twily.”

Cadance slowly nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, we need to warn her!”

Cadance nodded, glowing her horn a bright cyan as she teleported herself and her husband directly to their study.

First Hive

Twilight recognised what was going on.

She was running down the exact same endless hallway as she had the previous night. She knew what would happen if she turned back, who she would meet.

“I need answers,” Twilight said to herself to calm her nerves.

Then, just like the previous two times, she turned back around and walked through the dream emulating the First Hive.

Like before the walk back was far shorter than it should have been, and it led to a single wooden door. Slowly, she pushed the door open, cautiously making her way inside.

That was when she once again saw the bodies.

The changeling guards she had with them on the day she was injured along with the two Solar Guards she also had with her that day. And of course, the broken body of Sergeant Longshot, his battered crossbow laying just a few metres away with blood soaked into the frame.

“Back again?” a mocking voice enquired.

“I’m not afraid of you,” Twilight defiantly stated.

A demonic chuckle echoed throughout the room in response. “Lying isn’t good for the soul, Sparkle.”

The bodies of Twilight’s friends began to appear again, Twilight completely unable to move a single muscle. She was locked in place as she awaited the inevitable.

A knife flicked past Twilight, held in a putrid green aura. The face of the grotesque mixture of Broad Sword and a changeling was in her peripheral vision. The knife began to close in, nearing her chitin and her heart.

Only for it to stop as a lavender aura gripped the blade.

“What?” The creature tried to move the knife.

“I’m bored of this,” Twilight growled.

The changeling princess pried the blade from the creatures own magical grip and tossed it to once side as she spun to face the creature head on.

Snarling, the abomination of Twilight’s nightmare launched a green bolt of magic at her, only to be intercepted by a shield. Twilight lunged to the creature and pinned it to the floor, fangs glared threateningly. It tried squirming from her grip but found itself unable.

“Who sent the assassin two years ago?” Twilight demanded to know.

The thing smirked. “How should I know? I’m just a figment of your imagination.”

“I heard the name, and somewhere in my mind that memory exists. And you are the key to unlocking it, so tell me!”

Twilight stared the creature in the eyes, all defiance fading away as it sighed in defeat.

“Queen Crudelis sends her regards,” Broad Sword’s voice spoke, sounding all around her.

“Queen Crudelis sends her regards,” it repeated.

That one phrase repeated over, and over. The rage in Twilight built every time she heard it uttered.

“Finally,” Twilight muttered.

Twilight looked down at the thing she had pinned to the floor and it looked back. She considered it for a moment in disgust, before sinking her fangs into the creature’s neck and ending its life.

Author's Note

Just FYI, the last Flashback chapter was mainly added as a final bit of cutesy comic relief. Things get a little dark pretty quickly this point on. This is the middle act, the 'empire strikes back' if you will.

Also, did any of you guess Soronis and Puellula were the sisters of Serpens? I did sprinkle some clues in 'Chase' and 'The Council' :raritywink:

45 - Change Of Plans

"What do you make of it?" Carduus asked.

“Make of what?” Queen Chrysalis asked in return.

Queen Chrysalis and Captain Carduus were situated in the room shared by the two royals from The Badlands Hive. Twilight was sound asleep in her bed while the other two talked in the centre of the room.

“This Serpens character. If he was the one to attack Princess Twilight…”

“I know, Captain. I know. Vespula sent the assassin, Crudelis killed Vespula.”

“So… what do you make of that?” Carduus asked again. “Do you believe it?”

Chrysalis sighed. "I don't know. If what was said in the council is true, then Vespula was behind the assassination attempt, not Crudelis."

“But what did Vespula do to ‘betray’ Crudelis. I find it hard to believe she isn’t involved.”

Chrysalis only responded with a grim look.

“Not to question you, my Queen, but why didn’t you press the issue?”

“Oh I would have loved to,” Chrysalis snarled. “But too few queens cared, we would have just been overruled.”

“Wouldn’t have cared? An entire hive has been wiped out!” Carduus protested.

“A small hive, and insignificant to the majority. Had I tried to press further it would have likely been myself, Draco, Xerox and Cocoon versus eleven others. Guess who would win that vote. Some others may not have been particularly impressed by her actions, but they had little motivation to pursue it further when they were more interested in their own petty issues.”

Carduus groaned. “That’s politics for you…”

Chrysalis sighed. “Indeed.”

Neither noticed as Twilight’s eyes opened, waking from her revelation filled slumber. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and swivelled her head to see the other two occupants of the room.

Carduus tapped his chin as he thought to himself. “So we are back to square one. With no idea if your aunt is behind this.”

“Unfortunately. And as much as I hate to admit it, perhaps she wasn’t behind this one. Perhaps it was Vespula who went after Twilight after all.”

"Objection!" Twilight shouted as she fluttered off of her bed and jumped between the other two startled changelings in the room. "Heh, sorry. I’ve always wanted to say that ever since I read that book with the spikey maned ace attorney. Either way, I KNOW Crudelis did it!"

“Hold on…” Carduus deadpanned. “Spikey maned ace attorney?”

“Quiet, Captain,” Chrysalis shushed Carduus, eliciting an irritated groan of protest from him. “Twilight, what do you mean you know Crudelis is behind it?”

“What Serpens said to me two years ago, right before he attacked me, I have finally remembered!” Twilight quickly informed them.

Chrysalis’ eyes widened. “You did, how?”

“I’ll tell you later, but right now it isn’t important. What is important is that he whispered ‘Queen Crudelis sends her regards’. Queen Crudelis, not Vespula! Whether she was involved or not, it was she who instigated it all.”

“So she is behind it!” Carduus raged. “And she set up this council directly afterwards… Oh, I have a bad feeling about this.”

As Carduus and Twilight talked, Chrysalis just sat there, a dark expression dawning on her face as her hooves caused the flooring to crack beneath the pressure.

“Princess, you are in danger as long as you remain here.”

Twilight subconsciously held onto her scar. “M-maybe. But here? At the council? If she were to try anything it would break so many tradition the queens hold most dear. They would rip her to shreds should she try. I doubt even she could handle the wrath of fourteen queens at once.”

Now the adrenaline rush she had after discovering the truth was wearing off, Twilight couldn’t help but begin to feel some nervousness and fear at the implications.

“She wouldn’t have set this up without some kind of agenda, she must-“

“Twilight!” Spike shouted as he burst through the door, followed by the two guards usually standing outside of them. The door was left open ever so slightly as it swung mostly closed.

“Your highnesses,” The two guards saluted. “I know you didn’t want to be disturbed, but young Spike insisted he had to speak to you.”

“Spike?” Twilight addressed the dragon. “What is it?”

“Here,” he simply said as he handed over a scroll with the seal of Crystal Empire emblazoned onto it, a tag displaying the word ‘URGENT’ hung just off of it. “A letter came for you from Cadance and Shining Armor.”

“What could be so urgent?” Twilight muttered to herself as she undid the seal and read the letter out loud.

Twilight,

We have recently had a situation here in the Crystal Empire, a situation that has now been resolved. However, we have encountered two young changelings who survived the horrific massacre of their hive; does the name Vespula ring any bells for you? Either way, they have seemingly confirmed two things. We know who attacked you, and who orchestrated it - Queen Crudelis is behind it all! You mother was right, and you are now in grave danger.

Please be careful, Twilight.

Your friend and sister,
Cadance.

Twilight looked up from the paper she had just been reading. “Well, as if we didn’t need enough proof. “

“That traitorous, murdering, scheming little bitch!” Chrysalis shouted at the top of her lungs, startling all in the room. “I was right all along, and yet I did nothing!”

“Mother, it isn’t your fault,” Twilight said as she held onto her mother in a tight embrace. “You had no proof, you couldn’t have-"

“Halt!” one of the guards suddenly shouted as he drew his weapon and pointed it towards the crack in the doorway.

All eyes moved to where the guard was threatening, and saw a single glowing blue eye peering through. As soon as the drone realised he had been spotted he opened his wings and bolted off down the hallway.

All those inside the room came running out, the guards had their weapons drawn and both royal’s horns were alight. Even Spike had fire rising up his throat.

But the drone was already gone.

“Guards, I want this entire section locked down, no changeling gets in or out without my or the royals' permission!” Carduus ordered the two guards.

They both saluted, and ran off in opposite directions down the corridor to gather and coordinate the others.

Spike’s wings shuffled nervously. “Who was that?”

“Trouble,” Chrysalis muttered. “Captain Carduus, there has been a change of plans.”

“Your highness?” Carduus tilted his head.

“Given what we have learnt, it is far too dangerous for us to be here.”

“But can’t we just take this to the council?” Twilight asked.

“Which Crudelis is currently running?” Chrysalis pointed out. “Besides, I’m not going to leave your safety in the hooves of a bunch of squabbling queens. We will discuss out next move in the safety of our own hive. We may need to have a discussion with Celestia and Luna on our return.”

“I’ll begin making arrangements,” Carduus said.

“Make it quick Captain, we leave in a few hours. Try to keep it hushed for now as much as possible, recruit Draco’s drones to help if you must, we can trust them.”

“Spike, come with me. I’ll need your organisational skills.” Carduus motioned for the dragon to follow.

“On it," Spike replied as he moved to follow.

“My Queen!” a drone called out as he ran to catch up with Queen Crudelis in a mostly empty corridor.

“Yes, what is it?” Queen Crudelis turned her piercing gaze to the much smaller changeling.

“They know, your highness. I overheard a warning provided to them from the Crystal Princess.”

“Did you now? And how did she know?” Crudelis asked without much worry.

“I- erm…” the drone stuttered.

“No matter,” Crudelis dismissed. “If my niece is as predictable as I believe she is, she will run back to that little home of hers. It is time to finish this. Is everything in place?”

“Yes, my Queen.”

“Good, have them all ready for my arrival. I will have our agent acquire the device. And once she has succeeded in her task, Chrysalis will fall.”

The Badlands Hive

A lone female changeling drone quietly made her way through the corridors of Chrysalis’ hive. The hive’s storage was just ahead, and she had a good idea of where to look for her objective.

She had just received the go-ahead from her Queen, it was time.

She ducked into a little alcove as a couple of guards passed by, and once she was sure they were gone she scrambled from her position and through the doorway into the storage room.

She spent a good few minutes exploring the room, going through the vast spaces, passing all sorts of odds and ends from food to furniture all neatly organised into clearly defined sections. She was half tempted to enter a door which, according to the signage, led to the hive’s love reservoir. However, she had a job to do.

Eventually she came upon what she was looking for. One section was blocked off with reinforced doorways leading into the area holding all of the hive’s weaponry, and that was where her objective was held.

It was locked, and her magic would have a hard time breaking through the protective wards around it.

‘Good thing they misplaced a key...’ the drone scoffed as she brought out said key and placed it into the lock, the door opening without any sign of protest.

She passed by swords, shields, armor and a great many other pieces of hardware. But it was one particular thing that interested her.

She carefully picked out a square package with runes etched into the surface. The device pulsated with blue leylines and oozed with barely contained magical power.

A mana bomb.

Author's Note

Prepare for the worst.

Next chapter will release in a few hours, and it is a doozy.

46 - Quae Est Finis: Part 1

The Badlands

Drones began unloading the carriages and bringing them into the Badlands Hive as Queen Chrysalis and Princess Twilight watched on. Carduus stood with them, barking out orders and direction when necessary.

“Are you sure the other queens won’t be too upset with us leaving the council so soon?” Twilight asked her mother.

“There will be questions as to why,” Chrysalis responded. “But the answer should satisfy them enough. A queen leaving early is rare, but not unheard of.”

“Now you have confirmation on Crudelis’ scheming, what are you going to do?” Carduus asked.

“I don’t know,” Chrysalis sighed. “It is something I will be discussing with the equestrian princesses soon however. We can hide all we want, but she in tenacious. She will not stop until her goals are achieved.”

“And we’re all dead,” Carduus noted with a groan.

“Precisely.”

“But, with what Crudelis did to Vespula…” Twilight started. “Is that related?”

“Almost certainly,” Chrysalis grimaced. “The assassin, we already know that his name was Serpens, and he was from her Hive. Crudelis used them as a proxy to keep herself from being implicated. Their failure would have displeased her greatly, and created a rather severe loose end.”

“So she killed them,” Carduus grimly said.

“Yes.”

“That’s horrible!” Twilight exclaimed. “How is a queen like that allowed to operate as she does?”

Chrysalis didn’t answer, and only looked grimly on at the distant horizon. The silence seemed to last for hours, and in that time the carriages were fully unpacked and all the drones retreated back into the hive.

“Your highness,” Carduus gently called. “I think it is time we too went inside.”

The large queen looked down on the far smaller changeling guard captain. “Agreed. Take the rest of the day off Carduus, you’ve earned it.”

“Thank you my queen but-“

“No buts,” Chrysalis interrupted. “You’ve worked yourself to the bone the past few days, go and be with your family. Don’t make me order you to do so.”

Carduus sighed in defeat. “Very well my queen. It would be good to spend time with Panacea and Iuvenes.”

Chrysalis nodded, and as Carduus made off towards the hive she turned to her daughter. “Twilight?”

Twilight looked up at her mother. “Hmm? What is it?”

“I know you’re probably tired, but could we talk? Preferably in the privacy of our throne room.”

“Of course,” Twilight put a hoof on Chrysalis’ shoulder. “I’m always here if you need to talk about anything.”

Chrysalis smiled and gave her daughter a loving nuzzle on the head. “What did I ever do to deserve a daughter as wonderful as you?”

Twilight giggled. “Invaded Canterlot apparently.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but let a giggle of her own escape. “True enough I suppose. Come then, let us get out of this infernal heat.”

And thus the two royal changelings entered the hive, and as always the door shimmered briefly as the perception filter masking it took effect and hid their home from all who would do it harm.

Canterlot

Princess Celestia hummed to herself as she flicked through various paperwork in her age old study. As a soft rendition of ‘Winter Wrap Up’ whisked its way around the room Celestia went through laws, various updates to treaties, many of which she herself sighed at various points in her life, and other day to day paperwork.

It was as tedious as always, but a thousand years of practiced patience helped her drive on through.

Not that she didn’t always leap at the chance for a distraction, like the one that was currently knocking on the door.

“Come in,” Celestia called.

As the door opened Celestia’s smile widened at the sight of her little sister. A sight that only a few years ago was a distant, cherished memory of a bygone age.

No longer.

“Sister,” Luna greeted. “I hope I am not interrupting anything.”

“Nothing is more important to me than you Luna,” Celestia got up and gave the blue alicorn a light nuzzle.

Luna chuckled at the sentiment, but accepted it. “Hmm, that is good to hear.”

Celestia levitated a nearby teapot towards them while motioning towards some cushions set up by the fireplace. “Tea, Luna?”

Luna held up a hoof. “Nay sister. While I might normally relish the chance to chat over tea, something has come up that requires both of our attention.”

“Oh?” Celestia raised an eyebrow. Luna was being far more serious than normal, she would have joked that she preferred coffee were she not. Intrigued, Celestia expanded; “Then please Luna, do tell.”

“Our niece has just arrived at the castle, and is waiting in the throne room.”

“Cadance? I didn’t know she was due to visit anytime soon.”

“She wasn’t,” Luna stated. “Something has happened in the Crystal Empire that may shed light on some past events.”

Now Celestia was extremely curious. “Past events? Which events are you referring to?”

“Twilight’s attempted assassination.”

Cracks shot through the still levitating teapot, and the liquid inside heated up a few degrees. Breathing out slowly, Celestia placed the damaged pot back down onto the table before her horn glowed yellow.

Next thing Luna knew, they were both in the throne room, in front of a startled Cadance.

“What do we know about it?” Celestia forced out through clenched teeth.

Cadance was still stunned, partly by their sudden appearance, and furthermore by the anger she could feeling rolling off of Celestia. So Luna continued for her. “I believe we know the identity of the assassin. A changeling named Serpens.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed dangerously, but her teeth remained clenched. “Serpens? How did you come across the name of our deceased ‘friend’?”

Cadance finally broke out of her stupor, and was able to start filling in the details. “He has two sisters, and they were recently discovered in the crystal empire - Homeless. One is a teenager, the other is only a foal, or the changeling equivalent at least.”

Celestia’s features immediately softened on hearing this. “Individuals so young, homeless? How did this come to be?”

“Simple,” Luna interjected. “The hive our assassin belonged to was a proxy, forced to do the dirty work of the true villain of this particular story. And when Serpens failed…”

“They were destroyed,” Celestia realised.

“Wiped out, completely overnight,” Cadance added solemnly, her head hanging low.

Luna nodded. “Apparently so. The two changelings, Soronis and Puellula?” Luna looked over to Cadance for confirmation. She nodded. “Soronis and Puellula, are the only known survivors.”

The horror was evident on Celestia’s face. “An entire hive wiped out? I may not hold any love for this Serpens, but all those innocent changelings that must have died… Who Luna? Who killed them? Who arranged for my beloved former student’s death?”

“A queen by the name of Crudelis. She is the one who, according to the two young changelings, attacked and burned their hive to the ground. And thus it is likely her who arranged for Princess Twilight’s demise also.”

“Crudelis? I know that name…” Realisation dawned on the solar alicorn. “She is of relation to both Twilight and Chrysalis. Not to mention the queen holding the largest overall hive.”

“She does? I was unaware,” Luna stated. Cadance looked up in confusion too.

“Twilight confided in me all about her great aunt. She never did sound like a pleasant individual.”

“And she has now proven herself to be ruthless,” Luna said. “Not to mention extremely dangerous. Remember, she also tried to frame Equestria for what nearly was Twilight’s death. She is targeting us as well.”

“Not to mention Twilight’s life may still be in danger,” Celestia grimaced at the thought. “Take me to them, I need to know all the details.”

Luna motioned towards the door. “Then follow us, dear sister. Vladimir, Shining Armor, Broad Sword and his wife Scarlet are waiting with the changelings.”

“Very good. Cadance, what do you intend to do with Soronis and Puellula?” Celestia enquired.

“I plan to keep them in the empire near the Crystal Heart. Without a hive their lives are shortened considerably, but I have a theory that the Heart may be able to counteract that, at least until I can introduce them to Chrysalis and Twilight. Integrating them into another hive should be of little issue.”

“I see. I know Twilight will be more than willing to take them. Come then sister, niece, let us go to the others. I wish to hear all about this Serpens, and just what Crudelis intended, and intends to do.”

Badlands Hive

Carduus walked through familiar hallways of the hive, quickly approaching an even more familiar door. He saw fellow changelings going about their days with the odd nymph playing in the shrubbery right in the centre of the corridor. Several nodded to the captain as they passed, but none stopped to chat.

Looking back towards the door he took in a deep breath before knocking loudly. A few noises were heard inside as the inside changeling’s ears shot up and she made her way to the home’s front entrance. Carduus heard a key turning just before the door swung open.

And he was immediately tackled by an extremely excitable nymph.

Again.

“Daddy!” Iuvenes held tightly onto his barrel, his haunches hitting the floor and his captain’s helmet flying off and clattering down the corridor.

“Hey sweety… do you really need to do that every time?” Carduus asked, in a wheezing voice, the air having been knocked out of him. He levitated his young daughter off of him.

In response Iuvenes simply gave a large grin before nodding her head furiously.

“It just shows she loves her daddy,” Panacea giggled as she exited the home to greet her returning husband.

Carduus placed Iuvenes onto his back as he accepted a kiss from his wife.

“You’re all back early. Get bored of all the politics?” Panacea laughed.

“Er… not exactly…” Carduus said before he quickly ushered Panacea inside, making sure to grab his helmet on the way.

Once the door was close he asked Iuvenes to jump off and quickly go and grab a few cookies from the kitchen as a ‘treat’. The child predictably rushed right off to indulge herself, not picking up that her father didn’t want her to hear what he had to say. And so Carduus told Panacea everything, from his shifty encounter with the clipboard wielding drone to the discovery that Crudelis was indeed behind everything, and the subsequent vacating of the council.

“But… that’s horrible!” Panacea gasped. “How could any changeling do something like that to their own family?”

“She is evil, to put it bluntly. She seeks nothing but to expand her own power, and she is a disgrace to our species!” Carduus snarled as he angrily fumed.

Panacea flinched. “Carduus… please don’t say such things. I know it is likely true but I don’t like seeing you like this!”

Guilt flashed across the captain’s face. “Oh, I’m sorry dear. I shouldn’t snap like that.”

Carduus pulled Panacea in and held her tight, nuzzling her neck gently as he did so.

“Mama? Papa? Are you alright?” A slightly timid sounding voice came from the entranceway to the kitchen.

Both adult changelings swivelled their heads to spot the concerned nymph standing in the doorway, half eaten cookie levitating next to her.

Carduus simply smiled, and motioned a hoof out to encourage Iuvenes to join in on the family group hug. The young nymph reacted immediately, running up to and squeezing herself into the middle of Carduus and Panacea.

“Don’t worry Iuvenes, just guard things is all. Nothing is wrong,” Carduus cooed into his daughter’s ear.

Iuvenes remained unconvinced. “Are you sure?” She levitated the cookie up to her father. “You could have this cookie if it would help you feel better…”

Carduus stared at the cookie, glanced towards his wife, then Iuvenes, and then back to the cookie again.

He then promptly burst out laughing.

Iuvenes looked up at her father in confusion, and then to her mother as she began to giggle at the two of them.

“Oh Iuvenes,” Carduus tried to calm his laughter. “You are too cute sometimes. Never change, alright?”

Iuvenes blushed, before trying to hide herself in her mother’s chest.

Carduus shook his head in amusement, grabbing onto Iuvenes with his magic and levitating her so they looked at each other in the eyes.

“Now enough of that, little miss embarrassed. Since I am back and you have been a good girl, would you like a day out in the atrium? We can go to that place you like for some food.”

The nymph’s face lit up like a Hearth's Warming tree that also happened to be on fire. “YESYESYES! Can we please daddy? Pleasepleaseplease-“

“Whoa there! I already said we could, remember?”

“Yay!” Iuvenes shouted in excitement.

Chuckling, Carduus placed Iuvenes onto the ground before turning his magic onto his armor. He levitated the blue gear off of him and floated it quickly into the adjacent living room, simply depositing the armor onto the sofa and his sword into a nearby case out of the way of an all too curious nymph like Iuvenes.

“Honey, do you mind if while I get myself washed up that you sort out my armour?” Carduus asked.

“Well hurry up then,” Panacea replied. “If we keep Iuvenes waiting too long she might explode.”

Iuvenes pouted at that remark.

“I will be quick, just want to get some of this sand off of my chitin. Whose idea was it to put the hive in a desert again?”

Panacea giggled. “You can take it up with the royals next time you see them.”

“I think I’ll pass. This place is home after all…” Carduus said as he exited the room towards the bathroom for a nice warm shower.

Panacea got to work giving the armor a quick clean and placing it back on the stand in the bedroom, while Iuvenes willed the time away by finishing off her cookie.

And possibly even sneaking a couple more out of the jar.

Chrysalis stopped in the middle of the throne room, and promptly slumped to the floor.

“Mother?” Twilight called out in alarm as she swung the two large doors shut. “Are you alright?”

“No Twilight… I am not,” Chrysalis admitted. “I am tired. Tired of Crudelis’ games. Tired of her threats against you and the hive. It all just gets to you eventually.”

Twilight gasped as she spotted the tears beginning to flow from Chrysalis’ eyes. The young princess dropped to the floor next to her mother and curled up next to her, Chrysalis draping a wing over her beloved daughter.

“Mother…” Twilight nuzzled Chrysalis’ neck. “Please don’t be upset…”

“I’m sorry Twilight but… but she tried to kill you! And if she did indeed try that, then I can guarantee she is behind mother’s death too! Everything I suspected up to this point is confirmed. Part of my own family is so determined to kill me. Why?”

“I don’t know. What I do know is that you need a break.”

Chrysalis glanced towards her daughter. “Huh?”

Chrysalis was surprised by the steely, determined expression her daughter was giving her. “You need a break. A holiday. When was the last time you took a day off?”

Chrysalis snorted. “Oh so very long ago Twilight. Before your grandmother’s death.”

“Exactly,” Twilight stated. “Do you trust me?”

Chrysalis was caught off guard by Twilight question. “Excuse me?”

“Do you trust me?”

“O-of course! Of course I trust you, why would you even question that?”

“Then you know I can hold my own running the hive. Take a week or two, let me run this place while you clear your head.”

“Twilight, I could never ask you to take on my burdo-“

“I will not take no for an answer,” Twilight stamped a hoof to hammer in the point.

“I…” Chrysalis sighed. “Very well. I think you are right.”

Twilight gave a sigh of relief. “Good. You deserve the rest.”

Chrysalis wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes, before giving Twilight a mischievous smirk, “So… what do you intend to do now your coup has succeeded Queen Twilight.”

Twilight Sparkle just rolled her eyes. “Oh no, my devious plot has been revealed…” She deadpanned.

Chrysalis chuckled lightheadedly. “Seriously though, any particular plans? Even if I’m going to be taking time off I want to know what is going on around my hive.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight shrugged. “Well, I’m first going to contact Celestia and Luna. They may be able to help with the ‘Crudelis situation’. We’ll see what happens from there.”

Chrysalis nodded. “Alright then. Now, let us get off the floor before-“

A loud explosion rippled throughout the entire hive as the very foundations shook violently, a few shards from the ceiling detached and clattered to the floor around the two royals.

“What in Faust’s name was that?!” Twilight shouted as both she and Chrysalis shot up to their hooves.

“My queen, princess?!” The voice of one of the guard shouted in both of their minds.

“Let us find out…” Chrysalis muttered.

“Guard, what is happening? What caused that loud bang?” Chrysalis shouted over the hive at the guard.

“Your highness… we have a serious problem…” Was his reply, with fear evident in his voice.

The Atrium, Moments Earlier

Carduus smiled over at his wife and daughter, the latter of which sat on Panacea’s back with a happy smile on her face.

The atrium was bustling as Celestia’s sun shone brightly in through the crevice above. They were on the very bottom floor right by the statue, heading towards an establishment just on the other side of the large stone changeling queen. There wasn’t a miserable changeling about as they cheerfully went about their days going to and forth various restaurants, shops and other establishments. Panacea herself was half tempted to go to the spa one floor up, but as it was a family day out she decided to put it off until another day.

Ultimately the atmosphere around the atrium as upbeat and cheerful.

Which is why one changeling mare stuck out considerably.

The mare was shuffling her way towards the statue, hey eyes shifting around at all the other changelings passing her by. She had a brown saddlebag over her back as well. One side was empty, while the other had something visibly inside.

Something wasn’t right.

And it wasn’t just her demeanour, he felt that she wasn’t meant to be there. That she wasn’t one of them.

Even if drones of other classes couldn’t communicate with one another, outside of biological family or those you had set up a specialised connection with like with Carduus and Panacea, you could still sense their presence if they were nearby and you concentrated on that individual in your mind.

And he couldn’t sense that drone at all.

“Honey,” he discreetly spoke to Panacea over the hive mind. “Can you talk to that drone there, or even sense her?”

Panacea looked over at the changeling Carduus was pointing out, and concentrated.

“No… there is nothing. Carduus, she’s not part of our hive!”

He had heard enough.

Carduus approached the drone, despite the whimper of protest from Panacea as Iuvenes looked on in confusion.

“Ma’am?”

The changeling glanced over at Carduus, before picking up her pace towards the statue.

“Stop!” Carduus began to sprint towards the changeling.

The drone saw him coming and she launched a quick spell in his direction, causing him to jump to the side as Panacea screamed.

As all the other nearby changelings looked towards the commotion the drone opened the saddlebag, took out the mana bomb, and hurled it towards the statue.

It detonated on contact. Screams erupted from the various families in the area as the entire hive shook from the blast. The statue of Queen Avia was blasted into dust as the magical crystal it held shattered into a billion tiny fragments.

The beam the crystal produced ceased to be as the shield and perception filter covering the atrium’s top dispersed into nothingness.

Before the offending drone could even smirk in victory Carduus tackled her to the ground. Any resistance she put up was immediately quashed by his superior strength.

“What have you done?!” Carduus shouted in a mixture of anger and fear.

The changeling simply laughed in his face. “Won.”

The drone managed to point a hoof towards the sky. A sky which could now look back. Black dots began to appear in that sky, black dots that were increasing in number and approaching fast.

Changelings.

But moments later the inhabitants of the atrium began to scream anew as the first volleys of putrid green spellfire began impacting around them. Carduus saw several changelings be engulfed by the spells as more explosions rocked the structure.

“Crudelis sends her regards!” The female drone Carduus held shouted in defiance.

He promptly broke her neck.

“Guards, to me!” Carduus shouted as he retreated back to his terrified family.

Just as he reached them two drones in red and blue armor landed just metres away. Carduus reacted by immediately ending one with spellfire as the other swung a mace down onto Carduus. The captain used his magic to knock the weapon to the side just as the enemy drone tackled Carduus.

“Get off of him!” Panacea shouted as she bucked as hard as she could, sending the drone tumbling off of her husband.

“Captain!” An approaching guard threw a sword in Carduus’ direction, which he quickly grabbed and used to finish the down drone.

As several more enemy changelings began to assault the atrium the guards looked to Carduus for direction.

“Captain, your orders?”

Carduus snarled as he saw the drones of Crudelis ransacking their home. “Evacuate the atrium, and block their access further into the hive. Get my family to safety!” Carduus shouted as he began to head towards a nearby exit.

“Carduus, where are you going?” Panacea squeaked as a terrified Iuvenes clung onto her back desperately.

“I need to link up with the royals and form a defence. Get out of here!”

Carduus sprinted away as his fellow guards dragged his family and any other nearby civilians to safety. And as he left he swore he caught the sight of a large shadow of a dragon passing overhead.

This battle had only just begun.

Author's Note

And so it begins...

47 - Quae Est Finis: Part 2

Carduus ran through the tunnels of the Badlands Hive with two guards flanking him. The whole hive was in chaos as their soldiers evacuated any and all civilians from soon to be contested areas. The Captain just prayed silently that his family would be safe in that mess.

After dodging and weaving throughout many hallways, his destination, the throne room, came up quickly. Around the two massive doors his soldiers were already setting up defences as the closest civilians were gathered inside for their safety. Carduus and his companions were admitted entrance without delay as they cantered into the throne room, spotting Chrysalis and Twilight sitting on their respective thrones, determined looks of steel on their faces.

“The western entrances have been breached and there is heavy fighting,” A drone reported to the two royals. “There are so many drones attacking us; with a force that size I don’t know if we can hold the entrance for very long.”

“Do your best, and take what soldiers you need to get it done,” Chrysalis ordered.

“Yes, your highness!” The drone saluted before scampering off.

“Captain Carduus!” Chrysalis addressed him as he came into her view. “What is going on in the atrium? All hive communication from there is scattered and confused.”

“Lost, your highness. That was the first place they hit, an infiltrator destroyed you mother’s statue and the crystal it held with a mana bomb,” Carduus reported.

“Mana bomb? The fact that there was an infiltrator here is by itself disturbing, not to add what possible weapons they seem to have access to,” Chrysalis frowned.

“Yes, your highness. But she won’t trouble us any longer," venom could almost be heard in his voice.

“Good.”

Twilight looked deeply concerned. “Mother, the atrium was the centre of our hive, and the largest open space. If it is already lost…”

“I know, Twilight. Carduus, what of the guards stationed in the atrium?”

“Most got out. I split them into evacuating the civilians deeper inside, and the rest to make sure that none of those bastards gets any further in. However, I don’t know how long they will hold out without reinforcements.”

“We’re going to be spread thin, but it is done.”

Several changelings screamed as the structure shook and chunks of the ceiling clattered to the ground.

“Shit, what was that?!” Carduus shouted.

“I don’t know, but it sounded big!” Twilight exclaimed.

Carduus’ eyes widened remembered something he saw in the atrium. “Your highnesses. I believe they have a dragon with them.”

“What?!” both royals shouted.

“A dragon. Possibly the one that killed Queen Avia six hundred years ago.”

Chrysalis snarled. “And now it is here to finish the job! All my suspicions about my aunt are confirmed.”

“Mother, what do we do? We have about seven thousand scared subjects and three thousand soldiers at our disposal, Crudelis is probably attacking with three times that amount of soldiers! Plus with a dragon…”

“We need help, badly,” Carduus bluntly said.

“Agreed,” Chrysalis said solemnly.

“Spike!” Twilight shouted to the dragon, who was busy trying to calm down a group of scared nymphs. “Come over here!”

The dragon said a few final words to the nymphs before making his way over. “Twilight, what do you need?”

“Send a message to Princess Celestia. We are going to need the help of her and the EUP.”

“Got it!” he shouted as he set off to find some paper.

The hive shook again.

“Your highness! The southern entrance is breached, hostile drones are pouring in and we can’t stop them! They have breached the residential districts, we still have thousands of civilians down here, and we’re taking heavy casualties.” A panicked voice spoke over the hive to the royal duo.

It was quickly followed by another. “My Queen! We have enemy drones at the east, and the western entrance is being overrun! There are so many of them!”

Chrysalis grimaced as other such reports flooded in. Her soldiers were being pushed back rapidly, things were not looking great.

“Twilight, can the princesses and their EUP make it in time with Crudelis’ rate of progression?”

Twilight did the mental math in her head, a grim look on her face. “No. Not even close.”

Chrysalis sighed. “Evacuate the hive. Abandon all other entrances and the atrium, coordinate our drones solely on the currently clear northern entrance. Twilight, you and Carduus see to it that as many of our subjects get out as possible. Make a break for Equestria, hopefully we’ll meet up with EUP reinforcements on the way.”

“Got it!” Twilight nodded. She got up and started moving, before she stopped and turned to face her mother. “What about you?”

Chrysalis stood up from her throne and examined the many scared faces of her subjects. “I will buy you as much time as I can. Do not worry, I will follow you out.”

Twilight walked back up to her mother, and hugged her tightly. “Be careful, alright?”

“I promise,” Chrysalis nuzzled her daughter’s head. “Now go.”

Twilight nodded as she stepped away from her mother. She took one last look at her throne, before broadcasting some orders over the hive.

“Alright, we are evacuating! I want all soldiers set on securing the northern entrance and assisting the evacuation efforts; keep the bitches drones away from the civilians at all costs!”

A round of affirmatives came back over the hive, and Twilight nodded to Carduus for him to follow her as all the drones in throne room began to depart.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted out as he fell into step with the two. “The message has been sent.”

“Good. Spike, you stick with us.”

Chrysalis watched her daughter leave with a proud smile on her face.

“Your majesty!” a voice called directly to her over the hive.

“What is it?”

“Queen Crudelis is waiting for you in the atrium.”

Queen Crudelis watched the chaos from high in the air. Her drones swarmed her niece’s hive with murderous intent, and all resistance was quickly being quashed under hoof.

Crudelis couldn’t help but smile in self-satisfied glee as an event a thousand years in the making played out right before her very eyes.

Her eyes were drawn to the smouldering atrium floor as she saw a few of Chrysalis’ drones, guards by the look of them, become trapped, forcing them to retreat inside into one of the atrium’s establishments while managing to hold off several of her own drones that pursued them.

Crudelis flapped her wings and dived down towards the group of defending drones. She dropped to the floor right in front of the establishment, creating cracks in the floor as she landed.

“It’s Queen Crudelis! Shoot her!” a drone from inside shouted.

Several arrows and magic bolts came flying out through the smashed windows; the magic she absorbed, the arrows she simply caught and hurled back at her attackers with deadly precision.

Shouts of pain and death arose from within as Crudelis casually strolled up to and through the front door. There had been seven guards holed up inside, and now four lay dead with arrows protruding from their bodies.

Of the remaining three, two launched more spells at her while another charged with his sword drawn. She deflected one spell back at its caster, killing him, while the other deflected bolt went wide. Crudelis then grabbed onto the drone with the sword with her magic, lifting him into the air by the neck while snatching away his weapon and flinging it towards the other spell caster. It caught the drone in the neck, impaling him and pinning him to the wall.

Crudelis turned her head to examine the last remaining guard she now held in her grasp.

“You. Contact your queen, tell her I will be here waiting for her.”

“Not a chance.”

Crudelis simply rolled her eyes and compressed her magic, he screamed as all the bones in his body began to break one by one.

“OK! OK! Please stop! I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”

“Your majesty!” the drone called out.

“What is it?”

“Queen Crudelis is waiting for you in the atrium.”

“There, I did it!”

Crudelis studied him for signs of deceit, and found none.

“Thank you.”

She then broke his neck with a sickening crack, and dropped his corpse at her hooves.

Canterlot

The castle’s dining room was host to several individuals. These included Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadance. There was also Shining Armor, Vladimir, Broad Sword, Scarlet and the two changeling siblings Soronis and Puellula.

“For everything you have been through,” Celestia spoke to the two changelings. “You have my condolences.”

“That… is greatly appreciated, Princess,” Soronis said. “But unnecessary.”

“On the contrary,” Celestia said. “But to allay your fears, I have the utmost confidence that Princess Twilight will be more than happy to take you in.”

“Thank you, for everything. All of you.”

“Think nothing of it, young one,” Luna said. “It is the least we can do given the recent misunderstanding.”

“And while we are sharing sentiments, we must congratulate you too, Scarlet Snow,” Celestia smiled. “Being a mother is a wonderful thing.”

Vladimir did a double take. “Wait, what? Since when?”

Scarlet blushed. “I found out just after the honeymoon.”

Vladimir laughed, standing up from his chair and standing between Scarlet and Broad Sword. “Well congratulations to the both of you. We will go out for drinks later to celebrate.”

“Sounds good!” Broad Sword smiled.

“I think I will stick to water or something, I am pregnant after all,” Scarlet grumbled something to herself.

“Good point,” Vladimir conceded.

A green flash shot forth in front Celestia, and a scroll appeared in mid-air, before it dropped onto the table.

“What is that?” Shining Armor asked. “A letter from Twily?”

Celestia picked the scroll up and examined it. “I believe so. How timely.”

Cadance stared at the scroll. “Well, it has been a few days so maybe the council just ended? She might be telling us how it went.”

Celestia wanted to agree, but for some reason she had a really bad feeling about the letter.

“I don’t think so,” she said as she opened up the scroll and read it.

Only for the paper to burst into flames; immediately immolated in the sun’s fury. Wisps of fire could be seen flickering at the edges of Celestia’s mane and tail.

“Sister?” Luna asked in alarm.

“Organise the army – NOW! Send a detachment of the EUP to the Badlands Hive at once, Twilight is in danger!” Celestia ordered.

“What!?” Shining shot up from the table. “What happened?”

“Crudelis. She has found their hive. They are under attack at this very moment, and Spike says they won’t survive without our help!” Celestia shouted as her motherly instincts went berserk. She slammed open the doors and shot up from her seat.

“Sister,” Luna was quick to stop her. “Do you intend on accompanying them?”

Celestia looked at Luna as if she had gone momentarily mad. “Of course. Twilight is in danger, I will not stay idle here!” Celestia insisted.

“Then allow me to accompany you also,” Luna said. “She saved me once, the least I can do is return the favour.”

“And me, she is my sister. I’m coming too.” Cadance motioned in.

Celestia looked towards Shining Armor, Vladimir and Broad Sword. “I take it I can count on all of you?”

“Of course!” Vladimir and Broad Sword stood to attention.

“We are your captains, where you go we go,” Vladimir said.

“And I go where my husband goes,” Scarlet piped up.

“No,” Broad Sword stated.

“What?”

Broad Sword looked at her meaningfully. “Normally I would be happy for you to come my love, but with the baby…”

Scarlet looked towards the floor. “Damn it. Right.”

Broad Sword gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Just make sure the kids are settled in until we send for you three.” He gestured towards the startled Soronis and Puellula.

“I can do that.”

“Which EUP fort is nearest to the Badlands?” Celestia hastily enquired.

“Fort Hurricane,” Scarlet answered. “I was stationed there briefly a while back.”

Celestia nodded. “We’ll have them mobilise and head towards the Badlands without us, we’ll catch up.”

Celestia turned and briskly walked out the door. “I will not lose my daughter. Not again.”

Princess Twilight Sparkle, Carduus and Spike were at the head of the group high tailing it towards the northern entrance of the hive. Masses of civilians followed behind through the hallways as the soldiers did their best to keep them organised and safe.

“Keep up!” Twilight shouted to those shortly behind them.

A door to their left burst open and several drones in red and blue armor came piling out. However, they were not expecting to be face to face with a princess, captain and dragon all at once.

They tried to head back the way they had come, but Twilight latched onto them with her magic and pulled them outwards. Carduus moved in with his blade to finish a few while Spike unleashed a torrent of fire on the rest.

Twilight looked in the doorway the drones had emerged from, before turning to the other soldiers at the head of the evacuees.

“Keep going, we will follow shortly,” She ordered. “Carduus, Spike, follow me.”

“Twilight, where are we going?” Spike asked as they moved off from the group and moved on down the corridor.

“Look at this,” Twilight motioned to something on the wall at an interception at the end of the hallway. It was a large device pulsating with various runes.

“A mana bomb!” Carduus studied the device. “Far higher yield than the one used in the atrium to destroy the statue.”

“How much higher?” Twilight asked.

Carduus sighed. “Enough to level this entire corridor and then some. With enough of these they could-"

“Princess?” a guard spoke over the hive.

“Hold on Carduus,” Twilight stopped her captain mid-sentence.

“What is going on?” Twilight communed back.

“Something is going on down here, there is-"

A massive explosion rocketed the hive, causing Twilight, Carduus and Spike all to lose their balance and fall to the floor.

In that moment so many minds in the hive went silent.

“What was that?!” Twilight screamed generally over the hive mind.

“Your highness! They detonated several mana bombs at key intersection of the southern wing of the hive. It collapsed, all of it.”

Twilight blinked, unable to comprehend what she had just been told. “The entire southern wing? They collapsed the entire southern wing of the hive?!” She spoke out loud.

“They what?!” Carduus’ eyes widened, looking towards the bomb. “Now we know what these are for.”

“Carduus, how many changelings were in that section?” Twilight shakily asked.

Carduus couldn’t quite meet Twilight’s eyes as he told her. “As you know, most of the residential districts were located in the south. That is where… where my home is located. Was, now I suppose.”

“Carduus, I’m sorry…” Spike said sympathetically.

“Don’t worry. A home is more than walls and possessions. My family will be among those moving towards the north entrance right now. Where ever we are together, that is home. We can rebuild anything else.” He swallowed. “But, a great many civilians were down there. With its distance being the furthest from the north entrance, the shear amount of enemy drones and the collapsing rubble causing obstructions…”

“How many?” Twilight shakily demanded to know.

Carduus hesitated with his answer for a moment. “Thousands.”

Twilight felt sick. She felt as if she had been stabbed and left for dead all over again, if not worse. All those changelings…

Twilight simply placed her magic on the bomb right by them, deactivated it and let it clatter to the floor.

Suddenly the hallway was filled with noise. “Twilight, more of them are coming!” Spike yelled, trying to shake Twilight out of her stupor. As if on que, more soldiers flooded in around the corner. Without looking up, Twilight picked up the mana bomb in her magic. She drained most of the charge out of it, before re-activating it, and hurling it at the new foes.

The drones had the time to change their expressions into looks of horror, before the bomb detonated, and engulfed them all. The resulting blast was just big enough to wipe them out, and cause the ceiling to bury them, sealing off that hallway.

The Princess looked at the others, who were staring at her wide eyed. “We need to get my subjects out of here.”

Spike recovered first. “We can take a few side corridors, get back to the front quicker,” he suggested.

“Good idea,” Carduus nodded. “Come on, we need to get moving.

They trio moved off quickly towards the northern entrances. Down the smaller corridors they traversed they encountered several enemy changelings setting up more mana bombs. The changelings were swiftly dealt with before Twilight deactivated the bombs, stopping them before they could cause any more harm.

Before long they made it to the entrance, just as the front of the evacuating column also arrived.

“Princess!” One of the drones saluted on seeing them emerge. “Glad to see you are safe.”

“You too. Any problems?”

“A few stragglers, but nothing we couldn’t deal with.”

Twilight nodded. “Good. Now, get these doors open!”

Several changeling soldiers in blue armor moved up and together managed to pull open the large reinforced double doors leading to the outside.

“Alright, move on up!” Twilight ordered.

Twilight took point with Carduus and Spike at her side as the line of changelings began to spill out into the open daylight. Twilight couldn’t help but notice the sun seemed… angry, pulsing; now she knew Celestia had received her message.

Twilight stood to one side as the evacuating changelings moved on up and began to move away from the hive.

“Come on, hurry!” Carduus urged the changelings on forwards.

Twilight watched as her subjects began to pour out of the hive and into the open sky. For some of them it was their first ever time on the surface.

As Twilight briefly pondered this, she was knocked out of her thoughts as a green bolt of magic missed her by mere inches.

“Contacts above!” Carduus shouted in alarm as more bolts began to rain down.

All the soldiers immediately moved to defend the increasingly panicked civilians, firing back with their own magic. However, they were outnumbered, with most of their remaining soldiers still inside the hive with the majority of the evacuees.

Twilight took to the air and formed a huge shield to intercept a large number of bolts as they came in. They impacted the shield, and a moment later Twilight turned that shield into a magical pulse that she shot outwards in a move taught to her by her brother, causing many attacking drones to fall from the sky to their deaths. One drone struck at the princess with a spear, only for her to snatch it away and impale him on it before flinging him into another.

Carduus dodged as an enemy changeling dropped down next to him and struck. Carduus swivelled around and bucked the changeling as hard as he could, dropping him hard onto the ground where Spike pounced into him and sank his fangs into the drone’s skull.

As Carduus clashed blades with another, more skilled combatant while Spike took to the air and unleashed a wave of fire to vaporise a group of changelings assaulting a family who had strayed away from the column.

“Keep going!” He shouted down at the grateful family, pointing north.

Spike’s heart wretched however when he saw several green magical bolts fly in, striking into the group of evacuating changelings he had just saved. The blasts swallowed the whole family.

Twilight dodged a bolt of magic and shot a far more powerful beam of lavender back at her attacker, eviscerating the changeling in question. Twilight turned to see, to her horror, that several hostile drones had broken though and were moving on the northern entrance. Her own drones were trying to stop them but there were just too many.

Realising that with those enemy changelings converging on the entrance the exiting evacuees wouldn’t stand chance, and they would all be slaughtered. Twilight tried to double back and deal with them herself. However, several other of Crudelis’ drones spotted her and struck out, forcibly diverting her attention.

Carduus rolled out of the way to dodge his combatant’s sword strike, painfully aware of the fact he wasn’t wearing any armor, never having had the time to put some on since the battle started. He briefly saw Spike get stabbed just under the wing with a spear, forcing its way between two scales. But despite the injury, he used his maw to yank the spear out before unleashing fire upon its owner.

Carduus could do nothing to assist his draconic friend though as his adversary struck again, which Carduus barely deflected with his own blade.

“Scum!” the changeling sneered as he pressed the attack.

Carduus couldn’t get a strike of his own in as his attacker made blow after blow. One particularly powerful strike made Carduus lose grip on his sword. He tried to compensate by charging his horn and firing a shot, but it went wide when his adversary hit him hard in the side of the head, knocking him to the floor. Carduus tried to get up, but the blow had dazed him. He only just saw his combatant raise his sword and strike it down to finish him, with Carduus powerless to stop it.

Only for said combatant to be decapitated by a bolt of green magic, his sword clattering down just next to the startled Carduus.

Looking to the side, Carduus saw the bolt had come from a changeling drone wearing all red armor, and in fact a large swarm of drones wearing that colour of armor were bearing down on Crudelis’ changelings with deadly intent while others moved to protect the evacuees.

Twilight saw this too, and gawped as the new arrivals broke into the enemy lines and began to push the surprised rabble back.

“Your highness!” One of the new drones, a captain by the looks of him, approached the princess.

“W-what is this?”

“Queen Draco saw Queen Crudelis leave the council just after you, she sent us to tail them.”

Despite everything, Twilight couldn’t help but laugh. “Tell Queen Draco I am fond of her all the more! Your timing was certainly dramatic.”

“We like to make an entrance!” The Captain smirked. “My Queen is on route with some more reinforcements.”

“Tell her to meet us on the border of Equestria,” Twilight commanded.

The drone nodded. “It will be done.”

Twilight descended to the ground as she watched soldiers of both Chrysalis and Draco finish off the drones assaulting the group, the combined force greater than the local amount of invaders, and the evacuees successfully began to escape the hive again.

“Carduus?” Twilight landed next to the bruised captain.

“I’m good. That was too close.”

Spike also approached. “There will be more hostile soldiers. This isn’t over.”

“No it isn’t,” Twilight agreed. “But the evacuees should be safe now. The other attackers will be busier dismantling the hive.”

“So, what now?” Carduus asked.

Twilight glanced back towards the hive. “My mother is still in there. I won’t leave her.”

“The Queen?” A random drone overheard Twilight and stepped away from the group. “Your highness!” She bowed. “I might have some information you don’t.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“As I joined the evacuation, I overheard that the Queen was last seen heading to the atrium.”

“The atrium?” Carduus asked to know changeling in particular. “Why is she going there?”

Twilight gave a grateful nod. “Thank you. Now get moving, it isn’t safe here.”

The drone arose from her bow and moved off to join the rest of the evacuees.

Twilight turned to the other two. “I’m heading to the atrium, you two don’t have to come with me.”

“Like Tartarus we don’t!” Spike gave her a deadpan look. “Why would we ever let you to go alone?”

“We are with you, Twilight!” Carduus agreed.

Twilight smiled. “Thanks. Come on, it will be best we fly there above ground. The entrance is pretty clogged, so we can use the new one our guests have made.”

Twilight opened her wings and took to the air, Carduus and Spike following shortly behind.

They encountered little resistance on their way over, most of Crudelis’ forces now being within the hive itself.

However, about half way to the atrium they were stopped by an ear shattering roar that echoed for miles as a shadow crossed over them.

“Scatter!” Twilight shouted just as an unbelievable torrent of fire passed by them.

The group all moved out of the way with no injuries but a few singes to their bodies, all diving down to the ground where the massive form of a dragon landed just ahead of them.

The dragon was massive, making Spike look how a mouse would to an elephant. It had dark red scales and emerald draconic eyes that looked piercingly down onto them.

“I thought I smelled a fellow dragon,” his voice boomed. “Why do you ally yourself with these pathetic whelps?” he asked Spike.

“They’re my family!” Spike answered back.

The dragon huffed. “You have much to learn, young one.”

“Who are you?” Twilight demanded to know.

The dragon stood at his full height. “I am Niadhogr, The Consumer of Queens.”

“Niadhogr, draconic for hoarding if I recall correctly,” Twilight said. “I take it you have a large gathering of gems.

“I do, a great and mighty hoard. Larger than the sum of Princess Celestia’s personal vault.”

“So why aren’t you there? Why are you here, ‘bowing’ to Crudelis?”

The dragon snorted, black smoke briefly flowing from his nostrils. “I do not bow to any being no matter the power. But she saved my life long ago, when she could have easily left me to die. I now follow the code, forever entwined in a life debt.”

“Oh you old fashioned idiot,” Spike muttered to himself.

“I earned my name for killing the mighty Queen Avia; one who was a worthy adversary indeed!” Niadhogr bellowed. “I wonder how her granddaughter will hold up to her legacy…”

Niadhogr moved back his head as an orange glow could be seen at the very back of his open maw.

Twilight was barely able to put up a shield in time as flames came forth from the dragon.

Chrysalis tossed a dead changeling drone in red and blue to one side as she strolled casually into the atrium. Her face darkened as she saw all of her and her mother’s achievements in ruins.

It darkened still as she saw Queen Crudelis, right where the statue of Queen Avia used to be, the remains of which she appeared to have used her magic on to construct a throne to sit in.

“Ah, there is my favourite niece; so nice of you to join us.”

“Do you think the council will let you get away with this? Even if you kill me and win, they will see you as a threat and remove you!” Chrysalis shouted.

“Oh please,” Crudelis dismissed. “Did you really think I wouldn’t have a plan to control them?”

“Control?” Chrysalis asked in confusion,

“What if I told you those wild stories about a changeling able to control all others… were true?”

Chrysalis scoffed. “An old mare’s tale. You have to be kidding yourself.”

“I rarely joke,” she retorted. “Did you think I spent the last two years setting up the council and that was it? No. I had my changelings do what no others had ever bothered to do before, search the First Hive for any little secrets left behind. After so long of finding nothing, we did find something. Ancient texts detailing the Empress of the Changelings, the one who controlled all our ancestors, making slaves out of them. One who ruled an empire from what now serves as the base for our council.”

Crudelis chuckled. “She may be gone, but in those texts I found clues leading to the location to her regalia; regalia imbued with much of her power. If I were to access it…”

“I always thought you held the council’s traditions in high regard…” Chrysalis said sarcastically.

“Oh I do, Chrysalis. But there is no tradition against… change.”

“So, what happened to these texts?”

“Gone,” Crudelis stated with a smile. “I didn’t want any other sets of eyes ever seeing them. Now the regalia’s location is only to be found up here…” Crudelis tapped on the front of her head.

“You’re insane.”

“No, just ambitious.”

“If you know where the location is, why not just take it and control me as well?”

“Simple. I hate you. I hated your mother and I hate that pathetic little daughter of yours. I will not have you be part of my empire. Once the other queens are under my control, Equestria will be next. Then the Griffons, and then… well, you get the point.”

“I will not let you do this,” Chrysalis snarled. “Let our feud end today, Aunt Crudelis.”

“So be it!” Crudelis stepped off of her throne.

The two locked eyes for a few moments, hateful snarls on both of their faces as they charged their horns, green and red illuminating each of them respectively.

And then they both fired.

Author's Note

It continues...

48 - Quae Est Finis: Part 3

“I earned my name for killing the mighty Queen Avia; one who was a worthy adversary indeed!” Niadhogr bellowed. “I wonder how her granddaughter will hold up to her legacy…”

Niadhogr moved back his head as an orange glow could be seen at the very back of his open maw.

Twilight was barely able to put up a shield in time as flames came forth from the dragon.

The smouldering flames licked their way around the shield. Inside, Twilight’s brow creased as she concentrated all her power on stopping the incoming torrent.

The flames flickered out as Niadhogr stopped to take in another deep breath of air. This gave Twilight and the others the opportunity they needed.

“Carduus, flank left! Spike, you take the right!” Twilight shouted as she took to the air and charged her horn dangerously.

The moment they heard the princess’ commands they darted in their respective directions around the large dragon. Niadhogr moved his large draconic eyes, flicking between the three as he tried to choose his target. His mind was made up for him when the changeling princess unleased a lavender beam lance, striking down from her newly gained height. Niadhogr was forced to place a hand in the way of the beam to protect his face. He snarled viciously as he felt the beam slice into the limb and leave a nasty, deep cut where it had trailed across.

He homed in on the princess and another torrent of fire was unleashed in her direction, which forced Twilight to move with haste. She narrowly avoid the blast even as boiling embers landed on her chitin.

Niadhogr stopped his attack abruptly as he felt two far weaker bolts of magic impact his right shoulder as the changeling drone who fired them flew over. He snorted as another was shot his way, but like the previous two, it barely made a dent in his scales.

However, he couldn’t help but flinch as he felt sharp fangs dig their way into his neck; a bite from the much smaller dragon whom had just landed there. While painful and annoying, Spike’s teeth ultimately were able to do little to the dragon overall.

Niadhogr took a step back as two sets of spell fire came at him from the same direction; Twilight’s magic pierced his scales, allowing Carduus’ weaker shots direct access to the far softer flesh beneath.

The large red dragon gave out a deafening roar as he reached up and grabbed Spike. He wrenched the younger dragon off of his neck, and launched him towards the two changelings.

The two were forced to stop their spell casting as Spike obstructed their line of sight, instead using levitation to catch their friend in mid-air.

Only for a mountain of fire hotter than lava to engulf their position in its entirety.

Niadhogr ceased his flames as he looked to where he expected to see the charred remains of his three combatants fall to the ground. However, a sound caught his attention and caused him to complete a U-turn to find its source. It was there he saw lavender sparks deposit the two changelings and one dragon as Twilight’s teleportation spell completed.

“You are all tenacious, but it can only save you for so long!” He bellowed as his spread out his wings and began to beat them in the air.

Sand and rock were thrown through the air by the air current produced by the dragon’s massive wings, and Niadhogr took to the sky, flying up before darting downwards towards his prey.

Two highly lethal beams of magic impacted against one another in the ruined remains of the atrium. Crimson and green sparks fused together to form blinding flashes of light, smaller beams randomly splitting off from where the two beams coalesced; the two queens were locked in a fight for dominance over one another.

Seeing the fight going nowhere anytime soon, Crudelis opened her wings and suddenly took to the air, disengaging her magic flow as she did. Chrysalis’ beam shot right through where Crudelis was less than a second earlier and smashed the latter’s makeshift throne into mere dust.

Crudelis veered down over Chrysalis and released another beam right down onto her niece below. Chrysalis, with a boost from her wings was able to side step the attack as it smacked into the floor, where it left a small smoking crater in its wake.

Chrysalis retaliated with several short bursts of her magic in Crudelis’ general direction, aiming for her wings, forcing Crudelis to evade the incoming strikes. With a series of aerial acrobatics, the Red Queen retreated past the ruined statue to the other end of the large space.

Chrysalis’ slitted eyes narrowed towards her opponent, though her gaze was diverted with the sound of hooves galloping into the atrium through the entrance she herself had used. Three of Crudelis’ armoured drones set their sights on her and raised their weapons, two holding swords and one a spear.

They never stood a chance.

The two drones with blades struck forwards towards Chrysalis while the third threw his spear in her direction. Chrysalis simply grabbed onto the spear in mid-air with her magic and proceeded to weaved it through all three drones like a knitting needle.

Immediately afterwards, Chrysalis saw something in the corner of her eye and quickly brought her spear around. She threw it forwards to meet the incoming queen.

Crudelis’ eyes widened as she saw the weapon come hurtling in her direction, she tried to dodge to the side, but she wasn’t quite quick enough. She let out a pained curse as the weapon scraped along her barrel, leaving a deep gash where it had sliced into and along her.

The spear impacted into the wall behind, snapping in two from the impact.

By no means done for, Crudelis bared her fangs in pure fury as she charged the other queen, their horns locking in a violent struggle. The two grappled and fought against the other for a few moments more, before Crudelis managed to lurch Chrysalis backwards and flick down with her horn, leaving a bloody cut on Chrysalis’ right cheek.

Crudelis smirked as Chrysalis sent another bolt of magic her way, placing up a shield to protect herself.

“You know something?” Crudelis asked behind her barrier.

Crudelis pushed forwards with her magic and pushed Chrysalis back before taking to the air.

“Unlike Serpens, I do not need a magical rune to kill you.”

“And I thought Longshot talked too much,” Chrysalis sneered as she fired again, Crudelis flying higher to avoid it.

As Chrysalis moved to follow the two danced around each other through the air, firing shot after shot and impacting against each other using their magical shields as bettering rams.

Crudelis swirled to avoid a green beam as she swooped down to the bottom of the atrium, picking up the sharp end of the broken spear as she did so.

A single set of eyes peered on from one of the atrium’s establishments, nodding to himself as he received orders from his queen.

Niadhogr made to grab Spike in his gigantic set of teeth, but the dragon just managed to avoid becoming the appetiser for Niadhogr’s three course meal. Twilight flew past and fired another piercing beam of lavender at the dragon.

As Niadhogr gave a roar of pain, Carduus, having long given up on his inferior magic skills, landed on the dragon’s head and began to stab into Niadhogr’s scalp with his blade with desperate determination, trying to force the blade through the gaps in the scales.

The large dragon gave another roar as he violently shook his head from side to side, throwing Carduus into the air, but leaving his sword lodged in Niadhogr’s thick skull. Niadhogr tried to bat Carduus with a set of claws, but was distracted by Twilight’s next attack as she swooped by, gracefully spinning though the air in a display that would make Rainbow Dash leak liquid pride. Her corkscrew motion made the beam of magic harder to block.

As Carduus was forced to retreat back, Twilight spun around and dived down towards the dragon, avoiding another torrent of fire sent her way. She sent several smaller beams down onto the dragon’s spine as she flew along his back, creating many deep wounds, with a lucky shot nearly severing his right wing; a few inches over and the wing would’ve become limp.

Niadhogr was getting tired of this.

As Twilight rounded for another run, she gave a surprised shriek as the dragon grabbed onto her and held her tightly in his palm. Twilight momentarily panicked as Niadhogr went to crush her, placing up a shield to hold off his brute strength. However, cracks started to appear around the shield as it failed under the stress.

Only for his grip on Twilight to lessen, accompanied by a pained roar.

Twilight looked up to see Spike. He had managed to get right up to Niadhogr’s left eye, and had sunk all his teeth and claws in as deep as he could, blinding it.

“Don’t. You. Touch. HER!” Spike shouted in anger as he jumped off and made for the right eye.

Niadhogr moved to knock Spike off but Twilight shot his hand as it raised, causing it to flinch back and fail to remove Spike before he had done equal damage to the second eye.

Spike was finally thrown off as the blinded beast began to whip around erratically, releasing a great many panicked bursts of fire.

This erratic behaviour would prove his end, as the constant volley of fire left him ragged for breath.

As Niadhogr slowed and tried to take deep gulps of air, he physically couldn’t see Twilight fly up to his face and fire a single powerful bolt into Niadhogr’s maw.

With great concentration she normally couldn’t pull off in a fast paced fight like this, and wouldn’t have been able to if Niadhogr had tried to stop her, she guided the bolt straight down Niadhogr’s throat and into his lungs.

Niadhogr gave a choked scream as his lungs burst, the ignited air exploding inside of him. He began to bleed internally, and his lungs collapsed. His gasps for air were in vain as he couldn’t fill his destroyed lungs. He thrashed around for a few more seconds, before his movements grew weak and little. Then, he began to fall rapidly from the sky, impacting hard into the ground.

As the dust kicked up by the impact began to clear, Twilight and Spike landed in front of the twitching Niadhogr. He was dead, though they weren’t sure if it was the impact with the ground or the suffocation that had finally finished the ancient dragon.

“That… was exhausting…” Spike panted heavily.

“Yeah. Nice work with the eyes, never thought you could be that vicious, Spike,” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“He was going to kill you, Twilight…” Spike muttered.

Twilight gave him a small smile and pulled him in with a wing. “Thanks Spike.”

Spike smiled back, if slightly sheepishly.

“Though, all this does make me wish for the old days, when our most pressing day-to-day threat was con-artists or show-off performers.”

Spike chuckled. “Those were the good old days,” Spike said as he looked around. “Hey. Where is Carduus?”

“Up here!” Carduus shouted up from the dragon, holding his sword. “Couldn’t leave my weapon behind! My original is buried under tons of rubble after all.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Come on you two, let’s get to mother.”

Crudelis shouted in rage as a bolt of green magic shot by her, she could feel the heat of the arcane energy singe the edges of her chitin.

Crudelis fired several shots at Chrysalis as she dived straight for the queen, Chrysalis intercepted and stopped the magical bolts but the effort left her unable to stop Queen Crudelis from slamming into her. The two struggled in the air, trading punches and kicks as each tried in vain to knock the other to the ground.

Chrysalis bared her fangs in frustration and bit down into Crudelis’ shoulder, eliciting a shout of pain from the latter. Chrysalis tasted the blood against her tongue as she opened her jaw and bit down even harder, this time into Crudelis’ neck.

Crudelis, realising Chrysalis was moments away from breaking her neck, cast a panicked teleportation spell around herself.

The spell took Chrysalis with Crudelis due to the physical contact, but the force of suddenly appearing and being thrown to the floor of the atrium managed to dislodge Chrysalis from her opponent’s neck.

As both injured queens fell to the floor a good couple of meters from one another, Crudelis created a portal on the ground around her, quickly sinking down into it before Chrysalis could get her bearings.

Chrysalis looked towards where Crudelis had just been, and gave a shout of anger.

“Crudelis?! Reveal yourself coward! Or perhaps the new ‘empress’ isn’t all she is cracked up to be?”

A sinister laugh echoed throughout the large chamber, reverberating off the walls so Chrysalis couldn’t pin point its location.

“Come and find me, dearest niece,” Crudelis’ magically projected voice called out among the broken atrium.

Chrysalis snarled as she did a quick scan of the area around her, seeing no sign of the queen. She opened her gossamer wings and took to the air, scanning the second level to similar results.

Chrysalis looked up into the air, her gaze softening as she looked up into the wonderful blue sky.

She couldn’t help but notice the angry glare the sun had, and could easily guess the reason.

It comforted her that even if she were to fall, Twilight would still have others to turn to. Another mother to turn to. Velvet and Celestia both.

Her daughter wouldn’t be left alone.

For that, she was grateful.

Focusing back on the here and now, Chrysalis began to scan each and every floor for any sign of Crudelis.

Just as she was nearing the top, a weak bolt of green magic impacted her, barely causing her to flinch.

Chrysalis spun around to view the cause of the bolt, and saw Crudelis standing on the same balcony where she had first revealed the atrium to Twilight two years prior.

Chrysalis shot forwards towards Crudelis, the latter’s eyes widening as she looked for an escape.

Crudelis tried to take to the air but Chrysalis slammed into her full force, slamming her aunt into the ground.

Their eyes met, Crudelis’ full of fear.

Chrysalis lit up her horn, and created a precision beam of magic that pierced into the front of Crudelis’ skull, through her brain and out the other end.

Crudelis’ body went limp as her blood red eyes rolled up into the back of her skull as all life faded away.

Chrysalis’ victory was short lived however, when green flames whipped around Crudelis as her form shrunk down from a queen to a simple drone.

“What?” Chrysalis whispered.

A sharp scream filled the atrium as Chrysalis felt the tip of a spear embed itself in her back, the broken weapon held in the red aura of the ravenous Queen Crudelis.

Chryalis cursed herself for her stupidity. The bolt that hit her wasn’t only exceptionally weak…

It had been green.

The spear was retracted from her back and Chrysalis spun around to try and intercept the next strike.

Only for her right foreleg to be violently blown off by a blast of magic, and for the spear to slice clean through her chest. Crudelis retracted the blade and stabbed Chrysalis again, and then again.

The ailing queen tried to fire off a magical bolt in retaliation, but her weakening body was unable to yield results.

Crudelis retracted the blade and stabbed it in one last time, this time leaving it there.

Chrysalis fell to the floor gasping for breath as her many open wounds bled heavily onto the floor. Chrysalis coughed up some blood as she struggled to look up to meet Crudelis’ icy glare, showing no fear in her own.

“Defiant, and insolent, to the very end,” Crudelis said, with the barest hint of respect.

Crudelis charged her horn and unleashed a beam of magic, trailing it across the balcony as she disconnected it from the atrium’s wall. The victorious queen took to the air as the balcony buckled and fell into the deep depths below, shattering on impacting the atrium’s ground floor and burying Chrysalis under the rubble.

When Twilight entered the atrium, everything was eerily quiet. She looked around frantically, having felt her mother’s presence in the hive mind become weak, but it was still there.

The signs of battle were painfully apparent, but Crudelis was already long gone.

“Mother?!” Twilight shouted out.

“Mother, please!”

Silence greeted her desperate calls.

As the three looked around the destroyed atrium, Twilight’s heart sunk when she spotted a severed limb laying near a pile of rubble.

A leg.

“No. NO!” Twilight shouted in deep pain as she landed onto the rubble pile and began to pull away at the many pieces.

After staring for a moment, stunned by the sight, Carduus and Spike got to work helping uncover where their queen lay.

After what seemed to be hours, Twilight finally uncovered her mother, quickly moving the final few pieces of rubble away and levitating her mother out and onto a clearer spot on the floor.

“M-mother?” Twilight shakily asked, horrified at her many deep wounds and missing leg.

A small, shallow breath could be heard as Chrysalis held on to what little life was left in her body.

“She’s alive!” Spike shouted.

“Princess, we need to get your mother out of here! She won’t survive without immediate medical attention!”

“I know!” Twilight snapped, using some healing spells to strengthen Chrysalis’ ailing body.

Together, the three picked up Chrysalis and few her from the Badlands Hive, which as Twilight looked back, was encompassed in a ravenous fire. Black smoke blew high into the sky as the smell of death rippled through the air.

As Twilight, Spike, Carduus and the near dead Chrysalis began to make their journey to meet up with the others, on the edge of the Badlands the survivors finally reached safety.

Panacea and Iuvenes looked up as the sound of blades chopping through the air filled their ears, EUP helicopters came into view as they began to circle the changelings. Moments later, they began to land, medics jumping out as they began to treat the wounded and comfort the despondent families in any way they could.

Supplies were set out and makeshift shelters were set up as EUP ponies and guards of both Chrysalis and Draco set up a perimeter to watch for any lurking threats.

Medics rushed to greet Twilight and the others as they finally reached safety themselves. They looked over Chrysalis, a grim look was on the most senior doctor’s face.

“We need to operate, now! Go!” he shouted as they took Chrysalis into a nearby tent to begin their work, guards positioned outside.

Everything had become just too much, the emptiness in Twilight’s head was unbearable.

That morning there had been ten thousand changeling drones in the hive mind.

Now there were four thousand, at best.

Two thousand soldiers had died fighting Crudelis’ forces; the other four thousand civilians had never managing to escape the doomed hive.

One thousand soldiers and three thousand changeling civilians were crammed into tight spaces with little supplies to go around. The ponies’ relief efforts were doing their best, but things were still dire.

The world began to shift for Twilight, she barely noticed Carduus reunite with his family in a tearful embrace, or Spike receiving aid for his own wounds.

“Princess? You’re hurt, you need to be checked out,” a pony doctor asked as he approached.

“I’m… fine. I’m…” Twilight managed to say, before slipping in to unconsciousness.

Author's Note

And thus the days of the Badlands Hive come to a tragic end...

49 - All That Remains

Ruins of the Badlands Hive

The night’s cools air seeped in through the hole, a hole burrowing up from the corridor all the way to the surface. Queen Crudelis stood, looking up through it to the stars above, momentarily contemplating the beautiful painting that is the night’s sky.

She had always loved the stars.

Ever since she was a child they had fascinated her. She and her twin sister would spend hours sneaking out of the hive just to gaze up at the distant majestic orbs.

A pained grimace stretched across her face at the mere thought of Avia. But once the thought was there, it wouldn’t go away. She could see her face, not when she was a queen but when they were both mere nymphs. They were inseparable then. They did everything together.

Why shouldn’t have they? They were each other’s only true friend.

Until Avia had betrayed her.

“Sis?” Crudelis reached out, only to have her hoof slapped away.

Crudelis looked away from the sky as she tried to blink away the tears rolling down her cheeks.

She had tried to make her sister see reason! But she wouldn’t listen. She whispered lies into their mother’s ears, forcing her to take action; and then in the centuries following she had pleaded with her sister to return to her. But it was not to be. In the end she had to enlist that foolish dragon to help safeguard the changeling race’s future.

But yet her offspring lived. Perversions of the memories of her sister Crudelis held dear, memories before the rift between them opened, before the betrayal. They themselves were major threats to their race’s survival. She hated Chrysalis and Twilight with a fiery zeal.

They had to go.

“My Queen?”

Knocked from her ruminations, Crudelis looked to the side, seeing one of her changelings standing there. She immediately removed what little tears remained and drew herself to full height, standing regally. If the drone had noticed her moment of weakness, he didn’t show it.

“The southern section of the hive is completely collapsed. We made sure to get our drones clear before the blast, only Chrysalis’ changelings were caught in the destruction.”

“And what of the rest of the hive?” Crudelis enquired.

“Some other sections have also caved in, but nowhere near to the level of the southern reaches of this place.”

“Survivors?”

“Any and all drones to survive us have already left. We are alone here.”

“Keep constant watch, I don’t want any nasty surprises.”

“Of course. But…”

Crudelis raised an eyebrow. “But?”

The drone considered his next words, carefully. “When we went to find Chrysalis’ body we… found nothing. We think some of her changelings may have retrieved her.”

Crudelis sighed, starting to move down the corridor as the drone followed on. “I see.”

The drone tilted his head. “Aren’t you more worried about this? Chrysalis could very well be alive.”

“You didn’t see her wounds. Her survival, even with medical attention, is highly unlikely. Even if she does live, she will be so maimed she will wish she had died.”

“What about Princess Twilight? She killed your dragon servant.”

Crudelis’ eyes narrowed. “I have heard. But I expected no less from the Element of Magic. She will be dealt with in due time.”

“And the regalia?”

“Captain,” she said patiently. “All questions can wait until later. I will explain our next step soon.”

The drone nodded in compliance. “Yes, your highness,” he said, his wings fluttering nervously.

Crudelis glanced over at him. “What’s wrong? You seem concerned about something.”

“It’s nothing, your highness. Truly.”

“Do you take me for a fool, Captain?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

The changeling’s eyes widened. “N-no! Of course not!”

“Then I would rather you not lie to me.”

“I-” the drone started to protest, before catching his tongue. “Are we doing the right thing?”

“What do you mean?” Crudelis’ eyes narrowed further.

“All those changelings, dead. For what?”

“You know what for, survival,” Crudelis said. “Pony culture continues to infect us. Because of it our race has stagnated, thirty queens are now nineteen; and it will continue to drop. Our race was prosperous under a strong empress, we had an empire spreading far and wide. We had no need to hide in the shadows and fear the alicorns. We need to go back to those times, Chrysalis was a great threat to that, one I couldn’t let go on.”

Crudelis stopped, and looked directly down onto the captain. “It is grim work, but it must be done for the good of our race.”

“And what of the other queens?”

Crudelis rolled her eyes. “It’s not like they will be mindless husks. They will have freedoms to oversee their hives, they will just answer to me. And if the stories are correct, then any queen who selfishly puts themselves before what is best for our race can be dealt with… by turning them into the very mindless subservient husks they will fear becoming. The Empress could control the actions of each and every changeling simultaneously without giving them free will, and she did so according to the legend, but it isn’t necessary. I won’t be as cruel as that.”

The drone nodded. “I can only imagine her ruling style is what caused that queen to rebel in the first place. She must have been something special to overcome all the Empress’ control and defeat her.”

“Indeed. The Empress only did what she did for her own power and that was her downfall.”

“While we do what we must for the survival of our race, no matter what others may perceive it to be,” the drone noted.

“I’m glad we are on the same page, Captain. Sometimes an iron hoof is necessary, especially when it comes to culling back our enemies.”

“I apologise my queen. I apologise for having doubts.”

“It is only natural. Now leave me until I call for you all, I have things to do.”

The drone saluted. “Yes, my Queen!”

Crudelis watched the drone march off, and only once he was gone did she allow a look of unease to cross her face.

‘Am I doing the right thing?’ She thought to herself. ‘No! Don’t get cold hooves now. I can be harsh, I know, but I do what I must…’

Crudelis’ thoughts drifted back to the stars.

‘Oh Avi… I wish you were here. Why did you have to betray me so?’

Refugee Camp

Twilight’s muscles began to cooperate again as she found herself able to open her eyes. The world started off as all one singular colour, but over time things began to come into focus.

“Princess, glad to see you wake,” the pony doctor attending her said with a welcoming smile.

“W-where am I?”

“Do you remember what happened?”

“Yes. Crudelis attacked us, I got mother out of there and-"

Twilight suddenly sat bolt upright. “Mother! Where is she?! Is she alright?”

“Calm yourself, Princess.” The doctor placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder. “She is still being operated on. She is in the best possible hooves she can be in right now.”

“Still being operated on?” Twilight blinked in surprise. “Just how long was I out?”

“Only a couple of hours. You were exhausted, you should really get some rest,” he suggested.

“No time. With my mother unavailable my changelings will need a leader to look to!” Twilight moved to rise from her bed while looking around for the first time; she could see that she was in a sparse but spacious tent with a zipped up entrance. She could also feel the magical wards protecting it, and her.

“Princess, must I utter the words ‘doctor’s orders’?”

Twilight chuckled lightly. “All due respect, I’m changeling royalty, not Equestrian.”

“You are my patient. It matters little who or what you are.”

Twilight offered him a grateful smile. “Thank you, doctor. But I really need to go, you must understand after everything my subjects have been through they need me.”

The doctor considered for a moment, before sighing in defeat. “Very well. Just take it easy.”

“I appreciate it,” Twilight thanked him, getting up and moving towards the exit.

Unzipping the tent she poked her head outside, seeing two of her guards stationed outside.

“Twilight,” Carduus addressed as he saw her exit the tent. “It is good to see you’re awake. How do you feel?”

“I’ll live. Barely.”

Despite everything, Carduus gave a good natured laugh. “I know the feeling,” he said, before turning to the other guard. “I can take it from here, go get some rest.”

The other guard have a grateful nod to the captain and a bow to Princess Twilight before tiredly sauntering off.

“You must admire their dedication,” Carduus said. “Our remaining forces have been working tirelessly alongside both the EUP and Draco’s changelings to secure this place.”

“You included,” Twilight noted. “I thought you would be with you family.”

“They are helping distribute aid. We like to do our part.”

Twilight smiled. “I know you do.”

Twilight looked at her surroundings. There were makeshift shelters for miles around; Twilight’s heart ached as she saw changeling families crammed into small spaces as medics tended to a great many of them. EUP ponies and changeling guards, some wearing red and some blue, patrolled through the camp helping where needed. The tent where Chrysalis was being treated was just across from her own.

“So much suffering… The hive mind is so quiet, we lost so many…”

Carduus only looked at the Princess sadly.

Twilight looked around again. “Hey, where is Spike?”

“Waiting for the princesses to arrive, they should be here soon.”

“Princess Celestia and Luna?” Twilight perked up slightly.

“And Mi Amore Cadenza. Along with Prince Shining Armor and Captains Vladimir and Broad Sword I believe.”

Twilight held a small smile on her face. “I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything less. When my friends find out they will likely come running too.”

“They would probably barge their way to Crudelis and deal with her for us.” He hummed for a second. “Maybe have Pinkie Pie build that dungeon?” Carduus suggested.

Twilight laughed behind a hoof. “OK, now that I would pay to see.”

“We all would. Just strap her to a chair and make her listen to the Pony Pokey for all of eternity,” Carduus shuddered. “I know that would do me in.”

Twilight went to say something else, but noticed a slight commotion out the corner of her eye.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked.

A short distance away, Queen Draco and her escort landed by a large build-up of various supplies the EUP were providing. The helicopters that had escorted her in hovered above; as they did so Draco couldn’t help but examine them. They were crude designs to say the least, and she doubted those blades would have enough power to keep it in the air if it wasn’t for the magical crystals within the rotor helping keep it aloft. Draco could hear the crystals giving off a low hum, barely detectable to most ears beneath the chopping of the blades.

Satisfied of her intentions, the vehicles moved off to patrol the surrounding area as they had before her arrival.

“Queen Draco!” a familiar voice called out in surprise.

Draco turned her gaze from the sky to see Princess Twilight galloping up with Captain Carduus staying a little behind.

“Twilight! Are you well?”

“I… no. I’m not. Our home is-"

“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” Draco assured, offering Twilight a small smile. “I’m not going anywhere while my friends are out in the cold.”

“Thank you...” Twilight sighed. “If your drones hadn’t arrived when they did, a great many more of mine would have died.”

“When I saw Crudelis leave the council after you, I knew something was going to happen. I’m glad I acted as I had, though I regret not leaving with the first group and helping you directly.”

“You don’t need to apologise, really. I’m just glad you’re here now,” Twilight said honestly.

Draco nodded, looking up over the crowd to the guarded tent. She quickly deduced that is where Chrysalis was.

“How is she?” Draco asked with worry.

“I don’t know, she is still being operated on apparently.”

Draco looked back from the tent over to then young princess. “Then go to her. Be by her side in this time of need.”

Twilight looked unsure. “I want to, but I’m needed out here!”

Draco shook her head. “Anything you could do, I can also. I’ll make sure things run smoothly, you go to Chrysalis.”

“I couldn’t possibly ask you to-”

“Twilight,” Draco sternly addressed.

Twilight stopped mid-sentence, before sighing. She followed that up with a grateful smile towards Draco. “Thank you.”

“You’ve thanked me enough, just go.”

Twilight nodded, before spinning on the spot and cantering over towards the tent where Chrysalis lay.

Carduus watched Twilight go, turning to Draco afterwards. “So, what would you have me do?”

Draco looked down on the smaller changeling. “Go and wait for the Equestrian Princesses, and come tell me when they do finally arrive. I would very much like to go and make their acquaintance.”

Twilight approached the tent, the two guards standing to attention as they saw her. She spared them a simple nod as she opened up the tent and walked inside, the magical wards scanning her as she entered.

Blood.

It was everywhere. The floor, walls, on the many doctors and various discarded bandages around the place. However, it was in the process of being cleared up by one unicorn as another packed away their medical apparatus.

“Princess,” the latter doctor greeted as she saw Twilight.

As the unicorn’s spell wiped away the remainder of the blood, Twilight’s gaze rested on Chrysalis’ shallowly breathing form lying on the bed, a stump where her right foreleg should have been and bandages covering over her many wounds.

“How is she?”

“Alive, for now.”

“For now?” Twilight gawped.

The doctor sighed. “She took a battering, Princess. I’m not going to sugar-coat it. We have done all we can, now we just have to wait and see.”

The pony and changeling doctors all began to pile out of the tent until only Twilight as left along in the now pristine room.

She turned back towards her mother, took a few steps forwards and sat gently down beside the bed.

Princess Celestia looked around the camp, her companions at her side, having all just arrived.

“By Faust. Look at all of this,” Vladimir muttered in a shocked awe at the sight. “This isn’t good.”

“They are going to need a home,” Luna noted.

“There are plenty of areas within Equestria that could serve as a hive,” Celestia spoke. “We just have to figure out which would be best.

“Within Equestria?” Luna said questioningly.

Celestia narrowed her eyes as she looked directly forward at the refugee camp. “I’d prefer to keep my daughter close after this.”

“I’m sure she would appreciate the sentiment,” Luna nodded. “I’m sure something can be worked out.”

“What of the kids back at Canterlot?” Broad Sword asked. “What is going to happen to them now?”

“I’ve already sent for them and Scarlet,” Celestia said. “Things are clear and the danger had passed, so they should arrive in a few hours.”

“What? Why now when all this is going on?”

“I don’t intend to keep the changelings here long, Captain. I will speak with Chrysalis about resettlement and then do just that. I will not leave them out in the cold any longer than necessary.”

“Well you’re certainly a mare with a plan. This won’t be easy though,” Cadance joined in the conversation. “I’m sure the Empire could cough up some spare reserves of love energy from the heart if it would help.”

“I’m sure they will be thankful for any contribution,” Luna was the one to respond.

“Princess, shouldn’t we look for Twily?” Shining finally spoke, itching to find his sister amidst the chaos of the camp.”

“She’s with Queen Chrysalis right now,” Carduus said as he approached the group with Spike at his side. “The Queen was hurt, badly. Twilight wants to be with her until she recovers.”

“I see,” Celestia said with slight worry as she turned to meet the arrivals. “Spike and Carduus. It has been too long.”

“Hiya Princess!” Spike grinned.

“Is Twilight alright?” Shining blurted as he moved forwards.

“She is fine, Shining.” Carduus assured. “We only had to fight off an army and take down a centuries old dragon. No big deal.”

Shining’s eye twitched. Everypony else’s eyes widened slightly.

“A dragon?” Cadance muttered.

“Yeah. The Princess and Spike did most the work,” Carduus admitted.

“A fully grown dragon, huh? Not bad,” Vladimir commented, punching Spike on the shoulder.

“Um, Carduus? Wasn’t there something else?”

“Ah, yes. Princesses, Queen Draco wished to speak with you.”

“Queen Draco?” Celestia didn’t recognise the name. “Is she another Changeling Queen?”

“Yes. She’s a personal friend of Queen Chrysalis, and she saved a lot of lives during the battle. She has essentially taken charge around here while the Queen and Princess Twilight are unavailable.” Carduus explained.

“I see. Well then, before taking us to her I would very much like to hear exactly what happened at the hive.”

All the others nodded in agreement.

Carduus slowly nodded, slightly reluctant to retell the event. “Right. Well, it started just after we returned from the council…”

Twilight had stayed sitting beside her mother for what had seemed to be months, or even years. Just sitting at her side and hoping for the best.

One particularly sharp intake of breath caught her attention, and looked towards her mother’s face. Chrysalis’ two eye lids opened weakly, just a crack. She groaned in pain as she spotted Twilight sitting beside her bed.

“How bad is it?” Chrysalis asked quietly.

Twilight gave her a small smile. “You look like shit.”

Chrysalis went to laugh, but it came out as more of a weak cough than anything. “It is good to see you smile.”

“You’re going to be seeing a lot more of it when you’re better. We have a lot of work to do.”

“A whole new hive,” Chrysalis hummed. “A lot of work indeed.”

There was silence between them a moment.

“You know something, Twilight?” Chrysalis slightly raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“I could really use that holiday around about now…”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to laugh. “Told you so.”

Chrysalis smiled at Twilight, and despite the latter moving to protest Chrysalis managed to budge herself over to one side of the bed, motioning Twilight to hop up into the free space.

Relenting, Twilight did just that and curled up into her mother’s chest, Chrysalis placing a slightly battered wing protectively over her daughter.

“I’m proud of you. So, so proud. You know that, right?” Chrysalis asked shakily.

Twilight nuzzled her mother gently. “I know. I love you.”

“And I you. Always.”

Twilight smiled at Chrysalis. “Come on, get some rest. I will be staying right here.”

Chrysalis simply nodded, placing her head down onto the pillow and letting sleep take her.

Twilight did the same, only sleep did not take her. Instead she was just content to be in her mother’s company, feeling each and every single breath she took.

Breaths which were more shallow than ever.

Author's Note

Crudelis is proof how some of the worst things are born from good intentions...

(Good intentions in her mind anyway)

50 - New Beginnings

Shining Armor, Vladimir and Broad Sword all stood by several large crates full of supplies at the centre of the refugee camp. All were grim faced as they watched on at the flurry of activity that continued to dominate the camp in the wake of the Badlands Hive’s destruction.

It had been hours since they had arrived, and temporary accommodations for the homeless changelings were still being sorted out, medical attention given and a great many other chaotic activates.

The whole situation was a mess.

“Remember when Equestria was peaceful?” Vladimir deadpanned.

“Hmm?” Shining looked towards the Lunar Captain.

“I mean when our greatest task was standing around looking ceremonial and dealing with the occasional thief. Crime in Equestria has always been low. But now we have to deal with threats from a thousand years ago, increasing monster attacks and rampaging changelings tearing things up… life couldn’t stay simple could it?”

“You know what it is, don’t you?” Shining gave an amused smirk.

Vladimir raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I cease to be Captain of the Solar Guard, and then this all happens,” the Prince said. “I suppose I must be truly missed at the barracks.”

Broad Sword snorted. “I object to that. I’m not exactly a slouch you know!” he groused.

Shining chuckled. “Calm down Broad Sword, you know I’m only kidding.”

“You better be,” Broad Sword retorted, his eyes narrowed.

Shining simply rolled his eyes, before they moved around to inspect the tent where Chrysalis was resting in the distance, and where his sister was currently located.

Vladimir followed Shining Armor’s gaze and saw where he was looking towards. Smiling gently, he gave Shining a thump on the shoulder to gain his attention.

“She’ll be fine,” he said.

“Huh?” Shining responded. “Who will?”

“Twilight,” Vladimir explained. “Chrysalis too, I’ll wager. Those changeling royals are pretty much their equivalent of alicorns, ergo really tough stuff. They will be fine.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. But for Twily’s sake, I truly do hope for Chrysalis to recover.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… it’s not like I don’t care for Chrysalis wellbeing, but-"

“Really?” Vladimir said. “You didn’t even invite her to your wedding.”

“It’s been two years, times change. Our ill will towards her has long faded. And since I’m the one saying that you better believe it.”

Vladimir hummed in contemplation. “It can’t have been easy, especially with what she did to you.”

“We’re going on a tangent,” Shining groaned slightly. “Point is, Twilight has never lost anypony close to her before. Especially not that close. In these last two years I’ve never seen her so happy, she had her friends and a fully complete family for the first in her life. Both changeling and otherwise. And she has bonded with her mother, they spent a lot of time catching up on the time they lost due to the shortage. To lose her now…”

Vladimir and Broad Sword glanced at one another, before the former gave a nod of understanding. “I see. She really tells you a lot.”

“Of course, I’m her BBBFF, we write all the time and visit when possible. That, and it’s a big brother’s job to notice these things.”

Broad Sword smiled. “You remind me of my sister.”

“I suppose all siblings are like that,” Vladimir said.

Shining Armor solemnly shook his head, pointing towards the tent where Chrysalis lay. “Not all siblings. That Queen Crudelis killed Twilight’s grandmother, her own sister. And now with what she did to Chrysalis…”

“Alright, not all siblings then,” Vladimir conceded. “How could anypony do that to their own family?”

“Speaking of family…” Broad Sword allowed himself a smile as he saw a pony of white and red out the corner of his eye.

“There you are!” Scarlet shouted as she ran up to her husband and caught him in an embrace. “We’ve been looking everywhere!”

Soronis and Puellula were just behind Scarlet, greeting the group as they arrived, Puellula snugly sitting and her sister’s back.

“How was your trip over?” Broad Sword asked his wife.

“As comfortable as one can be in a flying box,” Scarlet giggled, her face falling a moment later. “Have you seen this place? I’ve served in the EUP for years and have never seen anything like it…”

“Mr Prince Pony?” Puellula called out to Shining Armor. “Why do all these changelings look sad?”

“Erm…” Shining scratched the back of his head as he considered how to answer the question.

“They’re just… tired, Puellula,” Soronis was the one to answer. “It has been a long day for all of them.”

“Why?” the nymph asked innocently.

“You sure do like asking questions,” Vladimir tried to change the subject. “Do you want to be an investigator when you grow up?”

Puellula puffed her cheeks up. “No! I want to be a princess!”

Vladimir rolled his eyes as chuckles rolled through the group. “Changeling or pony, little girls will always be little girls,” he mumbled to himself.

“And what would you do as a princess?” Scarlet asked the nymph.

Puellula thought long and hard, before finally giving her answer. “Well… I always wanted a pony…”

“I… erm… what?”

“Anyway…” Soronis rolled her eyes dramatically. “What happens now?”

“Well, we’ll sort you a place to stay until this mess is cleared up,” Shining told her. And once Twilight is free and her mother up and about, we’ll get you inducted into the hive, alright?”

Soronis gave a grateful smile. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for us… when out home was destroyed I thought we were finished.”

“Nah!” Puellula dismissed. “I had my big sister to protect me!”

Vladimir stood next to Shining Armor as they watched Puellula and Soronis continue to converse with Scarlet Snow and Broad Sword.

“You know…” Vladimir started. “When I see you and Twilight, and then Soronis and Puellula, I see how siblings are meant to be.”

Shining smiled. “Those two will be safe now, once we get the hive back on its hooves.”

“We’re not out of the storm yet, Shining,” Vladimir noted.

“No, not yet.” Shining responded with a hit of determination.

“Queen Draco, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Celestia bowed her head slightly as she and her fellow princesses approached the changeling queen.

“Princess Celestia,” Draco returned the gesture, before looking towards the other two. “And you two must be Princesses Luna and Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“It’s just Cadance, please,” Cadance said with a smile.

“Why? Part of your full name is given from your ancestor, Queen Amore.”

Cadance blinked. “You know of Queen Amore?”

Draco nodded. “Of course, my mother often traded with the Crystal Empire before I was born. At least she did so before that king took over everything, taking advantage of the chaos the creature Discord had subjected Equestria to.”

“In Discord’s defence, he had improved immeasurably since that time,” Celestia noted.

“So changelings did trade for love from the Crystal Heart?” Cadance asked.

“Indeed,” Draco confirmed.

She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. “So the stories were true, interesting.”

“A discussion for another time,” Luna interrupted. “For now, I believe we have business?”

Celestia nodded in agreement. “My sister is correct. We need to discuss the immediate future of these changelings, and while Chrysalis and my former student are unavailable it is you, Draco, who we must discuss it with.”

“I am running things right now,” Draco said. “What is it exactly you want to discuss?”

“First off, may I inquire on the state of Queen Chrysalis?” Luna asked.

Draco simply shrugged. “I know just as much as you do. We will just have to wait.”

“Then why don’t we move straight onto the obvious, where the changelings will live,” Cadance suggested.

“That does seem most prudent,” Luna agreed. “We do already have a place in mind we have discussed while waiting to meet with you.”

“You have a place in mind?” Draco inquired, while at the same time using her magic to move over a crate of supplies to be unloaded and given out.

The group watched the drones begin their work for a moment before Celestia answered. “Yes, we do.”

“And where is this location?” Draco asked.

“A couple of miles inland, about halfway in-between here and Fort Hurricane there is a system of caves.”

Luna continued where her sister left off. “These caves run deep and have plenty of room for constructing a hive far larger than the one needed for Chrysalis’, so there is plenty of room to grow. On top of that, within these caves runs an underground river just like in the Badlands Hive, so there is plenty of water. With some work, agriculture could also work and food could be grown, but until that time Equestria will be willing to provide continued relief efforts.”

“And love from the Crystal Heart too,” Cadance added.

“Hmm…” Draco thought to herself for a moment. “I believe my friend, Queen Chrysalis, would find that acceptable. However, she will likely want to inspect the cave system first. It’s better to make a decision based on first hoof experience, as opposed to second hoof knowledge.”

“We understand,” Celestia stated, nodding her head.

“Oh, and Princess Cadance,” Draco addressed the youngest of the three.

“Yes?” Cadance looked up at the taller changeling queen.

“I would also very much like to reopen my hive’s deal with the Crystal Empire, trading for love energy from the heart. Twilight did suggest as much during the council.”

Cadance smiled. “I’m sure something can be worked out.”

“Thank you,” Draco nodded. “Many hives still believe isolationism is the way our race should live. But our numbers have dwindled. We’re still not in immediate danger, yet; but given time that lifestyle will continue to kill us. It is high time we reintroduced ourselves to the world. No more hiding.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, Queen Draco,” Celestia said. “Perhaps your example will spur more queens to see the reasoning behind it?”

“Perhaps…” Draco hummed. “But then gain, perhaps not. About three thousand years of tradition isn’t so easily wiped away.”

“Three thousand years?” Luna said questioningly. “Just how much has your race dwindled in that time?”

“About a third,” Draco replied. “The rate of which increased as time went along.”

“I see,” Luna said. “I must also bring up one concern, surrounding this Queen Crudelis.

“And what may that be?” Draco asked.

“What if she is to pursue Chrysalis and Twilight to Equestria, she does seem to be the ruthless type.”

“Yes,” Draco frowned darkly. “She has a strange hatred for them both. It is very possible helping them will put you in the firing line…”

“I see,” Celestia sighed.

“Then again…” Draco started. “She doesn’t exactly like you ponies either. It wouldn’t surprise me if she has intentions of destroying you too.”

“She did try to set up a war between us and Chrysalis,” Luna pointed out.

“I don’t understand,” Cadance narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “What is her plan exactly? Even if she has the largest hive, Equestria is still far larger and better equipped. In an all-out war it would take the combined might of all changelings to overpower us, at least without any treachery on Crudelis’ part.”

“Neither would the council support such a brash action,” Draco noted. “She is ruthless true, but she’s not usually stupid. She must have some plan in place.”

“Not ‘usually’?” Luna raised an eyebrow as she noted Draco’s choice of words.

Draco nodded with a small smirk. “I have noted that when she gets particularly angry about something, she does begin to make mistakes. Act brashly.”

Celestia hummed in contemplation. “Interesting. Perhaps-"

Celestia was interrupted when another voice made itself known.

“Princess Celestia, a word please?” Carduus asked as he approached.

“Captain Carduus,” Celestia greeted.

“Your Highness. I am not interrupting anything, am I?” Carduus asked, his expression cold and angry.

“Captain, what is wrong?” Draco enquired. “What has happened now?”

“The Queen requires the presence of Princess Celestia,” he reported. “Immediately.”

The group shared glances, but Celestia gave a nod. “Very well, take me to her.”

“Follow me,” he said.

“Wait,” Luna placed a hoof on her sister’s shoulder. “I’m coming too.”

Celestia looked towards her younger sister in confusion. “Luna?”

“I just got a very bad feeling. I’m coming.”

Celestia looked towards Carduus, who gave a nod to say it was alright.

“Very well, come then sister.”

“I believe we can discuss that trade deal in the meantime?” Cadance suggested.

“That should do fine,” Draco said. “Give Chrysalis my regards.”

Celestia and Luna turned away from Draco and Cadance and followed closely behind the changeling. As they walked through the camp they began to notice something was… off. The drones seemed to be in a state of shock; some were in tears while others where fuming with barely contained rage.

Celestia and Luna shared a look as they observed this and saw both the EUP and Draco’s changelings look around just as confused as the two princesses.

“Captain? Is there a problem here?” Celestia asked.

Carduus did not answer, instead he continued to walk. Soon enough, their destination was in sight.

A new tent had been set up, guards and magical wards covered the area. The tent was a large structure of black, green and blue on the outside, though as they were led inside they saw the interior was more of a brown colour and was brightly lit. A large war map was in the centre as a newly constructed throne sat at the very end.

When the Princesses saw the Queen that sat in that throne, they froze in place, shock evident on their faces.

It was a Queen that looked furious beyond all possible boundaries. A pain burning in her eyes, and a need for one thing.

Revenge.

"While we mourn the passing of Queen Chrysalis, today a new era begins. All hail Twilight Sparkle, Queen of the Changelings."

Author's Note

...

Yeah I was debating with myself for quite a long time on who to kill. And Twilight had to become queen somehow for my future plans to be possible.

I really quite hate myself for it though... :fluttercry:

51 - Act 2 Epilogue

Ruins of the Badlands Hive

The throne room was a mess. Rubble was strewn along the floor; the two thrones at the end were cracked and on the verge of collapse. Abandoned weapons and armour were scattered across the floor, dropped by the last foolish defenders to stay behind as the enemy swarmed in.

A large wooden table had been brought in, a map of Equestria opened up on top of it as a little over a dozen drones gathered around, Queen Crudelis at their head.

“Have our spies reported back to you over the hive mind?” Crudelis asked one drone.

“They did, but…”

“But?”

“I am afraid some of the sentries around the camp discovered them. They’re gone.”

Crudelis hummed in thought. “That place is too heavily defended for an attack, or for our spies. Recall any of our infiltrators still out there.”

“At once,” the drone bowed.

“What was their final report?” another changeling asked.

“They said that Chrysalis’ drones seemed… agitated, while before they were beaten down low. Something has riled them up.”

A vicious smirk appeared on Crudelis’ face as she realised the implications. “Then, it would appear that my niece has finally passed away.”

A buzz went around the table as the changelings all talked among themselves at what Chrysalis’ death meant for them, only for a hoof to slam down and silence them.

“Silence,” Crudelis ordered. “It would seem our assault here was a huge success. Their home is lost and they are now led by a far less experienced ruler. They are on the brink of collapse…”

Crudelis’ smile suddenly morphed into a snarl, sending shivers down her drone’s spines. “However, they are now under the protection of the ponies, along with Queen Draco. And despite being as young as she is, Twilight Sparkle is still an immediate threat. One that still must be erased.”

“My Queen!” one drone objected. “Chrysalis is dead, her hive is broken. Why not just lead us to this regalia now?”

“Not while she still breathes.”

“Stop right there!” the drone shouted. “Attacking this place was one thing, but Twilight Sparkle is in the borders of Equestria. If we go for her we will be at war before our plan can be acted out!”

“Your point, Commander?”

“My point being, your hatred for Twilight Sparkle has blinded you,” he claimed. “You’re being stupid!”

“Know you place!” the Queen bellowed. “Twilight Sparkle is a threat! Queen Avia's bloodline could ruin everything! Just as she ruined everything a thousand years ago!” Crudelis fumed.

“I once idolized my mother, she could have done so much more for our race! But then Avia had poisoned mother's mind with nonsense that would lead to destruction of our lives and who we are! Pony culture! Twilight will do the same. Besides, Celestia will already be wanting to burn us for what we did, so it is of little consequence there. That, and if you recall, she is the Element of Magic. If those elements are brought into play everything could unravel, so I have a plan to stop that from ever happening; once she and the elements are no longer a threat, then we can simply pull out from Equestria and collect our prize!”

Crudelis took in a deep breath, realising she had been shouting the entire time.

“My apologies,” she uttered. “But, the key to our races future is so close. We just need to eliminate this last threat, and then our plans can proceed. We are in the end game.”

One of her drones spoke up. “You said you had a plan, my Queen? There is no way we can attack the camp. Even though we can muster superior numbers than what is currently there, they are far too entrenched. Plus with the alicorns there…”

“I know,” Crudelis said. “We won’t be attacking the camp. But rather, drawing Twilight Sparkle out.”

“And how exactly will we do that?” another asked.

Crudelis peered at the map, her eyes glaring down unto the town of Ponyville.

End of Act 2

Author's Note

The end draws near...

53 - Act 3 Prologue

War is coming to what little remains of the Badlands hive. The vile changeling known as Queen Crudelis is ready to strike at her own family, and eliminate them once and for all.
Queen Twilight Sparkle must stand ready, and prepare to fight for the survival of her hive.
But can they win against such overwhelming force? What fate awaits Equestria, caught right in the middle?
And what, and who must be sacrificed in order for ultimate victory to be achieved?
Twilight Sparkle shall never be the same.

****

‘Well then, I’m pretty much fucked,’ a trembling drone thought to himself as a mana explosion sent dust and debris flying over his head. The drone hid behind a small jagged piece of rubble jutting out of the ground, right next to the battered town hall. EUP helicopters flew overhead, their door mounted heavy repeater crossbow turrets firing into a crowd of hostile changelings, the velocity of the arrows tearing many drones into bloody ribbons. One of the pony princesses also dove down from above and unleashed a devastating beam of scorching sun into the group, killing even more. And yet as each one fell it was as if two more took their place.

‘This town has experienced many events, both odd and dangerous over the years, but I bet it’s never seen anything like this.’

The clang of steel and the whoosh of arrows filled the air as an alliance of changelings and Equestrians fought against other, much more hostile changelings. Looking over the rubble, the drone fired a few crossbow bolts of his own at a few nearby hostiles, hitting a few; although before he confirmed those kills some spell fire forced him to once again duck for cover. A large explosion rocked the devastated town as Queen Crudelis was thrown violently through what was once somepony’s home, though aside from a few scratches her shield protected her from the majority of the impact and flying debris. Crudelis was shortly thereafter pursued by her opponent, Queen Twilight Sparkle, who fired a few lavender coloured fireballs at the other queen. Crudelis promptly dodged the fireballs before violently snatching Twilight in her red aura, holding her in place.

The drone loaded up his crossbow and took aim at Crudelis, wanting to help his struggling queen. However, before he could act Crudelis chucked Twilight away straight into the still firing EUP helicopter, Twilight brought a shield up to protect herself, unfortunately that protection didn’t extend to the helicopter itself. Twilight’s momentum crashed her straight into and through the helicopters tail, sheering it off. The machine began to spin wildly as the pilots tried to wrestle for control, ultimately to no avail as both the blades and the levitation spells within failed to keep the damaged vehicle aloft. The drone locked in place in sheer terror as the out-of-control helicopter veered directly towards him, a scream could barely leave his lips as the doomed vehicle slammed down right on top of him, going up in a fiery explosion that cast a shade of orange and red across the battlefield, killing both the drone and all those on board the helicopter itself.

And yet the battle continued, for they were hardly be the first to die in this conflict, nor would they be the last.

Three days earlier

"While we mourn the passing of Queen Chrysalis, today a new era begins. All hail Twilight Sparkle, Queen of the Changelings."

Silence is what followed the unexpected declaration from Captain Carduus, and Princess Celestia couldn’t tear her eyes away from her former student, who was sitting ramrod straight in her throne.

Queen Twilight’s eyes were narrowed dangerously, her steely expression sending shivers down Celestia’s spine. Eventually however, Celestia forced her composure back and was able to ask the single most prominent question on her mind at that moment.

“What happened?”

“Isn’t it clear to you?” Twilight asked in a monotone. “My mother… is dead.”

“How?” Luna asked in shock. “I thought she was recovering.”

“The doctors did their best,” Twilight responded. “But their best wasn’t good enough. She died in her sleep, in my company.”

Luna slowly nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry. But at least you were there to-“

Twilight suddenly held up a hoof to stop that line of conversation right there. “Don’t… just don’t. Besides, we have business to discuss.”

“Twilight…” Celestia called out gently.

Twilight seemingly ignored her. “Right now I must think of my subjects. Before any plans are made of how to deal with Queen Crudelis we will need a home. Somewhere to rebuild our lives.”

“What do you mean by ‘deal’ with Crudelis?” Luna asked. “Do you intend to hunt her?”

“When we are able,” Twilight stated as if a simple fact. “She didn’t stop at my grandmother, and neither will she stop now that my mother is dead. I will kill her before she kills any others I care for, or even myself.”

Celestia and Luna shared a worried glance, only just catching Twilight when she spoke again.

“So, if you have any suggestions now would be the time.”

“We… were discussing a potential location for a home with Queen Draco,” Celestia said. “We were going to run it by Chrysalis first… but that job now falls to you, Twilight.”

“Where is this location?”

“A system of caves; about halfway between here and Fort Hurricane there is a system of caves. It has room to grow, underground rivers that are safe to drink, you name it.”

Twilight hummed to herself in thought. “Sounds promising. When things calm down around the camp we will have to discuss it more in depth, Draco being with us when we do. Until then, perhaps you could find some maps, geological surveys and anything else about the area. I want to know everything there is to know about that cave system.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Celestia said. “Is that all?”

Twilight turned towards Carduus, who was standing idly in the corner.

“Well Captain, anything I need to know?”

Carduus shook his head. “Nothing major. We’ve got the majority of the accommodations set up and the defensive perimeter is stable, the scouts Crudelis sent are dead and we getting some more supplies delivered by the EUP soon. Everything you already knew.”

“Thank you Captain,” Twilight nodded. “Then, Celestia, that is all for now.”

Twilight arose from her throne, and made to leave the tent. However, as she passed by Princess Celestia a white hoof pressed firmly onto her shoulder, stopping Queen Twilight in her tracks.

“Twilight…” Celestia said softly. “I know you’re hurting, and angry. But please don’t let that drive your actions from here on.”

“I know what I’m doing, Celestia,” Twilight growled. “Now if you would please let me leave, I should be the one to tell Draco about the death of her best friend.”

Celestia sighed. “You know I’m always available if you need to talk, right?”

Twilight looked away, unable to meet the Sun Princess’ lavender eyes.

“I know,” she said quietly, shaking off Celestia’s hoof and proceeding out the door.

Celestia stared at where Twilight had just exited, a slightly numb sensation overcoming her.

“With our current situation, now it is more dangerous than ever for Twilight Sparkle to have such dark emotions,” Luna reminded Celestia. “Believe me.”

“Luna, Chrysalis is dead,” Celestia stated. “She needs some time.”

“I know,” Luna sighed. “But if wounds aren’t treated properly, they can become infected.”

Celestia flinched, but nodded to acknowledge Luna’s point. She closed her eyes as she entered deep thought, many of which were troubling.

“I’ll leave you to your musings,” Luna said gently, moving past her sister and exiting the large tent.

Author's Note

And so we enter the final leg of the story...

54 - Scarred

Refugee Camp, three days to the battle

Queen Twilight Sparkle made her way through the refugee camp in earnest. Seeing the chaos and her subjects’ suffering created a weight on her shoulders that seemed far greater now than ever before. She was their queen now, and she didn’t have her mother to help, to give advice or direction. She was on her own.

Her mother’s death remained on the forefront of her mind, and her current anger stemmed from it. She had fully expected her mother to recover, Chrysalis was strong in both body and will, and she always had been. But then came that moment, the moment Twilight felt Chrysalis’ chest stop raising and the sound of her breathing cease. When that happened Twilight felt panic like she never had done before, and she immediately called for medical assistance. The doctors rushed in and with the then-princess’ help they attempted to revive the changeling queen.

Ultimately, to no avail.

After several minutes of trying the lead doctor had called it in, and in a sombre tone had noted the time of death to be recorded.

Twilight didn’t want to believe it. She had insisted they continue to try, had shouted and raged but ultimately no matter how hard she willed it reality came knocking.

Her mother, Queen Chrysalis, was dead. She died in that bed and Twilight could, in the end, do nothing to prevent it.

She had never felt so powerless.

‘Never again.’

Eventually she spotted the exact individual she was looking for, Queen Draco. She was still assisting with the relief effort. Changelings and ponies alike ran around as she gave them all directions, Twilight’s drones keeping an air of professionalism despite their own anger towards Chrysalis’ death.

On spotting her fellow changeling queen, Twilight began to make her way through the crowd as they parted from her path. Draco held a smile when she saw the younger changeling approach.

“Princess Twilight,” she greeted. “I trust Chrysalis is recovering nicely. I myself have just had a lovely conversation with Mi Amore Cadenza, you were right back at the council you know.”

Draco’s smile faltered when she saw the grim expression on Twilight’s face, and the grimace she held when she heard Draco’s dialogue towards her.

“Twilight?” she called out. “What’s wrong?”

Twilight breathed in heavily, and then out again. “It’s not Princess anymore. I am now queen of our hive.”

A fearful expression presented itself on Queen Draco’s features. “What do you mean? Chrysalis is stubborn and strong willed, and not one to pass on her title so easily. Was she maimed that badly?”

Twilight observed the changeling queen. Her expression said it all, Draco realised the likely scenario of what had happened, but didn’t want to admit it. She was hoping for the best.

False hope.

“Draco…” Twilight began. “My mother has… passed away. Her injuries were too severe, we did all we could but…” Twilight trailed off, unable to complete her sentence.

Draco examined the younger queen, looking desperately for any sign of deception. Why Twilight would deceive her she didn’t know, but she looked anyway.

And found nothing.

“I see…” Draco snarled, her narrow pupils dilating.

The elder queen’s horn lit up as she lashed out at a nearby pile of empty crates, her green magic shattering them into billions of tiny atoms as she screamed furious obscenities.

As sawdust flew wildly through the air, many others around them made the wise decision of avoiding the enraged changeling queen, but Twilight for her part just stood there patiently as Draco vented her rage.

When all was said and done, Queen Draco stood over the remains of what had previously a group of wooden crates; her breaths were heavy and laboured and as she calmed, her anger sufficiently vented for now, she looked back over to the stone-faced Twilight.

“My apologies,” Draco said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already been there,” Twilight responded. “She was your best friend.”

“But she was your mother,” Draco rebuked. “I’m so sorry, Twilight.”

“So am I,” Twilight said, crestfallen.

Draco sighed, sitting down on her haunches as her thoughts turned to her deceased friend.

“You know,” Draco started. “When I was a nymph, I was rather secluded by my mother. I only ever saw her or servants, I never interacted with nymphs my age, and thus I never had much in the way of friends. Until my first trip to the council that is…”

Twilight couldn’t meet Draco’s gaze, but her perked up ears told Draco she was listening, so she continued.

“We were both lost, you know. We bumped into each other by complete accident. She began raving about the history of the hive, and books - where do you think you got that from?” Draco grinned. “We became fast friends though, and I would always look forward to each council so we could reunite. Of course when we were older we would also arrange our own meetings when possible. And then, a little over twenty years ago, she became pregnant with you.”

Twilight looked up at Draco as she went forward with her tale.

“You have no idea how happy she was, your father too,” Draco smiled at the memory. “And when she had to give you up, it almost destroyed her. She came to me, asking that my spies help to locate a suitable family for you in Equestria. Together we found Night Light and Twilight Velvet of course. And then when she went to deliver you I went with her, most of the way at least. When she came to the houses about one street away she insisted she go on ahead alone to say goodbye, and so I waited until she was finished and then departed with her.”

“Wait,” Twilight interrupted. “You were there that night?”

“Yes,” Draco nodded. “She kept me informed on just about everything that was happening with you; with the sole exception being the invasion to retrieve you, she omitted that detail.”

Draco placed a hoof on Twilight shoulder. “As long as I live I will be here for you, Twilight. As I always have been, as I always was for her. And I will pursue Crudelis until justice is done.”

Twilight shot her a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“Now,” Draco said. “What do you intend to do about Queen Crudelis?”

“What do you think?”

“I understand,” Draco said with a nod.

“But before anything my changelings need a home,” the younger queen stated. “We will be discussing it later, the princesses are sending for some maps and information on that cave.”

“So it was mentioned to you then? And?”

“It seems promising so far,” Twilight said. “But we shall see.”

“We shall,” Draco agreed. “What now?”

“For now, I need some sleep,” Twilight supressed a tired yawn. “I’m no use to any of you if I fall asleep on the job.”

“It is getting late,” Draco noted, looking toward the falling sun. “I for one am not at all tired, so I will continue to keep things running until you feel up to things. After what you’ve been though I would think you need the rest.”

“Agreed,” Twilight said, moving off in the direction of her tent.

“Be well, Twilight Sparkle,” Draco called after her as they parted ways.

After she had gone, Draco kept in a sigh of sadness. But there would be time for mourning her friend later, she had a job to do keeping the refugees fed and safe. Chrysalis would wish her to do as much.

However, it was but a couple of minutes later that Draco was yet again distracted from her work as the Princess of the Sun approached.

“Princess Celestia,” she greeted. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m searching for Queen Twilight, have you seen her?” Celestia asked.

“I have, she has retired for what will soon be the night,” Draco told her. “She has had a most trying day.”

“I know,” Celestia said sadly. “I take it she told you?”

“She did,” Draco nodded. “I will mourn in my own time, I have a job to do.”

Celestia nodded back. “Very well, for what it’s worth I am sorry. Excuse me.”

Celestia moved away from the changeling queen and off into the crowd, making her way towards where Twilight was located.

Draco sighed, but promptly got back to work.

Twilight moved past the guards at her tent’s entrance and immediately collapsed into the bed at the other end, the same bed on which she had awoke in the early hours of that morning. A morning where Chrysalis had still been alive.

Tears began to flow freely, soaking into the pillow as she thought of what she had lost.

“Two years?” Twilight muttered to herself. “Was that all we had? Couldn’t even quite make it to the third…”

She heard ruffling from the tent’s entrance and then the sound of hooves approaching her.

Twilight knew who it was, who else would it be?

Celestia sat down by Twilight’s side, casting her a look of sympathy and remorse. “Twilight, I’m so sorry. If I had been faster this might have been prevented.”

“No,” Twilight said with a shake of her head, shifting to look up at Celestia. “Only Queen Crudelis is to blame, and she will pay for what she has done!”

“Are you ready to talk about it?” Celestia asked.

“No, thank you but… no,” Twilight dismissed.

“Twilight…” Celestia sighed. “I know you are angry. But don’t let it control you.”

“And what’s that meant to mean?” Twilight suddenly shouted. “My mother is dead. Doesn’t that give me the right to be angry?!”

“Of course,” Celestia assured. “But it’s also dangerous, especially for beings such as ourselves. Alicorns and changeling queens are similar in many ways, need I remind you what happened to my sister? Or even give the example of Crudelis herself, I hear she has quite the hatred for your family.”

“You’re… you’re comparing me to her?!” Twilight snapped, jumping up to confront Celestia.

Celestia’s eyes widened as Twilight glared at her angrily, fangs bared towards her.

“No! Of course not! You are nothing like her, Twilight. I was just making a point, anger can change us. And right now you are displaying a lot of it.”

“You have no right to criticize me, Princess,” Twilight growled.

“Twilight?” Celestia whispered.

“You’re the one who decided to send six teenagers to deal with your mess. To redeem a sister who was only like she was because you neglected her! You sent those same teenagers to deal with Discord for you as well, and when it came down to it you didn’t even realise your own ‘niece’ had been replaced by a changeling! Before I knew who she was, I was momentarily suspicious, had I acted on those suspicions and tried to expose her I doubt you, being as engrossed in the wedding as you were, would have believed me!”

“How could you say that? Of course I would have!”

“Really?” Twilight asked doubtfully. “It must be so nice being you, sitting so high up on your throne while sending others to do your dirty work, keeping your pristine image so nice and squeaky clean!”

“Twilight I…” Celestia started, trembling slightly at her words. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

Twilight growled, staring daggers at Princess Celestia as her rage drove her forward.

“That’s all you have to say?” Twilight snorted. “You’re ‘sorry I feel that way’? Well I’m sorry too… sorry that you’re too much of a coward to even address what I have just said!”

“Twilight, I have done what I believe right. I always have,” Celestia said sternly. “But I am not perfect, or all powerful or some kind of goddess like others have made me out to be in the past. I’m just a pony. But let it never be said that I don’t care, for you or any of my subjects. I love you, Twilight. I love you like any mother loves her daughter, just as Chrysalis and Twilight Velvet have done. You’re lucky to have so many that care for you.”

For a moment, Twilight seemed to relent. Her own eyes widening at Celestia’s words.

But anger is not so easily extinguished.

“Get out,” Twilight muttered.

“Twilight I-”

“GET OUT!” Twilight shouted, wings spread, horn sizzling and fangs glaring.

Celestia flinched backwards, before hastily retreating from the tent as requested.

Twilight flung herself onto the bed and cast sound proofing spells around herself as she began to sob hysterically into the sheets.

Celestia stepped outside into the fresh air, trying to get her trembling under control. Never had she heard Twilight talk to her as such, but she understood. Twilight was heartbroken, and all that pent up emotion needed an outlet.

Celestia was just unfortunate enough to be that said outlet.

And what Twilight accused her of, Celestia herself had long held guilt over. As she had stated to the raging changeling, at the end of the day she was just a pony like any other.

It was time for her most important duty, and as Celestia lit her horn the sun descended into the horizon, while elsewhere in the camp Luna raised the moon.

Night had fallen.

Author's Note

All sunshine and rainbows right now...

On the bright side, I have written a scene with everyone's favourite chaos spirit! Not saying when and how he appears, but he does!

55 - Motherly Concern

Refugee Camp, a little past midnight, two days before the battle

“So drones are born out of eggs laid by the mother, but queens are born like a pony baby?” Vladimir asked for clarification from the changeling he spoke to.

“Correct,” Thorax nodded. “Though both enter pods shortly thereafter.”

“It’s true,” Carduus confirmed, standing with them both by a group of crates they were sorting through.

Changelings and ponies continued to work hard delivering aid, even a full day after the battle things weren’t exactly fine around camp. The relief effort would be ongoing for a while.

“Most drones are born in a nursery, though some parents prefer for their young to hatch in more private circumstances; but the nursery is more traditional,” Thorax continued. “I myself was born in the nursery when Queen Chrysalis herself was present.”

“Why did you never mention any of this, Carduus?” Vladimir asked.

“I have yet to give Iuvenes the ‘birds and the bees’ talk, why the hay would I give a fully grown thestral the talk?” Carduus deadpanned.

“Ah… point taken,” Vladimir said sheepishly. “Anyway, Thorax was it? What did you do around the hive?”

“Oh, I was part of the guard at one point - I was even present during the wedding,” Thorax stated.

“Was part of the guard? Why did you leave it?”

“The Wedding,” he said simply. “It was my first full engagement and… I didn’t enjoy it much. I prefer friendship over fighting. Hay, if Chrysalis had been evil I may have even run away to the Crystal Empire or something afterwards.”

Thorax’s face fell. “Though she wasn’t evil, she was kind… a good ruler. Even if she was a bit over dramatic at times. She didn’t deserve her fate.”

“Agreed,” Vladimir said apologetically.

“Anyway, I have things to do, please excuse me,” Thorax made his leave.

“Yeah, nice talking to you,” the thestral nodded as the changeling departed.

Once Thorax had left, Vladimir turned to Carduus. “Hey, did you notice the kid’s magic colour.”

“More blue than green,” Carduus confirmed. “I know. Like Queen Twilight his aura deviates from the usual green most changelings hold.”

“So I see,” Vladimir said. “Though Thorax seems like a good kid.”

“He is, though he made a good choice leaving the guard, he wasn’t suited for it,” Carduus noted. “Though saying that, you should see him when he gets hungry.”

“Why? What happens?”

Carduus smirked. “Let’s just say he gets all snarly and might bite.”

Vladimir tilted his head. “Snarly?”

“Yup,” was the simple response Carduus gave back, shooting him an amused grin.

“Alright then,” Vladimir concluded, deciding to leave it at that. “Ah, here comes trouble.”

Vladimir smiled as a small nymph came running up to the duo, followed closely by a second.

“Hiya Mr Bat! Hiya Mr Carduus!” Puellula waved enthusiastically as she skidded to a stop.

“Daddy!” Iuvenes shouted excitedly.

“Hi there girls,” Carduus said, patting his daughter on the head affectionately. “You two playing nice?”

Both happily nodded.

“Good. Now, where is that sister of yours Puellula?” Carduus asked.

“Here,” a tired Soronis gasped for breath as she ran to catch up with the mischievous duo. “They’ve been giving me the run-around.”

“At least they’re keeping you busy,” Vladimir smirked.

“Yeah well,” Soronis composed herself. “Puellula hasn’t been this happy in a long time, so I can’t complain. At least she now had a friend her own age.”

“We’re doomed,” Vladimir stated dramatically.

“You’re funny Mr Bat!” Iuvenes exclaimed as the two nymphs giggled.

Vladimir rolled his eyes. “Mr Bat, huh? Is that my name now?”

“Yup!” both grinned innocently.

“I mean, your mark is a bat so…” Soronis smirked.

For the second time in but a few moment, Vladimir rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, Puellula perked up and turned to her new friend. “Hey! Let’s go find and help Queen Drago!”

“Isn’t her name Draco?” Iuvenes asked.

Puellula shrugged. “Oh well, but we can be royal assistants!”

“You two shouldn’t be bothering-” Soronis began, but then the two nymphs were already gone.

Soronis groaned, and then set off again to try and keep up before the two burned down the camp with their ‘assistance’.

Vladimir chuckled lightly. “Well at least they’re enjoying themselves.”

“They’re about the only ones,” Carduus reminded his friend solemnly, pointing towards a nearby Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.

Shining Armor was pacing around restlessly as Cadance tried to calm him, they seemed to be in a heated discussion.

“He’s worried for his sister is all,” Vladimir said. “She didn’t take Chrysalis’ passing well.”

“You don’t need to tell me, I’m connected to her, remember?” Carduus tapped the side of his head in demonstration.

“Right… Are you able to tell how she’s doing?”

“No,” Carduus said regretfully. “She’s blocked herself off, apparently there are even sound suppression wards around the tent that she herself placed. So I can take a good guess as to the queen’s condition.”

Vladimir sighed. “It’s bullshit.”

“What is?”

The Lunar Captain gestured to the camp with a hoof. “All of this. A short while ago I was on leave in the Crystal Empire and everypony was alive and happy. Now all of this is happening, none of us saw it coming.”

“And perhaps that was our downfall,” Carduus grimly stated. “Still, there is no way she will attack us here, the camp is far too heavily defended. Things should calm in a couple days when all the supplies are distributed and nerves aren’t so frayed.”

“We can hope,” was the response. “Still, I’m going to keep my blade at hoof’s reach. We can’t be too careful.”

“Very true,” Carduus agreed. “I already lost one queen on my watch, not another.”

“It’s not your fault, you were protecting Twilight at the time, and fighting a dragon,” Vladimir stated.

“I know that,” Carduus said sternly. “Doesn’t change the fact that she is dead, and there was nothing I could have done. Next time I will do something, even throw myself in front of a magic bolt intended for her if I must.”

“Now you’re just being dramatic,” Vladimir protested.

“But I mean it,” Carduus said genuinely. “It’s my duty.”

“Well, don’t be so quick to sacrifice yourself, because after all this is done we’re going for drinks.”

Carduus sighed. “I suppose I can get behind that.”

“Get behind what?” Broad Sword asked as he and Scarlet made their presence known.

“Drinking ourselves under the table,” Vladimir smirked. “Putting our hooves up and relaxing without any of this nonsense.”

“Let’s do our jobs first,” Broad Sword stated. “We miss much?”

“Just talk with a changeling named Thorax,” Carduus said. “Where were you two?”

“Well we were actually quite fortunate. The doctor who Scarlet had an appointment with on our return to Canterlot was one of the ones shipped out here to assist, so he did the pregnancy check up here and now when he had a free moment,” Broad Sword explained.

“Oh really? And?”

“The baby is doing fine,” Scarlet smiled.

“That’s good to hear,” Vladimir congratulated. “I wish you both the best. Being a parent is a big responsibility, perhaps you should go to Shining for tips?”

“I think Cadance would be a better choice,” Broad Sword joked. “Shining can be a bit of a drama queen sometimes.”

Vladimir chuckled. “No kidding. You turning in for the night?”

“I am,” Scarlet said. “Doctor insisted I get some rest. Broad is staying up though.”

“There is still plenty to do,” Broad Sword said, looking around the camp. “And let it never be said I skimped by in my duties.”

“Oh my hero,” Scarlet lightly mocked, before planting a kiss on the stallion’s cheek. “And don’t you forget your duties to me later on, captain,” she giggled as she departed, leaving her husband extremely red in the face.

Broad Sword slowly turned towards Carduus and Vladimir, who both seemed very amused indeed.

“Just get back to work,” Broad Sword mumbled in embarrassment.

Celestia walked with her sister on the outskirts of the camp, the hustle and bustle of activity within still viewable from the distance. The night was ultimately calm aside from that, and the only notable noise was the occasional owl coming out to hunt.

“I find it hard to see Twilight saying that to you,” Luna said. “She isn’t usually one to make cruel remarks.”

“Is it cruel if she is right?” Celestia asked. “I have thought heavily on the very things she has described many times.”

“We aren’t perfect, and I don’t believe Twilight truly hates you for that. She understands and cares for you as a mother, but what she’s going through…”

“I was the outlet for her anger, I know,” Celestia sighed. “I just feel helpless, I want to help her in any way I can.”

“By just letting her vent, you may have. By tomorrow she will likely be overdramatically asking for your forgiveness as usual, old habits die hard.”

“Perhaps,” Celestia said. “I’m just worried for her. She’s the queen now, and that is a lot of responsibility.”

“Not to mention Crudelis. Their confrontation seems inevitable,” Luna noted. “Though Crudelis shouldn’t be too confident in their battle, others have made similar mistakes in the past. Myself included, I was so sure I would defeat the puny unicorn that was ready to charge at me when I returned. The next thing I knew I was depowered and at your mercy. Twilight will do fine.”

“No,” Celestia suddenly stated.

“What?” Luna asked in confusion.

“I will not let Crudelis close to Twilight, not again. First the assassin almost claimed her life, then the attack… when Crudelis makes her next move I will confront her personally.”

“We are not always in charge of our own fates,” Luna cautioned. “You may fight Crudelis, but I feel destiny calls the two queens to meet face-to-face, one last time.”

“To Tartarus with fate!” Celestia shouted. “Fate will not keep me from protecting her, destinies are never set in stone.”

“Is it true, there are many branches time can take,” Luna conceded. “But nevertheless, the outcome will not always be ours to control. We’re not gods.”

“I know,” Celestia assured. “There is no such thing, only god-like beings. But despite this I must try. I must try for her sake, and for my own. I will not lose her, sister. I won’t.”

“It is admirable you care so much, but I would expect nothing less,” Luna said. “Still, whether Crudelis fights you or Twilight, I expect the end is coming soon. Crudelis has waited a long time to enact her plans, and she won’t stop now.”

“Do you expect an attack on the camp?” Celestia asked.

“Creatures like her can be blinded by anger, though I don’t believe she is that much of a fool. She will try something else.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Luna admitted. “A thousand years ago I attacked directly, when I should have just played innocent and poisoned your next meal.”

“Thanks,” Celestia muttered sarcastically.

“I’m glad I didn’t though,” Luna nuzzled her sister in reassurance. “But my attack as Nightmare Moon was on a whim, my final fall from grace. She had been planning this for a while and will not be so quick to do so. She will come for Twilight no doubt, and I am concerned for how she plans to gain access to her.”

“Then all we can do is wait and keep an eye out, we must be ready,” Celestia stated. “I want the EUP around camp to be on constant alert and ready for deployment. And I will send for some extra hooves from Fort Hurricane.”

“Agreed,” Luna nodded. “We should also have some agents try to root out any potential infiltrators.”

“It’s already done,” Celestia said. “I ordered some discreet sweeps the moment I heard about the attack, just in case.”

“Good to see you’re on top of things. Now sister, if you would excuse me I have business to attend to.”

“Business?” Celestia asked in non-understanding.

“The realm of dreams does not wait for anypony, and I have a long night ahead catching up.”

“Ah, I see. Goodnight Lulu.”

“Goodnight Tia, and don’t worry about young Twilight. I have an idea.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “An idea?”

“Yes,” Luna nodded. “I will explain soon. For now I must get on.”

“Alright, do be careful with her,” Celestia asked of Luna, opening up her wings and flying off towards the refugee camp in the distance.

“Contrary to popular belief, I do know discretion!” Luna called after her.

Luna shook her head. “I am the Princess of the Night after all,” she muttered.

Luna herself opened her wings and returned to camp, and after a short trip she found herself in the tent set up for her use, passing by some of her own guard on the way in. Luna disposed of her regalia before retiring into her own bed.

Luna closed her eyes and lit up her horn. When her eyes opened again her consciousness was drifting in a star filled realm filled with many doors into many dreams of the many ponies and other such species within the range of her ability.

But tonight, instead of scouting out the realm there was only one destination she had in mind, a friend who needed her help once more.

All the doors were swept away leaving only one, a seemingly plain door with the image of a lavender starburst painted meticulously on the front.

Grinning to herself, Luna opened the door more than ready for the inevitable nightmares swirling within the mind of Twilight Sparkle.

Author's Note

Day one has ended...

Oh, and I just had to add a Thorax cameo after the episode! :twilightsmile:

56 - Flashback: Proposal

Canterlot, Several Months Before The Badland’s Fall

Broad Sword was nervous.

Actually, that was a gross understatement.

It had been around about two years since the whole business with the changelings and his subsequent imprisonment. When that infiltrator had informed him of his old love’s murder, regrets long buried returned tenfold. She had been on his mind the whole time until his rescue, and afterwards he didn’t believe the new hole could ever be filled.

And then he met Scarlet Snow.

He would always keep a special place for his first love, taken from him. But where the changeling would have him believe he would never love again, Scarlet had proved otherwise.

Ever since that day in the hospital they had begun to see one another for the occasional drink. And then occasional became weekly, then damn near daily. They had begun to spend very little time apart, something that Vladimir and Shining Armor, who had since left for the newly returned Crystal Empire, loved to point out to him.

It was pretty obvious to all they were dating.

Broad Sword had fallen in love with her optimism and her caring attitude, along with her strength and ability as a soldier in the EUP. Her eyes and mane, her snowy white coloured coat, everything about her was… perfect.

He liked to believe the feeling was mutual, and there was one question that could confirm it.

A hoof to the back of his head brought him back to the here and now.

“Equus to Broad Sword, are you there?” Scarlet smirked as he rubbed the new sore spot on the back of his head. “What were you thinking about?”

“Oh… you know… stuff,” was the rather awkward reply.

The Pegasus and unicorn were sitting on one of Canterlot Castle’s many balconies, the early night’s sky above them. They had a magnificent view of the land beyond Mount Canterhorn, the green fields rolling along for miles around. A table was set up for them, drinks sat on top.

“So, how many favours did you have to call in to get this little spot?” Scarlet grinned. “It’s not every day you have a date on one of the castle’s luxurious balconies.”

“Call it a perk of being Captain of the Solar Guard,” Broad Sword smirked. “All I had to do was ask.”

“Celestia is having you pull a double shift tomorrow, isn’t she?” Scarlet asked in amusement.

“I’m fairly sure she was joking…” Broad Sword hoped.

Scarlet laughed at her boyfriend’s sheepish grin. “Time will tell!”

Broad Sword looked towards Scarlet, examining her beautiful features illustrated by the bright moonlight. Scarlet noticed his stares, and couldn’t help but blush.

“What are you looking at?” she asked.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” he said.

The blush deepened. “OK… why are you being super romantic all of a sudden?”

“What do you mean?”

“The balcony, the things you are saying, the looks… what’s going on?”

“I’m always romantic!” Broad Sword protested.

“Actually, I had you pinned as being slightly hopeless at it,” Scarlet admitted. “It’s part of your charm.”

“I’ll try not to take that personally,” he deadpanned, though with slight amusement. “Alright, there was one thing…”

“I knew it,” she muttered. “Alright, what happened?”

“Nothing, at least until you give an answer…”

Scarlet seemed confused. “Answer?”

Broad Sword gave a loud whistle, and with the signal given the moon seemed to shine brighter as the stars began to shift. Scarlet looked up in bewilderment as the distant balls of gas moved around to form letters, which in turn formed two words. Two very specific words.

Marry Me?

Scarlet sat there for a few moment, unable to form words. Slowly, her head spun until she faced her boyfriend, her mouth agape.

“How… what… when…”

“I asked Vladimir who then asked Princess Luna,” Broad Sword smiled. “I believe her words were, ‘If I said no, Cadenza would never forgive me’. So… answer?”

Scarlet’s jaw remained on the floor as she tried to form her words, finally however, she was able to pull herself together enough to blurt it out.

“Yes! Of course it’s a yes!” she shouted as she flung herself at him, the two locking into a passionate kiss.

Above them, discreetly sitting in the shadows, the Princess of the Night gave a satisfied sigh at the sight, before rearranging the stars back to their normal positions in space. However, as she spread her wings and took off away from the engaged couple, she kept the moon lit up bright, and would do so until the sun rose the next morning.

Author's Note

Just a bonus chapter, a little bit of light to brighten up the severe dark we've been seeing as of late. This, as far as is planned, is the final Flashback Chapter...

New full chapter tomorrow, as per usual.

57 - Ponyville

Ponyville, two days before the battle

Pinkie Pie, as usual, awoke at the crack of dawn. While other ponies such as Rainbow Dash would prefer to sleep in as long as possible, she had far too much work to do.

Firstly, she had to feed and have highly intellectual conversation with Gummy. Then she had to make several large batches of cupcakes before planning seven and a half parties for that particular day.

Oh, and she would also have a chase scene later on in the chapter, a busy day overall!

The sun was only just beginning to show itself over the horizon, and the sky was filled with a brilliant orange of the dawn. Pinkie Pie sung happily to herself as she flung the curtains open and picked up her pet from his basket.

“Morning Gummy!” Pinkie Pie sang happily. “Breakfast time!”

With Gummy on her back Pinkie trotted downstairs and into the kitchen while being careful not to wake either the cakes or their children. It was hard to believe they were coming up to three years old! Pinkie Pie was planning an extra special party, just like she planned an extra special party every year!

“I like parties, don’t ya know?” Pinkie Pie smiled to nopony in particular.

On entering the kitchen, Pinkie Pie placed Gummy down onto the table and immediately got to work. She got out all the ingredients she would need and prepared them expertly while singing one of her favourite songs about cupcakes, before placing them in the oven. Soon enough the timer she had prepared dinged and she was able to extract the new batch of cupcakes she had baked.

Not even waiting for them to cool, Pinkie Pie picked one up and took a bite, just to make sure they were up to scratch.

“Perfect!” she proclaimed. “Gummy! Breakfast is ready!”

Pinkie Pie placed one cupcake onto a plate and slid it carefully next to Gummy while she took the rest and demolished them within moments.

Giving a satisfied sigh, she sat down and patted her stomach, glancing over toward Gummy where she noticed he just stared blankly at his own.

“Come on, eat up!” she encouraged.

Nothing.

“Don’t back chat me Mr!” she scolded the alligator.

Gummy blinked, a rare sight indeed.

“Oh fine, eat it when you’re ready.”

Gummy’s stare remained unchanged.

“I know time can take many paths, but it’s just a cupcake!”

Gummy licked his own eyeball.

“Ohhhhh! So it’s the butterfly effect?” Pinkie asked. “So if you ate the cupcake too soon or too late a big disaster could happen in the future?”

No answer.

Pinkie Pie winked. “I understand buddy! Just eat when it is the most convenient for reality's continued existence!”

A knock on the door caught Pinkie Pie’s attention, and she tilted her head as she wondered who it could be at such an early hour.

“Huh? Sorry Gummy, I’ll be back in a moment,” Pinkie told her pet as she exited the room.

Gummy’s blank gaze continued to be directed directly forward.

And then his maw suddenly opened to unnatural proportions as the cupcake was consumed.

And just like that, reality was saved.

Rainbow Dash knocked for a second time on the front door of Sugercube Corner, impatiently awaiting an answer.

The Pegasus heard the lock being undone just before the door swung open and Pinkie Pie skipped on out.

“Oh! Morning Dashie!” Pinkie grinned. “What are you doing up this early, you normally like to sleep in! Are the Wonderbolts in town? Is there a giant monster rampaging? Is it made out of cake? IsItAGiantCakeMonsterbeingFoughtByTheWonderbolts?!”

“Erm,” Rainbow’s eye twitched. “No, none of the above. AJ sent me.”

“Oh?” Pinkie Pie said curiously. “And, what does she want?”

“Pinkie, you haven’t seen anything… odd around here, have you?”

Pinkie Pie hummed in though.

“Well… Gummy did save reality with a cupcake, but that’s just a normal morning really. So… no! Nothing out of the ordinary,” Pinkie proclaimed.

“Are you sure?”

“Yup,” Pinkie nodded. “Why, what’s going on?”

“It may be nothing,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “It’s just that some of the townsponies claim to have seen some suspicious figures going around. And with what happened to Twilight being spread around town nerves are a little frayed in terms of, well… any possible changelings roaming about with not so nice intent.”

“Huh?” Pinkie raised a confused eyebrow. “Why? What happened to Twilight?”

“You haven’t heard?” Rainbow’s eyes widened.

“No, nothing.”

Rainbow gritted her teeth in anger, though it wasn’t directed at Pinkie Pie.

“News came in last night, Twilight’s hive is gone.”

“What? What do you mean… gone? Did they go on a road trip?”

“No, Pinkie… it has been destroyed,” Rainbow stated. “Some dumb bitch burned the thing down!”

Pinkie’s mane deflated a little. “W-What? What about Twilight?”

“She’s fine apparently, but we don’t know much else.”

“Well, what are we going to do?” Pinkie asked.

“We were going to go over there right away,” Rainbow sighed. “But Mayor Mare asked that we stay a couple more days until nerves are less frayed around town, to reassure ponies. Though once that happens we will be straight over there! The egghead needs us and I’m not content to sit around here! I’m a Wonderbolt for Celestia’s sake! I should be out teaching that queen a lesson for hurting our friend!” Rainbow loudly shouted in anger.

“Dashie…” Pinkie recoiled at the Pegasus’ raised voice.

Rainbow calmed herself on seeing Pinkie Pie’s reaction. “Sorry Pinks,” Rainbow muttered. “I’m just a little on edge right now.”

Pinkie nodded. “I know. What if, when we see Twilight I’ll throw a party to cheer her up?!”

Rainbow looked up at her friend. “If she is any state for one that may not be such a bad idea. Hay, maybe we could get Chrysalis more involved this time.”

“Yes! We could…” Pinkie’s enthusiasm suddenly died down.

“Pinkie?”

“Sorry Dashie I just… felt really sad when I said that for some reason…”

Rainbow looked understandably worried. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah… fine,” her mane was even more deflated. “Talk about a tonal shift…”

Rainbow looked over her shoulder at a few passing ponies, Lyra and Bon Bon, who both seemed to be on edge.

“Listen, Pinkie, I’ve got to go,” Rainbow stated. “I promised the Mayor I would patrol the town with my weather ponies, let us know if you see anything suspicious, alright?”

Pinkie Pie nodded in confirmation.

“Good,” Rainbow nodded back, before opening her wings and taking to the air.

Pinkie Pie watched as he cyan friend left, and continued to stare after she was gone. Pinkie couldn’t help but feel a bit empty after the mention of Chrysalis, she didn’t quite know why on this occasion, but she just knew something terrible had happened.

Then movement in the very corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned to see an Earth Pony with a grey coat and green eyes bearing down on her.

Pinkie yelped in surprise and instinctively hit out with her hooves.

The pony shouted in pain as he dropped backward to the floor, blood seeping from his muzzle along with some green flames.

“Damn, so much for replacing you,” the changeling muttered quietly, probably thinking Pinkie didn’t hear it.

Unfortunately, she had excellent hearing.

“You were going to replace me?!” Pinkie recoiled.

“Damn it,” the stallion snarled, turning tail and running in the opposite direction as attention was being drawn to the duo.

“Stop!” Pinkie shouted as she took off after him, quickly gaining ground.

Green flames enveloped the changeling and his wings buzzed to life, he swerved and took of through the air up onto a nearby roof a few streets away.

The changeling landed there to consider his options, only to find Pinkie waiting for him.

“What?! How?!” the changeling shouted in surprise.

“Stop meanie!” Pinkie made a grab for the changeling, only for him to open a portal beneath himself and sink away.

He appeared another few streets away, this time in an alleyway. However, like before Pinkie Pie was waiting already.

He didn’t delay this time, instead bolting into the opposite direction. This routine rinsed and repeated for several more minutes as the changeling ducked and dived through the buildings, other ponies could only stare in amazement at the sight.

Finally things came to a head as the changeling turned to gallop headlong down a street with Pinkie directly behind him.

But he had finally had enough of the pink pony.

The changeling unexpectedly turned quickly around to face Pinkie Pie, and the mare’s vision was suddenly filled with green as she was hit by a quickly fired spell.

Pinkie fell backwards to the floor, too stunned to even shout out in pain. As her vision swam in and out the mare tried to get to her hooves, only to fall back down. She could hear the changeling approach, his horn alight, and she was able to look up to see his snarling and hate filled face inches from her own.

Only for a rainbow coloured blur to smack right into him and knock the changeling to the ground.

“Stay away from my friend!” Rainbow shouted in anger, delivering a hoof to the changeling’s muzzle, dazing him heavily.

“Pinkie darling, can you hear me?” a posh sounding voice came to Pinkie’s ears as she felt several hooves roll her onto her back.

Rarity was there along with Fluttershy, who seemed to have brought a first aid kit just in case. Fluttershy dropped the kit from her mouth and started to inspect Pinkie, luckily her injuries were minor as the changeling didn’t have time to charge anything too harmful.

Applejack was there too, and once she was sure Pinkie was safe she wandered over to stand next to Dash, and equally furious look on her face.

“Well what in tarnation is this?!” Applejack fumed. “What are ya doing here, changeling? Ya’ll ain’t from Twi’s hive for sure.”

The changeling snarled. “I’m not saying a thing.”

“Wrong answer,” Rainbow growled, grabbing onto the changelings right foreleg and applying some pressure.”

“Hey hold on now, what are you doing sugarcube?” Applejack’s eyes widened.

“This guy hurt Pinkie!” Rainbow shouted. “He might even be one of the ones who attacked Twilight!”

The changeling laughed sadistically. “Twilight Sparkle? Oh that was too easy to deal with the Badlands, just as we will deal with you ponies…”

Rainbow applied more pressure.

The changeling grunted in pain.

“You’re bluffing, you’re just a pony, element bearer or not.”

“You’ve overlooked one thing,” Rainbow growled.

“And that is?”

“I’m a Wonderbolt,” Rainbow replied. “Ergo, military.”

A loud snap filled the air along with a scream of agony as Rainbow broke his foreleg.

Fluttershy and Rarity both gasped in shock, Applejack too was quite uncomfortable with what Rainbow Dash just did, but none moved to stop the infuriated Pegasus.

“Now, what were you doing here?!” Rainbow shouted in a rage, applying pressure to the next foreleg.

“Please!” the changeling pleaded. “Stop!”

“Tell me!” was the only reply he received.

“I’m just a scout!” he claimed. “It’s just me, and I’m only scouting out the area, honest!”

Rainbow Dash snarled at the whimpering changeling, studying him for a moment. After that moment passed however, she turned her head towards Applejack, not letting up pressure on the foreleg.

“So is he, AJ?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Applejack looked towards Rainbow, slightly bewildered. “W-What was that?”

“Is he telling the truth?” the Pegasus asked.

“Ah think… ah t-think so…” Applejack stuttered, before trying to get a hold of herself. “Sorry sugarcube, ah’m just a little shaken up.”

Rainbow nodded in understanding, turning back to the changeling.

“So, it’s just you, that’s been established,” she snarled. “But why did you attack Pinkie Pie?”

More pressure was added when he showed signs of defiance.

“I-I just thought I could do a better job with a better identity! I was going to replace her!”

“And what would have happened to Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow asked slowly, though they all knew the answer.

“I… I…” the changeling couldn’t form an answer, fear evident on his face.

Pinkie Pie coughed in the background, trying to get up, and failing again.

“Please be still,” Fluttershy asked. “You’re hurt.”

Rainbow heard her friend’s struggles, and turned to see if she was alright. It was in this moment that she loosened her grip slightly on the changeling, and in this moment he saw his opportunity.

The changeling’s head struck forwards, and his horn struck the side of Rainbow Dash’s head.

Rainbow shouted in pain as a gash opened up and she was knocked away from the changeling.

His horn lit up before anypony could stop him and a portal formed, the next second there was nothing in the spot the changeling had inhabited previously.

“Where did he go?!” Applejack shouted as she looked around the area.

“Gah, he could be anywhere,” Rainbow groaned as she got up to her hooves, slightly wobbly on them.

With Pinkie Pie still dazed, but otherwise fine, Fluttershy grabbed her kit and started work on bandaging the gash on the side of Rainbow Dash’s face, the Pegasus wincing as she did so in pain.

Rarity looked over her friends, her mind processing exactly what it was she had just witnessed, the crowd around them doing the same.

“Applejack, darling?” Rarity spoke up.

“Yes?” Applejack responded, slightly quietly as she too observed the scene.

“I think we might want to send a message to Princess Celestia, I have a bad feeling about this. Those ruffians could come back.”

Applejack considered this for a moment, before nodding. “Agreed. Ah’ll get on it.”

Author's Note

Day 2 has begun...

This chapter was certainly... interesting to write...

Also, judging by the remaining chapters, this story will end in October, one year after it began... :rainbowderp:

58 - Old Friends

Refugee Camp, two days before the battle

Things were quiet when Twilight awoke from her restless sleep.

Too quiet.

Where the day before there had been filled with the hustle and bustle of ponies and changelings around the camp, now as Twilight laid there listening there wasn’t a sound. No clatter of hooves, no voices… nothing.

Slowly, Queen Twilight used her magic it cast her sheets aside as she got up from the bed and to her hooves. She tried to rationalise the silence, but she was uneasy. She could still feel her subjects within her mind, but their voices were dulled, muffled. Standing around wasn’t going to get her anywhere, so Twilight took a deep breath and stepped on out of her tent and into the camp proper.

There wasn’t a soul.

A thick fog blanketed everything, Twilight had a tough time seeing through the shroud, but she could see no signs of life. There were no bodies or anything, everything just looked… empty. No signs of a struggle or evacuations, it was just like everypony had put down what they were doing and left.

“Carduus?” Twilight called out over the hive.

“Are any of you there?”

There was no answer.

Unnerved, Twilight braved the fog and headed in the direction of the command tent, where the war map was situated. The journey was done in complete silence, only the sound of Twilight’s own breathing accompanied her during the trip. The fog covered everything, and only increased the nervousness the young queen was feeling throughout her being.

Her journey ended, however, when she successfully located the command tent via memory. It too, was silent. There wasn’t a soul in site, just like around the rest of the camp.

‘Where did they all go?’

“Hello?” Twilight called out verbally, hoping for an answer.

Nothing, again.

Twilight waited a moment, in case something would follow her call. But when nothing happened after a few minutes, she decided to enter the tent itself and look for clues. However, just as she approached the entrance, the sound of hooves got her attention.

Twilight spun around, looking over the area for any sign of whoever was moving about.

“Hello? I know you’re there!” Twilight shouted, moving away from the tent and stopping by a pile of crates.

“I’ve always been here, your highness,” a voice stated.

Twilight jumped backwards from the crates she was standing near with a shriek of surprise, looking up she could see a changeling sitting atop them smugly.

“Nervous, Twilight?” Serpens asked.

“You?” Twilight spat. “Serpens? Didn't I kill you?"

“No,” Serpens stated. "In a dream maybe, but in reality your mother did. The real me is dead, I am just a figment of your imagination, slipped out through the cracks in your little broken mind. Like a cockroach I will keep coming back."

“So… what? Am I going crazy or something?” Twilight deadpanned.

Serpens chuckled. “Maybe. Who knows? I stabbed you; almost killed you, and then Crudelis killed your mother. Your home is gone along with most of your little changelings… How much more tragedy can you take?”

“I will stand firm,” Twilight stated with determination. “As I always have. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Tirek… and Crudelis. All are the same.”

“Except Crudelis is related to you,” Serpens sneered. “How does it feel to be related to such a cruel being?”

“She’s no family of mine,” Twilight spat back.

“You can’t change the blood in your veins, little queen,” Serpens laughed. The blood of Imperatrix runs through you, and your anger is so great… you could become far more terrifying even than Crudelis.”

“I would never be like her!” Twilight objected. “I could never be that cruel.”

“It was cruel what you said to Celestia, was it not? She was only trying to help you, as any mother would,” Serpens pointed out with a smirk.

“I… I…” Twilight stuttered. “I didn’t mean what I said… I was angry.”

“What you said must have come from somewhere,” Seprens snorted. “And threatening her with your magic, dear Twilight you have quite the temper…”

“Shut up!” Twilight shouted.

Serpens’ grin only widened. “See what I mean? You composure crumbles so quickly… are you really fit to rule as anything but a tyrant?”

“Says the assassin who kills without care or morality,” Twilight growled.

“Morality is fickle,” Serpens shrugged. “You can get so much done without it to get in the way. Imagine what changelings could accomplish under Crudelis’ rule, the empire that could be built!”

“Destroying all who oppose them,” Twilight stated, glaring at Serpens. “No thanks.”

Serpens laughed sinisterly, before disappearing into shadow as a presence appeared behind Twilight.

“Are you sure about that?” Crudelis smirked.

Twilight spun around again, her horn lighting up… only to sputter out again.

“W-what?” Twilight stuttered as she tried to relight her horn.

“Your powers are useless here,” Crudelis taunted. “Your mother could not stand against me, what hope do you have?”

“I…” Twilight backed up as Crudelis approached, terror written on her face.

“You could join me, my dearest Twilight. We are family, abandon the ponies and their filth,” Crudelis stated. “Without you, one of their greatest defences will be rendered null, they will not be able to stand against us. We could accomplish so much together, our family could rule an empire that would make the Empress of Old envious. Your subjects could be safe under a protected and prosperous empire, you can protect them… isn’t that what you want?”

“Yes… I do,” Twilight muttered. “I want to protect them… from you!”

Crudelis snarled.

“You’re evil, Crudelis! You’ve taken so much, and you won’t stop. I will protect my subjects, and I will protect my friends and family in Equestria too. I am a changeling as much as I am a pony, Crudelis.”

Crudelis’ eyes narrowed dangerously. “Then it is as I thought, you are too far gone and have no place in my new empire.”

“The other queens will never submit to you!” Twilight shouted.

Crudelis only chuckled, her horn glowing a bright red as she grabbed Twilight by the neck and lifted her into the air.

Twilight tried to struggle, but without her magic there was little she could do.

“Farewell,” Crudelis said simply, a fang filled smirk on her face.

Twilight’s vision began to darken as oxygen failed to reach her lungs. As her struggles lessened, her eyes glanced upwards towards the sky where, just for a moment, she swore she saw the moon high above with the image of the Mare of the Moon on its surface. But that was impossible, it was day, and the mare wasn’t there anymore!

Before she could ponder it further, Crudelis gave a shout of pain as an arrow lodged itself into her chest, causing her to drop Twilight, who gasped desperately for breath.

After some sweet, sweet oxygen had thankfully filled her starved lungs, Twilight looked up towards Crudelis, the arrow’s shaft protruding from her chitin as she held a look of shock on her face.

“Wha… Wha…” she tried to say something, when a blast of green magic joined the arrow and Queen Crudelis shattered into black glass, her fragments spilling all over the ground.

Twilight stared at the sight for a minute, surprise and confusion filling her mind, finally she traced back to where the arrow and magic blast had come from, and her eyes widened on seeing the two individuals there. One was a Changeling Queen, standing regally as she looked upon her fallen foe, and the other sat with a grin on the same crates Serpens had occupied minutes earlier.

“Damn, that was satisfying,” Longshot grinned like a foal, his crossbow in his hooves. “Revenge is sweet, as they say in fillydelphia.”

“I don’t think that phrase comes from fillydelphia,” Chrysalis gave him a confused glance.

“It does in my mind,” Longshot stated. “Don’t question it.”

“Longshot? M-mother?!” Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes. “How?”

“Dreams,” Longshot shrugged. “You’re sleeping, Twilight.”

“Oh… I’m dreaming,” Twilight sagged, full awareness of her situation emerging. “That that explains a lot.”

“Hold on a moment,” Chrysalis cooed as she approached her despondent daughter and embraced her. “Dream or not, I’m here.”

“No, you’re not,” Twilight whispered. “You’re in my head, nothing more.”

“I’m more than that,” Chrysalis stated. “I’m the part of Chrysalis that lives on…” Chrysalis pressed a hoof on Twilight’s heart. “In here.”

It was here Twilight leaned into the embrace, nuzzling Chrysalis’ chest as she let some tears begin to fall, only for the moment to be interrupted.

“Cliché,” Longshot chuckled.

Both Twilight and Chrysalis turned to glare at Longshot, who held up his hooves and backed off with a sheepish grin.

“Sorry about him,” Chrysalis stated. “He followed me here like a lost puppy.”

“It’s alright,” Twilight assured. “It’s… nice to see him again. He died because I got hurt…”

Tears began to fall again.

“You died, because I couldn’t get to you in time. You both died because of me…”

“No,” Chrysalis shook her head. “You got me out of there, you gave me a fighting chance, for that I must thank you. You allowed me to die in a comfy bed, with the one who I love the most at my side. My beautiful girl…”

Chrysalis nuzzled the top of her head, tears of her own falling down her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight.”

“I miss you,” Twilight said. “I don’t know what to do…”

“Yes, you do,” Chrysalis said, smiling a little. “You will be a wonderful queen, I know it. You will protect our subjects, and strengthen them with our alliance with Equestria. You will spread these ideals of friendship and harmony among our species, and when you finally rest and come to join me, history will remember your name fondly. A great queen who led us to prosperity.”

Twilight just closed her eyes in response, content to stay in the embrace for as long as possible.

“Chrysalis,” Longshot called out gently. “It’s almost time.”

“One moment,” Chrysalis called back, looking down onto her daughter. “Twilight?”

“Yes, I know,” Twilight wiped her tears from her eyes. “It’s time to wake. I’ll do you proud, I promise.”

Chrysalis smiled. “I never doubted it.”

Twilight nodded, a small smiled of her own appearing on her face. “Wait for me? At the close?”

“Of course,” Chrysalis responded. “I love you, my daughter.”

“I love you, mother…” Twilight embraced her warmly one last time.

The world around them faded away, first the camp, then the ground until they were in a blank void. Then Longshot went with a final nod toward the young queen, leaving only Chrysalis and Twilight locked in their loving embrace.

Then Twilight woke up.

The day was in full swing as Luna walked on through the refugee camp. Things seemed to be looking up and morale had improved greatly among the changelings, likely due to the improved mood of their queen. Twilight’s outlook had improved greatly, much to Luna’s satisfaction, and she had got right into helping out around the camp.

She had noticed however, Twilight was avoiding Celestia with a guilty look about her, but their reconciliation would happen sooner rather than later.

Luna passed by Iuvenes and Puellula, who had seemingly become Queen Draco’s personal assistants. They were helping Draco sort through various reports into different piles, and Draco seemed more than happy to accommodate the nymphs. Perhaps she was fond of children, or perhaps it just got her mind off the subject of Chrysalis by having them around. Either way, Iuvenes and Puellula were happy, and Draco herself seemed content.

All around camp things were looking up.

Princess Luna finally located her sister by the edges of the camp, a letter held in her aura as she read it. Her features were in stark contrast to the bright atmosphere around camp.

“Sister,” Luna greeted cheerfully. “Why the long face?”

“Oh, Luna,” Celestia greeted. “You appear in a good mood.”

“Well, I did give a good friend the help she needed,” Luna stated. “It was a good thing I arrived when I did.”

“So you’re the reason for Twilight’s good mood,” Celestia said, allowing herself a small smile. “I must thank you for that, I did not enjoy seeing her so distraught. What did you show her?”

“Closure,” Luna said.

“I see…” Celestia’s smile faded as she looked back towards the letter she held.

“Tia?” Luna looked at Celestia with concern. “What is it? What’s the message you hold?”

“It’s from Applejack, in Ponyville.”

“And why does that place such a hamper on your spirits?” Luna asked.

“Read it,” Celestia stated, handing the letter over.

Luna held the message before her as her eyes moved over it, a frown descending on her face and her own mood dropping.

“A changeling attacked Laughter?”

“Yes, and tried to replace her. It was one of Crudelis’ drones.”

“This… is bad news. If they are scouting that far into Equestria, and around where Twilight’s friends and other bearers of harmony live…”

“They may be in danger,” Celestia finished. “We need to prepare one of the EUP’s helicopters to do some scouting of our own. If there is an attack in the pipeline, I want to know about it.”

Luna nodded. “I’ll see it done. Do you really think Queen Crudelis is preparing to strike out at Equestria?”

“It’ll get Twilight’s attention,” Celestia noted. “I hope it was an isolated incident, but I cannot ignore this. I hope I’m wrong I really do, but I think we’re about to be very busy indeed.”

59 - Scouting Mission

Refugee Camp, one day before the battle

It had been one day since Twilight had her dream, since she had finally said goodbye to her mother. In that time she had been actively avoiding Celestia, and the guilt of her harsh words had been eating away at her mind.

It was time to change that.

Twilight took in a deep breath, and then released it with a hoof held to her chest, just as Cadance had taught her many years prior.

“Isn’t that my breathing technique?” a voice asked from behind.

‘Speaking of…’ Twilight thought to herself.

“Cadance!” she exclaimed happily, spinning around to greet the pink alicorn. “Good morning!”

“Good morning Twilight,” Cadance said with a warm smile. “How is my favourite filly this morning?”

“Oh, um… good! Yes very good, brilliant in fact!” Twilight assured, her eye twitching slightly.

Cadance gave her a bemused look. “You can be an awful liar sometimes, I saw you doing the breathing technique I taught you.”

Twilight groaned. “Yes, well… Do you know where Princess Celestia is?”

“Ah,” Cadance nodded in understanding. “She was by the landing area last I saw, speaking to a group about to depart.”

“She was?” Twilight asked questioningly. “What was that about?”

“I didn’t stop to ask,” Cadance stated. “Anyway, in all that has happened we haven’t had time to catch up, so…”

“So... what?”

Cadance raised an eyebrow.

“What are you- oh! I got you!” Twilight lit up in understanding, a smile making its way to her face.

“Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!” the two chanted, giggling furiously moments afterwards.

“We haven’t done that since before the baby was born,” Twilight noted as her giggling calmed. “How is my niece, anyway?”

“Flurry Heart is fine,” Cadance replied. “She’s with Sunburst right now”

“Yeah, this is not place for a child,” Twilight said solemnly. “And there are far too many here already…”

“Hey, come here,” Cadance used her wing to pull Twilight gently into a hug, which Twilight gladly accepted. “You know I’m always here, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

“You should also talk to Shining at some point, we’ve been worried sick about you.”

Twilight looked up at her former foalsitter apologetically. “I’m sorry for worrying you, both of you, and I will talk to him… But first I really need to find Celestia.”

“Well, I told you where you can go to look,” Cadance stated.

“Yes, thanks Cadance,” Twilight said, pulling away from the embrace. “Tell Shiny I’ll meet with him in a little while, OK?”

“I promise I will,” Cadance assured. “Now go on.”

Twilight gave the Princess a grateful smile, before parting ways with her and moving into the crowd.

After a short walk through the various individuals populating the camp, she quickly came up upon the landing site. Here several of the aviation machines used by the EUP sat quietly as they had their magical reserves recharged, without which they wouldn’t be able to fly.

Near one corner of the landing site was where the changeling queen spotted Celestia, seemingly lost deep in thought.

Part of Twilight’s mind screamed at her to turn tail and run in the opposite direction, and she felt a panic attack incoming.

“Come on Twilight,” Twilight muttered to herself. “You’re being overdramatic... again. Nothing will happen, just talk to her…”

While she was muttering to herself, her hooves had gone on autopilot and taken her right up to the alicorn, and Twilight found herself wondering just how she had gotten there when she emerged from her deliberations.

“Twilight?” Celestia emerged from her thoughts and noticed her former student before Twilight could get cold hooves and run off again.

“Oh! Um… hiya… Princess…” Twilight scuffed the ground awkwardly.

Celestia rolled her eyes. “You’re a queen… you technically outrank me and yet you still call me by my title!”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

She was cut off by Celestia tittering behind a hoof, and despite her chitin she found herself very red faced.

“Oh Twilight, please never change,” Celestia said with a bright smile. “You’re too adorable.”

“Adorable?” Twilight deadpanned. “I do believe you can go down in history as the first pony to call a changeling queen ‘adorable’.”

“I can add it to the list, then,” Celestia commented.

Twilight grinned at that, but that grin quickly faltered. “So… you’re not angry at me?”

“Angry? Whatever for?”

“Because of what I said to you!” Twilight shouted. “I was cruel, you were only trying to help and I verbally attacked you and even threatened you with violence! How are you not angry at all?!”

Celestia sighed, and looked Twilight directly in the eyes, noting how she would soon be at her eye level.

“Twilight, I was upset at what happened, but I can’t blame you,” Celestia stated. “You were angry at what happened, and rightly so. Combine that with some poor choices of words on my part and what happened, happened. I was worried, and I’m just glad you’re alright.”

Twilight stood there for a few moments, before approaching Celestia and gently pulling her into a hug.

“I’m sorry for what I said, Celestia. You’re like a mother to me, and I don’t want that to change.”

Celestia smiled warmly as she hugged back. “And I promise it won’t, because I love you as any mother does her daughter. I don’t tell that to you enough, but I do and always have.”

Twilight stepped away from Celestia, smiling. “After all this is done, I think I might spend time among my family for a bit. Shiny, Cadance and the baby, my pony parents and you. Luna too, and my friends.”

Celestia nodded in agreement. “It’s been too long since we were all in the same place, the crystalling was the last time as I recall.”

“Mother was moaning about the snow and ice for weeks afterwards,” Twilight chuckled. “If our agents hadn’t discovered Sunburst and allowed us to utilise his knowledge, I don’t know what we would have done.”

“And yet it still took two alicorns and two changeling queens to fix it,” Celestia noted.

“On the bright side, the following blast kept us fed for those following weeks. Best meal they ever had apparently,” Twilight stated, before sighing. “It’s hard to believe that was only around seven months ago. It feels like an eternity, and it feels like I had known my mother throughout my entire life rather than a little under three years.”

“When you’re an immortal such as myself, or long lived like yourself, time fragments. You could watch a foal’s birth one day, and the next they are laying on their death bed as old age claims them,” Celestia stated sadly. “You must always strive to enjoy the times you spend with one another, because all too quickly it is gone.”

“I know,” Twilight said softly. “Anyway, enough of that. What are you doing here anyway? Cadance mentioned you were talking to the crew of one of these helicopters or something.”

“I was,” Celestia confirmed. “I was requesting a scouting run around Ponyville.”

“Ponyville?” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Why? What happened?”

“A changeling attacked one of your friends, but they’re all fine - do not worry.”

“What? Who was it that got attacked?”

“Pinkie Pie,” Celestia informed her. “Before Rainbow Dash got her hooves on the changeling, that is.”

“Yes, I can see how that didn’t end well for the changeling,” Twilight noted. “Any word yet?”

“Not yet, but soon.”

Skies above Equestria

One of the EUP’s helicopters was on its way back from the area around Ponyville to the camp whence they came. They had been scouting since the early hours of that morning and not spotted a thing.

“But would we see anything though?” one of the crew asked. “They can change after all.”

“A giant assault force would be harder to hide,” the pilot shouted back over the noise of the blades and the magical inner working of the rotor.

“A large congregation that size would be difficult to disguise and not be completely suspicious,” the third and final soldier aboard spoke. “An army of ‘ponies’ or a rocky outcropping that didn’t exist before would be noticeable, the latter especially so with a detailed map like what we have.”

“Wait, rocky outcropping?” the first soldier asked questioningly.

“Yeah, they can disguise as some inanimate objects,” the third explained.

“Seriously? Damn, that’s irritating.”

The pilot was messing with some dials at the front, the two in the back simply rolled their eyes.

“Give it up, we’re way too far from Ponyville now. No more music.”

The pilot grumbled, and let go of the radio. “Having that Vinyl Scratch and Octavia on here was far more entertaining than listening to you two yapping on and on constantly.”

“You mean DJ Pon-3? Isn’t she a mute?” the third asked.

“Yeah, but she still plays good instrumental music,” the pilot stated. “If you want vocals you listen to Octavia, though they often work together.”

“I’m fairly certain we’re not meant to be using it to pick up civilian radio stations anyhow,” the first stated. “It’s against regulations.”

The pilot snorted. “Since when did you care that much?”

“Hey, as long as our superiors don’t find out,” he responded. “I’d rather not have latrine duty again.”

“Agreed,” the third stated. “He didn’t stop bitching for ages afterwards.”

“Your punishment for ratting me out, buddy,” the first bumped the third on the shoulder. “We nearly there yet?”

“An hour, tops,” the pilot responded. “Then we can finally kick back and… and…”

The ponies in the back shared a worried glance

“Pilot?” the first shouted out. “What’s wrong?”

“You may want to look at this…” was the response.

The two in the back made their way of to the cockpit and looked out the front window, their eyes widening as they did.

A giant swarm of distant black dots were coming right for them; and as they rapidly closed in, what they were became apparent as the black chitin was joined by red and blue armour that came into view as they got closer.

“Changelings!” the pilot shouted. “Taking evasive action!”

The helicopter was forced to duck and weave through the horde of incoming changelings, though as the vehicle entered the maelstrom the changeling formed a tunnel around it and bypassed them completely, showing no interest. They came to a hover as they inspected the sight around them.

“They’re ignoring us?” the first asked in shock.

The pilot picked up the radio and immediately began a transmission back to camp.

“Mayday, mayday. We’ve encountered a massive horde of changelings on a direct route to Ponyville, I repeat an invasion force is on its was to-”

All three froze in place as a figure descended down before them, looking directly at them through the window just as the last of the drone passed by. It was a changeling queen with blood red eyes and a mane to match, and she was smirking at them.

Then her horn charged.

“Evade!” one of them shouted at the pilot as the helicopter veered to the side to try and avoid the coming strike.

Magic lanced from Crudelis’ horn and struck the rotor directly, sheering it and the blades off as the magical crystal within burst.

Without the blades and levitation spells to keep it up, the helicopter plummeted from the sky into a fiery demise below, leaving no survivors.

Crudelis smugly inspected her work, before resuming her journey to Ponyville, her next target.

Refugee Camp

The command tent was nearly empty, and would be if it weren’t for the only two inhabitants sitting at the table in mid conversation.

“A day out for family and friends, huh?” Shining asked. “Sounds like a good idea. It will be nice to have a respite from this. Vladimir and Broad Sword are meant to be on shore leave right now.”

“Things rarely go to plan for us, huh?” Twilight noted. “Some big crisis comes up, every time.”

“Raging centaurs, long lost evils, the list goes on,” Shining agreed. “But what can we do? We play the cards we are dealt.”

“I just wish they weren’t always terrible cards,” Twilight smirked. “You always were bad at poker.”

“I am not!” Shining protested.

“I would always beat you when we played any such card games,” Twilight stated. “Whenever we would play games around the fire at Hearth's Warming, I would beat you every single time!”

“That’s because you’re so analytical about things, though your poker face was always terrible. Which is why dad always defeated you.”

Twilight chuckled. “True. Dad is the master of cards for a reason…” Twilight sighed. “I wonder how my father, my changeling father I mean, would have been at cards.”

“Virum, wasn’t it?” Shining asked, getting a nod in return. “You have pictures of him, don’t you?”

“Did,” Twilight’s face fell. “I left everything back at the hive. My books, the trinkets I picked up on the adventures my friends and I went on, and all the pictures I owned.”

“Hey, your room wasn’t in the main residential section, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t caught in the collapse if that’s what you’re asking,” Twilight stated in response.

“Well then, after all is said and done I’ll have everything salvageable picked up from there. Not just for you, but your changelings.”

Twilight offered her brother a grateful smile. “Thanks BBBFF.”

Just then, Celestia burst through the tent’s entrance, followed by Luna, both Royal Guard Captains, Carduus and Cadance.

“Celestia,” Shining greeted as both got up from their seating. “What’s happening?”

“One of our scouts has been taken out,” Celestia stated. “Their last transmission stated that Crudelis and mobilised an invasion force.”

“What?!” Twilight’s eyes widened. “She’s going to attack us, here?”

“No,” Celestia stated, shaking her head. “Not here.”

“Then… where?”

“Ponyville.”

Author's Note

I imagine radio exists in canon from what I've seen with the other equipment Vinyl has used for her music in the series, with it being their main source of news, outside of the papers, and musical entertainment.

Whether it uses magical components or not, that's up to your imagination.

60 - The Drums Of War

Equestrian Countryside, one day before the battle

An orange tint had begun to take over the sky as the Friendship Express made its way towards the town of Ponyville. The rumbling of the train on its tracks echoed along the vast countryside landscape surrounding it, and everypony on the trains was undergoing the usual experience of traveling by train. Most were ponies coming home from Canterlot, though some were from other locales coming to visit the town.

Overall, however, everything was proceeding as it usually did. The waning hours meant several foals fell asleep in their mothers’ laps, and things were quiet and generally peaceful throughout the carriages from stem to stern.

Then, it all began at the gasp of surprise and awe from a single passenger, and throughout the train many more soon joined in as they peered out to see the cause of the commotion.

Until a black cloud forming in the distance is what had caught the passengers’ attention. It was incoming fast, and the passengers gathered at the windows to view the incoming phenomenon. However, as it got closer and they were able to make out more details, it quickly became apparent that it was no cloud. Many, many black dots were swarming forwards, high in the sky.

Changelings.

No discretion, no subterfuge, this was an invasion. And a show of force.

Panic spread amongst the passengers when the swarm closed in, and a large amount of them split off and descended quickly towards the helpless train. The drones closed the gap quick, descending in uniform formation as they closed in towards their target, fangs glaring and horns charging.

The drones swarmed around the train, which began to pick up speed in a panicked attempt to flee, but it couldn’t escape. Their horns charged a putrid green, and bolts of magic began to be launched. Volley after volley was fired at the tracks beneath the train’s wheels. The ponies aboard screamed in terror as the whole thing shook, the tracks beneath disintegrating and the train itself coming free of them. Without any guidance, the train careened out of control, the front carriages being the first to flip over with the rest slamming into one another, many being crushed outright by the force of the impact like a tin can against a forehead. Dirt and dust were thrown into the air as the chaos unfolded, the odd tree in the train’s path was uprooted and tossed aside like an unwanted ragdoll. By the time the train came to a halt, a path of devastation had been carved into the landscape from the tracks to the final resting place of the many carriages the train had been pulling along.

All that was left at the end was a pile of twisted wreckage, the engine catching alight as fire begun to consume what was left, the survivors scrambling to escape and free trapped loved ones as foals screamed and cried for their mothers and fathers, many of whom would never be able to answer.

The changelings responsible probably would have stayed to finish off the stragglers, but the swarm was already moving on, and their true target was now close at hoof.

Ponyville, was not their true target. In the end the town and its ponies were a means to an end, and completely expendable. No, their true target would, in typical fashion, rush to save the ponies whom she called her friends, but that would be her undoing…

Soon, Queen Twilight Sparkle would be dead.

Ponyville

Applejack walked on through the streets of the quiet town she called home, a cart of apples being pulled along behind her. Many had locked themselves away in their homes after the previous day’s incident, but Applejack had a job to do, and would do it come rain or shine.

She was stubborn like that, a trait that runs in the family for the Apples.

Applejack stopped off at a few locations, delivering ponies’ shipments of apples they had ordered from Sweet Apple Acres. Most were small groups delivered to individual homes, but a few big batches were delivered to establishments dealing in food, like Sugarcube Corner.

Pinkie Pie had been there ready to receive the shipment, almost as if her previous injury had never happened. It was difficult to keep the Party Pony down, something that Applejack had a deep respect for.

After delivering a bushel to Lyra and Bon Bon, Applejack began to head towards one of her lasts stops for the day. It was a house towards the edge of town atop a small hill, the design of the house was literally split right down the middle to represent the owners of said house. The owners were roommates, best friends and partners in all things musical, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia.

There was always idle gossip, especially from the florists, that the two were a couple like Lyra and Bon Bon, but Applejack had known them long enough to know that was not the case, but they were as close as friends could get without crossing that particular boundary.

Applejack lifted the cart from her back, and walked up to the door, knocking on it a moment later.

After a few moments, a grey mare with a black mane opened the door, a white mare with a blue mane and purple glasses was just behind her.

“Applejack, dear, so good to see you,” Octavia greeted. “I take it you have our shipment?”

“Ah do,” Applejack confirmed. “Though, your shipment seems larger than usual, any reason for that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing really,” Octavia started. “Somepony just seems to be craving them more than usual, and eating through them so quickly it’s untrue!”

Vinyl gave Octavia a deadpan look, and then, being a mute, made some gestures stating something along the lines of: “Why are you looking at me? You’re the one that’s doing that!”

“Oh, details,” Octavia dismissed.

Applejack smirked as she unloaded their order from the now nearly empty cart. As she did so however, she spotted something in the distance. Something that, if it was one of the ponies who survived the train wreck not far from the town, would seem far too familiar.

“What is that?” Applejack wondered out loud, Octavia and Vinyl also looking towards where Applejack was pointing towards.

Vinyl made some gestures. “Dude, looks like a storm cloud to me.”

“One, we’re not ‘dudes’,” Octavia stated. “Two, there are no storms scheduled for this week!”

Vinyl conceded the point, and gave the black mass in the distance a pointed frown as she studied it, trying to figure out what exactly it was; she lowered her glasses to the edge of her muzzle as peered over with her red eyes to try and get a better look with no obstructions.

“Is that… buzzing?” Octavia strained her ears, trying to pick up the distant sound.

“Wait a moment…” Applejack’s eyes widened, also hearing the buzzing, and spotting some small black dots around the edges of the cloud. She squinted as she examined more closely the black dots seemed to make up the cloud.

It clicked in her mind as she put two and two together, and alarms blared within her being as she realised what exactly that cloud was.

“Changelings!” Applejack shouted.

“W-what!” Octavia did a double take. “Are you certain?”

“Positive,” she responded. “And that there swarm is thicker than fruit bats attacking an apple tree.”

“What do we do?”

“Listen you two,” Applejack said seriously. “Y’all need to need to gather as many ponies as possible and tell them to head to the edges of the forest, hide in the shrubbery. Ah’ll get the other bearers and inform the mayor, we’ve got to evacuate the town!”

“You can’t be serious,” Octavia’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“We don’t stand a chance against a swarm that size!” Applejack pointed out. “We need to go!”

Vinyl grabbed onto her frozen friend, and dragged her away to do as Applejack had asked.

Applejack looked back at the swarm, which was getting far too close for comfort. Then she spun and sprinted down the hill and into town, leaving her cart behind.

She had to get her friends and family out before those changeling arrived. She feared for any pony that didn’t make it out, and prayed that Princess Celestia and Twilight would send help soon.

Refugee Camp

All of the most important changelings and ponies in the camp were spread out around the war map in the command tent. Queen Twilight sat in her throne, Princess Celestia standing to her left and Queen Draco to her right. Down the left side all the rest of the ponies, Shining Armor, Luna, Cadance, Vladimir and Broad Sword sat opposite to the changelings on the right, including Carduus, as they were briefed by Celestia.

“The swarm is being led by Queen Crudelis herself, and is heading directly towards Ponyville,” she informed them. “Their forces are considerable, Ponyville will not stand a chance against it.”

“This is a trap,” Draco stated. “Crudelis is trying to draw Twilight out to finish her off, the rest of us too if she can.”

“Are you suggesting we let them die?” Shining Armor growled. “Hundreds of innocent ponies and some other races living there are in the firing line!”

“Including the other element bearers,” Luna added. “We must assume they are being targeted too, eliminating one of Equestria’s greatest weapons.”

“We could scramble to combat them at the town,” Carduus began. “But the forces we could scramble will still be vastly outnumbered with what Crudelis has brought. It would take several days to get together a force of changelings and EUP to meet them on equal terms and numbers.”

“Are you forgetting,” Luna started with a shake of her head. “That our force includes us, three alicorns and two changeling queens makes up for a lot of that disadvantage.”

“Not to mention that in a few days’ time, there won’t be anything left of Ponyville or its inhabitants,” Broad Sword stated.

“We’re all aware, thank you very much,” Carduus deadpanned.

“We could route more EUP to act as reinforcement’s mid-battle,” Vladimir suggested. “Though they wouldn’t arrive for a while after it would have already started.

“We need to do something!” Cadance urged. “We can’t leave them to fend for themselves!”

“I think,” Celestia said loudly, getting all of their attention. “That this is Queen Twilight’s decision. This is a trap for her, and her hives future depends on the events of the foreseeable future.”

All eyes turned expectantly towards the changeling queen, who had yet to say a word. She was sitting in her throne, her eyes trained directly onto the map where a small figurine of Crudelis as displayed near Ponyville.

Her cold gaze silently remained on the figurine for another minute, adding more apprehension to an already tense atmosphere.

Finally, she picked up the figurine with her magic and brought it towards her.

“She wants my attention so badly…” Twilight said in a monotone, the figurine being reduced to ash. “Then she’s got it.”

Twilight sat up regally in her seat, and for a moment she could almost be mistaken for Chrysalis.

“She killed my mother, destroyed my home and has tried to kill me. Now she attacks my friends, and a place that I still think of as a home. It ends now.”

“So we’re going in?” Carduus asked.

“There are no hostile changeling forces near the camp, so we can leave a token force to keep the peace here,” she stated. “The rest of us head to meet Crudelis in battle, and as Vladimir suggested we route other forces to join us as it progresses.”

“Twily, are you certain of this?” Shining asked.

“I thought you’d be in favour of this,” Carduus noted.

“I am,” he responded. “I’m just worrying for my little sister.”

“I’m certain,” Twilight stated. “No more running or hiding. The line must be drawn here, no further! And they will regret ever setting hoof into the Badlands Hive or Equestria!”

“Then it is decided,” Celesita stated as nods were shared between those gathered. “We shall accompany you personally, my former student. This is an attack on Equestrian soil, and Crudelis has declared war on Equestria. It feels too soon to wear my old armour again, but I shall do so to protect my ponies, and you.”

“I appreciate it,” Twilight stated. “You have your directions, let’s get to it.”

Twilight stayed seated in her throne, wanting to talk to Carduus and her changeling commanders as the others all exited the tent.

Broad Sword was the last to exit, and was met with his wife and Spike waiting outside.

“Honey,” Broad Sword embraced his pregnant wife.

“So, it’s war then?” she muttered, holding him tight.

“Afraid so,” he responded, slowly letting her go. “And you’re staying here, with a certain somepony you are carrying.”

Scarlet nodded. “I understand. I’ll keep things coordinated with the EUP and changelings that stay behind.”

“I’ll be staying too,” Spike spoke up. “And somehow I doubt Soronis will be coming along,” he joked.

“She’ll be too busy foalsitting her sister and little Iuvenes,” Scarlet chuckled. “Oh well, I’m sure Panacea will lend her a hoof with that.”

A commotion began around camp as the EUP and changeling forces were roused and organised. They would soon be leaving for Ponyville. The drums of war had been sounded, ponies and changelings alike preparing for the worst.

The end would be coming soon.

Author's Note

NEXT TIME:

“You claim I am the problem for our race’s decline, but you don’t see that it is not changelings like me, but like you that is the problem. You didn’t earn the power you use, the love you have absorbed,” Twilight's furious expression fell away, replaced with a small, peaceful smile. “Mine however, comes from those I hold most dear. My friends, and my family. From my Ponyville friends to all my subjects, my power comes from their love, their friendship. And that magic is more powerful than any you could hope to wield, Queen Crudelis.”

Crudelis simply snorted. “A nice sentiment, but enough talk.”

Crudelis’ horn glowed bright as she unleashed several bolts of lethal magic in Twilight’s direction, only for a lavender shield to intercept each one.

Crudelis released another, and then another. Twilight intercepted and blocked each and every one, stepping closer and closer each time towards her adversary as the battle continued to rage violently around them.

As Twilight reached Crudelis the latter gave a shout as she charged Twilight with her blade-like horn, only for Twilight to meet her with her own, the two locking together in combat.

To be concluded...

61 - Change: Part 1

Ponyville, the day of the battle

The town was silent as Queen Crudelis laid her blood red eyes on it. She could picture a tumbleweed just blowing right on down the street, the town was completely deserted. Her changelings had kicked down doors and ransacked all the houses in search of any remaining inhabitants stubbornly refusing to flee, and yet found nothing. Even as far out as Sweet Apple Acres was empty.

They most likely fled to the forest, and hunting them would be a simple task.

But that wasn’t why they were there, they were getting Twilight Sparkle’s attention and that was all. All those other ponies were irrelevant, and could go hide in Everfree and be Timberwolf snacks for all she cared.

Twilight Sparkle would come, all she had to do was wait patiently.

A defensive perimeter had been set around the town, Ponyville becoming something of a fortress for Crudelis and her changelings. A fortress that would soon be a warzone.

For now, Crudelis was standing outside the Golden Oaks Library. She momentarily considered how it was a good thing for the tree that Twilight moved out, lest it would have been destroyed by the multitude of enemies she had made over the years.

Crudelis herself momentarily considered setting it on fire, but it would honestly be a waste of magic.

Still…

Crudelis placed a hoof on the door and made her way inside. The interior was as dark and empty as the rest of the town, and yet signs of Twilight Sparkle were easily evident, even if she no longer was the librarian.

Just by a perch with the nameplate titled ‘Owlicious’ engraved onto it, was a picture frame on the wall. She didn’t know why the current librarian had kept it there, but neither did she really care.

It was a photograph showing six mares, all seemed to be ponies, but Crudelis knew better.

The bearers of the Elements of Harmony in their earliest days together. Twilight Sparkle in her unicorn guise stood right in the centre of them, just behind the yellow Pegasus.

They all seemed… happy.

“Your highness,” one of her drones spoke over the hive.

“Yes, what is it?”

“They’re here…”

Twilight Sparkle was flying alongside Queen Draco, the alicorns and Captain Carduus on approach to Sweet Apple Acres. The vast farm spread out beneath them, apple trees littering the ground for many acres.

They were at the head of the force moving inwards quickly, and below them many groups of EUP ponies, including Broad Sword, Vladimir and Shining Armor, were moving up with Pegasi acting as eyes in the sky. Flying through the air not far behind them, several of the EUP’s helicopters cut through the air flanked by Twilight and Draco’s changelings.

“Crudelis’ changelings, dead ahead!” Carduus shouted, directing their attention to the area near the farmhouse, where a group of changelings were gathering.

Not a moment later, green spellfire was thrown straight up in their directing, flying all around them.

“BEGIN THE ASSAULT!” Celestia ordered in her Royal Canterlot Voice, the EUP squads below drawing their weapons and engaging the closest hostile changeling they could see.

And these minor skirmishes were just the beginning.

Lightening cracked down onto the changelings near the farmhouse as directed by both Celestia and Luna, their eyes glowing a pure white with sheer power.

While Cadance fell back to provide defensive spells for their soldiers, Queen Draco landed directly onto a group of changelings and quickly got to work tearing them to pieces.

As the royal sisters continued their lightning strikes, Queen Twilight and Carduus veered back to meet up with their drones.

While the EUP ground forces pushed in from the front, the changelings and the EUP in the helicopters were going to drop right down onto the town itself.

Down below, Shining Armor bucked a charging changeling and watched as Broad Sword cut him down.

Vladimir used his wings to leap upwards and down on top of one changeling, crushing his skull in before picking off another with his blade.

The EUP with them made quick work of the others, and one last changeling attempted to flee, only to be dropped by a single spell launched by Prince Armor.

“That’s one group down,” Vladimir stated. “We’ve got more of them further in by the farm’s entrance.”

“Alright ponies,” Shining Armor shouted out. “Move on up!”

The ponies gave an enthusiastic battle cry as they dashed on forwards, catching glimpses of their changeling allies swarming overhead towards the town.

Sentries within the town saw those several hundred drones incoming, hundreds more approaching from behind the first wave, nearly all one thousand of the surviving soldiers of the Badlands Hive were there, eager for payback.

Ponyville and much of the surrounding area was about to be set ablaze.

Twilight and Draco’s drones shot directly down onto the town, many grappling with Crudelis’ own changelings on arrival. Clangs of steel could be heard from many blades as spellfire was exchanged between the changelings on opposing sides.

Several bolts tore a group of changelings to bits from the crossbow turrets of the helicopters as they moved in to land. One was hit with a volley of green spellfire and went down in a spectacular ball of fire. Many more landed and unloaded the EUP held on board, one pony quickly crossing blades with a changeling as they exchanged strikes back and forth. Their cargo delivered, the helicopters took off again into the air to provide support where needed, two more being shot from the sky and crushing several homes, each quickly being set ablaze.

As the fire began to paint the sky with an orange glow, Twilight and Carduus landed right in the thick of the chaos the centre of town had quickly become. They were right by the town hall, and Twilight had her eyes peeled for any sign of Crudelis, but had yet to spot her.

“Twilight, look out!” Carduus warned as an arrow whipped on by.

Twilight caught the arrow with her magic, and flung it back at the changeling who shot it, killing them instantly.

Queen Twilight then spun on the spot and fired a quick group of lavender fireballs into a group of changelings in armour coloured both blue and red, reducing them to ashes. Several drones saw her and made a move to strike, but Twilight made quick work of each, downing most with her magic before they even reached her.

Carduus struck at the ones who got closer than most, his blade clanging off of theirs as they traded blows. Carduus’ blade locked with his combatants again as they struck against one another, Carduus quickly stepping back to unbalance his opponent before decapitating him in a single strike. He turned and stunned another with a bolt of green magic, before quickly being launched into combat against another adversary.

“We need to find Crudelis!” Twilight shouted amidst the fighting.

Carduus punched a drone in the face before answering. “She’ll be here!”

The fighting at Sweet Apple Acres was packed, dozens upon dozens kicked and stabbed as the full scale battle was truly underway.

Celestia swooped down, but she was too late to save a small group of EUP surrounded by changelings, and their dying screams assaulting her ears. Enraged, she landed directly on top of that group and lifted each one into the air simultaneously with a single levitation spell. As they struggled, each one was crushed under the applied pressure and before long nothing much left existed of them aside from a tiny ball of twisted armour covered in blood. Another brave fool was cut in half by the Princess’ halberd, the single bolt of magic he let off before death pinging off her armour without leaving a scratch.

The very ground at Celestia’s hooves burned and enemy changelings actively shied away from attacking her, the Princess of the Sun striking fear into their hearts.

That was when Celestia saw her.

Near the entrance to the farm Queen Crudelis picked up some poor pony. A red lance of magic sliced the ponies’ chest and stomach open and gravity disembowelled them. Her red hued magic then trailed upwards into the sky; several Pegasi scrambled to avoid it, but not all of them succeeded, and a few fell to the ground, dead or dying.

Celestia’s eyes trained in on Crudelis, and with one teleport she was standing directly in front of the changeling queen.

Crudelis’ eyes momentarily widened in surprise at the alicorns appearance, before quickly placing a shield to block a golden lance.

“Princess Celestia,” Crudelis smirked as she deflected the attack and burst out the shield to knock Celestia backwards. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“SILENCE FIEND!” Celestia shouted, striking forwards with her halberd.

Crudelis ducked to one side and took to the air, scrambling away from the furious alicorn. Celestia followed quickly, the two heading towards Ponyville itself. A short ways down the path, Crudelis decelerated and shot back past Celestia, who once again struck out with her weapon. The halberd missed Crudelis by an inch, and the Queen used her magic to pry it from Celestia and throw it far backwards and into the ongoing battle below.

“Watch out!” Cadance shouted in warning, placing up a shield to protect Shining Armor from the stray golden halberd flying at him.

The halberd shattered against the blue shield, and its pieces clattered to the floor.

“Thanks honey,” Shining Armor said as he eye the broken weapon. “Isn’t that Celestia’s?”

“It was,” Broad Sword managed to remark as he grappled a changeling.

Vladimir helped his friend out by grabbing the changeling by the neck and pulling him away, using his blade to slit his throat.

Broad Sword gave a nod of thanks, and took a moment to catch his breath.

“Looks like the battle here is moving towards the town, away from the farm,” Vladimir noted. “Did we break their lines?”

“I don’t think so,” Cadance spoke up. “Looks like they’re just regrouping.”

“You are correct,” Luna stated as she landed next to them. “Queen Crudelis is moving back while battling my sister, and thus so are they.”

Luna looked unscathed, but her sword was dripping with changeling remains.

“Come,” she gestured to the fight. “We have much work to do.”

After getting nods of agreement all around, they all rushed back off to re-join the fight. As they went, they could see Queen Draco, flanked by two of her personal guard, lay waste to some of Crudelis’ changelings as they tried to fall back.

Back in Ponyville, a chunk was taken out of the town hall by a blast of a small mana bomb. Several more houses were on fire now as the fighting continued, becoming fiercer every passing second. Twilight and Carduus had fought their way through the streets looking for Queen Crudelis, but still had yet to see her. Their search had taken them to the Golden Oaks Library, where barricades had been set up by some EUP ponies and the library turned into a battlefield triage centre, a place where they could take the wounded and get them medical attention.

Twilight and Carduus passed the ponies and changelings guarding the perimeter, dead changelings wearing red and blue armour, signifying them as being with Crudelis’ force, were scattered around on the ground. They quickly entered the library where the wounded were being seen to by medics.

“Check downstairs,” Twilight suggested to a nearby doctor. “There should be some medical supplies in the cabinets.

“Thanks,” the doctor said. “The sergeant is upstairs if you want to talk to her.”

Twilight nodded, and quickly headed up while Carduus went to help with the wounded.

On entering the bedroom Twilight saw a map of the town had been set up on a small table nearby, but her gaze was momentarily captured by her old bed, memories running through her mind of her time living in the very library in which she now stood.

From the first party Pinkie had thrown her the night Luna returned, all the way to the wedding that had forever changed her life. All those memories were written in the bark of the tree, and lived on through the very roots and leaves of the old Golden Oak.

“Sergeant?” she called out towards a grey mare with a black mane suited in silver EUP armour.

“Yes?” the mare turned to see the sound of the voice, looking up from the map. “Oh! Your highness, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“How are things going here?” Twilight asked.

“Better than expected,” she admitted. “The area around this library has mostly been secured, the changelings are too busy elsewhere to give us much thought right now.”

“What about Queen Crudelis?” Twilight asked, getting to the point of her visit. “Have any of you seen her as of yet?”

“Not yet,” the sergeant shook her head. “But I would check towards the farm.”

“I will,” Twilight stated. “Stay safe, and keep the library intact if you can, it is still a home to me.”

“Understood,” the mare saluted as Twilight went to retrieve Carduus and head towards the farm.

But as Twilight left the library, Celestia was locked in a deadly battle with Queen Crudelis, their horns locked as they grappled each other in the air.

A golden pulse separated the two, and Celestia hit Crudelis directly with a golden beam of magic. Crudelis gave a shout of agony as she was pummelled backwards and into a Ponyville street. In a painful heap, Crudelis struggled to her hooves as Celestia landed a short distance from her, firing several bolts of magic.

Crudelis shot back, catching and deflecting several of Celestia’s attacks but being hit by several more. Knocked to the ground again, she looked up to see Celestia charging a large spell within her horn aimed directly at her.

Quickly, Crudelis launched a small stun spell at Celestia, and it hit her directly in the chest. The spell had enough power to make a small hole in her chest armour and cause Celestia to fall to her knees as she lost balance. The spell she had been charging flickered out as she tried to stand again.

Crudelis was the first to stand, and she fired a beam of her own at Celestia, who rolled to one side as the beam streaked past and into a group of changeling from both sides.

Celestia stood up and her eyes glowed a dangerous white as she flared her wings, her horn crackled along with the clouds as lightning barraged around Crudelis, who placed a shield around herself for protection. The supercharged lightning struck a building next to Crudelis and brought the entire structure crumbling down towards the Queen, who released her shield and used her wings to propel herself backwards and away from the building.

Dirt and dust was kicked up into the air as the building impacted with the ground, turning into scattered piles of rubble. Celestia quickly flew up over the wreckage in search of Crudelis, landing on the other side and scanning for her.

To Celestia’s rage, all she found was the remnants of a portal spell. Crudelis had fled from the Princess of the Sun.

Elsewhere, as Twilight approached the edge of town, something caught her eye. The very changeling she had been searching for sprang up from a portal and stumbled out.

“Carduus, go on ahead and meet with Shiny and the others,” she said to her Captain, who hadn’t spotted Crudelis.

“Why, what are you doing?” he asked.

“Just go!” she ordered. “I’ll catch up.”

He gave a reluctant nod, before heading off towards the fighting.

When Twilight turned back to Crudelis, she found that they had in fact spotted each other, and Crudelis was now glaring and Twilight expectantly.

“There you are,” Crudelis stated casually, approaching her niece’s daughter. “Here we are at last.”

“Crudelis,” Twilight spat. “You are looking worse for wear.”

“I had a run in with Celestia,” she stated. “Believe me, the damage she dealt is mostly cosmetic. But she had the upper hoof at the time, I do not fight when I know I cannot win.”

“And you think you can win this,” Twilight questioned in disgust, motioning to the chaos around them.

Crudelis too examined the scene, nodding in acknowledgment to Twilight’s point. "My force far outnumbers yours, but with Draco and the princesses this might actually be a fair fight.”

“A fair fight?”

Crudelis smirked. “This has been a long time coming, and either of us could ultimately come out on top, either both the Badlands Hive and Equestria will finally fall today, or I will. So, Queen Twilight Sparkle, let's have one last dance."

Crudelis’ horn sparked dangerously as she launched a massive beam of red magic towards Twilight, who met it with a lavender one. The beams connected for a few moments, before Twilight rolled to her left and let it fly right by her. She proceeded to fire several bolts in quick succession as Crudelis took to the air and avoid them. Several more spells were shared back and forth, with none hitting their target.

Crudelis picked up a discarded spear and lunged at Twilight, who side stepped. Crudelis tried to bring the spear around, and Twilight grabbed onto the shaft. They began to struggle over the weapon, they eyes meeting, both casting hateful glares at one another.

“You know,” Crudelis panted as she continued to struggle with Twilight. “It was with a spear tip that I ended your mother’s life, I think it would be fitting for you to meet that same fate!”

Twilight gave a snarl of rage as she pushed against Crudelis and gained possession of the spear, which she quickly threw towards Crudelis.

Crudelis fired a spell at the spear which reduced it to splinters and twisted metal, before being jumped on and pinned by Twilight. Crudelis held Twilight back as she snapped at Crudelis with her razor sharp fangs. Crudelis fired a quick spell that sent Twilight flying off of her and into a nearby tree.

Crudelis launched another spell at Twilight, whose eyes widened at the sight of it as she came out of her daze. A quick teleport deposited her into the air and her wings buzzed to life, the tree catching on fire from the strike meant for her.

Crudelis took to the air after Twilight, who flew backwards while firing spells as she went. Crudelis placed up a shield and charged towards Twilight, who placed up her own. The two bubbles collided with each other several times before breaking off, Twilight unleashing flames towards Crudelis.

Crudelis avoided them, and retaliated, their fight continuing with one thing apparent.

By the end, one would most certainly die.

But as their fight continued, things weren’t looking good around the farm. Crudelis’ changelings were regaining lost ground and pushing back against the EUP.

“Stand steady!” Broad Sword shouted, he along with Vladimir and Shining having been separated from Cadance and Luna.

Shining Armor ducked down onto the ground to avoid the swing of one changeling’s sword, before said changeling was dispatched by a EUP pony, who in turn was eviscerated by a spell.

“And this was going so well at first,” Shining grumbled, being helped up by Broad Sword.

A shout from Vladimir caught their attention, and they found he had received a large gash along his side from a blade, having lost his own. They tried to rush to help, but were intercepted and distracted by some other changelings.

Broad Sword kicked the changeling assaulting him away, but before said changeling could come back he was taken out by a green bolt of magic.

“Broad Sword!” Carduus shouted on arrival. “What’s going on?”

“The changelings are making push back at us, and succeeding!” he informed him.

They turned to try and reach Vladimir, but were once again blocked.

Vladimir dodged to the side with a well-timed strafe to avoid a death blow from the changeling he was fighting. He was in pain and without a weapon, things were not looking good.

The changeling struck again, and once more Vladimir dodged but this time moved to punch the drone. The changeling expected this, and caught his hoof in his magic, before hitting the thestral with the hilt of his blade. Vladimir fell to the floor, helpless as the blade was struck down onto him.

Only for a humungous bang to startle the drone and stumble him, saving Vladimir. This was accompanied by a prismatic blur landing directly onto the drone and reducing him to paste. Vladimir, laying on his back, saw a large rainbow explosion up in the sky right above where the drone had been. A cyan hoof reached out to him, and on accepting the help up he encountered none other than Rainbow Dash in full Wonderbolt uniform, a couple other bolts flanking her.

“Rainbow Dash!” Shining shouted as he and the others finally reached Vladimir. “What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t feel right just staying put,” she stated. “And Soarin and Fleetfoot here came in with the first wave of reinforcements, so I joined them.”

“What about the rest of the town’s inhabitants? And your friends?”

“Zecora’s,” Rainbow answered. “She’s offered to house the town in the area, they’ve set up a perimeter to protect against the wildlife. They should be safe until this blows over.”

“We’ve got a while to go yet!” Carduus shouted, gesturing to some incoming drones.

“Soarin, Fleetfoot, it’s time to show these guys how awesome the Wonderbolts are!” Rainbow Dash shouted in her usual enthusiasm.

“You’d better,” Carduus stated. “Because this is far from over.”

To Be Concluded...

Author's Note

And here we are, day three. The end is in sight, this is it...

Also, we now have a TVtropes page!

62 - Change: Part 2

Fire, blood and death.

That is what filled the previously peaceful town of Ponyville.

Sweet Apple Acres was taking the brunt of it, the farmhouse had been ripped and shredded in various places, but unlike the barn it was still standing. The fighting raged on fiercely as the changelings under the banner of Queen Crudelis surged forwards, pushing back those who would oppose them one step at a time.

“Take cover!” Carduus shouted over to a group of his fellow changelings following Queen Twilight, too late. They were besieged by green flames and melted into a substance not dissimilar to molten slag.

A hoof on the changeling captain’s shoulder dragged him back behind a sheared off piece of the destroyed barn as spellfire whipped past where he had just been standing. Carduus panted heavily as he got his bearing, seeing Shining Armor poke his head out and fire some spells in retaliation, before being forced to duck down again.

“We’re outnumbered!” Vladimir shouted. “We need more reinforcements!”

“They’re coming, but not quick enough!” Broad Sword responded. “We need a plan.”

“Right now the plan is staying alive,” Shining stated. “Not much else we can do by this point.”

Another explosion covered the group in muck and dirt, it getting into their eyes and mouths as they cursed loudly. Around them, their ponies and changelings were dying faster than they could keep track, while every time they killed a group of Crudelis’ forces twice the amount seemed to take their place.

“Well this is fun,” Broad Sword deadpanned as an arrow narrowly brushed his helmet.

The wooden debris they were hiding behind splintered and jolted as spells impacted violently against its surface.

“This thing isn’t going to last long!” Vladimir stated in alarm. “A few more minutes and we’ll be right in the open!”

A prismatic explosion spread out across the sky, signifying that the Element of Loyalty was still very much in the fight.

Rainbow Dash quickly took off again before the changelings could turn to attack her, leaving the decimated remains of one group in the small crater she had formed on impact. Several tried to follow, but they just ate her dust.

After a few ducks and turns she came across a group of rather high ranking looking changelings, who turned to glare at her as she stopped just before them.

“Huh, catch me if you can!” Rainbow taunted, taking off in a much slower pace than she normally would have to.

As expected, all the changelings she targeted followed her in a rage, and in their eagerness to be the one to eliminate an element bearer. She stayed ahead enough to be out of immediate harm’s way, but close enough so they would continue to follow. She gave them the run around, taking pleasure in toying with the group as they took the scenic route to the edge of the Everfree Forest. On reaching the tree line, Dash stopped dead and dropped to the floor, turning to meet the pursuing changelings.

The group stopped and began preparing their weapons to finish the cyan Pegasus.

“Heh, I guess you cornered me,” Rainbow Dash stated with a yawn, not worried in the slightest. “Too bad you bug brains fell right into our trap.”

The changelings’ eyes widened, only for each to be immediately struck by lightning, their charred corpses dropping to the floor.

“And that’s how you do it!” Fleetfoot shouted from her cloud, Soarin sat in another just next to her.

Both had been hidden in the treeline, waiting for their targets to come right into their waiting hooves.

“Look!” Soarin pointed above them as the three princesses came streaking past, uniting their magic and taking out a large chunk out of the changeling force.

As the three princesses passed by, something caught Cadance’s eye.

“Gah, it’s going!” Carduus shouted as their cover disintegrated before their eyes.

The moment it went, Carduus and Shining Armor immediately released a volley of spells into the changeling lines, taking out those in the front but they were quickly replaced. Shining went to place a shield around them, but a green spell impacted with his horn. A shout of pain echoed through the battlefield as Shining dropped, clutching his forehead with his hooves where his horn was battered and charred.

“Shining!” Broad Sword shouted out, cutting away at a few changeling as he and the others rushed to his aid.

After they had hauled the Prince to his hooves, they looked around them desperately for a new source of cover, finding none. They were completely exposed with nowhere to run or hide.

Changelings at all sides, and with Shining’s magic out of commission, they gathered into a circle with weapons drawn as the changelings converged around them.

An unbelievable volley of spellfire was launched in their direction, bearing down of them with extremely lethal intent. They braced themselves as their vision was filled with roaring green magical auras coming right at them.

Only for it to be replaced with a soft cyan, a cyan that caused the green spellfire to sputter and die on impact.

“Cadance!” Shining weakly called out to his wife as the shield she had formed around all five of them came under fire.

“Hang on!” she shouted, her eyes scrunching in concentration as her horn grew brighter.

The shield collapsed and the spellfire got through, only to be met with a blue flash before striking against one another in the now empty space.

Meanwhile, the Golden Oaks Library was greeted by the unexpected presence of the Princess of Love and her four companions as they popped into existence from the exit of a teleportation spell. The group that exited swayed lightly on their legs as they regained a sense of their surroundings, shaking off their sudden nausea.

“Thanks, Cadance,” Vladimir stated, trying not to be sick from the emergency teleport.

“You’re welcome,” she responded. “Shining, honey are you alright?” she asked towards her husband, who didn’t answer, only giving a blank look.

“Shining?”

Shining Armor suddenly collapsed to the floor, Cadance swiftly moving over and wrapping the now unconscious unicorn in her wings. Her horn scanned over his own, assessing the damage.

“His horn can be saved but he needs medical attention, now!” she commanded to a nearby group of medics, worry rampant in her voice.

“Yes, your highness!” the medics confirmed as they rushed to the Prince’s side, lifting him up onto a stretcher nearby, and taking him downstairs.

“We’ve set all the wounded up downstairs,” the one who stayed behind said to the Princess. “We’re using the upper part of the library for deployment and restocking our mares and stallions.

“Is this place safe?” Broad Sword asked.

“This library has seen its fair share of trouble,” Cadance stated. “My sister-in-law lived here after all.”

“What about the actual hospital?” the Solar Captain asked.

“Not an option,” the medic stated apologetically. “Too many hostile changelings around it. But we have sent a small team in to retrieve extra supplies.”

Broad Sword sighed. “I see, I suppose it’s a good thing the town managed to evacuate.”

“It would have been a slaughter otherwise,” Vladimir grimly noted. “What do we do now?”

“Things aren’t going very well,” Cadance admitted. “We’ve lost almost all ground we gained at the farm, and here in town we’ve essentially been pinned to various outposts we’ve set up, with a few pockets fighting here and there.

“I’ll go join those guarding the entrance,” Carduus informed, moving off. “Stay safe.”

As they watched him exit the library, the two Captains of the Royal Guard turned back to Mi Amore Cadenza.

“Your highness, as Celestia and Luna’s Guard Captains we should get to them,” Broad Sword stated.

“I can get you there,” Cadance said with a nod. “We’ve been mostly reinforcing our forces at the farm, keeping things from going from terrible to apocalyptic.”

“Back into the fire then,” Vladimir stated with a sigh. “What of reinforcements?”

“A couple of helicopters with supplies should be arriving any moment, after that a wave a pegasi with the rest of the Wonderbolts,” Cadance explained, preparing the teleport to take them back to the fight.

“Will that even be close to enough?” Broad Sword asked, with face as if made of stone.

Cadance didn’t answer for a moment, but when she did she put on her best smile.

“This isn’t over yet. Have some faith in Twilight.”

As they went to teleport back to the farm, Twilight Sparkle was locked in combat with one whom she hated with her very being. There would be no running. No backing down or surrendering. Whoever won the furious fight would decide the fate of all within the ruined town.

Crudelis kicked off of a rooftop and sped towards the airborne Twilight, who was thrown backwards by the impact, but managed to stay in the air. Their fight was moving back towards the centre of town, trees and homes being uprooted as the two powerful beings kicked, stabbed and shot all sorts of spells at one another. The ground shook as the furious changelings fought, one Queen versus another.

Twilight shot a beam of lavender magic at Crudelis, trailing it across the landscape as the red armoured changelings flew hastily out of the way. Wood splinted and ground was unearthed in its wake, and when it sputtered out Twilight made a short distance teleport to dodge much of the debris that Crudelis picked up and threw in her direction.

When Twilight reappeared she quickly located her opponent and charged towards her. Before Crudelis could respond Twilight grabbed hold of her and rammed through the wall of a building and out the other end, the building collapsing into rubble behind them. Both sprawled across the ground, quickly trying to beat the other to their hooves. Both fired a bolt of magic at one another that met and exploded between them.

Helicopters flew above them overhead, moving to drop of supplies a few extra troops to the entrenched ponies and changelings around town. One spotted Crudelis and the gunner opened fire, arrows raining down toward the Queen.

Twilight used the momentary distraction to her advantage, and as Crudelis caught the arrows with her magic she suddenly found Queen Twilight teleporting directly next to her and bucking her down the street. Crudelis recovered quickly however, and as before she quickly lifted a pile of rubble and used them as projectiles aimed at Twilight herself. Twilight ducked down, but several smaller pieces scratched her chitin, a few of the sharpest pieces even cutting through a little due to the velocity at which they were thrown. Twilight was fine however, but that was about to change as Crudelis took hold of the foundations of the battered home behind Twilight and began to rapidly break it apart. Twilight’s eyes widened as the building came crashing towards her, and a fiery lavender portal formed around herself as she sank into the ground.

A short distance from Crudelis, Twilight was thrown into the air from the portal’s exit, a few pieces of debris following her through. Spreading her gossamer wings, Twilight managed to remain in the air and look down with disgust at the snarling Crudelis.

Twilight hissed at Crudelis, bearing her fangs tauntingly. Enraged, Crudelis shot into the air right towards Twilight. The younger changeling dodged to the side and flew from one street to another. She quickly landed as she dropped to avoid a red fireball, landing by some corpses of various ponies and changelings not far from the town hall. Next to one of those corpses she spotted an undetonated mana bomb which, as Crudelis came over the building towards her, Twilight ignited and threw in the air.

Crudelis’ eyes widened as she lashed out with her magic desperately, luckily for her managing to bat the bomb away right towards the diminished town hall.

‘This town has experienced many events, both odd and dangerous over the years, but I bet it’s never seen anything like this.’

The drone loaded up his crossbow and took aim at Crudelis, wanting to help his struggling Queen. However, before he could act, Crudelis chucked Twilight away straight into the still firing EUP helicopter; Twilight brought a shield up to protect herself, but unfortunately that protection didn’t extend to the helicopter itself. Twilight’s momentum crashed her straight into and through the helicopters tail, sheering it off. The machine began to spin wildly as the pilots tried to wrestle for control, ultimately to no avail as both the blades and the levitation spells within failed to keep the damaged vehicle aloft. The drone locked in place in sheer terror as the out-of-control helicopter veered directly towards him, a scream could barely leave his lips as the doomed vehicle slammed down right on top of him, going up in a fiery explosion that cast a shade of orange and red across the battlefield, killing both the drone and all those on board the helicopter itself.

And yet the battle continued, for they were hardly the first to die in this conflict, nor would they be the last.

Twilight, who had momentarily been mesmerised by the explosion that levelled the town hall, found her shock being replaced once more with a fiery ire as she glared at Crudelis.

“Not Ponyville, you won’t take another home,” she growled, firing a beam of magic at Crudelis.

As their battle took them high above the town, Captain Carduus witnessed it carry on with his own astounded eyes. He watched with growing horror as, despite her efforts, Twilight began to be pushed back.

"Hold on, my Queen! Hold on, Twilight!" Carduus broadcasted to her over the hive, doubting she heard it over the fury of battle.

He ordered another of his changelings to his spot on the barricade in front of the Golden Oaks, and then quickly rushed off to assist his Queen and friend.

Twilight flinched as a small spell clipped her shoulder, narrowly avoiding a larger one that came after it. She dived down back towards the town, strafing to avoid the spellfire that followed her. However, one spell landed right between her wings and sent her spiralling directly into a square where many ruined building bordered.

Queen Twilight landed painfully, Crudelis veering down behind her. She picked up a nearby discarded sword and lashed out, swiping the tip across Crudelis’ chest and drawing blood. Queen Crudelis shouted in pain as she strafed backwards and landed on her hooves a short distance away.

Twilight thrust the sword forwards, but a spell reduced it to small metal shards. They traded some spellfire which struck against one another, though Crudelis pushed on forwards as Twilight stumbled backwards. After several more blows, Crudelis released a pulse of magic that knocked Twilight off of her hooves. The red Queen then picked up the younger Queen and slammed her into a wall, and then again, and then again. She slammed Twilight to the ground for good measure, and watched with sadistic glee as she wheezed and struggled to rise to her hooves.

Twilight’s eyes widened as she saw the Queen who took her mother away fire a single bolt of magic towards her, more than enough power placed behind it to burn through her chitin and part of the wall behind her too.

Twilight tried to move, but stumbled as her body was still recovering from being slammed into the wall and ground, Twilight was only able to watch as the spell closed in.

“Twilight!” Carduus shouted as he slammed into her side, pushing her away.

He gave a shout of pain as the spell clipped his side and sent him barrelling backwards into the wall, impacting with a horrific crack.

“NO!” Twilight screamed, renewed energy forcing her back onto her hooves as she rushed towards her slumped Captain.

She gently rolled him over, and after a moment Carduus’ eyes opened a crack, just barely.

“Damn, that hurt…” Carduus mumbled as he coughed up some blood.

“Why?” Twilight asked. “Why did you do that?!”

He managed to give her a weak grin. "I said a long time ago that I would die for any of my friends, and you are my friend, Twilight..." Carduus coughed up some more blood, his injuries severe.

“Just hold on Carduus, you’re going to be alright,” Twilight tried to assure her Captain.

He only offered her a small sad smile, before closing his eyes and lowering his head to the ground.

Twilight stared at her fallen friend in horror, tears breaching her eyes. She closed her eyelids in an attempt to fight back those tears, and then when she opened them again they were gone.

Replaced with an infuriated, fiery determination.

Twilight spun around to face the smirking Queen Crudelis, a furious snarl on her face.

“Any more of your friends I can play with?” Crudelis sadistically joked.

“You’re a monster…”

“I’m not monster. I do what I must for our race’s survival. And you are a threat to that.”

“A threat?! How in all of Equestria am I a threat to our species?!”

“We are dying. And pony culture is part of the problem. You are a pony, Twilight. At heart you are one of them. And thus you must be stamped out.”

“You’re pathetic Crudelis. A parasite, nothing more.”

Crudelis’ smirk curled into a snarl of her own. “Brave words from one who is about to die.”

“No. I will not die here today,” Twilight stated as a simple fact. “You draw your power, your love energy from unwilling hosts. It is impure. Tainted. Stolen. And it will be your doom.”

“What are you talking about?” Crudelis asked through gritted teeth.

“You claim I am the problem for our race’s decline, but you don’t see that it is not changelings like me, but like you that is the problem. You didn’t earn the power you use, the love you have absorbed,” Twilight’s furious expression fell away, replaced with a small, peaceful smile. “Mine however, comes from those I hold most dear. My friends, and my family. From my Ponyville friends to all my subjects, my power comes from their love, their friendship, freely given. And that magic is more powerful than any you could hope to wield, Queen Crudelis.”

Crudelis simply snorted. “A nice sentiment, but enough talk.”

Crudelis’ horn glowed bright as she unleashed several bolts of lethal magic in Twilight’s direction, only for a lavender shield to intercept each one.

Crudelis released another, and then another. Twilight intercepted and blocked each and every one, stepping closer and closer each time towards her adversary as the battle continued to rage violently around them, a serene smile still on her face.

As Twilight reached Crudelis, the latter gave a shout as she charged Twilight with her blade-like horn, only for Twilight to meet her with her own, the two locking together in combat.

As they locked horns, each pushed against the other, battling for domination over their opponent. Dangerous red and lavender sparks flickered off of each changeling queen as they gained and loss ground over one another. Several nearby combatants stopped their fighting and watched in awe as the end drew near.

Queen Twilight kicked out with a hoof to try and dislodge Crudelis, causing the sinister queen to jump back away from Twilight and fire another bolt.

This one just skimmed Twilight’s left cheek, and she in turn fired a beam towards Crudelis. The red maned queen took to the skies in order to dodge the attack, lighting her horn again for a retaliation. However, she never got the chance as Twilight kicked off into the air and grappled with her, resulting in both tumbling back towards the ground. Crudelis kicked out and hit Twilight in the face, knocking the younger changeling to the side with a shout of pain.

Crudelis rolled and quickly got to her hooves, but Twilight was quicker.

Twilight fired a high energy bolt of lavender magic straight into Crudelis’ chest. The ancient queen grunted as her legs almost gave way. However, she managed to regain her stance.

Only to be hit again.

Twilight fired one bolt after another, not giving Crudelis time to react to any of them. She tried shielding herself, dodging the attacks, but Twilight homed in on Crudelis every time as the latter quickly weakened.

Crudelis finally managed to block one as she picked up a piece of rubble and used it as a makeshift shield, the piece exploding on contact with Twilight’s magic. Despite this, the overexertion left Crudelis panting desperately for breath, and was completely helpless as Twilight levitated the queen into the air and threw her across the clearing.

Crudelis landed in a painful heap, spiting blood from her mouth as she tried, and failed, to stand. Queen Crudelis glared at Twilight as she spotted the young queen standing over her, looking down on her great aunt with an emotionless mask.

“Queen Crudelis,” Twilight spoke with a regal tone, with an almost echoing quality. “You have committed serious crimes against myself, my hive, and Equestria, amongst others… But I can help. Just as I helped Discord, Princess Luna and several others. This doesn’t have to be your fate.”

Crudelis looked at Twilight in shock. “I killed your mother. Tried to kill you. And you are offering me mercy?!”

“I am the Element of Magic, am I not? Besides, I’m not heartless. I am not you.”

Twilight held out a hoof, offering Crudelis a chance to take it, and surrender herself.

“Please, take this chance.”

Crudelis studied the hoof being offered to her, and then looked back up at Twilight. Around them time seemed to slow as the outcome of this endeavour was decided.

With a small smile forming on her face, Crudelis took Twilight’s hoof gently.

“In another life, perhaps.”

Crudelis’ smile morphed into a snarl as she lunged towards Twilight, fangs bared as she darted for her exposed neck.

Twilight was ready for it.

Twilight sidestepped, grabbed onto Crudelis with her magic, and using her wings as propulsion, spun around and propelled Queen Crudelis through the clearing. A sickening crack was heard as Crudelis flew and landed straight into a pile of rubble that was once a house, and a sharp beam penetrated her back and erupted through a gushing wound in her chest, shattering the chitin around it and puncturing several internal organs.

Crudelis screamed in agony as she examined the beam in terror.

Crudelis’ eyes narrowed at Twilight as she saw her approach once again.

Twilight glared at Crudelis in disgust. Nearby, she spotted a discarded crossbow that she levitated towards her, before holding it in her hoof. Examining the weapon, she couldn’t help but be reminded of an old friend who had given his life fighting an agent of the dying Queen before her.

It was only fitting that the chosen weapon would end this in Longshot’s memory, and the memory of all of Crudelis’ other victims.

Including Chrysalis.

“So then,” Crudelis began as Twilight raised the crossbow to Crudelis’ head. “It has come to this. Don’t do this, Twilight Sparkle, I must save our race!”

“Why not? I gave you a chance, offered you friendship. You made your position clear,” Twilight stated in response.

“You’re a pony at heart. You always have been, you won’t be able to kill me. I know you can’t!”

“You’re wrong,” Twilight said, pressing the tip of the arrow right into Crudelis’ eye.

“I am a Changeling Queen.”

Twilight fired the weapon, and Queen Crudelis was no more.

The effect was immediate, all drones adorned in blue and red armour instantly clutched their heads in pain as their hive mind was shattered. For some of the injured the shock was too much, and they dropped dead on the spot. The others felt fear like they had never done so before in their lives, and while some surrendered to the alliance of changelings and ponies, most fled into the wilderness as fast as their wings and hooves could carry them. In but a moment the entire course of the battle had turned, and then it had ended. One side lost all will to fight, and no substantial resistance was offered. In a blink of an eye, all of Queen Crudelis’ plans and legacy came crashing down.

As Twilight stared down onto the still corpse of her enemy, the battle around town drew to a close. Medics arrived at the side of Captain Carduus, finding a pulse and lifting him onto a stretcher for immediate medical attention. EUP forces and changelings alike cheered as the battle was won, with helicopters above seeing the fleeing drones of Crudelis off.

“She’s over here!” Rainbow Dash landed with Captain Spitfire in the middle of the clearing. Her Wonderbolt uniform was ripped and torn in various places, but she was otherwise intact.

Just behind them, Queen Draco and the royal sisters landed a short way from Queen Twilight. The three examined the destroyed surroundings of Ponyville, before settling their gaze on Twilight herself.

Twilight couldn’t help but flinch as she felt an alabaster hoof touch her on the shoulder, and turned to see Celestia’s kind and sympathetic motherly face looking down upon her.

“It’s done, Twilight. You can stop now.”

The dam broke, and Twilight buried her face in Celestia’s chest as she began to cry yet unshed tears as the weight of everything caught up to her at once.

But it was over. The conflict that had begun as a feud between two sisters so long ago, was finally over…

Author's Note

Only a single chapter and the epilogue left. It has been a hell of a ride.

63 - The New Dawn

It had been six months since that fateful day in Ponyville, and the vast amount of repairs the town needed were coming along nicely.

The refugee camp had been moved near the town, and the changelings were assisting in the reconstruction while the details surrounding their new planned hive were sorted out. Queen Draco and her changelings had returned home, promising to be in contact with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza soon about renegotiating ancient trade deals with the Crystal Empire. The Princesses had also returned home, Celestia and Luna to Canterlot alongside their Captains, while Cadance with Shining Armor returned to the Crystal Empire. Slowly, but surely, a sense of normality was returning to the area.

Among those helping out were the sisters Soronis and Puellula, now officially inducted into Twilight’s hive mind, along with about one hundred and ten thousand others waiting in what used to be Crudelis’ hive. Knowing what would happen to so many innocent civilians within her enemy’s hive without their leader, Queen Twilight had reached out to them, offering the chance for any changeling to join her hive instead. The majority of them had accepted, the remaining group that had refused left their hive and wandered out into the world looking for other options among other hives. Twilight had visited these changelings and brought them into the fold, but until the new hive was finished they were remaining in their old home, but once it was completed there were plans to move them from Crudelis’ hive and collapse the abandoned structure.

Inducting these changelings had other benefits too. Whereas before, their hive was nowhere near amongst the largest of them, they were now the second biggest hive in the remaining eighteen. Thus, Twilight’s standing among the other Changeling Queens had improved greatly, and her vanquishing of Crudelis had earned her their respect, even from the Red Queen’s former allies.

The extra hooves at her disposal also allowed Twilight to recover her forces’ lost number from both the fall of the Badlands Hive and the Battle of Ponyville. All of her forces had undergone a complete overhaul and, considering what happened to Carduus, she even had to select a new captain for her personal Royal Guard.

“Are you alright, honey?” Panacea gently asked her husband as he was lifted from his chair and to his hooves.

“I’m alright…” Carduus panted slightly. “I’m alright…”

“You really should be resting still,” Panacea insisted. “Your injuries won’t heal quickly if you keep exerting yourself.”

“I’m crippled for life, remember? It won’t make much difference,” he sighed, limping as he took a free steps forwards.

Panacea looked towards the ground, dejected at her husband’s injuries. Then, a hoof brought her chin up until she was looking Carduus in the eyes.

“Hey,” he cooed as he gave her a gently hug. “I don’t regret what happened, I did my duty. At least now I get to spend all my time with my lovely wife and daughter.”

“True enough,” Panacea conceded with a light chuckle. “Where is Iuvenes, anyway?”

“Playing with Puellula,” Carduus responded. “They’ve met a few fillies from town, the… ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders', or something. They’ve been stomping around causing trouble, as all children are want to do.”

Panacea smiled. “It’s nice that she can still play and laugh after everything that has happened recently.”

“She’s tough, like her father,” Carduus stated with a smirk. “She took it all in stride.”

“I suppose that’s true…” Panacea rolled her eyes at her husband’s grin. “Anyway, when do you think the Queen will be back?”

“Don’t know,” Carduus said with a shrug. “She and Princess Celestia are probably at the caves right now, and hopefully once she gets back the real work can begin.”

“I take it things are going well?” Carduus pinged Twilight over the hive.

“We’re not quite there yet, Carduus. Patience,” his Queen responded.

“She says to be patient,” Carduus conveyed.

“Six months in this place, patience is all we’ve had to work with,” she commented. “It will be good to have a proper home again.”

“That we can agree on,” Carduus stated. “Then Iuvenes can get back to stealing cookies and whatever other trouble she can think of.”

Panacea laughed. “That would be nice, though I suspect the novelty might wear off quick.”

“Nah,” Carduus dismissed. “I’m never taking the small things for granted again!”

“Maybe that’s something your friends should keep in mind,” Panacea said. “Scarlet’s due any day, isn’t she?”

“She is,” Carduus confirmed. “We’ll hear about it when she pops I’m sure.

Canterlot

“SON OF A BITCH!”

Broad Sword flinched as he heard his wife’s shout come from inside the hospital room, while Vladimir and Shining Armor were sitting in the waiting room with him.

“Wow, sounds like she is having fun,” Vladimir remarked. “How long has she been in there now?”

“Four hours,” Broad Sword responded in a whisper, looking a little pale.

“Are you alright?”

“I-is this, um, normal?” he asked. “It’s taking so long and she’s shouting so much and-”

“Hey,” Shining Armor interrupted. “Everything is fine. I mean, you should have seen Cadance when Flurry Heart was being born. I never knew my wife would summon that many eldritch abominations.”

Vladimir blinked. “Wait… what?”

“Point is,” Shining continued. “She and the foal will be fine. You just have to sit tight and wait.”

“And the waiting is killing me!” Broad Sword stressed. “W-what if something goes wrong?!”

“Broad, I know you’re freaked about becoming a dad,” Shining Armor stated. “But things will be fine, I’m certain.”

“What he said,” Vladimir agreed.

Broad Sword took a deep breath in, and then out again. After he got his nerves under some semblance of control, he turned back to the other stallions.

“Thanks, I’m glad you’re both here.”

“Hey, what are friends for?” Vladimir shrugged. “We’ve got your back.”

“It’s just lucky I had business in Canterlot,” Shining commented. “Otherwise you would have been stuck with only him.”

“Why do you make that sound like a bad thing?” Vladimir frowned.

Before Shining could answer, Scarlet’s cursing and shouting came to a halt, and instead the wails of a new born foal could be heard.

Broad Sword immediately locked up upon hearing the wails, his eyes widening and his pupils becoming pinpricks.

The door opened and the doctor exited the room, a small smile on his face.

“Captain Broad Sword?” he called out.

A nudge on the shoulder from Vladimir shook Broad Sword out of his stupor, or at least enough for him to answer.

“Uh-huh?” he answered.

“You can go in if you’d like, there is somepony waiting to meet you.”

“T-there is? I mean… I-”

“Go on already,” Vladimir encouraged. “You were tired of waiting after all.”

“I suppose…”

“You’ve faced down and army of changelings without flinching and this gives you pause?” the thestral teased.

“This is completely different!”

Shining Armor shook his head. “Everything will be fine, go on. We’ll wait out here.”

After another moment of getting his head on straight, Broad Sword nodded and managed to get up from his seat. Taking one careful step at a time he managed to make his way into the hospital room, where Scarlet Snow was holding gently onto a small form cuddled up to her chest. Her already bright smile widened when she saw her husband and she wiped some tears of joy from her face.

“Broad…”

As the door closed behind him, Broad Sword made his way to the bedside and took his wife’s hoof.

“Are you alright?”

“I couldn’t be better,” she responded, using her magic to gently the foal on her chest so he was facing Broad Sword.

“There you are,” she cooed as she nuzzled the foal. “This is your daddy.”

The small figure slowly blinked his eyes open, looking directly at the Solar Captain. The foal was a colt, he shared his mother’s colour scheme with an alabaster coat and scarlet eyes along with his mane and tail. However, like his father, he was a Pegasus.

Broad Sword almost couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked down on the tiny miracle staring back at him curiously. His son.

“He’s perfect,” he stated as he gave the colt a small nuzzle on the head, sending him back to sleep. “He looks a lot like you.”

“Ah, but he will grow to be big and strong like his daddy,” Scarlet stated with a small grin. “Perhaps a future Captain of the Royal Guard in the making?”

“Perhaps,” Broad Sword chuckled. “Whatever he will be, he will be amazing at it.”

For several minutes afterwards, they each sat there in a harmonious silence. Each was content just to be in their other half’s company and in the company of their new foal. After these several minutes had gone by, however, it would be Broad Sword who broke the silence.

“Well, unless we just want to keep calling him ‘the foal’ or something, he needs a name,” Broad Sword reminded Scarlet.

“Well, we didn’t spend all those hours talking about it for nothing, did we?” she asked.

“True…” he conceded, looking down at his son.

“Valiant Snow,” they uttered together.

Valiant stirred slightly, getting comfortable in the safety of his mother’s embrace, both of the new parents looking down at him lovingly and with pride.

Their destination was coming up shortly as Twilight Sparkle looked at the landscape sprawling out below her. She was flying through the air above the vast Equestrian landscape alongside Princess Celestia. After six months of headaches they had finally secured Twilight’s hive the rights to the cave system that was to become the location of their new hive. It was still in Equestrian territory, but was owned by Twilight.

Or at least, it was owned by Twilight’s pony family. Some of the nobility had protested to having a hive within Equestria’s borders and had brought up all sorts of old laws and agreements to try and stop it, and while Celestia could have easily overruled them she couldn’t do so without an incident spawning from it. In the end they found a workaround with Night Light and Twilight Velvet purchasing the land, with extra funds to cover the costs mysteriously being delivered while at the same time the contents of the royal vault lessened just a tiny bit, and with them then gifting the land to their daughter.

In the end, all those nobles could do was grumble about it in their own time.

As the cave entrance came into view, the two royals came to a landing just outside the entrance. When they came to a stop, Twilight briefly looked towards Celestia. In the last six month Twilight had completed her growth and now stood equal in height to Princess Celestia as a fully matured Changeling Queen.

“This is it,” Celestia stated. “And it’s yours now, my former student.”

Twilight gave a grateful nod. “It’s going to take a while to get everything up and running, but my changelings are up to the task. I think we’re all ready to put recent events behind us.”

As the young Queen stared down into the cave that would soon be built up and become her home, Princess Celestia turned her head gently with a hoof and looked directly into her eyes,

“Your mother would be so proud of you,” Celestia told her. “As proud as I am.”

A small smile formed on Twilight’s face. “I couldn’t have made it this far without you… thank you.”

Celestia didn’t respond, instead she pulled Twilight under her wing and gently nuzzled the top of her head, a gesture Twilight returned gladly.

The two stood there for the longest time, simply enjoying the company of one another as Celestia’s own sun smiled down upon them. Mentor and student, mother and daughter, it was a bond that would stand the test of time.

Too bad a sudden but awfully familiar white flash interrupted them.

“I’m back!” Discord shouted in glee with a pink flower wreath around his neck, sunglasses over his eyes and a suitcase in his eagle claw. “And what a sight to return to, Sun-Butt and the Bug Princess hugging it out, how precious!”

Celestia and Twilight both simply opted to stare daggers at Discord as he stood a short way from them.

Discord himself just looked at the two royals in confusion. “Why the stares? Did you not know I’ve been on a grand holiday! Oh it’s been fun viewing the cosmos and the flux dimension, oh and that one bald captain. Now that was glorious! Messing with him reminds me of our days together Tia my dear…”

…

Discord looked between the two, the daggers still being glared right into the deepest depths of his soul.

“Um… did I miss something?”

Author's Note

I suggest you move on over to the epilogue, I have a few announcements to those who don't already know what is to come...

On a side-note, I have given Mare of the Moon an overhaul to fix some of the errors and add extra lines and dialogue here and there (especially in the chapter 'Change of Management'). The reason for this should become apparent in the epilogue's author's note...

64 - Epilogue

“And that was, as they say, that,” the Changeling Queen finished recounting the tale, looking down on the small form tucked comfortably into bed.

“Did all that really happen?” the royal nymph asked. “How long ago was it?”

“Only around thirty years,” the Queen stated.

“Thirty years?!” the nymph exclaimed in shock. “That’s, like, forever ago!”

“Oh Avia,” the Queen chuckled, nuzzling her daughter’s head. “You can be too cute sometimes.”

Avia pouted at her mother’s teasing, but decided to change the subject. There was one thing that weighed down onto her mind as her mother had told the story, and she was eagerly curious, she could do a whole research project on it!

She was certainly her mother’s daughter.

“Mama?” the nymph called out questioningly.

“Yes, Avia?” the Queen called gently back, noticing the studious glint in her daughter’s eye. “You have a question?”

Avia nodded eagerly.

“In the story, all the changelings had black coloured chitin. But…” Avia gestured to her mother’s hoof, which was covered in light lavender coloured chitin. “But now changelings have just a much variation as ponies do. One of the few I know that still has black chitin is Uncle Carduus, why is that? How did all that happen?”

The Queen was taken back by her daughter’s question, that event which occurred many years prior. An event set in motion by the rampage of Crudelis, and one that would bring great change to both the changelings and all of Equestria. The day changelings stepped out of the shadows and back into the light of Celestia’s sun.

“It’s… a long story,” she stated. “It is true changelings once held a mostly universal colour scheme, with a few exceptions here and there, but that changed. Now changelings have as much variation as ponies do thanks to that magic; the original black colour is now just a part of those many variations, which is actually why Carduus stayed the same.”

Avia had levitated a small notepad and quill from a nearby desk and was taking notes, causing her mother to raise an eyebrow in amusement.

“But that is a story for another day,” the Queen gently took the notepad in her own magic, pulling it away from her daughter. “Luna’s moon is high in the sky, and it is time for young nymphs to rest.”

“I’m not young, I’m ten years old!” Avia protested. “I was even old enough to hear the first story!”

“And still young enough to need your sleep. You will come to regret all-nighters, believe me…”

“Please…?” Avia gave her best puppy dog eyes. “Pleeeeeeease?”

The Queen rolled her eyes and was about to say no, until she looked down at the notepad and skimmed what had been written. Avia was truly interested in the subject, and not just to delay bedtime. The notes she had written were detailed with her own theories jotted down the margins.

The Queen couldn’t supress a smile as she levitated the pad back to the young Princess.

“Alright, you win…”

“Yay!” The nymph jumped from the bed and glomped her mother, giving her thanks over and over again.

“Alright, alright. Settle back down and I will tell. One last story and then it’s definitely off to sleep, deal?”

“Deal!” she responded enthusiastically, quickly snuggling back under the covers while making sure to have her pad and quill ready.

“Are you ready?”

Avia nodded eagerly, waiting for the story to start.

“Alright then,” the Queen nodded back. “It all started many years ago, far past the Crystal Empire, but not that far from the hive of Queen Draco…”

Many years before Avia’s birth, about eight years after the death of Queen Crudelis

Far up north, past the frozen wasteland surrounding the Crystal Empire, sat a land of dirt, rocks and the odd volcano. It was a land hosting various dragons that made the volcanic caves their home, stashing away their hordes and sleeping atop of them for years at a time.

This was a land devoid of any pony, griffon, minotaur, or most other species. Aside from the aforementioned dragons, there was only one other group that called the land home.

A changeling hive sat right in the middle. Most of it stretched far underground but, with its location being so far removed from other civilisations, there were some buildings built on the surface. The hive had been built under what little fertile soil was in the area, and it was here that various farms had been set up with changelings tending their fields. They grew food and kept animals all for the usage of the hive below.

This was the hive of Queen Draco, a close friend of the late Queen Chrysalis and her daughter, Queen Twilight Sparkle. It was this hive that had traded with the Crystal Empire so long ago before Sombra came along, and it was here that these relations were beginning to flourish once more. Though the ponies never set hoof in the hive’s borders, changeling couriers moving towards and back from the Crystal Empire were common, trading various items for a supply of the heart’s love. Sadly, only Draco and Twilight had this arrangement, the other Changeling Queens still preferring a reclusive existence.

But despite the prosperity of the hive, there was something nearby that lay hidden, unknown to them; something the late Queen Crudelis had been desperate to get her hooves on.

Not far from the hive, a sealed doorway was cut into the mountain, largely hidden away by the rocky outcropping around it. Many wards surrounded the door, though four thousand years of neglect was causing them to slowly come undone, and soon the locations would likely cease to be a secret, and the locks broken.

For behind this doorway was a long hallway that stretched deep into the mountain, this hallway leading off to a vast chamber at the very end and nowhere else. This structure had been designed for a single purpose, to keep something hidden and safe.

The cavern was large, a single staircase leading on to a raised platform in the centre of the rounded chamber. If one was to walk up the stairs they would find a podium wherein the contents somepony had been so desperate to keep hidden was stored. Like the doorway, the object had many wards around it to keep the item inert and non-functional. However, like the doorway, the wards were coming undone. For four thousand years the object had sat inert, kept away from its master. That Queen would have freed it, but her death delayed things, but it mattered little. Others would soon discover it, it was inevitable.

For within this closed off chamber, a set of forgotten regalia began to glow.

Author's Note

Thank you all so much for your support, it meant so damn much to me! Especially considering this was intended to be around 12 chapters long, but the attention it got spurred me on to create something far greater.

And a special thanks to Copey for editing the story and even co-writing some chapters. :twilightsmile:

Next up, I have two sequels planned, the first being on Saturdays (Harmony Among The Stars will be moved back to thursdays) and the second on Sundays...
1) The first is a sequel to 'Mare of The Moon'.
2) The second is a little something titled: 'Change: Queen of The Hive'.

I will post them in a couple of weeks/when I'm ready to do so, I'll be taking a break in the meantime. You may want to keep an eye out. :raritywink:

See you then!

1 - Prologue

A mother will do a lot for her child, even give them up if it meant them having a safer life growing up, despite the obvious pain that comes for the parent.

****

Darkness hung over the Equestrian capital city of Canterlot. The city was quiet as the moon hung low, the mare that controlled it silently watching the planet below. The only activity in Canterlot’s higher end districts belonged to the occasional patrol of the city's guards, or the odd stray animal prowling the night in search of food. Most of the night activity took place in the lower districts of Canterlot, where all of the night clubs and speakeasies were located.

But tonight was different. Tonight Canterlot was host to a cloaked visitor, prowling through the streets. The visitor had an equine form, but it was trying to avoid being seen by anypony, guard or random civilian.

Taking a break in an unlit alley, Queen Chrysalis removed her hood. Ensuring that nopony was watching, she lit her horn and retrieved her map. She was looking for one house in particular, a house belonging to one of Canterlot’s lower noble families. Chrysalis had done her research, sifting through family after family trying to find the perfect one; and in the end there was really only one viable choice among them. The household of Night Light and Twilight Velvet.

-Twilight Velvet-.

An odd coincidence she shared a name with the nymph contained in the bundle Chrysalis held close.

-Princess Twilight of the Badlands changeling hive, daughter of Queen Chrysalis-.

She had been named Twilight due to her sparkling lavender eyes. Most queens were born with green eyes, but her daughter was different. The first time she had looked upon them, they had reminded Chrysalis of the sky at the edge of the Badlands, only coloured so during the transition between day and night - twilight. Twilight's carapace was pitch black, and holes were lining her hooves just like with every other changeling. Her mane was a transparent blue with a green highlight striking through it; her tail had the same colouration. Small wings fluttered on the back of the sleeping nymph and a small black stub of a horn just poked through her mane.

Chrysalis had been so overjoyed when Twilight was born; and she had vowed that day to protect her beloved daughter no matter the cost. And what a cost it would be. Changelings can survive without love energy; simply by eating both meat and vegetables, but they are extremely weak without any love.

A maturing changeling queen is very different. During their early years, a new princess requires a steady stream of passive love in order to survive. A lack of love energies during this period would be fatal. The problem is even more striking during puberty, and young adulthood, where the transition from Princess to Queen begins. During this stage, the ling changes from needing passive love to active love, and with this change comes a huge hunger; needing more love in a short space of time then they have ever absorbed throughout their lifetime.

Therein lays the problem. The Badlands hive was in the middle of the worst love shortage for over two hundred years. The amount of available love energy in the hive would never be enough to sustain the new-born ling. Chrysalis loved her daughter more than anything, but the love from one Changeling can't be absorbed by another; it had to be from the reservoir (the name for the hives communal love storage), or another sentient species. So Chrysalis had to make a choice, give up her daughter, or watch her starve to death.

She chose life.

Night Light and Twilight Velvet already had a son, a young colt by the name of Shining Armor. The couple had been noted as one of the most loving families in Canterlot, and her spies had told her that Shining had been wishing for a sister for quite some time – anything and everything counted when it came to saving Twilight.

Chrysalis finally spotted the house she was looking for, and quickly made her way up to it. Standing just by the front door, Chrysalis looked down into the bundle she carried, watching as Twilight sleepily opened her eyes. A small giggle emerged from Twilight as she booped Chrysalis's muzzle with her hoof. A warm smile crossed Chrysalis's face, but tears also came to her eyes; giving her up was the hardest thing she had to decide, and likely ever would have to do.

"Shh, go back to sleep, and remember that… that… ” Chrysalis choked down a few of her tears, “that I will always love you..." Chrysalis gently nuzzled her daughter, who slowly closed her eyes and drifted back into a peaceful slumber.

Chrysalis's horn lit up and enveloped Twilight, slowly replacing the changeling nymph with the image of a small lavender unicorn filly.

"I will always be close by, my child; I will always keep you safe".

Slowly and reluctantly, Chrysalis placed the bundle on the doorstep. Next to the bundle she prepared to place a small piece of paper with a name written on it. While changelings don't tend to have last names, ponies do, so Chrysalis had to invent one for her. As Chrysalis looked down at Twilight, a patch of cloud moved out of the way, and the moonlight shone through. Twilight rolled in her blankets, and as she did so, one of her eyes cracked open. For the briefest of seconds, the moonlight sparkled back up at Chrysalis, before Twilight closed her eyes and rolled back over. That was it; she knew her daughter's name.

Placing the paper down on the bundle, Chrysalis knocked on the door several times, as loud as she could, and then hid in a nearby alleyway again.

Lights switched on upstairs, slowly progressing to the ground floor, until the door swung open, bathing the doorstep in light. A very, very tired Twilight Velvet emerged.

Squinting her eyes, Velvet called out. "Hello?"

Night Light quickly came up behind her, and swung a glance up and down the street. Seeing nothing, he shook his head. "Huh, damned pranksters, likely just some colts messing about in the dead of night."

Velvet sighed. "Let's just go back to... wait..."

A small gurgling sound could be heard.

Velvet noticed the bundle on the door step, and looked closer. She was met with the face of a sleeping lavender filly, with a dark blue mane and a pink highlight striking through it.

"Huh?! Nighty, look at this!"

"What is it dear… a new-born filly? On our doorstep? Who would abandon the poor thing like this?"

"I don't know, but we can't just leave her out here like this!"

"I... you're right, bring her in. Oh Shining's going to love this..."

"Well dear, you better go and wake him then," Velvet smiled. Night Light retreated into the house to wake his son, while Velvet gently picked up the bundle and examined the filly within. "Hello there, what's your name?"

It was then Velvet noticed the small piece of paper, levitating it up to her she read the name out loud.

"Twilight Sparkle."

Eighteen Years Later...

Six mares sat just outside Ponyville, enjoying a picnic in the idyllic countryside, before said picnic was interrupted by the belching of a small purple dragon.

"Twi... light! ...I... have... Lemme just... " Spike spluttered out, before a belch and a roar of green flames erupted from his mouth, causing a note to appear in front of Twilight.

Twilight picked up the scroll and read it out loud.

Dear Twilight, I am sure you are as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot.

"Wedding?" Twilight became confused.

I will be presiding over the ceremony, but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. Fluttershy, I would like you and your songbird choir to provide the music. Pinkie Pie, I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception. Applejack, you will be in charge of the catering for the reception. Rainbow Dash I would very much appreciate it if you could perform a sonic rainboom as the bride and groom complete their "I do"'s. Rarity, you will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids.

At that point Rarity seemed to stop functioning.

And as for you, Twilight, you will be playing the most important role of all: Making sure that everything goes as planned. See you all very soon.

Yours, Princess Celestia.

"But... I don't understand. Who's getting married?" Twilight asked questioningly, wondering if perhaps they had heard anything.

"Oh, wait! Uh, I was probably supposed to give you this one first!" Spike realised and handed Twilight a second scroll.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and read out the second scroll. "Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and... my brother?!"

Author's Note

'Dark blue mane with a pink highlight striking through it', Happy now Admiral Q Ponyform? :twilightsmile:

So begins a new adventure! Enjoy!

Edited by RC2101_Copey

9 - Broad Sword

Seven ponies stood before the currently empty throne in Canterlot castle; Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadance, along with Solar Guard Captain Shining Armor and Lunar Guard Captain Vladimir Vespertilio. Beside the two captains stood their executive officers.

Celestia addressed the group. “You all know why we’re here, recently our city came under attack by a previously unknown species called changelings, and the queen replaced my niece, Princess Cadance and brought down the shield meant to protect us. Now we must decide on our response.”

“Your highness,” Vladimir addressed with a bow. “There are stories stemming all the way back to the ancient thestral colony, well before the formation of Equestria, that detail such creatures. Perhaps research into the ancient literature could provide some information on the species?”

Celestia nodded in agreement, but it was Luna who answered. “Very well, Captain. I will have some of our scholars look into it.”

Vladimir nodded, but he shuffled on his hooves, looking as if there was something else he wanted to say, but was unsure how to say it.

“Is there something more, Captain?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, there is. You see there are some… disturbing rumors going around the city, and even has started to leak into the rest of Equestria. Some of the guards who fought against the changelings in the castle claim that they witnessed your student, Twilight Sparkle, turn into one of… them. What I want to know is… is it true?”

Celestia inwardly cursed, she had hoped that information would stay between them a little while longer; now she would need to make a public statement before the rumors got out of control.

“Yes Captain, it's true,” Celestia sighed. “However, I must iterate that I do not believe she had anything to do with the attack, and was taken very much against her will. Her rescue is one of the things we must discuss.”

“Discuss? There’s nothing to discuss!” Shining Armor’s XO, Commander Broad Sword, suddenly blurted out. “These creatures have made a declaration of war on Equestria, we should assault their hideout, and burn their chitin clad flanks off the face of Equus.”

“Commander, that is enough!” Shining Armor barked.

Princess Celestia gave Broad Sword a hard disapproving glare. “We are not monsters, Commander. And may I remind you that in reality the changelings didn’t kill a single pony throughout their entire ‘invasion’. While they may have acted hostile against us, under the circumstances I will not commit to any hard military action until we have more information to go on.”

Broad Sword went to say something else, but the glares of everypony around him stopped the words ever forming. “My apologies, I spoke out of line.”

Luna continued the discussion. “Now, we know that the hive is located in the Badlands, though knowing exactly where in the region is another matter. A diplomatic team is currently off the table, so I recommend sending in a small three pony recon team into the Badlands to scout out for the hive.

Shining Armor stepped forward, “I volunteer for this mission your highness. Changeling or no changeling, that’s my sister out there and I will find her.”

Vlad nodded in agreement, “I also volunteer. You will need the best for such a mission. No rookie could survive the hardships of the Badlands, and I have the added bonus of being able to see in the dark. Our XOs can lead the Royal Guard in our absence, we trained them well enough.”

“I agree with Captain Vespertilio,” Shining added. “The commanders have proven themselves capable over the years, and should be able to lead effectively enough without us.”

Luna nodded. “Which leaves only the third member in question.”

The group mused for a few moments before Celestia spoke. “I suggest we assign an experienced soldier, somepony from the EUP military with experience in recon and tracking. If I recall correctly, Sergeant Longshot of the 4th Cavalry, would make a good choice.” The closest thing to a smile graced Celestia’s face for the first time of the day, as she remembered how she met the Sergeant. “And as an earth pony, he will complement the group nicely.”

“Good idea,” Cadance said. “With the unrest down in Canterlot, we can hardly spare any more guards than we have to. On the other hoof, the military is seldom used these days. Aside from the occasional monster attack, or rogue griffon raiding party it spends all its time training, so its soldiers should be readily available.”

Vladimir chuckled, “Yes, well that’s the thing; we haven’t had a major fight since the Griffon Expansion Wars, shortly before the fall of Nightmare Moon - no offense intended your highness,” Vladimir quickly added.

“None taken, Captain,” Luna reassured. “I will have this Sergeant Longshot re-assigned at once, anything else?”

“Only what the guard should do in the meantime,” Shining added. “There could be more of these infiltrations all around Equestria.”

Broad Sword spoke up. “I recommend we have the Canterlot Royal Guard, and the City Guard forces of other towns begin investigations into any and all possible changeling infiltrations, or weird cases. We can’t have threats such as these walking around Equestria freely. As for the towns without any major policing force, we can assign some EUP regiments to take control of these towns and perform their own investigations.”

Celestia pondered this for a few moments, before answering. “I agree, the Royal Guard and City forces will begin investigations, however I will not install martial law onto the smaller towns like Ponyville.”

“Then, your highness, how shall we investigate these towns? We can hardly spare any guards from Canterlot.”

“We can’t, at least not until things have calmed down a little. When that has happened, we will be able to spare a few platoons to perform investigations. The smaller settlements are not likely to have been targeted, unless they have strategic value. I also want to reiterate that all discovered changelings shall be captured, not killed, or unnecessarily harmed. Is that understood?”

“Yes, your highness!” Both commanders saluted the Solar Princess.

‘The fool is too soft, how are the guard supposed to get anything done if she coddles the population to such a degree?’ Broad Sword mused to himself. 'No matter, it won't interfere with my plans.'

“That is all, you are dismissed.”

The next day, Fort Harmony, just south of Manehatten

Fort Harmony was currently home to the 4th Earth-Pony Cavalry, the 5th Pegasi Rangers, and 1st Royal Engineers, along with a few Wonderbolts that were giving the Rangers a special training session in advanced aerial combat. The EUP personnel wore silver combat armour. It looked the same as the gold and blue of the Solar and Lunar Guard, but was far more durable.

The base was alive today. With the recent event is Canterlot, every base was on high alert, and the reservists had been called in. This meant that the base was slightly over stocked with troops. The sound of drills being run, the stomping of hooves on tarmac, and the Drill Sergeant's shouting filled the air. Or as Sergeant Longshot called it, music to his ears.

Longshot, a light brown earth pony with a short black mane, was currently enjoying a free slot in his timetable, and he walked across the base with a scoped crossbow was slung over his back. He had chosen to pay a visit to his pal in the Engineer Core, Solid Sapper. While he claimed that he had gone to the motor pool to see his friend, that wasn’t the whole truth.

The real reason was he wanted to gawk at the new toys the base had received. Meeting up with Solid, he was taken to look at one of the new helicopters that had recently been assigned to a select few bases around Equestria. Currently, only two were requisitioned to Fort Harmony. It was a long slender craft with two large open bay doors just behind the cockpit, out of which could be fitted two large repeater crossbow turrets. Longshot was a stallion who prided himself on accuracy, especially at range, but the idea of using a weapon that big still made him feel like a foal in a candy store.

His tour of the ‘bird’ was cut short as an armoured pony clanked up behind him. “Sergeant Longshot; of the 4th Earth Pony Cavalry?” a voice called out.

Longshot turned to see a Solar Guard Pegasus mare.

He was surprised to see a royal this far from Canterlot, but when he caught sight of the single bar on her shoulder it stalled any questions. “That’s me ma’am,” he reported as he threw a salute. "What can I do for you?”

“You’re being reassigned, orders from Princess Luna herself,” the guard produced Longshot’s reassignment orders with the royal seal embellished on it.

“Re-assigned? Bloody hell, we haven’t pissed somepony off and started a war have we?” Longshot joked.

The guard raised an eyebrow at Longshot’s language, but chose to ignore it.

“Negative. All I know is you will be under the joint command of Captains Shining Armor and Vladimir Vespertilio, for a special mission into the Badlands. The details of this mission are on a need to know basis, and you will be briefed further on your arrival in Canterlot, and introduction to the princesses.”

Longshot’s lower jaw hit the ground. “The princesses are organizing this mission directly? I suppose I should feel honoured, when do I leave?”

“Immediately, I am to accompany you on the friendship express back to Canterlot.”

Longshot chuckled. “I know a quicker way.” *TINK TINK TINK* - He lightly tapped on the helicopter behind him.

“That… would work; we’ll speak to the base commander and have it cleared with air traffic control.”

“Awesome, I’ve always wanted to fly in one of these beauties; they need to see some use anyway.”

Solid just shook his head and wore a bemused expression. “Just don’t let him near the controls, and please, try and bring it back in one piece.”

The two left the helicopter behind as they trotted in the direction of air traffic control.

“So, do you know anything at all about what this mission entails?” Longshot questioned.

“It is, as I said, a very need to know mission. And I, for some reason, am not considered important enough to need to know!” the Lieutenant growled out.

“Ah.”

She chuckled slightly at his response. “Ah indeed, however, I do have a theory.”

“Go on.”

“Well, if I had to take a wild guess? The Inclusion of Captain Armor would likely suggest it has something to do with the fact that, well, his sister, and Princess Celestia’s personal protégé, turned out to be a changeling.”

“Wait… what?!”

“I know! I’m probably not supposed to say anything until the Princess’ formal announcement tomorrow, but yeah, there it is.”

“Damn, what the hell went down up there? Something tells me that the situation is hardly black and white though.”

“What do you mean, Sergeant?”

“Um, nevermind. I will find out the truth of the matter soon enough anyway,” Longshot said, pondering on this new information. He probably would’ve given the mare the inside scoop later, but she never told him her name.

Canterlot

Commander Broad Sword sat just outside the barracks speaking to one of his subordinates. He had assigned the only guards he knew he could trust to his unit. Currently, the Commander was conversing with another guard, a grey unicorn.

“How many now?” Broad Sword asked.

“Including us, thirty two overall have pledged to our cause. Around sixteen are actual guards while the rest are volunteers we are going to kit-up and give basic training.”

“Good, I know of a large cave near the Everfree Forest where we can set up shop; it’s both out the way and hidden enough that nopony should stumble across us by accident. Have the others outside of our unit, including the volunteers, meet there.”

“OK that leaves… eleven of us here, that's including us, while the other twenty one will go to the cave until they have further orders.”

A great rumbling sound suddenly graced their ears. It started far away, and then went right over them. Catching their attention, they looked up for the source and spotted an object flying through the sky over Canterlot.

“What they hay is that?”

“That, is a ‘helicopter’. A flying carriage for earth ponies and unicorns. On board would likely be the princesses’ latest pawn, Sergeant Longshot, arriving for his ever so ‘important’ mission.” Broad Sword sighed. “They would have us drinking tea with those monsters rather than dealing with the actual threat they pose!”

“Speaking of monsters, Private Monroe reported that a local pizza delivery pony has been acting weird, and may not be who he says he is.” The guard smirked while levitating a report towards Broad Sword.

“Huh, nice work.”

“What are your orders sir?”

“We know where he lives, discreetly gather the others. Tonight we will make sure his filth is cleansed from our streets, one insect at a time.”

The guard saluted before marching off to carry out his misguided orders.

Broad Sword went over the report one last time, before looking up to see the helicopter come in for a landing on the other side of the castle. “While the cat’s away, the mice shall play.”

Author's Note

Will Longshot find his true love? Will Broad Sword become a real boy? And will Celestia ever find the elusive cake of destiny?

Find out next time on: Change!

:moustache:

18 - Forward onto Canterlot

“I really don’t like the idea of you going to that city so soon after… you know…” Panacea said to her husband, worry written on her face.

Carduus gave his wife a sympathetic look, before moving to reassure her. “Honey, I promise I’ll be fine, Princess Twilight knows Celestia and Luna; if any of us can sort this mess out, it’s her.”

“Perhaps, but what of when you first arrive? I doubt changelings are going to be thrown a party on arrival.”

‘From what the Princess tells me, one might,’ Carduus mused, slightly grinning as he remembered some of the stories Princess Twilight had told him over the last few days.

“That’s why we’re called changelings, honey. They won’t see any changelings entering, only a dashingly handsome stallion, and his less attractive friends.” He stood straight, and pulled a pose; unable to completely remove his grin.

Panacea rolled her eyes before letting a grin slip. “Well that dashingly handsome stallion better come home safe with all his limbs intact, or he’s sleeping on the sofa.”

“I better come home safe th-“

He was cut off as a black blur barreled into him, knocking him to the floor with the cutest bear hug possible.

“Daddy!” the voice came out slightly muffled, his daughter's muzzle was crushed up against him.

“Hey sweetie!” Carduus swept Iuvenes into his fore-hooves to give her an embrace of his own.

She shifted so she could look at his face. “Do you have to go?”

“Well one of us needs to make sure the princess doesn’t do another all-nighter in a library somewhere,” Carduus chuckled.

Iuvenes responded by giving him the biggest puppy eyes she could - Carduus cringed at the big glowing blue orbs looking up at him in a begging manner.

Luckily for Carduus, Panacea came to his rescue. “Hey sweetie, I’m sure your father will bring you back some of those equestrian donuts from Canterlot if you ask nicely!”

Iuvenes face lit up instantaneously. “Oh oh, please dad, pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!”

“Oh I’m sure I could manage,” Carduus laughed, picking his daughter up in his green magical aura and depositing her on her mother’s back, where she promptly curled up in between her wings.

“Now, I really have to go; the others are likely already at the carriage.”

“Be safe,” Panacea said one last time, giving her husband a loving nuzzle that he returned gladly.

Carduus kissed his daughter on the forehead, picked up his sword and placed it into its scabbard, placed his helmet upon his head and after some final farewells left through the front door of his home.

“Forward onto Canterlot,” he muttered to himself.

Chrysalis’ personal carriage, a black carriage decorated with exuberant green emeralds rolled along the rocky Badlands landscape. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride in the world, but the two Changeling guards pulling it knew both the safest and most direct route to Equestria, so they were in safe hooves.

Either side of the carriage the other two of Carduus’ squad flew alongside them, wings buzzing as they looked out vigilantly for any possible threats to their princess. Within the carriage itself the rest of the entourage sat in silence. On one side sat Longshot, Vladimir and Shining Armor, who had been staring out the window so far for the entire trip. On the other side sat Carduus and Twilight, both undisguised. Twilight herself was staring at the floor, shuffling as she took in the uncomfortable sound of silence dominating the carriage interior. A silence eventually and predictably broken by Sergeant Longshot.

“So… what’s the plan exactly? You realise Canterlot won’t throw you a welcome party right?”

Carduus chuckled. “You sound like my wife.”

“Um, what?”

“Never mind, and to answer your question, I do realise this. That is why when we get to Equestria we will change into ponies.”

“Won’t the armor give you away?” Longshot pointed at the dark blue armor adorned by the changeling guard captain.

“Meh, I wouldn’t worry. Our armor is enchanted to change with us, otherwise it wouldn’t be much use to a race of creatures preferring stealth over brute force most of the time.”

“I guess Canterlot was one of those few other times?”

“Hay if you remember, the Queen did infiltrate AS Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and bring down the shield,” Carduus pointed out, before remembering Shining Armor was sharing the carriage with them.

All eyes turned towards the Solar Guard, who luckily didn’t seem to have heard a single world, and instead remained staring blankly out the window.

Longshot coughed. “Anyway, I bet if I was there things would have been different!”

Carduus cocked a non-existent eyebrow. “Oh really?”

“Yup, you only faced off against the guard. I mean, they’re good and all!” Longshot added, catching Vladimir’s glare. “But you haven’t faced off against the EUP!”

“Huh, the Changelings who captured you didn’t seem too impressed. Captain Vlad had to save your flank, before going down because you didn’t properly incapacitate one of your combatants. And then Shining Armor had to surrender because you became a hostage.”

Longshot’s eye twitched ever so slightly. “Not… one of my best moments.”

Carduus grinned in victory.

“But you haven’t seen our helicopters!”

“Your… what?”

“Big metal armoured flying machines with crossbow turrets that would tear any soldier to pieces. Not to mention they’re fast enough to outrun all but the most experienced Wonderbolts!”

“Really? How do I know you’re not exaggerating?”

“You’ll just have to take my word for it.”

“Uh-huh.”

Vlad rolled his eyes. “You two quite finished?”

“What?” Longshot responded. “There’s nothing wrong with a bit of competition.”

“Until you get so competitive you end up in joint last,” Twilight remarked, smiling at that particular memory.

“Sound like there’s a story in that, Twilight,” Carduus noted.

“Oh the things I could tell you about my time in Ponyville, what I have already told you isn’t even the half of it.

Longshot shuddered, remembering the story Vladimir told him of the ‘want-it-need-it’. “Oh please don’t, not right now.”

“What’s the matter Sergeant?” Vladimir grinned. “Want me to retell the story of Lesson Zero?”

Twilight blushed at that, while Longshot had a look of pure horror. “I need an adult.”

“I am an adult,” Vladimir responded.

“Moving on!” Twilight near shouted to change the subject. “In all seriousness what do we do when we get to Canterlot? I mean, meeting with the princess after all this…” Twilight trailed off.

Vlad sighed, and gave Twilight a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry Miss Sparkle, our authority can get you all into the castle as long as nopony sees you as changelings, also I would recommend you take on a different form than the usual, until we see the princess at least.”

“Why?”

“Uh, well. You see it’s not just a select few who know about you being a changeling. In fact everypony pretty much has heard by now…”

Twilight’s eye twitched. “What? Everypony… knows…”

“Hey! Vlad said it would be fine so it will be! Come on, let’s not freak out over this,” Longshot interjected.

“But…”

“Twilight I know it will be hard, but things will work out, you’ll see. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Anyway - as I was saying, once we get you into the castle we will report to Princess Celestia, and you will come with us, what happens then is really up to you,” Vladimir finished.

Much to the worry of all those present their words did little to calm the Changeling Princess, who seemed to be on the verge of an all-out panic as she began to hyperventilate. Luckily for them Twilight put a hoof to her chest and took some deep breaths, just like Cadance had taught her as a filly.

During this only Carduus noticed Shining finally look up at Twilight, brotherly concern on his face. Only when Twilight did finally calm down did he return to his personal musings looking out the window.

Life was returning to normal in the city of Canterlot, ponies of all races and pastel colours went about their lives.

Princess Celestia overlooked it all from one of the castle’s many balconies. A sense of unease surrounding her regal aura.

“Aunty?” A kind voice called from behind. Celestia looked behind her to see her niece and sister joining her at the balcony, standing either side.

“Sister what bothers thou?”

“Dialect.”

Luna gave Celestia a death glare at that little remark, only to receive an amused smirk in response, a smirk that quickly fell away as Celestia’s eyes turned back towards Canterlot.

“They should have been back by now.”

“Sister the fate of Equestria no longer rests squarely on your shoulders, you need to stop worrying constantly.”

“How can I not?” Celestia countered. “My little ponies are in danger, Twilight is in danger. And now we have heard nothing from Shining Armor’s team.”

“He will be fine aunty,” Cadance reassured, yet Celestia didn’t miss the worry she herself was trying to hide. “Shiny can watch out for himself.”

“Don’t discount my own Captain, or the EUP Sergeant with them,” Luna added. “Give them a few more days, if we hear nothing, well, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.”

From their vantage point, had the three alicorns been paying attention they might have just spotted a black and green carriage entering the city limits.

Canterlot’s ponies gawped as they witnessed a black carriage outfitted with expensive emerald decorations sped through the streets of the Equestrian capital.

Particularly noticeable was the two Pegasus stallions flying alongside it, and the two Earth-Pony stallions leading the carriage, all of them carrying swords that hung at their sides.

Private security was the first thought that entered most ponies heads. It wasn’t particularly uncommon with the many nobles living within the city. But they normally had carriages made of all sorts of gems and gold. And the security they hired were also normally outfitted to also show off that particular noble’s power. The darker décor of this carriage was new, and the swords carried by these stallions were iron with obsidian hilts. They couldn’t even see the occupants of the carriage as the curtains were drawn shut. All this certainly did little to keep the populace at ease.

Anypony watching the carriage for long enough would have seen it go all the way up to Canterlot castle, where they were met by two Solar Guards when they arrived at the front gates.

A thestral in night guard armor stepped out of the carriage, on which both Solar Guards stood to attention and saluted, after talking to them briefly the guards opened the gates and the carriage rolled on through unobstructed.

Inside a blue mare with a black mane sighed in relief, before shedding the precautionary disguise in favor of a familiar lavender one.

She peeked though the curtains, a small amount of panic returning as the castle in which she had spent a good portion of her life loomed over her.

There was no going back now.

Twilight Sparkle was back in Canterlot.

Author's Note

I saw this on youtube while browsing :derpytongue2:

35 - The Crystal Empire

The Crystal Empire

“Final stop, Crystal Empire!” the Crystal Express’ Conductor called out to all the ponies in the carriage, before he moved on through to the next one.

“Finally,” Broad Sword sighed in relief, stretching out a wing to loosen the overly stiff muscle within. “I’ve been sitting here for far too long.”

“Yeah,” Scarlet agreed, as she moved herself off of Board Sword’s chest, and sat up. “Why didn’t we just fly here?”

“A helicopter would never survive the weather up here, not even the princess’ can control the intense blizzards for long,” Broad Sword explained to his wife. “Thank Celestia for the Crystal Heart.”

“I would’ve thought it was a case of thank Cadance.” Vlad let out an amused snort at her comment. “What exactly does the heart do, anyway?” she asked.

“Wait, you don’t know?” Vladimir asked, surprised.

“Only bits and pieces from other ponies, it never came up in basic; it kinda didn’t exist until a couple years ago.”

“Point. Right, well the heart is what powers the empire. It absorbs the ambient love of the empire’s subjects, and emits it back out. Without its magic to protect it, the frozen north would sweep in and reclaim it within hours,” Vladimir explained.

“Weathers that bad, huh?” Scarlet wore a skeptical look.

“Worse. A wendigo would be hard pressed to outdo the frozen north. But as long as there is enough love to power the heart the Crystal Empire will continue to thrive in the chaos.”

“With that amount of love I’m surprised every changeling hive isn’t chewing on the thing!”

“Let’s not talk it up,” Broad Sword said, just as the train finally came to a complete halt with a hiss. “Come on, let’s get off of this thing.”

The three began to unload their bags from overhead compartments, with Scarlet gently lowering them down in her red magical aura emanating from her horn. Outside of their compartment, the corridor was already rammed with ponies exiting their own compartments and making for the carriage doors, everypony seemingly eager to finally put to an end the hours long journey.

“Got everything?” Vladimir asked.

“I believe so,” Broad Sword inspected the bags in the possession. “Yes, we have everything.”

“Good, let’s go.”

Vlad moved towards the door and slid it open, he waited for a family of ponies to move on past before moving into the corridor himself. He then made sure nopony tried to push past as Broad Sword and Scarlet Snow too exited the compartment. It was a tight squeeze through the corridor, made worse by a young filly having a temper tantrum right in the middle, much to the mother’s severe embarrassment. Eventually however, they made it to the exit and stepped down onto the platform.

The crystal architecture gleamed magnificently in Celestia’s sun, and Scarlet couldn’t help but gasp as she looked on the distant crystal palace for the first time. The massive crystalline structure reached out into the sky, gleaming like the most precious of diamonds. None of them would have been particularly surprised if some if it was in fact made out of diamonds.

“I… wow...” Scarlet was stunned. “How could anypony even construct something like this?”

“Who knows?” Vladimir shrugged. “The only pony who might have, Queen Amore, was murdered by Sombra over a thousand years ago.”

“Well, the crystal ponies are all from that time, don’t any of them know?”

“Maybe, I haven’t asked, and it would be rude to dredge up memories best forgotten.”

“Vladimir,” Broad Sword addressed his Thestral counterpart. “Where is Shining meant to be meeting us?”

“I… don’t actually know. He might be waiting out front?” Vladimir struck a leg out in the vague direction on the exit.

As it would turn out, that was indeed where Shining was waiting. As the trio approached customs they were ushered straight through without any of the hassle you would usually have to endure, earning them more than a few irritated glares from those who had to wait in line to enter the city proper. A crystal guard guided them through the busy station and out to the front, where a carriage was in wait and some of their other luggage that was not in the compartment with them already being loaded into the said carriage.

The carriage was, funnily enough, crystalline in design, with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s cutie mark displayed on both doors. Four heavily armoured Crystal Honour Guards sat in front of the carriage, ready to take them back to the palace once given the word. Prince Shining Armor leaned on one of the carriage doors as he waited for the arrival of his friends, though he managed to straighten himself out once the three came into view.

“Ah, there you three are! I was beginning to think the train had derailed or something,” Shining remarked.

“We weren’t that late, I would have thought being Captain of the Guard would have taught you to have patience,” Vladimir responded.

Shining snorted. “Perhaps my time as prince has dwindled it, it’s the royal lifestyle and all that.”

“Yeah, so I see. Sitting around on you royal highness all day has given you a bit more width I believe,” the Lunar Captain snidely said.

Shining raised an eyebrow. “Careful Vladimir, I do technically outrank you now. So I would watch what you say.”

The two glared spitefully at each other for a moment, neither breaking eye contact.

Several nearby crystal ponies stopped to gawk at the seemingly hostile confrontation between their Prince and the Thestral. They held their breaths as they waited to see what would happen next.

That was then the two couldn’t keep up the act anymore and both burst out laughing.

“Oh! It is good to see you Vlad!” exclaimed Shining Armor, smacking the Thestral on the shoulder.

“You too, Shining. Seriously though, have you gained weight?”

“Oh shut it,” Shining dismissed, he then turned to the duo of bemused ponies behind Vladimir. “Ah, there is the happy couple!”

“Shining, you are doing well I see.”

“Of course. We finally got Flurry Heart to sleep full nights, so what is there to be sad about?”

“It took you this long?” Scarlet enquired, catching sight of a nearby mare holding a small foal lovingly in her hooves.

“Hey, raising a child is difficult, you know?” Shining defended. “I don’t know if I could handle it without Cady. But while it is difficult, it’s wonderful at the same time. I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”

Scarlet continued to watch the family with a small smile as they left the station until she lost sight of them. “Wonderful? I bet.”

“Well? Are you going to get moving or stay here all week until we need to go back on duty?” Broad Sword gestured towards the carriage.

“Right, one moment,” Shining turned towards the four guards at the front of the carriage where said four guards sat at the ready. After a few quick orders the four began to load up the luggage into the carriage’s storage while Shining motioned for his three guests to board it.

As Vladimir and Shining got into the carriage, Scarlet quickly pulled her husband aside.

“Scarlet, what is it?” Broad Sword asked.

“I- it’s just… you know what you said about going back on duty at weeks end?” Scarlet managed to stammer out.

“Yes? What of it?” Asked a confused Broad Sword.

“I don’t know if I will be able to do that, go back to the EUP I mean. Now or… even ever.” She scuffed the ground with a hoof as she tried to explain to her husband.

“What? Why? You’ve always loved being in the EUP, what’s wrong?” Broad Sword was now incredibly perplexed, and concerned.

“Nothing. The complete opposite in fact…”

“What are you-" Broad Sword got interrupted by Shining Armor calling out to the two.

“Are you two coming or what? The luggage is loaded and we’re just waiting on you!”

“One second!” Broad Sword called back, before turning back to his wife. “Now, what is it you were saying?”

Scarlet bit her lip. “Actually, this can wait until later. It was probably a bad idea coming to you here of all places,” she chuckled sheepishly.

“Okay… but you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

“Of course! I just think some privacy would suit this a bit better however, I will tell you later I promise.”

“Alright, come on then. Best not keep the others waiting.”

Broad Sword turned away from Scarlet and began to trot towards the carriage. He completely missed Scarlet gently lay a hoof on her belly, a small warm motherly smile on her face.

A nearby crystal pony watched from the shadows as the alabaster unicorn moved to follow the Pegasus into the royal carriage. The love between the two was obvious to her, and she would likely try to collect some of the energy. That is if they weren’t personal guests of the crystal prince himself.

‘If only I could access the heart…’ she thought sadly. ‘No more scrounging scraps from the odd pony, no more starvation…'

The mare sighed, watching as the carriage pulled away and moved down the street. She was so distracted she didn’t notice a pony stallion walk up to her rather crossly.

“Hey!” the station worker called out.

The mare half-screamed in surprise, her inexperienced disguise almost giving up the ghost right then and there. And yet, somehow, she just managed to maintain it.

“Don’t do that!” the mare protested. “You scared me half to death!”

The stallion gave her a deadpan look. “Ma’am, would you mind moving on? Your loitering is making other ponies nervous.”

“Oh… right. Sorry I’ll… just go...” The mare quickly did a U-turn and walked briskly in the other direction.

The stallion simply rolled his eyes, and got back to work.

The mare rounded a corner and into an alleyway. She kept weaving though buildings and alleys, trying not to be seen and doubly being sure nopony was following her. She made her way to the very outer edges of the city, far from the major hustle and bustle of day-to-day life. Here there were just a few warehouses, a few small homes for those who worked at the warehouses and a single tavern in the middle of the small street. The street was not even comparable to the grand highways that led directly to the famed crystal palace and the heart beneath, with all sorts of establishments lining its sides. And yet even here the shimmering crystal structures kept their charm and majesty, truly there was nowhere quite like the Crystal Empire.

Around the back of the lone tavern however, was a small abandoned wine cellar that seemed to greatly contrast with the surrounding crystal. Nopony ever walked around the back of the tavern. Even if somepony did wander back there, they would always ignore the cellar, knowing it to be empty.

The mare opened the wooden hatch and descended the stairs into the cellar, closing the hatch behind her as she went. A green glow briefly filled the staircase as she shifted into her true changeling form, allowing her wings to stretch out after being hidden for several hours.

The teenage changeling descended the stairs, and was met with the soft glow of candle light. She found herself in a room with a few shelves containing what little personal items she had, a table she had scavenged from the tavern and two sleeping bags. One of the sleeping bags had a single small occupant who was nose deep in a Daring Do novel.

But when the nymph caught sight of the older changeling, she dropped her book and scrambled towards her as fast as lightening.

“Soronis!” She held tightly onto her big sister.

“Puellula, are you alright?” Soronis asked her younger sister.

“Uh-huh! I stayed here and read my book, just as you said!”

“Good girl.”

“Did you get any love energy?” Puellula gave her big sister the classic puppy eyes. Puellula was unusually thin for a changeling nymph, and Soronis could only sigh at the reminder of their dire situation.

Who would have thought in the city run by love, it was so hard to collect that very thing?

“Yes, I have some. Hold still,” she told her sister, her horn glowing green.

Puellula sighed in relief as she felt the love energy course through her body, but all too soon the flow ceased to be.

“There was that little, huh?” she noted sadly.

“I’m sorry Puellula...” Soronis hugged her sister tight.

What Soronis didn’t tell her sister was that she had given her all of the love she had collected that day, and that Soronis would have to go hungry that night.

The young nymph sadly nodded in understanding, before trudging back over to her sleeping bag and engrossing herself back into her book.

‘Her escape from all this,’ Soronis mused in her head.

Soronis placed herself down onto her own sleeping bag, and looked down onto her sister. Her last remaining family.

‘She needs more love, I can’t bear to see her like this,’ She blinked back a few rebellious tears trying to escape her glowing blue eyes.

Soronis knew what she had to do, but it wouldn’t be easy.

She needed to access the Crystal Heart.

52 - Intermission: A Grand Day Out

Crystal Express

Soronis pulled Puellula over and lifted her up so she could see out of the window. But, despite some original expectations, it wasn’t the window to a jail cell. When she had been running for her life, and when she had been captured, Soronis feared the worst; imprisonment and death by starvation. What they received was almost the complete opposite.

Not only had the princess been kind to them, she had allowed them both to fill up with love, straight from the heart. Soronis had never felt so full, and little Puellula was almost in a food coma. It didn’t help that the room they were in kept swaying from side to side, and the rhythmic ‘clack clack’ only made it harder to stay awake.

Neither of them had ever been on a train before, but it hadn’t taken them long to get over the slight motion sickness. As Puellula stared wide eyed out of the window, front hooves on the glass, Soronis looked around the carriage they were in. To say the interior was opulent would be like saying the ocean was big, and apparently Cadance had three of these cars.

As her eyes wandered towards the rear end of the carriage, the inter-car doors opened revealing Princess Cadance and her husband, Prince Armor. Soronis pulled her sister back, and they sat waiting for the princess to say something. Even after everything they had been given so far, Soronis was still slightly sceptical, having never seen kindness on this scale before.

“How are you two doing?” Cadance inquired.

“Your moving house is pretty!” giggled Puellula.

Cadance couldn’t help but giggle. “Thank you, little one. I’m glad to see you no longer need that,” Cadance said as she pointed towards a bucket in the corner, and Soronis’ face somehow flushed red despite the chitin.

Diverting the conversation, Soronis spoke up. “How much longer are we going to be on this train, your highness?”

Cadance frowned. “I told you, please, call me ‘Cadance’. And I’m afraid this is an overnight train. I’d suggest you make use of the beds towards the front of this car. I intend to make use of mine soon.”

Before she could stop her, Puellua jumped up, hugged the Princess on the legs, and bolted towards the sleeping section. Soronis was still unsure; this car felt like nothing more than a gilded cage, as the two were dragged off to face judgement before the Royal Pony Sisters.

Sensing her inner conflict, Cadance approached her, and quickly brought her into a wing hug. Soronis was stunned; never before had she felt love given so freely – even the Crystal Heart had taken some effort to draw from. Alongside the love, she could feel genuine concern. Looking into Cadance’s eyes, and seeing the true care was the last thing she remembered before falling to sleep.

Soronis awoke slightly to feel a warm body pressed up against hers. It was smaller, and after taking a few moments to think about it, she could feel it was more chitin against her own – Puellula.

As she grew accustom to the light, she could also feel that they were still on the train. Shuffling to the side of the cabin, she drew back the curtains, only to have her breath taken away. She shook her sister awake.

“Soronis, what is it?” Puellula asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Soronis just pointed out of the window. She followed her sister’s hoof, looking out, only to have her breath stolen as well. They had both heard the stories, but nothing could compare to actually seeing it. The city of Canterlot rose above everything else in view. It was beyond beautiful.

There was a light tapping on the cabin door, and a Crystal Guard stuck his head in. The girls turned round to stare at him, their faces still in shock. Confused at first, the guard noted the view from the window. “Got me first time too. Trust me, it’s better up close. That said, we will be arriving in just over an hour, and the Princess wishes you to join her for a light breakfast.” The guard nodded his head and withdrew.

After arriving about an hour later, the two changelings were taken to the castle through backstreets and tunnels, their arrival supressed. Under orders from Cadance, not even her Aunt Celestia knew anypony was coming, but she had sent a runner to find her aunt Luna.

The sisters soon found themselves in antechamber in the castle, though it looked more like a family lounge. They shared a large sofa, whilst Shining and Vlad sat opposite. Broad Sword and Scarlet sat in their own little ‘loveseat’ off to the side.

The four ponies talked amongst themselves. They seemed happy, almost content, but Soronis felt anything but. Right now, Princess Cadance and Princess Luna would be conversing with Princess Celestia about them. And if they were as smart as she thought they were, if they knew the truth, they would also likely divulge their connection to Serpens to the Princess Celestia. When he had done what he did, Queen Vespula had kept her deal with Crudelis quiet. After his death the only ones to know in the hive aside from Vespula was Serpens’ family, the exception there being Puellula, who was far too young to understand. Soronis had lied to Princess Cadance before, saying she didn't know what happened to her brother out of fear. And now Soronis and her sister were awaiting whatever judgement the Solar Princess decided on, Puellula happily oblivious to the potential danger they were in.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there hugging her sister, but Puellula had picked up on her mood, and started hugging back. Then, all of a sudden, the door to the room opened, and in strode all three of Equestria’s princesses. Soronis almost passed out from fear, until a pink wing settled over her back.

Over the course of the next hour, after a quick relocation to the dining room where some snacks and drinks were served, the princesses were filled in on everything the pair could remember. Throughout the entire exchange Serpens was only briefly brought up, Soronis could tell they knew, but they had yet to act against them in any way for it.

Soronis was relieved of course, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was going to get punished. She knew it was stupid, but something told her things would soon go wrong.

“For everything you have been through,” Celestia spoke to the two changelings. “You have my condolences.”

“That… is greatly appreciated, princess,” Soronis said. “But unnecessary.”

“On the contrary,” Celestia said. “But to allay your fears, I have the utmost confidence that Princess Twilight will be more than happy to take you in.”

“Thank you, for everything. All of you.”

“Think nothing of it, young one,” Luna said. “It is the least we can do given the recent misunderstanding.”

Things progressed smoothly from there. Among other things, Broad Sword and Scarlet Snow’s baby was discussed and the atmosphere was generally light and calm.

The all changed when the letter arrived.

The paper to burst into flames, immediately immolated in the sun’s fury. Soronis could spy terrifying wisps of fire could be seen flickering at the edges of Celestia’s mane and tail.

“Sister?” Luna asked in alarm.

“Organise the army – NOW! Send a detachment of the EUP to the Badlands Hive at once, Twilight is in danger!” Celestia ordered.

The next few minutes was a flurry of activity, an urgent exchange went between the royals as Celestia gave out commands. All of this was a blur for the two changelings as they tried to process what was happening. Moments later, they were alone in the room with Scarlet Snow.

Confused, Soronis sat up in her chair and looked around, looking towards Scarlet for an explanation.

“What’s going on?”

Scarlet grimaced. “The Badlands hive is under attack. Queen Crudelis has managed to find them.”

“W-what?” Soronis whimpered as she began to shed a few fresh tears, she soon found herself wrapped in both her sister’s forelegs, and Scarlet’s.

“Hey, don’t worry; you are safe here. The princesses are getting ready to help – I’m sure that Crudelis will never get chance to hurt anypony ever again.”

Author's Note

Much like the previous intermission, this chapter was written by RC2101_Copey and edited by me instead of the other way around. :pinkiehappy:

And next week we begin the final act of this story, its taken a while but we are almost there! And the moment a great many of you have been wishing for in the comments approaches, you know what one I mean...