The Canterlot Hive

Chapters

1 Servitude
2 Banishment
3 Friendship
4 Return
5 Confrontation
6 Honour
7 Repayment

1 Servitude

Cadance cradled the infant softly, allowing it to feed from her, but felt no closeness; it was a chore forced upon her. Its little eyes were blue, the same colour as the father’s, but even this failed to trigger a positive bond as she settled into a familiar feeding position to perform the duty necessary to nurture the young one in its innocent frailty.

How she wished it could have been different.

As she felt the infant begin to feed, she could see nothing before her other than the imposition of running an unending nursery. She couldn’t even look forward to death to relieve her from this endless torment, because she still retained the curse of immortality.

How she wished it could have been different.

She had been preparing for the happiest day of her life, her wedding to Shining Armor, her foalhood sweetheart and handsome Captain of the Royal Guard. In fact, the event was considered to be so important that it was going to be held in Canterlot Castle and presided over personally by her aunt, Princess Celestia.

It was every filly’s dream.

In the build up to the big day, she had become so engrossed with romantic thoughts about their future together that she had allowed her guard to slip, and found herself ambushed by a doppelganger, who had banished her to the caves below Canterlot.

She had been kept in solitary confinement for weeks; she couldn’t tell how many because the prevailing half-light betrayed no rising or setting of the sun. As time dragged its hooves slowly, she became desperate for companionship and when she heard hoofsteps she met the prospect with a combination of both elation and dread.

When she saw who it was, her heart sank; it was the same doppelganger returning to gloat, holding Court in the very caves that imprisoned the pink alicorn. She had brought an entourage of three mares to accompany her; one light blue, one cream and another mint green, all of whom stood line abreast providing a defensive barrier protecting her from the weakened Princess of Love.

“How is my Shining Armor?” she demanded, moving forward aggressively “I hope for your sake you haven’t hurt him!”
The doppelganger laughed heartlessly as her three protectors closed ranks, stopping Cadance from getting past.
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about him”, she crowed, “He believes he is serving your every whim and desire. In fact, you would be surprised how much he is prepared to do for you.”

Cadance bared her teeth and surged forward into the three bodyguards with surprising strength. The doppelganger laughed once more as the line held and Cadance was rebuffed.
“Perhaps you need a greater deterrent to dissuade you from your more violent tendencies” she suggested, and her horn flashed green as the three ponies turned into yaks, none of whom broke eye contact with the Princess. Cadance stared back, totally unfazed by the solid looking wall of muscle that faced her.

“Or perhaps you wouldn’t attack those who are weak and defenceless?” asked the doppelganger as her horn flashed again and the yaks turned into the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Princess Cadance, Princess Cadance” pleaded the white filly, “You wouldn’t hurt us, would you?”
Cadance gasped and shifted her weight backwards, lifting a forehoof defensively, telling the doppelganger everything she needed to know; the Princess would take on any level of personal risk, but never hurt anypony or anything too weak to defend themselves.
“You are weak” she sneered, as Cadance struggled to comprehend what she saw in front of her.

“Who are you?” she whispered.
“Oh, of course. How rude of me not to introduce myself” she replied, shrouding herself in a column of green light as the imposter Cutie Mark Crusaders smirked knowingly.

When the light dissipated, standing there was presumably some kind of alicorn, but not one like she had ever seen before. She had no fur; her wings were gossamer rather than feathered, and she had holes through her shins and her horn too. Looking at this apparition caused her to flinch inwardly, but she stood firm and maintained an assertive stance, refusing to be intimidated or show the disgust she felt.

“I am Queen Chrysalis. Queen of the Changelings and now Queen of all Equestria” she announced, her large green eyes fixing her in a malevolent stare, “And I have plans for you that will be right up your street.”
“You’re a shapeshifter?” gasped Cadance.

“That much should have been obvious already. I can make myself look just like you and even put on that sickening whiney voice of yours too. In fact, I’m so good at it that nopony suspected a thing; all except for that Twilight Sparkle.”
Try as she might, Cadance couldn’t help a smile crossing her muzzle at that revelation – if she could count on anypony right now, she was pleased it was her.

“Your optimism is not well founded” mocked Chrysalis, “Because nopony believed her and her brother, your fiancé, sent her home!”
“Aunt Celestia will sort you out!” she countered.
“I doubt that very much” gloated Chrysalis, “You see, I’ve already beaten her and now she hangs from the ceiling for my entertainment; and believe me, I intend to make it slow and painful for her.”

“You beast!” screamed Cadance, surging forward, before her attack faltered at the sight of three foals with big innocent eyes looking up at her pleadingly.
Chrysalis laughed scornfully at the ease with which she could control this junior alicorn; she clearly wasn’t in the same league.
“You see” she continued, ”The wedding was just a subterfuge, a diversion to make the ponies go all gooey eyed and drop their guard while I assembled an invasion force.”
“So the rumours were true” gasped Cadance.

“And then I married your fiancé, defeated Celestia and took over Canterlot” she summarised, ”And next we will colonise all of Equestria. It's all been surprisingly easy.”
“What have you done with my Shining Armor?” demanded Cadance stamping a forehoof assertively.
“Well, that feeble minded fool thinks I am you” sneered Chrysalis, readying her trump card, ”And of course, you know what newlywed couples do on their wedding night?”
“You didn’t!” screamed Cadance, horrified at the thought, “Not with my Shining Armor!”
“Oh yes” she replied triumphantly, “Good strong specimen; just what I need to start a new hive.”

Cadance was heartbroken and her mouth fell open in shock at what she was hearing.
“No … no …” she wept softly, a broken mare.
“In fact” Chrysalis crowed, “We didn’t even wait for the wedding night, and that brings me to why I’ve come to see you.”
Cadance shook her head slowly in denial and looked up at the evil apparition through a veil of tears.

“You see” cooed Chrysalis softly, “I have been laying the eggs for weeks already, and now the first ones are beginning to hatch, I have decided that you will act as their wet nurse. They will bear a passing resemblance to your fiancé, so looking after them will be a labour of love, wouldn’t you say, Princess?”

Cadance felt her legs go weak and lay down before she could allow her enemy the opportunity of seeing her fall, bitter tears mixing with the remnants of her shattered dreams, her life in ruins. Chrysalis laughed at her own cruelty and took off for the exit, her three guards snapping back to their natural form and following her out with a buzz of their tiny wings.

***

Cadance held the latest unnamed hatchling close to her as it drew greedily on her love, growing stronger at her expense.

The line of hatchlings demanding her attention had become an unending stream, dragging her down and wearing her out. Even the Princess of Love had limits and it was clear that Chrysalis wanted to push her further, so she could watch as she was either driven to utter exhaustion or rebelled against the hatchlings, finally betraying her own cherished principles.

She came down into the caves, which had become the centre for her new hive, and gloated over Cadence’s suffering. She enjoyed taunting her about all the ways in which she was forcing Shining Armor to betray his own values and those of Equestria that he had sworn to uphold as a Captain of the Royal Guard.

There were many times Cadance had wished not to have been cursed by immortality so at least she could see an end to this torment, but such a luxury was not hers to indulge; all she had was hope, and that was thin on the ground right now. She had long since finished shedding tears about how her husband-to-be had been stolen away from her and their wedding ruined, but seeing his imprint on the new breed of changelings was a travesty that turned her stomach, as Chrysalis knew it would.

In a rare moment of sleep, Cadance had dreamed about picking one of the hatchlings up by its hindlegs and smashing its head into the stone floor, hard and repeatedly, until there was nothing left that could identify the remains as being the product of Chrysalis and Shining Armor. The imagery of her dream grew a deeper red, as she imagined she was being attacked by hordes of other hatchlings and awoke to find Chrysalis kicking her in the ribs.

Cadance looked through red bloodshot eyes in utter contempt and could see the changeling Queen’s mouth working, but her ears were only now starting to come online.
“What do you think you’re doing?” demanded her jailer, obviously angry to be repeating what she must have just said, “My hatchlings can’t feed themselves. You need to take better care of your duties.”
“Or what?” Cadance glowered in return, rising painfully to her hooves and squaring up to Chrysalis, punctuating her insubordination by stamping her forehoof assertively.

If the changeling Queen was perturbed by this small act of insubordination, she didn’t show it.
“Or I will order your fiancé to call for the imprisonment of all the foals in Equestria” she threatened, “You deny me my children, then I shall deny Equestria its foals; it’s all up to you.”
“You wouldn’t” Cadance bit back, “Parents develop a deep bond of love with their foals; you would be denying your hive a rich source of food.”
“Would you care to take that chance?” goaded Chrysalis.

Cadance struggled to maintain eye contact, but the more she considered what Chrysalis may yet be capable of, the more she felt herself to be drowning in a rising tide of despair, and lowered her eyes. She could not be the one responsible for tearing foals away from their families, no matter what personal hardship she had to endure.
Chrysalis laughed scornfully, knowing she had won.
“Now, get back to work!” she demanded, and Cadance obeyed meekly.

As she brought the next hatchling alongside to feed off her, she was reminded of her dream and hated herself. She wouldn’t, no, she couldn’t take such action against one so young; it wasn’t their choice to have been born, nor was it their fault what type of creature they had been born to be.

The hatchling started to struggle and Cadance felt her eyes begin to sting; how could she have wished, even subconsciously, to subject an infant to such horrible retribution? She knew the hatchling was protesting because her love had become soured, so gently drew it closer to rekindle the necessary bond and as it settled down, she wept softly.

There was an exit further up within this massive cavern, that much she knew. She yearned for freedom, but her energy was so depleted now by the constant demands on her love, that she doubted she could summon the strength to even consider using her wings any more. Besides, even if she did, by some miracle manage to fly to the exit and escape without being intercepted by the changeling patrols, then what would she do, where could she go?

Worse, what retribution would Chrysalis demand from Shining Armor in payment for her act of reckless folly? She had already forced him to compromise his duty, his morals and his body at her whim; what more would she do to him if she was really angry? No, for his sake if nothing else, she must endure.

She could feel the restlessness from the hatchling telling her that it had taken its fill, and so she prepared for the next to follow along as she imagined night falling in the outside world, where right now, any free ponies still remaining beyond the changelings’ grasp must have been going home to bed.

How lucky they were.

2 Banishment

Twilight felt a sickening lurch, like she had fallen through a trapdoor.

She had experienced a feeling of weightlessness as her brother had deserted her with those words that had cut so deeply, “And you can forget about being my best mare. In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't show up to the wedding at all.”

Shock.

Then she had been abandoned by her friends. Even Spike. Even Celestia.

She had turned and run, tears clouding her eyes, desperate to get out of the castle and leave behind the harsh words and wounding looks. She didn’t stop for anypony and careened out into the night past a pair of startled guards in the direction of the station.

Her escape had not been like the running of the leaves when she had paced herself, but instead a headlong rush to run away and leave her woes behind. She really felt that if she slowed down, her worries would catch up to her and engulf her, so it was with mixed emotions she approached the station and had to slow. Her lungs were grateful for the respite, but her fears crept into the space being vacated by her receding adrenaline.

“When is the next train for Ponyville please?” she panted to the bemused station master.
“Ponyville, you say?” he turned the words over in his mouth and looked up wistfully to the ceiling, “Not another one till seven tomorrow morning …”
Twilight’s heart sank.
“ … Unless of course you want to travel with the mail, that is” he completed, bringing his eyes down to meet hers, “And forgive me Miss, but you don’t look like the mail train type to me.”
“I’ll take it” she replied.

“First time for everything, I guess” quipped the station master, “That’ll be fifteen bits please.”
“Of course” she muttered, feeling for her purse that she had left behind in the castle. She could picture exactly where it was in her room, but that wasn’t going to help her now.

“Can I do it on a warrant?” she asked, “I’m Princess Celestia’s pupil.”
He eyed her suspiciously, like this was a comment he had heard many times before, especially when the bars were closing up for the night.
“No, really” she persisted, desperation creeping into her voice, “At least look me up on the list would you?”

He fixed her with the sharpest of his two aging eyes, sizing her up, “Alright, I’ll bite; what’s your name?”
“Twilight Sparkle” she replied, T ... W … I … L …”
“Ah, there you are - wouldn’t you believe it!” he acknowledged, nodding his head with a mixture of both surprise and approval, “Here, let me write that warrant for you right now. Train leaves in just a little under two hours. Sorry, but the café’s closed and we got nothin’ else to do here but wait.”
“Thank you” said Twilight, taking the warrant, “I’ll be fine.”

She stepped away from the clerk’s window and walked slowly to a bench on the platform where she sat down and stared up at the stars. She knew all the constellations, of course, that was foals’ play, but tonight she just looked without seeing, her mind replaying those fateful few minutes from earlier when her world had fallen apart.

Twilight scanned the night sky looking for evidence of Luna’s latest artistry, but found none; it was like everypony was wrapped up in the wedding preparations. Everypony except for her. She felt herself tear up again and took no action as rivulets of salty tears tracked down her muzzle. She had lost her brother, her friends and her mentor in one go, just because she had imagined Cadance to be acting oddly.

Perhaps her friends had been right, perhaps it was jealousy; she would certainly play things differently if she could wind back time, but such spells were still beyond her, and likely to remain so for a few years yet. In fact, she could probably say goodbye to any further studies under Princess Celestia and also lose her privileged access to the Royal Library. Even the Golden Oak library wouldn’t be the same anymore, now Spike had turned against her too.

The minutes dragged by, each one conspiring with the others to maximise her discomfort, allowing her plenty of opportunity to dismantle her self-esteem brick at a time, until she felt utterly worthless.

Porters arrived and clattered their barrows across the platform, lining them up ready to load the mailbags onto the train when it arrived. A couple of the porters spared a glance in her direction, but she carried a look they had seen before on the faces of solitary passengers late at night, and they continued their duties without wishing to disturb her and get drawn in to her personal hell. Twilight looked up and saw the bustle of activity and on the one hoof wanted to be left alone, but was equally desperate that just one of them would check on her; either way she was destined to be disappointed, so let her head hang down and stared at the dirt.

Eventually, the train arrived, heaving deep heavy breaths of steam as it came to a stop. As if on cue, the porters appeared from nowhere to service this great beast by feeding it with mailbags.
“Um, Miss” came a voice from beside her, “This is the mail train for Ponyville. Would you like me to assist you aboard?”
She slowly raised her head and he could sense how troubled she was, the redness of her eyes accentuated under the platform’s obtrusive lighting.

“Um, Miss …” he repeated, “I could maybe travel with you, if you want?”
She stared at him and did something that five minutes ago, she could never imagine herself ever doing again, and smiled. It was an awkward smile, but at least it was genuine.
“Thank you” she said simply, her throat like sandpaper, then allowed him to help her up while her tired legs stretched to accept her weight. She said nothing more, but boarded the train and made a pretence of trying to get comfortable on the floor of the sparsely furnished mail van that would be her home for the next two hours.

***

The old guard knew the route well, as he did every mail route across Equestria. He had always felt somehow more attuned to the peace and tranquillity of the night time; it was too busy in the heat of the day for him, what with all the ponies going to work, school and the hundred other things that they all had to squeeze in before night came. Then they all went to bed and prepared themselves for performing the same frantic rush the following morning, every last one of them missing the beauty of the night around them, which would gently caress the soul if they cared to let it.

Here was a pony who respected the artistry of Princess Luna, a true devotee.

He had been riding the rails ever since he cared to remember, and probably further back than that. Over the years he had shared his mail van with many different ponies; some liked to talk, others didn’t, he just accommodated them with good grace and listened as they unburdened themselves, or left them alone if they didn’t.

He knew they were now five miles from Ponyville, not by any sign or other cue, just by feel. In less than a minute they would start to slow so as to arrive punctually and stop just at the right place next to the platform. The lilac unicorn hadn’t moved, so he figured she was asleep, and had left her undisturbed for the whole journey, just respecting her privacy. Now he crossed over to her and circled round to approach her from the front where she would see him as soon as she awoke and not be startled. He was surprised to see her staring unblinking at the rudimentary panelling on the wall of the mailvan with a look of deep sadness on her muzzle.

“We’re almost at Ponyville now, Missy” he announced in his kindly elderly voice.
“Thank you” she whispered without turning her head or even blinking an eye.
“Care to talk?” he offered, “We’ve only got a few minutes, but I’m here if there’s something you want to get off your chest.”
“Thank you” she said softly, “For caring.”
He sat quietly as they felt the gentle retardation of the brakes starting to bite.

They shared a few brief minutes of silent acknowledgment before the final application of brakes brought the train to a stop; just in the right place, as usual.
“Good luck, Missy” said the guard as Twilight rose and shared a half-smile with the kind old stallion who held the door open for her, “Things will get better, you’ll see.”
She turned to look back at him and gave the shallowest of nods, unable to imagine how they could, but not wanting to be rude to the kindly old guard, then walked slowly towards the exit.

The first rays of early morning sun were just agreeing their game plan somewhere the other side of the horizon, before joyously rising on their cue to throw the first spears of light across the dawning sky. Twilight had felt drawn to return to Ponyville, yet now she was here, she couldn’t fathom why she had come back.

Everything around her held memories of her friends, and now they had turned against her, it was all sour. Unable to face the familiar sights and sounds that would conjure up their images, she set off away from town before she could be seen, and headed in the direction of the Everfree.

The last place anypony would run into her was the scary old forest, so that was where she headed, following the familiar path towards the Castle of the Two Sisters, where she could lock herself away. Just being away from everypony was all she wanted at the moment, but although she may have appeared to be on her own, she was hounded by self-doubt, self-loathing and a host of other unwanted companions who refused to leave her alone.

She struggled on through the forest where Pinkie Pie had saved them from their fears so long ago. Pinkie Pie; her perpetually happy friend. Until now.

Would she ever see the party pony again?

The forest didn’t look at all scary now the sun was beginning to filter through the trees that had so scared them before. Sure, they had been frightened, but Pinkie had held them all together with her silly song. How she ached to feel that bond of friendship again now.

Then she arrived at the river where they had met Steven Magnet. This morning it was quiet; no sea serpent to be placated by a meaningful gift or make a bridge to get her to the other side, but equally it was calm and easy to cross.

Rarity; even she had turned away from her.

Her walk to the castle kept throwing up savage reminders of the friendships she had lost, mocking her every move along the familiar route they had first travelled together, twisting a dagger inside her soul.

She arrived at the rope bridge, still standing after Rainbow Dash had chosen loyalty to her friends over her heart’s desire. It was all so poignant, that Twilight couldn’t help but shed a tear as she thought of the bearer of the element of loyalty. Loyalty; the value that she should have displayed towards her old foalsitter, but hadn’t.

Rainbow would have been proud that the bridge was still standing, and Twilight crossed over quickly, not wanting to dwell on her sadness for any longer than necessary.

Ahead stood the ruined castle. She turned to take one last look behind her, swearing never to return, then looked up towards the ominous shape of the ruined castle silhouetted against the sunrise that would be her home until she could think of something better. She trudged sadly up the steps to the ageing wooden front door and went inside, following by instinct the one path through the castle she knew best.

With a precision borne of many repeated visits, she threaded her way unerringly through the musty old corridors until she reached a nondescript door with a sign bearing letters that had faded long ago. She pushed it open and entered into the first sanctuary of her long journey.

The ceiling had remained by some miracle intact following Celestia’s fight with Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago, protecting those most precious occupants, which most referred to as books, but as far as she was concerned were her only remaining friends.

She looked around admiringly, taking in the neatly organised shelves arranged by subject and cross referenced by author. They all stood to attention, waiting expectantly for her to pick them up and acknowledge them. They would never be critical or judgemental, just eager for her to spend time with them and read the secrets they held within their pages. That sounded good, and the happy thought lifted her depressive mood just enough to allow her to contemplate the need for sleep.

For now, she chose not to disturb any of them, but instead cast a keep out spell to deter any creature from entering the room and settled down on the floor, resting her head on her crossed forelegs and went to sleep.

3 Friendship

Twilight awoke early in the afternoon at around the same time as the bride would be putting on the lovely dress that Rarity had created especially for the high-profile event. She had never seen it herself, but she knew her friend’s high standards, and that it was bound to have been perfect for the occasion.

Before she could lapse back into the mood of corrosive self-recrimination that had brought her here, her tummy gave a loud reminder that it hadn’t been fed for some time. Turning her attention to placating the uncomfortable rumbling sounds, she left the library, sealing the door with her magic and retraced her steps back to the main entrance.

The view from the top of the steps was still impressive even after a thousand years of neglect and random incursion by generations of brambles. Twilight pictured the bustle of activity that would have surrounded this very spot when this formerly lavish castle had been in its prime, and tried to imagine how the former occupants would have felt if they had known that she was currently the only guest, if one were to exclude the bats, that was. They flew in and out through the gaping hole in the roof and appeared to have no qualms about claiming refuge among its high vaulted beams.

She made her way to the nearby stream and bent down to drink, catching a look at her reflection as her muzzle neared the surface. Even despite the distortion caused by ripples playing with casual indifference across her image, she couldn’t help but notice how the last 24 hours had taken their toll, and released a sad sigh.

The water perked her up a little, but she still recognised her need to eat, and began a half-hearted forage among the undergrowth, the solitude she felt not being her best companion.

In fact she wasn’t alone. A pair of blue eyes was watching with interest, but their owner did not call out. Instead, recognising the sad gait of the lilac unicorn, decided a softer approach to be more appropriate.

Twilight stared at a plant growing in the midst of a prickly shrub; her eyes focused, but her mind absent.

“A flower of such vivid hue
Can help in a healing potion or brew”

Twilight continued staring ahead.
“I thought everypony had gone to Canterlot for the wedding” she said flatly.

“I received no invitation
So I continue with my vocation.

But I thought you would be away
Is it not your brother’s special day?”

“Oh Zecora” she sobbed, turning to face the village shaman, “I thought Princess Cadance was an imposter and told my brother, and he sent me away, and now I’m … I’m …”

Suddenly all the pain she felt turned into tears that burst forth like a dam breaking open. She fought for breath between sobs and felt her legs tremble, ready to give way underneath her, so to avoid the embarrassment of falling, lay down on the dew soaked grass as her body shook with grief.

The wise zebra lay down beside her and mentally postponed everything she had planned to do that day.

***

Zecora and Twilight faced each other over a table, each holding a cup of tea. She had listened sympathetically to the unicorn’s outpouring and had been especially interested at the evidence she had put forward to support her accusation; the same evidence that she had since been so desperate to retract so as she wouldn’t have been ostracised by her friends and family.

“The traits that you have well defined
Are oddly out of place in one so kind

Be assured, my unicorn friend
That on my friendship you can depend.”

“Thank you Zecora” she replied, ”You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”

The two relaxed happily in each other’s company, the mysterious zebra distracting her unexpected guest from her troubles by showing her how to identify various woodland plants, and with them create a range of herbal remedies. Switching Twilight into learning mode quickly dragged her out from her self-pity and she pushed all the worries about tomorrow from her mind. Even when she wasn’t learning about herbal magic and shamanic ritual, she still had a barrage of questions about Zecora’s homeland.

More familiar with a solitary lifestyle, Zecora found it a challenge to keep up with her friend’s insatiable thirst for knowledge, but was pleased to witness how far she had been able to lift her spirits since having met her during her early morning forage.

The morning flew by, but it wasn’t long before the conversation was interrupted by rumbling sounds from Twilight’s tummy, reminding her of how long it had been since she had eaten, or even wanted to. Zecora continued the tuition in her hut by preparing a traditional meal and having her guest help out so she could taste each of the ingredients, many of which were completely unknown to her palate, but nonetheless quickly became firm favourites.

After lunch, they resumed their activities together and everything was going well until Twilight’s horn began to glow and she felt the sudden onset of a headache with such ferocity that she buckled at her knees and sank to the ground.

“What is wrong my unicorn friend?
Have you eaten something which did offend?”

“N … no, Zecora” she said bringing her forehooves up to massage her head, “It’s the strangest feeling; like a number of ponies all reaching out to me at once. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”

Zecora watched the glow on Twilight’s horn fade back to normal and could see the life flow back into her body.

“Something is afoot I do fear
We must take care or danger may come here

I’ll douse the fire and use no light
Or we may get more guests along tonight”

“If something unpleasant can find me Zecora, I can’t stay here and let you get caught up in it too. There is somewhere I can go to that’s a few miles away from here, so I’ll go there and you’ll be safe.”

“No my friend, you should stay here
We must work together if evil comes near”

“What is going on Zecora?” Twilight asked tentatively, “I know you know something.”

“Just some vague feelings, nothing more
But plan for the worst and we’ll be secure.”

The happy atmosphere that had grown between the two transformed into a council of war, preparing contingencies for anything that may arise. It was difficult to know what, if anything to expect, but there was no doubting the seriousness with which Zecora was heeding Twilight’s warning.

Although initially worried that they wouldn’t be able to get everything prepared before sunset, they were both surprised at how long the afternoon had lasted, with very little progression towards evening.

“There will be no night, that is clear
Celestia is compromised, I fear.”

“And Luna too, I expect” added Twilight sombrely, her thoughts echoing Zecora’s own, “Something must have happened at the wedding.”

“To keep our guard up, you must rest
To prevail, we have to be at our best”

“Thanks, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night” said Twilight showing her hostess a wry smile as she headed inside the hut, leaving Zecora to watch for something unusual. What it was she didn’t know, but she knew it would be easily recognisable when it arrived.

Twilight slept. Neither of them knew for how long, but it was enough for her to feel revitalised. When she came out from inside the shade of the hut, the sun was in just the same place as she had last seen it. She greeted Zecora, who fortunately still looked relatively fresh despite the indeterminate period she had been on watch.

“Welcome back, I trust you slept well?
I must go to town and see what they will tell”

“Alright Zecora” agreed Twilight, unable to adequately stifle a waking up yawn, “I’ll hold the fort here, but please be careful.”
Wasting no time, Zecora donned her dark brown cloak and set off on a path she knew well.

Twilight waved her off and settled into her vigil, feeling so much better about herself. She had found a friend who supported her when she was at her lowest ebb and knew she was no longer alone. She had somepony who believed in her, somepony to fight for, and this made a difference.

Twilight could have dismissed the strange feelings she had experienced, but the fact that the sun hadn’t moved confirmed in the most forceful terms that she hadn’t been wrong. She allowed herself a fleeting smile; it was almost as if she had developed a Pinkie Sense. Now she stood, reflexes primed to face whatever destiny had in store.

***

A rustling of bushes made Twilight’s ears prick up as she focused in the direction of the trail Zecora had taken about an hour ago. She was alert and primed with half a dozen of her best defensive spells rehearsed and ready to go.

The rustling grew closer and then a caped figure emerged into the clearing before her. She breathed a sigh of relief as she recognised the distinctive shape of Zecora, back from her reconnaissance mission and waved cheerfully, ”How did it go?”

“Twilight, it is worse than I thought
Changelings have invaded Canterlot!”

“What?” gasped Twilight in shock.

“From what I heard; details are few
But, Princess Cadance led them, that seems true”

“Princess Cadance!” gasped Twilight, “She would never betray Equestria!”

“The real one would never sell out
But this one was an imposter, no doubt”

“That makes perfect sense!” cried Twilight, ”I thought there was something wrong about her from the outset, but nopony else seemed to see through her act. So, she must have been a changeling herself! Is the real Cadance OK? I mean, I hope the changeling didn’t kill her or anything …?”

“Enough! You have questions galore
But I have to say that I know no more.”

“Oh, sorry” Twilight apologised, ”There’s just so much I want to know!”

“Only one thing more I can share
They feed off love of those for whom you care.”

“Eww!” Twilight grimaced, ”Gross!”
Then she thought a little more before adding, ”I’m just guessing here, but I assume the changelings need only to have hidden the real Princess Cadance away – I mean it wouldn’t have done to have two of them running around at the same time! So it seems reasonable that she’s still alive, but hidden somewhere, possibly …?”

Zecora nodded, clearly following the same thought process.
“So what do we do now?” pondered Twilight, ”They won’t stop at Canterlot; that’s just for starters. Before long they’ll take over all of Equestria, and with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna captured, our only chance is to rescue Princess Cadance so she can use her alicorn magic. We must get up there as soon as we can; the longer we leave it, the stronger they will become!”

“You are right, we cannot delay
The land will soon die under eternal day

Make up some packs with things we need
We must avoid the towns, and make good speed”

Twilight followed Zecora back into the hut where they filled two sets of saddle bags, then emerged with enough provisions and medical supplies to sustain them on the long walk to Canterlot.
“You know, Zecora” said Twilight, “We may be able to use the railway lines.”
Zecora eyed her sceptically, seriously doubting whether she had the training to operate a locomotive.

“You see, the railway has pump trolleys. They’re like small trucks that you power by yourself by pumping a lever up and down - hence the name. You know, if we follow the line from here to Canterlot, we should find one at one of the stations as we go; there might even be one at Ponyville if we’re lucky.”

“Your idea is sound and clever
We could take turns at being the driver”

Armed with a plan to follow and supplies to sustain them, they were ready, and set off up the trail to Ponyville.

The first thing that struck them was how few ponies there were around. There were no street vendors and most properties had their shutters closed tight, whether the ponies had fled or had locked themselves inside was any pony’s guess. Those ponies they saw were rushing around, clearly panicked, running in all directions and then back again.

The two friends looked at each other; the shops still appeared to be intact, but both knew it would only be a matter of time before panic spilled over into looting. Here and there, ponies were crying as their fears found an outlet, but Twilight made sure she didn’t get involved; compassion had its place, but right now they had a much more important job to do.

They continued to the station which was strangely deserted; the routine hustle and bustle that continued throughout the day being completely absent.
“One way or another, we’ll be heading north following these tracks” observed Twilight, “I’ll take a look around the sidings and see if we’re in luck.”

At that, she set off along to the end of the platform and descended its slope, walking on further to get a view of the sidings. They weren’t very large, catering for the town’s modest needs whilst providing a loading area to fill trucks with their primary export, apples. Sure enough there were a few trucks in today and she had to walk around them to see if a pump trolley was obscured behind.

Her optimism was swiftly rewarded when she rounded a truck that had been left half loaded and saw one on the track behind. Happily, she offloaded her saddlebags and placed them onto its deck, then carefully removed the pots of paint and other items on it that had been left over from the last maintenance job, and jumped aboard.

The pump action was stiff, and it took all her strength to get it to move. A quick look showed that she was moving the right way, so she picked up the speed a little and began to gain confidence, but came to an abrupt stop after a few yards. She looked down and saw she had reached a set of points that directed traffic from the main line into the siding, but were currently set against her.

Hopping off, she saw that there was a lever trackside and took a guess that it had to be pulled, so gave it a firm tug, watching with satisfaction as the mechanism slid over to allow her onto the main line.
“Whoo-hoo!” she shouted in excitement and got back onto the pump trolley, giving the stiff handle a few more pumps before getting off and setting the points back to how she had found them; she didn’t want the Friendship Express suddenly careening into a village siding after all.

A few minutes later, she pulled up at the platform, right next to an impressed looking zebra.

“Well done Twilight, you’ve done fine
Two of us together will make good time”

Zecora stepped across to join Twilight on the deck of the unusual device and removed her saddle bags to take up a position at the opposite end of the pump handle.
“Ready?” asked Twilight, and then started to move the vehicle forwards, a task now made a lot easier with her friend’s help, “Next stop, Canterlot!”

4 Return

The odd looking two horsepower pump trolley made its way steadily northwards significantly more quickly than its two occupants could have hoped to achieve on their hooves, but it was still hard work, especially where the elevation of the track was canted in a climb against them. They had counted on not seeing any other rail traffic and indeed had not encountered anything at all; even the stations they had gone through were deserted.

Twilight cocked her head to one side and shot Zecora a troubled look, making a “shhhh” gesture with her forehoof against her lips. Her zebra friend did as requested, and strained her ears too. There, in the background, was a hum, and it was getting louder.

The pump trolley was coasting with the handles still moving in their mildly comical up and down reciprocating motion. Twilight applied the brake, the rhythmic clanking of the vehicle subsiding as the humming took precedence.
“Let’s get off” she suggested, “I don’t think we should be caught in the open.”
They both clambered down, leaving their saddle bags behind and ran for an outcrop of bushes at the side of the track. Twilight paused halfway.
“The bags ...!” she exclaimed, but Zecora dragged her into the safety of the bushes, refusing to listen to any protest.

They were still settling into their hiding place when a pair of small black winged creatures buzzed over them and looped back to the direction from whence they had come. Intrigued, the friends pricked up their ears and looked briefly at each other before crawling through the undergrowth to see what was happening on the other side.

Pushing a branch cautiously out of the way, Twilight gasped at what she saw; there seemed to be some kind of altercation going on. It looked like a large herd of buffalo was being harassed by a dozen of the much smaller black creatures that had just flown overhead. It was clear that the avians didn’t want to tangle directly with the much larger buffalo, but were still intent on trying to drive them off.

“We must prepare to run away
If they stampede and come this way”
Zecora commented, peering out from the bush. Twilight nodded soundlessly, her eyes fixed on the spectacle, watching the aggressors attacking in pairs time after time, keeping just beyond the reach of the buffalo.

Finally, a lone attacker flew out towards the friends and Twilight lit her horn, firing a stream of magical energy that stunned the creature just enough to lose control and tumble from the sky, smacking into the ground with all the grace of a sack of potatoes. Zecora looked at Twilight quizzically, evidently worried that such an action would bring the wrath of its colleagues down on them too.

“Those buffalo are friends of mine, and a long way from home; I couldn’t just watch.”
The stunned creature got to its hooves, shook its head and looked around before whipping its insectoid wings into a buzz and flying back to rejoin its fellows. Upon the return of their colleague, they all disengaged their unequal combat and retired to consider their position, then flew away northwards.

A look at the field in which the buffalo were gathered showed a couple of their number to be laid on the ground, being surrounded by their concerned colleagues. Twilight moved forwards and Zecora reached out a forehoof to stop her, but she continued anyway, breaking cover and walking into the field, closely followed by the zebra, not because she thought it was a good idea, but more as a demonstration of moral support.

One of the buffalo looked up, then called for his leader who, some distance away, dismissed the stream of status reports from the herd and walked over.
“Hmh, you are friends of Rainbow Dash, I think” he said, addresseing Twilight.
“Yes, yes that’s right” she agreed, looking up to the imposing buffalo, “Chief Thunderhooves, may I introduce Zecora; Zecora, Chief Thunderhooves.”
The buffalo, clearly stressed following the harassment by his herd’s attackers managed a brief nod of recognition, while the zebra gave a respectful bow.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I could see you were having a few problems and I kinda shot one of them down … a bit” confirmed Twilight, giving an awkward smile.
“We are most grateful, friends of Rainbow Dash. I have no idea what they are, but they have attacked Appleloosa and now ponies have gone, and there are no more of those delicious apple pies” he sighed sadly, “And we buffalo like them.”
“Oh, I see” concurred Twilight, suppressing a giggle, “So you’ve come all this way to find more ponies?”

“Yes. Hmh, it is in the terms of the peace treaty” he replied earnestly, “We agreed to allow the apple orchards to stay in exchange for the apple pies; it is now a matter of honour to the buffalo to ensure that both sides of the promise are maintained, and as Chief, I must ensure this is delivered.”

“Right” agreed Twilight, suddenly appreciating the seriousness of the situation, “We believe Canterlot to have been attacked by changelings, and we’re on our way there to try and stop it before it becomes a full scale invasion of Equestria.”
“And no ponies, means no apple pies” Chief Thunderhooves concluded.
“Right. And I’m wondering whether those things that attacked you could be changelings?” Twilight thought aloud.

“It is too much coincidence
To guess that they are anything less”
Zecora agreed.

“Hmh” pondered Chief Thunderhooves, ”Then honour demands we stand with you to keep the treaty we made. What is your plan?”
“I didn’t have one until we met” said Twilight, “But, with your strength and the magic of friendship, I think we can work something out. They’re obviously scared of your size which is why they didn’t come down and fight you on the ground. Also, there’s enough of you to make an army, so if you can get us to their leader, then between us, we stand a chance of defeating them.”

“But if they are changelings, then surely they can change into buffalo?” Chief Thunderhooves queried.
“But they didn’t” Twilight affirmed, ”And I think I know why; it’s my guess that they can impersonate creatures of the same size, but if they made themselves into anything as big as you, they would still only weigh the same as a small pony.”
“Ha! Then we could easily push them out of our way!”
“That’s why I think they didn’t change into buffalo earlier, and why I think we can pull this off!” cheered Twilight.

***

Had there been somepony waiting at a platform of any of the stations on the line to Canterlot, they would have been startled to see what was travelling past; instead of the Friendship Express pulling a string of carriages was a stream of buffalo, their leader carrying a lilac unicorn. Keeping pace by his side, but a fraction behind out of deference, was another who carried a zebra.

They made good time, stopping periodically at one or other of the many lakes that adorned the line for the buffalo to take on water and rest awhile, before continuing on their way. It was a spectacle so wildly inconceivable that it could have been conjured directly from Discord’s mind.

The miles tripped by, carelessly counting down as the scenery evolved from the endless vista of rolling plains through gentle hills and then on to snow-capped mountains. The buffalo had never ventured this far from the prairies of their home before, and looked about them constantly, their trepidation increasing as the landscape became more unfamiliar.

Eventually, they rounded a bend and saw Canterlot in the distance, tantalising glimpses of its glittering splendour peeping out from between a range of mountains. The sun glinting off its golden roofs was a familiar sight for Twilight, but one which drew gasps of awe and wonder from the others in their party. She had never really experienced this feeling for herself, having been brought up in the capital and just come to take its grandeur for granted, but nonetheless allowed a gentle smile to cross her lips as she felt a sense of pride in the city.

Twilight’s reverie was broken by the sight of a dark smudge in the sky and immediately called Chief Thunderhooves to lead his herd off away from the line and into the cover afforded by the trees trackside. Twilight dismounted and faced the Chief and his most trusted deputies who gathered round.

“The city you can see is Canterlot. I caught my first sight of a changeling patrol in the skies which is why I asked you to take cover. I know you are all brave and fearless fighters, but I don’t want them to be aware of us until we are as close as we can get to the Royal Castle, which is where I am expecting the changelings’ leader will be. I can use magic to shoot a few down, but we’ll be relying on your strength to get us into the castle.”

“We could get in undercover of night” suggested one of the buffalo.
“Good idea, in theory” said Twilight, “But it hasn’t moved on from daytime for days now, and I can only conclude that’s because Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been captured. Sorry, we’ll just have to try another way; I suggest breaking into three groups and approaching the castle from different routes.”

The buffalo listened as Twilight outlined the routes to be taken, before the herd split into groups to prepare themselves for combat, a process that Twilight knew involved applying warpaint and telling each other inspirational stories of their bravery in past battles.

While the buffalo got themselves ready, Twilight and Zecora moved to a position from where they could watch for patrols to determine if there was any obvious routine or pattern to their actions. Without interrupting her scan of the skies, Zecora confided her fears:

“Your buffalo allies are strong
And will pitch into a fight headlong

But they are large and hard to hide
so their size is the only downside.”

“I know Zecora, I know” Twilight sighed, ”Much as I would like them all to get through, I can’t help hoping that if one group does get caught, they will act as a diversion for the others. Given that we’ve clearly lost Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, our best bet has to be Princess Cadance as the only other pony with alicorn magic. I’m hoping we can find her while the buffalo fight off the changelings and buy us some time.”

“She is the one we must seek out
And put this changeling invasion to rout”

“Thanks Zecora. I knew I could count on you” said Twilight laying a reassuring forehoof on her shoulder, “Two of us stand a much better chance than one.”

“Hmh” came a deep voice behind them, causing them both to turn and witness the transformation from Chief Thunderhooves the diplomat to Chief Thunderhooves the warrior, resplendent in his freshly applied warpaint.
“You will be fighting with us” he said, not as a question, but as a statement, “You would honour the spirits and bring us good fortune if you carried the blessing from our sacred home.”
“Put on warpaint, like you?” asked Twilight, “We’d be happy to respect your customs and beliefs.”
The two friends wriggled back from their vantage point and Twilight stood in front of the Chief as he muttered an ancient incantation and applied two red streaks on either side of her muzzle.

Twilight wanted to giggle because it tickled her cheeks, but she knew what an honour it was to be included in their ritual, and maintained a solemn expression as he completed his request for protection from the sprits of buffalo leaders in days gone by. As soon as she was considered ready, Zecora stepped forward and bowed, presenting herself for the same treatment.

“Hmh. Now you are ready” he confirmed approvingly, taking in their fearsome new appearance, “And the buffalo will see that you are going into fight with the protection of our ancestral spirits.”
“We are both deeply honoured that you have extended such a privilege to us” responded Twilight respectfully, catching sight of Zecora nodding her approval.

“Is everypony, er, I mean every buffalo ready?” asked Twilight, blushing at her slip.
“Yes” he replied, “What have you learned about the patrols?”
“They come past at about five minute intervals, so I suggest that all three groups make their move as quickly as we can once a patrol has passed.”

“I would be happy to carry you myself” he offered, “But one thing.”
“Name it” she replied.
“If we don’t find Appleloosa ponies, then you make us apple pies yourself” he stated.
“You got yourself a deal!” Twilight agreed cheerfully.

Word spread quickly, and in response the herd split into three lines, each having a fearsome looking leader at its head, with Twilight atop Chief Thunderhooves and Zecora aboard a trusted deputy.
“Friend of Rainbow Dash?” asked the Chief.
“Yes?”
“Hmh. Buffalo eyesight is not as good as pony eyesight” he admitted, receiving nods of agreement from his fellows, “As soon as it is clear, you give the order to charge?”
Twilight gulped, suddenly appreciating this meant she would have the combined power of this herd of buffalo hanging on her word of command.
“OK” she squeaked.

Feeling embarrassed at her foalish exclamation, she quickly stuck her head back up into the canopy of the tree above her, so as none of those present would see the crimson blush she could feel spreading across her face, and returned to her lookout. She didn’t have to wait long until she saw a formation of changeling guards following the same route as all the others she had seen.

“Here comes the patrol now” she warned, ducking down below the branches that offered them all shelter from the prying eyes above, “Get ready.”
Expectant whispers from those within earshot rippled the news down to their colleagues waiting behind them, and she could almost feel the sudden rise of adrenalin building around her.

A pause descended as every creature held their breath waiting for her command.
“Now!” she shouted as soon as the last members of the patrol had disappeared from view.

She felt Chief Thunderhooves surge forward, his massive frame accelerating surprisingly quickly as she hung on tightly, fearing to lose her grip lest she fall and be trampled by those following closely behind. To her side, another buffalo drew up to protect his Chief on his flank, this one bearing aloft a zebra, poised resolutely like a ship’s figurehead on his back, facing her destiny with grim determination etched on her face.

A shiver ran down Twilight’s back as she felt the raw power of this massed charge unleashed; the feeling of togetherness, being part of something so much bigger than merely an organised stampede. The feeling was so intense, she couldn’t help but allow a grin to spread across her muzzle.

She turned to Zecora and gasped at seeing how the experience had transformed her into a fearsome looking warrior. She felt another shiver run down her back, but this time one that shocked her back to the reality of her situation; they were going into combat and this was no time to be anything other than completely focused.

Turning to face front, she screwed her muzzle into a picture of concentration, pointed a foreleg forwards in the same way as a jouster would aim his lance, and shouted out a battle cry of her own.

5 Confrontation

Chief Thunderhooves raced headlong towards an intersection in Canterlot and, completely ignoring the red stop light skidded round the corner to give Twilight her first view of the Royal Castle, but that wasn’t the thing that caught their eye. One of the other parties of buffalo had got there a little before them and was now embroiled in a battle with changeling guards.

Unlike the patrol they had encountered earlier, a number of these changelings were still trying to fight on the ground, and the buffalo were taking great delight in headbutting them and pitching them into solid buildings by deft swings of the head. Some had tried to impersonate the buffalo, but as Twilight had suspected, they lacked the weight to become equal sparring partners, and were sent sprawling with ease.

Taking full advantage of the diversion, Chief Thunderhooves continued unswervingly towards the main entrance where changeling guards brought their polearms to a readied position. Twilight was having none of this, and a glow enveloped her horn sending a stream of magical energy out to the levelled weapons, throwing them aside.

Twilight felt a grudging respect for how long the guards stayed in their path, as a heard of rampaging buffalo must have looked particularly intimidating. As they drew close, she watched as some changed into fearsome looking creatures to try and deter the charge, whilst the sensible ones just took to the air. Those that had remained were skittled aside like a demon bowler had just scored a strike, as the buffalo never even broke step.

When the corridors began to narrow, the buffalo fell reluctantly into single file, Chief Thunderhooves taking Twilight’s cues of pulling his fur on whichever side she wanted him to take at any turning through the corridors. The castle was surprisingly empty, most available changelings either outside dealing with the other buffalo, or on their way out there. Either way, they encountered little resistance and soon found themselves barrelling towards the throne room.

Twilight focused her magic to disarm the guards once more, but her horn failed to light. Starting to fret, she tried again, but still she couldn’t get the slightest response from it. By now they were frighteningly close to the first of the guards, so in desperation she tried one more time, focusing all of her essence into her magic. Chief Thunderhooves had seen Twilight disarm guards with menacing looking weapons before and had complete faith in her ability to do it again, so didn’t even consider for a second slowing down his charge.

The guard at the front of his colleagues dropped his weapon and flew above the buffalo at the last second to avoid an experience, that in his mind, would best be equated to being hit by a freight train. As the discarded polearm clattered to the stone floor, it bounced just sufficiently to catch Chief Thunderhooves’ ankles and he tripped, Twilight jumping off to avoid being caught as the warrior Chief tumbled.

Twilight and Zecora immediately leapt into action, pressing forward flailing their forehooves in close quarters combat against the changelings, progressing towards the large double doors. Behind them, buffalo squeezed past their fallen Chief who found himself unable to get up and join the fight.

With their Chief down, the other buffalo became more focused than ever on taking revenge as a matter of pride, determined to extract the highest price possible from the changelings for what they had done. Indeed, they paid little heed to their own injuries as they weighed in one by one, applying their size and brute strength to neutralise any remaining opposition with a headbutt here and a sharp kick there. While the mighty buffalo continued processing the guards into a groaning heap, Twilight and Zecora unlatched the doors and together pushed one open.

Twilight led the way inside, her hoofsteps echoing around the great hall, noting the deceptive calm that greeted them.

“Oh Twilight!” called a pink alicorn coming to meet her from the other end of the hall, while a white unicorn stood beside the throne staring vacantly.
“Cadance?” gasped Twilight, confused, ”Shining Armor?”

“Beware of her friendly face
There is changeling magic at work in this place”
Zecora warned.

“You must help us Twilight, we’ve just escaped!” she pleaded, “Queen Chrysalis has enslaved his mind, but I know we can break the spell once we get him out of here!”
The sound of fighting picked up outside the main doors once more, and Twilight turned to see that more changeling guards had joined in.

“Quick, while the guards are distracted, I know a way we can get out!” implored the Princess, “Follow me while we still have time!”

Twilight looked at Zecora who shot her a warning glance.

High above them, the rulers of Equestria looked down from their cocoons; Celestia trying to shout a warning, while Luna strained in vain to get her magic to work.

Twilight felt underprepared for what lay ahead as her magic had for some reason failed her, but she had one trump card; she knew the alicorn in front of her was not Cadance but the Changeling Queen, and now she had a name: Chrysalis. The longer she delayed this confrontation, the stronger Chrysalis and her changeling army would become, and even if she had lost her magic at the moment, this was probably some kind of defensive spell that she would always have to overcome. At least she knew she couldn’t rely on her magic and had to focus on other ways to outwit her enemy.

It was a trap, that much was obvious, but she had no choice other than to play along. At least she had one true and trusted friend with her, and it was obvious that Zecora would stand by her side, whatever decision she took.
“Thank you Zecora” she said to herself, as she trotted after the imposter Princess.

The graceful pink alicorn retrieved Shining Armor, and then led them through a little used door at the back of the throne room, which progressed through a corridor hewn from solid rock and opened out into a cavern below.
“Down there” she said, pointing with her horn, “Is the course of the old river. It opens out by the waterfalls under Canterlot where there aren’t any guards posted – we’ll be able to get away and help your brother, then make a plan for how to stop Queen Chrysalis and the changelings.”

“Come into my parlour” breathed Twilight, “Said the spider to the fly …”

***

There was a strange feeling about the cavern, not least the unusual smell which didn’t seem to reflect the sterile and unoccupied environment she would have expected. Under any other circumstances Twilight would have commented, but for now she wanted to ensure that she said and did nothing to give the impression she hadn’t been completely taken in by the subterfuge. Besides, she doubted if they could get out now anyway, even if they tried.

Chrysalis came to a halt and Shining Armor obediently stopped at her side, Twilight and Zecora fearing something unpleasant.
“I have something to show you” announced Chrysalis, “But first I must thank you for following me into the heart of my new hive.”
From nowhere, a sound of soft clicking surrounded them and the imposter Princess shrouded herself in a column of glowing green, casting a ghostly radiance that reached into the furthest recesses of the enormous open chamber.

Princess Cadance gasped at the sudden light and put down the hatchling she was nursing, to stand up and look towards the source. She could make out Chrysalis performing her transformation and three ponies surrounded by changelings. One of the ponies was unmistakeably Shining Armor, whilst another looked like Twilight Sparkle.

Believing she would never see either of them again, she rushed over towards them before the bright green light faded back to the perpetual half-light of the hive. She forced her way through the changelings who were expecting the surrounded ponies to try and escape, rather than finding one trying to force her way into their midst.

“What do you think you’re doing?” demanded Chrysalis angrily of the real Princess Cadance.
“I want to be with my husband and my sister in law!” she retorted angrily.
“You have no idea what punishment I will extract from you for this” growled Chrysalis.
“You can’t take away anything more than you already have!” Cadance shot back, “Whatever you do to me now, at least I can be with my Shining Armor one last time!”

Chrysalis laughed pitilessly.
“You are trapped, surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered” she gloated, “But you have given me a simply delicious idea.”
Twilight and Zecora felt their hearts sink, but Cadance stared down her captor with a bold fierceness.

“Now that Canterlot is mine, I have no further need of him” mused Chrysalis, “I will free him from his trance so he can see what he has helped me achieve, then he can live with the guilt of how he betrayed you and all of Equestria. Oh, this will be so delightful!”
With that, Chrysalis lit her horn and bathed him in a soft green glow.

Shining Armor stumbled on his hooves and struggled to take in his surroundings.
“Wha … what am I doing here?” he asked, “Is this some kind of bachelor party prank?”
“Shining Armor, I love you!” declared Cadance, pushing past the last of the changelings that stood between them.
“Oh, hey Cadey” he greeted, wrapping his foreleg around hers, “I love you too, but whatever’s going on.”
He lowered his horn to hers in greeting and just before they touched, a spark crackled between them, both of their horns coming to life as wisps of magic started to spin around them.

“What?” gasped Chrysalis in surprise, moving forward to break the couple up.
“Oh no you don’t!” growled Twilight as she and Zecora piled into her, knocking her over.

The changelings were caught off guard and focused on trying to prise the two ponies off their Queen, rather than interrupting the magic building between the Royal Couple who were now lifting off the ground as the magic between them grew stronger.

“Stop them, you fools!” shouted Chrysalis to the bewildered changeling guards, but it was too late; Cadance and Shining Armor suddenly glowed brilliant white as their union caused a massive explosion of blinding pink light.

One moment the three ponies and a zebra were surrounded by the sounds of screaming, and the next, all they could hear was falling water.

When Twilight opened her eyes, she could see that everything was bathed in brilliant afternoon sunshine that poured in through a massive hole where the side of the cavern used to be, but now looked out instead through one of the majestic waterfalls upon which Canterlot stood.

“What was that all about?” Shining Armor enquired, looking stunned. Cadance just held him tight, but couldn’t answer him because of the tears of joy that choked off any response.
“Just roll with it, bbbff” said Twilight with a smile, “We have a wedding to put together, and a lot of extra apple pies to bake!”

6 Honour

Canterlot blinked in the aftermath of the blinding flash of love magic. A collective gasp could be heard rising from everypony, as in an instant, the horror of the occupying force disappeared as if waking from a bad dream. In the distance, a purple sheen could be seen gently fading as the wave of magic spread outwards, carrying away with it not just the soldiers of an invading army, but their hopes and dreams of domination.

What was left behind was not quite the same as what had been there before the attempted invasion; the air somehow seemed to be clearer and the sun shining just a little more brightly, as if the dawn of a new hope now permeated throughout the city.

Guards who had fought valiantly to protect Equestria and its Princesses against the overwhelming numbers of changelings, had found themselves bound and restrained with anything the changelings could find at hoof. They had been tied to lamp posts, railings and even each other in an attempt to subdue their resistance, until such time as their Queen could arrive and weave them into cocoons for further use as commodities to support her new hive.

Chrysalis had performed her reconnaissance of Canterlot weeks previously, and had smuggled a few of her most trusted changelings in to prepare the abandoned caves under the city for the new hive, before Shining Armor had reinforced his protection spell and made passage across the barrier impossible. There they had worked tirelessly, nourished by the love of a few ponies who had been most swept along by the forthcoming event, and had foolishly been caught alone; Minuette, Lyra and Twinkleshine.

The only reminders of Chrysalis’ short reign of terror were the cocoons. It was just as well their occupants had not found themselves suddenly released, considering the height above the floor where they had been attached, suspended by nothing more than a tough glutinous thread.

Ponies in the castle were quick to muster in the throne room, where the pegasi flew up to see if they could bring down those who were now looking forward to their release more than ever. Even though descended from a fierce warrior tribe, they found they could not break through the deceptively tough threads that held the cocoons stubbornly in place, and after some brief head scratching, word was sent to the kitchen for a chef with the sharpest knife that could be found. The only member of the kitchen staff found by the messenger to be in attendance was a trainee pegasus, unusual in a discipline traditionally dominated by earth ponies and unicorns.

Pomme Frite was most definitely not the typical pony to be serving there in a number of ways. He was large for his age; not fat, but strong. He had always been treated warily by his peers because he looked so intimidating, and in his isolation, gradually became immersed in stories about the Pillars of old Equestria. He had looked forward to his parents reading to him every night and especially relished stories about Rockhoof, whom he tried to model himself after, right down to the braid in his mane. He would have grown a beard too, but was far too young to carry it off successfully; however, he wasn’t one to be deterred by such details, and proudly showed off the few little tufts of hair that sprouted on his chin.

His parents had originally intended for him to follow the family grocery business, and he had embarked on the prospect of shop work with gusto, intimidating every one of the customers from the moment they came in, if not downright scaring them right out of the shop. With takings plummeting, his parents decided that it would be safer to encourage their son towards a profession that limited his contact with the general public, and when an opening was advertised in the castle kitchens, pushed hard for his admission, confirming insistently that cooking had been his life-long passion. It hadn’t been, and that soon became obvious.

Ponies watched him with interest, not so much so that they may learn some marvellous new culinary techniques, but more to see what disaster would befall the hapless young stallion next. In fact, the only reason he was there at all today was to tidy up the remains of a particularly unsuccessful culinary experiment he called ‘spicy egg and ice-cream surprise’ before anypony else could get to see or smell what had happened.

When the messenger stated that a chef with a large knife was required to release the suspended ponies, his ears pricked up and he grabbed a particularly deadly looking cleaver he had named Doris, before racing off along the corridor to the throne room.

Ponies flinched as they saw him coming; whether this was due to the dangerous looking knife he was wielding or the manic gleam in his eye was open to debate, but they certainly all parted to give him space, pressing themselves tightly against the walls just in case his fearsome looking intent would linger on them for more than an uncomfortable fleeting second.

On approaching the main doors to the throne room, he leapt into the air, skimming over the heads of three ponies who were just walking in, offering up a battle cry of “Geronimo!” in his elation. Everypony turned to see the cause of the disturbance, especially the three flower sellers immediately underneath him, who all looked up to see him wielding his cleaver and fainted at the sight, one of them uttering, “The horror, the horror …”

The ponies trapped within their green cocoons looked down apprehensively at the cleaver wielding pegasus with a mixture of wildly conflicted thoughts. Whilst all were looking forward to being released, the fearsome sight of their rescuer led them all to wish that he attend to some other pony first, so if there were to be some unfortunate accident with the knife, then hopefully he would either stop or be overpowered by other pegasi before progressing any further. Hopefully.

Pomme Frite quickly scanned the array of cocoons and aimed for the largest, from within which a pair of lilac coloured eyes peered out from behind a mane of blue, green and purple. She caught sight of the knife and its owner, and decided that it may be prudent to have a few healing spells ready, so warmed her horn up with a soft yellow glow, just in case.

He hovered as close as he could to the cocoon and reached out, hacking into the thread that suspended the Diarch of the Day from the ceiling, while a pair of unicorns below cast a levitation spell to ensure she didn’t accidentally fall to the floor. He was proud of Doris who did her job admirably, and upon severing the cocoon from its resting place, watched happily as Princess Celestia was lowered to the ground to be freed.

While the medics rushed around beneath him seeing to the needs of the injured, he progressed from one gift-wrapped pony to the next, happy that he was being recognised for doing a good job. He also hoped that his good work here would go some way towards offsetting the despair that would inevitably be directed towards him by his colleagues, once they pieced together the clues indelibly welded to the kitchen equipment that bore sorrowful witness to the lingering remains of his ‘spicy egg and ice-cream surprise’.

Twilight meanwhile did not even wait to see if her beloved mentor was alright, but went instead straight to Chief Thunderhooves, where she found a pair of medics working on him.
“Friend of Rainbow Dash” he nodded respectfully, “I see you and your friend were successful.”
“Yes, yes we were, thanks to you and your braves” she replied, casting a look at his bandaged and splinted foreleg, “Are you going to be alright?”
“Those apple pies” he began, totally ignoring the question, “You will uphold our agreement?”
“Of course” she giggled.
“Good” he replied earnestly, “Honour matters.”

7 Repayment

Pomme Frite flew enthusiastically from one cocoon to the next, cutting them down at a speed that ponies on the ground were finding it difficult to keep up with. A rising chorus of panicked pleas began to spill out ever more loudly from those below him, shouting at him to slow down, but the trainee chef remained delightfully oblivious to their increasingly desperate calls. He had been summoned to release the trapped ponies after all, and he was actioning the singularity of that command with an enthusiasm bordering on the obsessive.

He fixed his gaze intently on the next thread holding up an alarmed looking earth pony, who was pushing herself as far away from his fearsome appearance as she could. He paused for the briefest of moments as he visualised Doris, gleaming resplendently, knowing exactly where she was, and then began her swing with his mighty foreleg.

Before he could savour the satisfaction of feeling her finely honed edge make contact and watching another cocoon fall free, he unexpectedly found his foreleg frozen and became aware of a pink aura glowing around it. He made to turn his head and see where the magic was coming from, but found his head was frozen too; in fact, every part of him, even his wings, had been rendered immobile.

Slowly, he saw himself being floated away from the wide-eyed earth pony he was intending to liberate, and brought down gently to one of the few spare spaces on the floor. It was then he noticed how cluttered the floor had become, with cocoons everywhere, most of them being attended by one or two ponies providing reassurance to their occupants, whilst trying to work out how best to release them.

“Thank you, but we can’t get through them as fast as you’re cutting them down …” gasped a unicorn by way of apology, gently setting down the crazed looking trainee chef whilst trying hard not to show how exasperated he had become, “I hope you won’t mind taking a break for a little bit” he panted, “Just to let us catch up … you know?”

Pomme Frite did not offer any response, principally because he was being held in a restraining spell, and his speech had become as frozen as the rest of him. He remained transfixed with his foreleg in mid swing, clasping Doris firmly in his petrified grip, his face contorted in an expression of maniacal determination that would have looked at home on a stereotypical axe murderer.

The Royal Physician, Sir John General, trotted into the throne room and was immediately directed towards the largest cocoon, which was surrounded by a crowd of concerned looking medics. He gestured for them to give him room, and as one they stood back, driven by respect of his reputation.

Sir John knelt by the side of the translucent green membrane and studied it briefly, seeing a lilac eye blink confirming that its occupant was alive and well. That, at least, was a good sign. He made an assessment of the thickness of the husk and reached into his black bag for a large scalpel, carefully calculating a path across its surface that would cause least injury should the sharp blade penetrate too deeply.

He looked over each shoulder, shooting everypony around an assertive glare that demanded no interruptions, and then placed the scalpel onto the surface and pushed it in. Everypony around held their breath, watching expectantly as he made his incision and drew the handle of the blade downwards, the membrane parting to release a strange smelling green fluid that began to spill out.

Sensing the urgency of the situation, he finished his cut as quickly and carefully as he could, while puddles of the foul green fluid poured out and spread across the floor. Working swiftly, he cut away as much of the remaining membrane as he could reach safely and stood back.

Celestia coughed violently and lashed out with all four legs as she chugged up the fluid in her chest, experiencing something akin to drowning. After a few more surges, she made her first laboured gasps and felt the shock of air sting her lungs as she began to breathe once more.

She lay where she was for a minute, her chest heaving with the shock of getting used to the idea of breathing air again. Then, slowly, she began to put her weight tentatively onto her weakened legs and raised herself up shakily, giving the impression of more confidence than she felt. Suddenly, a loud cheer broke the silence, and everypony joined in, adding their voices and stamping their hooves in delight.

“Are you alright, your Majesty?” asked Sir John.
“Why thank you for your concern, my little ponies” she said, surveying the crowd around her, “I can assure you I am quite alright, but it is a bit of a shock to the system suddenly being freed.”

Once satisfied that his Royal patient was as well as she seemed to be, he begged leave from the Princess to convene a group of medics and first responders around him, explaining exactly what he had just done. When he had finished, there were nods all round, and the freshly briefed medical teams set off to free other ponies, Sir John himself making straight for Princess Luna.

Princess Celestia was quick to catch up with groups of ponies and see what she could do to help, although it was just their being able to see her again that raised morale the most. She soon noticed the unusually large form of Chief Thunderhooves and went to see him, finding him being tended to by a very familiar lilac unicorn.

“My faithful student” said Celestia happily, “I knew I could count on you.”
“Princess!” exclaimed Twilight happily prancing to her hooves and giving her mentor the most heartfelt hug, her tightly shut eyes being no defence for holding back the tears of relief running freely down her muzzle.

Twilight checked herself, and unwrapped her forelegs from around the Princess, coughing politely to cover the blush she could feel rising in her cheeks.
“Ahem” she cleared her throat, “Princess Celestia, may I introduce Chief Thunderhooves, leader of the Buffaloes; Chief Thunderhooves, Princess Celestia of Equestria. Chief Thunderhooves and his herd have been instrumental in repelling the invasion and setting you free; in fact, we couldn’t have done it without him.”

“Chief Thunderhooves” acknowledged Celestia, bowing deeply, “I am most grateful to my faithful student for explaining the debt we owe you. I welcome hearing your story and learning how we may show our gratitude.”
“Hmh. We have peace treaty with friends of Rainbow Dash in Appleloosa. We honour our bargain, but ponies leave and do not bring apple pies.”

“Apple pies, you say?” queried Celestia, keeping her expression impassive, “Then on behalf of Sheriff Silverstar and the ponies of Appleloosa, I offer my most sincere apologies and I shall order my kitchens immediately to bake as many as you can eat. Would that be acceptable?”

“You are honourable, friend of Twilight Sparkle” he replied, “But, it may take time for my injuries to heal. Perhaps you will give my herd somewhere to stay?”

“And keep you well provisioned with apple pies while you stay with us?” Celestia added with a warm smile, “Just while you recover?”

“Then our debt is settled” he replied with a smile, “And honour is satisfied.”