//------------------------------//
// The Weak are Food 
// Story: A Touch of Chaos 
// by Written Out 
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“Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!”

Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire easily danced through the spears of the Captain candidates as they tried to take him down. The lower ranked guards stood in a circle around him and the seven candidates, cheering them on and making bets about who would win. After Shining Armor had retired from his role as Captain of the Solar Guard to marry the mare of his dreams a few weeks ago, he needed to find somepony to replace him.

However, none of the candidates came anywhere near what he wanted for his replacement. Three unicorns, three pegasus, and one earth pony surrounded him, each looking for a chink in his armour they could exploit; an opening on his defenses they could attack through. They all flawlessly followed the forms that he had drilled into them over long years of practice, smoothly flowing from one stance to the next with the ease of long practice. Unfortunately, that very reason was why he was able to so easily predict their actions. None of them had any sort of creativity to their styles. He ducked under the outthrust spear of one the pegasi and smacked the guard on the helmet hard enough to make the poor sap’s eyes cross.

Sidestepping as the pegasus collapsed to the ground, Shining Armor watched with disapproval as one of the unicorns tripped over the prone pegasus. Calmly twirling his spear above his head with his magic, Shining Armor easily blocked two more thrust spears from the pegasi above, tangling the wielders together while his rear hooves shot out, clanging loudly against the armour of the earth pony that had been sneaking up behind him and dropping the unfortunate sap like a ton of bricks.

The two remaining unicorn fighters surrounded Shining Armor, looking for weaknesses in his guard as his spear floated alongside his head. Shining Armor remaining still, watching them both with disapproval shining bright and clear in his eyes. The Captain of the Solar Guard was one of the highest positions in the entire Royal Guard, equal to the Captain of the Lunar Guard. Only the Commissioner of the Royal Guards was ranked higher, and that post was appointed directly by the Princesses themselves. The idea of giving the title to one of these buffoons, when all seven of them weren't even able to organize themselves to take him down, felt like a rank insult.

The unicorn on his left attacked first, seeming to spot an opening in Shining’s defences and charging in. Unfortunately, he had only seen what the former Captain had wanted him to see and a single outthrust hoof knocked the charging unicorn out cold. Shining dropped to his knees as another spear whipped through the air, passing through the spot vacated by his head a moment ago. Taking advantage of his position low to the ground, Shining slipped in close to his attacker before bringing his head up, pressing the tip of his horn gently but firmly against the other guardspony’s exposed throat. The unicorn dropped his spear in surrender and Shining Armor backed up, allowing the defeated guard to slink into the surrounding crowd.

Turning to the last candidate, Shining Armor leapt to the side as a blast of blue magical energy shot out from the other unicorn’s horn, charring the ground where he had been standing. The surrounding audience booed and hissed at the offender, since using magic attacks in a physical sparring match was seen in poor taste. The guard ignored them and fired off another blast, trying to overwhelm Shining Armor before the former Captain could recover his footing.

With a thought and a slight glow of his horn, Shining Armor smoothly raised a magical shield between himself and the attacking guard, and the beam shattered when it struck the shield. Shields and barriers were Shining Armor’s speciality, and he was arguably the best in the entire country. But barriers weren’t used for just defence… With a bright flash of his horn, he created a strong barrier all around his opponent, trapping the guard in a shimmering purple spear.

The guard gave the entrapping sphere a cursory poke with his spear before lower the spear in surrender, accepting defeat just as the previous guard had. Banishing the orb with a thought, Shining Armor looked around at the audience who had been watching the fight. He could see the tell-tale glint of golden bits changing hooves as bets were paid out and the winners collected his winnings. A not inconsequential part of him was annoyed at how few bits were actually changing hooves – most of the audience must have been betting on him. Even the rest of the guard thought his potential successors were nothing in comparison to him.

“SHINING ARMOR!!” 

The white unicorn turned to the voice calling his name to see Princess Cadance making her way towards him, fury clearly written across her face. His wife’s pink wings quivered with rage as she stormed across the courtyard, Equestria’s best and bravest tripping over themselves as they scrambled out of her path. As Equestria’s only mortal alicorn, the authority and the respect she commanded was only slightly below that commanded by the Celestial Sisters themselves.

Even though he was the focus of all the rage she was emanating, Shining Armor could not help but think about was how beautiful she was. He had been so lucky to have met her while she had been babysitting his little sister. It had taken him weeks to work up the courage to ask her out, and he had been astounded when she accepted. These thoughts dancing through his head, he barely noticed when she stopped directly in front of him.

“Dear?” she said sweetly, positively brimming with sarcasm. “Didn’t we already have this talk?”

“Aw, come on, dear,” he said, wrapping a hoof around her neck and pulling her in close. “I told you, I have to do this.”

Cadance sighed as she leaned into her husband’s strong embrace, sighing slightly as her own gentle nature suppressed her anger. “I know, but I’m just worried about you getting hurt.” She glanced up as Shining Armor snorted rudely before trying to pass it off as a normal laugh.

“Hurt?” His helmet was wrapped in a pink glow as he easily levitated it off his head. “Against these guys? If I thought they could hurt me, I wouldn’t be so worried.” Placing the helmet gently on Cadance’s head, he smiled in amusement as she staggered slightly under its weight.

“Then what are you trying to prove?” she asked. Her own blue magical glow wrapped around the helmet, forcing it off her head before placing it on the ground at her hooves.

“It’s just…” he hesitated before a slight prod got him to continue. “These guys just don’t know how to fight. Some of them make up for it; Trillie’s the best organizer I know of, Salt’s great at hunting criminals, and Chocolate’s wonderful when dealing with the public. But… a Captain needs to be more. Somepony the rank and file can look up to. These guys are great guards,” he looked over at the surrounding group, the ponies who had been watching him fighting starting to disperse as they went off to enjoy the rest of their lunch break, “but being a Captain is different from being a guard.”

Cadance took a step back, staring her husband straight in the eyes. “You’re worried,” she said simply. At his nod, she stepped in close to him, nuzzling his cheek with her own. “Is it because of Twilight’s letters?”

He smiled ruefully as he nuzzled her back. Was he really so transparent? “Twi’s letters are part of it,” he admitted. “But I think something’s going to happen. It’s just a feeling in my gut, but I’ve learned to trust my gut. Something big is going to happen soon.”

“But no matter what happens, we’ll face it together.” Cadance brought her head up, gently kissing him on the lips. Smiling, he  returned the kiss, and the two stood together in a loving embrace until a gentle cough caught their attention. Turning, they saw one of the castle servants standing nearby.

“Prince Shining Armor?” At Shining Armor’s nod, the servant smiled. “Sorry to interrupt you, sir, but Princess Celestia has requested your presence in her room.”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at the servant’s statement. That’s odd. Whenever Princess Celestia wanted to talk to him, she would either call him to the throne room or come out to see him herself. “Now?”

“Yes, sir.”

Cadance picked up on Shining Armor’s feelings. “Maybe she has something she wants to show you?” she suggested. “But she didn’t mention anything out of the ordinary when I saw her… Maybe Luna brought something?”

“I don’t know,” he said, leaning in for another kiss. “Sorry, we’ll have to continue this later.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” she promised, the gleam in her eyes making him looking forward to it as well. Picking up his helmet, he carried it with his magic as he left the courtyard. Unnoticed behind his back, two ponies dressed up as members of the Solar Guard approached his wife while he was leaving. The pair said something to her, and she left the courtyard with them shortly after.





Chrysalis sat in the room of the Solar Princess, her disguise in place as she awaited the arrival of her next victim. She grinned to herself, twisting Celestia’s visage into a horrifying expression that looked unnatural on the benevolent ruler’s face. Catching a glance of her face on a nearby mirror, Chrysalis hurriedly schooled her expression into the warm mask that Celestia always wore.

Her eyes wandering around the room as she awaited Shining Armor’s arrival, she marveled at just how… fitting the whole place seemed. The entire room gave off a feeling of welcoming calm, from the decorations on the wall to the curtains lazily flapping by the open balcony door. Celestia’s decoration sense had a penchant for warm colours, white and yellow dominating the entire room. The walls were painted with the colours of a sunrise, the yellows and oranges smoothly blending into one another to create a complete picture of gentle warmth.

Looking around the room, Chrysalis saw a smaller door set in the back wall. Since she had a little time to kill before Shining Armor arrived, and just because she was curious, she walked over to it and threw it open. The very first thing that struck her as she entered the tiny room was the stark contrast between it and the room she had just left. 

This room was sparsely decorated, empty except for a single large bed and nightstand. There was only one window, but it was covered in a heavy curtain, smothering any light from outside. The entire room – from the walls to the floors, ceilings, and even the bed – was painted black. The only breaks in the inky darkness were tiny little specks of white randomly scattered throughout the room like so many shining stars. It was like walking into the night sky.

Completing the illusion was a large moon, painted directly above the center bed. The craters in the moon were carefully placed, giving the impression of a horned pony’s head. The Mare In The Moon stared down on the bed, her silvery glow softly illuminating the room. Princess Celestia must have commissioned this entire room as a tribute to her sister, so that she would never forget her during Luna’s thousand-year banishment.

Hmph, Chrysalis scoffed. Foolish sentiments. Chrysalis’ roving eyes were caught by a single object on the nightstand. As the only item on the nightstand, it stood out like a sore hoof. Her curiosity piqued, Chrysalis got closer to take a better look. Picking it up in her magic, she cautiously floated it in front of her, slightly surprised by what she saw.

A picture frame. The ruler of Equestria – possible the single strongest magical creature in existence – slept with a picture frame next to her bed. Even without testing the frame, Chrysalis could feel the magical power radiating from it. Whatever was in it, it had absorbed a great deal of love energy over the years. The idea of ripping it open and extracting the power held within this frame made Chrysalis’ mouth water, and she absently wiped the drool away with a hoof before flipping the frame over to see what was held within it.

A foal’s scribble awaited her gaze. Drawn in crayon, it showed three ponies of differing heights close together. All three of them clearly had wings and horns drawn on, and the shape made Chrysalis think that they were all mares. The tallest one, a white pony with a red mane and tail, stood in the center of the picture. Her cutie mark was a feather quill and a piece of parchment. In her hooves she held a much smaller pony with a light blue with an azure mane and tail. Beside the tall mare stood another white pony, this one with a pink mane and tail. Neither of the smaller alicorns had cutie marks.

Three words were written on the page, arrows connecting a word to a pony. The smallest one, held in the hooves of the largest one was labelled “Luna”. The next largest, the one with the pink mane, was simply labelled “Me”. And the last one…

“Mother,” Chrysalis read aloud, her voice a nearly-silent whisper. Chrysalis stood silent for several minutes, staring at the little picture, remembering a time long past. A happier time, spent with the mare that she thought of as her own mother. The mare hadn’t even been a changeling, but she had loved Chrysalis despite knowing the truth about her. Alas, that happy memory could now be nothing more than a memory

Sighing deeply, Chrysalis returned the frame to its place on the nightstand. Preparing to leave the room, she hesitated one final moment to look back at the crudely-drawn picture. She had been powerless then, and had lost everything because of it. Even though it had happened a few decades ago, she still remembered it as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.

“That creature is a monster! We need to kill it now, before it kills us in our sleep!”

Never again.

A knock on the entrance to Celestia’s room caught her attention, and Chrysalis stepped out of the bedroom, closing the door firmly behind her. Looking over at the mirror, she checked to ensure her disguise was perfect before calling out to whoever desired her attention. “Enter.”

The large doors swung open silently, allowing Shining Armor into the room. “You called for me, Princess Celestia?” he asked formally, bowing down to her. 

She inclined her head to him in return. “Yes. Thank you for coming at such short notice.” She gestured to the open balcony doors before leading Shining Armor outside. The pair stood in silence, staring out at the magnificent city below them. Chrysalis took in the sight, gazing out at the beautiful architecture all around them while Shining Armor waited in silence.

“You’re probably wondering why I requested your presence,” Chrysalis said eventually, breaking the silence. 

“The thought had crossed my mind,” the white unicorn admitted, a slight hint of sarcasm creeping into his voice. Chrysalis only laughed, unintentionally overlaying Celestia’s normal chuckle with a faint buzz and Shining Armor gave her a strange look.

“Before we get to that,” Chrysalis laughed, waving her hoof out over the view before them, “I want you to tell me what you see.” Shining Armor glanced up at her, wondering what the princess was getting at, but she only gestured into the open air once again.

“I see Canterlot,” Shining Armor said, walking up beside the disguised Queen. “I see the houses of the rich nobles, followed by the houses of the less rich. I see ponies walking the streets, going through their daily business. The streets are full, packed with civilians wandering the city.”

“How about there?” Chrysalis asked, pointing with a hoof.

Shining Armour’s gaze followed the white hoof, which was pointed directly at the side of the mountain that Canterlot was built on. Squinting his eyes, not sure what Celestia was getting at, he stared until a flicker of movement caught his attention. A tiny black dot flew out from behind the mountain, immediately followed by several dozen others. Focusing as hard as he could on the dots, Shining Armor gasped when he realized what they were.

“Changelings!” he exclaimed, taking an unwilling step away from the onrushing changeling army. “Don’t worry, Your Majesty,” he said to who he thought was Celestia. “I won’t let them near us.” Shining Armor quickly began focusing as much magic as he could into his horn, preparing to cover the entire city in a protective force field. He could feel the slow build of magical force as it slowly built to an overwhelming crescendo.

“No, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

A bright flash of green light blazed before him, and his eyes widened in shock as Princess Celestia disappeared, replaced instead with the fearsome Queen who had completely overwhelmed his mind once before. “You!” he gasped, leaping back and getting into a low defensive crouch. His horn continued to blaze a brilliant purple as the shield spell continued to grow.

“Hmmhmmhmm,” Chrysalis laughed, brushing her limply hanging mane out of her face with a hoof. “Me.” Her wings buzzing slightly, she flew over to Shining Armor until she stood directly before him. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Too bad I can’t say the same,” Shining Armour snarled, taking a steady step back.

Chrysalis threw her head back, laughing openly at her prey’s declaration. Her hoof came up, cupping Shining Armor’s chin and forcing him to look directly into her eyes. “Do I really mean so little to you? And after everything I did for you,” she teased, her fangs glinting in the purple light cast by Shining Armor’s horn. 

“You mean nothing to me,” the Prince proclaimed, angrily slapping her hoof away. Just a few more seconds… The spell was almost ready. He just needed a little more time.

“Aw, don’t be like that,” she cooed, bending her head down and getting right in his face. “Your love was so… delicious. How could you act like it was nothing to you?”

“What do you want?” he demanded, taking another step back. Almost ready… Need to keep her talking.

“Want?” Chrysalis asked playfully, her wings buzzing as she flew above his head. “What I want is to occupy Canterlot. And you… are going to help me.”

Shining Armor released a laugh at that, completely caught off guard by her brazen declaration. Sobering up after a few seconds, he glared up at the Queen. “You can’t be serious. What possible reason could you see me doing something like that?”

“Out of your lingering feelings for me?” Chrysalis asked hopefully. At Shining Armor’s continued glare, she let out an overdramatic sigh. “Then I guess…” the large doors to Celestia’s room were thrown open, slamming heavily against the walls. Shining Armor glanced over at the sudden noise, recoiling in horror at what he saw, the light cast by his horn flickering and dying. “I’ll just have to be satisfied with a consolation prize,” the changeling Queen finished.

Three changelings entered the room, dragging along a struggling pony behind them. The pony was wrapped in green goo, her legs and wings pinned and unable to move. A firm rope was wrapped around her waist, tying her to one of her captors. If Shining Armor raised his shield to throw the changelings out of Canterlot, the mare would be thrown out with them.

“Dear!” Shining Armor yelled, trying to rush over to Cadance’s side. His wife was bound and gagged, green ooze covering her mouth but leaving her nose exposed. She looked up at him, fear shimmering in her large purple eyes. Shining Armor’s run was brought up short when the Queen flew in front of him, landing on the ground with a slight thud.

“Ah ah ah,” she said, her horn glowing threateningly. “Don’t want to do anything foolish, do you?” As Shining Armor stopped, she let the glow fade. “Now, here’s how you are doing this. My changelings are going to come in and occupy the city. Since I made a deal to avoid hurting any ponies, that’s where you come in. You’re going to quell any potential uprisings and prevent anypony from fighting back. If you don’t…” Her hoof wavered over Cadance’s head threateningly.

“Wait! I’ll… I’ll do it. Just please,” he begged, “don’t hurt her.”

“Excellent!” she exclaimed, happily banging her hooves together. “Oh, and before I forget…” Green flames flickered up her body, transforming her once again. “In case you get any funny ideas about fighting back, don’t bother. Your wife isn’t the only Princess we’ve captured.”

“You… you monster!” he yelled, taking a step back from the Queen, who now stood before him in the form of Princess Luna. She only laughed girlishly, raising one hoof before her mouth.

“Oh, you sweet-talker, you,” she teased. “Now,” gesturing to the open doorway, she motioned for him to go ahead, “you have work to do.”

Shining Armor cautiously walked past her, not tearing her eyes aware from the Queen as he approached the door. As her got closer to his wife, two of the changelings blocked his path, preventing him from getting any nearer. Her pleading eyes bore into him, and he gave her a weak smile before exiting the room, trying to put on a brave façade for her. Once he was out of sight, his head drooped and he had to fight the urge to let out a scream of rage.

Chrysalis walked over to the bound pink Princess, bending down to whisper into Cadance’s ears. . “Don’t go anywhere,” she hissed out, firing one last taunt at her captive foe before she followed after the defeated Prince