Princess Celestia woke, the horror of the dream she had been trapped in started to crash in around her in the waking world. "No." Power flowed, she poured it out. Her power wasn't like other ponies she had taught over the years; they would ball up their magic and push it out. For Celestia, working magic was like opening her mouth and breathing: she never had to push, it just rushed out.
Gold light formed a sphere that grew outwards, wrapping not only herself, but her guards, Luna, and a curious little changeling. "That was you?" Celestia looked in surprise at the little, yawning changeling.
Lifting his head, Sweet Dreams gave a yawn along with a nod. "Yes, Your Highness." He yawned again, realizing that the dream had taken a lot out of him. Sleep was impossible to fight, when it swelled up around Sweet. The little drone just curled up into a ball, pushing his tail down to his back hooves and drifting off.
"I was scared of them…" Luna watched the changeling that she had so despised, chirp their little wings in a dream. "How many dreamlings are there?" Luna turned to look at Chrysalis, then giving a slightly guilty smile. "My Queen."
"We," Chrysalis gestured to Twilight Sparkle, "hadn't anticipated the need for more of them. Sweet is the only one. I wish I could speed up and breed more, but—"
Luna cut off her Queen. "But if the ponies of Equestria are like this much longer, your food source is gone. How long?" She watched Chrysalis nod, a grim look on her face. So much expression. Were those other changelings this… pony-like? Luna's musing was cut short by her pragmatism. "We must go as soon as possible. Twilight Sparkle, gather your allies."
Chrysalis waited for Twilight to gallop from the room. "I have honey to maintain my hive for nearly two weeks. It is the army I fear for, they were filled with love before they left, and I have no doubt Shining Armor and Cadance have kept them topped off, but now I cannot be sure."
Looking to her sister, Celestia, caring for her pony guards, Luna closed her eyes. "I will do what I can. My sister always cautioned against… against permanent solutions—" Luna froze at the clop that sounded from Chrysalis' hoof.
"Look at what he is doing to our ponies?!" Chrysalis gestured to Celestia and her guard. "This isn't isolated, is it? This is happening everywhere. I don't want to hear his name again, Princess Luna. Is that clear enough?"
Twilight and her friends had entered the throne room just in time to hear the pronouncement. While Twilight was fine, her five friends had all lost some of their color, and even the threat in Chrysalis' tone barely gained an "Oh my…" from Fluttershy.
Luna felt dark fire burn in her, she tilted her head up and felt her moon—out of sight, but never gone—soaring. "We need a train, as fast as possible." She turned from Chrysalis and marched toward Twilight and her friends. The moment she was near them, color rushed to the ponies.
Most notable was Pinkie Pie's mane. "Ugh, what's that? I felt 'un-Pinkie.' " She shook her fuzzy mane, that had just sprung back up to maximum curls.
"Stay close, we are going to deal with this problem." Luna didn't slow, and the six mares quickly trotted up to do as she said. The group almost made it out of the castle before it was stopped by a little dragon and a big changeling.
"There is no way you are going without us." Spike looked at Twilight alone, not trusting himself to even try to meet Princess Luna's gaze. "Come on Twilight, you know you need me and Gentle." Under him, Gentle gave a deep chirp.
"Of course you can come, Spike." Twilight looked up to the worried look Luna gave her. "After all, we really should have somepony along who isn't affected by this." She waved a hoof in the air. Almost right away Spike vacated Gentle's back, scampering across and jumping to land on Twilight's. "Okay, now we go."
"I remember last time I did this, things were very different." Luna walked along the streets of Canterlot, watching all the washed-out ponies struggling to get through their day. "I begged Celestia to let me deal with him properly." A wave of the old anger, the darkness that had invited the Nightmare into her, assaulted Luna, but was quickly pushed away.
"Is that what Princess Chry… Ah mean, Queen Chrysalis, was sayin'?" Applejack gulped, not liking the implications. "Ah'm not sure Ah like the direction of all that." She took a deep breath, and felt Pinkie put a hoof on her shoulder. It really helped her get her words out. "We faced a mean-ol' mare a while back, turned out she was a nice friend we hadn't met yet." She looked at Luna.
That is so underhooved, but right. Luna sighed. "You haven't known him like I have." She heard six mouths open, and decisively cut them off. "And I won't let you. You may offer him friendship, but when that fails you will let me do what is needed." She looked around each, finding staunch defense of their values in their eyes.
The six friends, Spike, and Gentle (of course), were all quiet for the rest of the walk to the station. The sounds of a train pulling in greeted them, and soon the sight of two particular ponies made them all blink.
"THERE THEY ARE, DERPY, SEE?!" Bulk had a heavy box sitting on his back, his size balancing it easily, his muscles supporting it without any problem. "SORRY YOUR HIGHNESS, TWILIGHT SPARKLE, BUT DERPY WOULDN'T LET ME LEAVE THESE TO THE MAIL!"
Derpy felt terrified, any hint of bravery stolen from her, leaving her washed out. "The… the Elements…" She pointed to the box. "Also, we had to… had to bring Scootaloo and Bright. We were at the train station, when everypony fell over, and then…"
"I can't eat!" Scootaloo pushed her way through the crowd, Bright Smile sitting on her back. "It sucks. Everypony feels terrible, there is no love anywhere!"
A blue and rainbow blur charged up and checked on the filly, before stepping back. "You alright, squirt? Apart from the hunger thing… I don't… I don't get that…" Rainbow Dash was doing everything she could to show she cared for the filly, and still maintain her aloof hero-pose.
Scootaloo shrugged her shoulder. "Hard to explain. It's kinda like smelling the nicest thing ever, and feeling full because of it."
"Go up to the castle, Scootaloo." Twilight walked up to the filly, her insides twisting a little. "I promise I'll find a way to undo this…" To her shock, the little filly flashed with green fire, dropping her "disguise" and revealing her carapace.
"I don't want to 'undo this,' I have a sister because I am a changeling." Scootaloo looked up at Bulk Biceps. "And a brother, too!" Almost in tears, she raced toward the castle, leaving the ponies behind her. She hated the idea of losing her family now she had finally found them. A soft chirp from her back made her slow down and look back at Bright. "I don't care what they say, or think, or manage to make." She focused her horn, her magic—I've got magic!—and lifted the little queen nymph from her back.
Bright, not yet able to follow the full conversation that had happened, only cared about her big sister not feeling right. She gave another authoritative (or so she thought) chirp, and nuzzled Scootaloo's neck.
"I love you too, Bright." Scootaloo settled her little sister on her back again, and started to trot up to the castle. She slowed to a walk at the front doors, looking at the big stallions guarding it. Okay, this might be more scary than I— She was cut off as Bright climbed up her neck, peeked over her head, and gave a little chirp of her wings. Scootaloo's jaw nearly hit the ground; both the big guards dropped their disguises, revealing large changeling bodies that hulked above her and her sister.
"Your Majesty."
Scootaloo ran as fast as she could, her holed-hooves pounding as she ran past the changelings. But it didn't stop. As she ran through the castle, looking for the widest halls, there were changelings, and every time Scootaloo and Bright passed, they stopped and bowed to them. "This is weird, Bright." She knew she sounded worried, because Scootaloo felt worried. At last she was in a hall she recognized. Running through the doors, ignoring all the bowing changelings, she froze. "Chrysalis!"
Turning, the Queen of Equestria spotted Scootaloo and Bright. Her wings buzzed, she raced over to them and plucked each up and pulled them into a hug. No words were needed, she had already heard how well her two special fillies had done.
Celestia looked sideways, nudging one of her guards. "Did Queen Chrysalis just chirp really loudly?" She wore a smile a mile wide, the reunion was something she had sorely needed to see on such a dark day.
"I didn't see anything." The guard, trying to hide their own grin, gave their wings a little buzz. "Wish I had a camera, though, Your Highness."
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
Night was falling, Shining Armor was already cursing as hard as he could—which wasn't much. "And you saw them?" He looked at Eye, then across to Extra. "How many?"
"A lot, moving fast." Eye Spy's wings buzzed a little in agitation. "I counted sixteen rows."
"And each was easily thirty ponies." Extra cut in after her sister. "Sir, they will be here before dawn." She actually chirped a little in fear.
Shining Armor took a deep breath. "Then we will have our first battle here." His heart was racing. This isn't our games on a tabletop, this is the real thing. When my changelings… Shining grit his teeth, refraining from continuing the thought. "Everyling! Incoming enemy, make ready!" His voice carried well in the evening air.
Thousands of hooves and wings began to make noise, the whole army preparing for a fight. "What's going on?" Cadance rushed up to Shining, a unicorn and some crystal ponies behind her, keeping close. She neared her husband and pressed her snout to his neck.
"They're coming, around five hundred." Shining lifted a foreleg and hugged Cadance. "Our first fight went well, because they weren't ready for us, we got to use tricks they didn't know. I can't assume that this time."
"Are you trying to talk yourself out of the job, or think it over?" Cadance could feel the slight tingling draw, as dozens of changelings sipped just a little from her. "You have trained them well, they will fight for you, and Equestria."
"I know, I just wish they didn't have to." Shining Armor stepped toward the northern-most corner of the huge square the changelings had formed up around him. I promise you, Chryssi, I will get as many of your foals home as I can. Shining steeled his heart and energized his horn. Sending a white-pink blast of magic into the air, he detonated his firework up high, sending bright light out on all sides, and lighting up the helmeted army slinking toward them.
As soon as the light went up, the helmeted army charged. Shining felt the shake in all the changelings as the crystal ponies came against them, it was an amazing feeling. "Buzz, lift me up!" Green magic wrapped around him, and Shining was lifted up onto the big underling's back.
He watched as the helmeted ponies tried to break up their square, dashing themselves against it. In response, his guardlings were grabbing them—one by one—biting them and pulling them into the changeling lines. As each guardling's venom was spent, they worked with the changelings to their left and right, helping them before falling back, making room for more.
A black head dipped down, but Shining could tell it wasn't someling going for a bite. "Higher, up Buzz!" On the big underling's back, Shining watched as one guardling was pulled down by the incredible strength of the helmeted crystal ponies. "N-N-No…" His horn charged, and Shining threw a bolt of energy down, putting up a half-sphere wall around the fallen changeling, The changeling line bulged, pushing forward behind the cover and pulling the drone back.
From the corner of his eye, Shining saw another changeling go down, then another. His shields couldn't be everywhere at once, but he started to recognize the move that was bringing his army down, piecemeal. "WATCH YOUR LEGS!" His bellow was lost in the sounds of battle.
The worst, apparently, was yet to come. Black power swelled in the shadows, at the edge of the magic light. Shining saw Sombra step into the light. The armor, the mane, the way the stallion stood; he reeked of power and privilege unearned.
Dark tendrils reached for changelings, dragging them from the square formation in greater numbers, Shining reached out with his shields but his magic was nothing compared to the raw power that boiled in the dark shadows.
"Princess Amore?!" Pain, anger, and blind rage consumed Sombra, all he could see, all he could focus on, was the strange pink alicorn. "PRINCESS AMORE!"
The bellow from the back-lines of the helmeted crystal ponies caused the ground to shake. Shining felt fear that had nothing to do with the miasma, and everything to do with his wife flying beside him. Black magic flew toward the pair of them. "Cady…" The world seemed to stand still, as the black ropes of power streaked toward them. "CADY!"