Chapter Four: The First of Many Breaks
After Rainbow Dash finished using the bathroom and Fluttershy had come back into consciousness, Applejack declared that she would be telling her story next. "A'right ya'll! It's mah turn!" The main reason why Applejack wanted to tell hers next, was because she wanted Twilight to get freaked out. Bad. Nopony's 'scary story' had been able to scare Applejack ever. Twilight had been the first to achieve what Applejack thought was un-achievable. This was the first time Applejack had been genuinely scared. Now Applejack would probably avoid staying out late in the orchards for at least a month. Not like her own story didn't already make sure that would happen...
Spike kept on looking around the room nervously. He didn't think he could handle one more story, let alone four. He thought of how he could get back at the mean ponies, for dragging him into this mess. Well... it was his fault really. Nevertheless, he would think of a way to do it somehow. Well, there was that book he had read a long time ago, in the Canterlot library. Dragon Emperor Trynex, the ancient dragon lord, would probably get the job done...
* * *
"Ooh! Tia! Are we going to stick to the plan?!" Luna asked, eagerly bouncing up and down like a little filly.
"Of course!" Princess Celestia replied. The two princesses had put parts in the story where they could act it out on the mares inside. Using their magic, they were going to make things fall in the library, mirroring things that happened in the story, this one in particular. The two devious princesses had decided to spare the readers, making sure they wouldn't falter and freak out. This meant maybe Applejack could forget about Twilight's story before Luna and Celestia scared the crap out of her using a more...useful method.
Judging by the reactions of Twilight's friends, the two princesses had done quite a good job with the first story. There was still four to go! There was nothing to do but sit back, chill, and enjoy the ride! "Popcorn?" Luna asked suddenly, levitating an unpopped bag of popcorn in Celestia's face.
"Luna, where did you get that?" Celestia asked. Luna looked dumbfounded for a minute.
"I- I don't know. I just saw it on the ground right here..." Luna said, looking puzzled. Celestia looked kind of creeped out for a second. She was SURE that the popcorn hadn't been there before Twilight's story. Celestia shrugged. Focusing her magic, she called on the power of fire to heat up the bag of popcorn. Luna formed a magic shield above the heat, placing the bag of popcorn on top.
The bag quickly expanded, releasing the delicious smell of freshly popped popcorn. After it was done, Luna dropped the shield, letting the popcorn fall into her hooves. As soon as it made contact, Luna's eyes widened. Luckily, Celestia knew just what the problem happened to be. Just as Luna was about to scream "HOT!", Celestia slapped the bag of popcorn on the ground with one hoof, and stuck the other into Luna's mouth.
Luna began to wave her hooves in the air frantically, trying to cool them down. Eventually logic won, and she just shoved them into the dirt. "Better?" Celestia asked, a slightly amused smile on her face.
"Don't make that a habit. The sticking your hoof into my mouth business." Luna said, continuing to mumble while glaring at Celestia. Luna trotted over to the bag of popcorn and picked it up. Taking her place in front of the window, Luna opened the popcorn, beginning to munch on it happily.
* * *
Thirty minutes earlier, in Canterlot Castle...
"What do you mean 'not here'!?" Shining Armor raged at the guards in front of Celestia's room. The two guards cast frightened glances at eachother.
"S-she said it was 'Royal Business'!" one guard said.
"Y-yeah! Royal Business!" the other guard chimed in quickly.
"Hmm..." began Shining Armor thoughtfully. "Have the princesses been acting... strange lately?" he asked the two guards. The guards looked at eachother again, this time thinking about the princesses strange behavior earlier.
"Y-yeah actually." one of the guards said, thinking of how high wasted odd the princesses had been acting that evening.
Shining Armor pondered this, the changeling attack all too fresh in his mind. "Have you ever considered the possibility that they are not the princesses at all, but in fact, changelings?" he asked the guards. They shook their heads, fearing that Shining Armor may have been right. "You don't mind if I look for... evidence do you?" Shining Armor asked the guards. They looked at eachother hesitantly. "DO YOU?!!!" the captain of the Royal Guard shouted. The guards quickly shook their heads, opening up the chamber doors for Shining Armor. "Good." he said, stepping inside. The two guards heard him mumble something about "can't even trust your own comrade guard members."
The two kept letting their eyes stray over to the other, expecting an attack. The poor guards didn't even think they could trust eachother. Little did they know, Shining Armor was a......troll.
* * *
Somewhere else in Canterlot Castle...
"Look. It'll be quick, okay?" Cadence said, trying to convince the stubborn guards to let her inside of Luna's room. The guards shook their heads adamantly.
"No can do princess. We're under strict orders from Luna herself to make sure nopony goes inside." the guards answered. Cadence thought for a minute.
"Have you noticed anything strange about Luna lately?" she asked the two guards. One of them nodded.
"Yeah! She has been acting kind of different lately." he said, looking around nervously, making sure Luna was nowhere to be seen. Cadence nodded in understanding.
"Shining Armor and I have suspected for quite some time, that the princesses are in fact, changelings." Cadence said. The guard that hadn't spoken yet burst out in gruff laughter.
"That's preposterous! Surely the captain would've warned us!" he said, unable to deny how idiotic Cadence sounded.
"You see, the reason why Shining hasn't told you, is because he fears that some of the Royal Guard itself could be changelings." Cadence reasoned. The second guard's look of certainty began to waiver. The two guards opened the door.
"Go right in." they said quietly. Cadence stepped into the room, smirking slightly. Time to get dirty(not that way you nasties), Cadence thought, ready to rock and troll.
* * *
Shining Armor tapped his hoof impatiently. Cadence should have been there a while ago. He had been waiting for more than twenty minutes, with nothing to do but stand there and tap his hoof impatiently. Finally, he saw a pink horn poke it's way out from behind a fountain. Shining Armor's wife looked pretty excited about something. Shining Armor's heart rate quickened. "Did you find anything?" he asked. Cadence nodded and smiled.
It took her a few seconds to catch her breath before she spoke. "You wouldn't believe it! I found a letter in Luna's room about Twilight having a sleepover."
"How cute. Little Twilee's having a sleepover." Shining Armor said, acting stallionly in front of his wife. How dare she not invite me! Why that little... Next time I see her is noogie time.
Cadence continued. "And get this! Luna and Celestia planned out a little 'practical joke' to make the ponies scare the hay out of each other!"
Shining Armor snorted with laughter. Oh, they would be scared all right! But if the princess were going to act foalish, then so was he. By the end of the night, the princesses little 'practical joke' will have completely backfired.
* * *
"Attention everypony!" said one of Luna's chamber guards. "Princess Cadence has informed us that the princesses are changelings!"
The crowd burst out into laughter, some booing, calling the guard a liar, and even a few that threw tomatoes at him. He flinched away from the hostile veggies, and stood back to let another guard speak. This time however, everypony in the crowd was silent. Standing on the pedestal was one of Canterlot's most senior Royal Guards. "It's true." he said bluntly. "Never before have the captains of the guard failed us. If that is what Shining Armor thinks, then I believe it." he said, stepping down from the pedestal.
The crowd was still completely silent, save for the few murmuring about how the stallion was so old he had probably lost his marbles.
The second in command of the Royal Guard stepped forward. "Comrades! It's time to rise up! It's time for us to shine! It's time to rise up, and crush the changeling scourge forever!"
The crowd went wild. The whole palace was shaking with the roar of all the hooves stamping on the floor. Colonel Sharpspear had to wait before speaking again. "All of those willing to fight say 'I'."
There was no hesitation as the whole crowd of guards replied 'I'!" Sharpspear smiled.
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" he yelled, dashing off the pedestal, and towards the door.
"OOO-RAH!" the crowd shouted in reply, following their current commander out of the door.