-------The Previous Night------

Garnet Targe was doing what she always seemed to be doing ever since her promotion to captain of the guard in the Crystal Empire: paperwork. Piles of paperwork arrived every day to read and sign in triplicate. Mountains of paperwork to make even the most steadfast pencil pusher’s resolve falter. Every grievance reported to the guard made its way to her desk. Every petty complaint over perceived sleights from the nobles, every melon accidentally knocked over in the market place, and every time a jumpy citizen, still fearing the return of Sombra, thought they saw a monster in the dark it would end up on paper, piled in front of her. The extra bits earned alongside her promotion were immeasurably useful in raising her daughter, Amber Strings, but she didn’t doubt this damned paperwork would drive her insane.

Letting out a sigh, she reached a faintly orange, crystalline hoof to the page on top of the nearest stack. It was another report of somepony’s acquaintance disappearing for a brief while only to return shortly afterwards with little explanation. This one in particular was for some baker’s apprentice who didn’t show up for work. Nobody could find him that day, but he returned the next stating he had personal issues outside the city he had to attend to the day before. On its own, it was nothing remarkable, but there had been dozens of similar reports these last two weeks and it had put Garnet Targe on edge.

Whispers of black creatures skulking about in the dark alleyways were a commonality in the Crystal Empire. For the longest time after the return of the empire, these whispers were of an imposing, dark unicorn with glowing green and red eyes. A lifetime of tyranny and fear under King Sombra was hard to forget, the crystal ponies could hardly be blamed for seeing the face of their defeated tormentor every now and then. Recently, however, the whispers were of smaller black creatures, blue eyes and green flames.

The changeling invasion of Canterlot had happened while Garnet, along with the rest of the Crystal Empire, had been lost to the world thanks to Sombra’s curse. Shape shifting monsters that could drain you of your emotions until you were little more than a husk sounded like little more than an old mare’s tale, something meant to scare the foals when telling tales around a campfire. Had the empire’s current leaders, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her husband Shining Armor, not assured her that they were real she probably wouldn’t have believed that they even existed. Now she not only believed that they were real, she believed that the Crystal Empire was about to be invaded.

Garnet looked at herself in a mirror on the wall of her office that her predecessor had installed for Celestia knows what reason. She was met with radiant green eyes, her pale orange coat, and a vibrant orange-red mane, all in the crystalline structure of those from the Crystal Empire. She marvelled at the idea that those familiar features could be replicated so flawlessly that nopony would notice she was gone, perhaps not even her little Amber. Marvelled and feared.

Some of the ponies who had gone missing had been questioned, but nothing had come of it. There had been no strong indicators that anything was wrong with any of them, except that they had all vanished for a short period of time and the insistence of an occasional loved one that something was off about them. If Garnet had her way, she would have locked up the lot of them and gone through with a proper interrogation. Unfortunately, without sufficient evidence of wrongdoing she could not do so, her hooves were tied.

When she had informed Prince Shining Armor of her suspicions he had listened to her attentively, he wasn’t the sort of stallion to ignore the suspicions of the guards working under him. He had implemented thorough inspections of anypony entering or leaving the Crystal Empire and nearly doubled the guard, even bringing in guards from Canterlot to bolster their numbers.

Despite these extra precautions, ponies were still disappearing. Garnet couldn’t help but wonder how many ponies had been replaced without any noticeable disappearance beforehand. Ten? Twenty? One hundred? She had pushed for further action to counter the changeling threat, but was met with refusal. Without further evidence, Prince Shining Armor said he could not devote any more resources to the matter.

Garnet scanned through more papers until she heard an urgent knocking on her door. Before she could answer, a grey unicorn dressed in the golden armour of Celestia’s personal guards entered. She recognized him as Fine Edge, the head of the guards that Shining Armor had brought in from Canterlot and ultimately the second in command, after herself, of all guards currently in the Crystal Empire.

“Captain, you need to see this. It’s one of them.”

“A changeling?” Fine Edge nodded. “Where?”

“I found the bug near the castle trying to find a way in. We have it just outside right now.”

Garnet grabbed her spear and bolted past the guard into the outer room of the barracks. Sure enough, lying on the ground between two more spear wielding Canterlot guards was an unmoving changeling. She took note of a small pool of blood forming beneath it.

“Is it alive?”

“No, captain, it’s not. When it was discovered it attacked us and we had to kill it.”

This was just what the guard captain had been searching for these past weeks. This one corpse would convince their leaders that the threat was very real and drastic measures needed to be taken right now.

“You, carry the body. We need to get this to Prince Shining Armour and Princess Cadance immediately.” She said pointing at one of the two guards beside the changeling, then towards the other and Fine Edge, “You two will escort us. Be on guard for any more changelings.”

The assembled guard ponies saluted their commanding officer and followed behind her as they left the barracks. They emerged into the crisp evening air of the training grounds which were situated just outside the castle. All training for the day had ended before the sun had set, so the grounds themselves were empty save for one lonely pegasus that had been assigned to watch the area for the night.

Garnet gave a curt nod to the pegasus but otherwise ignored him as her entourage marched directly for the Crystal Castle entrance, four collective eyes darting about in search for any further intruders. None were seen, however, not that it meant much when said intruders could change their form to match their surroundings.

Upon approaching the castle entrance, the guards stationed there made a motion as if to bar her entrance until they drew close enough to see who it was. A few shocked gasps at the dead monstrosity draped across one of their backs escaped them.

“What is that?” A confused crystal pony guard asked.

“That is a changeling. Fine Edge here killed it while it was searching for a way into the castle.” A few nervous whispers could be heard. They had all heard their captain’s insistence that shape shifting monsters were infiltrating the city, but few had believed her until now. “We are going to inform the royals. Do not let anypony else in or out of this castle without my express consent.”

The captain didn’t bother waiting for a response before she continued her journey. She didn’t have any time to waste. She marched through the lavish halls, and past the occasional guard or servant performing their respective duties.

It wasn’t until they had turned onto a spiral staircase and begun ascending to the higher floors that Garnet Targe noticed that they had one too many shadows.

“We’re being followed.” Garnet whispered to Fine Edge walking beside her.

“I noticed too. I think it’s one of the maids. Should I go back and deal with her?”

“No. If it is a maid, she’s no threat. If it is a changeling then I would rather have more backup before confronting it. There’s no telling how dangerous it is, or if it’s alone.”

“So we just ignore it?”

“No,” Garnet shook her head and gave a wry grin, “we lead it directly to our backup. The royal chambers are heavily guarded.” Fine Edge was silent a moment contemplating the matter, then simply nodded.

While Garnet Targe couldn’t convince their leaders to implement stronger measures for finding changelings, she had been able to get their personal security increased. The usual two chamber guards at night had been tripled. If the changelings wanted a fight, ten fully trained guards, at least three of which would be capable battle mages, should be able to provide one. This of course was in addition to Cadance and Shining Armor themselves, both of whom were more than capable of handling themselves in a fight.

The final hallway leading to the royal chambers was at the top of the stairs, lit by a series of torches hanging from the walls. The six chamber guards were standing vigil at an intricately designed door at the end of the hall. Two of them repositioned themselves to directly block the passage of those approaching. Fine Edge looked to his captain nervously.

“What do they want? Can’t they see who you are?”

“Changelings are shape-shifters. If we made it that simple, they could just take on my form, walk past the guards and assassinate our leaders while they slept.”

Something about her own words scratched at the back of her mind, taunting her with a revelation that was just out of reach. She stood there in silence as she tried to figure out what was wrong.

“So how do we prove you’re not one of them?” Fine Edge prodded, snapping Garnet out of her thoughts.

“With a password.” She looked straight into the eyes of the larger of the two guards directly barring their path. “Twily is the most disagreeable porcupine, beware his hoof ball skills and don’t hire her to foalsit your lady bugs.”

The password was a mish mash of things both meaningful to the royal couple and meaningless, random drivel. It was changed to something new every night to further flummox potential assassins. Outside of the two royals and the chamber guards, she was the only one to learn what it was. If a single word was spoken wrong, then the one seeking entry was to be arrested immediately without question and interrogated.

With a silent nod, the two stepped aside while the three unicorn guards bowed their heads towards the door, their horns glowing. Soon, the door itself was covered in a swirling mass of magic as they removed the seal they had placed on it. Just one more layer of protection, so that if the guards were overpowered the door could hold the attackers at bay while those inside could escape through a secret exit that not even she knew the location of.

“Our unwelcome guest has arrived, and she’s not alone.” Fine Edge flatly informed her while those around them readied their weapons.

There were three of them. One supposed maid and two guards had snuck up behind them and were glaring at them from the top of the steps. Fine Edge took a step toward them.

“We know what you are, changelings.” he warned with a taunting smile as the three stared at him attentively, “You’re outnumbered. By all means, you can attack, but if you were smart you would run away like the cowardly little insects you are.”

Silence hung in the air like a shroud for a moment as nopony moved. The quiet was broken by the fwoosh of green fire as the three impostors returned to their original forms, throwing a few bolts of green magical energy down the hall and then retreating hastily back down the stairs and out of sight.

Garnet Targe leapt out of the path of one of those magical bolts and landed heavily on her side, while Fine Edge ducked below one hurtling for him, his sword held in his own yellow magical field. One of the chamber guards was not so lucky, taking a blast directly to his face and was sent sprawling to the floor like a rag doll.

“Quick, you five, after them before they hurt anypony else! We can protect the prince and princess!” Fine Edge barked at the chamber guards, five of which gave chase to the changelings that had just assaulted them. Getting to her hooves, Garnet approached the one who had been hit, Fine Edge kneeling beside him.

“Will he make it?” She asked of her second in command.

“No,” he shook his head somberly, “he’s dead. The force of the blast snapped his neck, he died instantly.”

Garnet cursed under her breath. She was not looking forward to telling the poor stallion’s family. Sadly, even more important issues needed to be dealt with before they would have the luxury of taking care of the dead.

“What a waste. He could have been so much more alive.” Fine Edge stated regretfully.

“Bring the dead changeling, we have some royalty to warn.” Garnet Targe ordered. The changeling, whose body had been dropped during the attack, was tossed back onto one of the guard’s backs as Garnet shoved open the royal chamber doors.

Two ponies were in the room, one of them a tall, feminine pink alicorn with a mane striped purple, pink and yellow, the other a large white unicorn with two toned mane and tail of differing shades of blue. They were taking cover behind an overturned desk, both of their horns glowing in preparation for whatever would come through the door. Upon seeing their trusted guard captain, they cautiously removed themselves from behind their cover.

“What’s going on?” Shining Armor demanded. Garnet motioned for the guard carrying the changeling to come forward.

“It’s Changelings, they’re attacking.” The guard placed the corpse on the floor before the royals. Matching grim frowns spread across their faces as they approached the body. “They already killed one of the chamber guards. You need to get out of here, now, before they bring reinforcements.”

“Are you suggesting we abandon our subjects?” Cadance objected.

“No, I’m suggesting we escape and find reinforcements of our own, and a more defensible position.”

“But the citizens-“

“We can send some guards to warn them after the two of you are safe.”

“Understood.” Shining Armor turned from the changeling on the ground and trotted to the wall beside their bed, and Cadance followed behind him. His horn glowed pink for a moment and then the wall slid open to reveal the secret exit.

“Okay, we can escape through-“ Shining Armor was interrupted by a massive green ball of energy blindsiding him, sending him to the floor of the secret passage.

“Shining!” Cadance screamed, staring in horror at the spot her husband had just been standing a moment earlier.

Several more bursts of changeling magic flew through the air. For the second time that night, Garnet Targe leapt out of the path of an oncoming magical assault, successfully dodging the first but was struck in mid air by the second, knocking her into a wall where she slid to the floor.

Cadance bolted towards the secret passage, hoping to get in and seal it behind her, stalling their attackers while she tended to her husband. She only reached half way before she found herself halted by a yellow magical field, frozen in place. In a matter of seconds, Shining Armor, Garnet Targe and Princess Cadance had all been incapacitated.

“What’s the hurry, Princess?” Fine Edge mocked Cadance as he lazily entered her view then pointed at one of the changelings in the room. “You, get the Prince.”

A changeling with green eyes instead of the usual blue walked past the Princess and entered the secret passage. In desperation, Cadance put all her might into charging her horn to save her husband. The spell holding her made it difficult, but her horn still began to glow an energetic blue.

“Ah, ah ah,” Fine Edge scolded while stepping between her and the tunnel, breaking her line of sight to her husband, “I wouldn’t do that were I you, unless you want something to happen to our dear Shiny.”

Recognition flashed in Cadance’s eyes as she conceded, letting the magic fade while tears streamed from her eyes. Moments later, one of the guards turned changeling installed a ring of metal onto the Princess’ horn. She could feel herself cut off from her magic as the metal band snapped into place.

A soft groan, unnoticed by the others in the room, came from Garnet Targe as consciousness returned to her. She shakily rose to her hooves and surveyed her surroundings. There were three changelings in the room, two of which were standing near Fine Edge while a third was dragging Shining Armor from the secret passage way with his sickly, green magic. The supposedly dead changeling wasn’t on the floor anymore, obviously having been faking all along. Outside of Fine Edge, she was the only guard pony in the room. She realized just what it was that had bothered her earlier: why would a changeling be undisguised when trying to find a way into the castle? Had she not been in such a rush she could have realized this entire thing was a trap.

A small voice in her head told her she had to save the Prince and Princess. She had to stop the changelings at any cost. Garnet Targe reached for her spear lying beside her.

“We need to get these two back to the badlands. Quick, we can go through-“

Fine Edge was cut off by the dying screech of one of the changelings being impaled by a spear. With one fluid motion, Garnet used her momentum from her first strike to flip around and kick the other changeling by Fine Edge in the head, breaking off its horn and crushing its skull.

“Enough!” Fine Edge bellowed furiously.

Before Garnet could remove the spear from the first changeling, she found herself suspended helplessly in the air by a second yellow field of magic. Fine Edge stepped close and struck the helpless mare’s face with a forehoof.

“Why?” Targe spit out some blood, “Why are you helping the changelings?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” he mocked. Garnet just glared at him from her levitated position. “No? Well then, let me show you.”

A torrent of green flame engulfed the stallion, burning away the disguise that had been worn for so long. In his place stood a towering, slender changeling with cruel, green eyes, a mane and tail of a shade of blueish green that was as full of holes as her limbs, and a wickedly jagged horn. To top off the entire ensemble was a little black crown atop her head. The magical fields surrounding the two mares faded into a sickly green.

"I am Queen Chrysalis."

“No, you can’t be....your magic was yellow!” Chrysalis cruelly smirked at her former commanding officer’s disbelief.

“Believe what you will, I am not here to explain myself to you.”

Garnet closed her eyes, resigning herself to her fate. She had failed. She had played right into Chrysalis’ hooves and now the entire Crystal Empire would suffer for it. Amber Strings’ young face flashed across her mind and a pang of regret filled her heavy heart as she realized her daughter would grow up without a mother. That is, if she got the chance to grow up at all.

“Just get it over with and kill me already.”

“You certainly deserve it for murdering my subjects, but no, that’s not our way. I have another use for you. I want you to deliver a message to Celestia for me: her time is at an end, I am coming for her. My changelings will hunger no more as they feast upon Equestria.”

“Fuck you.” Garnet spat.

A mischievous smile spread on the changeling’s lips. Chrysalis pulled the guard’s face towards her with a hoof and kissed her, deeply, biting at her lip with her fangs. Breaking from the kiss, she stared into the disgusted mare’s eyes.

“However much I would love a snack,” Chrysalis paused a moment to lick the blood dripping from Garnet’s lip, “I don’t have the time. Now, we can’t have you following us, so it’s time for you to sleep.”

The magic holding Garnet Targe in place faded and she fell to the ground while Chrysalis and the green eyed changeling escaped with the royals in tow. She attempted to get back onto her hooves and pursue the fleeing changelings, but couldn’t make her limbs obey her orders. A tingling sensation blanketed her mind. She was feeling exhausted, more so than she remembered ever feeling before.

Just a few minutes of rest, that’s all she needed. A few short minutes and then she could chase down the invaders and save the day. With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes.

Author's Note

Sorry about the shifting of the focus away from the MC for a chapter and leaving you on that cliffhanger even longer than you probably expected. Victor/Chance will be back next time. In the meantime, hopefully seeing what Chrysalis was up to isn't too big a disappointment.

If nothing else, you can see why the ponies were so concerned about a potential changeling invasion coming. It wasn't just general paranoia, they had been getting news from the Crystal Empire that something may have been up. You don't import a large squadron of guards from Canterlot without people noticing or having tensions rising.