The sun shined brightly upon the Equestrian capital of Canterlot. Banners hung between street lights and windows all around the city to commemorate the monumental event that was the Royal Wedding. Within the castle, last minute additions and alterations were made by staff and volunteers to ensure that all was perfect. Tables were filled to the brim with many assortments of food and drinks. Due to the threat that was made on the city, members of the Royal Guard were stationed at every entrance and corner, assuring the citizens they were perfectly safe and that the wedding was secured.
In the residential part of the castle, Twilight Sparkle walked the hall towards the room that her old foalsitter and future sister-in-law stayed in, though every now and then there was a slight wobble in her legs. Ever since the previous day Twilight had felt odd. First there was the phantom buzzing that Cadance stopped, but before she went to sleep she felt extremely weak and fell unconscious. Luckily Cadance was there and obviously helped her to bed, but she’d felt slightly tired and groggy since she woke up. She was going to ask the young princess if she had an idea as to why.
Stepping up to Cadance’s door, Twilight heard that faint buzzing again but it mysteriously stopped when she knocked on the door and a familiar voice said to come in. When she opened the door and entered the room, Twilight saw Cadance sitting in front of a vanity mirror brushing her mane, and a quick look around showed her wedding gown lying on the bed. “Morning, Cadance.” The younger mare said, starting the conversation.
“Morning?” Cadance asks with a playful smirk, glancing at the clock beside her. “It’s twenty past eleven.”
“Any time after midnight and before noon is technically morning.” Twilight shot back without missing a beat. The pink princess merely chuckled at Twilight’s response, confusing the scholarly mare for a moment before she realized that Cadence was joking, and so dropped it and changed the topic. “So Cadance, are you excited for your big day?”
“Yes, I am. Today’s going to be a day that no one will ever soon forget.” Cadance finished brushing her mane and turned in her seat to face Twilight, but noticed the younger mare swaying a bit. “Are you alright?” she asked worriedly, standing up.
“I don’t know, honestly.” Twilight admitted, sitting down on the bed. “Last night when we were talking in my room, I was fine until I suddenly felt very weak and passed out. I woke up this morning in my bed feeling a little better, but still a bit groggy.”
Cadance sat next to the younger mare on the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay? You might be coming down with something.” Cadance asked. She knew full well what was happening to Twilight, but needed to keep up the facade.
“No, I’m not sick, just really tired and sluggish.” Twilight answered.
The pink alicorn made a thoughtful expression. “Here, let me try something.” Cadance said, moving her hand down from Twilight’s shoulder to her chest above her heart. She gently took Twilight’s right hand in her left and ignited her horn, the magical aura emitting a green glow, and then gently touched the tip of Twilight’s horn with hers.
The effect was instant. Twilight suddenly felt rejuvenated and full of energy, or at least much more than what she woke up with anyway. After a few moments Cadance removed her hands and smiled warmly at Twilight. “Is that better?” she asks.
“Yeah, much better. Thanks.” Twilight replied, returning the smile.
“It’s no problem at all. Anything is worth it for my special little filly.” Cadance said, lightly rubbing the younger mare’s head with her hand.
Twilight raised an eyebrow at that, but then made a playful smirk. “‘Special little filly’, huh? Who are you, my mother?” She joked with a chuckle.
Cadance stiffened and she bit her lip nervously, but she was able to come up with something before Twilight took notice. “Hehe, I guess I am a little bit. No offence to Velvet and Night Light, but with them out of the house for their jobs and such, I did have a big hand in raising you. So you could say that I’m like your second mother.” She said confidently.
Twilight rolled her eyes and waved a hand dismissively. “Please, that’s a stretch. Big sister who has nothing else to do is more accurate.” They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles.
When they calmed down a bit, Cadance decided to start a new topic. “So Twilight, did your friends tell you the good news?”
Twilight blinked in confusion. “No, I haven’t seen them today. What good news?”
“Well, good depending on your perspective,” Cadance muttered before continuing, “But anyway, my bridesmaids all got sick from having an allergic reaction to a lot of the flowers being used for the wedding, so I told them to go home until they could get better and maybe still see the ceremony. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to get some new bridesmaids before the wedding, but then I remembered your friends. So when we were having breakfast, I asked them if they’d like to be my new bridesmaids, and they said yes.”
“That’s amazing.” Twilight said excitedly, before turning a little somber, “Shame about your last bridemaids though.”
Cadance waved her off. “It’s just allergies, I’m sure they’ll be right as rain by tomorrow.” She assured her. “Now you best be going and get things sorted. Today’s a big day for everyone, not just me.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, I gotta get ready!” she bolted to the door and as she was leaving Cadance barely heard a shout of “See you later” from the hallway.
The room was silent as Cadance used her magic to shut the door. She sat on the bed for another minute or so before standing up and walking back to the vanity, staring at her reflection. As ‘Cadance’ got to the vanity, the reflection changed, morphing into her true form; that of Queen Chrysalis.
“Yes, Twilight, today is a big and special day, but not for the reasons you think.” She said to herself, turning from the vanity and getting changed for her ‘wedding’.
Commander Nicholas “Nick” Fury was a very renowned and dignified individual, one whose skill and intellect had garnered him an immense reputation with the people of the Asgard Changeling Hive, even earning him the honor of dining with the queen herself. Quite the feat considering that he was a zebra, not a changeling. He had lived in Asgard all his life, his parents finding refuge in Chrysalis’ Hive from a tyrannical dictator many years prior, living the simple life as a butcher’s son before following the call to action and joining the Asgardian military.
While in boot-camp he was considered to be a prodigy of warfare, becoming a tactical and strategic genius as well as mastering the arts of stealth and special ops training. He passed his tests and completed all given training exercises with flying colors and accomplished all his missions without fault. One would be hard pressed to find anyone as or more loyal to the Hive and ready to serve than him.
Presently, he was standing in a semicircle of monitors within the bridge of an experimental aircraft designated as the Helicarrier. The Helicarrier was primarily a mobile base and support vessel, able to carry a dozen and a half APCs, two dozen fighter jets and was also equipped with a special system to drop in tanks if need be. Another function that Fury was grateful for was that due to its immense size, the Helicarrier could hold a few thousand civilians in case of an emergency evacuation. Oh, and being able to cloak itself and essentially be invisible to anything thirty degrees below its horizon was nice too.
His attention was pulled from the monitors when he noticed his second-in-command, Amanda Hill, walk up to him. At first glance she’d be mistaken for a normal changeling, but the large eagle-like wings and lion’s tail would say otherwise. “Sir, the recon squads have reported that they’re in position and that the Havoc troops are ready to deploy.” She informed him.
“And her majesty?” he demanded, his voice stern and deep.
“She says that everything is going as planned and that we should remain on schedule.”
He nodded his head and Hill went back to what she was doing beforehand. Fury stared out of the bridge’s windshields across from him, looking over the grand city of Canterlot and the large pink shield that surrounded it. Shame that they had to destroy it to get in - likely give the caster a massive headache. He dug into one of his pockets and pulled out a pocket-watch, pushed the button to open it and stared. Inside was a photo of a younger Nick Fury with a thestral, each having an arm around the other’s neck, and seemingly having a good time.
Fury stared silently at the picture for another moment before whispering to himself, “Soon, old friend. Soon we’ll bring her home.”
The wedding hall was filled with excitement for the grand ceremony that was about to take place. The guests were all seated, Princess Celestia was standing at the podium to conduct the wedding herself, Shining Armor was in front and to the left of her, and the Element Bearers stood to the sides for their roles as bridesmaids and mare of honor. Twilight herself was ecstatic for the wedding, though was a little concerned about the zombie-like trance that Shining seemed to be in. Before she could ponder on it for long though, the doors to the hall opened and Princess Cadance, wearing the beautiful gown Rarity made, strolled down the aisle, Fluttershy’s bird choir singing the ‘here comes the bride’ theme as she did.
As the ceremony began, things were being set in motion just outside of the city. Guards stationed at the edge of the shield didn’t expected anything to actually attempt an attack on Canterlot, but their duty and orders meant that they couldn’t slack off. However, some began to hear a series of impacts upon the shield. As these guards went to investigate, they found several dozen disk-shaped objects sticking to the surface of the shield.
They had no idea what they were, and some wanted to write them off as nothing, but when those that investigated further reported that the objects were letting out a series of rapid beeps and flashing red lights, they were immediately alarmed.
Back to the ceremony, Celestia was coming to the end of the reading. “Do you, Shining Armor, take Mi Amore Cadenza to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.” He answered in a drone-like monotone.
“And do you, Mi Amore Cadenza, take Shining Armor to be your lawfully wedded husband?” she asked her niece, smiling at the younger alicorn.
“I… DON’T!” she exclaimed, smiling herself, as all attendants gasp in shock while Shining remained unaffected.
“W… what?” was all Celestia could say.
“I mean, come on, from what I’ve seen he’s too much of a workaholic to give a mare the attention she needs, and just isn’t my type. And besides, it’ll be too weird considering his relationship with my daughter.” She said. Before anypony could question her on this ‘daughter’ she mentioned, ‘Cadance’ was engulfed in green flames and began to transform. Pink fur became hardened chitin, multicolored hair blended into straight lime-green, her wings became that of an insect and her horn was warped and crooked.
When the flames died down, everyone gasped again at her changed appearance… and most covered their eyes and blushed from her revealing attire. Rarity went as far enough to faint.
Princess Celestia scowled at the imposter. “Who are you and what have you done to the real Cadance?!” she demanded.
The imposter turned to Celestia and spoke calmly. “Don’t worry, she’s perfectly safe in the caves beneath the city. Oh, where are my manners? I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Asgard Changeling Hive, and we have come to feed on your Love!” As she said this, the devices placed on Shining’s shield exploded, causing severe damage to it, enough to make it crumble under the strain.
As the shield came down, dozens of figures came flying out of the mountain and an enormous airship of some kind appeared out of seemingly nowhere. The populace panicked (as you would) as the giant vessel released a dozen and a half smaller crafts that made a beeline for the city. The figures from the mountain, soldiers of some sort, came to conflict with the Royal Guard… but showed that they had superior training and equipment.
Celestia was borderline livid now, something nopony had or expected to see in their lifetimes. “Stop this invasion at once!” she demanded yet again.
Chrysalis’ face hardened, but Twilight noticed that her eyes seemed regretful. “I can’t do that. Events have forced my hand and I cannot allow my people to grow sick and weak any longer. A true leader does whatever they must for their people, even if they’re hated for it.”
“If that’s the case, then allow me do what I must to protect my ponies.” Without further warning, Celestia fired a beam of magic from her hands towards Chrysalis, and the Changeling Queen barely managed to dodge before firing one herself. Celestia was ready and fired another beam to meet Chrysalis’, the two now becoming locked in a stalemate. “Twilight, you and your friends must retrieve the Elements of Harmony and use them to repel this army. Go, before it’s too late!” Celestia managed to command her student.
Too focused on the duel before her, Twilight only just heard the princess’ order. “Y-yes, princess. C’mon girls, let’s go!” she exclaimed, getting the attention of her friends, who were helping Rarity to her hooves, and they all ran out of the hall, Twilight and Rarity using their magic to change all their clothes.
Chrysalis saw this and mildly panicked, worried that her daughter would get injured more than anything else. “No, wait!” she cried, but had to keep focusing on her stand-off with the Solar Princess.
“It’s over for you, Changeling. Your army will not stop my student and her friends. You’ve made a mistake invading my kingdom.” Celestia stated, putting more power into her beam, pushing it towards her opponent.
Chrysalis grunted from the added pressure against her magic, but persevered and glared at the white alicorn. “You know nothing of our hardships, our struggles, of what we must do to survive. You’ve given peace and happiness to these ponies on a platter, but we have to fight for ours and treasure every moment as it could be our last. My people rely on me for leadership, but yours rely on you for everything. My people are my family, my children, and I will never fail them!” Searching deep within herself as her father taught her, Chrysalis mustered up her inner magic and gathered it into her hands, releasing a powerful blast when she had enough.
Taken off guard by the increase in power, Celestia was unable to dodge the blast and was struck in the chest, the force sending her flying across the room and sliding on the ground. Her horn had a minor singe at the tip from the magic backlash and her crown had fallen off. At that moment, ten of Chrysalis’ personal guard of Stormcast Eternals came into the hall, most of them going to their queen to assist her and the rest tying up Celestia onto a pillar and placing a magic suppressor on her horn.
Chrysalis dismissed her guards and told them she was fine. “I’m alright, just a little winded. But we must hurry, before something happens to Twilight.” She ordered, the leading Stormcast nodding in agreement as they left the hall to find Twilight, leaving behind a groaning and powerless princess and a statue-like groom.
Meanwhile, outside of the castle, the changeling army was rounding up the citizens of Canterlot into large groups where they were kept under heavy guard. Many pegasi attempted to fly away, but some of the smaller aircrafts caught them all in nets, and they also used strange devices that somehow prevented any unicorns from using magic. The Royal Guards were easily defeated and subdued by the changelings and were held in their own groups.
Huddled in one of the ‘herds’ were Fancy Pants and his wife, Fleur de Lis, who was sobbing fearfully on his shoulder. He too was worried for what would happen to them, moreso Fleur than himself, but was confused to why their captors were only forceful to those who resisted, and not to those who complied without issue like them. Another thing that he didn’t understand was that they were also treating anypony that got even remotely injured during the panic, whether it was from them or by accident.
Fancy’s attention was pulled from the ponies being treated when he heard an all too familiar voice. “Unhand me you oaf!” Prince Blueblood demanded as he struggled against the two soldiers ‘escorting’ him to the crowd. “Do you know who I am?! I’ll have your heads for this!”
“Sir, stop resisting. This will be over sooner than you think if you just cooperate.” One of them said in a distorted voice, trying to calm the irritated stallion.
Unfortunately, the ‘prince’ was having none of it. “How dare you?! I am a prince, a member of the Equestrian Royal Family, and I shall be treated as such.”
They’re immediate response was to shove him into the crowd of gathered ponies. “Yeah, you’re royalty alright. A royal pain.” The second quipped.
An angered retort was on the tip of Blueblood’s tongue, but he stopped short when one of the much larger figures came their way. Unlike the many other soldiers, this one was - as just mentioned - much larger and wore solid metal armor painted black with lime-green highlights and brass trim. He - Fancy assumed it was a he - also had a series of green X’s over his armor, most notably on the face-mask, breast plate and knees.
“Is there a problem here, lads?” he asked with a surprising level of gentleness.
Blueblood was still silent, probably intimidated by the large warrior, so Fancy Pants decided to speak up, much to the worry of Fleur. “Please excuse my friend sirs. He can be very overdramatic at times.”
The young ‘prince’ shot the noblestallion a glare, but the large figure said something surprising. “You are Sir Fancy Pants, correct?” he asked.
Fancy blinked in confusion. “Um, yes. You know of me?”
“Enough to know that you are a very open minded and selfless individual, more willing to accept new standards and ideologies than many of your peers.” The giant explained.
“Um… thank you?” Fancy was unsure of how to take a compliment from someone who took him hostage, but from the corner of his eye he noticed an unusually dressed figure coming their way. They seemed to be wearing a type of suit that was bulkier than the others and held a large object in their hands that connected to some other contraption on their back.
Before Fancy could ask about them, one of the soldiers spoke up. “Finally, I thought he’d never show up. We’re a little pressed for time, y’know.”
Neither of his fellows seemed to have acknowledged him as the larger warrior spoke out to the crowd. “Everypony, please remain calm. You will be able to return to your lives soon, but for now, I request that you do not move for the next few minutes. Hold your family and loved ones close to you if it’ll make you comfortable, but I give you my word as a Stormcast Eternal - not that you know what that is - that you will not be harmed.”
Saying what he needed, the ‘Stormcast Eternal’ as he called himself nodded to the newest figure, and they activated their device. It emitted a series of lights, made a whirring sound and the ‘barrel’ opened like a blooming flower, spinning rapidly around a lantern-like cylinder. At first nothing seemed to be happening, but over time Fancy Pants, Fleur de Lis, Blueblood and everypony in their group were growing tired, as though they hadn’t slept in over a day. Though if one finely attuned with magic focused enough, they could see a faint pink mist being sucked out of the ponies and into the device. After a few minutes of this, some appeared to be on the verge of collapse and the Stormcast chose to stop it there.
“Alright, that’s enough. Shut it off.” He commanded.
“Yes, my Lord.” The soldier with the device said, doing as ordered.
Suddenly, three flares releasing green smoke shot into the sky from somewhere near the castle. The ponies were fearful that that meant Canterlot had been successfully taken over, but something - to them - unexpected happened.
“That’s our cue.” The Stormcast mused aloud, before shouting, “ALL UNITS, FALL IN! WE’RE PULLING OUT!” loud enough to rival the Royal Canterlot Voice, forcing the ponies to cover their ears. All the nearby soldiers rushed to the Stormcast as he pulled out what oddly seemed to be snowglobes from a pouch. Putting them close to his face like he was talking to them, he shook up the globes and threw them on the ground, amazing those watching as they created two portals instead of simply shattering. Once the portals were open, the soldiers rushed in without hesitation. After the last soldier went through the portals, the Stormcast turned back to the Equestrian and said, “Apologies for the ‘invasion’, but please don’t take it personally. ‘Til we meet again on better circumstances.” before walking through a portal himself, both closing behind him.
To say that the ponies were confused about the situation would be the understatement of the year.
A few minutes earlier...
Twilight and her friends ran from the wedding hall and through the castle as fast as they could so that they could get to the Elements of Harmony and defeat their invaders, but the mare’s mind was in a whirlwind. Cadance wasn’t Cadance, the mare not responding to their special greeting should’ve been a give away, but something about the situation made Twilight think there was something she was missing. The time she spent with Chrysalis while she pretended to be Cadance felt so real, so natural, and the Changeling Queen showed genuine concern for her when she seemed troubled.
And what did she mean by ‘It’ll be weird considering his relationship with my daughter’? ‘Wait… could she mean-’ Her train of thought was derailed when a pair of distorted voices suddenly called out.
“Halt!”
“Freeze!”
The Mane 6 stopped running and staggered to a stop in front of a squad of Chrysalis’ soldiers, which they assumed were also changelings. Their suits made it difficult to determine their race. They all had their weapons trained on the group of mares, but for some reason seemed to go rigid when they looked over to Twilight. Before said scholar could even question why they reacted like they’ve seen a ghost, Rainbow Dash took advantage of their slip and barreled into one of them with her immense speed.
Taken aback by the sudden attack, the changelings were unable to collect themselves before Applejack delivered a fierce kick to one’s stomach and head, Pinkie Pie shoot a couple into the wall with her party cannon and the rest thrown to the walls by Twilight and Rarity’s magic. Not wanting to waste any more time, the Element Bearers continued running for the part of the castle that held the Elements. Due to the castle’s layout, the girls had to pass through an open courtyard to get to the right tower. After a few moments they came across a door that led outside.
Pausing to catch their breath, the Mane 6 looked among each other and nodded soon afterwards. Without further delay, Twilight opened the doors and, as they expected, they were met with several dozens of changelings, some surrounding crowds of ponies a few yards away. The changelings turned towards the girls and aimed their weapons at them, but Twilight and her friends (except for Fluttershy, obviously) were ready and waiting for the coming fight…
...Until half a dozen of the smaller aircrafts flew into the courtyard, several large and very strong looking armored warriors literally dropping out of them, some holding very big hammers. Suffice to say, their confidence wilted a little. Still not giving up though, the Element Bearers stood their ground as the armored giants walked towards them, stopping a few paces away and… knelt? What?
This action was immediately followed by all the nearby changelings, even the aircrafts slightly dipped their fronts, only confusing the group of mares further until one of the larger warriors spoke up. “It pleases us greatly to see you alive and well, princess.” He said.
Twilight was the first to get over her initial confusion and respond. “What? Princess? What are you talking about?”
However, instead on the kneeling Stormcast, someone else answered. “That would be you, Twilight.” They said. The voice came from behind them, and turning around, the Mane 6 saw Chrysalis with a group of differently armored Stormcast trailing behind her.
“What? Twilight’s not a princess, she’s not even an alicorn.” Rainbow interjects.
Chrysalis lightly sighed. “I know it sounds unbelievable, but Twilight is a princess. Remember that daughter of mine I mentioned a few minutes ago?” she let the question hang in the air.
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as her mind made the connection. “No, that… that can’t be right.” She muttered, stepping back a bit.
The Changeling Queen smiled kindly to her shellshocked daughter, taking a measured step forward. “I know it’s a lot to take in - I can only imagine how confused you are - and I promise you that I’ll explain everything, but right now you need to come with me.” She stretched out her hand for Twilight to take.
However, Rainbow Dash and Applejack moved between them. “As if! There’s no way in Tartarus that Twilight is a bug like you, let alone your daughter!” the irate speedster yelled.
The farm pony beside her nodded. “Darn right. Twilight is a good and honest pony, not some deceivin’ varmint.”
Twilight was about to say something, but was stopped by a sudden and strong sense of nausea. Her head spun wildly, and she was unable to maintain her balance and began to fall down.
“Twilight!” Fluttershy screamed, just catching her friend starting to fall and gaining everyone’s attention. Surprisingly, and luckily, the kneeling Stormcast that spoke was quick to catch his princess before she could hit the concrete. Green flames engulfed her body and quickly faded away, revealing Twilight’s lavender fur having turned into black chitin.
Though the Element Bearers were rushing to help their friend, they stopped dead upon seeing her transformation. Chrysalis pushed past the frozen mares, closely followed by her Honor Guard, and ran to her daughter. She moved aside some of Twilight’s mane to see a crown-shaped antenna start growing behind the base of her horn. She needed to hurry.
“Get her to a carrier, one with a Havoc, NOW!” she ordered the meta-being.
“Yes your majesty!” he was already sprinting when he said that. Chrysalis turned to her guards and nodded. They responded in kind and three of them pulled out a small version of the changelings’ weapons and fired three flares that released green smoke into the air.
Suddenly the courtyard was swarmed with activity as the changelings scrambled to the portals that the Stormcast were creating. The aircrafts pulled away and flew straight for the large one in the sky that also seemed to be turning away from the city.
The remaining Element Bearers were knocked out of their stupor when Chrysalis spoke to them. “Princess Cadance is in a chamber within the mountain's old mines, my spell on Captain Armor should be wearing off by now and the magic suppressor on Celestia’s horn isn’t locked.” She began walking out to an open space where one of the aircrafts started to land, the open side showing Twilight laying on a bench.
As she got in though, one of the mares called out to her. “Why are you telling us this?!” Pinkie yelled over the crafts engines.
Chrysalis looked back to them, and with a small smile, yelled back, “Consider it a token of goodwill for protecting my daughter!”
Before any more could be said, the side hatches closed and the aircraft took off towards the larger one, which was in the process of turning invisible. What remained of the Mane 6 were silent as they processed what had just occurred. After some time, the silence was finally broken when, somehow still her bubbly self, Pinkie uttered, “Well, that happened. Now what?”