Vengeance

The first thing Jade noticed when she woke up was that her head hurt. A lot. The pounding headache did not feel like it was going to relent anytime soon. Her vision was blurry and dark. No, wait, it was the room that was dark. Her eyes were just unfocused.

The second thing? She was lying in her warm, soft, familiar bed, covered with the smooth silk sheets. The crystals on the walls of her bedroom were dimmed so that she could just make out her surroundings, which helped her headache.

Jade sat up and shook her head to clear her eyesight. Suddenly, the events in the War Room came rushing back to her. Emerald. Mother. Fight. Then . . . sleeping spell? She started to panic a little. How had she gotten here? Where was Queen Thysanura? And Emerald?

First things first. Jade's magic reached for the glass pitcher of cold water she always kept on the nightstand beside her bed. Her levitation wobbled as she poured water into the glass next to the pitcher. When she picked up the glass to take a sip, however, her magic gave out completely. The fragile cup plummeted to the polished crystal floor and shattered on impact. Water and shards of broken glass sprayed across the floor. Jade frowned down at the mess. Her magic had never done that before. I must have used up all of my magical energy in the fight. It was better to lay off on the spells for now. Great! How am I supposed to do anything now? No magic means no everything – for me!

As if reading her mind, the crystals on the walls started to glow brighter, filling the room with a soft blue-green light. Right. They lit up at your will.

When her eyes adjusted to the light, Jade spotted a scroll of pale blue parchment lying on her large desk. Strange. That wasn't here before. Slowly climbing out of bed, she staggered over to the desk and sat down in the silk-cushioned chair. She picked up the scroll with her hooves, noticing that the blue wax seal was stamped with the royal seal of the Equestrian princesses, and unrolled it. The parchment was covered with these hastily scribbled words in blue ink:

Dearest sister Jade,

We have reached Canterlot without harm. The pony princesses, Celestia and Luna, have been most kind to us, especially considering that we are Changelings. They took the news well when we warned them of Mother's war. Celestia and Luna know of the Prophecy Curse – apparently and surprisingly, Princess Flitterheart was a close friend of theirs. Speaking of princesses, have you confronted Mother about Emerald yet? We still have no idea of where Emerald is right now. We trust you, Jade, and so do the princesses of Equestria. Celestia first doubted that you are truly on our side, but we convinced her otherwise. Please, please do not fail us now. We need you, sister. We await your quick reply.

Love, your sisters,

Chrysalis and Peridot

Jade immediately let out a sigh of relief. Chrysalis and Peridot were safe, at least for now. Queen Thysanura probably knew where they were by now. What was even worse was that Jade had slipped and let her mother know that none of her daughters were on the Changeling queen's side. Jade was putting everyone in danger!

I have to warn my sisters. She studied the blue scroll and sensed a tingle of magic on the parchment. A spell. A magic spell had brought this letter here. But which one? Jade didn't know any message spells. She mentally cursed herself for ignoring that part of her magic studies. It was important and useful! Why didn't she know this?

Unless . . .

There was only one other way to contact Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Chrysalis, and Peridot.

She would have to go to Canterlot herself. The capital of the pony land. It is the only way. Mother already knows, so what's the harm? Jade thought of Emerald, but pushed the thought away. There were bigger things to worry about right now.

Then something very, very, very unlucky happened.

The bedroom door opened, and Queen Thysanura – it just had to be her! – stepped inside. "Jade! What are you doing?" she demanded, seeing her daughter with the scroll. The queen's sharp eyes landed right on the seal of Equestrian royalty.

Even though it was useless now, Jade shoved the scroll into a desk drawer. "N-nothing, Mother," she stammered, jumping from her chair. "Just reading."

"Just reading, hmm? I'd like very much to see what you are so interested in." Queen Thysanura's levitation magic latched onto the drawer knob and pulled it open. Jade sprang for it, but her mother's magic pushed her back.

"No!" Helpless, unable to use her own magic, Jade watched as the queen took hold of the scroll and unrolled it. Her eyes scanned the parchment, and they seemed to get angrier with each word they read.

"Your sisters are in Equestria?" Queen Thysanura cried. "Warning the ponies? I raised them better than this!" Her accusing gaze landed on Jade. "You know about this, don't you, Jade? You're on Equestria's side! You're all worthless traitors, just like my sisters!"

She's losing it.

"No! You're the traitor," Jade shouted back at her mother. "You're betraying the Hive, and all the queens before you, by starting this senseless war! If you truly cared about us, you wouldn't be doing this to all of us! Risking the life of your entire Hive! Would any queen do that? Would even Silkwing do that? At least she had a reason!"

Thysanura's eyes widened, then narrowed to angry slits. "You shouldn't have said that, Jade." Her horn flashed.

Jade was ready. She jumped into the air and flapped her wings to fly over her mother's head and into the corridor outside her bedroom. Back in the room, Queen Thysanura's beam of magic hit the wall before the Changeling queen gave chase. I have to get out of the Hive, now! Going to Canterlot was her only option now.

Lucky for Jade, speed was on her side. She was an experienced flyer, and could say without any false modesty that, on wings, she was faster than her sisters, all of her subjects, and even her mother. Jade's wings buzzed as she flew, perhaps for her life, navigating the hundreds of twists and turns with ease. Her heart was beating hard and loud, so loud that she was almost surprised that no one else could hear it.

She dared to look back, and her heart started to pound even harder when she did. Queen Thysanura was flying, too, and she was good at it! The queen wasn't far behind. Fly faster. I have to fly faster. Jade beat her wings hard and put on a burst of speed, shooting forward.

Finally, when she reached the gem-studded doors, Jade allowed herself to pause and breathe. She had never flown that fast before. She didn't have time to waste. With a quick jolt of magic – she could use it again! – she pushed the heavy doors open and flew outside. The doors closed behind her, hopefully slamming in her mother's face.

Jade zipped through the air with speed and precision, carefully pacing herself. It would take two days to get to Canterlot, and she foolishly hadn't thought to bring any food or water. Well, she was being chased by her mother. She could go a long time without any food, but water was vital. She'd drink some, first thing, when she found a water source at the Equestrian border.

Chrysalis, Peridot, I am so sorry. I put all of us in danger.

In Canterlot, Peridot, Chrysalis, Celestia, and Luna were now in the palace. It was several hours after the letter had been sent to Jade, yet no reply had come. What was taking Jade so long?

Right now, the two Changeling guests were standing next to the Sun and Moon Princesses in Celestia's royal office. She had summoned the Captain of the Royal Guard and the Commander of the Equestrian Army here.

The Captain of the Royal Guard, Winter Wing, was a very pale blue pegasus mare with an indigo-and-blue mane and a cutie mark of a white pegasus wing overlapping a snowflake. She was wearing custom gold armor with dark indigo accents. Silver Shield, the Equestrian Army Commander, was a gray stallion, also a pegasus, with a black-and-gray mane. His cutie mark was some sort of shield with a sword crossed over it. He was not wearing any armor.

Neither Chrysalis nor Peridot knew anything about the Royal Guard or the Equestrian Army.

Silver Shield and Winter Wing stood in front of the four princesses, eyeing Chrysalis and Peridot warily. No surprise there; they looked like monsters to these ponies. At least Winter Wing looked nicer than Silver Shield, who was staring at the two Changeling royals like they might leap forward and attack them.

"Your Highnesses, with all due respect, how do you know we can trust these . . . creatures?" Silver Shield asked the alicorns, giving Chrysalis and Peridot the stink eye.

Winter Wing let out a quiet huff of air and glared at the stallion. "Excuse my brother's rudeness, Your Highnesses," she apologized. Surprisingly, the pegasus wasn't just looking at Celestia and Luna when she said it – she was apologizing to the Changelings, too. "He is not accustomed to other . . . foreign races." She gave Chrysalis and Peridot a tiny, reassuring smile.

So they were brother and sister? Interesting.

"It is fine, Captain Winter Wing," Luna assured the mare. "However, Commander Silver Shield, you asked the right question. And we give our word that you can trust Princess Peridot and Princess Chrysalis."

"Yes, Princess. I apologize." Silver Shield bowed to the night alicorn without further protest.

Celestia began to speak, her magic unrolling a large war map as she did. "Now, the Royal Guard and the Equestrian Army will have to prepare for war against the Changelings . . ."

Celestia and Luna called for a public emergency address with the entirety of Canterlot to announce the news of the brewing Changeling war. Newsponies would be there along with everypony else, Luna had said, to spread the word across Equestria with newspapers and messengers.

At exactly one hour past noontime, the two alicorn princesses stepped onto the royal addressing balcony to speak. Chrysalis and Peridot were told to stay in the shadows of the balcony's doorway until it was their turn to talk to the ponies.

A huge crowd of Canterlot ponies had gathered beneath the high balcony to hear the princesses' address. They murmured to each other, mostly in confusion and surprise.

Chrysalis felt a pang in her heart as she looked down at these Equestrian ponies. How many families would have to say goodbye to their loved ones who would join this war? How many soldiers would it take to beat back Queen Thysanura and her Changeling army? Tears sprang to Chrysalis's eyes, even though she did not know any of these ponies. How many will die to fight for Equestria against my mother?

Peridot saw her sister's tears, and reached over to give Chrysalis's hoof a reassuring squeeze with her own.

"Ponies of Canterlot," Princess Celestia began, her voice ringing loud and clear through the air, "Princess Luna and I have called for this public address because we have grim news for you. The Changelings have declared war on Equestria."

The minimal noise of the crowd exploded into murmurs, cries, and exclamations of shock. It reached Chrysalis's and Peridot's ears as a rising roar. Chrysalis's ears folded back, and she shied away from the sounds, wings fluttering nervously.

Luna spread her feathered wings to their full width and raised a hoof. The clamor below ceased as the ponies fell silent to listen to their royalty's next words.

The Princess of the Moon surveyed the horde of ponies with her intense blue gaze until she was satisfied. "For those who do not know of this race, the Changelings are slightly insect-like pony-creatures that feed on love and other emotions," she explained. "The Changeling Hive, as this monarchy is called, is always ruled by a queen. The current one is Queen Thysanura. She has four daughters: princesses Jade, Emerald, Peridot, and Chrysalis."

Celestia stepped forward. "Two of Queen Thysanura's daughters, Princess Peridot and Princess Chrysalis, have come to us to aid Equestria in this war. Do not be afraid of them; they mean no harm to us. And now, a word from these two Changeling princesses." She beckoned discreetly to Peridot and Chrysalis, still hidden in the dark shade.

That was the cue they'd agreed on. Slowly, the sisters walked to the edge of the balcony, where Celestia and Luna stepped aside to make room.

Despite Celestia's reassuring words, gasps and mutters of fright drifted up from the press of ponies when they caught sight of Chrysalis and Peridot. The older sister's wings twitched uneasily. She and Chrysalis could both sense the fear and shock radiating from the ponies down there. The emotions clung to the two Changelings like thick, choking fog.

Peridot cleared her throat. "When my sisters and I heard about our mother's war plans, we knew that we couldn't let it happen," she said. "A long time ago, the Changelings' ancestor and a very famous prophet, Princess Flitterheart, delivered a prophecy called the Prophecy Curse. She predicted that, three thousand years from the first Changeling-Equestrian War, another queen would rise again and war would break out between the two lands. But Flitterheart also said that one with true heart would be able to stop Queen Thysanura. I believe that 'the one' is my sister, Princess Chrysalis."

Confused, Chrysalis tilted her head at Peridot, who smiled slightly and stepped back to allow her sister to speak.

Chrysalis returned the smile shakily and swallowed tightly, turning to face the crowd. "Peridot and I came here to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to aid them in this war," she said in a slightly wavering voice. "We must all work together to prevent another Changeling-Equestrian War. Do not underestimate the might of the Changeling Army. We, and your princesses, have seen what the Hive can do. So please, trust my sisters and I today. We will trust you if you treat us the same way you would a friend."

When Chrysalis backed off, Celestia and Luna took her place. "That is all for now, my little ponies," Luna said loudly. "We will speak again when we receive more news. Please spread the word. Thank you, everypony."

The public address was over, the message received.

But how many ponies were willing to risk their lives on the word of two Changeling princesses?