//------------------------------// // The calm before the storm. // Story: The Royal Three // by Kingstar008 //------------------------------// January 2 1010 A.G Canterlot Castle 5:20 AM Gallaxia’s POV Gallaxia was walking through the castle corridor, her only company was the bright full moon and the occasional lunar guard. The reason why she wasn’t in bed like every pony else is because she is too excited to sleep. In three days, her grand cousin will be marrying the love of her life just like her mother. Mi amore would be so proud of her. When she was walking past the Castle Gardens, she noticed Celestia in the garden with a Philomena perched on her right arm. “Tia, why are you up so early?” The startled Sun Princess looked to her left and said. “Oh, it’s only you mom, I just woke up. I set my alarm clock at 5 to look at a document I had. Then I remembered that Apollo it for me. And you know me, when I’m up I can’t go back to sleep. Philomena was awake as well, so I decide to play with her to past the time. Why are you awake? I thought you was asleep.” “I couldn’t sleep, no matter how hard I tried. So, I decided to walk to the library to read or something. Do you want to join me?” “Yeah, I’ll join you.” She turned to her Phoenix and asked. “Do you want to join us sweetie?” Philomena shook her up and down. Then she started flapping her wings and flew back into the castle. “Let’s go before we lose her.” Gallaxia said. The walk to the library didn’t take that long since the garden is nearby to the library. When they walked through the main entrance, Philomena was waiting for them, perched on top of a railing. “Which floor should we go on?” Gallaxia asked while she looked at the library’s map. “How about the fourth floor? It has a nice view of everything, and there’s board games games we can play.” “The fourth it is.” Both alicorns lit their horns and teleported to the fourth floor. And as expected, Philomena was waiting for them. They decided to sit at the table where Philomena was and decided to play a game of cards. Then all the sudden, they started to hear snoring. “Is someone asleep in here?” Gallaxia wondered. “I don’t know. It sounds like it’s nearby.” Said Celestia. The mother daughter duo follows the sound to another nearby table and look under it. What they saw shocked them. Underneath the table was a steel gray mare with a blue green colored mane and tail. And she looked pretty young. But the thing that shocked them the most was that she wasn’t a pony. She is a changeling. A changeling that Celestia has met before. “What is she doing here?” Celestia ask. “You know this changeling?” “Yeah, this is crown princess Zeya. She is the heir to the changeling throne. I haven’t seen her since she was little filly.” Celestia whispers. “But how did she get here? The changeling empire is thousands of miles away.” “That’s what I want to find out as well.” To get some answers and to get Zeya out of this makeshift sleeping area, Celestia started to shake her a little bit. Not too rough just enough to wake her up. It didn’t take long for the princess to stir and green irises stared at Celestia. Then they turned into pinpricks when Zeya realized who she was looking at. “Sweetie, we’re not going to hurt- “ Gallaxia’s words were ignored as the changeling princess ran away. “I got her.” Celestia said as she gave chase. The changeling princess looked behind her only to see Celestia getting closer and closer. ‘How in Tartarus can she run this fast in high heels?!’ Zeya thought. Determined not to get captured by Celestia the young changeling princess try to lose her by going around a few bookshelves. And when she saw the banister up ahead and thinking she lost Celestia, she ran as fast as her legs can carry her. “Come on come on, I’m almost there.” And luckily, all her hard work paid off when she jumped over the railing and spread her wings. “Yes” Only to be caught in Celestia’s magic. “No” she said as she struggled to get out of Celestia’s magic. Her temps to free herself was not successful as Celestia walked back to her table. When she was sat down in a chair in front of the two alicorns she knew that she was not getting away. “Empress Celestia, I know you’re mad right now, but please don’t alert the guards.” She begged. “I’m not mad, I’m just wondering why are you’re here? Your mother must be worried sick.” “She’s not worried. She hasn’t been back home in two days.” Zeya said. “Your mom is missing?” A worried Gallaxia ask. “She’s not missing. The reason why I’m here is because she is planning something that will change the Equus forever. And both of you might not believe me because it sounds insane. Heck, I wouldn’t believe myself. But I have a Lot of evidence that backs up my words.” “What is she planning exactly?” Celestia ask. The changeling looks around before whispering. “I have a binder full of papers that explain everything. But you have to let me go so I can show you where it is.” “All right, I’ll let you go, but if you try to run away, I will catch you.” “I know.” Hoping she wasn’t making a mistake, Celestia freed the princess from her magical grasp. As promised, Zeya didn’t run away. “Follow me.” The younger changeling leads the alicorns to a bookshelf that was across the library. She then pulled out a few books that was eye level with her and behind those books was a fat white binder with a green X on it. She pulls the binder out and was about to give it to Celestia then pulled it away confusing the solar monarch. “Empress, I’ll give you this binder if you promise me that you’ll not show this to cadence, shining armor or any guard's pony. If you do, your country will not see its 3000th year.” This statement raises a lot of red flags for Celestia and Galaxia. “What do you mean by that?” Gallaxia ask. “Everything is in this binder, but you have to promise not to tell any guards pony anything, not even a peep.” “You got my word.” Celestia said. Zeya look at Gallaxia. “You have my word too.” She handed the binder to Celestia. Celestia open the binder and begin reading the page. Her pupils became small as pinpricks as she let out an audible gasp. “Celestia what’s wrong?” Celestia didn’t respond. Gallaxia looked at the binder and she felt her heart stop. On the page on the right was a map of the Changeling empire and Equestria. Accept Equestria was divided up in six separate states shaded in the same gray as the empire. Each state had one of the six tribes written on it, and the changeling empire own the northern half of the west coast. On the top of the page was where letters printed in big bold red letters that said, “OPERATION DEAD PHOENIX.” On the left page it said. “On January 5, 1010, operation dead phoenix will commence. When shining armor says I do to ‘cadence’, that will be our signal to strike. If our calculations are correct all of the love energy will be enough to defeat Empress Celestia and Empress Luna. Gallaxia and Nebula might have to be “eliminated” for this operation to work. When we capture the two defeated and broken spirited Empresses, we will demand San Franciscolt and Vahoover with the threat of military invasion. If they refuse, we will invade from Canterlot and our border with Equestria and kill the Phoenix once, and for all. All hail, Queen Chrysalis and crown princess Zeya.” Gallaxia looked at the young changeling and said. “What is this?” Gallaxia grabbed her shoulders. “What the fuck is this? And why is Cadence in quotation marks?” “That binder is filled with plans to take down this kingdom and the reason why cadence is in quotation marks it because cadence is not cadence that you know, she’s an imposter, she’s, my mom. Shining is under her control.” “Where is the real Cadence?” Celestia said. “I do not know. I’m sorry.” “Don’t be, you’re very brave for give this binder to us. Thank you so much.” “You’re welcome.” Zeya smiled. “So, we can’t talk to Cadence or Shining Armor or anyone the guard, who can we talk to?” Gallaxia wonder. “How about the military? The plans say that the solar and lunar guards have been infiltrated, but not the military.” “That sounds too easy, don’t you think?” Gallaxia said. “Actually, Empress Celestia is right, the militarists don’t want to infiltrate the Equestrian Military because they believe it will too easy. They think that when they start this operation, the downfall of Equestria is inevitable.” “Well, thank goodness your officials are stupid.” “At least we know that the Armed Forces are not being infiltrated. After sunrise will wake up Luna and the triplets and have a meeting with Mapleleaf and Firefly. In the meantime, we can play a game of cards, do you wanna play?” Zeya turn herself into a light blue kirin with a darker blue mane and tail. “That sounds like fun. And when I’m in this form, you can call me Topaz.” ===•••=== 6:30 AM After Celestia was done raising the sun, it was time for them to set up their very urgent meeting. After Celestia and Gallaxia woke up the triplets and the Kirin cousins they all took separate routes to Celestia‘s office. As sun monarch cast multiple privacy spells and closing the curtains, Apollo let out a yawn and ask. “Now, can you tell us why we had to wake up so early today? I thought day court was happening after the wedding.” “Prinzessin, why are you being so secretive today?” Firefly ask. “I’m sorry every pony that you had to wake up so early, but this is an emergency. Equestria is in danger.” Celestia announced. This statement got everyone’s attention. “From what exactly?” Luna asks. “We’re getting to that.” Gallaxia responded. “Every pony met Topaz, right?” Everyone nodded. “Miss Gallaxia, I got from here. My name is not actually Topaz, that’s the name I chose for this form.” Topaz, then transformed back to her original form. “My real name is princess Zeya.” “I heard of you, you’re the heir to the changeling throne, right?” Artemis asks. “That is correct. The reason why I’m here is because to warn you about what my mom and her military officials has been planning for a while now.” The changeling princess said as she placed the white binder onto the table. “I have to warn you all, what’s his binder shocking.” Keeping her warning in mind, Firefly opened up the binder. And it shocked her to her very core. Firefly, Mapleleaf and the triplets read through a few pages and each page, detailed infiltration plans, battle tactics, and theories on how to defeat, Luna and Celestia. But the worst pages were the ones talking about what they will do with Equestria if they win. “Mein gott.” Mapleleaf said in shock. “What the hell is this?” Apollo said as he at the binder. “They want to turn this country into a bunch of colonies. Zeya, why does your mom want to invade Equestria? And on the wedding day no less.” “There’s a lot of reasons why, but the ones that I see the most in this binder is love extraction, resources and they want to expand the empire.” “But if they go through with this, our allies will intervene, especially since their leaders are going to be here for the wedding.” Firefly said. “They know. That’s why the navy has been getting more ships. So, they can protect the empire during the wedding and the invasion.” Zeya said. “That would explain all the naval production they’ve been doing lately. The only part of this plan that makes sense is the naval doctrine. Who in the heck created this plan anyway?” Mapleleaf ask as she’s reading the binder. “General Ferdinand a.k.a. ‘The monster in uniform’.” ‘Why does that name sound familiar?’ Artemis thought. “Why is his nickname the monster in uniform?” Gallaxia ask. “It’s because he’s one of the most skilled and brutal generals to ever lived. Every time he’s in battle, he’s determined to take down as many enemy soldiers as possible. Anywhere he goes, destruction follows. Hence the nickname, ‘the monster in uniform’.” “I heard that Ferdinand is extremely xenophobic, and he has a massive ego.” Firefly said. “Great, not only do we have to worry about 8000 changing soldiers destroying everything, but we also have to worry about a war criminal leading the charge. Where is Shining Armor? He should know about this.” Atlas said. “Where is Cadence? She should be here as well.” Luna asks. “The reason why cadence and shining or not here is because Cadence that we know is missing and Chrysalis is pretending to be her. And Shining Armor is being manipulated by her.” Celestia said. “What!” Every pony yelled in shock. “That can’t be! A princess of Equestria is missing? We have to alert the guard.” Luna was about to teleport out of the room but was unable to thanks to Zeya holding Luna in place with her magic. “What? what are you- “ “I’m sorry for doing this to you Empress, but we can’t let you alert the guard. If you do, my mom and her troops will get spooked and start the invasion early that means your kingdom could be doomed, your family could be killed, and I could be executed by my own military!” The room was silent for a few seconds. So quiet, you can even hear the sound of the clock ticking in the background. “What do you mean you mean by that?” Luna asks. “I am risking a life just to warn you guys. If a certain politician or corrupt military official finds out that I am telling you this, my life could be in danger. My mom, of course would be mad, but she wouldn’t want me dead, she loves me too much for that to happen. So, they’re going to try to poison me or something.” “That is fucked up on so many levels.” Apollo said. “That’s why we can’t contact Shining Armor or the guard. Because if we do, we are all screwed. Promise me you won’t tell any of the guards.” “I promise.” “Good.” Zeya said as she freed Luna from her magical grasp. “So, what should we do? We can’t let these Jackboots destroy everything we care about.” Artemis said. “That’s why we need to prepare ourselves. This is going to be the most stressful three days of our lives.” Celestia said. “Tia, I don’t care if my hair is gray by the end of this, I’m in.” Atlas responded. “Good, now listen up. Mapleleaf, Firefly your job is to contact nearby military bases to send troops to the city and make sure that the galactic marines are on high alert.” “Yes prinzessin.” Maple leaf and Firefly said in unison. “Don’t you think more troops would alert the changelings?” Artemis asks. “Not really, since this wedding is a once in a lifetime event, they will think this is standard procedure.” Mapleleaf answered. “Oh, ok.” “Atlas, your job is to contact Paxton and other industrialist to ramp up military production.” “On it.” “Apollo, Artemis, your jobs are to make sure that our special guess are advised to put their security forces on high alert as well.” “You got it boss.” They said in unison. “Last, but not least, Luna. Since you’re the head of the EBI, I want you to send in special agents to infiltrate changeling cells in the guard and identify them and hack their communications.” “You got it, sister.” “What are you going to do?” Zeya asked. “I am going to make sure that the troops in the northwest are ready for a potential attack and counter offensive. While Gallaxia will warn nebula and Lauren. And getting that ax ready for battle. Zeya.” “Yes, your majesty?” “I want you to lay low for the time being. I’ll make sure that a room is ready for you in the solar wing.” Zeya was surprised by this. “Your majesty, you don’t have to do that, I could still be useful. Besides, the library is pretty com- “ “No, Zeya.” Celestia said sternly. “You already did a lot by bringing this binder to us. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to you. It’s the least I can do. You can stay in there as long as you like.” “Ok, Celestia.” “Hey guys, I know that’s a Royal Guard has been compromised, but what about our friends? How would we know if they are not changelings' spies?” Artemis said. “You can use hydrogen peroxide.” Zeya said. “If a changeling is touched by hydrogen peroxide, their disguise will disappear. But I would recommend that just ask him or her a few questions that you know they’re going to answer correctly. If they don’t, they’re probably spies.” “OK we have a plan to sabotage the changeling’s efforts, but we don’t have a plan to catch them by surprise. Does any pony have any ideas?” Celestia said. “Guys, I have an idea, but it’s a bit crazy though.” Apollo said. “We’re listening.” Mapleleaf said. “First, before cadence and shining say their vows, me, Artemis and Atlas will confront cadence with weapons at the ready. When she realizes she’s been caught, she’ll reveal herself to the world. Because what’s the point of pretending when you already been caught.” “That might actually work. Instead of surprising us will surprise them and demand them to leave the city.” Luna said. “That’s not going to happen. They’re still going to try to fight you guys no matter what.” The changeling princess said. “That’s when the troops come in. Instead of having a large army in plain sight, how about we hide them all over the city? When we give them the signal, they’ll come out ready to fight and the changelings will be caught off guard. Granted will have a few of them patrolling the city. I predict they’ll think it will be an easy fight because of that.” “We can use guerrilla warfare tactics, since they don’t know the city like we do.” Firefly said. “Exactly. And this last part is the craziest thing that I have ever thought of. We get a tank from Paxton’s factory, and teleport it to the garden and hide it there. When the invasion happened one of us will go to the garden and get the tank and drive it to the outside of the ballroom. And don’t get me started of all the new weapons we’re going to be using.” “What’s a tank?” Zeya asks. Apollo snapped his fingers. “See, the changelings don’t know what a tank is. And since the changelings only infiltrated the Royal Guard, they will be shitting their pants when they see a 50-ton metal monster coming at them. So, what do you guys think?” “That’s a very good idea.” Firefly said. “The last part of your idea is insane, but I’m on board.” Gallaxia said. “Does any pony have any more ideas to add to this battle plan of ours?” “Question, are the tank units in the northwest ready?” “Yes, Artemis they are, they’ve been ready for months.” Celestia answered. “Ok, I’m just checking.” “Any pony else? OK, you’re all free to go and remember be careful.” After every pony left the office, Celestia let out a long sigh. “Are you ok?” Gallaxia ask. “No, I am livid right now.” She said, in a neutral tone. “I thought I seen everything in my long life. slavery, genocide, crimes against pony kind that no pony should have a witness. And yet the thought of how much fear Zeya it’s going through makes me sick to my stomach. She just turned 18, she shouldn’t go through something like this.” “I’m angry as well sweetheart. A wedding is supposed to be a fun happy time for every pony. And the thought that the militarists wants to attack the city during its happiest time it’s just downright evil.” “I hope Cadence all right, wherever she is.” Celestia said. “Same over here, honey. Same over here.” ===•••=== 7:00 AM Celestia was walking towards the dining room for breakfast, when she saw ‘Cadence’ walking the other direction. Before the two got close to each other, Celestia put on her signature smile while making sure that her emotions were neutral as possible. “Good morning, Cadence.” She said in a fake happy tone. “How are you doing this fine morning?” “It’s going ok, the maid that was bringing me my breakfast was very slow today, so I had to reprimand her. Enough about me. How are you doing today?” That was red flag number one. “I’m doing good Cadence.” “That’s good I will be in my bedroom. See you later auntie.” After the imposter walked away, Celestia had a gut feeling that something was wrong. So, she decided to teleport to the dining room, and saw Ruby Rose, crying. “Ruby, what’s wrong?” “Cadence… snap.” She cried. “Ok take a deep breath.” She waited for the maid to calm down. “Now tell me what happened.” “It all started when cadence came in her earlier than expected. She said she wanted some eggs and some toast, with a hot cup of tea. Which is unusual because she’s more of a coffee person.” Red flag number two. “When I served her coffee, she didn’t say thank you or anything. I thought she was still very tired, so I didn’t think much of it. The worst came when I brought her breakfast to her and she just snapped, telling me I took too long. I tried to explain that the cooks just arrived and was getting things ready for the day, but she wouldn’t hear it and just went off on me. She called me every demeaning word in the book. After she was done eating, she got up and spoke. ‘If you want to be one of my bridesmaids, you better work faster than that.’ I never seen her speak in such a way before. It’s like some pony replaced her kind spirit with a nasty one.” “I’m so sorry that she treated you like that.” Celestia said as she gave Ruby a hug. “I will make sure that Cadence apologizes to you.” Ruby said nothing and she cried into Celestia’s chest. From the outside Celestia looks like a caring mother comforting her child. But on the inside, she was angry. Not only did some pony kidnap cadence tried to impersonate her, but also is treating other ponies like garbage potentially destroying Cadence’s relationships in the process. She wishes she could tell Ruby what was going on, but she can’t. It was too much of a risk. So right then and there the solar monarch starts to think of the best ways to kick Chrysalis’ flank. ‘I hope you’re ready for Tuesday Chrysalis. Because I’m going to make sure you regret stepping foot in this city.’ ===•••=== “Cadence” was walking down the hallway, trying to figure out what the heck just happened. A few minutes ago, she encountered the sun empress, or whatever she’s trying to call herself these days. When she was talking to her, she didn’t feel any emotion coming off of the white alicorn, no happiness, no sadness, no depression or anger. It was like she had no emotions to begin with. This made her freak out a little bit. And the reason why was because changelings have the ability to sense others' emotions, no matter how hard they try to hide it. Especially if it’s a changeling royal. And for the first time in her life, she wasn’t able to detect any emotions coming from a living being. This made her wonder if the stories about Celestia was true. Granted, she met the solar Empress a few times during her reign, but it was her late husband who interacted with her the most, so she doesn’t know Celestia on a personal level. Which made her panic a little bit more. She shook her head and thought. ‘Calm down Chrissy, she might be able to rile you up a little bit, but at the end of day you will defeat her family. Just keep your eyes on the prize.’ When ‘Cadence’ arrives at her bedroom, she closes the door behind room and transformed back to her original form. She then walked over to the closet and open the door to reveal a massive walk-in closet with a cage in the middle of it. Inside of the cage was the real princess Cadence wearing nothing but her bra and underwear. “Good morning, Cadence, I got you some breakfast.” She tossed her an apple and a banana. “How was your first night in the cage?” She asks. “It was just great.” She said angrily. “What are you doing here anyway?” “Nothing, I just wanted to let you know that I am me and Shining I’m going out later today.” She said, while checking her nails while feeling the alicorn’s rage rising, higher and higher. “After that we’re going to have a little fun when we get back if you know what I mean.” “If you touch a single hair on his body, I swear to my great grand aunt that I am going to FUCKING MURDER YOU!” Cadence yelled. “Behave yourself.” Chrysalis snapped. “If you don’t, I will put you somewhere that no pony will ever find you.” “I would like to see you tr- “ Chrysalis didn’t listen to the end of her sentence, because she slammed the closet door right in her face. ===•••=== 7:30 AM “So, what you’re telling me is that Cadence is missing, Shining armor is a puppet to this imposter and 8000 changeling troops are going to attack us on Tuesday?” Nebula asks. “Yep, that’s basically the summarized version of it.” Gallaxia said she was polishing her double headed ax. “Why now, why did they want to attack us during a happy event like this?” Lauren asks. “It’s because they want to cause as much chaos as possible and it’s because of love magic the more love they absorb, the stronger they are. But that doesn’t matter since Equestria is not the type of nation to beg for mercy. If they want to fight, they will have it.” “Maybe they’re desperate for something you know. Maybe we can stop this conflict diplomatically.” Lauren said. “That’s not going to happen, Lauren.” Nebula responded. “If they want to negotiate, they wouldn’t have done all of the stuff they have done. We are extremely lucky for the princess to have the guts to come down here to warn us.” Lauren let out a sigh. “So, this is really happening huh. I want you both to promise me something.” “Anything.” Gallaxia said. “I want you to promise me that both of you, and the kids survive this.” “Don’t worry, Lauren will be fine. We’ve done this before. Will survive like we always do. Right honey?” “You got that right, nebula. And don’t worry mom we promise.” “All right, if you say so.” Lauren smiled. ===•••=== EBI headquarters 9:02 A.M It was an ordinary day at the EBI, every pony was doing their daily routines and coming back from their hearts warming breaks. Except for one cream colored earth pony mare. She walked into headquarters, went through security, signed in and walked to a dark conference room. “Princess Luna, I’m here.” Luna turned around in her office chair, looked at the clock and spoke. “You’re two minutes late, Agent sweet drops.” “My apologies, your majesty.” Bonbon said. “The trains were running late because of ice on the rails.” “I don’t need to hear it, you’re here that’s all that matters. I might be wondering why my letter to you was so vague.” “Yeah, I was wondering about that.” “It’s because this mission I’m assigning you it’s so important and dangerous, I didn’t want any pony or anything knowing about it.” Luna said as she handed Bonbon a vanilla folder with the words, ‘top-secret’ written in big bold letters. “Even more dangerous than dealing with Al Kapony? Princess you shouldn’t have.” “I knew you would like it. This mission I am assigning you today is potential changeling cells within the solar and lunar guards. Their endgame is to completely destroy the royal guards from the inside out.” “Oh my God. They really want to subjugate the entire country.” The cream-colored earth pony said as she read the folder. “That’s correct, in that very folder you’re reading is every royal guard division with suspected changeling cells in it. Your job is to identify them, figure out what they’re planning and report back to me. You got three days.” “You got it, princess.” Bonbon was about to leave the room. “Bonbon.” Then she stopped. “Good luck.” The special agent nodded at the princess and left the room. ===•••=== The next few days were tense to say the least. Every pony that knew about the imposter carefully watched her while preparing for the wedding and their plans. Cadence was an absolute brat the entire time she keeps on using her full name, which was very unusual for her. And she had this fake smile that always disappeared when she thought no one was looking. The biggest red flag came when Twilight and her friends arrived. And it was because of a little dance Cadence and Twilight like to do name the ‘sunshine sunshine dance.’ To an ordinary person or pony this wouldn’t be that big of a deal. To every pony that knows the Cadance and Twilight personally, knows that they both do the dance every time they meet. So, when Twilight did the dance in front of a confused Cadence, the castle staff and the guards knew that something wasn’t right. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that her magic is also green. Which is not normal for Cadence. But it wasn’t all bad, when Atlas contacted his friend in hollow shades, he told him that he didn’t sell the first SB-15. That’s when Atlas realized he had found the perfect tank for the job. Meanwhile with Chrysalis, things haven’t been going her way. Every time she entered a room in disguise, all she felt was anxiety and resentment, instead of excitement and happiness, except from Twilight’s friends of course. That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part happened when Ferdinand came into a room one late night and told chrysalis that most of the changeling’s in the royal guards had suddenly disappeared without a trace. This did nothing but add more stress and frustration on the already burn out Chrysalis. It didn’t help that Twilight was getting more and more suspicious of ‘Cadence.’ ===•••=== January 4, 1010, A.G 9:30 PM Atlas was in the royal ballroom watching the wedding rehearsal. And so far, it was going pretty well. The main six (minus Twilight) were walking down the aisle in perfect unison. Usually, Artemis would be the one that watch over preparations for the wedding, but he was meeting with general Ace with princess Luna in an undisclosed location. So, it was an Atlas turn to watch over the wedding preparations. Which he didn’t mind, of course. “Perfect girls, no need to rush.” Celestia said. “Then of course, Cadence will enter.” The two massive doors opened revealing ‘Cadence’ wearing a beautiful pink dress. “I’ll begin with a few words, then we’ll start with the vows.” Celestia said as ‘Cadence’ walked up the steps to the altar. “Shining Armor, you will get the rings from the best mare.” Shining Armor and ‘Cadence’ looked to the left of the altar. Twilight wasn’t there and Spike was playing with a bunch of dolls. “Has anypony seen Twilight?” Shining asks. It was at that moment when the doors opened revealing a pissed off Twilight. “I’m here.” The purple unicorn said. “I am not standing next to her. And neither should you!” ‘Oh God Twilight stop doing this, you’re signing your own death warrant at this rate.’ Atlas thought. Shining Armor was embarrassed from Twilight’s behavior. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why she’s acting like this.” “Maybe we should just ignore her.” Cadence said. “You have to listen to me!” Fluttershy walked over to her friend and ask. “Oh goodness, are you ok?” “I’m fine.” “You’re sure about that?” Applejack asks. Twilight said nothing as she used her magic to pull Applejack’s cowboy hat over her face. “I have something to say.” Twilight said as she walked towards the altar. “Something is wrong with Cadence.” This shocked every pony in the room, even the royal guards. The only people that weren’t shocked by this was Celestia and Atlas. “I don’t know what’s going on with you Cadence, but it’s not right to treat my friends and other ponies like garbage.” She teleported right behind Cadence. “And you never told us where the old bridesmaids are. If that wasn’t strange enough, I saw you put a spell on my brother that made his eyes spin around.” She made her eyes spin for every pony to see. “And why is your magic green? The last time I checked your magic was blue.” ‘Cadence’ was now backed into a corner, unable to do anything. “Why are you doing this to me?” Cadence ran away with tears streaming down her face. “It’s because you’re evil.” Twilight teleported in front of the doors. “If this is the real you, you’re going to ruin my brother's life.” “Am I on the Jerry Springer show?” Atlas said to himself. Satisfied with what she done, Twilight walked back into the room, only to run into her pissed off brother. And he was pissed. “You want to know why my eyes were spinning weirdly lately?” Shining rubbed his temples from the oncoming migraine. “Ever since I had to perform my protection spell, I have been getting terrible migraines. Cadence wasn’t casting any spells on me; she’s been using her magic to heal me.” Twilight was about to say something, but Shining cut her off. “And she decided to replace her bridesmaids because she found out the only reason, they want to be in the wedding so they can meet in Canterlot royalty. And she hasn’t been on her best behavior with every pony it’s because with me being so busy she has to make all the decisions on the wedding.” “I was just trying to- “ “She’s completely stressed out because it’s really important to her that our big day is perfect.” He turned around and stared at Twilight with an angry look in his eyes. “Something that obviously wasn’t important to you.” He winced in pain from the oncoming migraine. “Now if you excuse me, I have to go and comfort my bride. And you can forget about being my best mare.” “Hold up now. That’s a bit rash don’t you think. How about we calm down and think things through.” Atlas said. “No, I am already made my decision. Twilight, if I was you, I wouldn’t even show up at the wedding at all.” That one sentence was enough to tear Twilight apart. Celestia was shocked. Atlas was shocked. Every pony in the room was shocked. “Come on y’all, let’s check on the princess.” Applejack said as she and the rest of her friends pass by Twilight with disappointed looks on their faces. The only ones that were still in the ballroom was a Atlas, Celestia and Twilight. Twilight started to crying and teleported away. “You don’t think she teleported out of the city, right?” Atlas ask. “No, that’s too much for her right now. But there is one place I know she would go to. I want you to stay here just in case if any pony comes back. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Celestia lit her horn and teleported out of the ballroom. Leaving Atlas all by himself. ‘Might as well play Angry Birds to pass the time.’ Atlas thought as he pulled out his phone. ===•••=== The Royal library 9:45 PM The fifth floor/observation floor. When Celestia arrived on the library’s fifth floor, as expected it was very quiet. Barely any pony comes to library this late. As she walked around looking for her friend/student she heard the sound of some pony crying. It was muffled, but she was still able to hear it. She followed a sound to a studying area where the element of magic was crying with her head down. Celestia walked over to the crying unicorn and placed her hand on her back. This frightened Twilight. She looked up with tears filled eyes and said. “I know you are angry with me right now, but I just want to say I’m sorry for everything I did. I know it doesn’t make up for what I did to her, but I hope that every pony forgives me.” “Twilight, I’m not here for an apology. I’m here to tell you-” “You don’t need to tell me.” Twilight said as she got up from her seat. “I’ll pack my bags and head back to Ponyville on the next train. I hope the happy couple will have a wonderful time.” “Twilight, I’m not here to kick you out.” Celestia said. Her words stopped Twilight in her tracks. “So why are you here?” She ask. Celestia prepared herself for the most complicated conversation she had all day. “Because I want you to stay.” “Why?” Twilight said confused. “No pony wants me to stay. I ruined everything and now my brother hates me. Before you know it, none of my friends wouldn’t want to be around me. Why do you want me to stay?” “Because you’re suspicions were correct, but there one major detail you don’t know about. The reason why Cadence is acting the way she is isn’t because of stress or exhaustion. It’s because the cadence you were yelling at is not the real Cadence.” “What do you mean?” “Sit down Twilight. There’s a lot I have to tell you.” Celestia said after she took a seat. After Twilight sat down right next to the white alicorn, she began to speak again. “A few days ago, me and my mom found out that the city was going to be an attack during the wedding. The changeling that’s behind the attack is pretending to be Cadence because she is consuming all the love your brother has for her so she could be powerful enough to defeat me, Luna and my parents.” “But if some pony wants to bring harm to some pony at the wedding, why not alert the royal guards?” Twilight ask. “Normally, I would do that, but I can’t because she’s not alone. She’s accompanied by 8 to 10,000 elite soldiers. And some of them infiltrated the lunar and solar guards so if I report this, they will start the invasion immediately. In fact, the leader of this invasion is the changeling queen herself. Luckily, with the help of the EBI, we were able to eliminate all known changeling cells in the guards, but the damage has already been done.” “So, if the Changeling queen is impersonating Cadence, then where is the real Cadance?” Twilight asks. “I don’t know. For all we know, she could be locked up anywhere in the city.” “So that’s why you want me to stay in the city. You want my help to fight the changelings?” “Yes, I do and it’s because you are one of the most skilled unicorns I have ever met. With you on a Equestria’s side, you will be a great help me, Luna, and every pony else to defeat the changelings. And when this attack happens your friends are going to be scared and confused without you. But I understand if you want to go back home.” Before Celestia guy chance to get it from her chair Twilight stop her by grabbing her hand. “Princess, I’m staying. I don’t care what everybody thinks of me now, I want to help defend Canterlot.” Celestia hugged Twilight and said. “Thank you, Twilight. Next time you send some thing is wrong, let me or Luna know before you confronted them yourself.” “Don’t worry princess.” Twilight said as they both ended the hug. “I will next time.” ===•••=== The wedding day. Jan 5 1010 A.G 8:00 AM After Celestia and Twilight left the library, twilight decided to spend the night with Artemis instead of staying in the hotel where her friends were staying. After Celestia raised the sun, Atlas and Apollo went to Artemis’ room at 7:30. Artemis showed his guess gifts that he received from General Ace night before. He got three assault rifles, a few grenades, three new helmets with “Brooklyn” written on them in black permanent marker and enough ammunition to last them a few hours. After they all got themselves ready for the big day ahead of them. They were waiting for the wedding to start when they heard a knock on the door. “I got it.” Atlas said as he walked towards the door. When he opened it, his blood ran cold and as slammed the door. Scaring the crap out of everyone. “Guys, we need to get out of he-“ Then all the sudden the door slammed open breaking frame in the process. Everyone in the room stared at the doorway as ‘Cadence’ walked in the room with an unsettling smile. “Well, well well if it isn’t the annoying unicorn and her co-conspirators. I was looking all over for you.” She said as her eyes flash green and horn was glowing with green magic. In response, Twilight lit her horn. “What are you doing here?” Artemis ask angrily. Because not only did this son of a bitch broke his door frame. She walked in his room like she owns the place. “Oh nothing, I’m just here to take out the trash.” ‘Cadence’ said, somehow her smile becoming more unsettling. “And the rest of you are going with her!” Before they can even react, ‘Cadence’ teleported them to an unknown location. ===•••=== Seconds after he was teleported away, Atlas open his eyes to see nothing. Nothing but pitch-black darkness. It was so quiet all he can hear is his heartbeat and breathing. He immediately scrambled to find his phone. Luckily, it was still in his right pocket. When he turned on his phone, the light from the screen illuminated the cavern he was in. The walls and roof was made out of crystals, they were so clean he can see his reflection in them. He was relieved when he felt his satchel bag and his rifle hanging from a strap on his right shoulder. It was at this moment when he started to hear creepy laugh echo throughout the cave. And then his reflection was replaced by ‘Cadence’ on all of the crystals. “SHIT!” Atlas screamed as he fell onto the ground and back away. He reached into his bag and retrieved a flashlight. He turned it on to see better only to be met with more faces of Cadence staring at him. She was on the walls. She was on the ceiling. She was even appearing on the floor. “What is this place?” He said, slowly having a panic attack. “The caves beneath Canterlot!” ‘Cadence’ responded. “Once home to greedy unicorns and thestrals who want to claim the gems that are found inside.” The different ‘cadences’ disappeared and reappeared on a massive gem behind him. “And now, your prison!” She yelled. Scaring the crap out of him. Causing him to turn around, aim his rifle and pull the trigger. *Bang, Bang* The two bullets cracked the crystal. “There’s no point to making any noise because no pony can hear you. And if they do try to find you, they’ll never guess that you’re down here. Most ponies had forgotten that these caves even exist. Which is why they are the ideal place to keep the ones that try to interfere with my plans.” “Save your breath, I know about your plan to take over Equestria and her allies.” “Not those plans, though I do have to thank Pharynx and Ferdinand for coming up with them. I’m talking about the plans I have for Shining Armor to be my new lover.” “OH. HELL. NO. If you take Shining Armor away from us, you’re going to pay dearly for it.” He said angrily. “The only way to stop me is to catch me.” She laughed. To rub salt into the wound, she starts to appear all of the cave. Desperate and angry for the laughing to stop, Atlas picked up his rifle and shot at every crystal she appeared in. Shattering each and everyone of them. “Over here.” *Bang* “Missed me.” *Bang Bang Bang* The crystal stalactites broke into multiple pieces, falling to the ground below. Luckily, Atlas was able to dodge the falling crystals. Then she started to laugh again. “THAT’S IT!” He switched his gun to automatic mode and shot every bullet in his magazine at the crystal wall. Causing it to collapse. After the dust settles, Atlas saw the mare that was tormenting him. Without thinking, he charged at the mare at full speed. When the real Cadence opened her eyes and saw Atlas charging towards her, she put her hands up and said “No! Wait!” Her words fell on deaf ears as Atlas tackled her to the ground. “Please don’t hurt me.” She looked up to see her old friend standing over her. “Atlas, it’s me, you have to believe me. I was imprisoned like you. The Cadence that put you here was imposter.” “Shut up.” he said in a firm voice as he retrieved his military switchblade from his bag. “Wait, wait wait, I can prove to i’m real Cadance if you give me a chance, please.” She begged. Atlas thought about her proposal. On one hand, she was right there the woman that was threatening the lives of every pony in the city, all his friends and his new family. All he had to do was hurt her and scare her enough to calling off the invasion and everyone will be saved. But on the other hand, she didn’t look too good. Her hair and fur was disheveled, she had bags under her eyes like she hasn’t slept in days, and her clothes were dirty. And last, but not least for fear in her eyes looked real as she begged in front of him. Unlike the woman that put him in this godforsaken place. He made his decision. Ok, prove it.” He said. “Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake, clap your hands, and do a little shake.” Atlas was shocked to his core. His knife slipped out of his hand as he walked over to Cadence and gave her a very tight hug. “Oh my God.” he said his voice cracking a bit. “You don’t know how worried we were about you.” Cadence hugged him back and said. “ I missed all of you.” This sweet moment abruptly ended when they heard cracks coming from a nearby wall. Eventually the wall collapsed, revealing Apollo on the other side “Finally.” He said, trying to catch his breath. The moment his eyes landed on Cadence; his pupils became pinpricks. “Oh shit!” “Apollo calm down she’s real. That’s the real Cadance.” Atlas said. Understandably, Apollo didn’t trust what his sibling was saying, believing that he was being controlled by a spell. But after he looked at cadence, and saw that she didn’t look like an entitled prick anymore, he believed him. “Ok I believe you both.” He said as he reloaded his rifle. “Really?” Cadence and Atlas said in confusion. “Yeah, the cadence that we had to deal with was entitled and loved walking around with her head held high. Like Blue blood on his good days.” “I am going to be using that analogy from now on.” Atlas said. All of a sudden another wall collapse, revealing a very pissed off Twilight. Before she got a chance to charge at cadence, Apollo grabbed her arm and said. “Twilight calm down, she’s the real Cadence, she’s real!” “He’s right, I am the real Cadance.” She said. “If what you’re saying is true, then prove it.” After cadence performed the sunshine sunshine dance again, Twilight hugged her and said. “Oh, thank goodness you’re alright. I thought I will never see you again.” “It’s good to see you again, Twilight.” “Hello.” An echoing voice said. “Is that Artemis?” Cadence ask. “That’s him all right.” Apollo responded. “We’re over here!” “Ok. I’m coming.” A few seconds later, Artemis’ flashlight light blinded everyone. “Hey guys.” Artemis greeted. “Before you come any closer I need to check if you’re changeling or not. What did you give me on hearts warming?” Twilight ask. “Saturn 1.” Artemis replied. “Oh thank goodness.” Twilight said. “Don’t worry I’m the same old Artemis. I’m pissed, but I’m still the same.” Artemis attention turn to Cadence. “And I’m guessing you’re the real Cadance.” “Yes, that’s correct. How did you know?” Cadence ask. “I didn’t, if you were the imposter, I know that the three of them would’ve been beating the crap out of you. But thank goodness you’re all right.” “Ok since were all back together now we need to find a way out.” Twilight said. “How? Mount Canterlot is bigger than Manhattan Island at the top. This cave could be a maze for all we know.” Apollo said. “Yeah, but we can’t say in here. We need to get out as soon as possible.” Atlas said as he his knife back in his bag. “I know, but I’m afraid by the time we get out of here, the changelings might be marching through Canterlot by then. So we need to think about a plan just in case, if that happens.” “Guys, I don’t wanna interrupt this conversation, but I found a way out when I was walking over here.” Artemis said. “Really where?!” Everyone ask. “It’s over there it’s pretty faint, but you can see the light if you concentrate enough.” Surely enough, there was a faint light at the end of the tunnel. “Yes!” Cadence cheered. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Apollo said as he ran towards the light. Everyone else followed suit. As the five friends made their way through the cave, the princess of love told all of them about all the horrible stuff she had to endure at the hands of the changeling queen. The stuff she had to endure, was sickening. This monster forced her into a small cage in her closet, treated her as a prisoner in her own home. When she tried to save Shining, she was teleported to the caves, leaving her there to die. After five minutes, they found themselves in a bit of a pickle. The opening to the outside world was just a few hundred yards in front of them. There was just one problem. It was on the roof and the only way they can get to it, was a ledge right underneath the opening. Underneath the ledge was a gorge. Apollo threw a rock over the edge and waited for it to hit the bottom. It took 8 seconds for the rock to hit the ground. “Yep, that’s enough to kill us.” He said back backing away from the edge. “How are we going to get across?” Cadence wondered. “Hey guys, look what I found.” Atlas, said as he pointed at an old mine train that was four cars long. “Wow, what a lucky fine.” Artemis said. “It looks pretty old, don’t you think? we don’t want this thing to give way underneath all of our weight.” Apollo said. “It looks old, but it still looks pretty strong and the rails still look good too. You also have to consider that these ponies build things to last.” Artemis said. “ I call dibs.” Cadence said as she climbed into the first car. After everyone got on board mine train, Cadence looked back at her passengers and said. “Is everybody ready?” “Yeah.” The passengers responded. She proceeded to pull the lever in front of her. Allowing the train to move for the first time in decades. Loud screeching noises from the wheels disappeared as the train increased in speed. They were going over the gorge in record time. At this rate, they will get to their destinations in no time. And the view was breathtaking. “Guys, there’s a jump up ahead!” Cadence said. The passengers looked to side to see what was up to head and saw a large ramp in front of them. “Oh crap.” Apollo exclaimed. As the train that closer to the ramp, Cadence got an idea. “Every pony listen up I have an idea. When we get launched from the train, I’ll grab all of you with my magic and fly us to the ledge.” “All right, we trust you, right boys?” Twilight said. “Yeah!” the triplets yelled. At a speed of 60 mph, the mine train went up the ramp and was launched into the air. Cadence spread her wings, picked up everyone with her magic and glided towards the ledge. When they landed on solid ground, they can hear the train crashing into the crystal walls. Sadly, their relief was short-lived when they noticed, Minuette, Lyra, and Ruby approaching them, with glowing green eyes. “You’re not going anywhere.” The three bridesmaids in unison. “Of course she hypnotized them.” Atlas, said in a deadpan voice. “How are we going to get past them?” Artemis ask. “With this.” Cadence said she picked up a bouquet of flowers, getting the bridesmaids attention and threw it with all of her might. “I want it.” The bridesmaids said as they follow the bouquet. “Huh, that was easy.” Twilight said. ===•••=== 8:30 AM The Royal ballroom. As our heroes made their way through the castle, the wedding was just beginning. ‘Cadence’ walk down the aisle in a beautiful white wedding dress as the cutie mark crusaders dropped flower petals in front of her. As the bride walked up the altar in faced her soon to be husband. Celestia cleared her throat and said. “Fillys and gentle colts, today we are here to witness the un- “ “Stop!!!!” Twilight yelled as she burst through the door. The main six and Spike looked at Twilight with disappointment etched on their faces and Twilight’s family was embarrassed. Every pony else, except for a select few, were confused on why would any pony want to interrupt such a wonderful event? “Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?” ‘Cadence’ spat. But when she noticed the bridesmaids and shining armor was looking at her in shock she changed her demeanor, and said. “Why is she has to ruin my special day?” “It’s not your special day, it’s mine.” The real Cadence said. This shocked everyone in the ballroom. “What?! The imposter said in shock and confusion. “How did you escape my bridesmaids?” “It was pretty easy. Who knew that young women like those bridesmaids wanted a bouquet of all things.” Artemis said sarcastically. “Clever, but you’re still too late.” “I don’t understand how come there are two of them?” Applejack ask. “Because she is a changeling. She takes the form of some pony you love and gains power by feeding off their love for them.” Cadence answered. Livid that her plans were derailed, imposter decided to reveal her true self. Green flame surrounded her as she transformed into Queen Chrysalis. “Finally, the queen decided to come out to play.” Apollo said. “Right, you are princess. As the queen of the changelings it is up to me do you not only provide love for my subjects, but also protect them. Not only does Equestria possesses more love than any other place I encountered. It’s also the biggest threat to my empire survival. When my armies conquered this land, my subject will feast and gain more power than they we dreamed of.” “They will never get the chance, shining armor’s protection spell will keep them from ever reaching us.” Unfortunately for cadence. She didn’t know that the spell had weakened over time. “Oh, I doubt that. Isn’t that right dear?” chrysalis ask Shining hummed in response. Cadence ran towards her fiancé only for Chrysalis to get in the way. “Don’t want to go back in the cave now do you?” She asks, igniting her horn. “Ever since I took your place, i’ve been feeding off the love Shining armor has for you. Every moment he’s been getting weaker and so does his spell. Even now my soldiers have been chipping away at it. He may not be my husband yet, but he’s under my control. And I’m sorry to say, but he’s unable to perform his duties as captain of the Royal guard. And- “ “Shut the fuck up!” Atlas roared. “Don’t make us listen to your annoying voice for another minute. We already know about your plans. Not only you want to take down this kingdom, but also Kemerovo, the River Federation and the Griffon empire. This maniac wants to create a love devouring empire that will span every continent, creating a nation where the sun never sets.” “How do you know that?” Chrysalis snarled. “You have a snitch in your ranks. In fact, it is someone that is very close to you.” Artemis said. “It doesn’t matter, you’re too late to save this pathetic kingdom.” Chrysalis laughed. “Are you sure about that?” Apollo snapped his fingers. This is where things get interesting. Mapleleaf and Firefly walked into the ballroom with machine guns at the ready, Gallaxia stood up from her seat, as her eyes glow with magic as she called for her ax. A few seconds later her ax arrived ready to be used. Nebula unsheathed his sword he used back in his emperor days. He pressed a button on the handle, causing the blade to burst into flames. Luna cracked her knuckles and chrysalis felt a massive wave of anger and hatred coming from Celestia. Her horn sparking with magical energy. “Are you getting scared Chrysalis?” Atlas taunted. “It looks like you are. Not only do I know about your plans, the royal family, the Military, the EBI, and thousands upon thousands of troops ready to fight for their homeland. It only takes three days for the phoenix to sharpen its talons. And thanks to the new toys I gave the military I bet your soldiers are going to be running away with their tails between their legs. You’re surrounding Chrysalis you screwed up big-time. You have two options. You do this the easy way, by leaving the city or we can do this the hard way. Choice is yours.” Chrysalis couldn’t believe it, not only did the ponies prepared for her invasion, but this pitiful creature was talking to her in such a disrespectful manner. Her horn glowed a bright green as anger and rage course through her veins. ‘He needs to be taught a lesson.’ She thought. “YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!” She yelled as she launched a powerful attack. Luckily, the humans were able to dodge it. The magic hit the marble ground leaving behind a big crater. As a response, Apollo pull the trigger. *Bang bang bang bang bang.* The shots heard around the world marked beginning of the Canterlot wedding invasion.