Darkness.
Swift had never really considered dying, but even so he expected something greater than simply floating in a pitch black void. Looking around, Swift couldn't determine any features in wherever he was. The feeling of weightlessness was beginning to unnerve him more than the lack of vision. Pegasi used their sense of balance and gravity to keep level in flight and not hit the ground, yet here, Swift felt neither. Even when lifted by Twilight's magic, he could still tell where the ground was, yet here, there was nothing.
"This is rather dull." Swift spoke to himself, mostly to ease his nerves. The complete lack of anything to echo on gave his voice a slightly deadened tone, adding to the unnerving quality of this place.
"Indeed! Unfortunately it's the best I can do given my current powers." The sudden voice caused Swift to spin in place looking for who was there. Still blackness met him, with no sign of his companion.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Swift puffed his chest out and flared his wings to appear as threatening as possible, assuming his opponent could see him. Suddenly, just a short distance from where Swift floated, a pair of yellow eyes opened with red irises.
"Come now Swift. What do you plan to do in this place? Without flying, what good are you?" The voice sounded simply amused at the threat Swift tried to present. Swift opened his mouth to speak but realized he had no answer. Other than flying all day, he didn't really do anything that would lend itself to fighting whatever this creature was. It seemed to detect his hesitation and stopped him from continuing.
"My appologies, I should be a bit nicer, given what you are after all." The voice sounded as though it was grinning, further indicated by the squint the eyes showed as the floated around Swift.
"Who I am? What are you talking about? Who are you?" Swift rattled off the questions in his head, not giving the being time to respond individually. When he stopped, the voice laughed, entertained by Swift's confusion before continuing.
"We will meet soon enough. I just had to take this moment to piggy back on little Chrysalis' spell and finally see you in person. She seems to have an idea of what you are, but the why escaped her. This is going to be so much fun to watch!" The voice was extremely excited about whatever was going to happen, and apparently by whatever Swift was.
"What are you talking about!? You aren't making any sense!" Swift yelled, trying to assert some form of dominance over the voice. Such attempts were for naught as the eyes drifted away, fading into the darkness as it's voice echoed and faded.
"Sense? Where's the fun in making sense."
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"Swift! Swift!"
Slowly, Swift cracked his eyes open, the echo of whoever had spoken with him still echoing in his mind. Above him stood Twilight, shaking him to make sure he was alive.
"I'm up, I'm up." Swift placed a hoof on Twilight to stop her shaking as he sat up to clear his head. The first thing Swift noticed, aside from actually being able to see, was the room they were in. It was some sort of crystalline cave with an errie glow all around. As he looked around, several copies of himself and Twilight were scattered around on the surfaces of the crystals.
"Where in Equestria are we?"
"I think these are the old caves beneath Canterlot. I read about them in a book when I was younger, but hadn't ever seen them. They are pretty ancient, and mostly forgotten." Twilight explained as the two walked towards one large crystal face. After she finished her explenation, the wall suddenly flickered and Cadence's face appeared.
"And the perfect place to put ponies who want to interfere with my plans!" Cadence's voice echoed through the cavern as Swift quickly lept between Twilight and the reflection. He had failed to protect her once, so there was no way he was failing like that again. Twilight also assumed a defensive stance, and cast a confused look to Swift. Were a fight to break out, her magic would be a lot more useful than Swift just flying.
"And what plan is that?" Twilight asked, watching as the reflection shifted from crystal to crystal around the cavern. Swift followed suit and tracked the threat.
"Oh, my plans for your brother of course." Cadence answered with an unquestionably evil tone and grin. This had the added effect of setting Twilight off.
"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Twilight charged a powerful blast of magic in her anger and pointed it at the image. Swift, who wasn't as quickly enraged, noticed what was happening and moved to stop her.
"Twilight! NO!" As the words left Swift's mouth, Twilight let loose a powerful bolt of magic. It was a direct hit on the wall, but unfortunately the angle reflected it and suddenly the room was bathed in a wild blast bounding from wall to wall. Swift dove and took Twilight to the ground, preventing either of them from being hit and the bolt traveled just a few hooves overhead and finally slammed into a flat wall, shattering it into dozens of pieces. Slowly the dust started to settle and Swift and Twilight realized they could see the outline of another pony. As the air cleared, they could easily make out Cadence sitting there, covered in cuts and her hair a mess. Swift was surprised finding her was so easy when Twilight took off.
"No! Wait!" Cadence couldn't get anymore out before Twilight tackled her to the ground and started charging her magic. Swift ran to where they landed, wondering what plan Cadence had at this point.
"Please! Don't hurt me!" Swift drew back as Cadence pleaded. This didn't feel right.
"Why should I?" Twilight asked, holding her anger back.
"Twilight its me. Please, you have to believe me. I've been imprisoned like you. The Cadence that trapped you is an imposter." Cadence explained in a last ditch effort to save herself. Twilight didn't seem to be buying it and her horn flared up again.
"Twilight, stop!" Swift forced Twilight to look at him with a hoof under her chin. As Cadence was pleading, Swift realized he didn't feel that feeling from earlier.
"Swift, she threatened my brother! I'm not letting her get away with it!" Twilight exclaimed, somewhat confused as to why Swift was suddenly stopping her.
"That isn't her. She is telling you the truth. I saw it myself. Before I was sent down here, I fought Cadence and somehow when I touched her, she changed into a black creature filled with holes and emerald eyes." Swift explained as he reached down and carefully touched Cadence on the shoulder. Nothing happened, causing Swift to sigh in relief. Twilight allowed her magic to dissipate as she listened to Swift tell his story.
"She changed?" Twilight had a dozen questions, but that was the only one she could seem to formulate at the moment as she moved to allow the Cadence beneath her a chance to sit up. Swift backed up to allow Twilight and Cadence their space, though Twilight wasn't about to let Cadence free from her hold.
"Yeah, I don't know why, but it happened as soon as my hoof connected with her face. She seemed to know something about it, which is why she sent me down here instead of out right killing me." Swift explained, drawing a nod from Cadence.
"He's right. She isn't a normal pony. She is called a changeling." Cadence added, trying to win herself back into good favor. Twilight's eyes widened in realization as Cadence spoke.
"I know of those. They were in a book I studied a few years ago." Twilight spoke, mostly to herself. Swift rolled his eyes at the predictable statement. Everything Twilight knew of seemed to be from a book. After a moment of silence, Cadence cleared her throat to draw attention to the fact that she was still pinned beneath Twilight.
"Oh my gosh! Here, get up! I'm so sorry!" Twilight rambled as she let Cadence return to her hooves.
"It's okay Twilight. After what Chrysalis did, I can't blame you for not trusting me." Cadence explained, catching Swift's attention with the mention of Chrysalis. The voice had mentioned her by name as well.
'So that wasn't just some dream....' Swift's thoughts started to recall what else the voice said, but was cut short by Twilight speaking up.
"Swift, did anything else happen with Chrysalis in the hall?" Twilight seemed to be doing what she did best, building a plan, and was gathering intel to that goal.
"Just that she planned on taking over Equestria. She plans on killing our friends, but that's all I heard. I sorta lost it and punched her, then got sent here." Swift explained, holding his anger as best as possible at what Chrysalis had said. Twilight surprisingly took the news of their friends danger better than expected, and remained calm. Cadence, however, didn't seem so composed.
"How can we stop them? They can change form and look just like us. Did you see anything in that book that we can use against them Twilight?" Cadence asked of the Element of Magic. Twilight shook her head with her eyes closed as she recalled what she had read years ago.
"It was mostly history. Shortly after Discord first attacked, insect-like ponies with the abilities to change their shape and absorb the love from other ponies started to show up. No one ever really learned much about them, as they are very good at not being found. We don't even know how the magic they use to absorb love and change their form works. It's not simply an illusion, but a full metamorphosis." Twilight was in her typical lecture mode, and as such was nearly putting the two other ponies to sleep with the clinical explanation. Only the seriousness of the situation kept them alert, though the mention of Discord brought memories of the previous day at the hedge maze with Rainbow back into mind.
"Twilight, as interesting as this is, we really need to get back to the castle and stop this wedding. If there is no way to hurt them from what you read, we can figure it out as we go. Besides, my touch pulled Chrysalis out of her disguise, so perhaps I can do it to others." Swift explained, thinking his feelings from the trip that had been coming and going might be related. It had flared up when Chrysalis was nearby, so maybe somehow he was detecting them. Cadence seemed to agree, as she stood and started making her way towards a bridge of rock that appeared to lead to an exit.
"Then come on! I don't want to leave her up there with my fiance any longer than we need! Let's go!" Cadence spoke over her shoulder before taking off. Swift and Twilight simply nodded and followed after her, thought's of the fight ahead of them on their mind.
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"What's up, sugarcube? You've been lookin down all day." Applejack stood next to Rainbow Dash as various ponies were fixing up their hair and making sure their outfits were perfect for the approaching wedding. Since the group had awoken, it had been nonstop errands to get prepared for the big event. AJ had been alongside Dash for each task, and noticed she wasn't fighting against all the primping like she normally would.
"It's nothin' AJ. Just thinking." Dash's answer wasn't rude, but was very short. It was obvious to everyone in the room that she hadn't even been paying attention as she answered. Whatever was distracting her had all of her attention. A hoof on the shoulder managed to pull her to reality though as her best friend and sometimes rival looked upon her with worry.
"Dash, I know you. Somethin' has you worried. Talk to me. What's wrong?" AJ tried again to get her friend to open up. For a moment, it didn't look like it would work, but finally Dash decided to speak.
"I'm worried about Swift and Twilight. Twilight really messed up yesterday and we all abandoned her. Even Princess Celestia scolded her. Only Swift went back, and now the both are missing." Dash explained, looking away from her friend and out the window towards the clouds. AJ nodded in understanding, but worried that Dash might be, ironically, overthinking the situation.
"Ah wouldn't worry too much. Ah feel bad for Twi too, but like ya said, she messed up pretty bad. She is probably just down in the library trying to clear her mind. As for Swift, his job is to make sure the sky is ready for your rainboom. You don't worry yerself over it. Come on, we got ah weddin to attend." AJ attempted to ease her friends mind. Dash smiled slightly and nodded in agreement to what AJ was saying, though the smile was hollow to Dash. She knew Swift, and there was no way he would have just disappeared on a day like today. She just knew he must have gotten into trouble.
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"This could be trouble." Swift whispered to the mares behind him as he peaked around the hall. A guard was standing watch as normal, however Swift was feeling that sense again that something was off. Twilight and Cadence nodded and backed from the corner. So far, aside from an encounter with the former brides maids who appeared to be mind controlled, the trip through the castle had been simple. The caves had access in the abandoned dungeon that wasn't guarded anymore as it was the only entrance and exit, and with the wedding going on the halls were empty aside from minimal guard presence. Cadence knew where they would be, so avoiding them until now had been simple.
"What about a distraction spell? We can lure him away?" Twilight offered in a hushed tone. Swift nodded, but Cadence shook her head that it wouldn't work.
"No, if it is a changeling, it will call for help as soon as it detects something wrong. We need to drop him quickly, if he is indeed a changeling." Cadence looked to Swift with that comment. She still couldn't quite believe that a pegasus would have some magical ability to sense changelings, and he couldn't blame her. He couldn't quite believe it either.
"Well, we can always check. I'll just casually walk down the hall and tap him on the shoulder as though I'm lost. If he is forced out of form, we know I'm right. If not, we assume he is real and there's no problem." Swift offered as a suggestion. Twilight and Cadence looked at each other, hoping one of them had a better idea. After a moment of silence, Twilight signed and nodded.
"Ok, go, but I'm keeping a spell ready to knock him out if he is a changeling." Twilight said as she approached the corner. Cadence held back while Swift followed, and with a calming breath, walked around the corner. The guard maintained his rigid pose as all guards were trained to do as Swift trotted down the hall while looking back and forth as if trying to find his way. As he reached the guard, he spoke up.
"Excuse me, sir. I seem to be turned around." Swift casually reached up and placed his hoof on the guard's shoulder where his armor failed to cover. A small flash of green could be seen from down the hall and the guard was no longer just a guard. Swift jumped back, allowing Twilight a clear shot at the changeling who had hunched down and was ready to pounce.
"Anytime Twi!" Swift shouted, just as an invisible force slammed the changeling to the ground hard enough to knock it out. Twilight and Cadence ran around the corner and approached the downed enemy.
"Ok, I'm convinced. I'm sorry for doubting you Swift." Cadence offered in apology as she looked at the changeling. Swift shook his head as he approached the foe and removed the armor.
"Don't worry about it, I wasn't sure it would work either." Brushing off the apology, Swift proceeded to don the royal pegasi armor the changeling had been wearing, sans the helmet that had broken when the changeling horn shot through it. Twilight and Cadence watched him with confused looks, which Swift saw when he turned around.
"What? Most likely we will have to fight, and I don't have your magic. I figure armor might not be a bad idea." Swift explained as the light from the windows gleamed on the armor. Luckily for Swift, it seemed to fit his build perfectly and did not hinder his wing movement at all. This armor was definitely of the highest quality.
Twilight nodded at the logic of his thoughts, and briefly wondered how Rainbow Dash would react to him in such armor. While she had stated no romantic interests in Swift many times, she was still a mare, and knew when a stallion looked good, and the armor looked made to fit on Swift's body. Cadence meanwhile had no qualms about such thoughts.
"You wear that armor too long and it won't be changelings you have to fight off." A smirk on Cadence's face proved contagious as Swift grinned as well, appearing as cocky as he did when he and Dash would be pranking someone.
"Careful now, you are getting married. Watch where you are staring." Swift replied, getting into the taunting game. The mention of the wedding however drew the group back to the task at hoof.
"Oh no, how long do we have?" Swift, realizing they were wasting time, asked quickly to Twilight.
"The wedding starts at noon. 'Cadence' should walk down the aisle after the bells ring noon." Twilight recalled from the original wedding plan. Hopefully they hadn't changed anything. Swift looked back out the window to where the sun stood and estimated it was around a quarter til noon.
"We don't have much time. We have to go." Swift started down the hall, his new armor not helping their stealth, while the two mares followed behind.
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*Ding! Ding!*
The final two chimes of the bells echoed into the distance. As they faded, the massive doors to the ballroom opened and Cadence appeared in a flowing white wedding dress. Everyone in the audience turned and smiled tot he bride as she approached the alter, beautiful music filling the hall as she walked.
Beside the alter, Shining Armor smiled to his beautiful bride-to-be. In place of his standard military armor, he was wearing his formal uniform. While not as elegant as the dress his fiance wore, the outfit commanded respect and represented his position within the Royal Guard.
Alongside where Celestia and Shining Armor stood, five mares in unique and wonderful dresses stood as bridesmares. All of them had their eyes fixed on the bride as she made her way down the aisle. All but one of them.
Rainbow Dash knew she would get in trouble if she didn't follow script and ooh and ahh over the bride, but Swift's disappearance was still bothering her. Applejack had perfectly valid points earlier, but something about it didn't sit right with Dash, who was now fighting every urge to bail and go find him. Currently, she was casting glances out the skylights to the sky, which was spotted with clouds. Had the sky been clear, she wouldn't be as concerned, but it was Swift's job to clear the sky and Swift took his work very seriously, much like Rainbow Dash herself. A sudden tap on her shoulder by Applejack brought her back to the ceremony. Cadence had joined Shining Armor at the altar and exchanged vows, so she needed to being to slip away to get into position for her sonic rainboom. She lifted a hoof to step away when the sound of the main doors slamming open echoed through the room followed by a familiar voice.
"STOP!"
All eyes in the hall turned to see Twilight Sparkle walking into the hall, followed by Swift in his borrowed guard armor. Rainbow nearly tripped at the site of her coltfriend in full guard armor sans a helmet. Swift had never seemed like someone who would be in the military, but that armor looked like he was born to wear it. So absorbed was Dash that she almost missed Cadence's comment.
"Gah. Why does she have to be sooo possessive of her brother?!" Cadence stomped her hoof in frustration as she spoke, garnering odd looks from both Princess Celestia. The awkward silence passed for just a moment before she seemed to realize herself and continued.
"Why does she have to ruin my special day?" This time, she sounded more hurt rather than frustrated. As she began to cry at the injustice before her, a voice spoke through the crowd.
"Because it's not your special day! It's MINE!" Several ponies appeared confused as Cadence was the voice they heard, but the Cadence on stage wasn't speaking. A quick glance showed a third pony had joined Twilight and Swift, looking identical to the bride. This brought a gasp through the crowd, and even Celestia herself looked shocked by this disheveled version of Cadence.
"What?! But how did you escape my bridesmaids?" Cadence on the stage spoke out, sounding angrier than ever. The three ponies across the room smirked to each other. Twilight spoke, the humor of the situation evident in her voice.
"You shouldn't have sent them to guard a bride with a bouquet." Twilight spoke simply, allowing her opponent to piece together what happened. All of Twilight's friends realized what it meant and shook their head at the ridiculousness of the solution. Cadence appeared slightly annoyed at her guards being defeated by flowers, but continued on.
"Clever, but you're still too late." Everyone at this point had grown more and more confused by the dual princesses, sparking Applejack to finally speak up.
"Wait, I don't understand. How can there be two of them?" A simple question, drawing a nod from all the other ponies who shared the question. Cadence beside Twilight stepped forward, ready to answer just that.
"She's a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!" Cadence pointed a hoof accusingly at her doppelganger, causing everyone to shift their attention to the bride, expecting some sort of proof against such outrageous accusations. As they looked her way, she was suddenly engulfed in green fire that covered her from sight completely. As quickly as it spawned, the flames went out, leaving behind a black creature as tall as Celestia. Her body was covered in holes as though she had been stabbed through with a fencepost, but never healed, or even took damage. Her eyes were an emerald that matched the fire from moments before.
"Bwahaha. Right you are princess! And as Queen of the Changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects! Equestria has more love than anyplace I have ever encountered." Slowly, the queen made her way down the stairs towards the princess.
"My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it. Then we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed off!" Hushed panic washed through the room as the gravity of the situation was realized by many of the ponies. Twilight's friends on the stage all looked to each other, silently nodding that they needed to regroup, slowly making their way from the stage.
"They'll never get the chance. Shining Armors protection spell will keep them from even reaching us." Cadence grinned at the slip of Chrysalis' plan. With the shield in place, no changeling would be able to help her, and with the Elements present, not to mention herself, they had more than enough power to fight this queen. Chrysalis simply laughed off the threat however as she turned her head to face Shining Armor who had yet to move from his spot on the stage.
"I doubt that. Isn't that right dear?" An emerald aura formed around the queen's wicked looking horn, and a matching aura flared across Shining Armor's eyes. Pain could also be seen flashing across his face as whatever power Chrysalis had was burrowing its way into him. Cadence couldn't hold back as she cried out to her love, taking off down the aisle only to be cut off by Chrysalis.
"Uh uh uh. Don't wanna go back to the cave do you? Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you. Every moment, he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at it." Chrysalis took a guarded position, ready to fight off an attack as she taunted the princess before her. The Elements all looked out the window into the distance where they could barely make out hundreds of black specks beyond the shield. The worrying part was the shade of magic forming the shield. When they had arrived, it was a dark purple, but now it appeared faded, an obvious sign of the magic weakening.
"He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control, and I'm sorry to say unable to perform his duties as Captain of the Royal Guard!"
"Not my Shining Armor!" Cadence stepped to the left and right, looking for an opening to pass the queen, but Chrysalis wasn't allowing anyone near the lynchpin of her plans. Finally Cadence seemed to relent and focused her attention on the threat before her, drawing another bout of laughter from the changeling queen.
"First, my changeling army will break through and we take Canterlot. Then ALL of Equestria!" Chrysalis started laughing at the helplessness in the eyes of the party guests and Cadence before her. Her laughter was quickly cut off by a voice from behind her that had stayed quiet for long enough.
"No. You won't." Turning, Chrysalis found herself face to face with Princess Celestia, ruler of the kingdom of Equestria.
"You may have made it impossible for shining armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self, I can protect my subjects...from you!" Without further warning, Celestia lifted up into the air and a golden aura formed around her horn, firing a beam of pure magic at the enemy before her. Chrysalis panicked as she quickly launched her own beam powered by the love she had drained back at Celestia. The two beams hit with such force that it knocked nearby ponies on their flanks. This caused many of the guests to take off running out the door with the villain occupied, and the Elements of Harmony all gathered together to watch the battle of magic.
The beam seemed locked in place, but a careful eye could see Celestia slowly overpowering her opponent. Slowly, the changeling queen was pushed back. Just as the beam was about to engulf her, her eyes suddenly lit up a bright green, the same shade as Shining Armor had had on his own eyes. Suddenly Chrysalis' power seemed to double, and Swift noticed Shining Armor sink down as Chrysalis obviously pulled power from him into her attack. The result of such a sudden surge of magic was devastating. The beam shot up and slammed into Celestia, knocking her from the air to the ground hard.
"Princess Celestia!" The Elements and Swift all ran to the princess as Chrysalis recovered from the exertion. After a moment to collect herself, she realized exactly what she had done. She had defeated Celestia. Cadence stood ready to attack her, but seeing Celestia fall was clearly causing her to question her chances. Chrysalis spoke up, taking a chance to cement such doubt.
"HA, Shining Armor's love for you is even stronger than I thought! Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!" Everyone heard Chrysalis' claim, and given what just happened couldn't argue it. Rainbow Dash and Swift were the first to stand, but Celestia's voice held them back.
"The Elements of Harmony. You must get to them and use their power to defeat the queen! Swift, help them. That armor is for someone who protects Canterlot, so wear it well!" The girls nodded in agreement that the Elements were first priority. They couldn't stop the queen without them. Swift nodded as well, recognizing his role in the situation. He would make sure they got their elements, or he would die trying.
Outside, a loud thunderclap roared overhead, and a glance out the window showed the shield had fallen, and hundreds of changelings were descending on the city. Outside, screams could be heard as ponies ran for safety to avoid the invading forces. A final look at Celestia, who had finally succumbed to her injury and passed out, was all the group spared as the turned an ran out into the fray.
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Cadence and Chrysalis watch as the Elements galloped from the hall, leaving the ruling princess sprawled out on the ground. Cadence was surprised as Chrysalis did nothing to prevent their fleeing, and instead smiled as the group ran.
"Pretty foolish, letting the Elements escape." Cadence taunted her foe, hoping to find a way to defeat her and rescue her love. Chrysalis looked to Cadence as her smile grew even further. Without speaking a word, the Queen opened her wings and buzzed them rapidly, though not taking off. Cadence was braced for an attack, but when nothing appeared to happen she relaxed slightly.
'What is she doing?' Cadence slowly took a step forward, confused by her enemy's tactic when suddenly two changelings landed beside the queen, backs facing Cadence. These two changelings appeared much different from the ones they had seen before. The were much larger, and their armor looked more uniform, as though an officer in the changeling forces. This worried Cadence, as so far the changelings appeared to be a mob rather than an army, but if they had some sort of regiment organization, this fight could be much worse. As she considered the ramifications of this knowledge, the Queen started speaking in a strange combinations of clicks and buzzes that Cadence could only assume was the changeling language.
"Take your force and secure the cargo. If the Elements manage to get their focus', then we need to be prepared." Chrysalis waited for the changeling in question to salute and fly off, being joined by five other changelings who had remained near the window they arrived in. Cadence watched them fly off, wondering what the Queen had said when she started speaking again.
"You need to get our insurance against the Elements ready. Go grab the three that ran and make sure the Elements know what happens if they fight back." This changeling quickly saluted and took off out the main door, flying just over Cadence who dove out of the way, surprised by what she thought was a sudden attack.
"Worry not, princess. My changelings won't attack you. You are my toy..." the Queen slowly stepped towards Cadence as she stood up, ready for the fight to come.
"...and nopony takes what is MINE!"
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Outside, the chaotic sound of battle filled the streets of Canterlot. Ponies ran from the invading force as this day that was supposed to be perfect was rapidly turned into a nightmare. Street vendor carts were overturned from ponies being chased by changelings down the street. A few ponies were unconscious along the road, drained of the love they had been filled with just minutes ago in light of the wedding. Nearby, others could be seen hiding in shrubs, or inside buildings as yet more changelings tried to break in.
Swift was shocked at the sight of the battlefield before him. He hadn't imagined how massive the enemy force could be, and respected Shining Armor all the more for having been able to hold back such a force with is magic. Currently however, Swift needed to take action. The girls needed to get the Elements, and he was ordered by the Princess herself to protect them.
"Where did they go?!" Swift mumbled as he flew up in the air, watching for a sign. Up ahead, the street was covered with the bodies of unconscious changelings and the sounds of battle.
"That way is as good as any!" Swift pulled all the speed he had and charged to the battle. He knew he was in the right place when he saw Fluttershy running from the fight but get stopped by Rainbow Dash.
Or rather, four Rainbow Dashes. Swift realized he couldn't tell where his real friends were for a moment as he watched the four advance on Fluttershy. Moments before he moved to take the group out, one of them suddenly broke ranks and attacked its allies before helping Fluttershy up with a friendly hug.
'Wait, she doesn't give off that feeling. I can detect them!' Swift tested his thought as he looked around the battlefield some more and saw Applejack and Twilight getting backed to each other, surrounded by the hive.
'That's not Twilight...' Swift's thought proved true as 'Twilight' transformed and was kicked by Applejack who appeared to vent some frustration.
'Perfect, I can do this...oops.' Swift ducked as he noticed a changeling flying at him full force. His presence on the field had been noticed.
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Rainbow Dash left Fluttershy and took off to fight a group that was surrounding Rarity. The fashonista was surprisingly holding her own quite well against the horde, but was being overrun.
'We can do this! Once we have the Elements, we can stop this army!' Spurred on with her thoughts, Rainbow Dash slammed directly into one of the changelings who was disguised as herself, knocking it into several of its allies, scattering them like bowling pins.
"Rainbow darling! Thank you so much for the help!" Rarity sounded genuinely relieved to have the help as she dodged a changeling and used her magic to trip it before kicking it into the crowd of enemies.
"You know me Rares, always willing to help!" Dash threw banter to her friend as she also dealt with a group of changelings on her end. As she punched one looking like Fluttershy in the face, the rest of the changelings in the group suddenly stopped and looked at each other for a moment.
'Uh oh, what's this...' Rainbow took a defensive stance to see what was about to happen when the group suddenly shot into the air. Following their path, Rainbow saw what at first appeared to be a guard fighting, but after a moment realized who it was.
"Swift! I gotta help him!" Dash punched on last changeling down and kicked him away as she looked to Rarity to see how she was doing. A smaller group was arriving, but Rarity was simply smiling as she fixed her hair from the fight.
"Go ahead Rainbow. I can take care of these ruffians." Dash didn't want to admit it, but the grin Rarity was wearing made her suddenly feel sorry for the changelings about to attack her. With a nod, Dash took off to her coltfriend, leaving the changelings on the ground to their fate.
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Swift dodged and kicked at the various changelings around him. A group of five had apparently spotted him originally, and three of them were now unconscious. He tried not to concern himself with what happened when they landed, as firstly he had more pressing matters, as well as he hoped he didn't kill them. He would fight them as far as was needed, but even so the thought of them dying wouldn't raise his spirits any. Dispatching another enemy left him face to face with his final opponent. This one seemed to be rethinking his options as he had seen his friends taken down.
"Leave, and I won't chase you." Swift tried to offer it a chance to escape so he could get to the girls and find the Elements. The changeling hovered there for a moment when a shout drew both of their attention.
"SWIFT! INCOMING!" Below them, a dozen more changelings were closing fast, with a rainbow trail following them as Dash closed the distance. Without hesitating, Swift shouldercharged the one changeling he had given a chance to escape, knocking him out of stable flight and causing him to crash into a rooftop as the second force arrive. Turning to face them, he watched as Dash slammed into one from below and held him by his back legs before swinging him around into two of his friends. The bodies fell as Dash flew beside Swift and the two forces eyed each other.
"Nice job, and thanks for the heads up." Swift said without looking to his marefriend. The enemy had nearly all his focus at the moment. Dash had the same thoughts as she didn't look to him either.
"No prob. There seems to be no end to these guys. We need a plan." Swift nodded as Dash gave voice to the state of their battle. As if an unspoken trigger had been thrown, the remaining nine changelings suddenly fell upon the two pegasi as their battle resumed.
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Twilight shot another bolt of magic at a copy of herself, pulling it from its disguise and throwing it back. Thankfully while the changelings had numbers on their side, their magic wasn't strong and they didn't seem to resilient to damage.
"We have to step this up. There are too many of them and the Princesses need our help. Something drastic needs to happ...ACK!" Twilight was cut short with her thought as she was suddenly yanked away from her spot by Pinkie Pie. At the best of times, being abducted by Pinkie was concerning to anypony, but in a fight it was the last thing Twilight would want to deal with. As she was about to speak these thoughts, she felt Pinkie grab her tail and point her horn at the horde of enemies while cackling in glee. Suddenly she started cranking Twilight's tail like a handle and, for reasons that Twilight would probably never figure out, her own magic started to respond, firing rapidly at whatever Pinkie pointed her at. The magic wasn't strong, but Twilight could tell it would do the job, and started knocking changelings out rapidly. The whole thing was so ridiculous that Twilight nearly shook her head in exasperation, but held off knowing it would corrupt Pinkie's aim.
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Swift and Dash were fighting back to back, taking down one changeling after another when the sound of battle below them changed. The changelings fighting the pegasi noticed this as well and all involved in the fight looked down to an unexpected sight. Pinkie Pie was wielding Twilight as some sort of weapon, rapid firing magic at the enemies and clearing a path to the place that the elements were stored.
The changelings with Swift and Dash decided this threat was larger than the two pegasi in the air and dived to the ground.
With a glance, Dash took off followed by Swift, slamming into the escaping changelings before they could stop Pinkie and Twilight. The rest of the group had similar ideas and closed ranks around the duo as they fought up the stairs to the main building.
"The elements are inside! Come on girls!" Twilight broke free from Pinkie and yelled to the group as she pushed the door open. Swift's indignation at being referred to as 'one of the girls' was short lived as inside the building, dozens of changelings were at rank and ready to attack, bringing the group to a stop. Without looking behind, they could hear just as many changelings land behind them, effectively boxing them in. AJ, Swift, and Dash silently looked to one another, and with the briefest nod, took off towards the group outside the building in order to allow more room to fight.
"HOLD ELEMENTS!" A loud, buzzer like voice shouted above the forces below, causing the group to pause. AJ slid to a halt a few meters from the group, while Dash and Swift both were hovering in the air, having shot in different directions. Above them, three larger changelings were hovering at least a hundred hooves off the ground.
Each of the three seemed to be holding something. AJ was the first to recognize them.
"APPLEBLOOM!" Swift and Dash immediately made out the forms of the three fillies who should have been secured when the attack started. The changelings held them dangling out before them, the threat of dropping them readily apparent.
Behind the group, a very large changeling, who was clearly in charge of this part of the invasion force by the way other changelings seemed to naturally move out of its way, stepped from the building and spoke in a loud, clear voice.
"You will all surrender, or I will order them to release the fillies." The threat was made, and made as casually as though the commander was ordering a meal. AJ turned and had an enraged look about her that none of her friends had ever seen.
"You won't drop them, because if you do, I will personally make sure..." AJ's threat faded as the commander simply nodded his head towards one of the three in the air.
Suddenly, Scootaloo felt the wind through her mane as the ground started moving towards her rapidly.