Queen Chrysalis - 5/16/2018
Great Hall, The Palace - Canterlot, Equestria
Chrysalis was not a happy bug. The chaos outside had the nobility in a panic. The screaming, shouting, and constant rush of guards moving back and forth as they attempted to comply with conflicting panicked orders had forced her to retreat into one of the small panic rooms hidden in the great hall walls.
The situation would have been optimal if the four agents who had escorted her into the panic room, three had not been ponies. She could easily overpower the ponies, but it would be best to not kill them just yet, especially since one of them might live long enough to sound the alarm.
Chrysalis grit her teeth angrily and glared at “Agent Bark”. If you weren't part of my best tactical officer I could melt these pathetic ponies and get on with my plans!
Agent Sweetie Drop’s radio hissed and crackled. The mare cupped a hoof over her earpiece, to listen over the sounds of chaos outside.
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “I thought we were on radio silence till the impostor was captured.”
“We are,” Sweetie replied. “Please Ma’am, this must be impor—”
The agent’s lips twisted downwards as the person on the other end of the radio spoke. “It’s the impostor, trying psych games. We’re down an agent.”
Chrysalis grit her teeth. While she knew Carter had been a CIA agent, and a field agent, she had not in truth been able to access much more than public records about him. Her infiltrators hadn’t made it very far into the agency, and she knew full well how close they kept their records to their chests.
“Was she taunting us?”
“No. Threatening,” Agent Drops corrected before turning to look at her fellow agent, a pony whose talent was being so nondescript no pony could describe him (possibly her, nopony was certain).
Drops couldn’t remember her comrade’s name, it made her feel horrible, but everything about them was entirely forgettable. “So uh, what are the odds they could know which safe room we are in?”
The agent cleared their throat to speak, but were interrupted by a tall pegasus stallion with pale silver fur. Agent Bark. “Fairly good. We were able to clear the guests, guard, and agency, but the palace staff was only able to be partially screened.”
Agent Drops raised an eyebrow. “Why? That’s a huge security hole.”
The unremarkable pony spoke in a nearly featureless voice. “Our Princess dismissed and rehired several groups on the belief they had been infiltrated.”
Drops nodded slowly. “Right… But the Transformation check is quick. Why couldn’t we finish it?”
Chrysalis frowned. The rather simple way the ponies had discovered to detect drones was a major wrench in her larger plans. Fortunately, the immunity to transformation magic only seemed to effect Earth-born changelings.
The nondescript pony sighed. “The agents assigned that duty were novices, who spent too much time on each individual. You know how young ponies are. They wanted to be noticed for a good job.”
Agent Drops facehooved. “Oh come on!”
Chrysalis grit her teeth in mock anger. “Then one of the bugs could know we're in here. The runes I saw on the doorframe won't last against sustained spellcraft. I don’t want to use my magic in close quarters, you would all be gravely injured. I recommend we change locations.”
Agent Drops smiled. Chrysalis could sense it wasn't fully sincere but the mare was far too adept in masking her emotions for even the Queen to read clearly. “I see you’re a quick study, Ma’am.”
Chrysalis nodded. “I’ve always been a quick learner.”
The nondescript agent spared a quick look at Sweetie Drops, one the Queen did not catch. “Even with the wedding going? I seem to recall you knowing nothing about magical security systems.”
Chrysalis’s eyes burned for a split-second. I would have thought Celestia would have given Cadence a crash course on sorcery. What’s her excuse? Run out of pocket realities to exploit?
She turned towards her faceless ally and returned their nod. Their suspicions were most likely correct.
“It was hard to find a few hours each night, but I managed,” Chrysalis said with a toss of her mane. “I did have Shining to tutor me. Don’t get me wrong, I am no expert, but those runes seemed quite low powered to me.”
Agent Lemon, a violently yellow pegasus, cleared her throat. “Girls, we’re in a crisis situation. Do we move the VIP, yes or no?”
Bark shook his head. “No. The party is a clear distraction, the taunt is a trap to draw us out, they don’t know where she is.”
The unremarkable agent cleared their throat to regain everyone’s attention. Agent Drops and Bark jumped slightly, having nearly forgotten the pony was even there.
Drops grit her teeth. She’d worked with whats-their-name before. She knew she had to actively focus on their presence, or she would forget all about them. She needed a moment to remember their plan.
Drops smiled shakily. “Hey, uh, I’m sorry but what’s your name again?”
The Agent smiled sadly. “Spook. Don't worry, you’ll forget it again in a minute. Everypony always does.”
The Queens eyes narrowed as she looked at Spook, unable to work out even so much as what their eyes looked like. What kind of illusion is this? Is it an illusion? Special talents can do weird things… What if this is Celestia? I need to slip these four as soon as possible. I’m not in position.
“If I can speak,” Spook said while activating a pair of disruptor bracelets beneath their suit’s sleeves. “As soon as the chaos began the bugs could have snuck a full strike team into the palace. Even worse, the partially screened palace staff means they could potentially have a team in here already who merely needed the chaos to strike.
“They have two distractions. This party and the impostor. Our attention is split between them, we were not watching the hall well enough when the party began due to focusing on the impostor. This position is therefore already compromised. It doesn't matter if they know where her highness is exactly, they will know the panic rooms in the hall opened, and will break into each one. We must move.”
Chrysalis nodded twice. “I agree with Agent… I’m sorry, what’s your name?” How did I forget it? I know he said it a few seconds ago. What is this nonsense?! Who are you?
The Agent smiled sadly. “It’s Spook, your majesty. Don't worry, you’ll forget it again in a minute. Everypony always does.”
Agent Drops raised an eyebrow, despite remembering the plan they had improvised ten minutes ago, she’d entirely forgotten their name. Again. “You have a name?”
Agent Spook nodded. “Sure do.”
Agent Bark facehooved. “Right, you’re the guy whose special talent is being extremely forgettable. How… How do they remember to pay you?”
Agent Spook smiled. “They don’t.”
Agent Lemon sighed. “We’re on the clock, girls!”
Chrysalis closed her eyes and sent a message to her drones. <I’m going to make my way to the armory. Do not attack any Cadence heading to the armory. The timetable has been broken, we need to start Step Nine this instant.>
Chrysalis shook her head to disguise her telepathic message as a quick moment of consideration. “We’re going to the armory.”
Agent Drops paused. “Ma’am, you mean to tell me you didn’t collect your weapons?”
Chrysalis almost frowned, but managed to retain a blank look. “I didn’t buckle on a sword for my wedding, no.”
“I heard Princess Celestia enchanted a selection of concealed weapons for you.”
“She did, but I thought it might be bad form to have them on for the wedding. Call me an idiot but if by chance some foreign dignitary noticed I was armed there would be trouble.”
Agent Drops nodded. She couldn’t argue with that. “Fair enough… Okay, Princess. You want to fight. Fine. Where do we hold out after you’re armed?”
Agent Lemon reached into her suit’s inner pocket and retrieved her spare shield-charm. “Princess, I have a spare shield. That’s what you wanted, right?”
Chrysalis had in fact wanted to get her hooves on some particular wands, but a shield was at least something. “Yes, that was one thing. I also want to pick up my weapons. Thank you.”
Chrysalis plucked the charm from her agent’s grasp and stuck it onto her fur. A shimmering white magical barrier sprang to life millimeters above her fur. It was clear enough to see through, but still obvious enough to see.
Agent Drops looked towards the door. “That takes care of defense. I imagine you have offense down just fine for unicorn strength opponents... Where do you want to hold up?”
Chrysalis put on her best determined face. “The Solar Throne Room has one entrance, and the stained-glass windows lead to light boxes, not outside. It’s also large enough for me to fight in without injuring you. I want to hold up there, after retrieving my equipment.”
Agent Spook reached up with a hoof for the door release. “I assume that’s an order, your highness?”
“It is.”
Spook looked to his fellow agents. “Then there is no room for debate. Be ready to cover her.”
Chrysalis focused her telepathy on the drone accompanying her. <Behind me, now.>
Agent Bark stepped back from the door. “I’ll bring up the rear. Drops, Lemon, take point,” the Agent’s lips pulled down in a frown as he looked towards the pony whose name he had suddenly forgotten. “You flank. Right side.”
Drops and Lemon stepped in front of the door while Agent Spook nodded and drew a folding crossbow from a suit pocket. “Sure thing.”
Spook reached up and pressed the door release. The safe room’s door slid open with a hiss of magic and metal on stone. A wall of sound blasted through the doorway. Screams both terrified and joyous, loud pulsing music, shattering glass, splintering wood, and cracking stone melded together into a chaotic sea.
Chrysalis caught a glimpse of various wedding guests running around the hall, trying to find cover from what they saw as a rioting mob. Royal Guards kept removing that cover, doing their best to barricade the ground level windows, of which two had been broken.
Chrysalis shook her head. I have to admit, you can certainly cause a distraction… But so can I.
Agent Drops flexed her hooves, activating shock-bracelets hidden beneath her suit’s sleeves. “Let’s go! Keep tight.”
Drops and Lemon trotted out the door, each keeping an eye on half the hall. Chrysalis waited for a second, debating blasting them from the safe room, but decided against it. She needed to maintain Cadence’s image a little longer.
Chrysalis stepped forward and exited the safe room with the nondescript pony at her side and her drone at her rear. A group of Royal Guards noticed the safe room open, and spotted “Cadence” as she started to slip out of the hall. The squad immediately formed a line to keep nobles from running towards the princess. After all if she needed to be extracted, the party outside had indeed become a full fledged riot.
Chrysalis, the Agents, and her drone quickly made their way through the shambles of the reception hall. Chrysalis couldn’t help but spare the occasional glance out the windows at the party outside. There had to be at least a thousand ponies out there, not counting the guards trying to break up the party.
A flash of blue and black within the party drew Chrysalis’s attention. She turned her head focusing on the spot. Princess Luna had entered the party, a lance in hoof, to personally break it up and was failing to do much of anything from what Chrysalis could see.
The Queen’s eyes widened. No! No, no, no, no! We dosed her with a sleeping potion strong enough to keep a dragon down for a week! She can’t be awake, she’ll steal all the affection.
<All drones! Luna is awake, when the invasion starts, run contingency 4. Noling is to engage her unless they have my prior approval.>
Agent Spook raised an eyebrow as he saw the worried look on Chrysalis’s face. “Something wrong, Princess?”
Chrysalis nodded. “Yes, Luna’s trying to break up the party and failing… I don't like that. There has to be something magical about it.”
Agent Drops shivered. “Celestia… Pinkie Pie is here. Maybe she decided it looked like fun.”
Chrysalis racked her brain to place the name, it sounded familiar. Her eyes sparkled in recognition. “Humm, maybe, but I don’t think the Element of Laughter works that way.”
Spook snorted. “No, but Pinkie does. She’s the only mare who remembers my name.”
Agent Lemon tilted her head to one side. “Wait, you have a name?”
Bark cleared his throat. “You should wear a name tag or something.”
Spook sighed, “I am.”
Chrysalis was tempted to stop walking out of the hall and give the pony’s suit a thorough inspection for any name tag at all, but the sooner they were out of everyone’s sight the better.
Chrysalis turned her telepathic attention to her drone. <As soon as we’re not beneath a thousand eyes, I will stun our mysterious friend. I believe they may be Celestia. You handle Drops and Lemon.>
Agent Bark turned to stare at Spook’s chest. “Hey! You are wearing a name tag. How did I not notice— Wait, you’re a mare? I could have sworn you’re a stallion.”
“Yep,” Spook confirmed with a shake of her head. “Don’t worry. You’ll forget in a minute. The tag has my eye color, mane color, and fur color on it too, if you’re interested.”
Bark frowned. “What tag?”
Spook just sighed. Even though her special talent had made her one of the best spies in Equestria, life sucked extremely hard after she got her cutie mark and became even more forgettable.
The group passed through the halls’ entrance and into the palace’s main entry. The large room was home to no less than three grand staircases, covered in gold leafed everything, featured brightly polished marble floors, and was presently occupied by a platoon of EUP Guardsponies.
Unlike the Royal Guard, the EUP’s armor covered almost all of their bodies. The plates still held an old world flair to their design, but were colored light brown, tan, and white to provide camouflage in urban environments. The sixty pony platoon bristled with heavy crossbows, thunderlances, cloud-makers, spell-amps, and elemental gauntlets of all kinds.
The platoon’s Lieutenant was in the middle of addressing his stallions as Chrysalis and her agents entered the room.
“— our secondary goal is to push them back from the palace wall. The gates have been sealed, they can only advanced into the palace itself. That situation is unacceptable! Not one of those party goers is to—”
The Lieutenant trailed off as he saw Cadence enter the room and immediately snapped into a salute. “Your Majesty! We’re nearly ready to engage as per your orders.”
Chrysalis winced again. Her plans had factored in the EUP of course, but they had hinged on Equestria’s proper military deploying after her first strike. The royal Guard forded my orders onto the EUP… Cadence, oh my sweet Cadence, I’m going to gut you like a fish.
Chrysalis wiped the manic rage from her face as quickly as she could. “How many platoons have been mobilized, Lieutenant?”
“Six, Ma’am. We’re covering each of the city gates with other platoons. Don’t worry, we’ll get them all.”
“Good! Don't let me keep you.”
The Lieutenant snapped another salute. “Yes, Ma’am. You lot heard her highness! No diddle-dallying.”
Chrysalis and her Agents began to climb the hall’s leftmost staircase. The Royal Armory was on the second floor, near the library. It would be a long trot for certain, but the route should be clear enough to ditch her escorts. They would definitely know something was up with what she was after.
The group made it up the stairs and entered a servant's passage which would let them bypass the main hallway. While narrow and undercoated, the servants passage was at least big enough for three ponies to walk side by side. Chrysalis listened to the sound of their hooves clicking against the tile floor and echoing off the plaster-covered walls, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
She did need to be relatively certain the passage was witness free, after all.
Agent Drops turned to give Spook a sidelong glance. Spook nodded as subtly as a pony could. It was time...
Drops faked a nervous cough. “Times like this… Makes me wish I had somepony to go home to when it was all over.”
Chrysalis twitched her ears, straining to listen for the sound of any other hoofsteps in the passageway. “I’m certain you will one day.”
Agent Drops held her expression as naturally as she could. There was no way Cadence would have forgotten how they had met. “Yeah, they say there’s someone for everypo—” She froze mid step, pearking her ears as if hearing something. “B9! B9!”
Chrysalis’s head snapped upwards as she looked for whatever Drops head heard. Spook dropped her shoulder, twisted, and slammed her left hoof into Chrysalis’s gut.
Blue-white sparks blasted outwards from the impact as the disruptor gauntlet’s enchantment ripped away the shield charm Chrysalis was wearing, then stripped away a good chunk of the Queen’s not-actually-alicorn-strength wards.
Lemon took half a second to remember B9 meant they were guarding an impostor and spun to help take the changeling down. Bark dipped his horn and put a spellbolt between her eyes. The mare’s head snapped backwards under the impact with a sickening crack.
Lemon tumbled head over plot to the floor.
Agent Drops swore under her breath, it hadn't’ even entered her brain that one of them could be a changeling, even though it should have. She ducked down, slid beneath “Cadence’s” legs and punched up with her left foreleg using all her Earthpony strength. The blow caught Chrysalis just as she had begun to counter-attack.
Bolts of lightning scorched fur and floor tiles as earth-pony strength smashed Chrysalis spine-first into the ceiling. As ceiling tiles cracked and crumbled from the impact, Drops sprang up onto her hind legs and threw a right hook into Bark’s jaw.
Bone shattered, ball lightning thundered, Bark’s neck snapped under the blow, killing him before the lightning even had a chance.
Spook spread her leathery wings, jumping upwards to try to use her second disruptor gauntlet to destroy any wards the other changeling possessed.
The drone’s dead body slammed into the ground. Chrysalis’s horn blazed green, a spell crackling along her horn for the half-second it needed before going off. A wave of sickly green miasma blasted down the hallway, washing over both ponies and ripping the air from their lungs and the consciousness from their minds.
The two ponies dropped to the ground, twitching violently as their bodies tried to draw breath, failed, and tried again.
Chrysalis pried herself out of the ceiling and dropped to the floor with a wet thud. Blood oozed from her back, shoulder, and head. Drop’s punch hadn't done much more than burn off a chunk of belly fat. The ceiling, however, had proven much more deadly.
The wounded Queen spent several minutes pulling the shattered pieces of her splintered mind together. Stars swam in her eyes. An eerie humm hissed in her ears. As soon as her head cleared, Chrysalis stood up, slightly shaken, and turned to look at the unconscious Earth pony mare behind her.
Her horn burned green as she ripped the mare’s suit jacket and shirt off to see what gauntlet she had been wearing. Her eyes narrowed as she saw only the two silver bracelets with their shock runes.
“I was hit with a disruptor spell… Who did that?”
She turned around and looked to Lemon’s crumpled body. Another blast of telekinesis ripped her suit and shirt off. The Queen’s eyes found no bracelets.
Chrysalis looked up and down the hall, her eyes passed over the rubble from the ceiling, the corpses, and Drops’ limp form with extreme suspicion. “There were three of them… I am certain of it.”
Chrysalis closed her eyes and tried desperately to remember what had happened. I was about to strike, then Drops said something about wanting a lover, screamed a code, something hit me in the side with a disruptor, I was rammed into the ceiling… But before that—
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes. There had been a small batpony too. She was certain of it. "Where in the world is that carmine-eyed bat? Where did she go?"
Chrysalis growled, nearly breaking her teeth as she clenched her jaw. “Arrrgh! Vanish and spoil my plans, will you? I’ll show you— You— Whatever you were!”
She spun around, her horn blazing with light as the Queen charged a spellbolt to blast Drops’ head to ash. She narrowed her eyes, hate guiding her actions, the bolt sparked as it became fully charged. “No…”
Chrysalis let the magic drain back into her body. “No, you live. This works.”
She closed her eyes tightly and reached for her transformation magic. Green flames washed over Chrysalis as she knit her wounds shut, leaving behind scars and scabbed over pockets of flesh.
The imperfections were intentional. Her mane frazzled, loosing it’s groomed shape. Dozens of small cuts split her skin as Chrysalis added them on. The missing chunk of belly fat regenerated, but fur did not return.
The flames subsided. Chrysalis smiled. With the fake wounds in place, she now looked like a Cadence who had been held captive and tortured. And when this fool wakes up and reports in, her story will make everyone believe I am the real Cadence once again.
Chrysalis reached out with her telekinesis and ripped the radio and earpiece from Lemon’s corpse. It was but the work of a moment for her to slip the earpiece on her ear and pin the radio to her collar.
As soon as the device was in place, Chrysalis pressed down on the button. “Hello, Cadence. You had a nice little run, didn’t you? It’s over now. They know the me in the Palace for the last week wasn’t really me. Everypony, I, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, authorize you to shoot the impostor on sight. I can take a spellbolt or two. A bug can’t.”
Chrysalis began to jog for the armory, limping along on her intentionally injured left foreleg. The plan’s not in shambles yet. I can salvage this. I just need to get the spare key…
Princess Celestia - 5/16/2018
The Royal Library, The Palace - Canterlot, Equestria
Princess Celestia had run out of the hall the minute the party started. It was such a clear and obvious distraction that she knew deep down in her heart that at least one other major operation must be going down.
In her mind, the Changelings must have fully or partially breached Shining’s shield. A strike team was on the way. She knew Chrysalis would have two goals. First, capture her. Second, replace her.
Celestia had spent millennia transforming Equestria from a nation of many tribes to a singular unified people who would happily die so their neighbor could live. She had accomplished this by turning herself into an object of such adoration her little ponies couldn’t help but use her as their first and foremost role model.
She had carefully tailored her image to that of somepony who was almost but not quite a goddess. The pinnacle of mortal existence. Something anypony who tried incredibly hard could be.
Of course that was a lie. Not everypony could reach the heights she had. It was a good lie though, the relative peace and prosperity her nation knew as a result of her lie was proof of that.
Celestia’s hooves thudded against the palace halls as she galloped through the stone corridors. Normally she could have teleported anywhere she pleased. The wards she had erected over the place prevented that. Nopony with less power than herself would be teleporting anywhere in Canterlot till she lifted the wards.
Celestia had just come from the armory. She knew Chrysalis wasn’t stupid enough to attack before having a way to take her out of the picture. Since Luna hadn’t answered her calls, Tia knew that her sister had likely been disposed of already.
Celestia also had a vague feeling that Cadence had already been replaced, but since she couldn’t remember who told her or when, she chalked the notion up to paranoia.
If Celestia was replaced, the adoration of an entire nation would feed Chrysalis, making her far too strong for any conventional weapon to defeat. Worse still, it could potentially make her truly immortal.
Ancient armor clinked and clattered as Celestia ran down the hall. She had donned the suit hastily, and without fresh experience. The golden full plate armor was nearly as magically elaborate as it was physically beautiful. As far as Celestia knew, Chrysalis had never seen it. Or at least, what the alabaster alicorn was capable of when in the skin-tight magical armor.
Celestia grit her teeth, resisting the burning feeling in her legs. It had been years since she ran anywhere. Flight and teleportation had replaced her running almost entirely. I need to get to the library...
The Library had two things Celestia needed before holding up in her throne room. First, her sword. The solar blade could cut through any ward, burn through any armor, and had not once failed her. Second, Twilight was in the library.
Celestia’s horn shimmered as she telekinetically carried the Elements of Harmony in their box. Merely making a stand to save herself wasn’t enough. Somepony had to protect the city.
The carved oak double doors leading to the library at last came into Celestia’s view. She turned, her hooves skidding on the floor in her haste. A heartbeat later, Celestia barged through the library doors. The great slabs of oak boomed as they struck the walls, sending a wave of dust up from the more ancient books and shelves which filled the massive room.
Celestia turned her head, looking this way and that. The spell which allowed her to find people she knew when they were in the palace had never been too precise. It said Twilight was in the library. The library was a four story room with three levels and six shelves. Finding Twilight could take an hour.
Celestia had five minutes.
“Twilight!” Celestia yelled, nearly raising her voice to Royal levels.
The older, graying stallion behind the desk turned and glared at Celestia. “This is a lib—” He stopped mid word as he recognized his Princess. “Sorry-your-highness-I’m-certain-it’s-important.”
Celestia turned to ask where Twilight was, but the lavender mare suddenly appeared on the second level loft, near the ladder used to access it.
“Um, y— yes?” She asked with a worried frown stamped on her face.
Celestia spread her wings and with a mere three flaps ascended to the small reading area Twilight was in. To her surprise, Shining was standing next to Twilight. Celestia frowned. “This is a horrible time to make up, Shining. We’re under attack. You need to be at your station.
Shining cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, your majesty. I was trying to Talk Twilight into getting somewhere safe.”
Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Is it bad out there? I’ve never seen you in armor before.”
Celestia nodded. “It’s extremely bad. There is an enemy invading us right now.”
Twilight nodded twice. “So you want me to take the elements and stop it. I can do that!”
Twilight reached for the box floating next to Celestia with her telekinesis, but Celestia's golden aura held the box firmly in place. “I need to test something first, Twilight.”
Celestia briefly pictured Twilight standing as tall as she did. She charged her spell, making her horn pulse with warm-sunny-light. “Don’t worry, this won't hurt you. It’s a simple transformation spell. A test.”
Twilight nodded, her lips twisting into a frown. “Alright.”
Celestia released her sell. The magic washed over “Twilight”, and poured into her. Or rather, it poured into Quick Study.
Quick Study had not been hatched on Earth. He had been hatched here, in Equestria. In this very Library, on this very balcony. As his queen had discovered, Quick lacked his earthborn broodmates immunity to transformation magic.
“Twilight” doubled in size as the spell took hold. Celestia sighed in relief. “Thank the Sun…”
She held the Elements out to Twilight, and this time let go as they were taken from her.
“Thank you, Princess,” Twilight said with a reverent bow.
Quick Study - 5/16/2018
The Royal Library, The Palace - Canterlot, Equestria
Quick’s face twitched and warped as he took the elements from Celestia. Shining Armor’s mind had gone from passive to á͉̣̤̩̮͇͕b̗͠s͍̼͈͔͔͉o̺͕͜l̯̦͙̖̣̫̜u̸̪̳̥̭̖t͔̮̠̥̗̥e̷͎̰͈̣̣̺l͚̣̮͙͓̲͖y҉̙͈ ̬l̫̹̥͍̳̦̪͞i̱͚̞̱̭̭̹v̗̼͔͈͓̬͡i̙̟̤̼d̛ the very second he had taken the box from Celestia. Quick understood why, and was immensely grateful he could offload the mental strain onto every other one of his bodies, allowing Twilight to act normally as she took the box from her mentor.
“I’ll get everypony together as soon as possible!” Quick promised as he tucked the Elements of Harmony into Twilight’s saddlebags.
<Let me go, bug!> Shining demanded, his mental attacks intensifying further.
Quick felt one of his bodies collapse as Shining overtaxed it. Two floors below, in the servant's kitchen, six cooks began to panic as a young mare fell face-first into a lit oven.
<Silence, fool! This is both our salvation!> Quick mentally growled.
“Excellent! The six of you must stand between the city and anything seeking to harm it. I do mean anything. We are dealing with shapechangers.”
Twilight nodded twice. “I understand… Um, will you put me back to normal, please?”
Celestia frowned. “I can’t afford to waste any more magic. Don’t you know how to shrink a pony?”
Quick as a matter of fact, did not. He grinned sheepishly. “I uh… I only learned how to make somepony bigger. I completely forgot to learn a shrinking spell while studying growth magic.”
<BUCK!> Shining punched at the walls around his mind. <That is exactly what Twilight would say!>
Celestia nodded. “I understand… I’ll restore your height after Canterlot is safe. Good luck, Twilight.”
Celestia turned with a flutter of her wings, banking to the left towards the mini-museum where her sword was kept.
Shining strained further, lashing out with all his mental might. He opened his mouth.
<NO! PLEASE!> Quick begged, putting all of his mental might into silencing Shining’s pending warning.
Several more “ponies” collapsed around the palace. Quick felt each one of his bodies aside from Twilight drop. My Queen, how did you endure this? How much power do you have? Is it truly insurmountable, even with these?
Shining roared in silent fury as Celestia vanished and Quick held him still. He continued to lash out at the Changeling's diminished hold. Quick could feel minor blood vessels in his eyes begin to pop under the strain.
Shining pressed even harder. Quick staggered, unused to walking in an alicorn-sized body he stumbled dizzily towards the ladder, and the thirty-meter drop to the floor. “Please, stop… I'm not going to give them… Please… stop… you saw what she’s… like…”
Shining eased up only slightly. <Oh, so once I can make you fall to your death you’re happy to change sides? Pull the other one.>
Quick lay down on his belly, so he wouldn’t lose balance and fall over the railing. “She… almost… killed me… you fool!” He gasped. “Wasn’t the first time. Many of us… follow… fear… The hive as one couldn’t… couldn’t… stop her… She kills us… Sometimes… Disobedience. Mistakes. She’s… she’s… Elements… Twilight. As Twilight, I can… Escape.”
<Horseapples,> Shining mentally rolled his eyes. <If you really were going to betray that monster you would have told Celestia who you were just now.>
“Don’t trust her… Can’t trust her… you don’t know what happened… back then…” Quick took a deep breath. “I’m also… Chrysalis's first drone. I’m a Dark Wizard. I specialize in Dark Magic. I love it. It’s a challenge I was made for. Celestia would kill me for that alone.”
Shining paused. <Okay, granted… But you could let me go, you could have let me go any time and let me pretend to be controlled. You could have let me sabotage her plans, maybe even put a spellbolt through her head from behind.>
“Couldn’t… She was going to win. I want to be free, but I want to live too. I was behind my Queen’s plans until just now, Shining. Her plans are in disarray, but she’ll come up with something. But now… Now I have the Elements of Harmony. I have them. Not Celestia, not Chrysalis, not Twilight, me. Quick Study. I can give them to the Elements in exchange for amnesty, and save the day.”
Shining mulled that over for a while. The idea was fairly solid, and Quick certainly sounded sincere. However…
<I don’t think I can trust you.>
Quick’s ears drooped. “Because of the mind control?”
<Yes.>
“I could stop it, if you promise not to sound the alarm. My chief goal is to live.”
<Yeah, about that. If all you care about living, you’ll betray anyone to join whoever is winning.>
Quick smiled faintly. “Ahh, an excellent observation, Shining. I have more goals than mere survival. Living is my immediate goal. I wish to survive this battle, after that… I do not know. Perhaps I will find a small pony community and make a life for myself there.
“I am not the only changeling who has plotted to escape, Shining. Roughly an eighth of the swarm would leave if they could. I would have jointed their conspiracy, but as my Queen’s chief researcher I am too close to her. Under too much observation. I would have doomed their efforts. Now… Now I have a chance. Please, Shining. Do not doom me to more servitude!”
Shining could feel sincerity in the Changeling’s words, but he couldn’t say he knew Quick well enough to tell if he were a poor liar or an excellent liar. There was also another bigger concern.
<You are a Dark Wizard, and you enjoy wielding that power. It wouldn’t be safe to let you wander Equestria.>
Quick shook his head firmly. “Nonsense! I know many secretes others do not. When it comes to Dark Magic, I know things even King Sombra himself never discovered. For instance, I can harness its power with total control and safety.”
Shining broke free of Quick’s control long enough to roll his eyes, though the rest of his body remain beyond his control. <Please, no one can do that.>
“I can,” Quick insisted.
<Then why didn’t you tell your Queen?>
Quick chuckled, Shining’s naive attitude twards the backstabbing side of politics painted the stallion as a colt in the changeling’s eyes. “To have an ace in the hole. I was created from her love of studying magic. She’s no longer able to be as passionate about magic as I am, and so she merely rebuilt her old skill. She has not grown further, regardless of what she thinks and what I have said.
“I, on the other hoof, learned new things on Earth. It has magic, Shining.”
Shining snorted. An audible snort. Quick knew his time was running out. He had to convince the stallion he was telling the truth before Shining broke free and put a plasma bolt between his eyes.
<I lived there every weekday for years. I’d know if there was an ounce of magic in that world.>
Quick relaxed as much as he could without freeing his enemy. His lightened mental state allowed him to send a few of his memories down the control link to the pony. Shining froze as the images hit him. Humans, not in the public eye, but in the remote places of the world. The occasional spark of golden light. Small things working when they shouldn’t.
Anomalies occurring deep in the heart of cities, not in homes but in alleyways. Homeless people living when they should have frozen to death. Never knowing a spark of magic had preserved their wretched lives another day.
A Navajo skinwalker who had seen Quick for what he was. Whom he had traded a few equestrian spells for a book on her magic.
“Do you see, Shining? Their magic comes not from within, their magic comes from the arcane field which permeates the universe. They have no magic, but sometimes, almost never, they can take just a little magic from the world around them and accomplish something small. Then, there are those extremely rare humans with power approaching a crippled unicorn foal. Most of them never learn to harness their power, and merely go through life being extremely fortunate.
“Now, that skinwalker, she knew something real. Something no pony had ever even imagined. Her people were on the path to discovering true sorcery before they were the subject of genocide, and the trick she gave me came from the shaman who lived in those times. That knowledge has allowed me to fully control the darkness. Stop fighting me, promise not to call a warning, and I will show you.
“I will show you, and by showing you, I shall prove my allegiance to ponies. After which, I will release you.”
Shining’s mind burned with a thousand suspicions and a million questions. In the end, he chose one. <What could you possibly do to show me your allegiance?>
“You can feel my bodies through our link, yes?”
Shining forced himself to nod. The exertion squeezed sweat out of his brow. <Yeah… Better hurry bug. I’m almost free.>
Quick nodded and closed his eyes. “Please… relax a minute. If you keep stressing my mind the technique will fail and I will most likely destroy a significant chunk of the palace.”
Shining debated for a moment then stopped struggling, choosing to gather his strength for one last push. His stomach churned as the Changeling’s horn began to glow with purple and green light. Quick still wore his sister’s form, and seeing his sister as a giant wielding Dark Magic was unnerving enough as is.
The fact that behind those eyes was a Changeling who had been puppeting his body for a week made the issue only slightly less terrifying.
Quick finished charging his spell. Shining began to flinch as he believed the Changeling was about to cast it. That didn’t happen. Instead, the Changeling paused, his eyes glowing bright green, wisps of eldritch smoke leaked from his tear ducts as purple and green lightning danced around his horn.
Quick began to chant softly. The words were mere whispers, Shining couldn’t hear them, but Quick knew them by heart.
“Klaatu Varata Nikto.”
The eldritch lighting around the changeling’s horn jumped at the words. Shining’s eyes widened in shock as he saw the magic for just an instant flicker into a stable aura before returning to chaos.
“Klaatu Varata Nikto,” Quick repeated, louder and more clearly, calling out to the void.
The void called back. The eldritch energy around the changeling’s horn flickered again, blinking like the fluttering flames of a candle in the wind.
Klaatu Varata Nikto!” Quick called, as if trying to get a friend's attention from across a crowded room.
The Dark Magic around his horn stabilized. A simple green glow emanating from his horn with streaks of purple light wrapping around it. The glow in his eyes vanished, through the smoke remained.
Quick held onto his spell. “See? I am in full control. Each time I perform this chant, it takes less repetition. One day I shall cast the Dark as easily as I cast the Light.”
<Impressive,> Shining admitted as Quick’s focus on his spell allowed Shining to regain near-full control. “But how does that prove your loyalty?”
“Well, for starters, you know the words. You simply yell them, and the universe listens. I do not fully understand why this works, but it does work… I believe there is a power beyond my understanding which wishes for the Dark to be used in this stable form. Perhaps I called its name. Regardless, I can prove myself to you now.”
“Better do it. There’s one thread left,” Shining warned.
Quick nodded and released his spell. Shining jumped in alarm as he felt Quick die many times over. The fragments of his mind slid along invisible threads, pulling themselves into the body standing before Shining.
The Dark Magic glow around Quick intensified. “I̼̫͙ ̯͇̙r̯̟͚̩̹͎͉͞e͚̘̬͉̯̖̬n̪͟o̕ṳ̘n͍͢ͅc̤̻̪͕͓͠e̫͈͔͚͠ ͖̗̰͠m̤̘y͇̙ ҉̯̪h̕e͕̜͍̭͟ŕ͇̗̺i̷͖͚̠ț̙͕̮a̶̙̜̦g̶e̯͖͡ͅ!̟̗” The changeling declared, his voice garbled by the dark power as it burned away the traces of Changeling magic left in his body.
The balcony shook as the spell concluded. Quick smiled softly. “There we are… I’m a pony now. How’s that for a loyalty demonstration?”
Shining blinked. “You locked yourself in that body and killed the other ones?”
Quick nodded. “Correct.”
“In that body.”
“Yes,” Quick nodded. “Why do you—”
The exchangeling’s eyes went wide with fright. “OH, BUCK!”
Shining facehooved. “I’d have let you shapechange into something else if you told me what you were going to do, you idiot!”
Quick stood up and bit his lip. “I— I’ll fix this! I can use transformation magic on myself like a normal pony wuo— No, that won't work, I just used Dark magic to lock my form permanently.”
Shining smirked as schadenfreude filled him to the brim. “Sooo, you’re stuck as a tall version of my sister. Forever. And you’re a guy. Who hates purple.”
Quick slammed his head against the banister, nearly cracking his horn. “SON OF A BLUE WAFFLE INFECTED WHORE!”
The Librarian’s voice called faintly from the desk below. “Did someone use a piece of ham as a bookmark again, Twilight?”
Quick took a deep breath. The ex-changeling genuinely hated breaking the library rules. “No. Sorry. It’s a personal problem.”
Shining shook his head, trying not to laugh. “Okay, so, you’ve paid a bit of a price… I’ll trust you a little. We know that Twilight won't be in the palace. We know she escaped… I can think of four places she could be. I’ll help you find her, but I hold onto the Elements.”
Quick bit his lip in thought then reluctantly nodded and took off his saddlebags and set them on Shining’s back. “You will return them, so I may present them, or I swear to you with my last breath I will lock you in your sister’s form too!”
Shining winced. “Deal… That’s a scary one to be in.”
The two quickly left the library, ignoring the confused stares of the Librarian, who had to believe Twilight accidentally made herself a meter taller. Once in the hallway, Shining took the lead. They turned south, moving towards the reception hall.
Shining knew that the party he could hear from here would be total chaos, and nopony would notice a few ponies slipping out over the wall if they used a wall near to the party, but not adjacent to it.
Shining took them down some of the lesser used hallways, knowing full well that Special Agents would be monitoring the main through ways to the palace’s critical areas, but the back routes and servant passages should be mostly clear. Clear enough for him to be able to use his face and non-changling status to talk his way past any guards.
“We’re almost there,” Shining said to Quick as the two walked past a slightly ajar door. “Once in the atrium, we can go out the window and slip over the wall.”
Quick smiled gratefully. “Thank you for your help. I wouldn’t have thought to take this ro—”
The wooden door exploded in a flash of fire and cloud of splinters. Shining and Quick were flung forward, landing flat on their bellies amid rubble and shrapnel. Smoke filled the hallway as the two staggered back to their hooves, choking for air.
Shining turned around, wishing he could create more than one shield at a time while simultaneously releasing his magic was running pretty dry and the shield over Canterlot couldn’t last much longer even if he wanted it too.
Quick turned around and charged his horn with light magic, casting an extraordinarily complex shield spell which surrounding Shining along with himself in a series of overlapping purple hexagons.
“Show yourself!” Quick demanded as he tried to glare through the smoke.
Something metallic clicked, and a large, heavy, brass object clattered to the floor. Quick frowned, glancing down in time to see a 40mm shell casing roll out of the smoke.
Hooves clicked against stone. Metal scraped on metal. A tube snapped close with a clip and a ‘thoop’. The smoke parted as Cadence stepped out from the demolished doorway.
Sunlight from the new gaping hole in the palace wall made the alicorn’s pink fur glow with divine light as she strode forward, wings flared, magic burning as she held her pulse rifle and grenade launcher at the ready. Hate burned behind her sunglasses, her leather jacket creaking as she moved, her weapons gleaming in the sunlight.
“Get away from him, you bitch!”
At that moment Shining knew two things. First, now was the worst possible time for a literal nerd boner over his wife being absurdly hot in Terminatrix cosplay while making scfi-quips during a serious situation. Second, Quick was bucked.
Quick also knew two things. First, he was bucked. Second, he deeply regretted telling Chrysalis that Carter Arvil had been a Recovery Specialist Field Agent. If he had told the truth, she may have given him something to protect himself from the former CIA assassin.