A/N: Before any of you start reading, I'd like to say a couple of things.
This story is a sequel to my last fan fic, "A New Friend". If you have not read it yet, then it probably would be a good idea to go back and read it before continuing on this story. Although, this prologue takes place before my last story, so it'd be okay to read just this chapter first.
For those of you who have read "A New Friend", then you're good to go. The story will begin with this prologue, which takes place before the wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.
I figured that I should give the story of what had happened before, so you guys could gain a better understanding of where Princess Naractia is coming from. Anyways, let us begin!
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On the top of one of the Equestrian mountains, Princess Naractia stood beside her mother, Queen Chrysalis. They both looked down from where they stood at the large city below them. The ponies that lived in Equestria called the city Canterlot, the capital of their land and home to their leaders, the royal alicorn sisters. However, all of this meant nothing to the royals of the changeling hive.
Naractia squinted her eyes at the city in distance. Below, she could see the ponies roaming the streets below, care-free and oblivious to the world around them. Their life-styles sickened the changeling princess to the core. If any changeling in the swarm wanted live like these pathetic ponies, they would be considered weak and be eaten alive by the other drones. There was no room for any weakness within the hive.
However, the ponies in Canterlot would be doing other things, aside from the meaningless lives they led. The changeling spies that Chrysalis had sent throughout Equestria had gathered information saying that a wedding was to be held in the royal palace. The niece of the alicorn princesses, Princess Cadence, who also was an alicorn, was to be married to the captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, Shining Armor.
Chrysalis had found this as the perfect opportunity to strike. And now, after careful days of investigating, the changeling swarm was ready to begin their plans.
But as Naractia looked down on Canterlot, she took note of the hundreds of soldiers that were spread throughout the city. From the look of things, they would be ready for any attack on the city. Naractia continued to observe the ponies below, speaking over towards her mother, "Are you sure that we should attack this city? There are others all across Equestria, less fortified than Canterlot."
Chrysalis nodded, "Yes, Naractia. We will start our invasion here. Once we take Canterlot and defeat these ponies' beloved princesses, it will be all too easy to take the rest of the Equestria."
Out of the corner of her eye, Naractia saw green wisps of fire suddenly consume Chrysalis. Once the flames had subsided, a brown, earth pony mare stood where her mother had been before.
Chrysalis, in her disguise, turned to her daughter, "Come, Naractia. It's time for our plans to be put into action."
Naractia focused on her body as green flames erupted around her as well. When the fire disappeared, she looked like a yellow mare with a green mane. With her change complete, Naractia nodded, "Yes, mother."
The two changelings galloped down to Canterlot, readying themselves for the events that would unfold.
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Chrysalis and Naractia reached the front gate of Canterlot within a few minutes. There were only two soldiers posted at the gate, and Naractia knew she could take them out with ease. However, they weren't here to fight. Their main task was to send fear into the city.
Chrysalis approached the soldiers with a smirk on her face, with Naractia staying slightly behind her. The soldiers took notice of the strangers, but stood their ground at the gate.
Chrysalis stopped in front of the guards, "Will you allow my daughter and I to enter into the city?"
"Do you have any identification?" One of the soldiers questioned.
Chrysalis chuckled at him, "But I don't believe that I need any." She began to walk through the gate, but was quickly stopped as the two soldiers barred the way with their spears.
"Sorry. No identification, no entry."
Chrysalis felt a wide grin begin to grow on her face. This was exactly what she'd been hoping for. This was the perfect opportunity to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who was watching.
Suddenly, Chrysalis burst into green flames, not changing, but simply making an illusion. But illusion or not, the guards were caught off guard (No pun intended) and fell backwards from the flaming mare. Everypony in town that could see the gate was now staring at the massive column of green fire, fear evident on their faces.
With everypony watching, the flames shrunk down in size, but did not completely die. Now the changeling queen had the appearance of light green mare, with a mane made of green flames. Her eyes glowed with an unearthly green, and they seemed to burn as they looked at the two guards of the gate.
Chrysalis sneered at the frightened soldiers, "Must I make it clear? I don't need identification." She laughed evilly at their expressions, as they were conflicted between fear and awe, "Fortunately for you, I don't plan on entering the city yet. I'll be back to claim your pathetic kingdom, and I won't be alone next time."
The changeling queen raised her voice for all to hear, "Let this be a warning to all of you pathetic weaklings. Canterlot will fall, and your precious land of Equestria will be destroyed, and all of this will be done by my army."
Chrysalis laughed evilly, and Naractia couldn't help but chuckle at the horrified expressions of the onlookers. Chrysalis lowered her voice to where only the soldiers could hear, "You'd best warn your pathetic princesses. However, they won't be able to help any of you once I'm through."
Suddenly, Chrysalis erupted into flames once more, which was the cue for Naractia to run. Amidst the confusion of the ponies, Naractia and Chrysalis changed back into their original forms and flew as fast as they could around the outside of the wall, unseen by any of the onlookers.
As the two changelings flew around the wall, they could hear an alarm sound within the city, warning the rest of the ponies of possible danger. This was the distraction that both Chrysalis and Naractia had hoped for. Soon, the royal changelings reached the wall that stood on the outside of the palace.
Naractia flew up and glanced over the barrier, finding no guards around due to their distraction. Then, she spotted the balcony of Princess Cadence's room, their destination.
The changeling princess waved to her mother, giving the signal that it was clear, and they both flew fast until they were on the balcony. They hid to the side of the archway that led out onto the balcony. Naractia cautiously looked inside Princess Cadence's quarters, to find the alicorn princess inside. However, she wasn't alone. Her fiance, Captain Shining Armor, was standing by her.
Chrysalis chuckled to herself, "This is going more perfectly than I had imagined." She turned to Naractia, "Distract Shining Armor while take care of the princess. We need the captain unharmed, and the princess locked away."
Naractia nodded and buzzed her wings as she prepared herself. Chrysalis gave the signal and Naracta flew into the room at top speed. Suddenly, the two ponies inside the room turned to see a giant, bug-like creature flying straight for Shining Armor. Without any time to react, the captain was tackled into the wall by the changeling.
Shining Armor landed hard, knocking the wind from his lungs. His attacker pinned him to the ground with its hooves, which were covered in several holes. The captain struggled under the changeling's hold, but then he spotted another one, much larger than the one on top of him. He turned his head towards Cadence, "Run! Tell Princess Celestia we're under attack! I'll be fine!"
Cadence turned towards the balcony, wings outstretched, but then she was blocked by Chrysalis.
The changeling queen laughed as she closed and locked all exits from the room with her magic, "I'm sorry, Princess Cadence, but I can't have you leave."
Cadence snorted at Chrysalis, "Who are you and what do you want?"
Chrysalis smirked at the alicorn, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Queen Chrysalis, queen of the changelings. I have traveled far with my swarm for food to feed our people."
Cadence cleared her throat, "Well, I'm sure we could provide food for your subjects, but-"
Chrysalis cut her off, "You do not understand, princess. We will only feed off of the love of others. When we feed off of a creature's love, we grow stronger in our power. You could call us changelings a parasite of sorts."
The queen laughed, "My subjects and I have traveled over many lands, draining each one we pass through of all love and life. But when we arrived in Equestria, there was so much love in the land that it was almost mouth-watering. Once my changelings drain a single town in Equestria, we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of. And so, we have decided to begin our invasion here, in Canterlot."
Shining Armor grunted as Naractia held him, but several times he had come close to breaking out of her hold. He glared at Chrysalis, "You will lose. Princess Celestia will stop you."
Chrysalis tsked at the captain, "Oh, but Celestia won't know about my changelings or myself until it is too late. You see, we changelings have the unique ability to change into any pony that we want." Suddenly, Chrysalis was consumed in green fire as she changed. When the flames died away, everyone was looking at the changeling in the form of Princess Cadence.
Both Shining Armor and Cadence stared in shock at the changeling, while chrysalis only laughed harder, "You see, I plan to impersonate you until the time comes for my changelings to attack. But before then," Chrysalis's horn glowed in a green aura, "I need to dispose of you!"
Suddenly, Shining Armor kicked off Naractia just as Chrysalis fired her spell. Dazed, Naractia looked back to see Shining Armor dive in between Cadence and the spell. Chrysalis's spell hit the captain square in the chest, sending him sprawling to the side. The captain landed against the hard, polished floor, his body smoking slightly from the spell he had taken for Cadence.
Chrysalis laughed, "What a fool. He took the spell instead of you. However, now that dear Shining Armor is out of the way for the moment, it's time to send you to a place where no one will find you."
Cadence's scream was muffled as Chrysalis engulfed the princess in a ring of fire, which slowly dragged her down to the forgotten caves of Canterlot.
Naractia was glad that the first phase of the plan had gone accordingly to plan, but something didn't feel right. A little thing tugged at her conscious from the back of her mind. When Naractia had watched Shining Armor take the spell for Cadence, a strange feeling had come over her. The changeling princess couldn't describe it, but it had something to do with what the captain had done for his fiance. It made her feel empty and cold.
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A few days had passed since Naractia and Chrysalis had attacked Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. Now Chrysalis was going around Canterlot, acting like Cadence, and Shining Armor was under a mind control spell.
During her few days in Canterlot, Naractia had been hiding in Cadence's room as a newly hired maid. She hardly left the confines of the room, fearing that somepony would reveal her as a fake. But since she never left the room, she had plenty of time to herself and her thoughts.
For the past few days, Naractia had been continually puzzling over that strange feeling that she had when Shining Armor had taken that spell for Cadence. It was all that she could think about. Even though she had spent all of the past few days thinking about it, she couldn't figure out what it had been or why it bothered her so much.
"Ugh," She bitterly moaned, "Why can't I figure this out?!" She paced around the room in the form of a chestnut earth pony, her disguise. It was the late afternoon and Naractia could hear everypony in the city preparing themselves for the upcoming wedding.
The changeling walked over onto the balcony, and looked out over Canterlot, which was now covered in a purple dome of magic. Ever since she and Chrysalis had made the threat against the city, Shining Armor's protection spell had protected the city.
Naractia sighed as she looked down at the city. Several ponies were going about their businesses in the streets, carefree. The changeling princess would have called them fools in her mind, yet now, she wasn't too sure what to think of them. They seemed to have something that she didn't, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
As Naractia looked out from the balcony, something caught her attention. Down below her, in the royal Canterlot garden, she spotted two ponies. One was a large, unicorn stallion and the other was a smaller, pegasus mare. They were sitting together under a tree, holding each other closely. Naractia peered over the balcony to get a better view, careful not to be seen by the two below her.
The changeling princess could see the two were talking to each other, but she couldn't hear what they said from the balcony. But then, she watched as the stallion used his magic to grab a flower from a nearby patch. The small flower floated over to them until it was in front of the mare. The pegasus smiled as she took the flower from him, holding it up to smell it.
All of this would have disgusted Naractia before, but ever since she came to Canterlot, she was starting to doubt what she knew. She continued to watch the couple, feeling the same feeling of emptiness that she had experienced from Shining Armor and Cadence.
The two ponies in the garden below continued to talk to each other, but then they stopped for a moment as they both looked dreamily at each other. But then, Naractia watched as they did something that she'd never seen before. The two leaned forward and closed their eyes as they planted their lips against each other's.
Naractia knew this to be something called a kiss, which was only done between ponies that had a deep affection for each other. As she watched, her mind was brought back to Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. In an instant she realized what it was that made her have that strange feeling. It was envy, for the love that the ponies gave each other.
The changeling princess was envious of their love. Any love that a changeling would receive would have been taken by force, to be fed on by the parasites. This love was different than that, as it was more pure. The love Naracita envied was one that would be freely given to her, by friends or family. In the changeling hive, there was no love to be shown, even from her own mother, Chrysalis.
Suddenly, Naracita realized why the ponies of Equestria seemed happy and care-free. It was because they had love given to them from their friends.
Naractia was overwhelmed by her discovery, and ran back into the room, collapsing in a corner. She huddled herself together, quietly whispering, "We're wrong to attack them. We hide in their skins and feed on their love. We're all just fakes. They don't deserve violence, and we don't deserve their love." She felt tears begin to stream down her face, which was surprising. She had never cried before.
She sobbed as she made a vow to herself, "I won't help my mother hurt anypony any more. I'll stop her, even if it kills me. I won't be a fake."
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The sun had set and it became night. Naractia stood up from her corner, wiping away the tear streaks on her face. She was still upset, but now she just felt a mild sorrow. She walked into the center of the room, as the door suddenly burst open.
Naractia jumped and whirled around to see Chrysalis, still looking like Cadence. From the look on Chrysalis's face, she was angry; Very Angry.
"Naractia!" The queen barked, "I need you to do something."
"What, mother?" Naractia said, trying to hide all emotion.
"Yesterday, a unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle came to Canterlot to help with the wedding with her friends. She is Shining Armor's sister. I knew that she suspected me when I first saw her, but I did nothing about it." She stomped her hoof in anger, "But tonight, she tried to reveal me in front of everyone. Luckily, I was able to keep anyone from believing her. But now, I have a task for you to fulfill."
Naractia cringed as she knew where this was going, "What do you want me to do?"
"I want you dispose of Twilight Sparkle, and take her place in the wedding."
Naractia's heart skipped a beat, No, I... I can't do that. I promised that I wouldn't be a fake. She looked at her mother, seething with anger. No, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to be a fake.
Naractia put her hoof down, "No!"
Chrysalis gasped in shock, "What did you just say?!"
The changeling princess shook her head, "I'm not going to impersonate another pony. I'm not going to help you hurt anyone again!"
"You dare defy my orders?!" Chrysalis screamed, "You ungrateful little twit. You've grown a soft spot for the ponies in Equestria, haven't you?!" She spat out, "Sympathy for these pathetic ponies is a sign of weakness. There is no room for weakness in my hive!"
Chrysalis's horn glowed as it fired a spell at Naractia, sending the changeling princess flying out onto the balcony. Naractia stopped as she hit the railing of the balcony, making her head spin. She quickly looked back at Chrysalis to see the queen's glowing horn pointed at the her.
Chrysalis glared at Naractia, "I don't care if you're my daughter or not. I banish you from the hive. Leave Canterlot and don't come back." Naractia felt the hold of Chrysalis's magic as she was raised into the air, "And if I see you again, I will kill you."
Suddenly, Chrysalis flung Naractia through the air and into the protective purple dome surrounding Canterlot. Naractia passed through easily, seeing as the spell was meant to keep everything out and not inside. She changed back to her changeling form in mid-air and powered her wings to slow her fall.
Naractia lighted down on the ground far outside of the protection spell. She sighed as she looked helplessly at Canterlot. There was a storm brewing inside the city, and she was the only one that knew. But now that she was outside of the protection spell, there was no other way to get inside.
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Naractia watched what happened over the next 24 hours from atop the Canterlot mountains, far from the action. She saw the swarm surround Shining Armor's protection spell as they began to hammer away at it. She watched the shield shatter and the changelings race into the streets of the city. She saw the chaos that followed afterwards, and she lost all hope for Canterlot.
But then, Shining Armor's protection spell appeared again, dispelling all of the changelings out of the city. Naractia watched as her swarm, as well as her mother, were thrown outside the border of Equestria and into the bad-lands.
From then, Naractia followed her hive, disguising herself as another changeling drone. Soon, all of the changelings gathered back together in the bad-lands, under the rule of Chrysalis. However, the queen never discovered that her daughter was again among them.
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A/N: So there you have it. This is Naractia's back story.
You need to take into account all of this before any of you read the rest of the story.
The next chapter will start two months after the events that happened in my last story, "A New Friend"
So, if any of you didn't listen to me back in my first note and continued to read this prologue anyway, it'd be a good idea to read it before you read the later chapters.