Rainbow Dash and Spike were stood frozen in place as Trixie, wearing her purple hat and cape, stood before them with a sinister smile on her face. Her two guards were stood by her side with the same looks on their faces. Her magical shield blocking the door was now bathing the tiny room in a sickly green light.
“Who are you?! What’s going on here?!” Rainbow Dash kept glancing between the Trixie standing before her and the one now lying on the bed covered in the weird slime.
“Isn’t it obvious?” The Trixie by the door said. “Then again, you never were the smart one of the group, were you, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow glowered at Trixie.
“Dash!” Spike yelled in a panicked realisation. “She’s a… a… Changeling!”
The Pegasus looked back at Spike, then to the unconscious Trixie. At this point the room was bathed in the light of flickering green flames. Rainbow and Spike watched as the imposter Trixie’s eyes flashed green. Her two guards had dropped their disguises and returned to their original forms. They were Changeling drones. Dark grey creatures with horns and fangs, tiny transparent green wings, a dark blue shell on their backs, their legs full of holes. They both looked identical, except for their eyes. The one on the left had bright blue eyes, yet the other one’s eyes seemed shinier, sharp and penetrating. The Changeling guards were grinning widely, showing off their fangs.
The imposter Trixie laughed as green flames then surrounded her, shattering her disguise, revealing her true self before them. A much taller, slender Changeling with a crooked horn, a green shell that not only covered her back but also wrapped around her middle, deep green eyes and messy dark turquoise hair that matched her tail. Rainbow Dash and Spike instantly recognised her as the Changeling queen.
“Queen Chrysalis!” Rainbow spat out as if the name tasted like bile. She ducked down into a defensive stance ready to protect Spike if she had to.
“W-w-what are you doing here? What did you do to Trixie?!” Spike said as he stayed hidden behind Rainbow Dash, eyeing the Changeling Queen nervously.
“Her?” The Changeling Queen didn’t even bother to spare the blue unicorn a quick glance. “Oh nothing yet, although she was quite the little instrument in my plan. You see, after the fiasco in Canterlot, my subjects and I were cast away to the Badlands. A seemingly endless desert filled with rocks and sand. Lost without our home we travelled aimlessly and took what little nourishment we could from the minuscule villages we found along the way, but it wasn’t enough.
“You may remember that we Changelings feed off of love. Without it, we grow weak. My entire swarm was dying and we were the last of our kind. I feared the worst had come. And then… the Crystal Empire returned. Love spread across all of Equestria and we fed off of it. Each of us grew stronger and we began to head towards it. I’d heard legends of the Crystal Heart, but never believed it to be real. After we reached the Crystal Empire we did as we always do. We began to replace the citizens and blend in, getting stronger and building our army… one Crystal pony at a time.”
Rainbow Dash looked at the guard on the right, the one with the shiny blue eyes. Now she knew what this one was. It was a Crystal pony, before it had been permanently altered into the monster it had now become.
“We had to be careful though. Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armour were two ponies who were well aware of our tricks. Because of this, we couldn’t get near that Crystal Heart. However, luck began to turn in our favour. Soon we heard word that the Crystal Faire was starting soon and that it was an event for powering up the Crystal Heart. This would be our time to strike, yet we still had no way of getting closer to it. That’s when little miss magic pony there showed up.”
Spike turned to Trixie as Chrysalis nodded towards her. She was still out cold, lying in the goo that was keeping her imprisoned for who knew how long.
“She amazed the ponies with her silly little tricks. Foals play stuff really. But I suppose after so much time being slaves and then being banished for a thousand years into shadow they would love any form of entertainment. I heard that Trixie received an invitation to perform for the faire which would help power the heart. This was the opportunity we had been waiting for. That night I paid her a little visit. Before she even realised what was going on, I had knocked her out and then locked her away. I took her place the next day, performing right next to the Crystal Heart and they loved it. As the show went on, I drained the love it was collection, as did my Changelings disguised as volunteers and assistants. Before the show had ended, we had managed to not only reach a higher level of power than ever before, but my magic reached a peak where I was able to mind control the entire Crystal Empire in one swoop. A few managed to resist, but they were quickly hunted down, and made to join the swarm.”
Queen Chrysalis laughed as she caressed the face of the former Crystal pony, now just another drone. It made Spikes scales stand on end. Rainbow Dash took a half step back, watching the two guards as she addressed the Changeling Queen.
“So if you took over the Crystal Empire, why did you come to Ponyville? Shouldn’t the Crystal Heart keep you fed forever?”
“You‘re right.” Chrysalis said, returning her attention to the rainbow haired mare. “The Crystal Heart should keep us sustained forever. Those Crystal ponies have become our very own little batteries, keeping the heart charged and feeding us. However this is no longer about just food or sustaining my subjects. This is about revenge. After Canterlot I’ve been thinking on how best to get my revenge. All I need is an army. The Crystal Empire is already under my control and so is most of Ponyville!”
“But how?” Spike asked from behind Rainbow Dash. “How did you make all our friends fall in love with Trixie? They all know she’s a fraud and no pony likes her here.”
“Hmm? Oh, that was easy. The cereal of course. With Cadance under my control I simply made her cast her love spell on it that would force the pony eating it to instantly love the mare without reason. I made the pink Alicorn give it out to her friends and they didn’t think twice about it after trying it. Even that pink idiot at the bakery was ordering hundreds of boxes and giving them out to every pony in town. Who would have known that the Princess of love could herself be so easily controlled by a love spell.” Laughing, Chrysalis turned around, looking out the tiny hole in the door that was still being blocked by her magic.
“And now tomorrow, all of these pathetic little ponies will gather in the city hall and voluntarily offer themselves to be a part of Trixie’s magic act, and they will be walking right into my trap. One by one they will walk into my chrysalises and soon all of Ponyville will be transformed into Changelings. Then with our new army, we shall storm Canterlot and bring the city to its knees.”
Chrysalis laughed again. Rainbow Dash glanced back towards Spike and whispered to him.
“Spike, you’ve gotta get a letter to Celestia. Tell her what’s going on. I’ll create a distraction.”
“But… how? Rainbow no, I can’t-“ Spike was then cut off as Rainbow took a step forward, making herself the centre of attention.
“That’s all well and good your BUGness, but you forgot one thing!”
The Changeling Queen slowly turned to face the cyan Pegasus, a smug grin on her face.
“Oh? And what is that little foal?”
“It’s that when the villain reveals their plans… they always lose!”
Rainbow charged at the Queen but her two guards instantly jumped on her, pinning the mare to the ground. She fought and struggled managing to break free from one before Chrysalis herself used her magic to restrain the Pegasus.
“G-GO!” Rainbow screamed as the magic tightened around her. Spike snapped out of his trance and ran for the window. One of the Changeling guards jumped for him but the baby dragon managed to dodge out the way before climbing up to the window. Queen Chrysalis fired an energy blast intent on harming him permanently but Spike managed to jump out in the nick of time, only leaving a smoking hole in the wagon and sending glass and splinters flying everywhere. He ran as fast as he could away from the wagon to get away and hide.
“Stop him!” Spike heard the voice of Trixie shouting from the inside of the wagon. “Stop that purple dragon! The Great and Powerful, Trixie demands it!”
Instantly everypony outside the city hall turned in unison towards the baby dragon. The baby dragon looked back and saw a sea of green eyes in the dark, all narrowed and looking towards him. Cries of outrage filled the area and they all began to chase Spike down. All of the ponies now all had the same goal in mind, to catch the one who dared make their beloved Trixie angry. He moved as fast as his legs would take him but sadly, ponies moved a lot faster than baby dragons. He’d have to out manoeuvre them. Dodging down an alley, Spike used his speed to knock over some trash bins to try and slow down his pursuers. It only managed to stop one of them, tripping a mare he knew as Bonbon, but that was all he needed to get a little extra distance as the others had to gallop around her.
He ran into Sugarcube corner and sprinted around the counter and went into the kitchen, looking to run out the back door. Pinkie then suddenly popped out from inside a cupboard and blocked off Spikes exit. With her mane now straight and her eyes glowing green, she looked like she was about to throttle the little dragon with her bare hooves. He couldn’t get around her and going back would lead him back to the approaching herd. Pinkie charged at him, going full speed as Spike looked for a way out. Thinking fast, he quickly swung open the oven door, causing Pinkie to slam head first into it, leaving behind an imprint of her face. Spike cringed but didn’t have time to check on her as he heard more voices from behind him. Running out the back door, Spike took a hard right and headed towards the Golden Oak Library. It wasn’t far and he knew that in there he’d find a parchment and quill. He just had to get there quickly.
Spike almost made it to the library when suddenly a flash appeared in front of him. The purple dragon blinked as he looked at who stood before him. Twilight Sparkle.
“Twi- Twilight?” Spike looked up at the purple mare as she looked down her mussel at him with anger showing in her eyes. Spike noticed that they were a light shade of green, just like Pinkie’s had been. “Twilight, it’s me Spike! Listen to me! Trixie isn’t who you think she is! It’s Queen Chrysalis in disguise!” Twilight’s horn began to glow as she bared her teeth. “Please, Lis-“
Twilight fired a beam of purple light and it hit Spike right in the shoulder. The baby dragon fell down, holding his shoulder as the shock of what Twilight had just done washed over him. He looked back up to Twilight with tears starting to form in his eyes. Not from pain, but from his heart breaking. Twilight stood over the dragon and pinned him down, leaving him with nowhere to go.
“N-no.” Spike said weakly. He couldn’t believe his Twilight would do this to him. No. Not his Twilight. Chrysalis did this to her. “Twilight, please snap out of this! Please! Remember me! All the good times we shared together, the way you raised me and looked after me! How you taught me to read and write! Please!”
Twilight didn’t seem to respond, but her eyes looked like they were fighting an internal struggle.
“I know you’re in there Twilight! Fight it!”
Twilight shook her head, her internal struggle gone and she looked the dragon right in the eyes as her horn started to glow again, preparing for another attack on him.
“Twilight…”
Her horn began to glow brighter as she aimed it directly at the baby dragon.
“I… I love you, Twilight!”
The light from Twilight’s horn started to slowly resend and her green eyes flashed and started to fade. She blinked. When she looked back at Spike the green eyes were weaker but she was looking at him like she wasn’t sure what to do.
“S- Spike?” Twilight looked down at him for what felt like an eternity, but suddenly the shouts of the ponies hunting Spike could be heard down the end of the street. The purple dragon looked towards them, then back to Twilight.
“Forgive me, Twilight.” Spike said earnestly. He then sat up as far as he could and blew fire at the tip of her tail. The Alicorn screamed in terror and began jumping around the place before stomping on her tail to put out the fire.
Spike quickly got to his feet and ran again. He’d have to come back to the library later when it had all quieted down. Running, he took a turn heading towards the edge of town, hoping that maybe he could hide in the Everfree Forest. It was dangerous, but right now it was the lesser of two evils. The little dragon couldn’t hear the crowd anymore and started to slowdown. The shouts of rage had been replaced by the sounds of his feet hitting the ground, the crickets in the grass and the buzzing of bees in the air.
Wait! There are no bees around here, especially not at night. Spike thought to himself. He then looked up and saw he was surrounded by about six Changelings, flying in the sky just above him. The purple dragon ran again and he was starting to get out of breath. He looked back up just in time to see the drones separate into two groups. Spike ran between two buildings and came out the other side hoping he could get out of their sight, but as he kept going one of the groups landed in front of him, forcing the dragon to run down another street. His side was beginning to hurt but he pushed himself harder. He was almost to the end of the street when the other half of the Changelings group showed up. Spike turned down an alley quickly and came face to face with a dead end, turning around he saw the six changelings all blocking him in.
A trap. They had corralled Spike into an alley and now he was trapped. He panicked knowing there was no way out, but he had to try something.
“Stay back!” Spike shouted as he stood with his back to the wall with nowhere to go. “I-I’m warning you. If you come one step closer, I’ll… set fire to you all!” Spike spat flames in their direction. They each laughed and began to move in towards him. This was it. They were going to capture him and turn him into a drone like themselves. He liked being a dragon. Why did this have to happen?
Just then, a cloaked figure jumped down between them. The Changelings jumped back at this newcomer, he looked like a large stallion almost as big as Big Macintosh. The cloak around him was midnight black and he was holding a long metal staff in a purple levitation field. Spike didn’t know what to make of what he was seeing. It was like a hero had leapt right out of his comics to save him. One of the Changelings ran forwards and the hooded stallion brought the staff around and smacked the drone with it, knocking the wind out of the creature. Then the others were jumping in, attacking the cloaked figure from all angles. Using the staff he swatted them all away, spinning it around and dodging to the sides, keeping the Changelings from touching him. His attacks were fast and precise. He knew how best to strike without taking too long to change to his next target. One managed to get in close behind him but the pony spun on the spot and grabbed the Changeling in a headlock. Spike watched as another pressed its advantage by flying up into the air. It was going to do a dive bomb attack similar to what they did when invading Canterlot.
“Look out above you!” Spike shouted in warning. The stallion looked up and saw the green ball of flame heading towards him. The hooded pony brought the staff down onto two other Changelings, knocking them out and then switched his levitation magic to fire an energy beam from his horn. The beam looked exactly like that which Twilight had used earlier on Spike himself just recently, but this one looked much more dangerous. The Changeling that had become a green ball of flame was blasted back by the attack and collided with another on the floor. Spike looked around and saw one of the Changelings flying away.
“One’s getting away! Up there!” Spike pointed with a claw and the hooded stallion saw the Changeling. He then lifted the Changeling that he was pinning down above his head and tossed the insect through the air, knocking down the escaping bug with a mighty thud on a roof top where they weren’t moving. The stallion had taken out all six of the Changelings and hadn’t even taken a scratch himself.
“Wow. You’re incredible.” Spike said walking up to the stranger.
“No problem Spike. Sorry I couldn’t have come sooner.” The stallion said as he levitated up the staff.
“Well I’m… Wait. How do you know my name?”
“Of course, I know your name.” The stallion removed his hood to reveal his white coat and blue hair. “We’re family.”
“Shining Armour!” Spike shouted as he ran up to give him a hug. “I’m so glad to see you! But how did you get here? What happened at the Crystal Empire? Didn’t you get mind controlled too? Where is-” Shining Armour cut Spike off by putting a hoof to his mouth.
“One question at a time. First though, we need to get out of here, and I need you to send a message to the Princesses in Canterlot.”
“But I don’t have a-“ Before Spike could finish, the white stallion levitated a quill and some paper to the dragon.
“My little sisters number one assistant without a spare quill and parchment on himself? Now I’ve seen everything.” Shining looked down at Spike with a smile as the baby dragon took the quill and paper, writing a letter of help to the Princesses. They both started to head away from the streets and towards the edge of town. “I followed the Changeling Queen here to Ponyville from the Crystal Empire hoping to put an end to her plans once at for all. I came to the library earlier but found Twilight was already under the Changelings spell. Without Twily or Cadance to help, I thought the next best option was you, assuming you hadn’t already been put under their spell, but you never came back all day.”
“Yeah. I was trying to sneak into Trixie’s wagon with Rainbow-.” Spikes eyes widened. “RAINBOW! WE HAVE TO-!” The little dragon was starting to panic but Shining placed a hoof on his head.
“Spike. I promise that we’ll do everything we can to save her. But you need to finish that letter. You’ll have to tell the Princesses to come with the entire royal guard.”
Spike nodded and wrote as fast as he could.
“The queen will soon know you’ve escaped and she’ll set her plans into motion immediately.”
“She said she was going to turn every pony into Changelings in the city hall and then march another attack on Canterlot.”
“Sounds about right.” Shining Armour looked over to the Everfree forest. “It’s no good. We can’t wait for help. We’ve gotta get in there and try to save them now!”
“Can’t you just create a shield like you did last time? Blow them all away again?” Spike asked, looking up from the letter.
“No. Cadance helped me make a shield that powerful before to push them all out. The spell usually surrounds an object. In the case before, I made it surround the entire city of Canterlot.”
Spike frowned and then went back to finishing the letter. Once done he rolled up the letter, then took a deep breath and blew fire onto it, sending the ashes away in a spell, that would go directly to Princess Celestia. Spike then looked at Shining Armour with fierce determination.
“So, how do we get in there and rescue our family?”