//------------------------------// // Chaos // Story: A new guiding Star // by Amethyst Sparkle //------------------------------// " It's right around here, Captain! Right through the Sandstorm!" Loki reported as he flew alongside Shining Armor, who was barreling through the sands of the Badlands like his life depended on it. He already had the Eye Guard spell on and so did his guards, proving they at least were smart enough to prepare for an event like a Sandstorm. 324 had already relayed the plan, and Loki was now contemplating whether to reveal thier group was easily infiltrated or just appear out of nowhere. " Curse those monsters! They put up a Sandstorm Barrier! They're getting stronger!" The Captain said through gritted teeth as their destination became closer and closer. The wind was starting to prick at Loki's fur with it's high speed tiny sharp sand particles, and the guards' suble slower pace and occasional cringing were signs they were affected too. It was itchy, and it was stinging like crazy. < We're in position! > 18's voice screamed in the hive mind, startling Loki a bit. He thought they'd give off their signal through silhouettes in the sand, but he could understand this was a last minute plan and had no time for planning dramatics. So he would do the dramatics for their team by 'reveal through question'. " Probably because 'we're' stealing a lot of love from those ponies we kidnapped!" He said with a creepy grin, waiting to see Shining Armor's reaction. The Captain nodded. " Those monsters! They will pay-!" Then he froze, realization on his face. All other guards stopped as well as they too noticed Loki's 'slip up'. Loki grinned as he dropped his transformation, revealing the Unicorn changeling underneath. " IT'S A TRAP!" Shining Armor yelled as 324 and 18 came out and not a few guards, instantly paralyzing them. Loki blasted Shining Armor as he tried to attack his uncles, effectively drawing the Captain's attention to the young male. Shining put up a shield as just as Loki's spell hit, it bouncing off into the depths of the Sandstorm. 324 and 18 managed to bite down 4 out of the 20 Patrol members, a unicorn, two pegasi and an earth pony, before the guard became aware to leave as much distance as possible between them and their fangs. Being both OG changelings they had the ability to both fly and attack with magic, an advantage Loki and his siblings didn't have. They'd have to transform into an OG changeling to do both at once, which is really inconvenient. But at least Shining stayed on the ground like he did. Loki shouted in alarm as Shining blasted the sand that was way too close to his legs, jumping back but recovering enough to return the favor. Shining deflected it with an easy shield. Loki spared a look at his uncles. They were holding out, but not doing well or worse either. 3 against 16 is not fair. The young infiltrator thought long and hard on what to do that will turn the tables just a bit as he dodged and fired spells at his uncle. He knew this battle would take long, since he was sure convincing Aunt Cadence to their side would take more than a few minutes. " I've brought down hydras and dragons, vile changeling! You have no chance against me!" Shining bellowed as he fired another spell at Loki. The young changeling though, after dodging the attack, froze for a second. Shining's boast rang theough his head, and it was slowly forming an idea. He looked to his still battling uncles, mere silhouettes through the intense storm despite their closeness. They looked more sluggish than usual. < Uncle 324! Uncle 18! Transform into something that can burrow in the sand! > He ordered. 18's silhouette's ears perked up. < Why?! > < Trust me! NOW! > With little hesitation two lavender flashes of fire erupted in the Sandstorm, causing pause to the Patrol party. Loki looked at a wary Shining Armor, with a determined smirk on his face. " Thanks for the idea, Uncle Armor!" With that, he erupted into flames himself, and what replaced the changeling was a juvenile dragon that looked way too similar to a certain assistant of Shining's sister. The Dragon flapped his wings once, throwing Shining Armor and his troops farther out the Sandstorm but still in it, before inhaling. " Drop down!!!!" The Captain commanded as the dragon spat out bright purple flames right above their heads, so intense that it made the dune protecting the guard turn into glass. It went on for a full minute before the dragon finally ran out of breath. Shining Armor poked his head out the glassy dune and snickered. " You missed!" He yelled. Loki smirked. Shining blinked as the dragon crossed his arms in triumph. " I never miss." Then Shining felt it. The Sandstorm's already pricky, stinging, painful little bits of almost microscopic sand became ten times more intense. It was beyond painful, it was agony. His patrol suddenly were in a panic as the tiny glass shards that replaced the sand buried deeply into their fur and eyes at the speeds akin to a tornado. They hastily put up shields but the Glass storm already achieved a critical hit. Now they were forced to fight with little glass bits that kept doing damage to their skin with every move. Loki knew they were hurt, but convinced himself that they could handle it. " CURSE YOU!" Shining screamed as he put up his own shield over them all and himself. < Is it safe to burrow out now?> Was 18's nervous sounding voice. Loki internally giggled. < If you want to get glassed, then yeah. > Silence reigned in the hivemind before it was broken by 324's guffaw. Or at least it sounded like it. < Genius! Good job, Loki my boy! > Loki grinned as he watched Shining Armor's shield morph and twist until it encased the Captain's body, making it a shield for the entire stallion instead of an area. The unicorns had one to make an area shield around the other spellcasters who pointed their shields to the earth ponies and pegasi outside the area shield. Lavender flashes out light revealed two giant beetles emerge from the sand, and the battle resumed. -------------- Princess Cadence nervously trotted to the throne room, wings fluttering in response to what she felt. She had never been outside the hotel she and Shining had been temporarily living in the last couple months, researching all she could about a certain kingdom about to meet the expiry date of a certain curse. Princess Celestia had allowed them a week of personal time before handing out the assignment, leaving the Princess of love alone with books that would make her sister-in-law's mouth water and make the rest of the world sleep in under 10 seconds. That included Cadence. It didn't help that the books and scrolls were also another language and she had to decipher them BY HERSELF, and if this call by her Aunt was just as important as the Secret Kingdom then she might as well die of pressure and stress. Maybe it's tamer. Maybe it's about her lost Sister-in-law, whose situation also added to the Alicorn's stress, knowing she couldn't join the search and planning as she had her own assignment. She had been worried about Twilight since the day she was kidnapped. The worry was only forgotten a little because of the books and scrolls, but whenever she would think about how the purple unicorn would love these more than her it would come back full force. " Princess Cadence." The guardpony's voice snapped Cadence out of her thoughts, and also drew her eyes to the owner of the voice. She looked new, purple fur and a straight pure navy blue mane peeking through her helmet. She was a unicorn, and her cutie mark a familiar star drawn by a pencil. An odd cutie mark for a guard. Even odder that she was alone. She was smiling, mischief clear in her purple eyes. " Princesses Celestia and Princess Luna awaits." Her smile turned to a grin. It was so familiar that it was creepy. Cadence couldn't help but ask her name. " Of course. But what's your name? You seem new around here. " The guard giggled. " That obvious? Name's Summer. Summer Sparkle. " This mare had the same surname as her sister-in-law.... " Nice to meet you Summer." Cadence forced a smile. " Are you perhaps related to one Twilight Sparkle?" Summer's grin widened. " Oh yes! In fact we're very close." " Oh really?" Cadence said in genuine surprise. Twilight never said anything about having a friend named Summer. " Absolutely. But you technically didn't come here to know about ME. Go on now, they've waited long enough. " Summer raised her hoof as if checking a watch, which was SUDDENLY THERE when Cadence would swear that she had no other accessories. " Plus I don't think my Uncles could hold that long in a Sandstorm battle." Cadence frowned. " Wait, Wha-" Summer suddenly pushed the Princess of love through the door unceremoniously, almost shoving her to the carpeted tiles of the throne room. In seconds Summer was out the the door and closed it with magic. Cadence blinked, looking at the door as if it was blown to smithereens. " WHAT just happened?" She said out loud. " Ah, We told Summer to ease with the dramatics, but young ones are young ones." Said a familiar motherly voice. Cadence turned to the sound and saw Celestia and Luna walking toward her from the hidden room behind the throne. She trotted toward them for a greeting bow and hug before addressing the original reason she came for before she doubted about her mental health after that encounter with the new guard. " What did you call me for, Auntie Celestia?" The Princess of Love asked, ignoring the previous statement. The eldest Alicorn smiled, but something about was forced. " Have you noticed our new guardspony?" She inquired. Princess Cadence blinked, and looked at Celestia incredulously. " What's Summer got to do with this?" Luna cleared her throat. " She has a role to play in what we are about to tell you. We apologize in advance, it might be too much too handle in light of your current assignment." The Princess of Love had a frown on her face. " What is it, Auntie Luna?" " Do you recall the day Shining Armor reported the kidnapping of Twilight Sparkle?" Was Celestia's question. Cadence was getting more and more confused and worried by the second. " Of course! I'll never forget the day Twilight was taken from us. If it wasn't for the assignment I would be out there looking for her with Shining Armor." Luna and Celestia exchanged knowing looks, deepening Cadence's frown. " We know where Twilight is." Cadence froze, her confusion immediately replaced by barely controlled anger. If they were joking, then it was a sick prank. If it was true, then why did they wait months before they told her this!? " Wait, WHAT!?" Luna instantly got between Celestia and the approaching Cadence. " Calm down, niece! We know full well how angering it is to be withheld information by a family member-" " Obviously! To think, you had the comfort of knowing where Twily is, while the rest of us are wrenching our brains and hearts out trying to find her! Do you know how devastating it will be to Twilight's friends and family when I tell-" " Then do not. " Cadence looked at Celestia as if she just said she was going to off herself. " Excuse me?!" Celestia looked at her in the eye. " You will not tell the others about this." " Who are YOU to withhold-" Cadence tried but was instantly drowned out by Luna's semi-shout of; " It is for Twilight's safety, Cadence!" Silence reigned after the echo of Luna's declaration died, Cadence's face a flurry of jumbled emotion while Celestia's a waiting one. " The reason we hid this from everyone is that Twilight needed to hide from the other changelings and Shining Armor's assumptions, especially in her condition." Luna started. " OTHER changelings? Condition?" Cadence repeated. " She became a changeling queen, Cadence." The Princess of the night paused to see Cadence's face contort to horror before continuing. " That day she disappeared was in fact the day she was rescued by her changeling companion. Infiltrator 324 was declared an outcast of his hive for daring to speak against Chrysalis. He taught Twilight how to feed. That changeling you all taught to impersonate Twilight was in fact Twilight herself." " And that's not all..." Celestia added with a small nervous smile. " Twilight fed on enough love during her recovery period that it boosted her growth from a princess to a queen, and that resulted in Summer and her siblings." Both elders looked at Cadence, who was listening to the explanation with a face of all emotions. But there was one thing that caused Cadence to gasp and shoot her hoof to her mouth, and it didn't take long to find out what that thought was. " You mean to tell me Shining almost killed not only Twily, but her EGGS as well!?" She shrieked. Before either Celestia or Luna could confirm the doors burst open to show Summer rush inside, an urgent look on her face. Cadence widened her eyes as she reevaluated the "guard" with her new information. Summer ignored the Princess of love and looked directly at Celestia. " Are you done?! I checked in on Kuya Loki and they are not in a pretty situation. Even with them using the storm to their advantage, Uncle Shining is beginning to push them into the hive. If he gets so much as a step near the hive's walls then the converts-to-be are doomed." She reported. Celestia snapped her posture straight as she turned to Cadence. " We will give you a more detailed explanation later, my niece, but this is why we told you earlier than the rest. We need your help." Cadence was still swimming in information and questions, but managed to blink three times before giving approval. Barely, that is. Summer turned her attention to her aunt and gripped her shoulders, Summer's draconic eyes clear and up close. " Good. You're still shocked, that's perfect." Cadence involuntarily gulped and let out a stammer of a question. " W-Why is t-that?" Summer allowed a smirk, showing off her fangs. " How good are you at acting?" ------------- Shining Armor breathed heavily as he struggled to dodge the dragon's tail AND maintain his body shield at the same time. While he would reason that the glass shards should have completely blown to another part of the storm, the dragon's constant fire-breathing immediately killed that hope. His unicorn soldiers were also showing signs of fatigue, concentration required to shield a moving object flitting around in the cover of a raging Sandstorm was hard to attain after all. It didn't help that the other two THINGS were STILL giant beetles. That fact made it so the rest of his troop not in the Area shield was preoccupied with the two beetles, leaving him alone with the disturbingly similar-to-Spike dragon. He fired another spell, which of course was easily dodged. This dragon had wits, and his snout in a smirk was driving his already tired and paranoid mind crazy. The dragon raised it's tail again for another sweeping attack, Shining Armor already tensing his body for the inevitable impact. But it never came. Shining risked a glance and saw the dragon look blankly into space, which was a golden opportunity if he ever saw one. He already charged his horn on instinct and was about to fire into it's head if it weren't for it's smirk turning into an evil smile. The moving sand around him also indicated the Beetles' shuffling had ceased. " You fight wonderfully Shining Armor. I am quite satisfied with playing with you." The dragon purred. Shining growled, he didn't like this change of mood one bit. " But all good things come to an end. That goes for both you and me." The dragon grinned. " WHAT DO YOU MEAN, MONSTER?!" Shining yelled over the wind. " I've done my part well, distracting you was as I said, fun!" That made Shining freeze. " Dis....Distraction?" He warily repeated with a calculating/worried frown. The dragon's smile did not ease his rising anxiety. " It's too late for you, so I suppose it wouldn't matter. You see, while you were fighting with us, my sister, the hive's best ASSASSIN, has successfully infiltrated your pretty pony castle," The emphasis on ASSASSIN made shivers go up the Captain's spine, " and get this, she just reported she has also successfully kidnapped Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! Isn't it fantastic? Our Queen could finally have revenge!" Shining Armor was whiter than normal as the sentence sank in, a horrified and angry look on his face revealed all. " You monsters...." " I mean, I may be lying, but hey! You never know about us lings!" The dragon said mockingly, ignoring Shining Armor's words. He put a claw on his chin and pretended to think." What will the great Captain of the Royal guards do...hmm... I wonder?" The two beetles beside him produced ear-bleeding scratching sounds, almost eerily akin to laughter. The dragon's eyes pierced through Shining Armor's soul. " Continue on and attack our hive for revenge on some event months ago, or run back to his pony capital and save his wife, which, I doubt you'd be there in time. My sister would've already slashed the Love Princess' neck. So a bit of re-phrasing then, run back to the capital and find my sister before she throws your partner's body to a volcano. That is her favorite method of disposing her victims, at least." The dragon snickered. " Your choice." The following scream of anguish echoed loudly even in the desert storm, and the light of teleportation was brighter than the dragon's first volley of flames. The dragon stared at the spot where the Royal Guard had been, seemingly a stone statue, before sighing. In flashes of lavender light he and his companions dropped to the sandy floor. " For a second there I thought I'd have to hold that transformation longer than my love reserves would allow." 18 mumbled. " We still have to continue our investigation too. " 324 added. Loki gave a tired grin. " Take my love. I adore my uncles after all, so it's freely given familial love." 324 chuckled. " Figures. But we better get out of this sandstorm." 18 nodded in agreement. " I just hope we didn't attract any more unwanted attention." " Pfft. I doubt it. The roar of the sandstorm is stronger than the sounds of our battle. Now enough chit-chat, let's get out of here, feed the two of you and continue our part of this Operation." Loki transformed into an OG changeling as their little trio lifted off and went back to the direction of the Other Hive. -------------- Summer laughed as she circled around her Aunt Cadence in OG form, her wings fluttering with excitement. She had just been informed that her Pony Uncle was coming, apparently having used a Royal Guard emergency artifact to immediately travel from the Badlands to Canterlot in a split second. Summer had relayed this news to a slightly recovered Cadence, still digesting the given information to make sure she doesn't pass out from stress at the more coming after Shining's 'rescue', with a smile even as she heard shouts on the lower floors of the Castle. She had decided to use the library as her hostage room, because her Mom is a bookworm, and it is the only place in the Castle with a small amount of ponies. Cadence looked at the excited changeling bouncing around like a certain filly, and a giggle escaped her as she could certainly see Twilight just OOZING from Summer. Summer raised an eyebrow, still smiling. " What?" Cadence suppressed her giggle with a smile of her own. " You really are Twilight's nymph. You act just like her when I foalsat her." Summer chuckled. " Yeah, we get that alot. All 48 of us." Cadence's eyes widened at the number. " Changelings lay eggs that fast?" " Depends on how much love they have. Since Mom's half-pony and the first clutch is too, they were able to feed each other and the Other Hivelings with familial love." Summer explained as she pulled out a knife she had borrowed from the Kitchen on a nearby table. Cadence mulled the info over as Summer went back to acting hostile and 'villainy' beside her. " So they really needed that love..." Summer tilted her head. " Yes, but they could've fixed their love problem by just sending out more infiltators and harvesters. We were lucky because of Mom being a half-pony, but the other hives will surely starve or have a hard time because of Chrysalis' hive revealing changelings to the public. Ponies are more wary, and since the invasion was the first exposure to changelings, then all other hives will be judged as if they were the same." Cadence had a worried look on her face. " That includes your hive too... Oh no..." Summer nodded. " And Auntie Fluttershy's past hive as well." " Fluttershy's a changeling?" Cadence couldn't help but widen her eyes. " Oh, yeah.... We didn't tell you yet that Mom's friends and Uncle Spike knows about all this already..." She nervously scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, but quickly froze when her ears perked up. She glanced at the door and immediately went into acting mode, but not before saying; " They're almost here, I'm going to cast a paralyzing spell to help with the act of being unconscious. Trust me, alright?" A quick nod and soon a limp Princess of Love sat at the Changeling's hooves, who in turn was seated on a chair. It looked like a hunter posing for a photo of his fresh new kill. The knife was truly the star of the show, though, twirling around in a lavender aura, hovering near Cadence's neck, ready to slash. It set just the right mood, at least. ------------------ Shining Armor ran to the throne room as soon as the teleportation spell restored his body completely. The Captain caught quite a few eyes and stares when he and his troop appeared in a flash of white, even more so at his sudden run. But one thing was common, be it guard or maid. They were completely 'chill', for lack of a better term, as if there was no changeling in the castle about to (he hoped) assassinate his wife. He was expecting exactly what was laid out before him though, especially since it was the monsters' work. As much as he wanted to immediately find the Changeling himself he at least had a few brain cells left to command him that getting the Princesses' help would be more beneficial than just charging at nothing. Their magic was much stronger, and they knew the Castle well. With their help they could probably find his wife faster than he would be able to. Even if the throne room was only a wing away, since the return spell had designated the infirmary to be the place in Canterlot they'd be brought to, Shining felt as if the hallway was much longer than he remembered. He just hoped he'd be there in time. ------------ Summer grinned as the doors burst open with golden and blue magic, revealing The two Princesses and a pissed off Captain of the guard. All three pairs of eyes settled immediately on the no-longer twirling knife, gently touching Cadence's neck. Celestia's face was disbelief, Luna's was outrage, and Shining's was horror. Who can blame 'em? " Hey Captn'!" Summer greeted all too cheerfully. " My brothers give you a hard time?" She asked. " LET HER GO!" Shining demanded. Summer feigned a thinking face. " Oh... I'm afraid I can't do that. It's my mission, and you know better than anypony else the importance of fulfilling an order." Shining growled. " You Monster!" " I've heard that song and dance before, get a new one." The changeling said nonchalantly. " I'm here to kill her, period." She said with finality. " Then why wait, fiend!" Luna barked. Summer had to admire her aunt's acting skills. " I know right! I could have just killed her under your noses, and get away and blame the nobles." She shrugged. " But I wanted to see the Captain's face personally, as another loved one is taken by us 'Monsters'." The knife tensed as she 'readied' to slash, and Summer braced herself as a lavender beam hit her square in the chest that she all too fully anticipated, knocking her to a nearby wall slightly dazed. Shining Armor was breathing hard, his horn smoking.He ran to Cadence and checked to see if she was alright. Luna teleported to somewhere, probably to fetch a few more guards. Celestia went over and joined Shining Armor, before going to the 'knocked out' Summer. Her body fully blocking the panicking Captain, Celestia smiled at Summer. " Well done, my niece." She whispered. Summer offered a small grin and a wink. --------------- " That's it, Twilight. The Other Hive is filled to the brim with Converts-to-be, and we also only saw about 50 Caretakers, 50 Guards, and 50 infiltrators to go and harvest more ponies. The old Queen is nowhere to be found, and the love source we couldn't get to because it was the most secured part of the hive." 324 reported. They were back safely at the Hive, relaying the gathered information to Twilight. Said Lavender Queen was frowning already, thinking of explanations on why the Other Hive did what they did. " What do you think they're planning?" She asked. " If Chrysalis was willing to break a more forbidden rule than biting-to-infect, then probably to regain pride and invade Equestria again, this time with military force." 18 guessed. " Sounds about right. With how many Converts-to-be we saw they could easily do that." 324 nodded grimly. " You say Princess Celestia knows already?" Twilight said as she went to a table with a map of Equestria, with three marks on the surface. Their Hive, the Other Hive, and the Canterlot Castle. " Yep. I had Summer project what we were seeing." The infiltrator and Mage followed their Queen to the table, also seemingly starting to plan something like her. " And Shining?" " Went back to Canterlot after Summer's attempted Assassination." 18 chuckled a bit. Twilight blinked, looked at the Mage, and giggled at little herself, despite the situation. " Really now?" " Yep. Right now she's at the dungeons, probably having the time of her life being interrogated by a pissed off Captain." The infiltrator had a small smile. " Well thank you all, you saved those poor Converts-to-be from my blockhead of a brother." Twilight said as she sent out familial love, filling up the two changelings as thanks. 18 laughed lightly. " But of course! We couldn't let him kill the ponies because he was trying to rescue them." 324 rolled his eyes, no meaning behind it by the smile on his face, and grunted. " Yes, Yes. Now what do we do? Almost all those Converts-to-be are ready to pop out in a few days time. Chrysalis would feed them a bit of love, delaying them a bit,before launching an attack." Twilight simply smiled. " If Chrysalis wants to fight with force, we fight right back with wits. Call the entire hive to the lake, and fill in Summer too. We have a meeting to attend." ------------- Summer made sure her grin was as wide as it could get even as Shining Armor's horn was sparking in his anger. This interrogation had almost gone on for the entire afternoon, with Cadence at the infirmary being treated of the paralysis spell and Celestia and Luna occasionally checking in on Shining Armor. More on making sure he doesn't kill his own niece than Summer's answer really, since they know everything already. " I won't ask this again. What is Chrysalis planning?!" Shining screamed at her face. Summer looked at him innocently. " I'm an assassin. I'm given orders, I follow. Knowing the Queen's plan is a Praetor's job, being her personal guards." " You're lying!" " How would you know about changeling ranks when you couldn't even distinguish your wife from our Queen, nor if your sister is lying or not." Summer calmly retorted. She watched in amusement as Shining Armor's face contorted to several levels of frustration to downright murderous. It appears she had hit quite a nerve. Probably because of the sister and wide comment, proving once and for all that the truth truly hurts. Especially at one's pride. He stepped back, eyes locked onto Summer. His horn lit up and the knife that she borrowed floated into view. Summer tried so hard to contain her shock. He wasn't really going to.... Even in his blockhead state, right? She only attempted Assassination, she didn't actually do it! Not that he would know, but Cadence being alive should have been enough. " This knife would've taken the love of my life away...." He whispered, before a creepy smile appeared on his face. " Now though, I'll make sure it takes away YOURS." Shit. In a fluid motion, the knife slashed through the air and right through Summer's right eye, destroying it and giving her a scar. The poor changeling dropped her transformation and couldn't help but scream as blood and tears poured out her eye. She squirmed in her seat, the ropes holding her tight. Another pained yelp escaped her mouth as a she forced her eye shut. Shining Armor gasped as he realized what he intended to do and dropped the knife, backing away. It was then he knew he went too far. He just made himself equal to the monsters. A large bang indicated the interrogation room's door opening to let someone of authority through, and whoever did made their identity known immediately. " CAPTAIN SHINING ARMOR WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Shining Armor felt himself being pushed to the wall as Princess Luna rushed to the Changeling, seemingly checking if it was alright. " I-I...." He tried to explain to both himself and the princess but was cut off instantly by the Night Alicorn's glare. " YOU IDIOT! WE HAVE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN TORTURE TO PRISONERS NO MATTER WHAT THEY HAVE DONE! " Shining let out a not-so-well thought out retort before he could stop himself. " It wouldn't take me seriously-!" " OUT WITH YOU, CAPTAIN SHINING ARMOR! YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT IN THE RIGHT STATE OF MIND TO HANDLE INTERROGATION!" Luna ordered menacingly. Shining Armor couldn't help but feel he had done something so very wrong as he hurriedly left the room, even if his brain was saying it was alright because it was on a changeling. Luna's reaction was suspicious too, which did not help matters to sorting out this self-doubt. He closed the door as he left, walking as fast as he can to anywhere he could clear his mind. ---------- Luna waited until the doors shut before reassessing her niece's injury. She couldn't believe she would encounter this scene when she went down here to check on the 'progress'. She couldn't believe that Shining Armor allowed his feelings to cloud over his judgement so much that he would violate one of Equestria's rules. Summer's eye was beyond surgical repair, the knife slashed too deep into the eyeball. It left a deep bloody scar as well, making Luna cringe. Summer was writhing in pain, her hooves looking like they want to be free and cover the injured eye. But even then Summer managed to smile despite her wince of agony. " Ow. That hurt." Luna freed the changeling from her bonds before answering; " That is a very big understatement." " Didn't think- Ah!- he'd actually do it. You think I went too far?" The young changeling asked. " No, despite the situation. If he got angry enough to do this to you then you did a VERY splendid job at acting like the Other Hive changelings." The alicorn said as she caressed her niece's right cheek while she used her magic to clean out the blood. " Was it a mistake keeping him out of the secret?" " No once more. If he knew without a proof worthy of a stallion of his calibre then he would stalk you lot and come up with bizarre explanations and possibly destroy Twilight Sparkle's brood." Summer paused as she hoofed the scar on her eye. She looked at her aunt, the injured peeper clearly hesitant to open. " Thanks Aunt Luna.... But... You think you could heal it?" Luna allowed herself a small smile as her horn shone brightly. " Of course young one." With that blue light encased Summer's eye, and the changeling could swear something replaced the slashed ball of flesh. It felt.... Like nothing was inside her eye socket but at the same time it's texture a bit glassy. Luna's horn died out and she waited for Summer to open her new eye. When the changeling did, it made the Night Alicorn smile widely. She thought the young mare would not suit an eye made of moonlight, but looking at it shine along with the purple one immediately quelled that thought. " Woah! Cool!" Summer squealed. She jumped from her seat and hugged the alicorn, who widened her eyes with surprise. " Thanks Auntie Luna! " She nuzzled the princess' chest. Luna blinked, she only ever got a hug from Celestia alone, but then smiled when she realized it was only a matter of time before the rest of her nieces and nephews follow. She returned the hug. " You're most welcome, little Summer. Now how about we tie you back up and let's continue this little charade?" ------- " So.... Twilight's Hive is somewhere in the Everfree? That's why they led Shiny to Chrysalis' Hive instead?" Cadence asked her Aunt beside her bed. She was right about preparing herself for more information, since what happened to her Sister-in-law was quite a story. It took the rest of the day to explain it too, even with Celestia starting her tale as soon as Cadence could deem her words coherent. Summer's paralyzing spell was more powerful than she anticipated. " Yes. But they didn't anticipate to find all those kidnapped ponies in converting pods." Celestia answered. " Converting pods?" " Cocoons that transforms a pony into a changeling. A complete full-blown changeling. Fully under Chrysalis' control. " Cadence put a hoof to her mouth in horror. " Poor ponies..." Celestia nodded. " But that is not their main concern at the moment. The ponies in the pods were in a fragile, sensitive state. If forced out of the pod by an outside force, they will die." " Shiny's anger towards changelings would cloud his judgement; he would rip them out of their pods...!" " Exactly what they thought. They intercepted and fought the Captain in the Sandstorm, and we called you here to help divert his attention back to Canterlot. The rest is history." Celestia finished. Cadence mulled over the newest batch of information, silence reigning in the room. Celestia couldn't blame her. She herself would've done the same if Bandaid and his crew weren't the ones to explain. Their childish appearances and little squabbles during the explanation had helped her nerves. If it had been Twilight it would take a moment longer. If it had been another of Chrysalis' changelings then it would've taken much more and would start with a battle. " What do you think Chrysalis is planning to do with all those poor ponies?" Cadence suddenly asked. Celestia blinked but recovered quickly. " My sister and I have suspected that she is certainly planning on an attack, seeing as she's upping her numbers." " I... I figured as much. Suddenly Twilight being a Changeling Queen is beneficial for both the good changelings and protecting Equestria." Cadence muttered. " Exactly what Twilight's Hive's goal is." Celestia smiled in agreement. Suddenly the door to Cadence's guest room in the Castle, where she was transferred to for safety reasons, burst open. Both Alicorns looked at the doer of the action, Luna, with confusion. " Luna? Back so soon? How was the interrogation?" Celestia asked. The alicorn grunted as she walked inside, closing the door and casting a spell on the room that would keep whatever they were about to talk about away from prying ears. " If Summer's eye being slashed is good, then I'd say the interrogation went smoothly." She said with heavy sarcasm. Both mares were surprised. " Wait, what?" Celestia managed. " Slashed eye? Summer? What do you mean, Auntie Luna?" Cadence asked. " Your husband let his anger take control of him and he resorted to violence. He used the knife Summer had borrowed for the act and sliced her right eye." Luna huffed. Silence reigned as the information sank. Both couldn't believe Shining Armor would do that, violating a very known rule, even in blind anger. " Is Summer alright?" Celestia inquired, trying to push the topic away from the Captain's involvement in the violation. " I replaced her eye with one out of moonlight. She'll be fine. You'll see her in a few minutes to check on her yourself, and also talk to Twilight. I bet my moon she already has a plan on Chrysalis' upcoming attack." Luna replied. " Wait wait wait, hold on a second," Luna and Celestia looked at Cadence ", I thought you said Chrysalis' attack was speculation? Is it confirmed? And how will we be seeing Summer in minutes if she's still acting as a prisoner?" Luna snorted. " With Chrysalis, you need no confirmation. And we'll be seeing Summer in a minute because she 'miraculously' escaped the dungeon." As if on cue, shouts of panic were heard from the floors bellow, followed by the sounds of spells being cast and a familiar giggle. Moments later a bat suddenly went flying into the room of the three Alicorns and made a loop in the air, before diving and landing on the floor. In a flash of lavender flames, Summer replaced the bat and was revealed to be in a standing position with arms wide open. " Ta-da!" She exclaimed, blue eye shimmering brightly as the moon outside the Castle. Her entrance did not phase Celestia however as she was immediately encased in golden light and brought to the Sun Princess for closer inspection. " Hey! " She complained as Celestia had a horrified look on her face as she spotted Summer's new scar. " Are you alright little one?!" She asked as she put the changeling down. Summer allowed herself a smile. " I'm fine, Auntie Celestia. Auntie Luna healed me. " She looked at Cadence, who was staring intently at her new mark. " Besides, I know you'll want to talk to Mom now. Enough about me." Seeing nods from Luna and Celestia, the young changeling immediately dived into the hive-mind. She stopped a bit to hear the comforting song before proceeding to call her mother. < Mom? My Queen?> As soon as her voice rang in the hive-mind she was bombarded with love and worry. < Summer are you alright?! > < What happened sis? > < What made you scream like that? > < That was way too much pain than what a punch would give. > < Who hurt you?! > < Hey guys chill! I'm alright! I'm fine!> Summer said in an effort to quell their worries. < I expect an explanation after whatever it is you contacted me for, Summer Sparkle. > Summer inwardly gulped. < Yeah, I know Mom. But Princess Celestia wants to talk. About what's the plan regarding the oncoming attack. > < Fine. But don't think you're off the hook, young lady! > Twilight threatened as Summer felt her presence dominate her mind. < Never even thought of it, Mom.> --------- Cadence watched as Summer stared off into space, the changeling's action bringing confusion over the Love Princess' previous shock of her new scar. While she would definitely have a heart-to-heart talk with her husband about his anger management issues and mental health, she decided to push that thought away for now and focus on why exactly the young changeling was staring at nothing. She voiced this concern. Celestia chuckled. " She's calling Twilight. You'll see." And indeed she did. Summer, without warning, burst into purple flames once more, and in her place was an exact copy of Twilight before the bite. Cadence let out an involuntary gasp, drawing the changeling's attention to her. 'Twilight' widened her eyes. " C-Cadence?! " Summer said with Twilight's voice, looking at Celestia and Luna before going back to Cadence. " I-I didn't realize you would be here..." " The plan worked, Twilight Sparkle. She knows of thy hive. No need to worry." Luna said nonchalantly. " It's not that-! It's just...." Twilight gulped, looking nervously at Cadence. The Princess of Love knew that look very, very well. " I'm not mad, Twilight." She found herself saying, to the confusion of Luna and Celestia and the surprise of the pony in question. " But," She added, sprouting a panicked look on the purple unicorn's face, " You will explain everything to me again in your own words, alright?" Twilight nodded nervously. " Yes Cadence." She was relieved that her foalsitter accepted her for who she now was, but at the same time nervous because she would have to explain something she still didn't know the answer to; why she accepted being who she was now. Considering Cadence's experience with her new species the princess of Love would be understandably baffled by her almost doubtless acceptance. She cleared her throat. " So... With that out of the way, what did you call me for again, Princess Celestia?" The Princess had a slightly amused look on her face. " The plan, Twilight." " R-Right, " Twilight blushed in embarrassment. " The plan. Um, our infiltrators are going to continue monitoring the Other Hive so that we may have a bit of a warning when the attack happens. The Thestrals also are wishing to help and are only waiting for your approval, Princess Luna." She looked at the princess. Luna smiled. " They have it already." Twilight returned the gesture. " Thank you princess, I'll be sure to tell them right away. So," she continued, " we have the easy parts done. Our Changelings and the Thestrals are going to help protect Equestria from the attack. But," Princess Celestia frowned. " What?" " There's the matter of my.... Brother. " Twilight sighed. Cadence blinked, since the way Twilight was acting made it seem like they kept having problems when it came to her husband. Was he that bad? " We only temporarily diverted his attention from the Other Hive. He would surely go there again, now that he knows where it is. And I'm very sure we can't repeat what happened today to draw him back in, he would get suspicious, and we already made him hate my children too with Summer and Loki's revealing their true form." She swallowed. " All else is fine, Our Hive ready on the first wave of changelings, except that part. We have to keep Shining Armor away from the Other Hive and the Converts-to-be, lest he kill them all." Twilight finished. While everypony else was pondering on what method to use against this little snag, Cadence was already smirking. Changelings she would leave to Twilight, because it's how to handle her husband she knows more about. " I may have some ways...." She slyly said.