Remnant's Twilight Rose

One hour Later

Canterlot Castle Main Hall

Princess Celestia smiled wide as the room was now fully decorated and the friends and families of her niece and soon-to-be nephew took their seats. This was a historic day, one that would forever cement itself in the history books.

Though, she couldn’t help the nagging feeling of dread in her mind, a feeling being felt in multitudes by the five mares beside her. At first, they felt nothing but anger, but then, sometime later, it almost felt like someone walked over their graves.

And all of them had a bad feeling they knew what it was coming from. After their argument with Twilight, the remainder of the elements began to think about what happened and began to panic as they thought they may have just severed the connections of the elements. So they returned to the hall to talk to Twilight. When they didn’t find her there, they checked her room, finding nothing by used tissues and a messed up bed. When that didn’t work, they looked in the library, even asking the librarian if she’d seen Twilight, with no results.

Worry and fear began to grip the hearts of the elements and Spike, worry they hurt their friend beyond repair and fear of what she may do to herself. Unfortunately, they were forced to stop their search as the wedding was going to be getting underway soon.

So, with deep regret in their hearts, the five elements and Spike changed into their outfits and returned to the main hall for the wedding. The mares all forced smiles on their faces at the entrance of the crowd, while Spike almost hid behind the pillow holding two rings, his mind wandering to how Cadence has been acting all day.

‘I have seen Cadence stressed before when she foalsat me and Twilight. Most of the time she would just lock herself in a room to calm down, mostly with a bath. I have heard that wedding stress is the worst there is, but I feel like I am missing something.’ Spike tries to sort out his thoughts and figure out what he is missing, even as the music begins and the CMC walk in, spreading flowers on the carpet.

Celestia smiles and barely stops some proud tears from falling from her eyes as she sees her niece in her wedding dress walking up the aisle. The solar princess glanced at Shining Armor, seeing his excited and proud smile. Though, she barely stops a frown as she sees the empty spot where the mare of honor would be.

After the remainder of the elements returned to the wedding hall, they had told their princess about their failure to find Twilight. Celestia was no longer mad at her student, now she was just worried. Perhaps she was too hard on her, after all, Twilight had plenty to be stressed about as well. Now, Celestia was beginning to draw parallels to Twilight and her sister a thousand years ago.

‘Oh Twilight. When the wedding is over, I am going to talk to you. I shouldn’t have just dismissed you the way I did.’ The solar Alicorn focuses her attention again and clears her throat as Cadence made it to the raised platform.

“Mares and Gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to join these two ponies in holy matrimony….”

The rest of her speech was cut off as there was the growing sound of hoofsteps approaching the door. Celestia pauses for a second, thinking somepony is just running a little late. After a couple of seconds, there was a light knocking at the door.

“What the heck?” Rainbow questions. Barely a second passes before the doors are all but blasted open, smoke covering the entrance. The gathered audience glared at the door, angered at whoever would dare interrupt this momentous occasion, only for it to turn to confusion as the perpetrators become visible.

A familiar unicorn mare, her violet coat covered in dirt and her mane frayed. Her eyes were narrowed in anger as soon as she saw her so-called friends, causing them to flinch. Next to her was a grey pegasus guard, his black mane poking out of his helmet. He was also angry, though it was directed at the ‘bride’.

“Twilight! What is the meaning of this?” Celestia demands. Twilight turns to her with an air of defiance, a glare directed at the solar diarch, the mare shocked at the look on her students face. In that instant, she began to get scared as that was a face she had seen before. The same face that was once on her sister and then her previous student.

“The meaning? I am just putting an end to this farce!” The mare declares, much to the dismay of the crowd and her friends.

“What is wrong with you?! Why are you so intent on ruining my big day?!” The bride cries out in sadness and outrage.

“Because it isn’t your day!”

The crowd is confused by a new voice before Twilight and the guard steps aside, revealing a dirty and tired looking Cadence standing behind them, her face stuck in a scowl at the imposter before her.

“It’s mine!”

The crowd gathered in the hall looked back and forth between the two Cadences, completely lost. The Cadence on the platform looks to the dirty one in shock.

“Impossible! How did you get past my bridesmaids?!” The clean Cadence demands.

“She didn’t. We brought her here.” Two other ponies walk up to stand next to the Alicorn, their dress still on, yet looking dirty. The duo looks to the shocked alicorn with glares.

“Ok what? How are there two of them?” Spike questions, putting the pillow down.

“She’s a changeling. They take the form of those you love and literally steal that energy from you.” The guard declares. The Alicorn on the platform remains shocked for a second, before beginning to laugh.

“Well then. It looks like I don’t need to hide anymore.” She says before being covered by green flames. Her dress, pink fur, and three-toned mane begin to burn away, leaving behind pitch black chitin and a thin, flat green mane. Her eyes change from a soft blue to a slitted green, and a pair of fangs become visible from the sides of her muzzle.

“And to think, I was starting to believe that I could get away with this without any trouble. Looks like I underestimated you Ms.Sparkle.” The large changeling says. Unnoticed by all but her, the lavender mare flinches, seeming to disagree. The large insectoid raises a brow before smirking.

“Or, maybe I overestimated you. Now then, time to do what I should have done before.” Before any could react, Chrysalis teleports in front of the princess of love, her horn glowing to send a blast of magic.

“Cadence!” The pink mare is suddenly pushed aside, barely able to take a glance at the lavender unicorn before said mare was blasted into the wall, the crystal of the room cracking along with the sound of cracks emanating from the mare. There was stunned silence that followed, as everyone in the room tried to process what just happened. The were further stunned, when green flames appeared around the unicorn before climbing up, leaving behind black chitin and gold wings before she fell to the ground.

“APHID!” The pegasus guard and two mares rush past the equally stunned queen and to their friends' side, worry emanating from the three of them. After a minute or two, the mane five and Spike shook their heads and regained their senses.

“What the heck is even happening right now?!” Rainbow yells, snapping everyone out of their stunned trances, the guests running away in panic, except for Twilight’s parents, who are still in shocked confusion. Though, one mare went towards the downed changelings with tear in her eyes.

“Lyly!” The three other ponies turn and see a certain earth pony with a blue and pink mane and a beige coat. Bon Bon slides to a stop next to the downed changeling in worry. She sees several large cracks over the changeling's chitin, green blood slowly oozing out of the wounds.

“Bon Bon get away from that thing!” Rainbow yells to the mare, flying over even as Celestia and Chrysalis begin to fight.

“This thing is Lyra, you idiot!” The earth pony shouts to the pegasus, the rest of the elements stopping as they come over.

“Say what?” Aj asks in confusion.

“Lyra never really existed. She was a ponysona Aphid took on the fit into society. She cut herself off from the hive mind three years ago and just recently came out to Bon Bon.” The guard says, lifting the unconscious changelings head and letting it rest in the earth ponies lap, said mare crying and holding her marefriend’s head both carefully, and for dear life.

“And you know this how?” Rarity asks, glancing to the battle between the princess and queen. Rather than answer, the guard becomes covered in green flames and turns into his original form of Thorax.

“Because she did the same thing for me.”

The five mares and drake backpedal as they see the second changeling, before glancing to Cadence, who is equally confused.

“Wait. If...she was in disguise then….where’s the real Twilight?” The princess asks, fear beginning to take hold of her heart. The changeling looks to her with an expression of sorrow and regret.

“She ran away.”

Before any could question, they hear a loud shout of pain and turn just in time to see Celestia being blasted across the ground, her horn having several cracks in it after a lost beam struggle with the now maniacally laughing changeling queen.

“Incredible! Shining Armors love has made me even more powerful than Celestia!” The cackling queen declared. The mane five, Spike, Cadence, Thorax and Twilight’s parents ran to the downed Alicorn.

“Go….get the element….find Twilight.” The mare struggles to say.

“That won’t work. Twilight left hours ago, she could be anywhere.” Thorax states, much to the dismay of everypony nearby. The hurt Alicorn looks to the changeling with a glare, then soon changed into a look of regret when she sees his serious look.

“HEADS UP!” Thorax barely manages to raise a shield with his magic, barely holding off a blast from the queen. The group all turned to look at the smirking queen.

“Ah, Thorax. I was wondering where you went. To think you could cut yourself off from the hive mind so easily, I should have been paying more attention to something like you.” The queen says as there is the sound of shattering glass as the barrier outside breaks.

“Your Highness, don’t you realize what you're doing?! By attacking Canterlot so openly, you have made our kind public enemy number one should the invasion fail! You’ve sent every changeling that follows you to the gallows! Stop this before it is too late!” He pleads. Bon Bon and her friends look to Thorax with fear as they realize that Lyra has been put in danger as well, now that her true form has been revealed.

“HA! You think I will fail? Please! I have already won! The Elements of Harmony are useless now that that pathetic mare is out of the picture. To think, all it took was some admittedly poor acting and a few crocodile tears and the Elements would break themselves apart!”

The mane five looked down in shame and fear as they realized they just helped in an invasion of their home, and just lost a dear friend in the process. They didn’t have long to mourn though when they hear a different voice beginning to laugh.

“You know….when Thorax showed me what you did….I was kinda hoping he was exaggerating.” All eyes turn to the now conscious Aphid as she tries to stand, despite her marefriend and her own body’s protests.

“But it looks like he wasn’t. Hehe, you know, in a way, I owe Twilight my life. If she didn’t give me the courage to reveal myself to Bonny, I would have probably left, then starved, out of guilt of taking her love.” The changeling glares at her former queen, causing the royal to flinch at her intensity. Suddenly the crack in Aphid’s chitin begin to close and her wounds begin to disappear.

“I love Twilight like she was a sister because of what she did, so I am going to find her, and bring her back. But first, I am going to make sure you don’t ruin our chance to find her in the first place!”

The queen is stunned by what she is seeing. This lone gatherer is using her own energy, her own love for her friends, to heal her body and give her strength. She then saw three other streams of love directed at her coming from Bon Bon, Twinkleshine and Minuette, giving her even more power.

The mane five and Spike are stunned by the determination of the changeling before them. They all look to one another and nod, running out of the hall to get the elements. Even if Twilight isn’t around, each element by themselves could be used.

Thorax and Cadence are also shocked at all the love that is being directed at Aphid, the alicorn easily able to see the flow with her magic. She wipes her eyes from the tears after hearing about Twilight and gains a determined expression. Getting to her hooves, she looks to her two new changeling friends.

“You changeling can convert love into pure magic power, right?” She asks Thorax, the male changeling nodding. She nods as well before looking to Shining. Before Chrysalis can react, the alicorn runs up to her fiancé and uses her magic, breaking the control placed on him.

“Huh..wha….is the wedding over?” He mumbles before hearing screams from outside the hall. Glancing to the window, he sees as a multitude of changeling either cover themselves in green flames and dive bomb areas or round ponies up together and cover them in their resin to keep them in place.

“What the Tartarus?!” He yells, before noticing the large changeling queen fending off a multitude of magic blasts from another, smaller changeling.

“Your spell Shining! Use your shield spell!” His fiancé says urgently. The stallion nods and tries to focus his magic, but it isn’t long before the spell falls apart, his magic drained to being nearly empty.

“It’s no good, I’m out of magic power.”

That statement felt like a nail of dread being plunged into the young Alicorns heart. She could’ve used her own magic and love to give him strength, but she was equally drained from using her magic to keep herself alive for the month she was trapped under the mountain.

There was another blast and the couple turns just in time to see both Thorax and Aphid skidding along the ground until they are next to the royal couple. The duo looks tired from the fight, but they have determined glares on their muzzles.

“I must say I am impressed. You two are actually lasting longer than Celestia. Not bad.” The queen says with a menacing smirk. She barely looked effected, just an odd, near invisible burn on her chitin and a slight increase in her breath.

“I don’t care how long it takes, we will stop you, and I will find Twilight!” Aphid yells in determination, some tears appearing in her eyes. Thorax nods as well before turning to the royal couple. Suddenly, an idea pops into his head.

“Aphid! I have an idea!” The changeling says before laying his horn on his friends. The female looks to her friend in shock, before nodding. The duo takes a deep breath, and an odd glow begins to emanate from their chests. Before any could react, the duo turns and send beams of love magic at the two engaged ponies. They can’t react in time and the beams hit them, but instead of feeling hurt, they feel stronger.

“WHAT!?!” The queen yells in shock. She can’t believe what she is seeing. The two changelings before her are changing all the love they have absorbed into magic power, and transferring it to the ponies behind them.

The two ponies in question feel as the magic is being directed into them, making them stronger and refilling their magic. They begin to worry when they remember that changelings feed off love, so they are giving the duo the very thing they need to live.

Once the light from the magic transfer dies down, the ponies and changeling look to where the two other changelings were, only to find what looks like two pinkish-white cocoons. There is a confused silence before the two cocoons begin to shake and glow.

After a couple seconds, and another bright flash, the gathered creatures look to where Thorax and Aphid were, only to find two creatures they have never seen before. They looked like a cross between a reindeer and a changeling, minus the holes in their limbs.

The larger one, easily a few inches taller than the changeling queen, a duo of green chitin covering his body, three white gem like protrusion on his chest and a pair of large orange antlers atop his head. A pair of purple insect wings covered on his back as he stood tall, his bug-like purple eyes locked on the queen before him.

Next to him was another of his kind, a mare by the looks of it. She was as tall as Princess Luna, her chitin a calming mint green, with a large curved horn like some unicorns. On her back were a pair of golden wings similar to that of a dragonfly, her own golden eyes glaring at the queen with incredible intensity.

The other creatures all look in shock at the duo before them, barely noting as six changeling drones fly in with the captured mane five and Spike until the mare blinks a couple times and rubs her head.

“Urg, note to self, never listen to Thorax about a crazy plan without a bottle of aspirin nearby.” She mutters, everyone stunned by the voice.

“L-Lyly?” Bon Bon asks cautiously. The mare looks to the earth pony with a raised brow.

“Yeah? Is something wrong Bonny?” The creature known as Aphid asks. Rather than answer, Bon Bon just gestures to the changelings’ body with a dropped jaw. Confused, Aphid looks at her hoof, only to freeze as she realizes her chitin is mint green and not black. She was sure she didn’t shapeshift after sending her energy to the royal couple but….wait.

Aphid suddenly feels her stomach as her eyes widen, Thorax snapping out of his glaring trance and looking over his own new body.

“Guys.” Everyone looks to Aphid as a small smile begins to split her face. “I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Impossible! A changelings hunger is insatiable! How dare you say such obvious lies?!” Chrysalis demands. All eyes quickly turn to AppleJack, even those of the other changelings. She just raised a brow from her position stuck on the floor.

“She’s tellin the truth.” She says, trying and failing to shrug. The other changelings in the room begins to back away from the transformed duo as Aphid gains an evil smirk. Chrysalis grit her teeth in anger.

“How dare you try to oppose me!” The large changeling launches a powerful beam of magic at the duo, Aphid, and Thorax lighting their horns and sending their own beams to stop it. At they do just that, much to the shock of the changelings and ponies.

“Hey princess! Anytime now!” Aphid yells, glancing at Cadence and Shining. The two ponies shake their heads and look to one another, nodding. They lay their horns against one another, their magic flowing around them as Shining begins to cast the spell.

“NO! Stop them!” The enraged queen orders her drone. Five of the six changeling rush towards the royal couple, only for a magic shield to be raised around them. The changeling look toward the two ponies that have been just off to the side for the past while, Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle’s parents; Twilight Velvet and Night Light.

“I won’t let you insects harm my son and future daughter-in-law!” The mare shouts, blasting a couple of the changeling away from her son while her husband uses his magic to release the captured elements. The only changeling that didn’t immediately try to attack the soon-to-be-married couple just hissed and flew out the window, seeming to know they were beaten.

Despite putting more magic into the beam than before, the queen couldn’t overpower Thorax and Aphid, no matter how hard she tried. Suddenly, they all feel a surge of magic behind them, the three insectoids looking to see the royal couple rising into the air as magic covers them, a pink bubble beginning to form. The magic spell then burst forward, sending every invading changeling away. If one was to listen closely, they would hear the queen scream as she was being sent away.

“NNNOOOOOO!!!!!”

“I told you this was a dumb idea, your highness!”

“Shut up Kevin!”

Once the magic began to die down, the ponies in the throne room looked to the married couple as they begin to hover back to the ground, Cadence’s coat and mane now cleaned and placed back into their proper position.

There was almost an awkward couple seconds of silence before a certain transformed changeling yelled out.

“WOOOHOOO!!” All creatures present begin to cheer after Aphids less than graceful shout, everyone happy to have been able to win.

“Aw yeah! We are awesome!” Rainbow cheers, flying around the room. The other members of the Elements cheer as well, Pinkie, in particular, bouncing around the room like a pink ball. Though, there was three that were not celebrating like the rest of the ponies.

The Elements calm down and go over Princess Celestia, helping the Alicorn to her hooves.

“Thank you, girls, but I am fine.” The princess says, cringing and rubbing her head below her horn.

“You are. But Twilight isn’t.” All eyes turn to Thorax, Night Light and Velvet, the ponies flanking the changeling. The trio looking to the princess and elements with disappointment. The happiness in the room is drained away as they remember their missing friend. Cadence walks down from the raised stage and to her new friend.

“Thorax, you said she ran away. Do you know where she went?” The former foalsitter asks with worry, the parents looking to the large changeling with pleading eyes. The changeling sighs and nods.

“Sorta. I followed her after the falling out between her and her former friends. She left her room and seemed to be following something only she could see. It led her to the Starswirl Tower, and they unlocked the vault. She came across some kind of mirror portal-”

The rest of Thorax’s sentence was cut off as Princess Celestia flies out of the room at such a speed that even Rainbow could barely follow her. Everyone looks to one another in worry before the large group rushes after the solar princess.

Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and controller of the sun, was terrified. Just as she thought earlier, the past was repeating itself.

‘No, not again. I can’t lose another one.’ She repeats in her mind a few times as she bolts towards the tower vault. Arriving at the entrance, she goes to use her magic to unlock the doors, only to find almost all of her enchantments overloaded and gone. Fear gripped her heart like a vice as she rushed down the stairs to the vault, finding the doors wide open.

“No.” Quickly rushing into the room, Celestia uses her magic again and finds an inventory spell still active, shown not a single item has been taken or otherwise vanished. Once she is sure everything is still there, she takes a shaky breath and walks near the back of the room, where a certain mirror stood on a pedestal.

Looking over the mirror, she shudders as she sees the symbol on the top has once again changed from that of the Element of Magic star to that of a duo of axes crossing over themselves. Just like all those years ago.

The fear in her heart had become almost suffocating as she slowly walked up to the mirror, hoping, praying against everything she heard and seen, that she could save her student. That she hadn’t again failed as she had so many years ago.

Her prayers and hopes were dashed, however, when she laid her hoof against the hard reflective surface of the glass mirror. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she tries to light her magic, and force the portal to open. Nothing happened.

“No. No no no no. Not again.” The princess tries harder to force the portal open, even as her horn begins to burn and tears freely fall from her face. But nothing happened.

The mare opened her eyes and gazed at her reflection on the mirror, the burned area around her horn, the bloodshot red eyes from her tears, her once-flowing mane falling as through the constant wind had finally stopped. She was a mess. It was the same way she looked when Sunset Shimmer left as well. The same way she looked when she had to seal her sister on the moon.

Celestia had failed yet again.