//------------------------------// // Queen Takes Queen // Story: The Night's Stars // by SC_Orion //------------------------------// Nightmare Moon ignored the pain from her burns just as she ignored the bodies of the fallen or stunned ponies and changelings while she strode towards the courtyard’s gates. She saw a discarded spear lying on the ground as she approached the gate and quickly retrieved it with her magic, then brought it close for inspection. While not the most efficient weapon she could think up, it would avoid unwanted collateral damage. She kept the spear close as she made her way down the ramp, quickly checking to see if any of the parasites were lying in wait for her–or more accurately, for their own demise. She didn’t see any. ‘Are they regrouping or have they realized they will not win this battle?’ Regardless of whether they were regrouping in a vain attempt to take her city or retreating, they would take prisoners to feed on. The streets were deserted beyond her and her companions. Royal Guards and batponies would follow shortly after they had reorganized and secured the castle properly, but for the time being, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were backing her up. She quickly glanced over her shoulder at her companions. Bringing them with her was a risk. They weren’t soldiers. But they seemed more competent than the Royal Guard, and Twilight was her student. She charged forward, sweeping her gaze left and right to check the side streets for any changelings that thought it was a good idea to try to ambush them. So far, there weren’t any, but she knew the lull in battle would not last. 'It would be easier to fly, or perhaps render us invisible.' But which was the better option? Only her and Rainbow Dash could fly. Perhaps they could carry Twilight and Applejack, but it would leave all of them more vulnerable for it, and leaving her two earth-bound companions below was likewise risky. 'Perhaps they could be bait,' but she cast the thought aside immediately: the idea of using Twilight or her friends to try to draw out the changelings made her uncomfortable. However, invisibility would be useful. They would be hidden from sight, and most likely the changelings would be unable to detect them, giving them the element of surprise. Locating the Queen might be easier too. She licked her lips. "I am going to use my magic to render us invisible. Do stay close, and do not draw attention to us. We will still be able to see each other. Our voices can still be heard as well, though I will silence our steps." "You can do that!?" Rainbow Dash asked. She barely glanced back at the pegasus before returning to checking the side streets. "I can. I did track your progress from the Town Hall to the library and then to the castle upon my return without any of you detecting my presence." 'Perhaps admitting that was a mistake, or perhaps they will grow to trust me more,' she considered in passing, but there were more important matters to handle. She powered up both spells, then cast them. All of their steps became silent, and looking back, she assured herself that she could still see them, and likewise, they could see each other, though all of their coats had taken on a faint shimmer of her magic. "Other than not hearing us moving, this doesn't seem any different," Rainbow voiced. She didn't bother responding; the pegasus must not have noticed it. "Look at our coats," Twilight pointed out. A few seconds passed. Rainbow groaned. "Lame." They approached a circular plaza with a fountain in the middle. A few of the parasites were standing guard while several others cocooned unconscious ponies. They used their magic to shape and harden their secretions into a kind of hard resin that would be difficult for ponies to break free from. "Okay, that's disgusting," Rainbow said. 'You have hardly seen the half of it.' A few of the closer changelings' wings flicked and their heads twitched. She came to a stop and spread her right wing out to make her companions stop. She cast her head back and whispered, "Remain here," then strode ahead. As she approached the nearest changeling and left her companions behind, she counted two dozen of the parasites in the plaza. A few pairs of changelings flew in and carried away cocooned ponies. She clenched her jaw. She finally stopped just out of reach from the changeling. Before it had a chance to recognize the danger and fight back, she overwhelmed its natural magic with her own. Firmly gripping its head, she jerked until there was a dull crack! of its neck snapping. She lifted the changeling’s corpse and threw it towards a pair of changelings. It wasn’t lethal, but there was something to be said for breaking their resolve. The pair of parasites were caught off-guard as their late comrade crashed into them, knocking them to the ground. The rest of them knew something was there, but not who. She smiled to herself–perhaps fighting in a city against the changelings wouldn’t be as hard as she had anticipated. She was the Queen of the Night, after all. She charged forward. Two changelings flew towards the spot their former comrade had stood. She grabbed them in her magic and smashed their heads together, dazing them enough to–crack! Their corpses tumbled into piles. Some of the changelings needed to survive to spread that fear among the rest of their ranks. Some of them. She reared up and summoned her magic, breaking the invisibility spell and unleashing a wave of magic that threw all of the changelings back with a thunderous crack! She stamped her forehooves into the ground and flared her wings. Some changelings smashed into walls and others tumbled on the street, but none of them were left standing. They scrambled to their hooves and fired their spells at her but not fast enough. She wove between their spells, retaliating in kind and rushing them as they tried to regroup. One of their spells struck her neck, exploding against her with burning pain. She growled and launched her spear at the changeling with enough force that the spear nearly disappeared inside its body. The changelings startled and jumped aside as its body hit the ground. She tugged the spear back out and swung it in a wide arc, catching another changeling in the head and sending him to the ground. A burst of magic shot past her from left to right, just barely missing her. She aimed and fired off a trio of spells–even if they didn’t land it bought time. She turned her attention back to the changelings across from her and fired a beam to cut through their ranks. Some of them dropped to the ground and some of them flew, but they altogether scattered as they had no defense against her. Three less insects. The buzzing of their wings and the woosh of their magic enveloping their bodies. She stopped and swiveled, then fired off another beam at the brightly-glowing changelings diving at her. When her beam connected with one of the changelings, their spell immediately erupted, detonating and killing them. They dropped to the ground, but she ignored it in favor of cutting through another group of changelings that thought getting close was a good idea. A barrage of spellfire from the left. She swiveled to face them and shielded herself. Several small groups of changelings stood against her, spaced out so that she couldn’t hit them all as easily. Her shield groaned in protest as a changeling slammed into it. She glared at the parasite responsible and grabbed it before throwing it to the ground in front of her and snapping its neck while it was dazed. A dozen bolts of magic flashed off from the changelings' horns, flying towards her and her head. She suppressed a growl and teleported behind three of the closer changelings. She thrust her spear through the middle changeling’s neck and blasted the one of the left with her magic. The one on the right jumped around to face her and fired off a bolt of magic that struck her chestplate, leaving it warm against her chest. And then another dozen bolts of magic flew towards her. She tackled the changeling and threw her weight into its stomach. She heard it wheeze and felt it struggle. Carapace cracked. She wrapped her magic around its neck–crack! Her flank burned as a spell struck her. She bit back a growl and threw herself to the right. Two bolts flew past her. She teleported before they could fire upon her new location, but the spells followed. The spells struck her shield to little effect, and, realizing that they wouldn't break it, the parasites stopped and looked between themselves. They tried to hide their panic and anxiety, but she had fought them before. She capitalized on their mistake. Dropped her shield. Lunged forward. Channeled her magic into a beam and cut through half of the changelings' chests. They scattered to avoid her beam. She tracked them. She was faster. Bang! Her vision flickered black at the edges and she felt a sharp, burning pain in her back. Her stomach churned, and she felt the ground hit her chest. Her aura flickered out and her spear clattered to the ground. A weight settled on her back–she looked back to see a changeling, maw wide open. It spat a glob of green goop that struck her horn, wrapped around it, and oozed down to the base, even going so far as to slip through the horn-slot of her helmet and get into her fur. Her senses felt fuzzy and dulled. She suppressed a growl but scowled. She went to wrap her magic around the changeling, but couldn't cast the spell. 'Dammit.' She had forgotten about that specific trait: their spit could block magic if it covered the horn. But it wasn't perfect. She bared her teeth and breathed in. Before she could make an example of the changeling for daring to tackle her, a bolt of raspberry magic slammed into the changeling's side. It seized up, convulsed, and collapsed, limply falling off her body. She stood up–despite how much her back protested moving. The changeling hit where she had already been struck before. Twilight was at her side. "Are you okay?" was her hasty question. She only gave the filly a cursory look, just long enough to see her eyes frantically jumping all over her body. "I will be fine." The parasites, however, did not like that and now had two targets to attack. "Shield us!" Either because Twilight had helped her or because she had stood back up, several bolts of magic flashed towards them. Twilight winced, clenched her eyes, and scrunched her muzzle up. A raspberry-colored shield flared to life around them. The changelings' spells struck the shield, and though Twilight winced from each impact, it held. The shield rang almost musically from each blow it took in stride. The filly opened her eyes, saw that she was alright, and grinned awkwardly. She felt a tinge of pride. She nodded once, then closed her eyes and focused on her magic. It would take some doing, but she could break the goop down. "Your horn–" "I know," she retorted. The goop started to feel warm, then started to harden. She heard the crack of carapace over the ringing of Twilight's shield, followed by far fewer bolts of magic being cast. "Your friends are finally helping, I see," she muttered. "You did tell us to stay put," Twilight grumbled. “Fair point.” The resin on her horn started to crack as more of her magic worked on breaking it down. 'If you had not been here, this would be more difficult,' flickered through her mind in passing. She opened her eyes and grimaced. "Thank you for helping." Twilight glanced at her, then went back to eyeing the changelings, watching them try and entirely fail to counter the still-invisible Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Still, it left her wanting, as the changelings twitched on the ground, still alive. Her magical senses grew keener, and she saw the light of her aura starting to flicker back into existence. A few sparks shot off her horn, burning away flakes of resin. The resin shattered and shot off of her horn and burned away. Twilight flinched, but her shield held. "The queen's not here," Twilight said under her breath. "Indeed," she agreed, "but the drones should still be dealt with." Twilight eyed her. 'You do not wish to kill them, nor do you wish for me to kill them,' she surmised. “Otherwise they will cause more problems.” Twilight grimaced and looked away from her. Nightmare turned her head to the right and looked at her back. Testingly extended her wings. She breathed in from the pain and quickly cast a spell to numb it, then shook herself back to shape. She inhaled deeply and went back to ignoring the pain, although the feeling of her wet sides was more noticeable. 'Perhaps I overestimated my armor,' she considered. Then again, she wasn't used to battling opponents who had magic and could fly, especially not in such great numbers. Nor was she used to being caught off-guard and outnumbered. 'This would be far easier were we not in Canterlot and I could use the full extent of my magic.' Rainbow Dash tackled the last changeling to the ground. It struggled under her and managed to throw the pegasus off. Applejack summarily bucked it in the face. It whipped back and hit the ground. Nightmare distinctly remembered Applejack’s buck denting her chestplate. She picked up her spear with her magic and swung it away from her body to clean the blood from it. Rainbow hit the ground, groaned, then picked herself off the ground and stumbled back over to Applejack. "Thanks," was muttered, and Applejack nodded. The two of them turned to face Twilight and her. Twilight dropped the shield, then bolted over to them. "Are you okay?" her student demanded. "Yeah. It'll take more than that to slow me down!" Rainbow boasted, going so far as to jump in the air and pump her hoof out. Applejack rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright." She turned away from Twilight, looked at Nightmare, and nodded. Nightmare took that as her cue to walk over to them while surveying the plaza. She counted twenty-eight changelings. More must have arrived during the fight. Most of them were only temporarily disabled. She stopped beside Twilight. "What about you? You look a little roughed up," Applejack said. Nightmare turned back to Applejack and inclined her head. "I will be fine. I have experienced worse." 'Although perhaps I am out of practice,' she considered. Or, more worryingly, 'Perhaps I have been arrogant.' But it would not matter: the parasites would not kill her so easily. Luna had battled King Sombra, Starswirl, unicorns who had fallen to dark magic, monsters and griffins alike! She had fought Sister twice and killed Lord Tirek! She would not be felled by insects! She used her magic to render herself and Twilight invisible again, then teleported a scroll and wrote out a quick message before sealing it and sending it back to the Captain. Once it was teleported, she nodded and said, "Royal Guards or batponies will arrive to sort this out." "What now?" Twilight asked. "Blindly searching through Canterlot for the queen isn't going to be easy, you know." Nightmare grimaced and looked towards the sky. "It is a rather large city." She lowered her head and licked her lips. "Perhaps it would be better to draw more attention to ourselves. They were already cocooning ponies and taking them away. If we repel the changelings there is yet the chance that some will remain here in disguise to capture more ponies than they already have. It is likely that if they have not yet done so, they will soon begin extracting cocooned ponies to their hive." None of them liked hearing that; they looked between themselves and shared worried looks. She nodded her head once. "We will find them." She kept, 'And we will kill their captors,' to herself. Twilight looked at her, then turned her head to the side. "What about the queen?" "She caught me off-guard. As such, she may be overconfident and thus may engage me once more. She may be searching for me as I am searching for her." 'Perhaps rendering us visible would then be the best course of action.' It would draw attention to them, which could be a good thing, but it was also risky since there were only four of them. 'It is worth the risk.' She nodded and said, "I am making us visible again," then cut the spell. The shimmer covering their coats faded away. "So do be careful." She glanced at Rainbow Dash specifically, then turned to the right. She surveyed the plaza again, reassuring herself that the changelings–even the ones that her companions had only disabled–were incapacitated, then set off towards the street opposite of their arrival. She didn't hear her hoofsteps, and so dispelled the muffling spell. Her companions followed her, with Twilight walking up beside her. She noticed that although Twilight looked at the stunned and disabled changelings, the filly avoided looking at the ones she had felled. ‘Perhaps I should do this on my own, but I know you are capable of this. I have trained you. I promised that I would protect you.’ They bore the Elements of Harmony. She could count on them to protect Equestria alongside her–at least unless Sister returned. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a changeling step out from a building, see her, and recoil back inside. She growled and ran to the entrance–her companions were left behind to their confusion–and the changeling shut the door on her. She went to rip the door from its hinges but thought better of it. 'Collateral damage will benefit neither me nor Equestria.' She teleported behind the door–the changeling jerked to face her–and she threw the changeling against the wall before it could defend itself. She drove her spear into its body, then tugged it back out and let the dying parasite fall to the floor unceremoniously. She swiveled around and scanned the room. Aside from ponnequins adorned with pointless frilly dresses, it was deserted. Reaching out with her magic, she found neither changelings nor ponies present. She exhaled sharply, grabbed the corpse in her magic, then went back outside and dropped the body against the exterior wall. It would be better to leave it out in the open where it was more visible. Her three companions eyed her warily, unnerved by her action. She ignored it and resumed her stride down the street. ‘If Luna had succeeded in protecting ponies, you would still be concerned by my actions, would you not?’ Twilight walked up beside her. The filly quietly, albeit pointedly, said, "You don't have to kill them." Nightmare glanced back at Twilight and counters, "It disables them." Twilight's brow arched up. "You could just stun them." Nightmare scowled. "And they can recover from being stunned. Leaving them alive is a risk I am not willing to take." "The Royal Guard or batponies can capture them when they're stunned! They're not a threat anymore!" Twilight argued. Nightmare tilted her head. "And what if they recover before they are captured? And what of the Royal Guards who are tending to taking them prisoner when they could be elsewhere dealing with changelings who are yet attacking ponies? Ponies who then may be taken from their homes to be fed upon." Twilight's mouth opened, but the filly was silent. For a few seconds, she watched Twilight try to come up with a counter-argument. Nightmare averted her gaze before Twilight closed her mouth, and a few seconds passed with only the sound of their hoofsteps and Rainbow's wingbeats. "That doesn't make it right," Twilight said. And Nightmare replied, "Perhaps not, but you cannot argue with its efficiency," and nothing more was to be said. They came to an intersection and she stopped to look down both streets to make sure there were no changelings lying in wait for them before proceeding. "Is it just me," Rainbow asked, "or is the silence kinda, I dunno, unnerving?" "You'd think everypony would be panicking since the city's under attack," Applejack said. “They are locked away in their homes because it is night, and perhaps because it is Hearth’s Warming. And perhaps they know what is happening and as such are hiding,” Nightmare stated. She eyed the windows of a few buildings they passed. At least one curtain moved, and after a cursory check with her magic, she was sure it was a pony, rather than a changeling. “This makes our task easier.” A flash of magic broke Nightmare’s stride–she readied her magic to defend herself–and a scroll appeared. She caught the scroll in her magic and studied it. The scroll was sealed with Cadance's cutie mark which vaguely reminded her of the Crystal Empire. She broke the seal to open it. "What's that?" Rainbow immediately asked. Nightmare looked up from the scroll for a split second out of annoyance. "I have yet to read it." "Uh, right. Sorry," Rainbow apologized. Ignoring the distraction, Nightmare cast her gaze back on the scroll and read it. 'Reading it in the open is foolish,' pricked her mind, but they weren't attacked and she was certain there were no nearby changelings. When she finished, she had the idea of burning the scroll but instead teleported it to her chambers. "The changelings have taken to invading the School for Gifted Unicorns for some reason," she declared, then turned to face Twilight. "The queen–she calls herself Chrysalis–is there as well." Her three companions tensed. "I am teleporting us there." She nodded and wrapped her magic around them, then teleported them close to the school grounds, but not close enough that they were likely to be ambushed. Of course, the flash of light gave off their arrival regardless. She forged her magic into a shield around them–just to be certain–and scrutinized their surroundings. No changelings. A half dozen Royal Guard unicorns stood at the sides of the gate to the school grounds, and about a dozen batponies stood at their sides. In case any changelings tried rushing the unicorns, they would keep the changelings from getting too close. "My Queen!" one of the batponies called. She dropped the shield, then strode over to him. He started to approach her, but she intervened, saying, "Stay thy post," and so he stopped and straightened. "Report." "A dozen changelings outside from what we've seen. Likely more inside." "Assuredly," she stated. "What of the students and teachers?" The batpony shook his head. "It’s Hearth's Warming. There shouldn't be any ponies inside." Some of her unease faded at that. The changelings wouldn’t be stealing foals from the School. "Good. And the Queen?" He winced and shifted his weight. "Outside as well. That's why we're waiting." Nightmare scowled. "I see." "What is your command?" he asked. Nightmare inhaled and nodded, then turned back to her companions, surveying them, then turning to the guards at her disposal. "This is likely a trap," she decided. "There should be more Royal Guards on the way," the batpony said. Nightmare nodded. "Good. But we should not wait." She turned back to the batpony. "Remain here. Do prevent any changelings from escaping." He straightened, then bowed. "Yes, your Majesty!" With that out of the way, she pulled to the side and faced her companions. "I am engaging the Queen. Assist the guards–" "If this is a trap–!" Nightmare cut off Twilight's protest with a shake of her head. "I am unwilling to waste time waiting for assistance. More ponies are at risk the longer we wait. We do not yet know her plan, so I would rather put an end to it before it can come to fruition." She turned before Twilight could protest, then strode to the gate and walked into the courtyard. The changelings–she counted twenty of them, aside from the queen–were scattered about and all tensed as she appeared. Their horns remained unlit, unlike hers. The queen looked at her and grinned. She had half the mind to outright blast the insect with her magic. It was the smartest move, as giving it any time to react or prepare was foolish. Then again, perhaps patience would work to her advantage. "Here to surrender?" the parasite asked, then chuckled again. "I'll be sure to make your death quick." But the queen did not yet attack. ’How arrogant.’ Nightmare scowled at the parasite but kept her anger in check. 'What is your plan?' She gradually paced a few steps further into the courtyard and reached out with her magic to see if anything was amiss. There were dozens of changelings hiding in the school, but no traps nor enchantments that she could sense, aside from the ones cast by unicorns and Sister. She heard a few changelings' wings buzz. The queen laughed again. "Infiltrating Canterlot was so easy..." 'So you will gloat? So be it.' She had overestimated the Queen’s intelligence if that was the case, but regardless she would not be so naive as to let her guard down. She had time. The parasite continued monologing. She paid only cursory attention to it–listening to see any hints as to her plans–while focusing on locating each changeling in the courtyard and burning their locations into her mind and locking it in with the spell matrix she prepared. "...Cadance hardly put up a fight. Such a pathetic excuse for royalty!" the queen spat, making some sound of disgust. "Though I must say, your student..." the queen trailed off and smirked. "She was quite something... so fun to play with! And her reaction when she found out!" And oh, how that struck a nerve. Nightmare held back a growl and flicked her tail in agitation. The queen tossed her head back to laugh. Nightmare lunged forward, aimed her horn to the sky, and cast her spell. A bolt of magic shot straight up. Ten feet. Twenty feet. Thirty feet. Chrysalis and her changelings hissed. Nightmare strode forward, preparing her next spell. The first spell exploded in a flash of light; a dozen smaller orbs shot towards the changelings. The changelings outside stumbled, and the lances of magic tore through their carapace. One after another the changelings hit the ground–except for the queen, who startled when her drones fell, and eight of the drones. She cast a bolt of magic as the queen roared and jumped at her, its horn burning to life. The queen fired back. Their spells met and detonated. Nightmare charged onward, rushing through the heated air in the wake of the explosion and cast the spell again. The queen dove. From the ground, the parasite cast another spell. Nightmare fired back. Her first spell flew over the parasite and burned out before it hit anything. Her second spell hit the parasite's spell and detonated. She felt it in her lungs. The first bolt of magic from the surviving drones arced over her back–Nightmare felt the latent heat and churning of the air in its wake–and struck the wall. Crack! She ignored it and fired again at the queen, who jumped back and reared up on her hind legs. Her spell burned out. The Queen lurched forward and spat at her. Nightmare threw herself to the right. The glob missed her. The Queen spat again. Nightmare fired a spell at the glob and vaporized it. Glass shattered as the swarm inside the school finally came to their Queen's aid. More than she could count. Nightmare didn't have time to check with her magic. The Queen blasted her with magic and Nightmare shielded herself. A dozen bolts of magic from the drones followed. She dropped the shield and teleported behind the Queen to cast a spell–Chrysalis jerked her head at an odd angle and launched another glob of spit at Nightmare–which tore through the Queen's abdomen, throwing her to the ground. It let out an inequine screech of pain and she lunged to follow up, but the glob of spit struck her left forehoof making her stumble. Her head hit the ground and for a moment, her vision flickered as her aura winked out. She tasted blood. A dozen changelings closed in. Nightmare threw herself back onto her hooves and charged up a spell. The Queen stood back up and looked at her with a violent glare. Nightmare sneered back at the pest and cast her spell. A shockwave exploded out from her horn–it passed harmlessly over her body–and threw the changelings back. None of them were close enough for it to kill, but they were momentarily stunned. The Queen hissed and spat again. Nightmare jerked her head to the side and the spit hit her neck. She channeled her magic again and charged a spell. A changeling slammed into her side and hissed. In response, Nightmare grabbed it with her magic–crack!–and launched it at another changeling, knocking the second parasite to the ground. With that done, the changelings backed up and bombarded her with spells. Stifling a growl, Nightmare forged her magic into a shield. Momentarily protected, she tugged on her forehoof until her hoof came free from her boot, then burnt the resin until it crumbled. She stood back up, causing the drones' spells to stop, and put her boot back on, then met the Queen's gaze. She licked her lips, ignoring the taste of her own blood. "Kill her! And her student too!" it screeched. 'No.' Nightmare held back a growl of rage. The Queen's horn burned with magic, then a large flare shot up into the sky, well above the cityscape. 'A signal.' Half of the parasites dispersed. The other half braced themselves and doubled down on hammering away at her shield. Some of the first half took flight. Nightmare would not let those damned parasites win. She dropped her shield and teleported behind the Queen–Chrysalis dove to the ground in a sweeping motion as it spun to face her Nightmare fired off a beam of magic to cut through the drones that had assaulted her. Many of them fell, but there were too many and they scattered, taking to the air. Some fired back. She cut the beam to protect herself with a shield. 'If only I could teleport as you do.' The Queen fired a bolt of magic–Nightmare felt it explode against her shield. A second bolt exploded. A dozen smaller bolts pelted it. She strained under the bombardment. She dropped the shield to teleport to the Queen’s right, letting one of the drones' spells strike her right side between her ribcage and flank; it burned but she had no choice but to ignore it. Before the Queen could react, Nightmare threw herself into the insect, throwing them both to the ground. She pinned the parasite underneath her body. The drones wouldn't risk firing on her so close to their Queen. The Queen hissed and struggled, working her way out from under Nightmare Moon, but Nightmare was larger and heavier. She rammed her foreleg into the Queen's shoulder in an effort to hold it down. Drones darted towards them. The Queen's head snapped to her shoulder and clamped down on her. Nightmare held back a wince and charged a spell. The Queen stared into her eyes soullessly while her blood dribbled from its mouth. Nightmare cast the spell. The Queen was thrown away but caught herself and took flight. Nightmare risked a glance at her shoulder. One of the Queen's fangs was still there, making her frown as she plucked the fang from her shoulder before throwing it to the ground. She then turned back to face her foe. A drone landed in front of Nightmare. She glared at it and wrapped her magic around it, only for it to flash green and take Twilight's form. Nightmare knew it wasn't Twilight. Nightmare still hesitated, seeing those eyes look up at her. 'Dammit.' The drone impersonating Twilight got a spell off. It struck Nightmare’s neck. She stifled a cough and stumbled back. Swept her horn down. Fired. The changeling flashed back to green as it hit the ground. But she would still have nightmares about that. Feeling the side of her chestplate heating up refocused her attention. A changeling spat at her hoof, only for a bolt of raspberry-colored magic to destroy it. 'Dammit!' A variety of other colored bolts followed suit, some striking changelings, making them convulse, some making the changelings stagger, and some missing altogether. Some of the drones who had engaged her decided to instead break off and engage her soldiers. The Queen took flight and aimed her horn at her. Nightmare growled and spread her wings wide to take flight. A beam of magic lurched from the parasite's horn towards her. Nightmare met the Queen's beam with her own beam and the courtyard lit up almost like day from where their magic hit. Her magic overwhelmed the Queen's. The Queen's magic overwhelmed hers. The beams were matched. For a time. Nightmare lurched forward and forced more of her magic through the beam. Its girth and brightness grew as she channeled her might. The parasite bared its teeth as it started losing ground. It stared at her. She stared at it. A drone wrapped in its burning green aura dove at Nightmare. She didn't have time to react. A bolt of raspberry-colored magic struck it, disrupting the spell and making it convulse as it dropped to the ground and twitched. The Queen cut her beam and dropped to the ground. Nightmare cut her beam but it rocketed into the sky before burning itself out. The parasite's wings buzzed at its sides as it bared its teeth. Nightmare saw blood from its missing fang as she charged at it. Chrysalis’ head drew back, then snapped forward, launching a glob of spit at Nightmare. Nightmare destroyed it with her magic. Another glob, and another spell dealt with it. Nightmare braced herself for the impact, but the changeling Queen jumped into the air to avoid her. Nightmare aimed her horn and cast a spell. The Queen rolled out of the way and fired a bolt of magic. She went to counter it. The bolt wasn't aimed at her. She didn't have time to check; a drone lurched at her, she split its carapace with a spell. A drone crashed into her back. She wrapped her magic around its head–crack!–and jumped back to her hooves. Twilight yelped. Nightmare startled and jerked her head to see Twilight landing just behind a small crater. The filly was distracted by it, staring at it almost blankly. 'Dammit! Focus!' A changeling flew towards the filly, and Twilight didn't see it. Nightmare bit back a growl, turned to face Twilight, and fired off a spell. It passed over Twilight–the filly jerked in surprise–and struck the drone. Twilight jerked again, then winced. Nightmare forged her magic into a shield and took a moment to survey the chaos: the Royal Guard and batponies were simply too outnumbered. A bolt of green landed in front of her, burned out, and revealed a changeling drone. A half dozen more landed close behind it, and they wasted no time in igniting their horns to fire on her. She growled and jumped back, but the spells still struck her shield. And more landed. On her right. On her left. Twilight shielded herself, panicking as drones surrounded her. And she looked and saw dozens of green glows in the sky. The Queen's army, assuredly, having arrived from the signal. In a rage, she slammed her right forehoof down into the ground. The stone split. Her leg felt numb. Bolts of magic flashed from their horns, raining down like a hailstorm. There were just too many, and she was stuck on the defensive. 'Were we not in Canterlot, this would be simple!' Nightmare’s shield cracked, banishing the thought from her mind. With a growl, she focused more magic into her shield and split her focus to charge up another spell. Her shield strained further, up until she reared up on her hind legs, dropped the shield, slammed down and cast the spell. A shockwave erupted from her horn and slammed into the changelings surrounding her, throwing them back. Some wouldn't rise again, others were stunned or injured. Before any drones could capitalize on her vulnerability, Nightmare teleported behind the drones surrounding Twilight. The drones lost focus on her student in favor of targeting her. Nightmare aimed and fired. The first drones fell but the rest fired back. She strode right and kept firing. They compensated. She shielded herself. Twilight's shield fell. Bolts of pink magic finally joined in, striking several of the changelings and splitting their focus. They aimed at Twilight, and the filly teleported away. 'Good.' Rainbow Dash tackled a drone, then launched herself back into the air with her hind legs, kicking off from the changeling's abdomen. It wheezed. In response, several drones chased after the pegasus. Nightmare aimed ahead of them and fired, and two changelings dropped from the sky. 'Where is the Queen!?' But she didn't have time to search. Yes, battling in a city such as Canterlot was detrimental when defending. Manehattan would be even worse, she was sure. The drones turned back to Nightmare. They fired. Her shield shrugged it off, but protecting herself wouldn't end the assault. She dropped the shield and channeled a beam of magic, sweeping her head from left to right. The beam cut through several changelings and destroyed several of their spells. A few spells flew past her. One hit her chestplate and it felt warm against her fur. The parasites scattered to avoid her beam. Nightmare cut the beam and charged another spell, then aimed at the sky and fired. She teleported above the spell and watched it detonate. A dozen smaller lances of magic rained down on the courtyard. About half struck their targets while the rest shattered the ground where they struck. The changeling swarm that had been above had dispersed, leaving the sky mostly unoccupied. Nightmare saw the green glows of their horns shining all throughout the city as far as she could see. Ponies screamed. She was the Queen of the Night. An alicorn! And yet there was only so much she could do, for she was only one pony. Nightmare caught sight of Twilight shielding herself and saw bolt after bolt of green magic flash against it. The glow of the drones’ aura left them visible; they closed in on the filly. She caught sight of a faint rainbow trail and saw three drones chasing after it. She ignored it and charged up a teleportation spell until a bolt of green flashed against the source of the trail, sending it crashing towards the ground. Nightmare bit back a growl and refocused her teleportation spell, then cast it. The pegasus rolled to a stop, groaning, a few steps away from her. A bolt of magic shot towards the mare. She jumped into place and stood over Rainbow Dash, forging her magic into a shield that shrugged off the spell. "Where is Applejack?" "I–ugh–saw her get stunned," the mare grumbled. The three drones landed and eyed Nightmare warily. 'Dammit.' She would have to find Applejack later. "I am teleporting you back to the castle. See to it that Cadance and the Captain are aware of this situation." She dropped her shield–the changelings capitalized and fired spells–and teleported the pegasus back to the castle. She sidestepped the spells and fired back. One of the parasites hit the ground and the other two scattered. "Enough!" The Queen's voice. Nightmare swiveled around and dropped her head low to preemptively aim. The Queen had her aura wrapped around Twilight's neck, holding the filly up on her hind hooves, forehooves behind her back. The parasite had positioned itself that its body was hidden by Twilight's body, with her head right beside Twilight's head, carapace pressed up against the filly's fur. Twilight's legs shook and her horn glistened from the changelings' slime. And so Nightmare locked herself in check: her spell wouldn't land before the Queen moved Twilight in its path. Her legs felt cold. Her wings twitched at her sides and she barely kept herself from growling as a cold, bitter anger filled her body. The drones gradually filed around, moving stunned ponies to the sides where they would be cocooned–Applejack was among them–and surrounding her. "Fight back and I'll snap her neck," the parasitic Queen growled. Nightmare kept her horn powered and leveled at the Queen. "There is nothing stopping you from killing her if I do not fight back." It sneered at her. "I might just kill her out of spite," it said, then that sneer twisted into a malicious smile. "But, if you do fight back, I will kill her." A spell wouldn't land quick enough. Twilight was disabled and couldn't teleport. Nightmare wasn't sure she could teleport Twilight before the Queen could snap her neck. What was she to do? She looked at Twilight. The filly's lips trembled, and how it tore at her heart! Made her jaw tighten until her muscles hurt, made anger and rage boil in her core! And she felt angry and bitter and lost. She could kill the Queen. But not at the cost of Twilight. "Surrender!" it pressed, its smile twisting back into a venomous glare. If she did not, Twilight would die. And if she did, they would both die. ‘Your death will be agonizing,’ Nightmare decided, glaring at the parasitic Queen. And if she failed, then the Queen would live out the rest of its life wishing it hadn’t killed Twilight. ‘I need to catch her by surprise... I can teleport away and render myself invisible, but... I am risking Twilight’s life. It is the only choice...’ Dread settled into her core at the realization. Was it betraying Twilight? She was risking Twilight’s life to save her own, but she was trying to save Twilight too. She gradually stepped back and lifted her head back up. The Queen smirked damnably. A few drones hesitantly stepped closer to her. "Horn too." 'Perhaps I should not have taken you with me. I promised that I would protect you... if I fail now...' And oh! How she raged for having been made a fool of! And how she raged for the Queen having threatened Twilight. The Queen would pay with her blood. Nightmare teleported outside the school grounds, hoping the second crack! of magic would go unnoticed. Hastily checking to make sure there were no changelings to see her, she cast the invisibility spell and silencing spell on herself then dashed over to the gate. Nightmare risked looking back inside. Twilight was on the ground a few steps away from the parasite. Her heart skipped a beat and her body felt cold from fear. Twilight moved. Still alive. She felt relieved, but there was no time to waste: the Queen growled and strode towards her friend. Twilight's forehooves were bound behind her back by the changelings' resin, leaving her defenseless. Nightmare inhaled then exhaled and rushed through the gate. Her steps were silent. The drones didn't see her. The Queen didn't see her. The parasite wrapped its magic around Twilight and lifted her student up once more, turning the filly to face her–the right side of her face was scratched up from having been thrown to the ground–and brought her close. Nightmare charged up her magic and prepared a spell. The Queen brought Twilight face to face with her. The look in Twilight’s eyes–Nightmare bowed her head and aimed at the Queen. "I'm going to enjoy this! For how much you almost ruined–" Nightmare cast her spell. The bolt of magic flew towards the Queen. The parasite turned to see it coming, but it was already upon her. The spell crashed into the insect’s side just under her wing. Its inequine screech made Nightmare smile. Chrysalis dropped Twilight as it fell to the ground. Nightmare caught Twilight in her magic and set her down gently. The drones turned on Nightmare. She dropped the invisibility in favor of a shield. The Queen rolled on the ground and clutched her side. The drones attacked. Nightmare burned through the resin restraining Twilight. "Twilight!" But the filly just stared at her with empty eyes, trembling where she laid. Nightmare had seen it before, ponies too terrified or shocked to act. She'd be damned if that parasite got away with it. She'd be damned if any of them got away with it. Nightmare let out a growl, counted how many changelings surrounded her, then dropped the shield and let loose. Spells flew towards her but she matched them with her own and her spells flew into the changelings. They tried to dodge and they tried to escape but she tracked them and hunted them down and brought them low. For what chance did insects, parasites have against the Queen of the Night? She would not tolerate a single one of them living for what they had done. And once she had finished, she breathed in deep and turned to their fallen Queen. Met her gaze and strode over to the parasite who struggled to stand back up. Though defeated, the damned parasite looked at her venomously, promising retaliation if she didn't do what was necessary. Nightmare stopped in front of the parasite and forced it back to the ground with a swift kick from her forehoof–it grunted and hissed at her, bringing another smile to her lips. She pinned it down and felt carapace crack under her hoof, then leaned down so that her mouth was next to its ear, that way it could not miss what she said. "Do not cross me," would be the last thing it heard. She lifted her head back up, then aimed– "Wait!" Twilight's voice. It had to be a changeling that she missed. She kept her forehoof on the Queen and turned but only saw one Twilight stumbling towards her. Checking with her magic, she was certain it was her Twilight. How could any changeling hope to impersonate her student? 'Yet the Queen impersonated Cadance and I did not know.' There was no other Twilight around. The filly shook her head exasperatedly. "You disabled her. She's defeated. You won," the filly hastily pressed, her voice quiet yet intent. "You don't need to kill her." Nightmare turned around to face Twilight, then jerked her head back towards the fallen Queen. "If I let her live then Equestria will be at war! She and her swarm attacked us! She will only come back to attack us again and I cannot tolerate that!" And more importantly, 'I cannot tolerate her for threatening your life!' "And Equestria is already at war regardless of whether she lives or not!" Twilight argued. "If you let her live then maybe you can stop a war by–" "It will not matter!" Nightmare declared. Twilight flinched back. 'Dammit.' She was losing control, but Twilight was being naive, foolish, and unreasonable! How did she not see that leaving the parasite alive was a mistake!? How could Twilight possibly want that thing alive after threatening to kill her!? She tightened her jaw for a moment to stop herself from lashing out further. Nightmare met Twilight's gaze and, for a few seconds, just watched the filly. The fear and shock were still there, but masked by some insane kind of determination for something she couldn't understand. "She hurt you," she said. "That doesn't mean you should kill her," Twilight countered. And there was no waiver, no stutter; the filly spoke intently. Nightmare held her tongue for a moment; snapping at Twilight would not benefit her, would hurt Twilight, and would break her promises. 'I would argue it does,' she considered. She inhaled deeply, then cast that breath back out. "Letting her live is a mistake. Killing her sends–" Crack! Nightmare growled in pain and fell to the ground as a spell exploded against her leg. She summoned her magic and looked back to see– Another spell. Her wing crumpled under the blow. “Nightmare!” Twilight screamed. Nightmare threw herself back to her hooves and lunged at the damned parasite, but it somehow jumped back and spat a glob onto her horn. She braced herself and lunged horn-first at the Queen, but it managed to jump back again and catch her hoof in another glob before swiveling around and bucking her chestplate with her hind hooves. She grunted from the impact as she fell to the ground. She closed her eyes for a moment to focus on burning away the goop on her horn. More spells. She opened her eyes. The Queen flew off into the sky and Twilight stood over her. Bolts of raspberry-colored magic flew into the sky after the parasite but none of them hit. She burned away the goop on her horn, then her forehoof, but the parasite was gone. Twilight stepped away from her and looked at Nightmare. “A-are you okay?” ‘No.’ Nightmare slowly stood back up, then turned her head to the side to look back at her leg and wing. It escaped. Her back was turned and it escaped. She had it in her grasp. She could have killed it. And it escaped. Nightmare screamed in anger and stamped her forehoof into the ground hard enough that the stone split. Twilight jumped back. ‘Dammit!’ Nightmare exhaled sharply. She eyed Twilight for several seconds, then swiveled around and strode towards the gates. Twilight reluctantly followed behind her, looking away from her as if expecting some chastisement of 'I told you so.' Nightmare said nothing and strode past the gate. Stopped and looked back. Teleported Applejack back to the Castle. Looked straight ahead. Waited until Twilight was at her side. Walked out of the schoolyard. She surveyed the street. It was deserted aside from bodies of changelings and a few stunned ponies, but none of them was the Queen. She held in a growl and continued on to the castle. It wasted time, but she needed it. And so the two of them walked along, the only sounds coming from their steps and the distant screams of ponies. As they approached the western gate to the courtyard, Twilight finally broke the silence with a quiet, "I'm sorry." She considered her response: she had the mind to chastise the filly, but then Twilight was just a filly. Naive. Sheltered. She shouldn't have been there in the first place. The fault was her own for making the stupid decision, and it nearly cost both of them. 'Yes, I am arrogant,' she decided. And Twilight had been through a lot. Though she was livid that the Queen had escaped, taking it out on Twilight would change nothing. She took a deep breath, then let it out. They passed through the gate. The courtyard was well-guarded. Some changelings had been bound with chains and magic suppression rings–she was half surprised they fit on their horns–and were being led to the dungeon. She didn't spot Cadance or Shining Armor. "Your Majesty!" one of the Royal Guards called as he rushed over. She stopped and faced him. Once he was close enough, he bowed. "Where are Princess Cadance and the Captain?" He arose from the bow, then answered, "They're in the Ballroom. We moved the ponies into the castle proper." "I see," she said. The guard winced; some of her bitterness slipped out. "Have the School for Gifted Unicorns secured." "O-of course, your Majesty, it will be done as soon as possible," he said and then dashed off. Nightmare turned and walked to the ballroom, ignoring the rest of the chaos. Peering inside, she found a half-dozen Royal Guards and batponies–all high ranking–along with the Captain and her niece. Whatever they had been discussing–if anything–stopped when she stepped inside. "Captain. Niece. Colonels," she acknowledged in turn. They all faced her and bowed. She ignored it and walked over to them. Cadance eyed her burns. The Captain watched his sister. The Captain began, "Your Majesty–" Out of the window, she saw another large bolt of magic fly into the sky, then hover in the air. She nudged her head up higher to draw attention to it, and the staff turned to regard it. "Another flare," one of the Royal Guards grumbled. "Captain." Nightmare distinctly remembered him being good at shield magic, evidenced both by personal experience and his cutie mark. He turned to face her. "Shield the city." He shifted his weight. The Royal Guards and batponies looked at him. Then he nodded. She turned to Cadance. "Assist him. I do not want any more changelings getting into Canterlot." She waited a moment to emphasize, "Nor do I want them escaping." There was a noticeable moment of hesitation that flickered through the room. The two mates gradually walked over to each other and bowed their heads together, crossing their horns. Both lit up with their magic and it wove together. Cadance donated her magic to help him cast the spell. She turned her full attention to the window and watched as the sky took on a tint not dissimilar from Twilight's magic as the Captain shielded the entire city. 'Impressive. I wonder if Starswirl could have done such a thing.' If he had an alicorn–even one as weak as Cadance–helping him, perhaps. They uncrossed their horns. His stayed lit. Hers didn't. "I don't know how well it'll hold," he said. She inclined her head in acknowledgment. "I presume Applejack and Rainbow Dash are with the rest of Twilight's friends?" Cadance nodded. She ordered, "Take Twilight to them, Cadance, and then stay with them." "Of course," Cadance murmured. Her niece looked at Twilight's brother, then looked back at her as she walked to Twilight. "And what about you?" She summoned her magic and began healing the injuries the Queen inflicted. "I have a battle to win."