Entire story easy read (recommend)
About the story:
Along the way I have splitted into chapters up for somewhat easier reading. However I don’t believe there is chapter at all, and I wrote the story as a single story sort to say
I also uploaded the book as an audio file on youtube, in case anyone is interest but don’t want to read it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PSEncrm9HY&list=PLDD3B136B0C90E7DC&index=11&feature=plpp_video
Please note that this file is only voice edited (only the order arrangement of the sound is correct, no effekt sounds yet,.. if ever) also I want to stress I'm really not a voice actor so yeah... and if you say you can do a better job, then ask yourself; why you haven't?
if you have any comment abourt the story in general you want me to read you can write it there.
Chapter 1
”You! But how did you get past my brides maids?” yelled the deceiving bride, pointing an accusing hoof at the true Candace, slowly emerging from the shadowy doorway.
A collective shock passed trough the crowd, as the pink mare entered into the light. Her coat, hoofs and horn all soiled in a dark dripping liquid.
The true Cadance took a step forward, while the fake Princess took a step back. Thier gaze fixed intensely on each other.
”It wasn't easy” Cadance began, holding the attention of all of the wedding guests.
”We tried with a distraction... didn't quite work out as planned, one of them successfully grabbed me... I... I had no choice but to try break free, as my rear hoofs shattered the poor girl's skull I saw the truth!”
Cadance swung her mane, showering the closest of the guests with drops of the black liquid, and stomped to empathize the words.
”Piercing their dark heart was a favor, not only to the world, but also a favor to them! They were Doomed to a life of evil! Parasites living off others! They were Changelings! And you are the one who let them inside Canterlot!”
Everyone focus changed back to the bride, but next to Shining Armour stood no pony, but a bright burning fire, shining with a sickly green light.
From inside the fire, a dark silhouette emerged, appearing as a pony-like creature but horribly twisted, as if it appearance reflected the black soul of the owner.
The creature's eyes flared with the same sickly green color, and as it spoke, the grand hall was filled with an otherworldly strangely disturbing voice.
”You will pay for the life you stole from my subjects, know you stand before the queen of the changelings, Cadance! know! And despair!” Snared the queen with eyes shining bright with hate, as mare and colt alike cowered before her.
She composed herself, showing Candace her contemptuous smile.
”Your fate sealed, Cadance, but I will properly let you live long enough to see the fall of Canterlot, and to see your precious Shining Armour wake up again... to a nightmare off course.” the queen ended the promise with a manically laughter, as she stepped aside so Cadance could see her betrothed.
Cadance gave a shrike as she saw him, ”Shining Armour” she called barely audible.
But the colt did not react at all, she cried out again as the tears began forming in her eyes. Then the colt gave a low groan, the hall fell silent.
Slowly Shining Armour's head turned to look at them, Cadance stared in blind amazement, as her betrothed slowly descended the stair as if he was fighting a spell, slowly walking past the changeling queen and toward the two ponies.
He spoke in a low mumbled tone. ”Cadance... I only love the true Cadance” stumbling forward
Chapter 2
Twilight stared from her brother, seemingly able to break the enchantment on his own, to Cadance's happy tear soaked face, and finally to the look of dumbstruck disbelief on the changeling queen's face.
”You see. No vile hex of yours can ever break the bond of true love that my brother shares for Cadance!” Twilight said with a self satisfied smirk.
Shining Armour stagger past the dumbstruck queen towards Cadance... only to momentarily pause, then he turned and leaned his head on the queens shoulder, he spoke but now Twilight saw the exact movement matched by the queen's own lips. ”I Only have one love... be gone... Deceiver” he said staring deeply into Candace’s purple eyes.
Cadance collapsed as she let out an earth shattering cry of despair, as if she had been crushed underneath the entire weight of the palace.
”Don’t listen to him Cadance, he's still under her control!” Twilight shouted, using her magic to force Cadance to look at the queen. ”Look, she controls his body and mind, it's not his words!”
Cadance looked at the queen, who pointed to herself in a fake clueless manner. Shining Armour spoke again matching the queens soft whisper ”I love only Cadance... the true Cadance”
Cadance sprang up, and charged towards the queen, her horn aiming for the queen's neck screaming. ”release him!”
The queen smirked, and the soft emerald light pulsating from her horn, told she was working her magic.
As Cadance was nearly upon her, Shining Armour stepped in between them ” Cadance you couldn’t hurt me? Could you?” his voice mimicking the queen's lips.
Cadance tried to stop, but it was to late. She only barely missed the soft neck meat, and instead crashed into the unprotected shoulder, trapping her horn between muscles and bone.
She looked up, as the shadow of the queen towered above her.
The queen gave a sardonic smile. ”Awww look at that, I guess you two are meant to be together.” she said, Cadance stared at her with eyes filled with hate.
”Don’t look at me like that” the queen said mockingly, then pretending to have an epiphany she said ”I know what will make this better, I shall grant you your wish!” she yelled in a shrilled voice.
Cadance eyes changed to a look of fear ”No, you cant!” she begged.
”Oh but I can!” the queen said in a soft whisper, as the green magic flashed again.
Chapter 3
The hall suddenly rang with the piercing scream, from the wounded Shining Armour as he regained control of his own body.
He gridded his teeth, and looked at Cadance with a look of understanding, then quickly shifted it to Twilight with eyes filled with pain.
Twilight understood the message, and light sprang from her and enveloped her brother, who was frozen in the middle of a new scream, as the stasis magic worked itself into his body.
The queen watched the scene with barely contained amusement. ”too bad” she said ” he had such a lovely voice”
Twilight snapped, she began weaving a spell powered by all her anger and hate, but was stopped as a voice bellowed.
”Twilight stop!”
It was the voice of Princess Celestia, for the first time since she and Cadance had entered the room, she became aware of her surroundings.
All the guests were gone, they had been replaced by the royal guard, who now formed a circle filled with gleaming spears surrounding the scene in front of them. And from the ranks, strode forth princess Celestia, and the remaining five friends.
She paused next to Twilight, never taking her eyes off the changeling queen, and said ”I'm sorry Twilight, I wish I could have intervened earlier, but my duty is to see my subjects are safe first, before any personal revenge is exacted.”
”That being said however” she said with a louder voice, taking a step forward ”You will find that attacking Canterlot royalty, is attacking the sun itself! Do the queen of the Changelings really believe she can match my power, Chrysalis?”
Chrysalis answered Celestia's angry words in a dismissive manner.
”No I honestly thought you would be too busy maintaining the force field to fight me.” As she said the words, the sound of a thousand mirrors breaking, cut through any reply Celestia might have had. All followed the queen's gaze outside where huge fragments of the force field began falling down, into the courtyard below, and then the first changelings began to pouring though.
Chapter 4
Celestia reared and stormed outside with ten of her personal guards, already chanting the incantation to reinforcing the broken force field. The remaining guards looked from Shining Armour, to the queen and finally to Twilight and her friends. Dash and Twilight both stared back at them and yelled. ”Get her!”
Slowly the spears began advancing on the changeling queen, who remained unfazed despite it all, simply inspecting one of her hooves instead, and said nonchalant four word ”whenever you're ready boys ”
As she spoke several of the guardsmen transformed into the twisted form of the changelings. Panicked momentarily by the surprise attack, the spear wall quickly collapsed.
Chrysalis chose that moment to jump into the fray, wielding her powerful magic, she send soldiers flying left and right, and let her maniacal laughter join the chaotic sound of the fight.
”Twilight go after Chrysalis! We will follow once we have taken care of these guys” Rainbow Dash called, as the friends threw themselves into the fight Wholeheartedly.
Twilight stormed after the queen, but found her path quickly blocked by particularly big changeling.
It swung its horn like a sword, the edge making a shallow cut across Twilight's front leg. They both reared, their front hoofs colliding in midair with bone shattering force.
Twilight cursed the fact, that she had never bothered to train for close combat, as she slowly but surely began to lose the fight.
In a desperate move she dove low, sliding underneath the changeling, while charging up a freezing spell, and was rewarded with a rear kick sending her flying towards a window, Twilight slammed into the wall with a loud crack, she caught a glimpse of Rainbow Dash flying towards the window, with four changelings in close pursuit.
The four changeling suddenly broke off, seeing an easier prey in twilight, quickly piling on top of her forcing her down, preparing to finish what her last opponent had started.
Chapter 5
The force of the kick, and the four new changeling was simply too much for Twilight concentration. She felt the spell slipping away just as she needed it the most, she poured all the magic power into it that she could muster, and for a glimmer of a second she had control of it.... but only a second.
The spell quickly spiraled out of control materializing as a deep sounding slow moving pulse of snap-freezing energy coming from Twilight's horn.
The four changelings' faces were all frozen over in various stages of fear, one trying to slip away, another pulling a comrade in front of itself, Twilight looked at them, but only for a moment. Then cracks appeared and the 'sculptures' started to fall apart.
Twilight pitied the creatures, but in her heart she knew that she could not afford to feel compassion for the dark ones, for she would receive none in kind.
She numbed her heart to the painful feelings, instead letting logic take over. She looked around and saw Dash looking at her from outside the window. ”Dash what are you doing out there” Twilight called, swiftly grabbing a spear laying on the ground, and swipe the legs out form under a changeling fighting a guardsman.
”Twilight I saw the queen, she headed for Celestia! She must be trying to break the shield again. What should I do?” Rainbow Dash called back.
”We go after her! The shield cannot be allowed to fall.” Twilight shouted as she made a running jump out of the window, letting Dash grab the spear in her hoofs, as she herself clinked to it.
Chapter 6
Rainbow Dash flew with great speed and dodged most of the changelings who had made it into Canterlot, Twilight looked down, even though Celestia had repaired the shield so quickly, more changelings than Twilight could count had made it into Canterlot. Now they devastated the city, fighting the knots of guardsmen in the streets, and mercilessly attacking civilians, she was abruptly pulled back from her observing, as a changeling nearly managed to grab onto her inflight, a swift kick sent it sprawling to the streets below.
”Hey Dash a little warning next time” Twilight yelled. ”Sorry, but you need to stay focused. We are nearly there... there she is I see her, Twilight!”
Twilight looked down below her. In the grand plaza was a small island of golden armor guardsmen, besieged on all sides by a sea sprawling of darkness. And in the middle of the golden army stood Celestia charging the shield, unfazed by the tides of changelings striking against the golden wall, but fully aware of both her surroundings, and of the fact; that thousands of changelings were just waiting outside the shield.
Twilight didn’t know much about fighting, but she knew that: if Celestia fell, so would the guard. By that logic; so would the changelings, if their queen fell. She knew what she needed to do.
”Dash! As soon as you spot Chrysalis throw me right at her!” Twilight waited for Rainbow Dash to reply, as she looked for the queen's familiar form, but none came, she shot a quick glare up and saw the queen of the changelings holding the spear.
Chapter 7
Celestia looked up at Chrysalis and her student, she didn't stop reciting the spell, but pearls of sweat began appearing on her forehead, and she shot panicky glances to see where she could spare someone to help Twilight... she found none.
It was then Chrysalis chose to speak, her voice audible even over the chaotic sounds of combat, and the screams of the dying.
”Celestia! I know I cant break the shield as long as you maintain it... But I think I may know a way to break you concentration!” Chrysalis let go of the spear and Twilight began feeling the wind cutting into her back as she fell, seeing the image of the sea of fangs beneath her.
Twilight frantically grabbed for the spear, aware of her impending meeting with the ground below. She wanted to use her magic to just take hold of the spear, but if the plan she was quickly formulating in her mind was to succeed, she would need every last drop of the magic available to her.
With only seconds to spare she got hold of the spear, and turned herself toward the ground, holding the spear out in front of her, towards the dark sea of changelings below, as if it was the only weapon that could defeat them. And Twilight reflected grimly, that this might actually just be the case.
She took a deep breath, and used the knowledge of her impending death to summon all her concentration. She commanded all of her being, all the raw magic power that she could muster, and fuse into her greatest spell yet.
Chapter 8
Chrysalis watched from above how the young mare fell to her doom, she even smiled as Twilight turned the spear towards her minions. Then she felt the magic of Canterlot being drawn towards the young mare and the smile stopped. She felt how Celestia let all the magic she could spare flow toward her student, how the trees, the flowers and even the water lent power to her young unicorn.
She watched cautiously, how a purple sphere of blinding light shot in front of Twilight, engulfing everything in an eight foot radius.
There was a flash, and Chrysalis watched how the sphere faded out of existence, and no living thing remained where the sphere had once been.
Concluding the young mares spell had backfired, and ended any threat, she turned her attention back down at Celestia, who had never stopped chanting her spell, with a look of righteous confidence. But in the princess's eyes she saw not defeat, but something else... then she saw it. In the corner of her eye a changeling fell towards the ground, desperately trying to regain it balance in flight, and soon a shower of twenty or more changelings fell from the sky. She heard, no felt a scream and look up, gasping as the realization of what had happen slowly dawned upon her.
Chapter 9
Twilight centered the spell in front of her, her consciousness had reached a new level, she had never known existed, she was aware of the ever present sea of changelings around her, but it was in another part of her mind, right now only one thing mattered; her spell.
She let the magic shoot trough her. she knew it happened in less than a second, but it felt as if she could see the fabric of time and reality bend as her magic manipulated it, stretching, flowing, obeying her instinctual commandments.
Focusing on the spot she had selected, she saw purple lines streaming towards it, coming from her horn, from the the guardsmen who had felt the magic calling, and thousands of multicolored tiny line connected from every flower and tree, and a single brightly shining golden line, that she somehow knew had to be from Celestia. All of this magic was her to command. And she command it to open!
Twilight forced herself to focus at the center of the light. It pulsed and she was blinded by the intense color. She wasn't able to see anything, yet she still she dove onward towards what must have been the center...
She saw it, a tiny sphere of light, barely bigger than the spear point. She knew she had to aim for it, she commanded the magic to flow into the light to make it stronger! brighter! She directed the spear towards the light, and as the point reached the outer rim of the sphere, she felt a jolt of energy coursing though her, reaching up trough the spear, leaving dark patches of fur as lightning arc's flew outwards from her body.
She let out a silent scream of pain trough gritted teethes, mixed with the zealous anger she felt towards the interloper destroying everything she held dear.
She in slow motion from In the corner of her eye, how the closest of changeling's expression of blood lust change to one of utter terror.
Then Twilight let out her breath and time returned to normal, an explosion of purple light blinded her eyes even brighter than before, burning them. She felt how the spear didn't meet any resistance as it pierced the core of the sphere, and how her entire body pierced trough the surface of reality, giving an impression of swimming, but without stopping her mad descent downwards.
As she keep diving into the sphere, a great corridor of swilling colors opened around her. With the closest of the changeling being dragged behind her, as they were caught in tailwind by the madding powers she had unleashed, some bouncing off the walls, others burned as they were impaled by the swilling lights.
Twilight ignored their screams, she kept diving and suddenly she saw it! In front of her stretched out a portal with a moving clouded picture, of what appeared to be a winged dark silhouette, hovering above a golden island in a the middle of a dark sea. She instinctively knew where to strike, and notice how the spear became imbued with her desire, to return the feelings of dread and despair to being in the portal, for the last time she exhaled in an all defying scream, willing herself trough the portal and back into reality again.
Chapter 10
lightning cracked around the spear, as Twilight broke through the dimensional border, the very sky broke apart, and followed along the spear point as if it was a blanket, caught in its wake of a typhoon.
She kept screaming in her wild descent towards the changeling queen. as Chrysalis looked up with a face contorted in surprise, and fear for she knew she could never evade the falling unicorn.
Both pony and changeling felt the spear biting down into the queens back, momentary meeting resistance as it pressed against two ribs, only to feel them snap under the force from the momentum. The spear drove deeper and only stopped as it became lodged into the other side of the ribcage. Chrysalis let out a howl filled with pain, fury... and fear!
Yet the queen wasn't beaten yet, her unnatural magic kept her body functioning, despite the heavy spear piercing several important organs, not to mention making her flying that much harder.
But even her power was finally broken, as the now half conscious Twilight slamming into her back, only to begin her descent yet again.
But not before Twilight felt with satisfaction, how the spine being blocked by spear, wasn't able to bend like nature intended it too, with no where to direct the momentum’s kinetic energy, the spinal cord was shattered by the force brought upon it.
Chapter 11
Chrysalis felt an all consuming pain in her back, just above her wings where the spear drove into her. Then a greater weight fell onto her back, and suddenly she felt no pain at all.
She raged as she understood that this was the fatal blow. She had lost the function of her rear hoofs, her wings and she would fall towards the ground, she would die...
but not before taking that infernal mare with her!
She found Twilight falling along with herself, and lunged at her with her horn, foam forming in her mouth, and her mind burning with the monstrous blood lust, known only to the dying.
Chapter 12
Twilight saw the horn coming towards her, but was unable to do anything, her last strength had been used on the spell.
She understood the spell had at least temporary paralyzed her body, and it had been willpower and luck alone, that had enabled her to hit Chrysalis.
She felt grim satisfaction in the knowledge, that the paralysis was so complete, that she would be unable to feel the pain of being stabbed.
Just then she heard some kind of explosion, and saw rather than felt herself being moved.
She was hanging over the back of something... someone, a Pegasus with a multicolored mane, Rainbow Dash.
She was able to see where Chrysalis as she fell ,screaming, onto the ground, and expected to see her minions rout any minute now.
Instead she looked on horrified, as the Changelings howled furiously, and charge Celestia's position in a suicidal frenzy, and trough the shield she heard the same frenzy being match by the other changelings outside.
Celestia's golden guard fought valiantly, but it was a losing battle. Too exhausted from the fighting, and much to few in numbers, they stood little chance of holding the line.
But even if they had been able to hold the line, there were little hope, Celestia had given Twilight her power, in the hope of the fight having ended with Chrysalis's death.
She simply had no more power to maintain the shield against this kind of onslaught, as the first cracks in the shield appeared, so sank Celestia to the ground, first one knee then the next.
A sergeant began instructing two pegasi, to bring the princess to Clouds dale, when the shield finally shattered. Then Celestia fell unconscious, the strain of maintaining the force field to great to uphold...
yet somehow, miraculously, the shield still hold.
Chapter 13
In their darkest hour Twilight saw how even darkness help them, before her descended an army of dark armored clad ponies, and atop her chariot stood Luna, and with her stood Twilight's friends.
They Guarding Luna while she quickly reinforcing the shield with new incantations. The changelings fought with savage blood lust and strength, but no longer fought with have any tactic or strategy, only a bloody suicidal charge.
They were no match for the still fresh disciplined moon guards, and spear wall. Only thirteen minutes after they had descended, upon the Changeling at the plaza, was the fighting over.
They all gathered around the last standing princess. Renewed with hope, despite the outside changelings still rampaging in murderous stupor.
Fluttershy looked to the princess. ”So how long til they get in?” she asked. ”Unlike my sister I had plenty of time to prepare myself, the shield will hold at least a day at this rate. Plenty of time for Coulds Dale to send reinforcements” the princess answered calmly, she looked at one of her moon guards. ”How is my sister?” she demanded to know ”Princess Celestia is already back on her feet, my princess” the colt answered promtly. ”she asks that you meet with her to solve the outside crisis” Luna nodded ”yes I shall see her at once.”
And with those words Luna disappeared somewhere behind Twilight field of vision, Twilight was still partially paralyze, although she now understood that she was going to recover, provided that she somehow survived all this off course. She had recovered enough to be able to speak, although only in a whisper, and called out to her friends ”Rarity how is Shining Armour and Cadance doing?” she was amazed she hadn’t thought about it before. Her logical side told her, that the whole of Equestria was more impotent, than one brother and his soon-to-be-wife. But inside Twilight's heart, she felt they were more like equal for some reason.
”Their fine Twilight, though we had to dislocate you brothers shoulder, now just keep sleeping ” It was Fluttershy who answered. And she was right Twilight felt so sleepy, she closed her eyes.
Chapter 14
But even as she slept, she somehow sense everything around her. Maybe she was still in synch with the magic, she heard the two voices, cutting though the blurry pictures around her, though she could only guess who it was, to magic all sounds was the same.
”Can your shield survive it?”
”can you survive casting the spell?”
”I control the sun, I have to manage somehow”
that would be Celestia Twilight thought smiling in her sleep.
”You do realize that if you fail, the shield will be weakened, or Canterlot will burn down. Either way Canterlot will fall... Perhaps Clouds Dale can send...”
”Lunar how long did you tell them the shield would last? eleven hours? We both know that's not the truth. You hide it well, but you know, as well as I, that this is the only way”
”Fine go set the sun to microwave! its not like you're ever going to listen when i give advice anyway!... don’t look like that I'm sorry.... fine we do it you way... But think how many times we have exterminated them, only to see them rise again, at some point this cycle must end!”
In Twilight minds vision the entire world slowly turned black and white, she felt the magic surrounding her mind being pulled at impossible speed. she Had no idea where she was, and tried focusing again.
She was inside the sun, felt like she had hundreds of eyes all watching in different direction at the same time, she was one with the magic, with the sun, staring in all directions... but unable to see anything clearly.
Then strings started connecting to all her eyes and slowly, she felt every eye focus on the same planet, and as more of the eyes aligned, so did her vision zoom in, until she saw a city inside some kind of bubble. A giant cylinder of light encompassed the city under her watchful stare, and Twilight noticed curiously how tiny dark vapor like clouds evaporated, turning into poofs of smoke, she focused on the bubble again, it had changed, it's exterior turning into a solid black surface. She felt the strings being broken, as the black surface began cracking, and fell apart, revealing a decimated city underneath...
Then suddenly a voice called her from her dream, a real voice. ”Twilight wake up, it's over... you still have a brother that's getting married”
