//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: "The Darkest Power: Part 1" ("The Crate Escape") // Story: The Elements of Harmony // by MarcellusMiro66 //------------------------------// The Next Day. . . The day was perfect. The Pegasi made sure that the clouds were miniature and were offered shade to those who needed or wanted it; they even took the time to form them into the shapes of hearts, roses, and diamonds. The castle gardens had been tended by the best Earth ponies in all of Equestria and it seemed, as one trotted about, as if every ecosystem within the country was depicted in such an elegant manner. Magic was in the air. Anticipation was in the air. And, most importantly, love was in the air, as Earth ponies, Pegasi, and even the most haughty of unicorns had a smile of genuine happiness on their face as they made their way into the castle until it was fully packed, leaving any late arrivals to stray behind outside. The 5 Elements of Harmony could only look about in wonder and pride; yes, even Rainbow Dash was utterly impressed by how the throne room had been sufficiently transformed into a ceremonial wedding hall. They did it. Not only had they pulled off the biggest wedding in Equestria without a hitch...but also destroyed the biggest friendship they had formed with the former Best Mare. Of course, they were all too excited to even notice her disappearance. Fluttershy’s birds jovially sang the wedding march as the fiancée walked towards the fiancé, producing Rarity’s wedding gown seem like her finest accomplishment. Everypony looked upon the princess of love and felt their heart beat a bit faster, their smiles growing even wider than the last. Shining Armor's own hinted a shade of nervousness, but most shrugged it off as nothing short of a case of wedding jitters. Other than that... The day was perfect. Almost perfect. Cadance took her spot next to her husband-to-be and smiled, radiating joy and love. However, her lips quivered in a slight smirk as Princess Celestia began the ceremony: "Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor." The four mares ran to and hid behind one of the many buildings in Canterlot that were close to the castle. In this case, it was Joe's Donut Shop. During this time, Twilight and Sunset filled into the details for Starlight and Trixie, who later shared any missing details for the two. "So you think this Cadance is leading the invasion on Canterlot, which will eventually spread to all of Equestria?" Trixie questioned. "Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie will not let this occur!" "Well, the Cadance imposter," Sunset corrected her, "But yes, the invasion will actively spread throughout Equestria, with Canterlot acting as Ground Zero." "That sounds awfully...harsh." Starlight had trouble deciding on a word to describe the sticky situation they were found in and subsequently chastised herself mentally for the word choice. Good job, Starlight... Hello, everypony welcome to "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" The four mares continued to head to the castle, not minding the black mass trying to break through the force shield...and the even bigger black mass forming on the horizon. Complicating matters was a young Earth pony who was working at Joe's Donut Shop. She had a brilliant gamboge coat, a pale yellow/pale light grayish amber mane, and a pair of eyes with the color of light brilliant azure. Ground Zero? Invasion? The Cadance imposter? Dropping everything she was working on up to that point (not really, she orderly placed all breakable objects on the counter) and grabbing her glasses, she ran out of the shop and after those four mares. Little did she know... "Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you – " "Stop!" Everypony in the wedding hall turned to the entrance double doors, shocked to find a rugged and tattered Cadance wearing an angry scowl on her face. The Cadance atop the wedding altar formed one of her own after getting a better look at her wedding crasher. "What?! But how did you escape my bridesmaids?!" "Let's just say bridesmaids are suckers for flowers." Cadance marched forward, daring to be starting something. The Cadance imposter tilted her head, impressed with this piece of work. "Hmph. Clever. But you're still too late." "I couldn't care less. What did you do with Twilight?" "The same thing that happened to you, weakling." Everypony watched as the confrontation unfolded and got uglier with every verbal beatdown thrown from both directions. Of course, there had to be a tension snapper. "I-I don't understand. How can there be two of 'em?" This was Applejack's question, a question that was shared with many after she stated the obvious. Cadance elaborated with her following answer whilst standing her ground. "She's a Changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them." From there, everything went to Tartarus. The Cadance imposter smirked a devilish smirk, a circle of green hellfire surrounding and subsequently engulfing her in the process. The crowd began to scream as the green flames ignited the love princess' skin. Looks of fear and shock (Princess Celestia and the Mane 6 in particular ready to die of fright) filled the ponies' facial expression. The magic soon subsided, revealing the blackened form of a female Changeling with a pony's structure, a unicorn's horn, an insect's wings...and an evil laugh enough to rival Maleficent herself. Of course, what ultimately unnerved them the most were the ghastly matzo-ball holes that pierced through her legs and hooves. "Right you are, Princess. And as Queen of the Changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered. My fellow Changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of! " A furious Cadance could only shake her head in definite defiance. "They'll never get the chance! Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!" "Oh, I doubt that. Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you. Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at it." Indeed, the large black mass above the castle's force field was the group of the Queen's Changelings attempting to break through...the key word being "attempting". However, they've been doing this since last night; as a result from their all-out assault, the shield was actually breaking. A terrified Princess Celestia was stunned that she was unable to detect them during this time, immediately coming to terms with her mistake. Oh, Twilight... I'm... "It's funny, isn't it? Twilight Sparkle was suspicious of my behavior all along, yet the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding planning to realize those suspicions were correct! What a shame!" The Queen's voice wasn't a loud and booming declaim as it was before, but rather a quiet and subtle sneer of cockiness. One that snapped Shining Armor out of his fantasy and into the reality. "Wha–where... huh? Is...is the wedding over?" "Yes, darling. It's all over!" Shining Armor blinked in confusion before turning to his right and glancing up. His mouth became agape with horror at the creature that stood before him, taking the place of his beloved bride-to-be. "Who–who are you?!" "Shining Armor." The stallion in question turned to Cadance, the real Cadance, who wore an expression of uncertain shock on her face. She was still fully comprehending and contemplating the words spoken by the Changeling Queen a moment earlier. "Was it true?" "... Is what true?" "Twilight. She was right about...her. Is this true?" Twilight...? Oh, no. I forgot all about her. I still need to apologize after what happened... What happened? "Twilight. Cadance, Twilight is missing. We need to – " "You're not answering my question, Shining Armor. Is...this...true?" Shining Armor knew almost immediately that, judging by Cadance's serious expression and tone, he wasn't going to weasel out of this particular argument. He just never knew that his answer would be so blunt. "Yes." Before anything else could be made out of it, a loud boom echoed all over the city, drawing everyone's attention. Outside, the four mares (plus the unknown fifth) stopped dead in their tracks, mere feet away from the castle. They glanced up and gasped in horror at the sight before them: a pitch black storm cloud engulfing the blue skies of Canterlot and, from it, a large airship emerged and landed near the wedding grounds...right behind them. They scrambled to find a hiding place just as the wedding guests rushed outside to witness the commotion. Yes, even the Changeling Queen trailed behind, but only to know who besides Cadance had the nerve to hinder her attempts at enslaving all of Equestria. The entrance opened up and out walked a pug-faced hedgehog carrying a box of some sorts. He had a dark grayish cobalt blue coat, a light sapphire bluish grey/cornflower bluish grey mane, and brilliant opal eyes. When he placed down the box, it transformed into a megaphone system. Turning it on, he cleared his throat and made the following announcement clear-cut as possible: "Ponies of Equestria, we come on behalf of the fearsome, the powerful, the almighty... Storm King!" Everypony gasped and murmured in intrigue; the three Princesses, the Mane 5, Shining Armor, and even the Changeling Queen exchanging uncertain glances among each other. From the pillars they took cover behind, the four mares did the exact same thing. From a distance, three other mares watched the commotion commence; Lightning Dust, Apple Cobbler (from Joe's Donut Shop), and a very enthusiastic Photo Finish. She repeatedly took photos of the airship and thought to herself: Ooh! I wonder if there were more of them! Be careful what you wish for... "And now, to deliver the evil, evil message...put your hooves together for Commander Tempest!" The hedgehog finished his announcement as he pointed towards the entrance. There emerged a stoic unicorn with a dark orchid coat, a moderate rose/light-streaked mane, and moderate opal eyes. She donned a black bodysuit with built-in armor and armored shoes over her shoes, while her most distinct physical traits were a scratch on her right eye and... Her horn... It's... "Is that a...unicorn?" Starlight tilted her head in confusion. "Trixie thinks so," Trixie mimicked Starlight, "but what happened to her horn?" The three Princesses flew front and center (even Cadance, who was more than ready to pass out from exhaustion for obvious reasons). It was Celestia who took the first step. "Tempest, was it? How may we help you?" The unicorn named Tempest chuckled, amused that somepony actually bothered to remember her name besides the poor unfortunate excuse of a henchman that was the hedgehog named Grubber. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked. How about we start with your complete and total surrender?" Being obsessed with power and conquest at the moment, this did not settle well with the Changeling Queen, who marched forward after being requested this offer. Of course, she made the self-conscious decision of stopping a little too close to Tempest. "Surrender? Who do you think you are? Why, I would never – " This was her first and only mistake. In spite of her horn being broken, Tempest's was somehow perfectly capable of projecting magic. Case in point... ZZZAAAPPP! The once great and powerful Changeling Queen had now been reduced to nothing short of a stuttering, smoking mess. Oh, how the mighty have fallen... Tempest scoffed at her downed opponent, whom she walked past and continued to deliver her "evil, evil" message. Noticing all three pieces of the puzzle were in the palm of her hooves. "Oh, goody. All three princesses here together. Here's the deal, ladies. I need your magic. Give it up nicely, please, or we make it difficult! For everyone!" "And why should we cower before you? There's one of you and hundreds of us!" Luna did have a valid point there. The Royal Guard immediately readied their weapons just as Princesses Celestia and Cadance along with the others (specifically the Mane 5 and Shining Armor) took a battle stance. Tempest was, to their surprise and her own, actually impressed by the bravery demonstrated...for the most part. Of course, it was called "tempting fate" for a reason. "Heh. I was hoping you'd choose...difficult." At that moment, several more airships emerged from the storm cloud. From them, a slew of colossal creatures came crashing down from the sky...and the siege began. The Storm Guards ran amok in Canterlot, snatching up any runaway ponies who attempted to scramble to safety. The Changelings managed to break through the force field and dive-bomb the city, joining them in their uprising...not that they needed or wanted to. The Mane 5 themselves fought dark, daring to defend the city from its attack while they watched Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance do the same thing. Roundhouse kicking the enemy creatures and landing powerful blows to complement their graceful fighting style, Photo Finish couldn't help but take more pictures of the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony kicking ass and taking names. Wait a minute... Weren't there six? Where is – "Watch out!" The pompous Earth pony was tackled out of the line of fire by another Earth pony, one who was more concerned for the safety of others rather than her own. Much like herself, but except she didn't care for anyone's safety...not even her own. Photo Finish herself got a better look of her "savior" once she helped her up. Grimacing at her appearance, she scoffed at the very thought of her being the one who saved her. "And just what do you think you're doing?" "You're welcome, Photo Finish. Be lucky you weren't burnt to a crisp." "... You know me?" "Let's just your reputation precedes you." Apple Cobbler realized where they were and quickly added, "This isn't a good place to get acquainted." "Finally, something we can both agree on." Photo Finish and Apple Cobbler retreated to safety just as Twilight, Sunset, Starlight, and Trixie decided to fight back. The four mares charged head first into the slowly building fog of dust, a direct result of the ensuing battle. Twilight and Starlight used their horns to blast any incoming Changeling, while Trixie (with some help with the talisman around her neck) delivered powerful punches to the Storm Guards. This, despite the fact it increased her metabolism and only undermined her ability to actually fight, worked to her advantage. Sunset, on the other hoof, was only in this world for such a short amount of time and no idea how to use her horn...let alone use magic in general. However, she was quite in depth at the fighting styles of Taekwondo, Krav Maga, and Boxing in her own world, taking up martial arts at a young age. Placing her skills to use of great effect, this made up for her lack of any magical abilities she had in the best way possible. Commander Tempest slowly marched forward with a stoic frown once again taking center stage, looking eerily calm as possible. Reaching for a sparking obsidian orb, she broke into a sprint and roundhouse-kicked it at the first pony her eyes focused on. A scream rang out, causing the nine mares on the battlefield to cease their fighting and gasp in horror. Cadance...?! "Cadance!" Princess Celestia screamed. "I...can't...stop it!" Were Cadance's last words until she was entirely petrified in stone. Horrified beyond the words, Celestia turned to Luna, who shared her sister's frightened expression. "Luna, head south! To the Badlands!" Celestia ordered Luna to do this, not noticing Tempest leaping and sliding her way through to petrify the last of her two targets. "Seek help from the Queen of the Hippo – !" Unfortunately, Celestia couldn't get the last word in any faster, as she was unceremoniously bombed by an obsidian orb thrown by Tempest, prompting out of her a shout of surprise before she was completely encased in stone like her niece. Luna blasted a few guards away before taking to the skies and heeding her sister's warning, but she too was struck by the orb and turned into stone as well...but didn't smash into pieces upon impact with the ground as she was expected to, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle. "Luna!" Sunset heard Twilight's cry for Luna and rushed over to help lower her down to safety. Even if she held a personal grudge against Princess Celestia, she couldn't just let her sister shatter. No good deed goes unpunished, however, when Tempest smirked and chuckled at this useless display of sentimentality, proceeding to hurl another orb at them. The duo noticed this too little too late, their mouths agape with terror as they braced for the painful sensation...but it never came. "TWILIGHT!" Both ponies were thrown back by the sudden force, the wind knocked out of them. When the dust cleared, Twilight gasped in horror as the identity of the sacrificial lamb was revealed. "Ditzy..." "Come on, y'all! This way!" "You don't want to die, right?" Twilight and Sunset turned to find Apple Cobbler and Photo Finish beckoning them both over. Sparing one more glance at the fossilized Ditzy Doo, Twilight helped Sunset up and both retreated from the battlefield; Starlight and Trixie were not far behind when they joined them. "So what's the plan?" Trixie suddenly asked. "The plan?" Starlight turned to her. "What, nobody has a plan?" "Hey, in all fairness, all the three princesses are trapped in stone. The only thing we can possibly do at the moment is run as fast as possible! Maybe then – !" The six mares screeched to a stop when they were cornered at all sides, front and back. Seeing that the group was stuck in a standstill on a marble bridge that was secretly crumbling apart, any chance of an escape and/or fight would end very poorly. However, the group (sans Trixie and Photo Finish) was willing to take that chance. Readying their respective weapons and themselves for a quick skirmish, Apple Cobbler saw movement from the corner of her left eye and turned to see what it was. A series of crates containing apples (presumably her cousin's) falling straight into a waterfall that led straight down gave her an idea. "Miss Twilight! Blow up the bridge!" "WHAT?!" The six mares shot her a terrified look, but Trixie and Photo Finish were the only ones to voice it. "Are you insane?! You'll kill us!" "Maybe..." Sunset began to see the chances of surviving the ensuing bridge explosion would be slim, "but we can hope it doesn't. Twilight...do it." Twilight shot Sunset the same look of terror as the others. A tidal wave of reluctance washed over her, but she mustered the strength needed to conjure up the magic in her horn. When the Storm Guards realized what she was doing, it was too little too late. BOOM! The bridge exploded into a thousand pieces and all the occupants fell down into the river below. Five of the six ponies resurfaced and spotted Apple Cobbler climbing into one of the many crates of apples. Realizing what she was doing, Twilight helped the others into the wooden boxes just as Sunset helped her inside hers. It was only then that she noticed the waterfall approaching fast. "Everybody, hold on!" Aside from the roaring water, the only things heard were the sounds of terrified screams as the crates plummeted into the watery abyss below. And then the silence settled in.