as the changelings fill the sky only Twilight can stop it, but is the price too much?
It was supposed to be amazing, her brother and foalsitter would marry, parties would be had, her and her friends would laugh and joke, and everyone would have a good time.
That was before Twilight was cast out of the wedding.
Now as changelings fill the skies and everyone runs in panic with no help in sight, she remembers a room, deep in the heart of the castle, with just the thing to stop the changelings. The only problem:
Does she want to? Is the price too much, or does she even care?
After all, didn't her teacher say she had a lot to think about?
Seeing as Celestia isn't important after the first chapter her tag is being cut. That is all Note* the meme which once was here is being replaced because the link decided to break
I may change the name and the descriptions to fit with an idea I got a while ago. So be prepared!!!
Today was supposed to be perfect. Twilight's brother was supposed to be married, to her old foal-sitter no less. There was supposed to be singing and dancing and an overall feeling of merriment. Twilight was supposed to be surrounded by her friends and family, wishing her brother well on his honeymoon.
How then had it gone so perfectly wrong.
Not that she didn't understand the factors which led her to be locked in her room; first watching ponies flock into the castle to see the wedding she had been kicked out of, then watching said ponies flee in terror as the sky filled with assailants. She knew she hadn't acted appropriately and probably should have sought council with Princess Celestia first. But the fact that her brother's safety was involved caused her to rush, to not think. She knew that mare calling herself Cadence wasn't right, there was so much off about her that Twilight was genuinely surprised that no one had realised it before her, but when she tried to stick her neck out for her brother what happened? She got accused of trying to ruin the wedding and not knowing what a headache relief spell was.
She knew what a bucking Headache relief spell was.
No the piece she didn't understand was how easily they all brushed her off, it was as if all the things she had done for them meant nothing. 'So what if you were right about nightmare moon? So what if you saved us from discord? So what if you know almost every Bucking book in the Canterlot archives cover to cover? NO! You cant possibly know a headache relief spell when you see one'. You can't possibly be right about the mare you have known almost your whole life! This day couldn't possibly get worse.
Oh how wrong she was.
She had watched as the shield suddenly collapsed, and allowed hordes of black, insect-like, pony shaped creatures into the streets, where they began terrorising the locals. She gaped in horror at the spectacle unfolding before her, royal guards lay unconscious in the street, families were driven along the main boulevard like sheep into alleys and houses where they were quickly dispatched. Twilight didn't know what happened to those she lost sight of, but she feared the worst.
Suddenly she realised two things that startled her. The first and most direct, was that she must have been right, there was no way Shining would let the shield get that weak without telling anyone. The second, and probably the worst of the two. Was that she was feeling some mixture of excitement, anger, and glee about the whole mess. Like she was enjoying the suffering of the people down below.As she looked over the city, she started to think out her next move, if any.
What should I do? There's no way to the elements, and even if I did find a way they wouldn't work without the others, and the princesses are indisposed so... Twilight silently began to take inventory of her situation: let's see... my friends abandoned me; my brother is...well I don't know what he is; Luna hasn't been seen all day; if I'm right, the cadence that I met while here has something to do with those bugs outside; and Princess Celestia is probably incapacitated if those bug-pony things are here. In short, I am absolutely bucked because my friends believed someone they had just met over me! As she was thinking out her next move she heard footsteps outside her door.
"The Queen demands we bring her the one called 'Twilight Sparkle' alive." a gruff voice in the hall stated.
Well crud Twilight thought, there goes my time
"What if she fights us?" A higher pitched voice questioned, "what then boss?"
"Well then, we 'persuade' her." the gruff voice replied. Twilight didn't think she'd enjoy being "persuaded" so she began to prepare her defense, grabbing as much of her heavier furniture and placing it in front of the door, barricading it. The doorknob rattled, and suddenly there was a pounding on the other side, "Boss, the door wont budge!" the higher voice called. As he finished his sentence there was a smacking sound followed by a high pitched scream. "Shut up!" the gruff voice said, "we don't want her hearing us!"
"Uh, boss?" a third voice asked, "weren't you going to open the door?" Suddenly there was a series of knocks going up the center of the door stopping around a quarter of the way up. "Ah, found it!" The gruff voice exclaimed, and with that Twilight's door exploded inward showering her in splintered wood and bits of brass. Twilight immediately charged her strongest stun spell and fired into the opening earning a satisfying thud as one of her mysterious attackers hit the wall opposite the door.
"Blink!" Her other attacker exclaimed as he and his other companion barged through the door, shooting spells all the way. They were monstrous, all black with insect-like eyes and holes dotting their legs; they both had horns, however one of them had wings while the other had a bulky piece of what twilight could only describe as a carapace on his back; neither of them had fur, only that black, shiny material. Twilight fired a quick spell at the winged one, turning him into a winged sandwich. Suddenly, she felt herself leave the floor as the other bug-pony rammed into her. Unfortunately for them they both forgot the dragon-sized portal filled with glass that lead to a land of pain called the ground. As they began to free fall the bug started to use a mix of thrusts, uppercuts and jabs designed to keep the opponent off balance. Sadly this had two flaws: one, the severe lack of a floor at the current reduced his usable moves by a significant amount; and second, Twilight was the strongest unicorn since Star Swirl the Bearded and didn't take too kindly to being punched by an opponent with a horn. Twilight dodged his(and she could only guess it was a he) next attack and suddenly noticed the fin on his neck. So as the bug went for another pass, she grabbed him by the fin and proceeded to throw him repeatedly and quite liberally into the wall adjacent to them. The bug suddenly used his magic, which was a sickly green color, to dispel twilight's grip on him. He then tried to shoot her with what twilight could only assume was a killing spell; not having any of this, she proceeded to blast them both through a window, stopping her now-slide with the unfortunate bugs face.
As she brushed herself off, Twilight took stock of her new predicament, they were hunting her, that was only logical, through her childhood home, she had the advantage. As she began to strategise, she noticed something interesting and familiar about the hall she was in, there were no lights, not a one. Thinking back to her extensive knowledge of Canterlot castle, she quickly identified the hall as one she had visited with Celestia when she was very young.
"Where are we Princess?" Twilight asked, she had seen many halls of the castle, but this one had her confused, "why is there so little light?" Scooting closer to the Princess to retain the relative feeling of safety that came from being around the Princess of the Sun
"Well I haven't turned them on yet Twilight." Princess Celestia reassured, "don't worry, just give me a second." She raised her horn to a sconce on the wall, and suddenly they all lit, giving the hall a warm, cheery atmosphere. "Is that better?" The Princess asked
"Oh yes, much better Princess!" The eager little filly replied, "but why are we here exactly?"
Snapping back to reality, Twilight couldn't help but smile. She had been so excited to be Celestia's student that she had only been able to look up and wonder what made her so special...
A frown soon took the smiles place as she remembered part of why she was chosen. She was an "element of harmony" and had one job, being the weapon the Princess pointed at all her enemies. Thinking about it , Twilight realized she would need to have a word with her mentor about how they need to reevaluate their relationship. She did not want to be a weaponised neurotic dork all her life okay, I wouldn't say "neurotic" per se... actually, maybe I would, looking back on my life. Suddenly, Twilight realised she had been standing in the dark for a while now, and quickly turned on the lights. As the lights turned on she started walking, going past doors marked 'testing labs' and 'research center' all restricting access to "authorised" personnel only. As Twilight walked she began to remember why she and Celestia had been down here...
"Princess, what is this place?" She asked as the princess in question opened a door and ushered the young filly inside, the room they entered was lined floor to ceiling with notes and scorch marks from many years of late nights researching the object that took up the main area of the room. Said object was locked in a strange metal container with a glass pane inlaid to show off the contents, next to the pane was a black pad with a light above.
Looking over the room in its current state, Twilight could still see the drawings she used to bring down here. She was amazed that they hadn't been removed or covered up. Although to be fair, she was the only pony to go down here for quite some time.
"That is an ancient relic from the wars of old." The Princess said, pointing to the metal container, "We are in the testing chamber for said relic." As they walked farther into the room Twilight suddenly picked up on the intense quiet surrounding the relic, the kind that makes you hate being alone, suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable with the room, Twilight huddled closer to the princess. If she had looked up, she would have seen the princess smile at her behavior.
As Twilight, realizing what she was doing, hurriedly walked forward to examine the relic further, Princess Celestia began to speak. "There were originally thirteen. I was there for each choosing."
"Choosing? But who chose?" The young filly asked, "and why was there only thirteen? That's an odd number." She began to walk over to the wall and examine the study notes posted there, as she read she noticed a pattern, they all ended with "STATUS=INACTIVE." Continuing her perusal of the vast research papers, she continued to see the same pattern. Turning back to the princess, she saw that the Princess appeared to be, for lack of a better term, musing over the relic. Poking the Reagent to get her attention, Twilight informed her of her assessment. "They all say inactive, so that means it can be 'active' right?"
As Twilight walked further, she again felt that intense quiet...
"Right you are, as always, my young student." The Princess stated, kneeling down to the young filly's height, "I will answer your questions as you asked them OK? Now, for the first question, they chose. They chose the ones they would assist in combat, and they stuck with them till the very end, even being destroyed with them." As the said this she swept her hoof towards the relic, "the hoof-pad on the storage pod is how it chooses." At this the young filly's eyes lit up, "Oh!" Twilight exclaimed, "it reads a pony's magical signature?"
"Not quite, Twilight." The Princess said, looking up towards the relic, "Yes, it takes a sample of your ambient magic and runs it against a sample in its core. But it also can see everything about you, from your past to your conscience."
"Wow... Wait, where did it get it's sample?" The young filly asked, "and what about Pegasi and earth ponies? Could they use them too?" At this question, the Princess' eyes grew sad, "No my student, the griffon who made these was only able to make them for unicorns. The magic passages for Earth Ponies and Pegasi do not work the same way as Unicorns. The Pegasi and Earth Ponies did have alternatives though."
Twilight stepped up to the container, even after all this time, no-pony had been chosen. She looked down at her hoof, then back at the black pad. Am I willing to do this? If it works there's no going back...
"Could you use one Princess?" Twilight asked, earning a chuckle out of the Princess. "No my faithful student, I cannot; to tell the truth, I actually asked the same thing at the start of the project, and the old griffon told me my magic passages are... pretty bad, 'the most screwed up thing I have ever seen' I think is how he said it. But no, It will choose one who matches its signature and has the purest heart."
But why should I? What have they done for me that I haven't repaid them for?
"How do you know that?" Twilight asked, again earning a chuckle from the Princess, "Oh C'mon Princess! Please tell me!" She then gave her cutest stare, hoping that it would work. It did, much to her surprise, as the Princess began to chuckle for the third time and sat down to allow Twilight to climb onto her back. As they ascended to the Princess' full height, she explained how she knew to the filly on her back, laughing the whole way up.
"Because it's name is 'pure heart' my faithful student." She chuckled, and indeed it was, for engraved onto its left chest plate were the words "Pure Heart." Twilight couldn't help it, she facehoofed. "Now," the Princess said, "do you want to try and activate it?"
She had declined then, not wanting to have been disappointed. Yet now here she was again, in front of the container for the relic. They walked out on me twice! But to top it off... they promised they wouldn't She just had to touch it, just a touch, to see if she could use it. No, no matter what they did we will get through this! Yet, just as she was going to touch the pad Celestia's last words to her, that last warning as they were leaving, gave her pause.
"Perhaps it's for the best," the Princess stated matter-of-factly, "to be chosen is to give up your life to the service of Equestria as one of it's finest, one of the Equestrian Rangers."
No, I will figure out a way! There has to be a way!
"I've never heard that term before Princess," Twilight replied, "what's an 'Equestrian Ranger'?"
"A long unused branch of our military, they led very lonely lives, anyone who they got close to, anyone at all, became a liability as soon as they donned that." The Princess answered, pointing to the relic with a sad weathered smile, "They lost friends faster than any other...now come on, lets go finish your lesson for the day and then..."
"ICE CREAM!!!" Twilight squealed, giving her best smile as she jumped off the Princess' back and raced out the door, down the hall and out of sight.
"Wait Twilight!" The Princess chuckled as she began to chase the filly, now on the hunt for ice cream as well.
Well, last chance: leave and try my luck, or this.... Suddenly, images of all the people she had met, all she had helped, flashed before her eyes, and as the images faded, she knew what she wanted...no had to do. Placing her hoof on the black pad she began to think of her friends and family, yes, I am willing to give up everything for them. Suddenly, the visor flashed, and pieces of the armor began to shift. A feeling of apprehension washed over her looking at the armor behind the, now receding, glass. It's now or never i guess, she thought, looking upon her friends' and families salvation.
As Twilight pulled her hoof off the pad, she couldn't help the apprehension she felt as the eyes on the helmet of the suit of armor in the pod-like structure lit up. Then, the suit began to slide out of the pod and into the room; upon further inspection, she discovered that it was was on a Stand with twin arms meant to pull or push it. Suddenly, the armor opened, pieces sliding back to reveal the inside, even dropping the helmet to further allow her entrance. Instead of jumping in headfirst, Twilight began to examine the armor, she could clearly tell the equestrian designs, more for form than function, from the obviously griffon designs. The griffon pieces were truly amazing: the angles made so as to catch the light from anywhere in the room; the leg-plates locked together in such a way that Twilight doubted very much that, not counting breaks or fractures, leg injury was at all possible. The entire piece was covered with faded blue highlights. The helmet looked very intimidating, resembling a mix of a griffon's and ponies' head. The entire thing appeared to be made of interlocking plates of silver, unlike the equestrian standard which allowed freedom of movement by being made up of several very separate gold plates.
Finally getting down to business, Twilight walked towards the armor, her armor apparently. As she began to climb into it something strange happened; it met her halfway, dismantling and then building around her legs almost as soon as it touched her. As it continued to build around her, she suddenly felt something prick her back. It wasn't the worst sensation by any means, like a shot, but it had been uncomfortable enough for her to notice. Suddenly she felt intense pain from every inch of her body, causing her to cry out and collapse, it felt like she was on fire. Then as quickly as the pain appeared, it subsided, leaving her aching. Picking herself up, and feeling the neck armor crawl and lock into place, she took one last look around the room before her eyes settled on the helmet. Well, here goes, last piece She thought as she picked it up in her forehooves. Turning it over and scrunching her eyes shut, she placed it over her head. I will protect my friends and family, whatever the cost. Then she blinked.
when she opened her eyes, she immediately closed them again. Why is it so bright? As she opened them again she attempted to get a look around. When she had one thing became quite clear... she wasn't in the room with the pod anymore. In fact, she couldn't think of anywhere in equestria she might be. In desperation she asked, "Where am I?"
"you are nowhere, yet everywhere at once, look around you." A voice called. Twilight, thinking out her options and deciding she was not sure what she could do, turned and looked. What she saw stopped her breath in her throat.
"I, don't understand," Twilight said, "why are there so many me's?" There were hundreds, thousands maybe, of... well, her!Twilight Sparkles as far as the eye could see standing behind her. They all had slight differences, some in clothes, some with wings, some still who looked like they would soon be mothers. They all appeared significantly older than her.
"They are your futures. Every possibility for you if you take off the suit."
"what do you mean, 'take it off?' I don't really have a choice but to use it. Besides, what would I do without it?"
"Oh, but there is a choice; for you see, I want to help you succeed, so I will let you in on a secret: Deep in the tunnels beneath Canterlot, there is someone trapped who you know. The real Cadence sits and weeps in the caverns while an impostor has used her identity to capture the city. That is your choice: don the suit and save the city, or save cadence. The choice, is yours..."
"who are you to want to help me? Besides, If you know so much why couldn't you save cadence while I save the city, or the city while I go after Cadence!"
"Because this is your choice and yours alone. I cannot aide you without you making it."
"OK, I guess that makes sense, give me a minute." Twilight began to pace and think, if she chose Cadence, she would need to save her friends and the city somehow without the suit. However, if she saved the city first, she would be able to save Cadence nearly hassle-free. But if she didn't save Cadence first, she may not save her in time. Suddenly, she remembered something her brother had once told her.
she had been sitting on her bed, looking out her window to view the street outside, where other fillies were playing and enjoying themselves. As her brother crept into the room, he heard her sigh.
"Hey Twily, what's up?" Shining asked, "you should be happy, you passed the test!" When she did look at him, it was only to immediately look away and back towards the window. "Celestia made me her personal student."
"Yeah, So?"
"So, when it happened I was excited, but when I was going home, I started getting picked on" the look on her face spoke volumes to her older brother.
"Was it Blueblood?" He asked, making Twilight think he already knew the answer.
"Yes." She whispered. As she said this, she curled into a ball and began to sniffle.
"You just need to learn to ignore them," Shining said, "those ponies, they were jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Yes, they saw what you earned through hard work that they couldn't buy and it made them mad that it wasn't theirs." As he spoke, Shining's looked out.
"Did you ever have to deal with jealous ponies Shiny?"
"Oh yeah," he chuckled, "let's just say that 'jealous' is an understatement for what they put me through."
"What did you do about it?"
"I realised that no matter what I thought of them, those jealous ponies are my responsibility." He said, "I am their sworn protector, whether or not i'm in training the safety of this city is my priority. I found out later that every couple generations an 'armor' is born into our family, each with a similar mark to mine. Each of them served in the guard and achieved high positions in it."
"Cool... but how does that help me? I don't have a shield on my butt, and I don't think I can protect anypony."
"That's not true Twilight, and as for how it helps you? Think on it, I'm sure that you can find a lesson or something in it. Now come on, go downstairs and get ready for dinner."
She had found a lesson in what he said, it was her responsibility to help protect ponies, from herself. Celestia had told her later that her magic would need to be tempered in order to prevent things like her entrance exam from happening again. Thinking back on recent events in her life, she could probably apply his words to her situation now. the people of the city need me more than Cadence does, there's no guarantee I could save her anyways with Canterlot sacked. I could even find a way to save her along with the city. Having made her choice, Twilight said, "I choose to save the city."
"So be it, please know that your choice will have lasting consequences for the rest of your life." As Twilight looked behind her she felt her jaw go slack as all the other Twilight's began to systematically disappear from oldest to youngest. When only she remained, she felt something breeze by her left flank, causing her to jump. Turning around, she discovered something especially strange. Standing in front of her was a unicorn filly. Her coat was a light pink with little flecks of purple scattered throughout. Her mane was cut short from around the base of the skull down the length of her neck, and what wasn't short came into a medium sized bob. Her eyes were a light hazel with a tinge of what looked like purple. She barely came to Twilight's shoulder, and as such was forced to look up at her. "Before I let you loose on the world, you need to be trained."
"Wait, train? Shouldn't we like, get me back to Equestria so I can save Canterlot before it falls?"
"Silly Twilight, we never left the room where you put me on. We are inside your mind, where time travels faster than you've ever thought possible."
"Wait, if we're in my mind, then haven't I thought..." Twilight suddenly found her mouth filled with filly hoof.
'"Be quiet, I've wanted to say that for centuries." As she spoke, the filly removed her hoof.
"... so... training?"
'"Oh... Oh! Yes training, we should probably... do that. follow me..." The young filly stammered as she began walking in a seemingly random direction, with Twilight following close behind.
"So... who are you exactly?"
'"Isn't it obvious?" The filly said, glancing over her shoulder at Twilight who shook her head, "I'm Pure Heart, But please, just call me Heart. I help run the armor"
"So why is your name on it?"
'"Every suit was named for the intelligence implanted into it."
"Oh, so were you..."
'"A pony? Yes, I guess I was at one point, I volunteered to have my soul transferred into the suit."
"Your soul!?" Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, causing Heart to turn and give her a sarcastic eye roll.
"No, my brain, of course my soul!" Heart exclaimed, continuing to walk forward with Twilight following close behind, "how do you think all the functions on the suit work? It would take at least two ponies to run them all, so the griffon who made the suits decided to put an extra pony in it, with none of the space requirements. I just happened to be the one to volunteer to help run your suit."
"But why?"
"I really couldn't tell you, it just felt... I don't know, right? It was something I could do to help; before this, I had felt like I wasn't able to do anything, so when they came and said they needed volunteers..." Their conversation ended and they each became absorbed in their own thoughts as they walked. Finally after what felt like an hour, Heart stopped and turned to Twilight. "All right, here we are... so let's get to it." Looking around, Twilight watched as training equipment suddenly appeared all around them.
"Let's do it."
"When you're using the armor you can't use magic directly, this is to prevent you from losing control." They had been training for what felt like ages. Twilight could now easily take down all three pony subspecies, zebras, and even knew how to take down a manticore, not that she would need to. Once Heart was certain she could fight, she had summoned a replica of the armor, similarly to how she had spawned the training equipment.
"That seems kind of unnecessary, I mean, I have a pretty good handle on my magic."
"When the armors were made very few unicorns had full control of theirs, so most used their hooves."
"Oh, so how do I use my magic?"
"your magic can be indirectly used through varying apparatus, for example: you can charge your greaves with through the sapphire ley lines inlaid into the armor; or, if range is what's required, you have twin EM-2 magic directors , think of them as handheld magic mortars without so much kick. There was also the EDSM-7 long range director and the EM-6 automatic repeater among others, but let's focus on the EM-2."
"What do 'EM' and 'EDSM' stand for?"
"They stand for 'Equestrian Magic' and 'Equestrian Distance Suppression Magic', and they are gonna be your best friends. Now back on topic, the EM-2 is what the griffon's would call 'semi-automatic', you can fire off spells in pretty quick succession, but not as fast as say an EM-6. Accuracy is pretty good, some spells go a little to the side though, so stay within... Oh, let's say... 30 feet. All your magical gear run your magic through a scrubber to change the frequency to prevent your identity from coming out."
"Vigilante much?"
"Hey, your words not mine. So anyways, the armor you're wearing is the "ESDF Com-skin tier-2, Victoria for short, and comes equipped with a magical shield which is good against up to 20 level 2 unicorns, 19 level 3's, 18 level 4's and so on. The armor can also withstand a small sun going supernova, and a herd of buffalo." Twilight suddenly grabbed Heart by the shoulders and began vigorously shaking her.
"What do you expect me to be doing!? I don't plan on taking on any suns or even a single buffalo!" She shouted, "Who even builds things to take on a small sun exploding!?"
"I don't expect you to ever be in those situations! It's just a precaution made by the griffons." She shouted back, breaking out of Twilight's grip. "Now, you need to practice using the weapons."
"Great... So, you gonna spawn some?"
"Nope, we're going on a field trip."
"but how will I ask you questions?" She suddenly felt the urge to blink, she fought it at first, but it steadily got harder and harder to push off.
As she finally blinked she heard Heart say, "I'm linked to your mind, one of the many things that are going to be different from now on..."
When Twilight opened her eyes she was back in the room with the pod. So, what now Heart? Suddenly a dot appeared on her visor, and what is that?
I turned on your tracker, your weapons' locations can be tracked to within a couple feet with it on. You can also use tracker dots to trace peoples movements. Anything being tracked will appear on your visor as a yellow dot until it's close enough to touch, then the dot turns white. So follow that dot already. Twilight began to move towards the door, but suddenly found herself losing her footing. Scrabbling back to some semblance of a standing position she looked down at herself in confusion, only now noticing how much longer her legs appeared. Oh, you should probably know that your body has been augmented to fit inside the suit, so you are approximately a head higher than you were before. Your muscle groups have also been augmented and trained to compensate with your growth spurt and your training; after all, you cant stop the changelings alone when you're all flabby.
Hey, I wasn't flabby! Slightly pudgy maybe, but I had some muscle, and why didn't you tell me you'd done this before?
Honestly I forgot, but you needed to have the build of a 20 year old athlete, so now you do. Take a few practice laps and when you feel ready, go get your weapons.
This isn't over, I hope you know that. She thought as she began walking around, when she felt satisfied she headed outside into the hall.
As Twilight moved down the hall towards the yellow dot in front of her, she began to hum.
Twilight?
Hm?
What are you humming?
Just a song some friends and I came up with.
Oh... Twilight?
Yes?
Why are you humming?
I don't know, I guess the quiet was getting to me. Twilight paused mid-step, Do you want me to stop?
No! Um... I mean... please keep humming, I don't really like the quiet.
You don't? Why?
Trust me, if you spend as long as I have with only the sound of your voice to listen to, any lack of noise is painful.
Okay, I wont stop.
As Twilight entered the room marked by the yellow dot. She immediately noticed tools and trappings similar to the ones in the pod room. There were notes from scientists plastered upon the walls, some she could make out, while others' wording had been lost to time. Making her way further into the room, she noticed the apparatuses on a table at the far end: The colors appeared to have been applied with the sole intention of intimidation. Much like the armor, they were a dark, metallic grey with faded pink highlights, matching the armor almost perfectly, when the light hit them they sparkled with an almost deadly beauty. they each had a narrow cylinder at one end, and then tapered out into strange shapes and curves, ending in a hole big enough for her hoof. Picking them up, she that they were quite balanced, despite their oblong shape. Suddenly, they liquefied, much like the armor had done, sliding down her leg-plates until they came to rest on her withers, where they rebuilt themselves and locked, waiting for use. She reached for them, intent on giving them a test, but as she did so, her armor began to click and whir. Before she could react she was standing bipedially, with her weapons at the ready.
Whoa, this is new
Oh, I forgot to mention that I guess...
What else did you forget to mention?
Apart from the suits standby mode, not much I think.
What's the sta-
It's really nothing special, the suit just changes into a more low profile attire.
Really? What does it look like
That's the fun part, you decide the appearance just by thinking about it. For right now though, lets focus on the task at hand.
Oh... uh... right. Well, better get a move on
When Twilight walked out into the hall again, she heard a groaning coming from the end she had initially entered from. Turning, she found the changeling she'd landed on slowly beginning to stir.
You didn't tell me you brought someone with you.
Well, I needed something to cushion my fall, hold on.
Slowly, she approached the bug; now noticing that it was actually rather size-able, rivaling Big Macintosh. Looking closer, she noticed it was covered entirely in chitin, with translucent wing structures covering its back and flank. Thinking quickly, she grabbed him by the nape of the neck and turned his bruised face towards her own, and turned on the in-helmet mic.
"Suck it up, buttercup, this is what you get for breaking into a ladies' room." She said as she bashed his head into the ground, causing him to once again lose consciousness.
Was that really necessary?
Hey, did you want him following us? What if he woke up after we left and messed up whatever it is we plan on doing?
As Twilight made her way back up into more civilized parts, she grew more and more cautious, creeping around corners and sneaking in the shadows. Until finally, she made it back to her own room.
Ummm... why are we here? Shouldn't we be fighting the changelings or something?
Changelings? That's what they're called?
MmmHmm... Yeppers! But seriously, why are we here.
We're here for some important tools Twilight walked over to the wall and tapped an off color section, watching as it slid away revealing rapelling gear and multiple glass cutters and even a solar welder.
Do I even want to know why you have those?
Relax, these were for when me and Celestia would go for cake. My room is three floors above the hall to the bakery for a reason.
Okay... I understand the glass cutters and rappelling gear, but why the welder?
On a high enough setting it could cut through even the strongest metals.
That still doesn't answer my question you know.
The chef decided to buy a new silver oven, it came equipped with anti theft lockouts, it was one part stove, two parts bank vault
As Twilight stepped out her window and looked around, she began to get a feel for her route. The wedding was being held ten floors down and five wings over, so she would need to re-position her rope, not an easy task in and of itself, that topped with her inability to use her own magic in the suit (as she had discovered while fitting the gear onto the suit, being told her magic passively recharged the battery on the Victoria and couldn't be rerouted without the proper gear.) made the whole plan twice as crazy and about three times as dangerous. Quickly making her way down to the end of the rope, she found herself almost five floors down. She then began to bounce from one hoof to the other, propelling herself into an arc that reached across the wing she found herself outside of. Finally, she drew one of her hoof blasters and blasted the stone her gear was hooked to. As gravity began to pull on her she activated her rear hoofspikes (a feature she had... discovered on the way to her room.) to prevent herself from falling and drew the cord back, planting it into the masonry and beginning her descent again. Once she was certain she had descended to floors, she began the hardest part of her escapade, she began moving horizontally across the wall.
She had almost reached the third wing when she began to hear buzzing. Looking out towards the city, she saw hundreds of changelings begin to come her way. Drawing her blasters, she began blasting bugs from the sky as they flew closer to her position. She continued to combat them even as they planted themselves on the wall.
"ON YOU'RE LEFT!!!" Pure Heart shouted to Twilight as she kicked the offending bug as far away as she could, "JUST SHOOT HIM ALREADY!!!"
I'm on it okay! I don't pay you to criticize my sparkly ways.
"You don't pay me at all, I-" Suddenly two silver streaks filled the forward sensor, bathing it in light. By the time the sensor was clear again, the changeling was falling to the pile of it's brethren on the ground below. As she watched Twilight battle against the oncoming swarm, Pure Heart couldn't help but remember how she had reached this point...
Many Years Ago... The early morning light filtered through the windows, making strange patterns on the floor and illuminating the enchanted hallway to near blinding levels despite the significant cloud cover. It didn't help that the enchantments constantly cleaned and waxed the alabaster floor, as the service industry seemed not to understand that there were in fact nobles who lived away from the capital. As she bounced down the hallway, Heart couldn't help but giggle. Today was her mother's birthday, and that meant it was time for her father and her to present their gift. She could barely contain her excitement as she bounced down the hall. Reaching her parents room, she drew herself up to her fullest height, a lady was supposed to be regal after all. upon entering their room she ran and pounced on her mother's sleeping form, startling her in the process.
"Heart!" Her mother, a mare by the name of Violet Dream, exclaimed, "What are you doing up so early?" Looking back at her bed and noticing the absence of a certain stallion she added, "and where's your father?"
"Dad's in the courtyard... Oh, and happy birthday by the way!" Heart jumped off her mother and proceeded to circle around the room. Running back to her, Pure grabbed her and proceeded to drag her out of bed saying, "C'mon Mom! Dad's waiting for us!" As she did so. Pulling her mother out into the early morning sunlight, she decided to run ahead and meet her father in the courtyard. Once she got there she found her father, a rather large stallion named Steel Soul, hiding inside a bush. Hunkering down next to him she couldn't help but giggle as he ruffled her mane. As they sat there waiting, Heart decided to look at the flowers on the bush; she'd never seen this particular bush bloom before, and it's blue buds looked rather good. Taking one of the blue flowers, she munched on it noisily, only stopping when she saw her father give her a glare. Smiling with all the sweetness she could find in her tiny frame, she handed him one of the buds, which he promptly ate before rustling her mane once more. The wait for her mother felt like it would never end, but when it did her and her father were ready.
"SURPRISE!" They cried as Heart's mother rounded the corner. Heart couldn't help but giggle at the look on her mother's face as they jumped out of the bush.
"Heart! Steel! Oh... Get out of that bush!" Heart's mother ignited her horn and lifted the pair out and away from the bush, before quickly dashing over and examining it.
"Relax Vi, it's just a bush," Steel Soul tried to reassure his wife, "I'm sure it's fi-"
"This is one of my experiments Steel, the pollen on the flowers is medicinal!"
"Oh... Hey, you wouldn't happen to know what would happen if, oh i don't know, two ponies accidentally ate one or two flowers do you? Hypothetically speaking of course..." Steel asked, trying his hardest to imitate his daughters saccharine smile from earlier. As he spoke however, his wife drew herself up as straight as her regal frame would allow and slowly turned to the duo, smiling so much that they had probably broken something.
"No... I don't know, because hypothetically speaking, those two ponies should've read the sign!" Violet shouted, pointing to the, until this very moment, forgotten sign which clearly read "Do Not Touch"
"Oh... Yeah, that." Heart's father lamely answered, "so I take it you don't want your cake?" The speed at which Heart's mother could change her emotional state was the stuff of legend, some say it was Celestia's secret weapon against the changelings; others, that she was the daughter of discord himself. Regardless of which rumor you believed in, two ponies bore witness to the sheer speed of Violet Dream's emotional shifts that day, and would carry that witness with them for as long as they lived.
"You made me a cake?" Heart's, suddenly teary-eyed, mother asked, "all by yourselves?"
"It was Heart's idea really, she didn't want to get the servants up for it so we did it all really early this morning." Steel replied as the three walked down towards the kitchens, "so, do you want your present now or after you eat your weight in cake?"
"Oh hush you, that was one time, and I don't mind getting it now." Once he'd received his answer, Steel turned and presented a small box to his wife, "happy birthday Vi." Upon opening it, Violet began to tear up, as she pulled a brooch in the shape of her cutie mark out of the box. It was gold inlaid with amethyst and diamond, and almost as soon as she picked it up it slipped from her hoof and collided with the stone below.
Heart's mother had been understandably upset, and spent the rest of the morning moping and drowning her sorrows in chocolate cake. Heart and her father had gone to find the blacksmith, which took them questioning most of the servants and some of the locals of the town neighboring the estate. By the time they found him Heart was beginning to question how finding a blacksmith could be this difficult. The blacksmith was also upset at what had happened to the brooch, but nonetheless repaired it before noon. Upon returning to the castle, they found Vi comatose in her seat, a plate of cake on one side, and five or six empties on the other. Despite having stuffed herself to the brim, Heart's mom had somehow retained her regal form, and was more than happy when they returned the repaired brooch.
Hey, Heart!
"hmm." Pure Heart was suddenly back in the present, the last of the changelings was gone, and Twilight was climbing up into one of the many windows.
You okay?
"Oh, yeah... just remembering. So, where are we now?"
Once we're in we'll be on the floor with the chapel, I'm not really sure how close we'll be though.
"Do you want me to open up the sensors?"
Nah, why don't you take a break for a while.
"You're sure?"
Yep, you just take it easy and I'll deal with this.
"Alright... I'm still gonna turn the passive sensors on, just in case."
Alright. With that, Twilight hauled them up over the windowsill, and they were inside.
As Twilight hauled herself over the windowsill, she breathed a sigh of relief. The conflict had been quick and she'd discovered that her hoofblasters were quite efficient in their magical dispersal, even she couldn't tell who's magic now permeated the wall's exterior. Her only gripe was the sheer weight of her armor, even with the augmentations she'd received, it weighed a ton. As she got her bearings, she discovered that she was farther from the great hall than she would've liked; she would have a bit of a trek to where she needed to be for her plan. Drawing her blasters, and again feeling the strange sensation of being propped up on her hind legs, she made her way silently down the hall. She passed room after room, each as deathly quiet as the last, until she discovered one door was ajar. Making sure there were in fact no changelings around her, she pushed the door open as silently as possible and took a step inside.
Some time later she emerged from the room, winded and high on adrenaline. She quickly shut the door and hurried farther down the hall.
Stupid, Stupid Stupid! I shouldn't have done that AT ALL!
I still want to know what THAT was! I've never seen anything like that ever!
Okay, time to focus... Not much time has passed, maybe an hour or so.
Meaning?
Meaning that if we hurry we can still find the changeling who impersonated Cadence.
Remind me again why that one is so important?
Because if i'm right about these bugs, then that's where the queen would be.
Whoah, hold up, that's some pretty big leaps in your logic. How do you even know they have a queen here?
Think about it... If you need someone to impersonate royalty, who would you use?
Okay, fair enough. So what's the plan?
I haven't figured it out yet. For right now we just need to scout the chapel.
At around that point in their conversation she made it to the door she was looking for. Finding it ajar, she cautiously peeked in to get a sense of what she was up against...
"... The kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small!"
Pulling her head back any faster than she ended up doing would've probably killed her. Words could not describe what she had been witnessing.
Was she doing what I think she was?
I don't wanna know, oh! Wait, listen...
"... I can't believe you ponies sometimes. You just don't know when to give up do you? Take, for example, your military. Apparently there's a squad still fighting upstairs..."
As Twilight pulled back from the door she once again headed down the hallway and then up to the floor above, this time with a plan in mind.
Walking down the hallway, Twilight began to hear the sounds of conflict coming from around the corner. As she approached, she peeked down the adjoining hallway to take stock of the situation. She was greeted by the sight of a semi-large number of guards fighting with an equally, if not slightly larger, swarm of changelings. The guards seemed to be protecting a door, which her helmets visual sensors told her had just enough magical shielding to stop a raging deity... For a second or two but it's the thought that counts right? The guard looked like they might be in need of assistance, so Twilight took it upon herself to do just that. Sprinting around the corner, she popped a couple shots off at the nearest changelings and was rewarded with three more bugs for the pile outside. She also managed to draw the attention of most of the remaining swarm rather quickly by kicking one of their downed companions right back at them. As they switched targets she continued to peck them off, dropping the number down to seven. Once they got close enough she began to engage them in a hand to hand ballet of death. Ducking low, she grabbed one of them and flung him right back at his friends, taking two more out in the process. Dealing with the last four was a cinch, and when she was done she turned to see quite a few of the guards picking their jaws up off the floor. As she approached, she noted that they'd drawn into a more defensive position around the door. Coming up on them, she proceeded to ask who happened to be in charge. Quickly the guardsmen parted, allowing a rather large, grey stallion to come up and greet her.
"That'd be me, and I can't thank you enough for the help." He said, "since the invasion started, we've been trying to get through this door." At this point the stallion gestured towards the door; it appeared rather old, and not in the best of repair, with weathered patterns along the top and bottom. Turning back to the stallion, she couldn't help but chuckle. "What's so funny, if I may ask?"
"Would you like some help?" She asked, to which he nodded eagerly. Walking forward, she placed a hoof on the aged wood in order to better find a weak point with her sensors. "do you mind telling me what's in here that's got you so interested?"
"Not at all... I beg your pardon, but it'd be ma'am right? Anyways inside of there is a weapons cache. More of a museum really, weapons from the old wars and a few from just after Luna's banishment. Really fascinating stuff, the captain's sister could probably tell you more, but we were hoping to get some of it back in working order."
"Hmm... Oh and yes, it would be ma'am. Now step back!" As she spoke, she pulled her hoof back and threw it forward as hard as her armor would allow. The door didn't stand a chance, collapsing into the far wall with a resounding "CRACK!" As she stepped in, she instantly recognized some of the weapons from her training with Heart. Walking over, she picked up one of the EDSM-7s off it's rack and examined it. It was kind-of long, much longer that the EM-2's she'd been using, it had a telescopic sight on the top, and a heat indicator along the side. Slinging it across her back, she proceeded to the EM-6s: They were rather large, resembling an old griffin artillery piece with one or two grips for a forehoof added on. Picking one up, she hefted it to get a sense of the weight before walking back to the guardsmen. As she approached the soldiers, each one arming his or herself with weapons made long before they were born, she threw the artillery piece over her shoulder and asked, "okay, so who want's to help rescue a couple princesses?"
On-the-job-training 4.2774536657 DO NOT READ... SANITY WARNING!
Twilight walked out of the room and proceeded to punt the already unconcious changel- Y'know what? Lets call 'em bugs, much shorter than their real name... No wait! Lets call 'em ants, yes definitely ants, across the hall. She did this not for plot advancement, but because she could. She walked out into the middle of the hall and noticed with her sparkle-powers that the chapel containing the queen ant was right below her. Quickly deciding this was for plot convenience she used her laser vision, which she totes had, cut the floor in half. Then her and the navy seals, did I mention the guards she met were navy seals? Like honest to (insert deity here) seals with like laser weapons, or maybe they were narwhals? Narwhals are waaaaaay more magical and waaaaaay cooler than stupid seals right? Anyways, Twilight and her navy seals (they call themselves that because narwhals have a superiority complex) crashed through the roof and fell into the middle of what would've been a mexican standoff, except the queen ant and her ant-ly bodyguards weren't paying attention to the room at large. Celestia had already broken free of the cocoon(eww) and was pullin off some sweet 360 no scopes with her god-powers. Cadence had been brought out of the caves, which sparkle also knew about for plot convenience, and was currently playing poker with Twilight's peasants. Shining armor was high off his holy livin ass, and as per usual was completely useless. Even Blueblood, the most peasant-y of peasants when compared to Twilight's greatness, was armwrestling with one of the guards who'd been in the chapel at the time of the attack. Twilight decided to walk up to the "queen" to figure out why she wasn't bowing down to her, clearly superior, foe.
"NagNagNag MeMeMe, Narcissism Narcissism Narcissism Narcissism!" The queen said in her (insert deity here) awful voice. When Twilight, in her benign greatness, tapped upon her shoulder, the queen turned and said, "MEMEMEMEMEME! Narcissism Narcissism Narcissism Narcissism!"
Getting rather bored of her one-sided discussion with the, clearly inferior, queen of the ants, Twilight elected to punch her out the window. As the queen sailed away into the sky, she could be heard saying, "MEMEMEMEMEME, I'M BLASTING OFF AGAIN!!!!!!" Followed by a crash as she fell into the, obviously fake, sky backdrop. Everyone knew that there was no sky of course, so no-one was surprised when the queen punched a hole through theirs and fell into the nothingness which was only there because sparkle, for all her benign godliness, was inherently lazy when she made this planet for her creations. Did I mention that Twilight was the being which created this, peasant filled, universe? Anyways, so the wedding was saved and everyone decided that instead of a wedding, they should celebrate Twilight's greatness. There were parades and Twilight even pulled people from other dimensions to come enjoy the party, the narrator was there, the proof-reader, but not the author. Twilight didn't like the author very much, he smelled and had 5 fingers on each hand. He also regularly bathed, who does that? So anyways as the author continued to write this (insert deity here) awful chapter, everyone worshiped Twilight sparkle. The made a giant gold effigy of her, and threw all manner of riches at it's feet. They also threw some old stallion, waving two plates around and ranting and raving about commandments, at it's feet. The author has decided to quit now, so he's going to stop writing.
Twilight walked out of the "museum" and did a quick scan of the hallway. She discovered that the chapel's ceiling wasn't that far away from her current location and began to walk over. As she kicked the changelings out of the way, she proceeded to direct the guards to where they needed to be for the plan to work. Their plan was a simple one: Twilight would cave the roof in, giving them their entrance along with the element of surprise. The guards would then incapacitate any and all combatants before attempting to assist Twilight with the queen. Brandishing her hoofblasters, Twilight stood and waited to allow everyone to get ready for the drop. Once she was satisfied with their positions, she leapt high into the air and let gravity do the rest. The floor didn't stand a chance, giving way to the thundering roar of collapsing masonry as She and her team fell into the room below.
As Twilight fell she began picking out, and then picking off, targets in order to give the guards a better chance in the coming fight. By the time the last stones settled, her sensors could only pick up 12 enemy combatants, not counting the queen, who were in any form of fighting shape. Smiling, despite knowing that there was no way anyone could see it, she hefted the EM-6 she'd brought down and glanced at the queen. The look of utter disbelief on the bug queen's face was priceless, but Twilight knew that it wouldn't be there for long. Firing a quick glance off towards the squad's leader, she signaled for them to engage.
"Attack!" He shouted, as soon as the words had left his mouth the stallion began firing off spells left and right. Around him his fellow guardsmen engaged the enemy in clashes of hoof-to-hoof combat, as well as aerial and magic duels rivaling those fought centuries ago during the aptly named changeling wars. As the sounds of battle began ringing out behind her, Twilight advanced on the queen who was desperately trying to crawl her way towards the balcony so as to avoid arousing the attention of her pursuer.
As Twilight advanced, the sounds of battle only ever escalating, she began to squeeze the trigger on her EM-6. As she watched the first white lances of death arc towards the changeling, she couldn't help but smirk and say, "going somewhere?"
Suddenly the changeling found bolts of arcane fire flying towards her. Sprinting as fast as she could, the bug tried and failed to outrun the magical blasts and ended up taking one to the flank and another just under the wing, preventing her escape. As she rolled back up into a fighting stance she began scanning for her foe. Upon noticing the one who'd engaged her, the queen began to backpedal away from the ever approaching suit of barely contained murderous intent.
As Twilight advanced on her, now wounded, foe she dropped the cumbersome EM-6 and assumed a combat-ready posture. Time seemed to slow down as she approached the queen. She could feel her resentment for this creature burning inside her, and all too quickly became aware of how close she was to ending the bug's miserable life. In that moment however she didn't care, she just wanted to make her pay for what she'd done, for ruining her brother's wedding and making her friends and family doubt her.
So, what's the plan Twilight? How are we gonna do this? Heart's voice was like a knife, piercing the red haze that had begun to settle over her and allowed her to think rationally.
We take her out, the hard way preferably. But an open surrender would be nice too. Drawing herself up, Twilight continued to advance on her foe, backing the queen out onto the balcony in the process.
"Surrender, your forces inside the castle have been beaten, as have a majority of those outside. If you-" Twilight suddenly had to backpedal as a torrent of green fire erupted towards her. As she drew her hoofblasters the queen began talking.
"YOU DARE TELL ME TO SURRENDER, DO YOU TRULY THINK YOU AND YOUR KIND ARE A MATCH FOR I QUEEN CHRYSALIS!? MY ARMY HAS DECIMATED YOUR FORCES AND EVEN THE GODDESS OF THE SUN HAS FALLEN TO MY MIGHT! WHAT HOPE COULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE?" Being forced to backpedal once more by a jet of fire, Twilight adjusted one of her blasters to produce a shield and began to advance, using her other blaster to keep the queen off balance. Once she was within a few feet of her foe she sprinted forward and wrapped her hooves around the queen, never stopping as she sent them both hurtling over the edge of the balcony.
When Twilight came to, she was on her back in what appeared to be a crater. Drawing herself out of the pit she found the queen likewise coming to in a collapsed storefront. As both combatants squared off, the changeling queen finally noticed the changelings littering the ground.
"WHAT!?" Chrysalis screamed sprinting towards her fallen army, "What happened to them!?"
Twilight smirked as she beheld the queen's reaction, knowing what she said next would decide how the next few minutes played out.
"I did." As she said it she noticed the queen's back tense up, no doubt preparing for an attack of some sort. Instead what the queen got was a much unexpected offer:
"Surrender Chrysalis, and there will be medics here faster than you can imagine to help your army. We are not monsters who'd leave another to die, and many among my kind believe in second chances. There is no need to fight any more." As she spoke, Twilight watched and waited for Chrysalis' response. She hoped the queen would accept, but anything was possible and so Twilight prepared to deal with whatever came next.
"What would you have me do? Let my people starve?" Upon hearing this Twilight recoiled as if struck, she hadn't thought about the "why" of the invasion at all up 'til now. To suddenly be told that the only other alternative to the events of today involved a race's annihilation... Slowly she lowered her blasters, walking forward and placing a hoof on the queen's shoulder.
"They don't have to," as she said it, Twilight watched the queen's bruised and broken face brighten, "we can offer what assistance we can, we can help you find a better way." Looking at the queen, and subsequently her "army," Twilight noticed they did all appear rather thin by equine standards. Even the queen appeared to be on the scant side, definitely not the imposing figure she'd imagined. Finally noticing the many cracks and dents in the changeling's chitin, Twilight made her another offer: "How about we stop this invasion, we can seek asylum for you and your changelings."
Extending the olive branch? What about what she did to the wedding?
I'll admit there were... better ways she could've gone about it. But her people were starving, and more and more I'm getting the feeling this was an act of pure desperation on her part. She wouldn't have gone to all this trouble if it hadn't been a last ditch effort.
"What will I say to your princesses? 'Oh, sorry for ruining the wedding and nearly enslaving everyone, can you help me?' It'll never work!"
"How about the truth, I know someone who'll back you up."
"Who? Who would ever be willing to talk to me after all this?"
As Twilight stalked around a bend leading to her room, she couldn't help but wonder about her stealthy partner. She knew very little about changelings as a species, and most of what she did know had been learned in the heat of combat. Putting off her need to learn for the time being, she scanned the hallway leading to her room: this section of the castle seemed to have the least amount of activity, no doubt due to the short-lived invasion, and she intended to capitalize on that. Walking brusquely, she managed to reach the door far faster than she'd meant to and accidentally rammed her armored shoulder through the door frame. Quickly entering the room and moving past the entryway, she proceeded to stand in front of the hole she'd inadvertently created at the start of this whole mess and turned to face the queen. The queen had adopted a defensive posture, no doubt due to the lack of a certain purple unicorn, and was glancing fearfully between the armored mare before her and the hole.
"Where is Twilight Sparkle?" The queen asked, no small amount of trepidation evident in her voice. Her eyes were darting spheres of emerald fire, her teeth bared, and it was then that Twilight fully realized how intimidating a sickly changeling could really be.
"You're looking at her," Twilight replied as she grasped her helm and gave a slight tug. There was a sudden hiss of depressurization as the seal between the suit and helm was broken, and then it was off and resting on the surprisingly intact table. As she set it down she felt the suit shift, and when she looked in the mirror the suit had taken on a seemingly liquid quality similar to when she initially claimed it. The suit seemed to make up its mind after a while and remolded itself into a simple, yet form-fitting dress.
"Wait," Chrysalis said, pointing her hoof at Twilight, "you mean to tell me that YOU, as you are, can convince your friends and family to hear me out?"
She DOES have a point, your friends haven't seen you like this yet.
Hmm, I guess you're right... well what should we do then?
Well we could-Hold up! Something very powerful is coming this way!
Can you identify it?
"You know, you and your friend share a fascinating bond." As Chrysalis spoke Twilight whirled and advanced on the queen.
"What do you mean by that?" She was nose to nose with the bug as she spoke, "and another thing, do YOU know what's coming toward us?"
"To answer your second question I can only assume you mean the magical signature flying through the air towards us, and if that's so then it appears to be my sister and queen of sloth, Imago." As she spoke she pushed past the armored mare and walked towards the window-like hole, "as for the first question, you and your friend can communicate in a way very similar to the method a changeling queen uses to instruct her drones."
Before Twilight could respond a rather healthy looking changeling entered the room and stood by Chrysalis. She was lean, but not to the degree that Chrysalis was, with amethyst highlights as opposed to Chrysalis' aquamarine and a stature to match the aforementioned queen. As she walked towards Twilight's surprisingly intact couch, she left an aroma in the air that spoke of pleasant nights and soft, comfortable sheets. Twilight had to shake her head more than once to bring her mind back to the focus at hand.
"Imago, I assume?" As Twilight spoke, she drew up into a posture that spoke to her years as a court adviser.
"Aw, Chryssi already made the introductions. That's no fun big sister, I enjoy that part." Imago sarcastically whined before performing a mock bow and dipping into an older, more official, dialect of equestrian, "now I ask thy name ye who wear the armor of an equestrian ranger, defenders of your people and demons of the changeling tales of the green war."
"Her name is Twilight Sparkle," Chrysalis suddenly stepped in-front of the mare in question and advanced on her sister, "and she has no need of your platitudes nor your pheromones," as she spoke she forced her sister to take a seat on the couch, and almost instantly the smell emanating from the queen dispersed, "personally I like diplomats to be alert when I speak to them let alone a mare with a hoof blaster on her flank." Her tirade done, Chrysalis dropped to the couch as well right next to her sister. She had not sat down for more than a second however, when Imago sprang back out of her chair and approached Twilight, albeit more tentatively than before.
"So you're the Twilight Sparkle I've heard so much about, I must say that my infiltrators description did not do you justice." Imago complimented as she circled the mare in question. For her part Twilight restrained her curiosity and instead of mobbing the queen with questions she turned to face her.
"'Infiltrators?' Might I inquire as to what those are?" Twilight asked in her most saccharine tone. Upon hearing the question both queens appeared to light up
"An infiltrator is one of our more long-term placements for love gathering, they may spend an entire equestrian life cycle playing the part of the same pony." The queen of sloth responded, "You actually know one or two if my memory is to be believed: one Mayor Mare of Ponyville, who is not actually one of mine or Chrysalis', and Quiet Scribe of Canterlot who is in fact one of mine." Twilight was definitely shocked to hear the first name--she knew the mayor was strange, but this beat almost all other conclusions out the window--but it was the second name that gave her pause; while her memory of her childhood was rather vague, she was almost certain she HAD known a Quiet Scribe at some point, and judging by the look on Imago's face she probably figured that Twilight should. Taking a chance Twilight decided to inquire about the name.
"I believe I do--in fact--know Quiet Scribe, but I only remember her by name. Would you care to refresh my memory?"
The queen looked rather excited at this response, "I can do you one better than that young one, I can personally re-introduce you!" Before Twilight could respond another Changeling flew in through the destroyed wall and took it's place next to Imago, who appraised it with an almost motherly interest. "This is my first-born infiltrator, she has played the role of Quiet Scribe the entire time the name has existed."
"I see," Twilight stated as she approached the infiltrator, "hello, I believe you know me, but I don't really remember you. Could you please help me?"
The infiltrator turned its eyes to it's queen, and only when she had nodded her assent did it turn back to Twilight. Almost as soon as their eyes locked the infiltrator erupted into amethyst flames, causing Twilight to backpedal to a safer distance. As the flames died down, Twilight was surprised to see that they had left a mare with a cream coat, and a slightly lighter colored mane, in the place of the infiltrator. The mare looked around the room, and as soon as her eyes settled on Twilight her expression shifted to one of excitement. Rushing forward, she wrapped Twilight in a hug and started babbling incoherently.
Blueblood simply couldn't believe what had transpired.
One minute he'd been regaling Fancypants with the details of his recent exploits, embellished only to the slightest degree of course, and the next he was surrounded by rubble and was most certainly not screaming like a filly.
No-one must ever find out about his soprano.
Before too long however he had been roughly dragged back to his hooves by a guard and was ushered, rather rudely he might add later when he complained to Celestia, to the door. As he and the other guests filed out the door he finally took notice of the rather sizable amount of dust caking his fur.
Every guest and guard evacuated from the chapel received a rather large sum of bits and the scream was later chalked up to a maid who'd seen a spider.
It was a BIIIIIG spider.
After said maid graciously offered Blueblood a damp towel, and he'd subsequently cleaned his coat to the best of his abilities, he began his descent towards the lower floors, silently cursing the enchantment surrounding and concealing the vast middle section of the castle. Very few people knew they were there, he only knew because he'd overheard Auntie and her student discussing it one afternoon some years ago, but once you knew, the illusion would fail inside the castle's walls. The castle was immense, standing a vast many stories taller than it appeared on the outside, with some floors being taken up almost entirely by single rooms.
A particular favorite of his was the floor made entirely of mirrors.
After stopping there to make sure there was no dust marring his pristine coat, he descended a couple more floors before cursing again, he'd forgotten about the maze of floors beneath the mirror floor and had subsequently forgotten the way out. making his way towards the room that he hoped might have a map of some sort for this insidious maze, otherwise he'd simply find the hole he'd accidentally punched through each floor of the maze and then continue on his quest to...
... To where exactly, he actually couldn't remember where he'd been going. Shrugging it off as an after-effect of the events in the chapel he turned around in the sun-marked doorway he'd been walking through and proceeded back to the floor of mirrors.
His hair had looked like it might need grooming the last time he was there, and auntie had taught him to always double check on the matters of greatest import.
He couldn't believe it.
He, Prince Blueblood, Duke of the western reaches, last living heir of the platinum dynasty, was lost in the castle.
It should've been simple, he was sure that first turn was the right one, and from there it should've been a straight shot to the stairs, however he'd been running almost in circles for ages now and couldn't seem to find even a hint of the stairway to the hall of mirrors. He couldn't remember where in the maze he was when he'd turned around, but every piece of decor he'd seen since was baffling. If he was being honest, it was almost as if he'd switched floors somehow and that made him a little uneasy. Finding a staircase down, he joyously headed towards it, only to find himself on a floor he didn't recognize. Knowing that there must be a staircase leading down to the floor below, which was hopefully one he recognized, Blueblood began the process of exploring. After a few hours however, he began to think that maybe there simply WASN'T one on this particular floor. Before he could grumble too much, he came across a curious door. It wasn't visually any different than any other door on this damnable floor, apart from the strange--almost charred--pattern on the doors appearing to be unique to each specific door. No, this door was just as unremarkable as all the other locked doors on the floor.
Except the damned thing was ajar.
There was no light coming from inside, which wasn't that odd seeing as few people knew the extra floors existed. There was a strange, almost unnoticeable breeze coming from the room. As he got closer to the door, he took notice of how real that charred pattern seemed to be. Indeed, looking back at the many doors he'd passed in the labyrinthine halls of this particular floor. He finally realized how very real the pattern appeared to be. It was almost as if...
Before he could finish his thought, the door swung open completely, revealing the pure blackness awaiting him on the other side. Tentatively, the prince approached the threshold of the room. Peering into the darkness, Blueblood could make little out other than what appeared to be a large piece of furniture in the center. Stepping even further, and then across the threshold into the darkened room, he noticed that the air inside of this particular room felt several degrees colder than the hallway. Looking around, he was astonished at how truly dark this particular room was; the atmosphere felt oppressive and thick, and the darkness seemed to exist as a part of said atmosphere. He thought it might've been a spell's doing, yet felt little to no magic--ambient or otherwise-- from the surrounding floor. Before he could ponder long on the potential cause however, he felt his hackles raise and whirled around to hopefully face the potential threat.
Then the door closed.
As the door closed Blueblood was made acutely aware of the sudden thrum beneath his feet, almost as if something had turned on in the floor below. as he turned around in the darkness, what he'd thought was furniture illuminated and revealed itself to be a stone of some sort. Approaching the stone, he realized that the illumination was coming from runes running along the top edges of it. The runes were in a dialect he'd never read before, surprising him seeing as his family had such a large collection of magical texts in their personal library. As he tried to decipher the runes on the slab, he began to take notice of the atmosphere around him shifting. The oppressive thickness he'd experienced the entire time he'd been in the room was dissipating, taking with it the darkness that'd surrounded the room. Finally able to take stock of his surroundings, the Duke of the western reaches realized that wherever he was, he wasn't even near the castle anymore. The walls were made of darkened limestone blocks--a material he was keenly aware was NOT found very frequently in equestria-- moss and other such undergrowth had penetrated the stonework, clinging to the walls and letting him know that wherever he'd been taken was very, VERY, old. The roof was wood, much to his shock, and looked almost petrified. The room was much larger than it had seemed when he'd entered, nearing the size of a modern low-class house in length and width. There was a window on one side of the room, and as he approached it he was met with a beautiful sight. Below the window and in the distance, was a massive crystal complex, with walls so smooth they almost seemed invisible as the sun shone off them. The room appeared to be on the brim of some sort of ravine leading into the valley the complex sat in. Before he could take much more in however, he saw a shadow cover the valley and again felt his hackles rise. Sprinting back towards the door, he set his shoulder to try and break through only to have the door swing open and leave him careening through an entirely different hallway of the castle than the one he'd started in. stopping himself before he hit the far wall, he turned just in time to see the door he'd exited slam shut. Approaching the door, he gave it a tentative pull and it surprisingly opened, revealing one of the many entrances to the enchanted pathways the servants used to traverse the castle, whilst avoiding the floors no-one was meant to see. Shaking off his surprise, Blueblood walked through the door, deciding to use the tried and true method of exploring the castle to get back to the ground floor.
Meanwhile, somewhere much higher in the castle, in a hallway none had been down in a very long time, a doorway with a sun burned harshly into the lintel began to vibrate in it's fittings. Not much, but enough to send an imperceptible tone echoing through the stonework of the castle and into the mountain off which that castle jutted.
As the group got up from around the coffee table Twilight turned the parchment--on which they'd written the emergency treaty--over and folded it before slipping the paper into one of the many envelopes from her nearby desk. The negotiations had taken all of ten minutes, and she felt that both Equestria and the changeling hives had gotten rather good deals, all things considered. As she turned to go talk to Quiet Scribe, her armor sensors suddenly picked up an anomalous magical signature coming from somewhere higher in the castle. Before she could ask Pure Heart for an analysis the world around her began to twist in on itself. As the world was jolted back into rightness she was left standing in a field of black grass. The sky above was a burnt orange and the clouds overhead had taken a muted brown color. As she turned to take in more of the area she now found herself in, she noticed that she was no longer in her armor.
"So, you're the one I've been waiting for." Boomed a gruff male voice from behind her; whipping back around, Twilight came face to face with it's owner. Before her was a massive figure, easily three times her size; its frame was covered almost entirely in a black cloak which failed to hide its rather wide shoulders. The hood of the cloak appeared to be held up by two horns and as it moved towards her she became aware of not only its quadrupedal nature, but she also noticed how tattered its robe truly was. The bottom appeared to almost be made up of more holes than there was material, giving the creature a grim image.
The creature stopped several yards from Twilight before pulling down his hood and revealing red skin and beady, black eyes. His face was long, nearly every square inch of which was covered in a hideous scar, and from his chin and jaw hung a rather large and messy beard. Upon further inspection she discovered that, between the folds and holes in the cloak, he wore a brass tinted breastplate embossed with images of gryphons, hydras and other such creatures. On his waist he had a small satchel which looked to be near bursting in capacity.
"Who might you be then?" Twilight inquired, "because as far as I can recall, we've never met. So your waiting for me specifically is highly suspect." At this, the being before her stopped in his advance, gave her an appraising stare, and burst out laughing.
"That is, understandable." He answered after catching his breath, "I'm meeting with you at a point earlier than I probably should. Forgive me for that little one, but I would've picked a time when you do know me if it weren't for the gravity of the situation you now, unintentionally, find yourself in. My decorum at the point of our fated meeting notwithstanding." At the confused look he received for his last remark, the being could only chuckle. It was a deep, rumbling thing and it shook the very ground they stood upon with it's power.
"You must forgive me, but by the time you are born--from my perspective at least--I've been trapped in cell after cell for eons on end. My brother and I have existed since long before even your princesses light graced the surface of the planet." As the being spoke, he began to weave his arms in a near-hypnotic display made all the more mesmerizing by the blue-grey smoke cloud forming and roiling between his hands. Suddenly he clapped his hands together, and as violently as they'd came together his hands did also come apart. With his hands stretching outward, the smoke cloud began to disperse and expand into the area between he and Twilight. "We existed as the shepherds of life on this planet before even discord had felt the air run through his fur. However, that does not mean we were benevolent towards life abroad." As he spoke, the smoke formed itself into the shapes of the being and another; this one was bipedal and his face was ringed by the mane of a lion, while on his back were the wings of a large bat. Once the two forms had been finished they were moved in and among smaller forms of griffons, panthers, ponies and more. Moving through the crowd, the forms of the being and his brother interacted with the forms around them in largely different ways. "Where my brother has a deep seated curiosity and wished to better understand our charges; I had a job to perform and I intended to do it," at this the being drew in a sharp breath, watching as the forms in the crowd ran from him, "regardless of who I trampled underhoof. In the end, it was my brother's curiosity and admiration for our charges that saw me banished to my first prison, where you see me now." The being gesticulated to the field around them, dispersing the smoke in the process, with it's strange field and large mountain in the distance. " I am cursed to stay here until I can climb that mountain," at this the being gestured to the steep mountain, "which I can only do once I've learned to care for our charges, otherwise their forms rise from the ground and drag me back to this field."
"So why are you telling me this?" Twilight felt her impatience beginning to surface, "surely you don't expect me to help you climb it? In case you haven't noticed, I'm without my armor and," taking a moment to attempt to feel her magical reservoir she continued, "I am without my magic in this realm. So unless you intend for me to carry you on my back I see no plan, rational or otherwise, that involves me." Again, the being before her let loose a hearty laugh, shaking the ground once again as he tried to get a hold on his better senses.
"but don't you see mare?" The being questioned, "my own magic should be likewise sealed in this realm, as it has been from my perspective for the last century. The fact that I am able to use my powers yet again shows that something has changed, whether in the past, present, or future remains to be seen, but it's effects can surely be felt from across time itself. It is also most likely what brought you here to converse with me." With this, he once again conjured the smoke cloud. When he clapped this time however, The cloud expanded and shrank into what looked like a wire. As the wire stretched, images began to appear along it's breadth. Some of the images near one end she recognized, her fight with Nightmare Moon for instance, but there were infinitely more along the rest of it's length she couldn't possibly understand. As she continued to look, she noticed a knot forming and drawing the ends taut. As she tried to make sense of where the knot had formed, it became more and more difficult to focus on the wire Before she was too overwhelmed however, the being clapped again and compressed the wire into a small sphere of densely packed smoke which he proceeded to throw to her. Turning back towards the mountain, he addressed her as he began to walk away, "know what you have seen mare, learn from it and prepare. Forces from times long thought forgotten are stirring and encroaching upon your world's peace and if they succeed," at this he looked over his shoulder to Twilight, still staring at the marble of smoke even as the light which had brought her to his prison did also take her away, "there will be nothing left for you to save."
Before she could truly understand what was happening, she was back in her armor walking towards Quiet Scribe, who seemed to not have noticed the adventure Twilight had just been on. Her on board companion though, was a different story.
What just happened Twilight? Your vitals went funny for a second.
Funny? As Twilight finally got close to her, she began talking to Quiet Scribe about their plan.
Yeah, for a split-second the armor registered you as missing from the suit. Then it started showing strange readings for your vitals
How strange are we talking here? Twilight laughed as she and Quiet reminisced about their childhood.
I'm talking KIA strange, your vitals claimed you were in drastic need of medical attention.
Well, that definitely IS strange. Twilight couldn't help smirking beneath her helmet as she felt the transfer of knowledge and memories between her and Quiet take place.
So are you going to tell me what exactly happened?
Nope, at least not yet. We still have to survive the mares who are no doubt looking for Twilight Sparkle as we speak. As she spoke, Twilight felt her armor seep away and form itself into a simple dress. Looking to Quiet, she smiled as they both were engulfed in lavender flames.
I really hope this works, it'll be hard to explain otherwise.