A Guard for The Queen

For over a year, Queen Chrysalis’ army of Changelings had been hiding in the catacombs of the Everfree Forrest. Without a ruler, they were lost, misguided, and savage. They thought that leaving her behind was a good idea, when in the end; it was the worst mistake they ever made. They cannot gather power themselves, and without their Queen to supply them with the energy, they gave in to their primal instincts, forcing themselves to hunt, and kill, sometimes feasting on each other to get the sustenance that they need. There are hundreds of un-hatched cocoons, unable to open without their Queen’s magic, and their numbers are dwindling.

“So…hungry…” A Changeling says.

“We’re all hungry! We haven’t had food for days!”

“Maybe you would like to go out and get some?”

“Look at us! We’re too weak to do anything.”

“None of this would have happened if we abandoned our Queen!”

“It doesn’t matter now. She’s dead. There’s nothing we can do.”

Almost on cue, a light flashes inside the cave, blinding the Changelings inside. The light leaves, and the Changelings look on in amazement to see their Queen, alive and well, standing before them, with rage in her eyes. She looks at her army, pleased that they are still standing, but disappointed at their low numbers. She promised an army, and she will get her army.

“So few of you, I see.” she says, that familiar evil tone of voice from so long ago, returning like it had never left.

“Our Queen!” The Changeling army bows to her. As weak as they are, their loyalty is back.

“I should kill you weaklings for leaving me to be Cerberus food!” She shouts. “However, I need all of you.”

“What is your command, our Queen?”

“We will return to Canterlot, and kill everypony that stands in our way.”

“But, we failed the last time! And now, we have no power!”

“When I was gone, I gathered more love than we will ever need. It will be enough to destroy the castle, and rule all of Equestria!”

The Changelings cheer in response.

“Who is worthy of receiving my power?!” More cheering erupts.

Chrysalis walks to her cocoons, smiling at the prospect of gathering more troops.

“When I’m finished here, we will have an army greater than any we have had before. Prepare yourselves, my subjects, for your Queen shall make you all powerful!”

Her horn glows bright, and a light envelopes the entire cave. The love she had gathered overtime from Strong Heart has made her, and will make her army stronger than anything anypony has ever faced. The thoughts of her enemies dying by her hooves makes her laugh louder, and more sinister than ever.

The cocoons break; underneath all the slime and muck is newborn Changelings, full grown, and prepared for war. The ever expanding army roars with delight; their sounds echoing throughout the catacombs.

In a few hours, she will be ready.

It’s the middle of the night in Canterlot. Inside the castle, Cadance and Shining Armor are preparing to retire in their chambers. The events of the day still playing in their heads, still victorious over their conquest. However, one thing eats away at the back of Cadance’s mind.

“What if she wakes up?” she asks.

“It won’t be for a while. You saw how she was.” Shining Armor replies.

“I think you should have killed her when you had the chance.”

“I had my fun, Cadance. If you wanted her dead, you should have done it.”

“Killing isn’t very Princess-like.”

“Yet this was all your idea, and I supported it immensely. Trust me, the damage that has been done to her, I wouldn’t be surprise if she didn’t wake up at all.”

If there is anything Strong Heart has in common with Chrysalis, it’s their talent for showing up on cue. He bursts through their door with such force, that the door is knocked off its hinges, crashing onto the floor. Both Shining Armor and Cadance look on their former friend, and see the look of absolute murder in his eyes.

“SHINING ARMOR!!!!” he screams.

Shining Armor had no time to react, or any time to think, as Strong Heart flew at him with blinding speed and fury. Upon impact, the two are sent rocketing back, crashing out the window. Cadance screams in terror as the two plummet.

Being in free fall hasn’t deterred Strong Heart from what he came for, as he wails on Shining Armor in the air. The two hit the top of a nearby tower, and Shining Armor is separated from the death grip of the former Lieutenant. Unfortunately, that grip was saving him from rolling off the tower, and he restarts his descent.

With nopony beating the life out of him, he uses his magic to create a bubble. He hits the courtyard ground, and bounces safely. That moment is cut short, when he looks up to see Strong Heart falling towards him. When he hits the bubble, it pops, causing Strong Heart to smash the Captain into the ground.

The two are strong against such damage, but Shining Armor is in too much surprise to try anything. Strong Heart throws him around the courtyard, using both his magic and his hooves, smashing sculptures and cracking walls with the Captain’s body. Though he agreed to let Chrysalis do the honors of killing the Captain, he wasn’t going let her do it, without him first brandishing his own form of justice on him.

Shining Armor struggles to get up, his former friend is too strong for him, and he knows this. Having been through training with him in the academy, he saw that when it came to brute strength, he was no match for him. If nopony stops them, Shining Armor could very well be dead. However, before Strong Heart could deliver another charging blow, he is suddenly stopped in place by a bubble of blue magic. Luna’s magic.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Luna yelled, dragging Strong Heart away from the beaten body of Shining Armor. Cadance, Celestia, and the Guards come pouring out, with the Guards aiding their Captain.

“He’s trying to kill the Captain of The Guard!” Cadance shouts, playing the innocent.

“Let him speak.” Celestia tell her.

“No! Throw him in the dungeon! He’s crazy!”

“Silence!” Luna commands her, “We are the ruler of the night, and we say he stays with us!” She looks back to Strong Heart, who is floating in the air. “What is going on?”

“Luna!” Strong Heart said, “Chrysalis is coming here, with her army! She intends to take this castle by force!”

“Chrysalis?” Celestia wondered, “Why?”

Strong Heart turns from inside his magic field, and points directly at Shining Armor.

“Because of him!” he says.

“What?” Shining Armor scoffs, “What did I do?”

“You know exactly what you did!” he turns back to Luna, “Luna, please. Chrysalis is going to kill every last pony here, but she has allowed me to take you and Celestia to shelter.”

Luna thinks for a moment, and then lets him free of his magic prison. She looks to her sister.

“Sister, we go to the shelter.” Celestia nods. Luna then looks at Shining Armor. “Captain, tend to your wounds, and prepare your soldiers for battle.”

The two Princess and Strong Heart leave the area, as Shining Armor is being healed by the medics.

The three walk along the hallway, heading towards a metal door, which leads towards stairs that go underground. All three are silent, not mentioning anything that has or will happen. They go down the stairs to a dark corridor, the Princesses light the way, and the three go to a large door. Going inside is the shelter for the two, it looks very much like their royal chambers.

Luna shuts the door. They can now talk.

“The only reason why we have not sic’d the guards on thou, is because thoust our friend.” she tells him, “What hast happened?”

“Shining Armor…killed her.” he replies, “He killed our foal.”

Both Celestia and Luna gasp.

“How did he find out?” asked Celestia.

“Chrysalis’ told Cadance last month, and I guess when she told Shining Armor, he planned to have the foal killed.” He reaches into a small pouch that he brought, pulling out the ring with his magic. “This was made from the chains in the dungeon. He nullified her magic, so she couldn’t fight back.”

Luna and Celestia examine the ring carefully.

“If thou doesn’t mind…may we ask what he did?”

Strong Heart didn’t want to say, he gritted his teeth at the very thought of recalling the damage she sustained, but they had to know.

“He…he beat her…maimed her…and…violated her.” he says quietly, but they heard, “The foal inside her couldn’t take the trauma.” Tears flow out of his eyes.

Luna embraces her dear friend, and he returns the gesture.

“We are so sorry. We should have watched them more carefully. We feel it’s our fault for what happened.”

“No, don’t blame yourself, Luna.”

“What will you do now?” Celestia wondered.

“I’m going back out there. Her army will come at dawn, and I promise to protect the other guards.”

“And what about the Queen?” asked Luna, “What will thou do when thoust see her?”

Strong Heart sighs.

“I always valued my friendship with you. Even if it didn’t look like I showed it. But, if you’re asking me if I’m going to kill the one I love, I’ll tell you, right here and now…no.”

“And what if she comes into contact with Shining Armor?” Celestia said.

“I’m counting on that happening, and when she does…I’m not going to stop her. You may say that revenge is wrong, but right now…it’s only fair. If you don’t agree with this, you are free to stop us.”

The Princesses do not move. They understand.

“If you believe it’s right, we will not stop you.” said Celestia, “But, the others won’t be as understanding. Are you prepared for the consequences of your actions, when this is all over?”

“I am.”

“Then, we will see you after the battle.”

“Thank you, Celestia.” he looks to Luna, “Thank you, Luna.” She nods to him. He leaves, prepared to face what is out there.

The armor that Strong Heart left behind was now gone; given to another recruit, probably. He had to make due with regular armor, which belonged to the trainees in the Guard. It was better than nothing. It’s been a long time since he fought the Changeling army; as powerful as he was, if that burst of magic that knocked the Changelings away didn’t arrive, he would have been overpowered.

He never forgot his training, he still knew how to fight, how to kill, but his true intentions were always in place. He could probably kill Chrysalis, but he never would; he would rather die, than be forced to kill her. If he was to face her on the battlefield, it was to protect the innocent Guards who had nothing to do with the plot that had transpired up to this point.

Walking outside to the other Guards, he can feel the distrust being brought down upon him. He did not blame them; they were just woken up to the sounds of him beating their Captain within an inch of his life. He could see their angry eyes, but he chose not to react to it, instead walking out to the front line, where Shining Armor and Cadance stood, waiting for the enemy to arrive.

“I want you to go into the shelter, where the Princesses are, okay?” Shining Armor tells her.

“No, I want to be there, when…” she stops, seeing Strong Heart approaching them.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be…Princess?” he says to her.

The old personality that he once had is back, and in full force. There is no emotion on his face, nothing to indicate what he is truly feeling. This scared Cadance more than it had before. She walked away from both of them.

“Are you ready, Strong Heart?” Shining Armor asks him. Strong Heart does no reply to the question, choosing to look out onto the soon to be battlefield. “We installed these new weapons…” he points to the row of ballistae off to the sides, “The spears move so fast, not even magic can stop them. When she’s in my sights…”

Immediately, Strong Heart shoves him into the side of one of the ballistae, holding him up by a hoof. The other Guards come to their Captain’s assistance, preparing to blast the former Lieutenant away with a combined burst of magic. He’s unfazed.

“You better hope you don’t miss.” he tells the Captain, “Because she has worse plans for you, than I do.”

“Would you really try to kill me? After all, we’ve been friends since foalhood.”

Strong Heart lets him go, allowing him back on the ground.

“If I didn’t promise her…I’d kill you where you stand.”

“Then, why are you helping me?”

“I don’t care about you. I care about the other Guards. Unlike you, they’re innocent, and I would gladly protect each and every one of them.” The soldiers hear this. Reluctantly, they stop charging their magic, much to Shining Armor’s dismay.

As the sun begins to rise, so does a familiar droning noise. It’s the sound of hundreds, maybe thousands of flapping insect-like wings. Everypony stands at attention, preparing for their home to become a battleground for the war to come. Shining Armor and Strong Heart postpone their struggle and stand side by side, looking on at the oncoming horde.

From afar, it looks like nothing but a massive crowd of black dots, but as it gets closer and closer, the army becomes clearer. There are more Changelings than they have faced before. If one soldier falters, then ten Changelings have a greater chance to overtake the castle. The soldiers are shaking in their armored horseshoes, terrified at the army. Strong Heart places a hoof onto a nearby soldier, trying to calm him down.

“Easy.” he tells the rookie, “Don’t let them see you’re afraid.”

The ballistae are being loaded up, reeled back, and ready to fire. One spear could impale multiple enemies, should a crowd make the mistake of lining up behind one another. One could call it overkill, but the situation calls for it.

The army is close now, enough to see the bright green in their eyes. Leading the charge is Chrysalis herself. Strong Heart can see her, but he does not call out to her. She is in control, ready for anything; so is he.

“Kill them all!” Chrysalis shouts. The army swoops down at top speed.

“Fire!” says Shining Armor.

In rapid succession, the ballistae fire, sending scores of spears out at the invading army. Changelings are impaled, some in groups, others in singularity. It doesn’t stop the rest of the horde from advancing. The guards, ready their magic, hoping the training they received in the academy would not go in vain.

The Changelings roar in anticipation, as they rocket towards the soldiers, casting a green barrier around their bodies for the eventual impact. They crash into the ground with all the power of a small meteorite. Guards are flung into the air by the impact, and a couple of ballistae are destroyed by direct hits. Dozens of the Changelings make it onto the ground, and it becomes an all-out war. Rookies are the first to go from the attack; unprepared by what they were facing, their training was all for naught, as the creatures are quick to sense out the weaklings in the army. Their screams are heard throughout the battlefield, as they are torn limb from limb by the advancing army. Nothing could be done to save them in the ensuing chaos.

Strong Heart looks on at the carnage that is happening before him. These are not the same Changelings that he fought over a year ago; they are stronger now, fueled by his love for Chrysalis. Soon, the soldier inside him knocks him from his guilt, he made a promise to these soldiers that he would protect them, and he was going to honor that.

He charges into the fray, screaming his best battle cry, as his blasts his way through the swarm. One by one, he takes on the large army, using his magic, and his incredible strength to combat them. His strikes are calculated, and brutal, sometimes killing a Changeling with one well-placed blast or one strike of his hooves. He races along the battlefield, helping his fellow pony, everypony…but Shining Armor.

The Captain is having trouble on his end of the fight. The moment the creatures came down to the ground, the orders he would shout to his troops would be unheeded, or unheard. Panic falls on his face, but nevertheless, he continues to fight. He’s not as skilled as the former Liuetenant, but he makes due. On the back of his mind, however, is the possibility of the both of them surviving the battle, and what would happen, should they face each other again.

Other Guards, some with more experience than other, manage to hold their own. Working together in tandem seems to be the best strategy they have, taking out multiple swarms at once. Most of them don’t even need the assistance of Strong Heart, but they know that he is willing to help them. In a way, the mere gesture is putting him in a more favorable light, even if he is partially responsible for the enemies’ newfound power. Then again, they don’t know that.

As the fight rages on, Strong Heart is knocked down by a swarm of Changelings. They prepare to tear him apart, baring their fangs to him. One of them digs their fangs into his foreleg. It’s painful; he can feel it sucking the blood out of him. Having no plans to die, he bucks them off of him with powerful strikes, before being able to back away from the crowd of knocked out creatures.

He backs into what he thinks is just another Changeling, but when he turns, he sees Chrysalis turn to him. The two of them about to strike one another, suddenly stop in their tracks. Despite everything, they weren’t going to hurt each other. She takes a look at the bite marks her minions have done to him. She caresses his bite mark, ashamed that her army hurt him.

That’s when she sees him; Shining Armor has managed to command a functional ballista. He prepares to fire.

“Get down!” Chrysalis screams, throwing Strong Heart to the ground. The ballista fires, Chrysalis tries to dodge it, but it rips through her wings like they were paper. She screams in pain, but the pain become anger, and soon…rage. Her eyes glow a bright emerald, as her horn gathers a massive amount of energy,

Shining Armor tries to reload the ballista, but nopony is around to help him. Suddenly, she blasts a gigantic ball of energy right at him. He tries to run, but it’s all for nothing. The ballista explodes, taking Shining Armor with it, along with a few hapless Guards and Changelings. Strong Heart gets up, and comes to his Queen’s aid. She’s in pain, but she puts on her bravest face.

“Are you okay?” he asks her.

“I’ll be alright.”

He looks at her destroyed wings, saddened by their state, and then back at the wreckage that was once a ballista, and a Captain of the Royal Guard.

“You got him, Chrysalis. He’s dead.” he looks around the warzone. To his amazement, the Guards are gaining the upperhoof, taking out more swarms than he thought possible. “You have to get out of here; your army is going to lose.”

She looks past Strong Heart to see her; Cadance, standing at the foot of the doorway that leads to the throne room. They share a look, and Cadance is absolutely terrified. She opens the door, running straight inside.

“No…” Chrysalis says, the hate in her voice rising, “There’s one more left.” She pushes past a confused Strong Heart, heading for the throne room.

“Chrysalis!” he yells, following her.

Cadance desperately tries to close the door, but it’s in vain. Chrysalis jumps at her, tackling her to the floor. In a swift motion, she bites Cadance’s neck, drinking the blood from her wound, causing her to scream in pain. Suddenly, Strong Heart pulls Chrysalis from her prey.

“What are you doing?!” he shouts at her.

Chrysalis looks to see Guards heading for the door. Using her magic, she shuts it, and a giant wooden plank comes down, locking the door. As the banging from the guards is heard, she turns back to Strong Heart.

“Get out of my way, Strong Heart.” she demands.

“Not until I know why you’re doing this!”

“She was there! She was there with Shining Armor!”

He looks at Cadance. She shakes her head rapidly.

“No! I didn’t know!”

“LIAR!” Chrysalis roars.

“I was with you, Strong Heart! Remember? I took you to Twilight’s house!”

“You were…” he turns back to Chrysalis, “She was with me. She couldn’t have been there!”

“You would believe her, over me?!” Chrysalis screams, practically in tears, “She was there! In the house! Where Shining Armor defiled my body, and killed our foal! I will not allow you to believe her lies!”

“No! Don’t listen to her! She has killed Shining Armor, now she’s trying to find an excuse to kill me!”

He looks into the Queen’s eyes. She had no reason to lie to him, why would she? Then, something comes forward in his thoughts.

“Wait…” String Heart begins to remember, “I…recall going to the house…but then…it was all a blank.”

“Yeah.” Cadance said, “You fell down, and knocked Twilight and yourself out.”

“And, when I woke up…it was almost night.” He throws an accusatory glance at Cadance, who backs away from him. “You had more than enough time in between to go back to my house.”

“S-Strong Heart…p-please! I beg you! Save me!” Cadance’s lies are breaking.

“What did you do to me, Cadance? You know I can’t get knocked out that easily. You tried once before, remember?”

Cadance has nopony now to save her. Strong Heart is becoming increasingly enraged.

“How did you do it? How did you prevent me from saving her? TELL ME!”

Using his magic, he enwraps Cadance in a bubble, throwing her hard into the ground. She is shocked at his willingness to hurt her. She struggles to get up. Chrysalis stands back, allowing Strong Heart to enact his anger upon the Princess.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!” he slams her again into the floor, cracking the pristine marble.

“I…put…a spell on you…” she spits a tooth out.

“You what?” he asks. Chrysalis wants to hear this as well.

“I knew you were going to be the hardest part.” Cadance continued, “I had to refine my famous love spell on you, so you would be distracted long enough for Shining Armor to do his dirty work.”

“Love spell?”

“Yes. Surprisingly, it was more potent than I imagined. So, while my dear Husband was having his way with your whore Queen, you were busy mounting his sister!”

Chrysalis and Strong Heart’s eyes widened, but it was Strong Heart who had a more violent reaction. He throws Cadance hard into the wall, she yelps in agony by the impact. She coughs up a bit of blood, her perfect mane is unkempt, messy, and her once beautiful coat is now dominated by bruises and cuts.

“Are you going to kill me now, Strong Heart?”

“I want to know why. Why did you allow this to happen?”

“Everything we did was entirely your fault! You weren’t supposed to fall in love with this beast, mate with her, and conceive an abomination upon ponykind! We just wanted to bring balance back to Equestria, where ponies mated with their own kind, and not with monsters!”

Both Chrysalis and Strong Heart look like they want to tear her apart.

“So, what are you waiting for? Kill me!”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

Cadance looks at him, confused.

“I’m going to let my MONSTER kill you.” he turns to Chrysalis.

Cadance laughs as she gets back up. “You shouldn’t have turned your back on me!”

“Strong Heart!” Chrysalis yells. It’s too late.

Magic wraps around Strong Heart’s body, and he is flung around the room at blinding speed, hitting everything Cadance sets her sights on. His armor proving useless to the attack; shattering little by little on each strike, before fully coming off. Whatever damage he did to her, she’s delivering tenfold. Before she can give the final blow, Chrysalis knocks her down, causing her to drop Strong Heart from her grip, seemingly unconscious.

The two fight all over the throne room, blasting at each other with powerful bursts of magic, destroying pillars, windows, and even the throne. They fire a bolt of energy at the same time, the two blasts colliding with one another. Neither one is advancing, neither one is backing down. In moments, the energy explodes, knocking them both back onto the floor.

Cadance tries to get back up, but the fight is taking its toll on her. She doesn’t even have a second’s notice; when Chrysalis tackles her to the floor, holding her down, as she pummels her face with her hooves multiple times. You couldn’t stop her fury if you tried.

Whatever damage Cadance did to Strong Heart…Chrysalis is delivering tenfold. She hits the Princess with such force, that her strikes break Cadance’s muzzle.

Catching an opening, Cadance blasts her off with a burst of magic. Chrysalis hits the ceiling above, and slams on the floor with a sickening thud. Cadance gets up, bleeding profusely from her face. It’s a miracle that she is still standing.

“This is for Shining Armor!” She prepares to use her horn as a stabbing tool. She rushes at Chrysalis when…

Strong Heart gets in the way of her, allowing her horn to penetrate his shoulder. She tries to move, but he grabs her head, preventing her from getting away from him.

“DO IT!” he screams to Chrysalis.

“What are you---“ Cadance’s question is cut short as Chrysalis drives her sharp horn straight into her neck. Cadance’s eyes are in shock, blood is pouring from her wound, and her mouth. Any form of speech is a bunch of incoherent gurgles.

Chrysalis rips her horn from Cadance, allowing the blood to pour out like a fountain, and Strong Heart removes her from his shoulder, throwing her onto the floor, letting her wriggle around in her final moments.

“W..wha…t….h..ave…you……do…ne……?” is all she could say, before going limp, as her body is surrounded by a pool of her blood.

It’s quiet now. There is no noise from the room, only the sounds of battle still being waged is heard outside, even then, it’s dying down. Chrysalis sighs in relief, but it is cut short, when she hears Strong Heart collapse onto the floor.

“Strong Heart!” she yells, rushing to him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” he assures her, holding pressure on the wound, “Just another scar, right?” he chuckles, so does she. Chrysalis looks upon his nearly broken body; the punishment he received has made him all but immobilized. He can barely move.

“She did a number on you.” she tells him.

“This is nothing.” he shrugs it off, pretending it doesn’t matter. “You should have seen me in my second year.” He spits a few drops of blood. “Listen, about Twilight…”

“It’s alright.” she says, “You weren’t yourself. Whatever you did, it was Cadance’s doing.”

He smiles. Without warning, something hits the door hard enough to throw them out of their moment of brief peace. The Guards are breaking through. Within minutes, they are going to enter the room, and see what the Queen has done to their Princess.

“You have to get out of here.” Strong Heart says, “Teleport back to the house. I’ll say you escaped into the Everfree Forest.”

“No…” Chrysalis shakes her head, “I can’t do that.”

“What do you mean?” He wondered. “You can use your magic to get out of here; I’ve seen you do it.”

“It’s not that I can’t…it’s that I won’t. I’m staying.”

Strong Heart tries to get up, but his wounds keep him down.

“If they see you here, they will…”

“I know. And I’m going to let them.”

He puts a hoof onto her, in an attempt to stop her.

“No! Don’t do this! I won’t let you!” He’s in a panic, rapidly spouting alternatives. “We’ll get out of here, get away from Ponyville, and live somewhere else, away from here! Anything, but this, I beg you!”

She kneels down to his level, getting close to his face. Tears are pouring from his eyes.

“And do what?” she asks, “We’ll be on the run for our entire lives. There was only one way this was going to end.”

“No, there has to be another way!”

“Look at me, Strong Heart. I’m practically an Alicorn. I am approaching over one hundred years of age. I would live to be over a thousand. You are just a unicorn. You will become old, frail, until finally, you will die, and I will still look as you see me now.”

“I don’t care!” he shouts, “I…I can’t live without you.”

She smiles. Slowly, she plants one final, gentle kiss on his lips. He savors the moment, knowing that it will be the last.

“Goodbye.”

He tries to get up again, but the fight has made him weak, bloodied, nearly powerless. He watches as Chrysalis backs away from him, continuing to smile, as she turns her attention to the door. She has accepted of her fate, but Strong Heart has not.

The door bursts open, and behind it is somepony Chrysalis thought to be dead. Shining Armor, half his body burnt horribly, but with all the hate in his eyes remaining, stands with his army, and a still standing ballista, primed, ready to fire.

Shining Armor sees the corpse of his beloved, lying in a pool of her blood, and her neck split open like it was nothing.

“CADANCE!!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. He looks back at Chrysalis, ready to kill her as quickly as possible. “You bitch!” he yells at her. She isn’t fazed by the comment. She’s heard it before.

Chrysalis hisses at him, firing a few magic shots at the Captain. He ducks down, allowing the shots to hit his fellow soldiers. He was not going down without seeing her die. Her horn starts to glow brightly, preparing to deliver a powerful strike.

“FIRE!” Shining Armor orders his remaining soldiers.

The ballista fires. The spear sails through the air with massive speed. It collides straight on into Chrysalis’ horn, strong enough to break it off, and utterly destroyed it. Strong Heart can only look on in horror as pieces of her horn sprinkle onto the floor.

She stumbles around, caught off guard by this attack. She sees the pieces of her horn on the ground, her eyes glow brighter than ever. She screams in rage, the magic explodes out of her head, all over the throne room. She cannot control the out-pour of her power; her horn was the only thing keeping it all in.

Every window explodes into uncountable shards of glass, that rain down on the floor. Pieces of the pillars crack and crumble. Tears pour from her face like a waterfall. Strong Heart struggles to get up, as the raining glass cuts him; he fights through the pain as he finds the strength to straighten himself out. He looks at her, her rage is strong, and her magic causes her to levitate off the floor.

She is determined to kill everypony that gets in her way. Even then, even after everything that has transpired on this day, he still loves her with all his heart. He is still willing to do anything and everything for her. He knows that there is no happy ending, no version where she can live, there is only one more thing he can do.

The ballista is being re-loaded.

“Aim for the heart, if she has one.” Shining Armor says.

The ballista finishes reloading. The soldiers aim it directly at her.

The magic that had enveloped the entire room vanishes. She no longer has any power, no will to fight back. She is vulnerable, easier to kill. She continues to give Shining Armor a defiant look, refusing to give him the satisfaction of her demise.

“Fire.” Shining Armor softly says.

The ballista fires once more. She closes her eyes, waiting for the impact. Suddenly, she feels the warm body of somepony embracing her, and she opens her eyes to see Strong Heart, holding onto her. Before she could react…

The spear skewers them both.

Silence fills the air. The impaled bodies of Strong Heart and Chrysalis kneel down, with the spear keeping them from completely falling to the floor.

Shining Armor sees what he has done, unable to comprehend why his former friend was willing to die for her. Slowly, he approaches their corpses. But then, Strong Heart gasps for air. He is still alive.

“Strong Heart!” Shining Armor says, shocked to see him still breathing.

A pause. His ears perk up, hearing Shining Armor fairly close behind him. Suddenly, the spear glows with Strong Heart’s magic, he has enough power for one more thing. It rips out of their bodies, and heads straight for Shining Armor. He isn’t fast enough. He is speared through the chest, and out his flank. He had become a Shining Kabob. He staggers around, confused…dying.

Strong Heart turns his head to him. He made due on his promise.

Shining Armor realizes this, and chuckles, as he lifelessly falls to the floor, blood pooling out of him.

Strong Heart and Chrysalis fall to the floor. He gasps for air, as he looks at the hole in his chest. From what he can gather, he doesn’t have long to live. He feels the blood leaving his body, combining itself with his Chrysalis’ green blood. Slowly, a hoof caresses his face…Chrysalis’ hoof. He looks up to see her sad eyes looking upon him.

“Why?” she asks him.

“Because, I love you.” he smiles.

She shakes her head, “Stubborn colt.”

He replies with a chuckle, but he coughs up a small amount of blood. She holds onto him, attempting to keep him focused.

“I…never told you.” she said, “I never told you…that I loved you.”

“You..d-didn’t have to.” his speech becomes stuttered. It hurts to simply talk. ”I-I always k-knew.” he makes a halfhearted chuckle again, “Yo-you’re not the only o-one who can r-read eyes.”

She smiles at his comment. His voice is getting more strained; it’s getting hard for him to breathe. Breaths become gasps.

“I-I’m sorry. I sor-ry I couldn’t protect y-you. I wish I-I had mo-more time…”

Blood pours from his mouth, he is convulsing from the blood loss, there’s only so much he can take. He is in an excruciating amount of pain. He rolls onto his back, as Chrysalis holds him down, trying to keep him comfortable.

“I’m scared…” he admits, “C-can you be-believe that?” tears are flowing, “I’m s-so scared, I c-can’t feel an-anything!”

“Don’t you dare!” she cries, “Don’t you dare go without me! I don’t want to be alone!”

The surviving Guards, and the Princess come in. They are stunned to see the carnage inside, and the two lovers dying in each other’s forelegs. Luna gasps in horror at all the blood.

“It-it’s okay…I-I’ll be waiting f-for you…” he tries to assure her.

“Promise?” she asks him. He cannot talk anymore; he can only nod. Death is taking hold of him, and he has no time left. She grabs onto his face, making him look at her, wanting her to be the last thing he’ll ever see. “I love you, Strong Heart. I love you, so much.”

He smiles, finally knowing that after all this time, he was right, and that she really truly loved him. The breaths are now in rapid succession, his struggle to stay alive is more and more an impossible task. She tries her hardest to keep the smile on her face, not allowing his final moments to see her sad. Finally, he takes one last breath, and exhales slowly, as his body finally goes limp.

“Strong Heart?” she asks. No response. “Strong Heart?!” She shakes him. Nothing. She kisses him, hoping that it would bring him back for a few extra seconds, but it’s no use.

Strong Heart is dead.

She can’t hold back any longer. Her voice is now the heartbreaking sounds of wailing, as she cries the loudest, strongest cry she ever had. The others around her can’t do anything but stand there, watching the Queen, the one who tried to destroy their kingdom, crying over the body of the Guard she loved.

Soon, the familiar grip of death returns; this time for her. Her cries of anguish are now stunted breaths. She slowly lays her head onto Strong Heart’s chest, moving his forelegs onto her back, simulating an embrace. Green blood leaves her mouth as she struggles to breathe, but instead of fighting it, she lets it take hold of her, welcoming the feeling of dying. Her last breath leaves, and she expires.

Those around their bodies have no idea what to do. The battle is over, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are dead, and most of Canterlot is destroyed, because they couldn’t accept the happiness of whom they perceived to be their enemy. The surviving Changelings fly into the throne room through the broken windows; their gaze falling on their dead Queen.

“Our Queen!” one shouts. The small swarm flies to her body to remove her from Strong Heart’s embrace.

“Don’t touch her!” Celestia commanded.

“She’s ours! She belongs to us!” The Changeling says.

“If you lay one hoof on her, we will kill you all!” Celestia was serious, and the Changelings can see that. “Get out of our kingdom. You are hereby banished from Equestria. All of your dead belong to us…including the Queen.”

The Changeling swarm backs away from Chrysalis’ body, adhering to Celestia’s statement. They reluctantly bow, and fly off, never to return. Luna turns to the guards by her side.

“Take the bodies of the Princess and the Captain.” she orders them. They do as they are told, carrying their bodies out of the room, a blood trail following them out. Luna and Celestia walk to where Chrysalis and Strong Heart lay.

“What do we do about them?” Celestia asks her sister.

“We bury them.” Luna replies, “Just as they are now. Together.”

“And the foal?”

“The foal will be buried alongside them. They will be a family…just like they intended.” A tear comes down across Luna’s cheek. Their deaths hit her harder than Celestia. She was the one who allowed it to continue, who allowed them to be together. Luna kneels down, closing the eyes of Chrysalis and Strong Heart, making them look as if they are in an eternal slumber.

Celestia nods to a few more Guards, who come in to carry the bodies away.

“Gently.” she tells them. They complied with the order, handling their bodies with great care, allowing their embrace to hold.

“What do we tell Twilight?” Luna asks, “What do we tell their parents? They won’t believe us.”

“I don’t expect them to. But, they will…in time.” Celestia turns to walk away, until something crosses her mind. ““Do you regret it? The decision to let him be with her?”

Luna thought about this question for what felt like a long time. Their romance attributed to the destruction of Canterlot, to Cadance and Shining Armor’s deaths, but that was hardly their fault. Even so, if she did not allow it, if she chose to keep them apart, none of this would have ever happened.

But, if she said no, they would have still found a way to stay with each other. This thought made her smile, and made her forget every negative thing that it brought upon. However, she had not answered her Sister’s question.

“Even if I did…would that have stopped them from being together?”

Celestia smiled. She knew Luna was avoiding a real answer, but she saw her point. In their dying moments, she saw how in love they were, how they stayed in each other’s forelegs, and how she comforted him before he passed. That wasn’t hard to understand, what mattered was that they were happy, even in the face of their deaths.

“I suppose not.” Celestia replied.

In the weeks that followed, the story of Chrysalis and Strong Heart became widespread, as did the treachery that was Cadance and Shining Armor. Twilight and her parents didn’t believe a word the Princesses told her, just as they expected. Then, on a routine checkup at Ponyville General, Twilight discovered that she was pregnant, but she did not remember the act which resulted in the foal’s conception.

It was only when Twilight was looking through Cadance’s old things, shortly after the funeral, did she find the notes to the spell that was casted on her and Strong Heart, specifically outlining who the spell was meant for. She couldn’t believe her brother, and her former foalsitter were responsible for what had happened, and how they used her as an instrument in their plans.

One morning, she chose the visit the grave of Strong Heart and Chrysalis. The Princesses were true to their word; the two lovers were buried together with their foal. The graves of Cadance and Shining Armor were placed far away from them, and nowhere near as extravagant; something that a few members of the Royal Guard, among others, were not pleased with.

Twilight walked up the hill to see an odd sight; Princess Luna placing a bouquet of fresh flowers at the foot of the grave. The two paid no real mind to each other, just a nod between friends, as they passed by one another.

Twilight looked upon the grave with sadness; though her first encounter with the Queen wasn’t the most pleasant, once she was with Strong Heart, they became friends. She wished that she did something, anything that would have avoided their fates. It’s was too late now. They are dead, and Strong Heart will never know what his actions, though not his own, resulted in.

“Are you going to keep it?” A voice calls to her. Twilight turns to see Luna not far behind her.

“Princess Luna?” she wondered, “I thought you went back to the castle.”

“I never left.” she said. Since the tragedy, she had no longer felt the need to use her old dialect, choosing instead to adhere to the new standard. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I don’t know.” she replied, “I don’t feel like it’s mine. I probably should, but…”

“It’s not my place to give you suggestion, or give you council. Admittedly, Celestia is better at that, than I am.” Luna smirks at Twilight, who returns the expression. “But… the foal is the only thing that’s left of him.”

“It’s also the only thing that’s left of what happened. I just don’t know if I am ready to take that step. I’m worried that when it’s born, that I will look at it, and only think of how it was conceived. That my foal sitter, and my own brother made us do this. Strong Heart wouldn’t have wanted this.”

“He didn’t want many things.” Luna looks back at the grave, her eyes watering. “I can’t tell you what to do with your life, I can only tell you to do what you think is best.”

“Did you love him?” Twilight asks. Luna looks back at her.

“Let’s just say I made a choice, and I regretted it ever since.” she answers cryptically. Luna always was a secretive one. Twilight could only shake her head and chuckle.

“It seems we have something in common, Princess.” They both smile at one another. “I just don’t understand, though.”

“Understand what?” Luna wondered.

“How he fell in love with her. He knew everything she had done, yet he gave her everything that he could give her. A life, a home, everything. But, I don’t understand why. It’s not that I didn’t support it, because I did, but…”

“I wondered that myself, but love is a strange thing, something that we may never understand. But, the moment I looked into his eyes that day in the throne room, when he came to tell me and my sister the truth, I knew he was in love with her.”

“And her? Do you think she loved him?”

Luna slowly walks to Twilight.

“I’m going to tell you something; something that not even my sister knows. A couple months into her pregnancy, Chrysalis sent me a letter. We never personally met, but she knew that Strong Heart and I were friends. In that letter, she wrote to me, and thanked me, for allowing them to be together. That every day she spent with him was a gift, and that if the foal was a girl, she was going to name her Selene, as a sign of gratitude for the kindness that I bestowed upon them.”

“And what if it was a boy?”

“I believe she said Proteus.”

“Proteus…” she smiled at the name, “I like that.”

“So, Twilight Sparkle, did I think she loved him? My answer would be yes. Absolutely; without a doubt in my mind.”

“Thank you, Princess. I appreciate the council.”

“Anytime, my dear Twilight.” Luna says. She takes off to the skies, heading back to the rebuilt castle.

Twilight, now alone with her thoughts, puts a hoof firmly placed on her stomach.

“Selene…or Proteus…what should I call you?” She has made her decision. She looks back at the gravestone, marveling at its craft; it truly was a sight to behold. But, a tear runs down her face, as she remembered all the times she spent with the couple, back in better days.

On the bottom of the grave, is a plaque. It reads:

-Here Lies-

-Chrysalis & Strong Heart-

-The Queen of the Changelings-

-And the Guard that saved her-