//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13 
// Story: Loved And Lost 
// by EquineAvenger 
//------------------------------//

	“LUNA!” everypony yelled in surprise. Luna had been hiding within the crowd and waiting for the right opportunity to make her move. She had fired a magic blast at the gallows, cutting the noose around Celestia’s neck, and saving her from certain death.
“Luna!” Celestia exclaimed with surprise to see her younger sister.
“It’s a good thing I stuck to the shadows to avoid capture,” Luna said. 
“So that’s where she was!” Jewelius said furiously. He was so caught up in torturing the prisoners that he failed to remember his other aunt. “Seize them! Don’t stand there, SEIZE THEM!”
Immediately, the guards readied their spears and began converging on Luna and the prisoners. More guards came running out of the castle to help out their comrades. Thinking quickly, Luna fired a few more blasts of magic that shattered the chains that bound the others. Now free, Shining Armor, Celestia, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike joined Luna in defending themselves against the guards. Applejack was able to fight off multiple guards with the strength she had gained from working on her family’s farm. Rainbow Dash and Rarity took down many guards with their karate skills. Pacifistic Fluttershy didn’t do much fighting, instead she used evasive moves that were timed at the right moments which caused her attackers to accidentally attack each other. Pinkie Pie somehow found her party cannon and used it to send multiple enemies away with powerful blasts of confetti. Spike was young and didn’t have a lot of combat experience, but he was able to help out as much as he could. Whenever a friend was looking overwhelmed by guards, he’d either jump onto a guard’s back and pull his ears or mane or he’d sneak up from behind and bite one of his back legs. Also, the dragon’s small size made it difficult to guards to get ahold of him. Being forced to fight the stallions that he once served with was a hard thing for Shining Armor to do. But he was able to defend himself with his superior combat skills and his defensive spells were unrivaled in the guard. He didn’t become captain for nothing. Celestia fought side-by-side with her sister, she didn’t want to hurt her once loyal defenders but she knew she had to. The combined powers of the two alicorns proved to be more than a match for the attacking guards. The two sisters used non-lethal spells to stun or knock unconscious on their attackers. The ponies in the crowd scattered and ran in all directions panicking as the fighting went on. 
“STOP THEM!” Jewelius roared furiously.
Vivian and Commander Hildread decided to join in the battle against the rebelling prisoners. Hildread ran toward her rival, Shining Armor, then spread her wings and leapt into the air. Shining looked up and saw his opponent hovering in the air. Hildread flapped her metallic wing at Shining and sent some razor-sharp metal feathers flying at him. Luckily, the white unicorn stallion was able to avoid the projectiles. Then Hildread descended to the ground and she and Shining got into a grappling struggle with their front legs. 
“GET THEM!” Jewelius angrily yelled.
Hildread leapt back into the air and hurled some more razor-sharp feathers at Shining. He managed to dodge them but they were heading toward a pony couple who were frozen with fear because of all the panicking and chaos going on. Reacting quickly, Twilight Sparkle got up from her seat, jumped in front of the pony couple, and projected a magic force field dome that encased and protected all three of them from the deadly projectiles.
“SOMEPONY DO SOMETHING!” Jewelius shouted. The more the prisoners defended themselves, the angrier he got. Then he noticed one of the guards had entered the royal viewing booth he was seated in. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be out there trying to stop them!”
Then the guard suddenly changed into the changeling queen, Chrysalis. She had successfully escaped her prison cell and wanted to settle her score with her treacherous former partner. “JEWELIUS!” she angrily yelled.
Suddenly, all the guards who came out of the castle revealed themselves to be escaped changelings in disguise.
“Changelings!” an earth pony mare screamed when she saw them. The already panicking ponies began running around and screaming even more.
A look of absolute terror spread across Jewelius’s face as he gazed up at Chrysalis. He leapt from the viewing booth and started making a run for it.
“I will tear you to pieces!” Chrysalis yelled giving chase.
“Twilight!” Jewelius cried desperately to his student for help.
Twilight heard her new mentor’s call and immediately ran to his aid. She ran in between Chrysalis and Jewelius, and took up a defensive stance against Chrysalis. She looked extremely determined to protect her king from the vile creature whom she held responsible for ruining her life.
“Get out of my way, you miserable fool!” Chrysalis demanded.
“You will not touch him!” Twilight retorted.
Meanwhile, the exiles had successfully defeated quite a few guards while others, including Hildread and Shackle, shifted their attention from them to the changelings and began engaging them instead.
“They’re distracted!” Applejack said to the others. “We’ve gotta head ta the medical wing and save Cadance!”
“Right!” Rainbow Dash agreed.
All the prisoners then ran through the castle doors and into the castle.
“They’re heading for the medical wing!” Vivian informed her master.
“NO!” Jewelius yelled angrily and took off with his assistant to pursue the exiles.
“You’re not getting away!” Chrysalis yelled after him but Twilight still stood in her way preventing her from pursuing them.
“You’re fight is with me!” Twilight defiantly said to her.
“Fine! If I have to go through you to get to him, so be it!”

The nine exiles ran down the hallways as fast as they could trying to make it to the medical wing before anypony else. Cadance could be undergoing some more painful torture at this very moment, they had to save her.
“We’re almost there,” Shining told the group. “It’s just around this corner!”
They all immediately turned left at the end of a hallway. But stopped in their tracks when they saw Jewelius and Vivian standing in front of the wing’s door waiting for them.
“Jewelius!” Luna exclaimed in surprise.
“No!” Fluttershy cried.
But before any of them could react, Vivian blasted them with a powerful spell that petrified all of them. None of them could move a single muscle. Vivian had to hold the spell to keep it from wearing off.
“Ahh! You were so close,” Jewelius mocked them and let out a wicked chuckle.

Back in Canterlot’s square, the guards were still fighting the changelings and Twilight was still battling against Chrysalis. So far, Twilight had the upper hoof on the wicked queen. Her magic was truly extraordinary. Chrysalis was beginning to see why Jewelius dumped her for the young unicorn.
“I can’t believe a mere unicorn could have this much power!” Chrysalis said taking a few steps back from her opponent.
“I’m no ordinary unicorn,” Twilight angrily told her. “I didn’t become Celestia’s pupil for nothing. I’ve faced many seemingly impossible challenges. Cadance was my foalsitter, she always told me I was special. And you will pay for stealing her image and ruining everything important to me!”
“You will try!” Chrysalis threateningly retorted.
“Even Jewelius noticed my potential, and he’s been doing so much to try and make things right for me and all of Equestria. So I will do everything in my power to protect and help him!”
Chrysalis let out a sinister chuckle. “You poor, disillusioned, little unicorn. Your new so-called king isn’t trying to save your precious Cadance, he’s trying to get rid of everypony who would threaten his rule. He’s only using you, and when he gets what he wants he’ll get rid of you.”
Twilight’s expression changed from determination to surprise and confusion. “What are you talking about?” Then she became angry. “No, that’s not true. You’re lying!”
“Am I?!” Chrysalis mocked her. “He was the one who told me about the wedding, and let me in. He’s probably having her tortured at this very moment.” Then she spread her wings and took flight. The other changelings followed suit. Twilight readied her horn to stop her. “What are you going to do, Twilight? Stop the evil changelings or save your old foalsitter? What if I’m not lying this time? You could be truly responsible for something horrible to happen to Cadance this time?”
Twilight began to become nervous. What if she could be wrong this time? What if Chrysalis was telling the truth this time? What if Cadance was in a worse situation than she was last time? She didn’t know who to trust. By the time she regain some of her senses, Chrysalis and her changelings were already fleeing Canterlot. With the changelings gone now, Twilight ran into the castle and began making her way to the medical wing. She needed answers desperately.

“Guess what, everypony?” Jewelius mockingly said to the petrified exiles. “I have some bad news. I was unable to stop some crazed traitors from murdering our beloved Cadance.” It was obvious he was planning to finish off Cadance now and put the blame on all of them.
“Jewelius, please don’t do this!” Celestia desperately pleaded. “If you had just talked with Cadance and I about how you were feeling, we might have been able to work something out. You don’t have to do this.”
“You’re right, I don’t,” Jewelius admitted sinisterly. “I chose to. I don’t need you or the other princesses, I’ve surpassed all of you. And now, I’m going to prove that.” He turned and opened the door to the medical wing. Just as he was about to head in to commit his dark deed, he was met with an extremely surprising sight.
Cadance was sitting up in her hospital bed and she looked extremely angry. She was holding two struggling doctors in the air with her magic, but then smacked them both together knocking them out. Then she turned her glaring eyes toward her treacherous cousin. Jewelius stared at her in surprise and nervousness.
“How did-” But before he could finish his question, Cadance blasted him with a blast of magic which sent him flying backward into his assistant and against the wall. With Vivian’s concentration broken, her petrification spell broke freeing the exiles.
“That was for ruining my wedding!” Cadance said angrily.

Twilight ran down the halls as fast as she could. When she finally made it to the medical wing, she was met with a surprising and confusing sight. Both Jewelius and Vivian were lying on the floor unconscious and Cadance was alright and embracing Shining Armor and the other exiles. 
“Cadance?” Twilight said getting their attention. “What is going on?”
“This way!” came an approaching voice that sounded like Hildread. “We’re almost there!”
“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Cadance gently said. “But I don’t have time to explain.”
“Twilight, try to understand,” Luna said. “It’s not safe for any of us here, even Cadance.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked painfully confused.
“Sorry Twilight,” Pinkie sadly said. “As much as we want to have this talk with you, we really can’t stay here.” The other four mares nodded in agreement.
"Twily, Jewelius has mom and dad hold up somewhere, you must find them," Shining told her. 
"What?!" Twilight exclaimed in disbelief.
“Please, trust us this time,” Celestia pleaded.
“Stay safe, Twilight,” Spike also pleaded.
“Come on everypony, I know a safer way out.” Celestia said to the other exiles and began leading them down the hallway. But Shining Armor stopped and turned back to his sister. There was something he needed to say to her.
“Twily, don’t let Jewelius do to you what Chrysalis did to me,” Shining told her with sad pleading eyes before rejoining the others as they escaped.
Shortly after they left, Jewelius and Vivian started to regain consciousness. Then Hildread and some guards arrived. They saw that Jewelius and Vivian looked a little banged up. 
“Help them up,” Hildread commanded the guards to help their king and his assistant get back on their hooves.
“Are you alright, Your Majesty?” one guard asked concerned.
“YOU IDIOTS!” Jewelius yelled furiously and smacked the guard who helped him across the face. “Search the castle and find those upstarts!”
“But my lord, what about the changelings?” another guard asked concerned. “They’ve all escaped, even their queen.”
“We’ll worry about them later,” Jewelius replied without a single care. “For now, I want those ponies and their dragon found! They’ll rue the day they dared to make a fool of Holy King Jewelius I!”
“Yes, sir,” Hildread complied with the king’s demands. “Search the castle! They won’t get far.”
Jewelius walked angrily down the hallway with Vivian by his side. He passed by Twilight, who was still standing where she was in a state of shock and confusion, not paying a single bit of attention to her. Twilight was left alone in the hallway with her thoughts on what had just happened.