The Threat of Change

Luna had been wandering around the castle for a good few hours before she finally found the purple unicorn who had taken off in a flash. She had searched in the library, Twilight's quarters, the Throne room, the garden -she even walked past the horrified statue of Discord and contemplated asking the draconequus where she was, until she realised how stupid that would be and pressed on. She wasn't in Celestia's chambers - but that was no surprise - she wasn't in the kitchens and the guards near the palace exits reported saying they hadn't seen her. That only meant she either teleported out of the castle or was still here and the former didn't seem so likely.

But the princess did find her. Just not in the place she had expected.

"Your Highness... You have a guest..."

"Oh? Who is it?" Luna looked at the guard curiously. Who would want to visit me at this time of day? Had I not been searching for her, I'd be resting...

"Twilight Sparkle wanted to see you. She's inside... said something about it being important and if I recall correctly you had asked us to permit her entry if she came about," the guard said, his golden eyes never moving from her as he addressed the princess. Luna frowned slightly and nodded towards them as the guard's magic surrounded and opened the ebony wood doors revealing nothing but darkness. In the unnatural dark created by Luna's magic, it was almost impossible to make out shapes beyond the light filtering in from the hallway. Expect Luna, like her night guard, possessed a unique pair of eyes that allowed sight to be as clear in the night as it was in the day. She carefully stepped into the room, closing the doors behind her and sealing herself in the dark. An odd noise sounded from somewhere in front of her and she froze until it repeated and she relaxed, an amused smile on her face as she moved towards the source and found it coming from what appeared to be a very sleepy unicorn. Twilight was curled into a ball beside the bed, her fringe blowing slightly as the little pony quietly snored.

A content smile found its way onto Luna's muzzle as she watched the unicorn sleep and before long her majestic horn was surrounded by a dark blue magic that flowed over Twilight and slowly levitated her into the air. Carefully the sleeping unicorn drifted into the air and over the bed, a cover glowing in blue magic shifted aside, the moon pattern at it's center crinkling. Luna lowered Twilight onto the soft bed and climbed in herself. Laying her head on her pillow she rolled over to face the young pony and found her trying to hug the corner of her pillow. Magically the princess drifted the blankets over them and let her mind wander. Surely Twilight would panic when she woke later that day in the princess's bed but Luna couldn't bring herself to wake the poor pony and send her off. Not right now - she should have refused Twilight when she asked to see Celestia. The new fear growing in the mare was a direct result of her foolishness and right now she needed someone to feel safe around.

Celestia had gifted her sister with the ability to raise and lower the sun days ago and had since, slowly began to lose herself, frequently being abused by Chrysalis or simply turning rabid like when she had attacked Twilight (and Luna at a separate time), despite the fact that was still under the changeling queen's influence. Twilight was her only hope - if the Element of Magic and personal student of Princess Celestia couldn't find a cure she was doomed. For both those reasons, and many more, Luna would protect her.

She had to and as her eye lids sealed and she slowly drifted to sleep she knew Twilight would need it. For when the time came that Chrysalis launched her assault and her sister fell to darkness, Twilight had to find the cure. For all their sake's.

~~~~~

"Luna? Luna!?"

Twilight ran across the hallway, calling the moon princess's name out, over an over. The palace was dark, candles lay extinguished and discarded on the floor and the decorative flags that sported the cutie mark of the sun goddess and the emblem of her guard hung all around her, torn, ragged and in some places even burnt. She continued running, light dancing up and down on the tip of her horn as her hooves carried her over torn carpet, cracked marble and abandoned armour and weapons, all barely visible in the dark of the halls.

"Luna?! Luna where are-" Twilight was cut short as she tripped on something and fell to the floor, slamming her chin on the cold, hard marble. Lifting herself up she rubbed her jaw and winced as she looked back at what tripped her. It amazed her how she missed it, but miss it she did and as she stepped closer to examine it, she nearly vomited. Laying across the hallway was the bloodied and dis-formed body of a royal guard. His forelegs had been crushed and a ghastly hole ripped from one side of his neck all the way through to the other like someone had speared him through the throat. The worst and most horrifying part however was his body. The golden armour, stained by a tremendous amount of blood, had been blasted apart and pulled away to reveal the body underneath - at least, of what was left. Where the white fur of the guard had been was now replaced by a bloody and gruesome sight, rib bones pulled apart allowing access to the soft tissue underneath and the precious organs that had since been torn away, mangled or ripped apart. Muscles had been severed apart and bits of his spine visible. The contents of his stomach - which had clearly been violently removed - mixed with the deep red blood that had spread across the floor in a pool of red.

Twilight gagged and reeled back to take off again when she noticed crimson on her hooves. Hesitating for a mere moment she raced off, her wet hooves leaving red hoofprints as she raced down the corridor.

"Luna!!!," Twilight cried, now shifting into full-blown panic. The princess was around here somewhere - she had to be. Where else would she- *Of course! The dungeons!!!*

Racing down to the lower levels of the castle she came across more gruesome sights, some times only the armour and a bloody mess remained, bits of tissue or meat the only remnants of a once-living guard. By this point her lower legs were sprayed with blood that was not her own. Avoiding the mess was impossible and for some reason she was incapable of teleporting around it.

She blasted the doors opened, the two guards who were posted at it's entrance, hung to the wall by black spear-like shards in their shoulders or chest. The second set of doors were already opened and she bolted down to where Captain Nightfall was, only to find his lifeless body hanging upside down by the roof. From his front it appeared he had died peacefully expect for the pool of red below him and as Twilight moved around him she regretted looking back. His wings had been ripped off, red staining most of his mane, his head, back and forelegs. The distinct claw marks on his shoulders led her to believe that something had viciously clawed at his back until it dug down to bone. She quickly turned around again and continued down the stairs.

They had all died very recently. And brutally.

She heard shouts as she stood behind the door sealing off the lower chamber Celestia was held in. Cautiously she stepped towards it and was about to open it when a shout that was cut short sounded from in front of her as the door slammed open itself and something black, red and blue bowled into her, accompanied by a green light. She would have screamed had the object not knocked the air from her lungs  as she tumbled backwards, finally coming to rest on her back. She blinked and looked at the black mess on top of her - it was Fire Storm, but he wasn't moving. A large gap formed on his helmet like a sharp object had tore through it, beginning above his right eye and dragging all the way down across the middle and splitting the lower of the left side apart. Blood dripped down from his face and onto her mane and fur. Strangely she felt it on her chest as well and rolled the commander off and onto the floor, fearing she had somehow been injured as well. Relief washed over her as she felt her chest and realised the blood wasn't hers but that escalated back to horror as she looked down at the night guard. Two huge gashes ripped across his chest and more of the bright red liquid seeped out of the great wounds and began pooling below his body. His chest also bore a large burn mark that seemed to have actually melted and burned away the skin and flesh on his chest. He likely died instantly.

"T-Twilight! Get out of here!"

Twilight snapped back to attention and whirled around to see Luna trapped on the other end of the hall way, magical chains and glass-like goo imprisoning her on the wall. Her wing was badly injured, sticking out at what should be an impossible angle and while her right wing flapped and moved trying to escape the chains, the injured wing hung uselessly at her side. A large burn had scorched fur on her injured-wings side and cuts and other smaller wounds criss-crossed her body. An alien hiss sounded from nearby, followed by a shriek, a crack and a bright flash.

"No!"

Something flashed behind the purple mare but before she could turn an object landed on her back and with a startled cry, she found herself forcefully pushed to the ground. Looking sideways she could see the black, hole-filled leg of a monster standing beside her body. Of a Changeling.

"Twilight Sparkle, how nice to see you again, do you remember me?" a voice said from above her, although it sounded like two ponies were speaking at the same time with very similar voices. Immediately she knew who the voice belonged to.

"Chrysalis?!"

"Ah! So you do remember me!"

The hoof in her back eased off slightly but still held her firmly in place as the changeling queen chuckled, clearly amused at the chain of events taking place.

"Of course I remember you. You are a monster - you sabotaged my brother's wedding - imprisoned and impersonated my old foal sitter, attacked my mentor and Princess of Equestria, not to mention tried to take over it, *and** tried to kill us al-"*

Twilight was cut off as Chrysalis shoved her hoof into her back, and now pressing into the bandages that wrapped her still-healing shoulder. The unicorn let out a painful cry.

"Kill? Why my dear Twilight, killing you was the last thing we wanted to do," Chrysalis said, surprise entering her voice and then quickly leaving and being replaced by a much more sinister tone, "the last thing we do after we devour your essence... of course."

"P-Princess Celestia.. will.. w-will defeat you," Twilight said, her breathing coming in ragged, short gasps as the changeling queen held her, magic leaking out of the ground and creating black twisted chains that surrounded Twilight's legs and neck, tightening. Chrysalis's laugh was terrifying but Twilight noticed her voice was slowly changing and an emerald flame flowed from hoof to horn. The queen rolled the purple mare over, the magical chains loosening by her will and then pulling tight again to hold the unicorn firm on her back and as the magic began tightening around her neck with no way of stopping it, all Twilight could do was stare up at her with shocked eyes. Now getting a good look at her, the black changeling was covered in blood - changelings didn't bleed, it wasn't hers. However Twilight's eyes locked onto the three key features that changed everything. Golden horseshoes, jewelry and a crown. It wasn't Chrysalis who had killed those guards, attacked Luna or rampaged through the castle halls. The changeling lowered her head and with her muzzle mere milimetres from Twilight's ear she whispered, "I *am** Celestia."*

~~~~~

Twilight awoke screaming, sitting up straight, eyes wide in panic, ears flat and her fur damp with sweat.

"Twilight? Is everything okay? What's wrong?"

The voice made her jumped and she turned to face the night princess who was beginning to sit up but unable to see her in the dark. Tears began forming and as the lunar princess began to understand what had happened she wrapped her hooves around the purple pony and pulled her into a comforting embrace, all the while careful not to press on her bandaged injuries. Twilight cried into Luna's fur as the princess cooed her with her soft voice and gentle strokes of her mane. Although the herald of dreams, some still entered the minds of ponies by natural magic and this was no different.  Light entered the room suddenly as the door to the hallway opened and a guard popped his head inside.

"Is everything okay Princess Luna? We heard somepony scream and..."

Luna nodded as the guard rested his eyes on the two, Twilight's sobbing easing but her face was hidden by her mane.

"I believe everything is okay. Thank you," Luna said in a hushed voice, dismissing the guard as he stepped back out. Twilight had pulled back and was rubbing her eyes with a hoof when Luna wrapped her wing around the crying pony and allowed Twilight to lean back against her shoulder, the side of twilight's muzzle resting on the night princess's chest. Magic flowed to the tip of her horn as a faint light dazzled on Luna's horn, bringing a cool blue light to the area.

"Is everything okay, Twilight? Take your time... talk to me only when you are ready," Luna asked, understanding that Twilight would talk when she was ready and until then, she couldn't force it out. Under normal circumstances Twilight would have freaked when she woke and found herself sleeping next to Luna, however the trauma from the dream was enough to reduce those thoughts to ashes. Simply having a pony there that would comfort and support her was all that crossed her mind aside from the dream itself, regardless of the fact that pony was the co-ruler of Equestria and a Guardian. She probably should have felt ashamed, but fear was all she felt. It was a few minutes before either spoke again but it felt much longer.

"It was... Chrys... Chrysalis.. she... b-but it.. the guard... N-Nightfall.... Fire Storm.... she killed them all," Twilight said, her sobbing breaking sentences into fragments but still understandable to the princess.

"Then... I saw... you were.... h-hurt and she went after me... a-and... it felt... it felt so real.... but... it wasn't Chrysalis... it was... it was...," Twilight covered her face with her hooves, burrowing her muzzle further into Luna's chest.

"It was only a dream... nothing more. Dreams can not hurt you...," Luna said, lowering her face to rest her chin on Twilight's head, purple mane brushing over her muzzle, "and I will protect you from anything that may happen."

"I-I'm scared Luna...."

Luna sighed quietly and pulled the mare closer, "So am I."

~~~~~

"She scares me sometimes... you know that?"

The area was dark, trees and plants only visible as silhouettes against surfaces that reflected the moon's light. Said trees and plants were gnarled and wild, overgrowing and twisting in every direction. Every now and then a horrible cry or roar could be heard somewhere in the distance, the sounds of the dreaded predators that lurked in the Everfree Forest. Two black figures trotted down a winding path, beginning to wear by the creatures who had recently begun using it.

"Shut it Stem."

"I'm just saying! Have you even seen her when she's doing that?... it's really creepy."

"Stem. Really. Keep your mouth shut, if Her Highness overhears you talking like that she'll rip your wings off!"

The Changeling Guard shivered, involuntarily twitching his wings as he glanced back at them and then at his partner. His partner gave 'Stem' a hard glare and returned to walking.

"Still... it's not natural. Really - talking to her enemies through Celestia. Brilliant plan I have to admit, but.... have you seen her eyes?"

"Just stop thinking about it. We have something for her anyway..."

"Hopefully she will be pleased..."

"For your sake."

"My sake? I was the one who caught the damned thing! Do you see this?" Stem pointed at a burnt patch of armour and hardened scale that had chipped and cracked, pulling off his helmet and revealing gnarled, burnt black skin and what remained of his left ear and frill, "do you have any idea how much unicorn magic hurts?!"

"What are you? A Changeling or a foal?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're pathetic," the second changeling muttered, shoving an accusatory hoof in Stem's direction.

"I don't see you catching any ponies - let alone fully-grown UNICORNS."

Stem growled at his partner who simply smiled back and turned to the unconscious unicorn the changeling was carrying. The white on her neck was stained with red and a large gash on her head resulting in a slow trickle of blood down her face were the end result of the reason she was unconscious.

"Who do you reckon this is, anyway?"

"Who cares?

Stem placed his helmet back on his head and began walking again.

"Don't you think someone's gonna come looking for her? She looks rather important..."

"By the time anyone in Ponyville realises she is gone, it'll be too late. Besides - nopony is gonna follow someone into the caverns. Now can we hurry up and get back?"

"Why, you chicken? Afraid of the dark?"

"No - I am just aware there are very dangerous things in the Everfree and Chrysalis is making us go out further and further to hunt."

"Alright alright, I'm starving anyway and this unicorn is looking better and better every minute that goes by."

"Ha! You wouldn't dare waste all your effort and return to the Queen both injured and empty-hoofed. Why, do you remember what happened when Pide returned, wings torn apart and nothing but a few scraps of pink mane to show for it?"

"Yeah, but Pide's an idiot - even I know not to mess with that one."

The two continued walking, their conversation fading away into a blur of echoes as they descended into a cave lit by neon green bulbs growing among unnatural jagged black crystal and rock.

Little did the two know, they were being tailed, but it wasn't a pony following them. It was a very angry little dragon.

"Nopony will follow you," the dragon said as he followed them into the caves, "but I'm no pony."