//------------------------------//
// Found Out 
// Story: Twilight Sparkle the Dragon 
// by PlutoMilo 
//------------------------------//

Twilight held her head high as she was marched like livestock into the Hall. She caught the shocked look on her mentor’s face before it smoothed out. Her defiant look increased when Celestia raised an eyebrow.
“How may I help you, Captain?” Twilight resisted the urge to bash her face into the nearest window when her brother straightened and puffed his chest importantly.
“Twilight Sparkle was seen pinning down my fiance and growling in her face, in the kitchens, Your Highness,”
“I see. Your reason, my student?”
Shining Armor puffed up like an angry hydra, “With all due respect, Your Highness, there is no reason why she should be doing that in the first place,”
Applejack shuffled nervously near the back of the progression. Celestia lifted a shoe-clad hoof and Shining fell silent, obviously not happy that Twilight could plead her case.
Twilight sighed and yellow flames licked at her jaws. Celestia’s eyes widened slightly. Subtly, Twilight could see Celestia’s yellow aura silently close and lock the doors. A magic circle was raised around the entire Hall to prevent escapes. Breathing a silent puff of relief, Twilight finally began to speak.
“The moment the Princess used her magic, I sensed corruption, decay, sickness. The only being that could use unicorn magic in that kitchen was the Princess. Logically, I tackled her,”
Twilight could tell Celestia bit back a laugh after her last sentence.
“Niece?” Celestia turned her attention to Cadence.
Cadence sniffed angrily, “I don’t know what the dragon is talking about. All I did was accept a pastry from the Head Chef and the next thing I know, the dragon was on top of me. It nearly crushed me and my back is still sore,”
As Cadence talked, explaining in more detail after Celestia asked, Twilight slowly charmed her shackles softer and softer. She couldn’t risk teleporting since the amount of magic required would be so much, even a unicorn filly would be able to feel the tingle.
The last thing she wanted was to overload her own magic senses for a few minutes. It would reduce her magical sensitivity to that of a normal unicorn. That couldn’t do, not at all. Seeing magical auras was her thing and her thing alone.
She shuffled to the side, crowding against Buckler. To his credit, Buckler didn’t outwardly didn’t react, but slowly let the chain he was holding in his hooves slither out of his grip. If it weren’t for her enhanced hearing, she would’ve missed Buckler’s whisper of good luck.
By now, Celestia’s benevolent smile had turned flat. It was a rather frightening look on the alicorn, but Cadence didn’t seem to realize and kept rattling on.
“I believe I’ve heard enough. Thank you, Niece,” Celestia cut the smaller alicorn’s rant off with another raised hoof.
The imposter huffed but sat back down next to Shining. The moment everyone’s attention was back on Celestia, Twilight moved. All the old guards near Buckler had followed his lead and she was only restrained by frail shackles and three guards on one side. 
Two of the three guards hadn’t even known something was happening until they were yanked off their hooves. The lone guard that actually paid attention was dragged along the carpet for their efforts. Her flared wings broke the rest of the restraints and she tackled the imposter again.
“The real Cadence would never complain for that long!” Twilight declared to the silent Hall, holding the struggling pony.
“That is enough, my student,” Celestia said coolly, before addressing the pink alicorn, “You’ve been found out. Show yourself,”
The pony stilled and Twilight nearly recoiled from the amount of hatred that simmered in the pony’s eyes. They were so vengeful, they looked green. Bits of fur and skin began to flake off and crack. 
For months to come, Twilight would have nightmares. The pony’s jaw unhinged so unnaturally that the skin connecting the jaw to the face split and tore. It vaguely sounded like some being was stretching rubber bands until they snapped from the pressure. The flesh underneath turned black and hard, like taffy.
 A long black slimy tongue slithered from inside her mouth as she hissed. Green drool ran down her lips and dripped off her chin. Her flat teeth slowly sharpened and fangs elongated until they looked like a vampire’s.
Her feathers disintegrated as if they were made of sand and thin membrane-like wings shook the rest of the pink bits of feathers off. Then, with very little warning, there was a surge of corrupted magic, and the alicorn set herself on fire.
Twilight barely managed to slam her second lids shut before the heat seared her face. It was uncomfortable, not like normal fire that felt safe and warm when she was in it. This fire felt like she was dunking herself in a pool of oil. It clung and dragged at her scales. It was even the same color as the imposter’s eyes.
From inside the inferno, Twilight watched as fur and flesh burnt away or straight-up softened and oozed like melting ice cream, exposing black boney-looking limbs. Holes littered the hooves like unappealing cheese.
When the fire died, instead of an alicorn, she was now pinning down a bug-like pony that she immediately identified as a changeling. If her memory served her right, she was actually pinning down a changeling queen.
Her mind went blank for a minute, but the first thing out of her mouth was, “Oh, don’t tell me the rest of your hive is hiding around here somewhere. Clean up would be horrible,”
Twilight looked up and eyed all the ponies around the Hall as if they would suddenly reveal themselves.
This particular changeling queen looked quite a bit peakier than the textbooks Twilight studied. Her slitted pupils glowed a blue-green color. The utterly smooth, black texture of the changeling felt odd under claw. A horn that rivaled Celestia’s in length, appeared to look more like a gnarled old tree branch than an actual tool of magic.
Her mane, if it could be called a mane, hung like strands of kelp from her head and smelled somewhat like swamp water. A greenish membrane stretched from the back of the changeling’s neck, wrapped around her abdomen, and went all the way down to the beginnings of her tail.
The queen bared her fangs at Twilight, “You absolute wrench!”
Her voice buzzed and echoed as if more than one being were speaking at once. It made Twilight’s ears shudder and a chill crept up her spine.
“You and your meddling ruined everything!”
“I mean I try,” Twilight said dryly, and then fiercely demanded, “Release my brother. I knew there was something off about him. He’s not usually that mean,”
“Where is the real Princess Cadence?” Celestia boomed from the dais.
The changeling laughed hysterically, “In the crystal caves beneath Canterlot. It was so easy to trick my way into the city. The security is laughable. I will feed very well this fortnight!”
“Or I can crush you like the bug you are!” Twilight hissed into her face, applying more pressure into the squirming changeling, “You’re not in a position to make threats,”
The queen turned her head to gaze at Shining, “My dearest, save me!”
Shining, whose face had been blank, immediately twisted into a snarl and he charged like a bull. He crashed into Twilight’s side, horn first. Up close, Twilight could smell the corrupted mind magic that was affecting her brother. Thankfully her scales protected her and her brother’s horn only glanced off painfully.
Slowly and deliberately, Twilight reached up and grabbed the changeling’s gnarled horn, “Stop or I’ll tear this straight out of your head!”
Seconds later, Shining collapsed to the ground like a dropped sack of flour.
“Too afraid to deal with me yourself Celestia? You’re just going to let your attack dog handle it? Pathetic,” the changeling gloated, still helpless under Twilight.
Twilight raised her head back up to look at Buckler, “Congratulations, you’ve been promoted, Captain Buckler. Rally the guards and prepare for a changeling invasion,”
Buckler froze for a moment and his eyes roamed over to the Princess. When she made no move to order him, he spun on his hooves and barked to the other guards, “Move out!”
When Twilight’s attention was back on the bug-pony, she bared her pitiful fangs and hissed. Twilight considered baring her own fangs and hissing back, but she wasn’t that petty… yet.
"It's odd how a queen would lower herself to a drone's work," Twilight commented, "Do you even care for your hive?"
"They are a means to an end," the queen sneered, "Mindless things they are,"
Twilight chuckled darkly, “A mother who holds no love for their children. You are deplorable. I’m sure one of your drones will fill the role of queen without a fuss and do a much better job than you,”
The changeling’s face went slack with confusion, “What do you mean?”
A smirk was the changeling’s answer.