Broken Armor

by TheUnknownPerson

Battered Hearts

Author's Note:

Ok, due to the majority of the feedback I got was good, I'm going to be continuing this. Hope you enjoy it!

Two Hours Later

Twilight Sparkle and Spike stepped out of the carriage. She nearly galloped towards the entrance, passing by different crystal guards carrying crates of supplies and weapons. Spike clung to right saddlebag for dear life, almost flung off as the pair stepped onto the solid ground, off of the drawbridge.

Twilight rushed through the courtyard, and into the palace. She narrowly avoided a group of both the night-guard and Celestia's soldiers trotting out towards the courtyard, exiting the throne room. Princess Celestia was sat at the throne, with Princess Luna pacing back and forwards at the side. A steaming cup of hot tea sat at her side, and there were bags under her eyes.

"Hello. Twilight, Spike." Princess Celestia sat up, and Princess Luna stopped, staring at the group. Her horn glowed with her light-golden magical aura, as the cup beside her lifted to her muzzle. She took a sip before sitting it back at her side.

"I came as soon as I could." Twilight slowed to a stop in front of Celestia's throne. Spike remained silent, using the opportunity to drop to the ground. Princess Celestia took another sip her tea before speaking again.

"Two days ago, the Crystal Empire was attacked... reportedly by Queen Chrysalis and her changelings." Princess Celestia's voice took on a somber, flat tone. Twilight swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, before nodding.

"Many unfortunate ponies were kidnapped and had their love drained at approximately 12 PM that day. Many were left either injured or worse." Princess Luna said, remorseful. Twilight felt a thump in her chest, as a lump formed in her throat. She knew it wasn't going to be good. "Fortunately, Shining and Cadance were not among those who were kidnapped, nor sustained life-threatening injuries."

Twilight released a breath. "Thank goodness..." She sighed with relief.

"We aren't finished."

Twilight looked back up to Princess Celestia.

"What else?"

"Shining Armor, unfortunately, took a magical blast to his horn after being forced to the ground by a group of changelings."

Oh no...

"Shining Armor has not be able to create any magic or perform any spells since he received the injury. We've sent our finest doctors to help with the victims and they don't even know what it is. They don't know what'll happen to him afterwords. I'm sorry, Twilight. I wish there was an easier way to tell you."

"No... no. Thank you for being honest." Twilight wiped her eyes. "I-I'm sorry, princess. But I have to get to the Crystal Empire."

"We already have a carriage prepared for you. It's ready whenever you are."

"Thank you." Spike held Twilight right fore-hoof, almost as if he sensed her panic quickly setting in.

"Is there anything you'd like, Twilight? Something to drink?" Princess Luna took a step forward.

"No. I-I'm sorry, but I-I need to tell my friends what's going on. Ex-excuse me." Twilight quickly trotted out of the throne room, trying to keep herself calm.

"I'm sorry, Twilight. Honestly."

"Thank you, Spike." Twilight quietly muttered, her horn emitting her raspberry magical aura as her left saddlebag opened. She removed her notebook and a quill.

---

Shining Armor released a quiet yawn, rolling onto his side. He sat up, looking around the room. Cadance was asleep at his side, and the moon was beginning to dip below the surface. His head pounded, although not as intensely as the previous night. Shining carefully pulled the blanket away from his lap, laying it across Cadance's hind-hooves. He quietly trotted into the bathroom. The bathroom was made up of mainly crystal tiles, crystal bathroom sink with a mirror above it, a crystal toilet, and a crystal trot-in shower. He leaned over the sink, turning the handle. Water rushed out of the faucet. He cupped his hooves under the stream and splashed it onto his face. Once he looked back up into the mirror, he noticed something strange about the area around his horn.

The blackness in his horn had spread to the top of his head, his ears, and his mane. They all were now completely black

"Oh, Celestia..." Shining cupped his hooves under the sink again, bringing them up to his ears and tried to scrub the blackness away. After a few minutes of repeating this process, there was absolutely no visible effect.

"Buck... it's getting worse... I need to tell the doctors." He swore under his breath. He exited the bathroom and trotted towards the door, but stopped as he grabbed the doorknob.

Cadance's already worried sick about me as she is. I can't just leave her in the middle of the night without letting her know where I'm going..

Shining Armor trotted back to his sleeping wife and gently rubbed her shoulder.

"Cadance, I need to go to the infirmary for a while." Shining whispered into her ear.

"Huh..." Cadance opened her left eye, turning to him. She smiled as her eyes ran over his face. "Okay, darling. I'll be in there with you soon. I love you." Cadance rested her head on the pillow to her right, burrowing deep into the soft figure.

"I will. I love you too." Shining nuzzled his wife affectionately and trotted out of their room.

---

"-Thank you. Where is my brother?" Twilight held the crystal guard's right fore-hoof as he helped her down and out of the carriage. Spike had fallen asleep earlier into the trip despite his efforts not to. Her horn glowed with her raspberry aura as Spike floated onto her back, resting at the end of her mane.

"He is in the hospital, your highness. Follow me." The guard trotted down the crystal walkway towards the entrance to the palace.

Twilight looked around as they passed through the village and saw just how bad this attack was. The houses and buildings in the empire were either in smoldering remains or had a piece of their structure destroyed, some chunks of crystal and shattered glass had been pushed out of the roadway. There were blood stains on the bridge and roadway in front of her that Twilight tried to ignore.

These poor ponies... Twilight sighed, remorseful. She knew the Crystal Empire would be chaotic in the coming days, even without the changelings. Thank goodness Shining and Cadance got away.

Blast marks covering the area around the Crystal Castle, showing that there was a real struggle between changelings and the crystal ponies.

"H-how is Prince Shining Armor?"

"He is stable and fine besides constant pain in his head and horn, but is still unable to make any spells, your highness." The crystal guard said as he and Twilight trotted towards a white, crystal door that had a red cross in the middle of it.

"In here, your highness. I shall lead you to him, if you don't mind your highness." The guard opened the door to the hospital and stepped aside, letting Twilight pass by.

"Yes, please." Twilight said as she trotted inside and looked around the room, frantically looking for her brother. The infirmary was nearly at full capacity.

"Follow me, your highness." The guard said as he shut the door and trotted down the rows of beds in the infirmary, passing by tons of injured crystal ponies. Twilight was still having trouble comprehending how many innocent crystal ponies were hurt by Queen Chrysalis and her changelings.

Twilight, Spike(who was still asleep on Twilight's back), and the guard came upon a part of the hospital that had white sheets up, preventing anypony from seeing who it was inside the bed.

"The prince is in there, your highness." The guard pointed towards the sheets.

"Thank you." Twilight said as she trotted up to the sheets and pushed them aside so she could enter. Shining was laying down in the middle of the bed, the top of his head and his ears bandaged. The bandages covered up most of his mane. Princess Cadance was standing beside him,

"Oh, hello Twilight." Shining said, remaining calm despite his injuries. Twilight didn't speak, she was just taken aback.

"Twilight? Are you okay?" Cadance asked, clearly worried.

"Y-yeah... I'm just a bit... worried with the top of your head being bandaged and all."

"I'm fine, Twi'. Trust me, it's not as bad as it looks." Shining said, trying not to worry his sister.

"Shining, I know what happened. Is... is what I've heard true?" Twilight asked. Cadance looked at Shining, then back at Twilight. Shining sighed sadly.

"Yes." Shining said as he look away down at the infirmary floor. Twilight's sighed, a few tears escaping her eyes. She allowed her mane to fall over her eyes, trying to hide her tears.

"I-I'm so sorry, Shining..." Twilight said as she sniffled and wiped the tears away from her cheeks.

"Yeah... I am too. Hopefully i-it's just temporary." Cadance agreed as she grabbed Shining's left fore-hoof. Shining let his head fall to the pillow and he shut his eyes.

I feel so bad for him.

"Queen Chrysalis took crystal ponies..." Shining mumbled as he looked up at the ceiling with half his eyes closed.

"Wha- what?" Twilight asked.

"Queen Chrysalis and her changelings kidnapped many crystal ponies. I need to help..." Shining said as he leaned up from the bed, but suddenly grabbed his head and gasped in pain.

"Shining, don't move too much. We'll send a search party. You are in no condition to be searching from them right now." Cadance said, not allowing Shining to hurt himself anymore.

"You could get yourself killed. We're lucky you two survived the last time."

"Horseapples..." Shining swore under his breath, clearly frustrated. "All right... I won't." He reluctantly leaned back down to his bed.

"Thank you." Twilight said. The room(or space) became silent, the only noise in the room being made up of other crystal ponies being treated or groaning. Cadance looked up at Spike.

"I guess he's had long night, huh?"

"Yeah. Princess Celestia sent me a letter telling us what happened. We rushed over here as fast as we could, be he ended up falling asleep on the second carriage trip."

"Hm... hopefully he'll be awake later this afternoon." Cadance acknowledged as she looked back down at Shining. Twilight looked at Shining as well, who was now resting his head on the pillow with his eyes shut. She looked to his bandaged head and horn, causing a shiver to go down her spine as she thought about what happened to her brother. Then she noticed a part of his right ear that hadn't been fully bandaged and noticed that it was black.

"S-Shining, w-why is your ear black? I know you had a magical overload, but I-I don't think that it'd cause that..." Twilight asked, a bit frightened. Cadance looked over to Shining and noticed it as well, giving him a confused look. Shining's eyes jolted open as he looked over to Twilight.

"It's nothing to worry about. Really." Shining said as he pulled down the bandage on covered the open spot, obviously trying not to worry his sister. Cadance glanced to Shining, wondering the same.

He's covering something up.

"Shining, I can tell when you're lying. P-please, just tell us if something else is going on with your health."

"No, really. There's nothing to be worried about." Shining said, still trying not to worry his wife and sister.

"Shining, please... what's wrong?" Cadance said. Shining looked at them both for a moment more before sighing.

"Okay... this, doesn't leave the room unless it's to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna." Cadance and Twilight nodded. Shining took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Cadance, remember this morning when I said I had to the infirmary for a while?"

"Yes."

"Well... I woke up this morning and I went to the bathroom. I passed by the mirror and noticed that there was something a bit... off, in my reflection." Shining said. Cadance and Twilight listened intently.

"When I looked back in the mirror, my ears and mane were black. I rushed here and showed the doctors. T-they said that it was not only a magical blast, but a transfer of some magic. Queen Chrysalis took some of my magic and traded it with her's." Shining trailed off.

"A-and now it's spreading."

"W-what does that mean?"

"Why is it spreading?"

"T-they don't know. They said that Queen Chrysalis might've invented a new spell or used a rare one."

"Oh Celestia... okay. We need to find Queen Chrysalis and get her to reverse the spell before anything else bad happens."

"I could also search to see if I could find anything that could help." Twilight suggested.

"I'll help organize the teams that's looking for the crystal ponies and Queen Chrysalis. If I can't join them, then I'm going to help them become prepared." Shining Armor said as he lifted his head up from the pillow.

"I'm all right with you doing that. Twilight, I'm going to show you where the archives are and then I'm going to send a message to Auntie Celestia, telling her what all's going on." Princess Cadance held Shining's right fore-hoof, helping him get off the bed.

"Okay. Thank you." Cadance trotted out, however, she stopped as she was halfway out of the curtain.

"Twilight, if you're ready, I'll show you to the archives so you may start your research." Cadance said as she, Twilight, and Shining trotted outside of Shining's infirmary room(well, sort of room) and trotted towards the exit. Twilight looked over her shoulder for a moment and looked at Shining, making sure that he was still okay. He was looking down at the floor and had a strange look on his face. As if he was guilty and sad.

He's really upset because of the attack.

---

"Here you go, Twilight. This is all the knowledge that the Crystal Empire has to offer." Cadance said as two servants opened the large crystal doors to the archives and bowed. The library was humongous; there was a large, red carpet that led down to three crystal bookshelves and passed by at least a dozen more on each side.

"Wow... okay. Where are the spell books?" Twilight stepped into the library.

"They're the first three bookshelves that you pass by. I'd stay and help you, but I have to help get the search party together." Cadance stepped out of the doorway.

"It's all right. I'm all right with working by myself. Besides, you and Shining have enough on your plate already." Twilight trotted down the red carpet and looked at the contents of the first bookshelf.

"I guess you're right. Thank you for your help, Twilight." The two servants shut the door, leaving Twilight alone in the library with nothing but her thoughts and the copious amount of books.

"Okay... where to start..."

---

Shining Armor trotted into what was left of the Crystal Castle.

I need to scrounge up as many guards as I can so I can send the search party out. It'd be suicide to send out the search party without no protection.

Shining trotted down the crystal staircase(thankfully not stumbling down it) and turned to a crystal door with the Crystal Empire's insignia(a crystal heart in cased in pink snowflake, protecting it/this).

Ah. Here it is.

Shining pushed the door opened and entered the room, seeing that there were four guards inside. He took a look around the room, examining it; there were two crystal benches in the middle of the room, twelve lockers at opposite sides of the room, a crystal door at the left side of the room that lead to the bathroom/showers, a crystal door at the right side of the room that lead to the bedrooms of the barracks, and a crystal weapon cabinet that was half-filled with spears.

"-yeah. I tried to hit them off, but there were just too manyyyy- Prince Shining Armor!" A guard with a royal blue coat and gray mane sitting on the one of the benches in the room said as he noticed Shining had entered the room, stood up, and saluted. The other guards in the room(one being at the weapon cabinet and the two others sitting down on the bench) noticed this and did the same actions as he did.

"At ease." Shining said as he trotted in front of the bench where two guards were previously sitting before Shining had entered. The guards did as they were instructed and slightly relaxed, putting their hooves back onto the ground.

"I have an order for you all." Shining Armor said as he paced behind the desk.

"What?" One of the guards replied. Shining looked at the guard, giving him a disciplinary stare. He suddenly realized his mistake and clamped his mouth shut.

"Princess Cadance and I are planning to send a search party out for those crystal ponies who were kidnapped or are still missing. It will be comprised of you four guards and four volunteer crystal ponies. What I need you all to do is go into the village and try to find crystal ponies that are willing and able to join the search party. We need for you to find at least four ponies who are able to go."

"Yes, your highness." The guards replied.

"We need the search party formed as soon as possible. So, do not stall on this order." Shining said as he looked over the guards.

"Yes, your highness." The guards responded.

"Dismissed." Shining said as he stared at the guards. He looked at them for a moment more before trotting out of the barracks. The guards trotted out behind him.

That went a bit better than I expected. Good thing they didn't ask about why my head was bandaged.

---

"No... nothing in that one that could help." Twilight yawned and put the book down in front of her. She got up from the small crystal chair. Dozens of books that she had read through(and had no breakthrough with) were stacked up around her. She yawned as she trotted back over to the second bookshelf on the right, grabbed another spell book, and read the title as she trotted back to chair.

Rare Spells: A Guide to The Rarest of Spells in Equestria

Hopefully I'll find something...

"Okay... let's see what we have in here." Twilight said as she flipped through the spell book, quickly reading through the pages. One of the titles of a page caught her eye.

Spells of Transformation

Transformation spells were created in the Innovation Age of Magic by Star Swirl the Bearded. The spell was first used by Princess Celestia to help a pegasus who had lost her wings. However, the spell is not widely available to the public due to the risks and dangers that could come from such a spell. Only a few ponies of royal descent know how to perform this spell.
If the spells were ever to be used upon somepony, depending on the matter of what the user wants to transform into, could take from a matter of seconds to weeks.

"Not exactly what I'm looking for." Twilight said as she flipped through the pages of the book, skimming through them as she flipped through them.

The Process of Transformation

"Here we go." Twilight began to read that section of the book.

Transformation can be a tedious process depending on what the user wants to transform into. The user will begin to change with in the first few seconds. For an example, let's say that a unicorn wanted to change into a wolf, the user(over the length of a week or so) will become shorter, their coat will become thicker, their teeth will become more jagged, and they will gain all the characteristics of a wolf.

"Hm... it seems to be similar, but it's too early to tell if the spell is one of transformation." Twilight said to herself as she made a mental note.

---

Shining trotted over to the bridge, stopping in the middle and walking towards the side of it. He looked down at water and thought about all that had happened in the last few days.

It's bad enough that I can't make spells, but now I can't even defend my kingdom. I can't retaliate against the pony who did this to me.

Shining stared at his reflection in the water, studying the bandages wrapped around his head and horn.

I really hope Twilight finds something to help. Before anything else happens.

"Prince Shining Armor."

Shining turned to his left and saw one of the guards he had saw in the barracks. The guard had a black coat and a blue mane

"Yes?" Shining asked.

"We've assembled the search party and we are ready to leave at your and Princess Cadance's command." The guard said as he bowed.

"Ok. Let Princess Cadance and I address them before they leave."

"Of course, your highness." The guard said as he slowly backed away, continuing to bow.

I should let Cadance know.

Shining looked back down at the water for a moment more before trotting back towards the Crystal Castle.

---

"Ohh... Celestia"

"S'va! Move tha pr'soner to Queen Chrysalis!"

Buzzzz

Something or Somepony is dragging me somewhere. The air around me is dank and musty. As if the place had been abandoned centuries earlier after a natural disaster. The environment around me is too dark for me too see. My entire body is cold; I can barely feel my own hooves.

"Go! Queen Chrysalis needs these ponies now!"

Ugh... what the hay is cutting into my hooves? Chains rustled in front of me, as something was pulling my hooves. Something was attached to my hooves... cuffs?

I lightly shake my head as I feel myself stop momentarily.

What language were those ponies speaking? Why were their voices so distorted? I pulled against the bindings on my hooves. My thoughts were dazed and my mind was misty. What the hay happened?

I've experienced cold nights in the mines, but nothing like this. I'd think as I felt myself move once more. My heart pounded, desperately trying to warm my body so I don't freeze to death.

"Queen Chrysalis! I've brought the crystal ponies!"

"Good. Thank you. You and your group may feed on a crystal pony."

Wait is that...

No, it couldn't be. Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance must've stopped her. They've done it before.

"Now, leave me."

Something scurried away, leaving me alone with Queen Chrysalis.

"You three crystal ponies, rise."

I'm too dizzy. I-I can't--

"I said rise."

I felt something cold wrap around my ribs and pull me put, causing me to involuntarily stand. My eyes widen as I look around the room and see nothing but blue, eye-like circles in the sea of darkness.

"P-please... don't hurt me..." A soft, feminine voice to my left muttered, utterly terrified.

"Calm down Blooming. We'll find a way out." Another feminine voice said to my right, a bit quieter than the other voice. This one sounded a bit more calm, with less fear.

"Did I give either of you permission to speak?"

My entire body became still.

"Exactly. You are in the presence of a queen, so you should act accordingly."

"I-I'm sorry, Q-Queen Chrysalis..."

Oh no...

"It's too late for that. Take her away. Make sure she spends a night in... well, those crystal ponies shouldn't know. Put her where all the disrespectful ponies go."

"No, no! Please! Please don't!" Chains rustled to my left, as something jerked away. The pony gasped. "No! Stop! Lance, please help! Somepony help! Anypony!" I looked in the opposite direction, refusing to look at the poor mare. Her terrified screams filled the room. I tried to block out her fleeing voice

I-I can't move... I'm petrified. I'm so sorry.

"Blooming..." The pony to my right says quietly. Her voice took on a worried, almost anxious tone. Either one would be understandable right now.

"You two will survive the night. As for your friend, you'd better hope she has a strong stomach and an even stronger mind. You two take them to their cell and make sure that every cell is secured."

Two things come closer to me, and now I can finally see. Their black coats, holes in their hooves, and cold, blue eyes showed that they were changelings.

I... I'm really in the Changelings Kingdom.

The changeling began to push us, knocking me out of my petrified state. They kept pushing us until we were trapped in a small room and shut the door. I rushed over to the door as soon as they shut it, but I couldn't get it to open.

"You're wasting your time. It's not going to work. We're stuck here." The mare trotted to the right corner, leaning against the bars as she sat.

"I know..." I'd say reluctantly to her as I sat down against the door and let my head fall.

"Horseapples."I sighed. This is going to be a long night...

---

Comments

[DiscordFan]

Hmmm.... Who is this pony at the end..?

[TheUnknownPerson]

6097482 You shall see soon...