Standing in front of the bedazzled couple was a familiar pegacorn of pink. There were, however, several painful differences between the two. One, Cadence's right eye was gone, and this left a black hole in her cranium. Her right eye, on the other hoof, looked like that modified cross-eye that the demon from before had. Her wings were now what one could call "stilts". They were hot pink, and looked more like bone extensions that bent and twisted several times over. There was no sign that she would be able to fly with them, however. As Spike looked down at her feet, he noticed that she had claws sticking out, but they looked like hollow ice-skate blades. Two on each hoof. Her tail looked like intertwined brands of a silvery metal, and her cutie mark was no longer a full heart bursting with emotion and love. No. It was a black, shriveled up heart of a fruit that brought pity upon the poor creature in front of oneself. As she smiled, Rarity saw that her mouth had nothing but jagged teeth instead of the molars ponies usually have.The last thing, was her horn. It looked like a short sword with a massive hole in it now.
"And who might you be?"
"Princess Cadence?"
The princess was taken aback.
"Nopony has called me that since the incident...You seem vaguely familiar...that dragon too."
"I'm Rarity and that's Spike!"
Heart Broken's eye widened as it started to fill with tears.
"Blasted demons. They trick my mind with magic and hope to destabilize me here. I will not have it!"
She charged at Rarity and Spike with her bladed horn. The guard didn't have time to react to the sudden actions of his leader. A scream came from Rarity, which was followed by a massively angry roar. The golem punched through the tent and crushed Cadence under its fist, but the fist was thrown away, tossing the golem onto its back. Cadence had her wings spread out. The 'fleshy bits' looked like a dripping purple ooze, making one wonder how she could fly with it.
"Wait! Stop it!" Rarity cried out, but the rage filled Cadence would not have it.
"A beast has entered my domain? I will slay you like the other demons that have taken everything away from."
The princesse's blade-horn erupted with a black aura and struck the golem, blasting a hole straight through it. One moment of pause and quiet, despite the noise of everybody in the camp getting around the fight scene, and the golem grabbed Heart Broken before engulfing her entirely and slamming its other hand into its fist. The golem growled before it began to do something in its fist that made it sound like rumbling rocks and screams. Rarity ran up to it and started to hit the golem's legs. Its eyes had gone from a fiery red to a calm cold blue. Looking at Rarity, it let go of Cadence, allowing her to flop to the ground. The sight was not pretty. Looking at her, Spike and Rarity covered their mouths, yet, no one around seemed to care.
"Oh dear Celestia...that's disgusting." Spike spewed.
"I...I...I couldn't."
Only cracks and snaps resonated as Cadence began to rise back up.
"That is a powerful beast. It almost killed me. It doesn't, however, have the scent of demons, and, you have the scent of both Rarity and Spike."
"GAH!" the duo screamed as they saw the princess no longer in a horrid and mangled state.
One of the griffins stepped forward.
"What do you mean, Broken Heart? Rarity died and Spike became a slave to the Pumpkin Lord."
"What?"
"They...I do not know, but I think I recognize the circle..." Cadence spoke as she leaned closer to the circle on the golem to inspect the runes. She suddenly gasped. "Not possible. This world may yet have a chance. You three, fix this tent while I go to the makeshift hive of the solar changelings.
"Solar?" Spike asked.
"Yes, little Spike. The changelings had to morph themselves to give off sunlight and allow us to grow our crops in the lower floors. They feed us, and we feed them."
"Interesting. Is their hive...icky?" Cadence stopped at this comment and stared at Rarity with a gaping jaw.
"You are not our Rarity come back to life. You also aren't Spike, long since a fully grown dragon. Let us continue into the hive. Your golem should fit.
The entrance to the hive was near a long since destroyed fountain, it's stone structure almost nothing but rubble. In front stood a massive muddy hole which glowed a sickly green. Cadence motioned to the three to wait as she knocked on the ground. Three changelings that were lined with neon green colors came up from the hole and stared at Cadence for a lengthened moment. The green on them shone brightly, and it seemed to line along every one of their muscles, making them almost tribal-like, similar to the rat beasts.
They started to hiss and gitter, before nodding and widening the hole to accommodate the golem. The princess gestured to the three to enter. While Spike walked on the smushy ground without any problems, Rarity was disgusted.
"Ew. It's like saliva mixed with dirt."
"It is saliva mixed with dirt," Cadence mocked. Rarity's mouth stayed open.
"Golem, could you carry me?" The creature nodded and picked her up. "Oh! And he's gentle too."
"Grmblmbl...if I was bigger...mumblegrmbl." Spike complained under his breath.
The interior of the tunnels were just as grotesque as the ground. Long strands of slime dripped from the black walls, and strange mushrooms grew here and there. Changelings were everywhere, but there seemed to be no newborns. The group finally stopped in a room that was quickly sealed off by the changelings outside. This one was clean and bright, and the ground looked like golden clay. Cadence just sat down casually, demonstrating a smile, while scaring Spike with those blade things that had apparently torn themselves out and replaced her hooves.
"So...Rarity...what do you need to know?"
"I--" the unicorn was immediately cut-off by Spike.
"Where's Twilight Sparkle? What happened to you? What did you mean by 'Rarity is dead'? What happened to me? What happened to Equestria? Why are there changelings here? Where's Chrysalis? What were those monsters? What's with this golem? What--"
"That's enough questions I think," Cadence motioned with her bladed skates.
"Apparently, you are not from our world, as I can easily surmise, as for your golem, I will explain later. First things first, those who you knew.
Twilight Sparkle. She was killed during a battle against the Crimson Pioneer in order to secure a route with other refugees. She...overloaded herself with magic, creating a massive explosion as well as a permanent barrier on the route."
"Wh-what about Sweetie Belle?"
Rarity was about to cry. Her sniffling was proof enough.
"Who?"
"Y-you know? My sister! Annoying, but sweet nonetheless."
"You never had a sister here. In fact, you were more stallionesque than any other stallion. You were a fighter who loved to jump in the mud."
"Ewww. How atrocious."
"Not really. You were a veteran, and every battle you went to made others complain that you were taking all the kills."
"Hmph."
"Anyways, Pinkie Pie is in charge of taking care of food reserves. I don't know how yours is, but our Pinkie Pie is a ruthless and deadly serious commander. I wouldn't mess with her for too long."
"It is engraved within my cranium," Spike remarked as he hit his poked his head.
"Good. Rainbow Dash only has one wing left, but a bit of magic has given her a fully viable metal wing in replacement. She isn't too serious though, but she knows how to kick butt."
"At least somepony hasn't changed," Rarity whispered to Spike.
"Next, there's Fluttershy. She trains the beasts of war. If there are animals or beasts to tame or kill, she's the first there."
"I-is she shy?" Rarity gave a false glimmer of hope."
"What? Of course not. She's always the most direct in her decisions and is always the first to open up a conversation."
"Wow. This place is weird."
"Probably for your world."
"And what about Applejack? Surely, she hasn't changed her rustic lifestyle."
"Nope. HE is the lead agricultural expert, along with Big Alison."
"Well...yes. Applejack is a stallion who is very big, mind you, and her sister, Big Allison, is a bit more sized than the average mare, but she is quite adorable when she shies away."
Spike's brain was about to short-circuit.
"As for Queen Chrysalis, she died while trying to protect her hive. The survivors fled here, surprisingly."
"So there will be no more changelings?"
"We learned that, before the death of the queen, even if it isn't natural, she lays a single egg. The changelings brought it here? We called her Cocoon."
"What is she like?"
"Hey? What are you doing in my hive?!"
"She's like that."
A tiny little black changeling with green eyes and a tiny black body had dug through the ground to get into the room. Her hair, unlike Chrysalis', looked like several sharp scales that overlapped each other. They each pointed straight for awhile, until the next set underneath pointed a bit lower. In the end, her hair was pointing forward and gave the impression the little filly had mandibles. She also had the green runes all over her body, but this was apparently natural for her.
"This is MY hive. I didn't say you could come in. Get out!"
Her little voice made Rarity cringe.
"Awww. She looks adorable. Hey there! You are so CUTE! Oh! I can design you a magnificent dress that--"
"Ewww. Not a dress!"
"What? But I--"
Cocoon ran off crying through her hole, leaving Rarity baffled.
"What happened?"
"Don't mind her. She's overly sensitive. It turns out that the hive isn't as cruel as many used to think, so without the previous queen, the queen now won't learn how to be cruel to her subjects."
"I see."
"But what about you, Princess Cadence. Why do you look so SCARY?!" Spike suddenly yelled.
"Ah yes. This is what happens when you drink more than five liters of demon's blood."
The two stuck their tongues out and were about to vomit, but Cadence's laughing confused them.
"Oh no. It's not REAL blood. It is, in fact, a very powerful alcohol that the demons brew for themselves and call ' Nya'ar Viv'a'gck '. We stole the recipe, although the effects of non-demonic entities drinking it leads to what you see here. NOW HOLD ON! Before you panic. The effects are usually temporary, so we make fun of our newly acquired gifts until they disappear."
"Then how come yours hasn't, darling? They look absolutely gruesome."
"That's what happens when you get the powers of a warrior demon. Whenever you drink some demon's blood, you have to hold your head, otherwise you are flung backwards, and it feels like you were punched by a thick, steel wall. When you drink more than five, they become permanent."
"But why did you drink five?"
"I was young and stupid, and Shining armor was being attacked by alcohol demons. They were scary and were carrying plenty of that stuff. I saw what demons did to other ponies when they forced some down their throats, so I drank as much as I could. In the end, I lost an eye to one of their knives, and Shining armor sacrificed himself to save me when I wanted to save him. I took another pouch of the drink and ran for this place. When I became older, and the previous leader died, everypony here elected me to become their new leader. I had good relations with the changelings who took a liking for my new, scarier appearance, and my blood, that has now become demonic, was incredibly powerful.
The barrier around the city? That's me. I barely need to make an effort now. However, the day I became leader, I got this cutie mark." Cadence pointed to the black, broken heart on her flank, then slouched down and seemed to cry silently. "I knew that the day Shining died, I would never find another. I was too weak, and I couldn't protect him from the demons who attacked..."
Rarity put a hoof to Cadence's shoulder.
"It's okay. These sort of things happen. If you want to feel better, in our world, you live happily with Shining armor, and Twilight is your sister-in-law."
Broken Heart wiped a tear and smiled at Rarity.
"At least she is happy. Not having to deal with...with these demonic gifts."
"Hey. I'm a dragon. Even if you weren't born with those, you learn to get used to them. They're a part of you now, so rejecting your new appearance is rejecting yourself and everything that you stand for."
Both ponies stared at the little dragon.
"That's surprisingly well said, Spike."
"Thanks, Rarity."
"As for the what is going on, where THIS world's Spike is, and what that golem means and why it is only obeying you, Rarity, there is much to say, so get comfortable. You good? Okay. Well then. Those--"