Queen Chrysalis was back in Equestria, and reclaiming her hive was her main goal. Word on the street was that the Changelings were in trouble. Upon learning this, Chrysalis was determined to find out why Changeling population was on a downward trend.
Chrysalis was in disguise, exploring the library, and she had found exactly the book she was looking for. A census on Changeling population since the rise of King Thorax.
I'm so glad that I've taken up reading as a hobby. Twilight is right about one thing, you can learn so much from books. Chrysalis thought.
She was reading a recent publication on Changelings, and well, the contents were interesting.
All attempts at raising a new Changeling queen have resulted in failure. Every attempt to recreate the royal juice necessary to raise a queen have failed to impregnate any female individuals. As a result, the population has been stagnant since the defeat of Queen Chrysalis, and the rise of King Thorax. New offspring aren't being created. Although solutions are being explored, if there are no new advancements, the Changelings face eventual extinction! she read.
"So, do you still care about all creatures, Twilight Sparkle? This is how the Changeling legion comes to an end? I will not allow it! My creatures need me! They need their queen! They need-"
"Chrysalis." said somepony.
"My point exactly! Wait, who's there?"
Chrysalis turned around, and it was Luster Dawn. Or was it?
"Uh... no. I am Magnolia, member of the guard. And no, I'm not on the side of the bad guys, I just-" Chrysalis said.
"Chryssie, it's me." Cozy's voice came from Luster's mouth.
"Cozy Glow? I thought that unicorn was..." Chrysalis trailed off.
"Yeah, but shh..." Cozy said.
"How did you..." Chrysalis was about to ask.
"I'll explain more later. But just know that I'm in total control of Luster." Cozy said. "It's her body, but all her words and actions come from me."
Chrysalis was confused, but anything to manipulate the minds of weak ponies was to her liking.
"But enough about me, what have you been up to?" Cozy asked.
"I've made a startling discovery. With no queen, the Changelings are facing the threat of extinction within the next generation or so." Chrysalis said.
"That's awful. So the Changeling revolution was a mistake after all." Cozy said.
"The urgency of our mission has increased tenfold!" Chrysalis said.
"Well, if that's the case, then I believe both of us have some family matters to attend to." Cozy grinned.
Chrysalis scratched her head, not sure of what she meant.
"We can't afford to waste any more time. If your hive's in danger, then just take it back!" Cozy exclaimed.
"Sounds risky. Shouldn't we wait to regroup and use our secret weapon before we do anything of the sort?" Chrysalis asked.
"I think each one of us is more than capable on our own. It's a game of chess, and I have a winning strategy." Cozy said.
"Here's the plan. You're more than capable of reclaiming the Changeling hive by yourself. I want you to do it by sunset tomorrow."
"What about the brawn of our group?" Chrysalis asked.
"I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again soon." Cozy grinned. "Since Discord won't be fulfilling his promise, I guarantee you Tirek will be coming around soon."
Somehow, the plan was starting to come together.
"You'll take over the Changeling kingdom, Tirek will cover the outskirts with his immense strength, and presumably, our secret weapon in tow. And me? Well, you'll see at the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala." Cozy smirked. "Now, be off. Before anyone catches wind of our conversation."
Chrysalis' horn lit up, and *poof* she disappeared. Cozy, however, wasn't done in the library. She was something she needed to take care of.
Cozy made her way into the deeper Canterlot archives. She found an entry way the lower level, but it was closed, and locked with heavy metal bars. However, using Luster's magic, she used a spell, and phased through the bars as if they weren't there. She successfully infiltrated the deeper archives.
"Ahh, good ol Canterlot anchovies. Absolutely nothing you can't learn from here." she said in a sarcastic mocking tone.
Cozy opened a book about Equestrian history. This particular one told the story of when the ending ended, and Twilight Sparkle defeated three of her biggest adversaries all at once. It conveniently wrote in detail exactly all the precautionary measures taken after their defeat.
"So, that's what you did with it? Seriously? Whatever, not gonna complain about an easy task." she said.
Cozy closed the book, and put it right back where she found it.
She found herself in the forbidden corner of the archives. She pushed in the correct books, and successfully figured out the pass code. A secret passage opened, leading to a large stone room. She went ahead and wandered inside.
Inside the hidden room, she found exactly the item she was looking for. The bewitching bell. The bell of course needed no introduction. It's like they say, if your plan doesn't work, just do it again, except don't make mistakes. And Cozy was beaming at the idea of reuniting with Grogar's bell. The bell wasn't unguarded however. It was in a glass case, on a podium, surrounded by lasers.
"Alright, Lusty, let's see how precise your magic is..."
Luster's horn glowed, and the bell also glowed.
*poof*
The bell disappeared, and a rock was in its place. Luster had been delegate enough that the swap didn't trigger any alarms. She had successfully done it! Cozy Glow stole the bell!
"Nice work, Lusty. Now, if you don't mind bringing this thing back to life."
She used her magic on the bell, and the bell started to glow, and float in the air. It tilted, and aimed for Luster.
"Why wait for Twilight to bestow wings for yourself, when you can take all the power for yourself?"
*ring*
The bell fired a stream of magic at Luster Dawn, and she absorbed the powerful magic inside.
The bright glow of Grogar's Bewitching Bell cast a silhouette of a powerful alicorn.
Later that night, Chrysalis was wandering in a rock quarry.
"The first step to reclaiming my hive requires me to rebuild the throne. Once my spell is put back in place, the Changelings will fall like dominoes, and they'll all revert to their old selves!" Chrysalis said to herself. "I'll construct this new throne out of anorthosites. But where am I expected to find a large collection of anorthosites?"
Luckily, she wasn't alone. There was an expert on site. A rock expect.
"You there!" she exclaimed.
She caught the attention of Maud Pie, who was a notorious late night worker.
"Tell me where I can find a large deposit of anorthosites!" Chrysalis demanded.
Maud Pie blinked, without replying.
"I uh, for personal gain of course." Chrysalis added.
"Anorthosite can be found in large deposits underneath that mountain over there." Maud replied.
She pointed to the nearby mountain, with an entryway to a mine.
"Many thanks." Chrysalis thanked.
The two were about to go their separate ways, but then something came to Chrysalis' mind.
"Oh, one more thing. Between you and me, I'm not exactly made of muscles. Heavy lifting is so hard, and I need to get all these rocks to, oh I don't know, the Changeling kingdom." Chrysalis said.
"Fortunately, there's a railway that leads from this mine to most major locations in Equestria. Including the Changeling hive."
"Thanks once again." Chrysalis was about to head out once again, but this time Maud chimed in.
"Wait." Maud said.
Chrysalis screeched in her tracks, and turned around.
"I had no idea you of all creatures would be interested in rocks, queen. Would you like to join us?" Maud offered. "Mudbriar and I discovered some dense rocks that glow under UV light. We think they have unique properties. They emit energy on their own, but it doesn't seem to the result of a chemical reaction. It could revolutionize energy consumption in Equestria, I just hope they're not to dangerous..."
"Uh, no thanks. I'll pass. It is of the utmost urgency that I... what did you call me?" Chrysalis asked.
Before she got an answer, Maud Pie was already many meters away, heading in the other direction.
"I must've misheard her. I should cocoon her, but I can't afford to cause a scene. Just think of the goal. Rebuilding your glorious throne..."
Chrysalis reminisced about her throne, and her kingdom. Her throne sure was big, which meant, it was going to take lots of rocks to rebuild it...
"It's going to be a long night..." Chrysalis moaned.
Later, in the dead of night, Luster Dawn (controlled by Cozy Glow still) was visiting the hospital. There was one particular room she was looking for. The room that held Cozy Glow's body. She trotted into the room, and there it was. Cozy's body, hooked up to various pieces of medical equipment. But also the room was crawling with royal guards. They noticed her walk in, and approached her.
"Uh, excuse me, no visitors after hours." a guard said.
"I need to see Cozy Glow." she said.
"We can't allow for that." they added.
"She's coming with me." she affirmed, sternly.
"She needs to be hospitalized!" they affirmed.
"No..."
Her magic gripped the guards head. She lifted them up and-
*SLAM* "YOU NEED TO BE HOSPITALIZED!" she exclaimed.
She forced the guard to the ground. The guards went on the offensive. *pew pew* Luster fired magic at two other guards. She lifted a guard, and chucked them at a stack of guards. The last guard had her cornered, but she revealed her wings, and a powerful wave of magic paralyzed the guard in front of her.
With all the guards defeated, Cozy took the bewitching bell from Luster's saddle bag, and rang it to suck up all the magic from the guards. With that done, she began what she came to this room for. She walked up to the lifeless and empty Cozy Glow body.
"Poor old Cozy Glow. Big ambitions, but small and weak body. But now, thanks to a very generous body donor, our plans are allowed to continue. I just need to borrow something before we can begin. Now, I'm not sure how life support is supposed to help an empty body, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't work if I-" *YANK*
Cozy yanked all the wires off her body, threw the equipment to the ground, and stomped on it for good measure. With her mild outburst out of the way, it was time.
"Come here, Cozy. I pwomise not to hurt you." she said.
Cozy Glow's consciousness, inside Luster Dawn's body, was now in possession of the actual Cozy Glow body. As morbid as it seemed, she embraced what was essentially her own corpse.
"I pwomise to listen to you, and give you what you need. Oh, you're so lonely, but don't worry, I think it's time for a little family reunion!"
Meanwhile, in the castle foyer, a mandatory meeting was taking place, and every single creature in the town was gathered. Many dozen ponies (most unnamed) were all in attendance. But for what special occasion they wondered.
"What do you suppose is going on now?" Lightning Dust asked.
"I haven't the slightest clue. And I'm Cozy's right hand stallion." Svengallop said.
"Another power nap?" Short Fuse asked.
"Perhaps some recognition for our hard work." Flim said.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Suri said.
*the lights went out*
A spotlight beamed onto the upper deck where Magnolia stood.
"Attention, everypony. I want to thank each and everyone of you for making it tonight. I know you all have done a wonderful job making this town a truly special place." she said.
Some peaceful chatter went on in the crowd. But it was about to head south fast.
"And now that I have you all here, I just wanted to take the time to say, y'all a bunch of losers!" Magnolia exclaimed.
*confusion in the crowd*
"Huh?"
"What?"
"I mean, seriously?! Who in their right mind would willingly serve Equestria's most dangerous villains? Did y'all honestly expect this wouldn't backfire!? HA! Just look over your heads. See those cocoons?"
Everypony looked up, and indeed, there were Cocoons hanging from the ceiling.
"That's what happens to creatures who don't obey! Y'all been sitting cozy for a long time, but no longer. Now it is time to fulfill your true greater purpose! The real reason you're all here, is you're all going to be what pushes us over the edge and conquer Equestria for good!"
Tirek stood behind Magnolia. So tall, his head was obscured by the shadows. He walked forward to intimidate the crowd. Tirek opened the Rainbow of Darkness, revealing the emptiness and evil magic inside.
Magnolia stood on two legs, and transformed into a hideous terrifying shadow beast once again. She raised her front limbs into the air, and held an orb of dark magic in her hooves.
The village ponies stood in fear, and shock.
"Sweet mother of Celestia..." Suri Polomare gasped.
"Oh boy..." Svengallop gulped.
"Let's get out of her brother!" Flim and Flam cried.
The magic power charged in her hooves. The ponies inside tried to make a run for it. They piled up at the main door, but it was locked. Lighting and the Washouts panicked and searched high for some kind of hole in the ceiling. But nothing. Flim and Flim bashed their heads against the windows, but they wouldn't break. There was no escaping.
Dark magic shot in all directions, and leeched onto every creature in the foyer. The villagers screamed in agony as the darkness consumed them.
"AAAHH!"
"I trusted you!"
"HELP!"
"IT HURTS!"
"AAAHHHHH!"
The dark magic consumed everypony it touched. The darkness crept up, and wrapped around each and every individual creature. It slowly wrapped around them, and swallowed them whole. Finally, once the magic reached every creature, all motion in the foyer ceased. The dark magic even surrounded the cocoons on the ceiling.
"Wait for it..." Grogar said, speaking from Magnolia's body.
Suri's eyes opened, and glowed. The other creatures in the foyer followed. They each stood up, revealing they had been consumed, and turned into horrifying shadow demons. The ponies became vicious alicorns, with wings and horns, regardless of their normal race. Lightning Dust, Short Fuse, Rolling Thunder, and Wind Rider were sort of like shadow bolts. Fast, and evil. One of the cocoons contained Sludge, and yes, he also became a shadowy monster.
Grogar watched in glee from Magnolia's body. He still controlled Magnolia's mind. Tirek however was, surprisingly unenthusiastic.
"This is perfect. Our very own army of darkness!" Grogar said. "Such a wide variety of ponies with unique abilities! Let's see what you all are capable of!"
Grogar puppeteered all the shadow creatures. Whenever they spoke, it was really Grogar.
Grogar controlled Lightning Dust, Rolling Thunder, Short Fuse, and Wind Rider.
"Look how fast we can fly!" they said together.
They took off into the air and-
*ZIP* *BOOM*
The four flew so fast, the shock wave blasted the castle walls down.
Dark Sludge breathed a huge stream of dark fire into the air to demonstrate his power.
Shadow Polomare weaved a magic fabric, and was ready to use it to strangle any opponents.
Even Svengallop (now Shadowgallop) was overpowered. He single handedly knocked down an entire tree.
Though the shadow creature's powers were impressive, in the back of Tirek's mind, he had a feeling he never felt with any evil plan before. Doubt.
Grogar could sense it, and the creatures gathered close around Tirek.
"What's the matter, Tirek?" Dark Magnolia whispered in Tirek's ear.
"What are you waiting for? Do it, Tirek." Dark Sludge said.
"It's the only way to save Cozy Glow." Shadow Polomare said.
"She's waiting for you." Shadowgallop added.
"Crush that Princess Twilight Sparkle to pieces! And take over all of Equestria!" the Washadows said.
"And save Cozy Glow, right?" Tirek asked.
"Yeah, that too." every creature said simultaneously.
Tirek stepped outside the castle, with the Rainbow of Darkness sack around his neck. The creatures swarmed out of the castle, and landed beside him.
"Don't be hesitant because we may hurt a pony or two." Shadow Polomare said.
"Be extra destructive! Because that's what you want! It's what Cozy Glow wants." Dark Magnolia said.
"Think about all the pain we shall inflict upon Twilight Sparkle, and everypony she cares about!" the Washadows said.
All the creatures morphed into dark dust, and flowed into the sack that held the darkness.
"At the ready, simply activate the rainbow to unleash your army of shadowy creatures." Grogar's voice echoed.
Tirek grinned, thinking about all the power at his disposal. It made him giddy, and he was excited to unleash this incredible dark magic upon the helpless creatures of Equestria.
To be continued...