112: A Queen Falls
Twilight fell off Oblivion's chest, and she groaned as she sat up. "Okay, where are we? Do you have any idea where we are?"
She flicked her ears as there was no response to her questions. She looked back to see that Oblivion was not awake to talk to her. She began to shake him when his head rolled to the side, and she saw the small pool of blood under his head. As she looked further, she saw the rocks they had landed in and how one of them had hit him just right behind his right ear. She breathed out in horror as she stood up and began to try to figure out where they were. All she could see were large crystals, and they stretched to the ceiling far above them.
"Okay, hang on." She said to him as she pulled his body to lay on his side versus on his back. She brushed her hooves over his back to dislodge the rocks in his back. "Oh wow."
She realized that he had protected her as best as he could, and she knew that he had not used magic because they were so quickly dropped. She knew that his use of magic was quick but not as fast as his sword work. Twilight sighed as she looked at the gash behind his ear and realized that it was still actively bleeding. She pressed her hoof to the wound and looked around them again to stop the bleeding.
"Okay, where are we? I don't know of any place that is made like this." She began.
"The caves beneath Canterlot, once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside. And now, it's a prison for the both of you."
"Somepony will come to find us," Twilight yelled at the reflection in the crystals.
"And no one will ever think to look for you, either. Most ponies have forgotten that these caves exist, so they are the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans."
"And what plans are those?" Twilight called out to her.
"The plans I have for your brother, of course," Cadance explained.
"Don't you dare do anything to my brother, you monster!"
"You won't be able to stop me, and neither will he. I never expected a pony to be that clever. But down here, you can't do anything to me."
"You can't stop us!" Twilight vowed.
"You'll have to catch me!" she shouted, and when Twilight blasted the crystal she was displayed in, she jumped to another one. "Over here!" She cried as the crystal was blown to pieces. "Nope, over here!"
Twilight gathered more magic into her horn and blasted the crystal wall to nothing. Behind it was Cadance. Twilight's eyes went wide as she charged the mare. She didn't focus on her enough to see the look of recognition, and then fear crossed her face.
"No! Wait!" She yelled as Twilight collided with her and sent them both rolling. "Please! Please don't hurt me! Twilight, it's me! Please, you have to believe me. I've been imprisoned like you. The Cadance who brought you down here was an imposter."
"A likely story." Twilight snarled.
Cadance got to her hooves and faced the younger mare. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves..."
"And do a little shake." Twilight sang with her as the pink mare looked over her shoulder with a happy smile.
"You do remember me!" Twilight called out, joy in her tone.
"Of course, I remember. How could I forget the filly I loved to sit for the most."
The mares parted from their hug, and Cadance's face dropped slightly at the sight of the mound behind the other mare. "Who is that?"
Twilight looked back, and her eyes widened as she raced back to Oblivion to check on him. "It's Oblivion." She informed her. "The fake you sent us here after he threatened to expose her as a Changeling, and he used his own body to protect me from getting hurt by the fall."
"Fall?"
"Yes, I think we were held above the ground for a moment, just long enough for him to move me to safety, and then we hit the ground pretty hard. He landed on the rocks, and it knocked him out."
"How would he have exposed her?" Cadance questioned.
"I'm not sure. He's a Witcher, so I'm sure he has a way to expose illusions."
"Oh, now I know who you're talking about. Shiny mentioned him to me once. "I saw that black pony at the training grounds, and after I could not feel anything from him, I panicked and ran away. Shining assured me he was safe to be around."
"Yeah. Witchers don't have many emotions, and the ones they have are not very strong." Twilight explained.
"So what do we do?" Cadance asked her. "We can't leave him here."
"We will have to wait until he comes around. Once he does, he can teleport us out of here. He can teleport us where we need to be," Twilight said to her, and the other mare nodded in agreement.
"Hopefully, he comes too quick. In the meantime, tell me what's been happening with everypony."
Oblivion groaned as his eyes opened for a moment before he closed them again. He could sense Twilight and one other close by. He groaned again as hooves pressed against his shoulder.
"Take it easy. You took a pretty bad hit from that fall." Twilight said to him.
He carefully sat up and sat in place. Twilight sat before him, and she kept a hoof on him to ensure he did not fall over or forward. He reached a hoof to the back of his head and looked down at it as much as possible. He could focus his sight just enough to see the dried blood. He sighed as pain dully went through his head. He shook his head slowly, trying to clear his vision.
"Gods below, I'm seeing double." He said to her as she looked concerned.
She leaned forward and nuzzled him gently. "Just take it slow and let yourself recover."
He closed his eyes as he waited for his vision to clear. He sat in silence as Twilight kept her hooves on him as he breathed and occasionally opened his eyes to check how his vision was doing. As the minutes passed, his horn lit as he summoned his saddlebags.
"What are you getting from those?" Twilight asked as his magic pulled out a potion. "Oh, that's Swallow, right?"
"It is. Well done." He praised.
His claws gripped the cork as he yanked it free and down the bottle in one gulp. He waited for it to take effect a few seconds later, and he corked the vial and put it back into his saddlebags. He could sense the mares waiting for him to respond. He opened his eyes as the double vision began to fully clear, and his magic sent his saddlebags back to the wardrobe in his room. He closed his eyes for a few seconds as his magic faded. He opened his eyes again and saw only one of each mare.
"The double vision has faded. I can see normally now," he said to her, and her smile widened at his words.
"I'm glad you're okay." She said to him. "Hold still."
She got to her hooves and reared up to see the gash on the back of his head behind his ear. She watched as it slowly healed and finally closed. She sat back down, and he looked at the other mare to see her overseeing him.
"It is good to meet the real you, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." He said to her as he looked at her.
Twilight smiled, and Cadance gave him a little nod in response. "I told her what had been going on."
"That makes things far easier."
"And just Cadance is fine." The other mare said to him as she moved to sit closer to the two of them.
"Just Oblivion for me." He replied to her. "Do you know how long you've been down here?"
"I don't know," She replied. "I wish I had an answer for that. What do we do now?"
"It's going to be fine now, Cadance," Twilight assured her. "Now that he is up and running. We can all three of us get out of here."
"What room is the ceremony supposed to take place in?" He asked her.
"The first ballroom. We chose it to monitor the shield from within there if needed." Cadance supplied. "It has a good view of the city."
"I have no idea where that is exactly." He admitted.
"Can you get us close?" Twilight asked.
"How much of a distance is it from the throne room?"
"A few minutes at best," Cadance answered.
"That will have to be close enough. We can go from there."
"Come over here," Twilight said to Cadance as the pink Alicorn approached.
Oblivion's magic covered the three of them, and his magic peaked, and they were teleported out of the crystal caves.
The teleport faded as he began to raise his head when a roar sounded out from behind him. Cadance shrieked as she spun on her heels to look back. He looked over his shoulder to find Sasa staring at him. His widened slightly at seeing her being held in a magic cage. His horn lit as his magic dispelled the cage and released her. She leaped to him and ran her body across his chest and shoulders.
“Where the hell have you been?” She asked him.
"The crystal caves under Canterlot." Twilight supplied the answer for him.
“Oh. That explains why Blue couldn't find you in the menagerie when he looked for you." Sasa replied.
"Where is he now?" Oblivion asked.
"At the wedding." Sasa growled. "They all decided to go through with it instead of listening to Blue when he explained that he couldn't find either of you where she said she had sent you."
"Who put you in the cage?" Twilight asked her.
"Celestia." Oblivion replied for her. "It had her magic all over it."
"What is going on?" Cadance asked. "Have you both lost it?"
"Oh no. Sasa can talk to us, but she talks telepathically." Twilight explained.
"Oh, so she was explaining what had been going on?" Cadance asked them to clarify.
"Yes." Oblivion answered.
"Oh, okay, never mind," Cadance said with a chuckle.
"Lead the way to the wedding Cadance." Oblivion said to her as he turned to face the doors to the throne room.
"Okay, follow me." She said as she trotted toward the doors.
"Oh!" Twilight half shouted as they neared the doors. "The Elements."
"What about them?" Oblivion asked as his magic threw open the doors.
"We need to go grab them if we have time."
"We don't have time to teleport back to Ponyville."
"They're here." She interrupted.
Oblivion stopped in his tracks and looked at her. "What?"
"Princess Celestia asked me to bring them here just in case." She explained.
Oblivion looked at Cadance, who looked more and more nervous as the seconds passed. "Okay, we need to halt the wedding now, so once we do that, if a fight comes to pass, you get the girls and run to go get them. I'll keep the bug occupied."
Both mares agreed, but he fell behind Cadance as they ran for the ballroom.
Oblivion tossed open the doors to the wedding, and everypony looked back as the three of them stood in the doorway. Celestia blinked as she stared at the three of them. Shining didn't flinch, and he stared blankly ahead. Blue looked relieved to see them as he stood behind and to the side of Shining. Cadance stepped forward as the fake one stared at them with fury in her eyes.
"Ah don't understand. How can there be two o' 'em?" Applejack asked.
"She's a changeling." Oblivion called out.
"What she does is she takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them," Cadance explained further.
Green flames roared around the fake one, and her form twisted and changed into her proper form. Oblivion gave a slight grimace at the sight of her. She had a body exactly like the changelings he had met before. The only difference between her and them was her height. Her face twisted into cruelty as she stared at them.
"Right, you are Princess. And as Queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!" She called out. "Once we finish chipping away at the weakening shield, it will all, and so will the city."
"Oblivion!" Twilight called out as he pulled his sword and stepped forward.
"Go."
Twilight and Cadance ran around him as Celestia reared back, and now Chrysalis was facing him and Celestia. She decided Celestia was the more significant threat as the white Alicorn charged her horn. Oblivion watched as Celestia took to the air, and her magic poured toward the Changeling queen. He knew after a moment that Celestia would lose their battle of magic. The Queen had more power than she had stolen from Shining Armor. The white mare was thrown back, and her horn tip blackened when she hit the ground.
"Twilight, go!" He shouted as he charged the Changeling queen.
A loud sound, like the shattering of glass, heralded the loss of the shield. He looked out the window and saw the black forms of the changelings as they streaked down toward the city.
"Shit." He cursed as his blade hummed in his magic.
"You will fall as well." Chrysalis shrieked as she turned to face him.
"Sasa, the little ones are heading for a downed Celestia. Defend her as long as she needs you to." He instructed as the feline ran with him.
"I got her!"
From the corner of his eye, he saw Twilight and the others run out the doors behind him, and his blade clashed with the creature's horn. He grunted as he tried to push her back, and she staggered under the force. He spun in place, and his blade spun with him and nicked across her chest and into her shoulders. She yelled and jumped back and away from him. He charged after her, and her horn lit to send a bolt of magic at him, as she had done with Celestia.
"If she wants to challenge you with magical strength, that'll be her last mistake. I think she got a little bit over cocky when she took down Celestia." Sasa called out to him.
Oblivion's horn charged, and he matched her in power, and the magic collided with hers in between them. She pushed against him, and he let his magic flow evenly as it pushed her back. She tried to push harder and channel more magic into her horn. He applied some force, and it was pushed easily back to her. She was thrown back, and she collided with the far wall with a scream. He walked toward her, his head held high, and his horn still lit.
"Care to try me again?" He said to her, his tone superior and defiant.
She snarled as she got to her hooves and charged her horn again. He recognized that the charge differed from before and erected a shield to deflect the incoming magic. It glanced off the shield and was deflected to the ground to the side of him. She took to the air as he followed under her, his sword ready. Her wings buzzed above him, and magic began to pour from her horn as she endeavored to strike him with it. His sword spun in his magic, and magic glanced off it and was either deflected or wholly absorbed by the crystal blade.
He glanced to the side and found Sasa engaged in a three-way fight while protecting Celestia, who was still on the ground. He didn't blame her for still needing to recover. Magic continued to rain above him, but he decided he was tired of chasing her from above, so he charged his horn to fight back with magic. He created a dome above him and sent it out to attack her and the smaller changelings in the room. It blasted each of them back and knocked their Queen out of the air and to the ground.
“Nicely done, Chosen.” Sasa praised.
He looked for Cadance and found that she had been shackled in place by green goo covering her hooves. He thought of going to her and removing it, but his focus had to remain on the Queen and keeping her occupied. She got to her hooves, and a shriek erupted from her, and he pinned his ears at the shrill sound. Oblivion kept his eyes on her as Sasa roared as the small changelings went after her and Celestia again.
“Incoming Chosen!” Sasa warned.
His ears flicked as the sound of buzzing grew louder in his ears. He looked as if several changeling drones surrounded him to aid their Queen. 'So that's what that shriek was.' He thought to himself. He kept his ears moving as he waited for one of them or her to move. A drone behind him moved first and attacked him from behind. He allowed it to think he had not noticed, and he lined up a hard buck as it got close enough to allow him to either kill it outright or cause severe injury. The drone was close enough, and he bucked it hard and heard the sound of bone and chitin splinter. The drone screamed in pain as it was thrown away from him.
"All at once, you fools!" She screamed as she also waded back into combat with him.
They all attacked at once, and he spun in a circle, his blade cutting deeply into each of them, and they all pulled back as blood splashed the floor. The Queen continued, despite the new cut to her chest. She reared up, and he rose to meet her. His claws dug into her. She shouted as his claws dug into her belly and her hooves thudded down on his neck and head. He felt the impact, but his body immediately knew that it was not severe and that he could easily continue. She spread her wings, and she leaped away from him. Her eyes were wide and full of hate as she stared at him.
"What the hell are you?!" She demanded.
At first, he said nothing as the few drones that could go on joined her, deciding that surrounding him had been a wrong choice. "A Witcher, a monster hunter, a curse breaker, a Guardian is what I am."
She snarled, and all of them charged him this time. He readied his sword as they reached him and spun to buck again. His clawed hooves cut into one drone, which was thrown back as others swarmed him. He backflipped, and as he went back, his sword cut into another as he kept the blade ready during his leap. Another fell, and the Queen screamed in rage as their blood continued to spill and not his. The rest seemed to hesitate as his hooves hit the ground; he charged in among them this time. His blade flashed as Quen slid over his form with a stamp of his hoof. Its golden light covered him and protected him as he moved among them. As he turned to face the Queen, one of the drones lunged at his shoulder, and its hooves collided with his shield. Quen exploded in response, sending the drones back a couple of feet, which allowed him to cut through two more. The Queen and her remaining forces flew to land twenty feet away from him.
He could see that she only had three drones left. Her magic was still strong due to her feeding off Shining for as long as she did. He knew that she was not likely to get into another magical fight with him since he had so easily bested her before. Her drones looked from him to her, and fear was plain on their faces. Her fury was palpable as she stared at him. Her face fell into a malicious smile as she looked behind him.
"Seems your stalling didn't help." She sneered.
He glanced over his shoulder to find Twilight and the others being led back into the room. Judging by the defeated looks on their faces, they could not retrieve the Elements of Harmony. He sighed quietly as he looked back at the Queen. He turned to watch as their hooves were put in place close to Cadance. His back was to the Queen, and she lunged to take advantage. He knew she would try, and he lowered his body and spun low, his sword up, ready to slice into her neck and face. She saw it in time and raised her head. The blade avoided her neck but sunk deep into her shoulder and the side of her chest. She screamed in pain, and her drones quickly grabbed her and ushered her away from him.
"Never underestimate me," he said to her, his tone flat as she stared at him. "I hunt creatures like you as a day job."
"Get her!" Twilight yelled.
"Come near me, and they will suffer for it!" Chrysalis screamed at him as he leaned in her direction.
He looked back as the drones hovered close to Twilight and the others. He closed his eyes, and his body gave a slight tremble as he leaned back on his haunches, showing no sign of moving. He kept his ears listening around him as she was moved away from him and toward a far window, close to her victims but far enough to allow her to survey the view of Canterlot. Oblivion looked up as Sasa began to creep toward the creature. He made sure not to jerk in reaction to her moving.
“No Sasa.” He commanded and he saw her pause.
“Why?”
"You're already seen." He advised her as she looked up to see a drone watching her intently.
"Dammit." She cursed as she returned to guarding Celestia, who was now lying upright on her belly with her legs folded under her. "What do we do now?"
He looked around them slowly. The drones were hovering near their charges, and he could see they were observing. He narrowed his eyes enough to focus their vision and saw that the wounds to the Queen were not being tended. He looked at the few drones watching Twilight and could see a way to get them all out of trouble if the situation went in their favor.
"I can see you thinking from here." Sasa said to him. "Let me in on the plan?"
"I will aggravate her wounds enough to gain the attention of most of the drones. You instruct Twilight to tend to the goo on her hooves." He explained. "Then she needs to release Cadance. Let the Princess of Love go from there. If she can reach Shining, then with her help, his shield might be made viable once more."
“Can you make a shield like he did?”
“Probably.” He admitted.
"Why don't you?"
He considered her question, and while he knew he was capable, he knew he was not there to fix all their problems. Depending on him at all times was not going to help them. He knew that Shining was more than capable of sending the Changelings packing if given the opportunity. His ability to harness the World Spirit aside enabled him to magically overpower their Queen easily. But it was not his place to fix the world for them.
"It's not my place." He said to her.
“Meaning?”
"They won't always have me."
“Oh. They need to be able to stand on their own four hooves."
“Yes.”
"Got it." Sasa said to him as she looked at Twilight. “My turn then?”
“Go.”
"Twilight!" Sasa half shouted to the mare as Twilight looked sideways at the cat and gave a slight nod to show she had heard. "Oblivion will create an opening for you to free yourself. Then go to Cadance and free her so she can get your brother back up and running. He can start his shield again and send these wretched creatures flying. Got it?"
Twilight nodded slightly as she looked back at him. He gave her a wink and a smile tugged at her mouth before she looked away, waiting for the signal. He focused his eyes on the slight wound he had inflicted in the first clash. It was subtle enough that she would not notice it till it became unbearable. He looked up at his horn as he determined how much power he would need. He activated his horn just enough to grip a scrap of flesh on her wounds and then begin to pull on it. The creature jerked as her wounds acted up, and she began to pat at it. He gave a hard yank once she was about to start giving orders. The yank dragged her to the ground, and a shrill, keening scream erupted from her. Her drones immediately went to her, leaving Twilight and Sasa unguarded.
“NOW!” Sasa yelled to the purple mare.
He watched as Twilight cut the goo around her hooves, and she quickly sneaked to Cadance and did the same. "Quick! Go to him while you have the chance." She said to the pink Alicorn.
He watched as Cadance rushed to the white stallion's side and began to try to get him to snap out of the stupor the Queen had put him in. He could not see exactly how she managed it, but he could see her back up, and Shining shook his head desperately as the stupor faded from his mind.
"Wha– where... huh? Is... Is the wedding over?" Shining asked as Cadance stood in front of him.
"It's all over!" Chrysalis said as she got to her hooves once Oblivion had stopped tormenting her from afar.
Twilight looked at her brother. "Your spell! Get your shield back up."
Chrysalis laughed gleefully as she looked over her shoulder to the window. "What good would that do? My changelings already roam free."
Oblivion walked up to where Celestia and Sasa were as he watched Shining try to call on his magic to use his shield spell. Oblivion could tell by looking that the stallion's spirit was exhausted and that heralded his magic failing him. Oblivion said nothing as his horn lit with the white fire of the World Spirit.
"No! My power is useless now. I don't have the strength to repel them." Shining lamented as his head lowered.
"My love will give you strength," Cadance declared as she approached him and wrapped her foreleg around him.
“With a little help.” Sasa said to him and he nodded.
He sent just enough of a boost to the Captain of the Guard to allow him to activate his aura. It wasn't like the boosts he had been giving him lately, but it was enough to help them get started. He watched Shining's aura activate, and the magic began to encircle them as sparks erupted from their horns. Blue picked up Spike and ran for the black stallion and Celestia.
"Oh holy shit," Sasa said as the storm's power around the two ponies grew in strength. “Hold on.”
Blue hunkered down with Spike behind the black pony and repeatedly peeked over Oblivion's back. The magic around Cadance and Shining grew in strength, and Oblivion knew that, given another few seconds, it would be more than enough to send the swarm flying into nothing. He watched as Chrysalis turned to look at them, and her eyes widened at seeing the magical storm behind her. He said nothing as their magic peaked in power, and a circle of magic erupted from them and threw the Queen through the window, and her drones were ushered out as well. The concussion waves went over the ponies; all it did to them was rustle their manes. Oblivion staggered momentarily as the first wave hit him, and he heard a shout.
“Oh shit!” Sasa shouted.
He started to look at her as she threw herself over his back, colliding with Blue Blood as she did. Oblivion nearly fell under her sudden weight. He spread his hooves to ensure he didn't fall as she spread her body across his neck and then along his sides.
“What are you?”
“Your illusion… It’s gone!”
He quickly looked back as her words sunk into his mind, and he looked back to see a silver, black wing poking out slightly from under the feline. His horn lit as he refreshed the illusion spell on the band on his leg. As the magic went over them, he kept his horn alight to ensure the illusion didn't fail again. He could not help but wonder what had happened to it. Sasa stayed on his back to ensure that if they were visible again, she was in the way of them being seen. He said nothing and kept magic flowing into the band, and the magic from their spell began to fade, and the waves of magic faded.
“Whew.” Sasa breathed as she slid off his back. [i] "I think we're okay."
"Thank you for seeing that." He thought back to her as she sat beside him.
“Sure. No problem. I got you're… Uh oh." She said back to him.
“What?”
"I may not have been as quick as I thought." She said as she tipped her head to his other side.
He looked to his left, and Blue Blood stared wide-eyed at him. The Prince said nothing as he stared at where the wings had once been. Oblivion stared back at him and then shook his head just enough to show Blue to keep his mouth shut.
"We will talk later about those." Sasa assured him as the Prince looked away from Oblivion and to her.
"Okay." He said as he blinked and sat down heavily.
Oblivion looked up as Twilight ran over to help her mentor to her hooves.
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. You have a real wedding to put together." The mare said as she smiled brightly at her student.
Blue sat where he was and said nothing further as he tried to smile at his Aunt when she looked back at him. Sasa walked up to him and nuzzled him to look like he was just rattled by what had happened. The Princess of the Sun walked away from them, and Blue shot to his hooves and stared at his friend.
"Explain." He said to him.
Oblivion gave a deep sigh as he turned to face the Prince. "What do you wish to know?"
"How long?"
"All along."
"You have always been an Alicorn?"
"Correct."
"And you told nopony, I assume?"
"Correct."
"Why?"
"I do not wish to be the subject of stares and further questions."
"Okay. That's fair." Blue admitted that after a few seconds of delay, he opened his mouth to speak further when he saw Twilight approaching. "Later then."
Twilight hugged the Prince as he passed her, and she ran the last few feet up to Oblivion. "You're okay?"
"I'm fine." He assured her. "You?"
"Yeah. Just a bit tired from all the running around." She admitted. "I trust I can rely on your help planning the real wedding?"
"If you wish, yes." He replied, and she nodded brightly, and he motioned for her to lead the way.
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Love it
love this chapter
🙂I like it.
The fighting scene is good. But now Chrysalis knew about Oblivion, she need to plan even harder to handle him.
I just spent that last week bingeing this since I left it at chapter 40, it was fun and now will be moved to my most favorites bookshelf.
Shit i forgot to add it