//------------------------------// // A Silenced Cadence // Story: Happy Adventuring, Twilight! // by Pennington Inkwell //------------------------------// "What? What is is this?" "Well, my queen, it appears to be some kind of force field..." Pennington sighed. The question had been rhetorical, of course, but he couldn't help but answer. Chrysalis, currently in Lily's form, had nearly been exposed the first time that they'd run into it, but they'd thankfully been in the last car of the train, empty except for themselves. Chrysalis herself had been thrown through the rear end of the car, while Pennington quickly followed (a fact that he blamed on the fact that, in the presence of the queen, his changeling half was beginning to return with a vengeance). They'd each tried forcing their way through it, but neither of them seemed able to penetrate it. "It looks as if Canterlot's been sealed away." He turned around, beginning to walk back along the tracks. "Oh well, too bad!" He chirped cheerfully. "I guess we're going to have to change the plans! You know, I think it would be much easier to simply impersonate Mayor Mare-" "You know a way in, don't you?" Chrysalis's tone was flat and unamused. "You can't trick me." Pennington cringed, stopping in his tracks. It was still disconcerting to hear the changeling queen's voice come out of Lily's mouth. He could feel himself struggling for a moment with his better judgement before stronger instincts to serve won out. "Of course I know a way in. What kind of 'adventurer' would I be if I didn't know a few secret passages?" He muttered. "But it won't be easy for a couple of unicorns. We're going to have to make our way under the city. That means climbing the cliff face until we can find that ONE cave we need to..." "Easy!" In a flash of green flames, Lily disappeared, and Pennington was suddenly staring at a young pegasus mare. Her coat was a mix of dark yellow and khaki, and her mane was an array of shades of grey. The compass cutie mark and violet eyes topped off the disguise. There was a brief moment while Pennington processed what was happening and Chrysalis simply smiled at him smugly. "No." "What?" "You'll be recognized." Pennington shook his head, already walking down the slope towards the bowels of Canterlot. "That's all you have to say?" Chrysalis seemed disappointed as she shifted forms again, this time into a rose-colored pegasus mare Pennington didn't know. "No, but it's all I'm going to say." "Spoilsport. I don't see why you can't just enjoy this. You're helping to usher in a new age! You're saving the hive from starvation!" Chrysalis flew alongside him, front legs folded across her chest. Pennington tried to resist the satisfaction that she was radiating, but the positive emotions tickled along his nerves, exciting him and putting an unwanted spring in his step. "See? You're feeling better already..." He couldn't help but enjoy how confident she was feeling. Not only did her happiness involuntarily "rub off" on him because she was the Changeling Queen, but it was a nice change of pace from the constant doubts of the others he normally spent his time with. "So, then, if I'm going to be flying, how do you plan on getting there?" She asked. "You don't have any wings, and you proved that you're not going to be changing any time soon..." "That's a good point." Pennington muttered. Despite his objections, Chrysalis had tried several times to force him through a full transformation, but the only change that he was able to make was to make himself appear "normal," rather than black-coated and slightly perforated. "There's a very small trail. I wouldn't trust more than one pony on it at a time, especially considering the drop on one side, but I think I can use my magic to keep myself against the wall." "Perfect..." Chrysalis grinned, once again sending out a wave of positive emotion. "You're going to be a hero, Pennington." "No. I'm not." He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to be a traitor." "Betrayal was impossible to avoid, Penny, dear! It was just a choice of who you would betray!" She finally returned to the ground, not even stumbling on the steep slope. "And you made the right choice..." "You know it wasn't a choice." "Well, I guess that there was the fact that I was standing right in front of you and Luna was far, far away." Chrysalis's eyes glowed green for a moment. "But I'd like to think that I know where your loyalties truly lie." Pennington looked to the side, finding himself staring straight into her eyes. He hadn't even realized how much he'd been staring at the ground. When he looked into her verdant eyes, he felt himself becoming dizzy and light-headed as her control over him increased to even higher levels. It took a massive effort of will to turn himself away again, fixing his eyes back on the ground. "Unless... Oh, this is interesting." She crooned. "It's not Luna you care about disappointing, is it?" There was another flash of green fire, before the transformation had even finished, Pennington knew what was going to happen. All at once, he felt all of the outrage, hatred, and disgust at what was happening boil up and become uncontrollable. In a moment of rebellion, he summoned up all of the energy that he could, forming a sword and swinging it at her throat. The blade stopped just short as he turned up and looked at her. It was the same green eyes, but set in Twilight Sparkle's face. He knew that it wasn't Twilight, and he knew that he needed to be strong and fight the influence dominating his brain. The longer he stared, however, the more that he felt his rebellion slipping away. There was a moment of silence between the two as Chrysalis made her move, shifting into her true changeling form. At her new height, the sword rested just above her heart. "Well, Pennington?" In one final moment of despair, the sword melted away into dust, and Pennington felt his will to fight collapse again. His shoulders slumped and his head hung low as he turned back towards the path. He was ashamed that he had yielded to her, that she had only needed to look at him for his will to cave in. "I can't..." "I know." She leaned down, whispering softly. "So just enjoy it. Be yourself, and just enjoy the challenge. We both know you want to, now that she's not here to drag you down." Again, Chrysalis absolutely radiated confidence, once again coaxing him into a smile. His mind was tired of fighting itself, and he knew that, with her standing right there, he'd never be able to win out over the force that had already overtaken his body. Raising one of his hooves, he tugged back the bandages with his teeth. There was a small wisp of green flame as it reverted to its true form: black, with a set of marble-sized holes bored into his flesh, not yet fully puncturing his leg. Pulling it back into place, he chuckled to himself and began trotting down the slope, picking up their pace. "Well, then... Once more unto the breach, dear friends! If I'm going to do this, I may as well do it well!" Feeling Pennington's will submit to hers, Chrysalis waited until he was out of earshot before chuckling to herself. What they were attempting was a daring plan, risking everything in order to take control of Canterlot. But if they were successful, the dark days of Entropy's rule and starvation of the hive would be nothing but a distant memory. It was true that, at this point, she could hardly contain her excitement for the bright days to come, but it seemed to be working in her favor with Pennington, inundating him with the positive emotion. For a moment, she had seen the warrior she'd fought alongside in the hive emerge, trying to turn on her, but even Pennington's need to rebel had eventually submitted to the truth of the good work about to be done. "This is going to be perfect..." "You know that the wedding is going to complicate things..." Pennington muttered nervously. "There's going to be an awful lot of attention on the Princess." At this point, he was walking along the side of the cliff. The "path" he had been talking about had simply turned out to be a small ride of rock jutting out from the side of the cliff face. He was using his magic to keep himself pressed securely against the rock, scraping along the side to avoid the edge as much as possible. "Well, at least the letter came as just as much a surprise to you as it did to me!" Chrysalis, who had once again changed into the unfamiliar pegasus, was working hard not to be tossed back and forth in the turbulent winds around them. "As for the attention, it shouldn't be a problem! We just need to get her alone." Pennington nodded in response, focusing as much as he could on putting one hoof in front of the other. He hated to admit it, but the heights that they were traveling at scared the living daylights out of him. "Can you see it, yet?" Chrysalis called out as she was once again thrust involuntarily to the side by a rogue gust of wind. Pennington leaned as far to the side as he dared, which was essentially to move his cheek away from the wall for three seconds. "I can't see it, but, if you follow this ridge, you should run right into it!" Chrysalis nodded her understanding and flew out of sight, leaving him completely alone on the lonely trek. As their proximity to one another decreased, Pennington's thoughts began to rove again morphing into a conversation with himself. If I threw myself off the cliff, she would fail... She's already found the caves! But she doesn't know her way through them. And you'd kill yourself so that she didn't have a MAP? You're right... Besides, you're not that noble. Shaking his head, Pennington turned his focus back to the path, trying to increase his pace. As he set down his hoof, however, he felt the ground beginning to give way. There was a split moment between gravity pulling him downwards and Pennington understanding what had happened, a moment filled with sheer terror. As the ledge slowly floated away from him and he began the long fall towards the ground below, Pennington was enveloped in silence as his body locked with fear. He drew the breath to scream, but it refused to leave his lungs again as his throat clenched shut with horror. I'm going to die. In spite of the realization, however, Pennington quickly found his descent stopped. He looked from side to side, trying to understand what had happened, when he spotted the green glow around his body. Looking towards the cave entrance, he spotted Chrysalis, once again in her true form, waving to him while her crooked horn glowed with magic. As he floated in through the entrance to the cave, he finally released his breath, grabbing at his pounding chest as he gasped for air. "That was close! Are you alright?" "Just... Just give me a moment..." He muttered. "I- I REALLY hate heights..." His panicked state somehow elicited a giggle from the queen, who simply shook her head. "And here I thought you only had one crippling fear!" "Chryssie, if you knew how many things scared me, you'd wonder how I even left the house in the morning..." Pennington shook his head as he stood up on trembling hooves. "I'm just not normally forced to confront most of them..." Chrysalis laughed again before looking around at their new surroundings. They were in a small opening to a huge underground cave. The walls of the cave sparkled and radiated with the light entering through the hole, reflecting and refracting it off crystal surfaces and creating an awe-inspiring locale. "So, what is this place?" "It's an old mine beneath Canterlot. Ponies used to come here from all over to take gemstones and crystals, both for their rarity and power..." Pennington seemed to finally calm down once he was further inside, leading the way into the tunnels and paths formed by the mine. "But eventually, so many ponies wanted so many gemstones, the entire city was threatened with structural collapse, so they were sealed and shut down by royal decree." "And how did you come to know of them?" "I was working on a little project in my basement and I needed a few extra bits... A pegasus friend of mine decided to show me where he got his funds for building his dune worm hunter." He turned to wink at her. "But don't tell anypony!" "Pennington Inkwell, you're more devious than I thought!" Chrysalis grinned. "Perhaps I've underestimated you..." "Most ponies do." Pennington paused for a moment as they reached the first fork in the caves. Summoning a cloud of white mist from his horn, he formed another scimitar and embedded it into a fissure in the wall. "We're going to need to keep track of where we've been, just in case we get lost in this labyrinth..." "You mean you don't know your way through?" Chrysalis was beginning to sound slightly annoyed. "No, I know how to get up to the surface! I was considering making some kind of base of operations down here. I later opted for something a little closer to home." "Your 'basement project?'" "You catch on quick!" "Helps that I can read your mind..." "Yes, still trying to get used to that. This must be how Twilight feels." Pennington slammed another sword blade into the wall. "Exposed." "Consider it synergy..." Chrysalis smiled as they continued to make progress. "Your highness, are you sure?" Cadence laughed quietly to herself at the concern of the guard. "Yes, I'm sure. Today was a big day of wedding planning, and there are only more to come! I'd like to be able to rest assured that my sleep won't be interrupted." The two guards looked at one another, still unsure. "Please, I'm sure I'll be just fine!" She laughed again, trying to ease their minds. "It's just my bedroom! Nothing's going to happen, and you've been following me around all day! If I'm tired, I can only imagine how you feel!" The two guards shook their heads in denial. "Well, you're assigned to help me in any way you can, correct?" They nodded. "In that case, I won't be able to sleep well unless I know that you're not hurting yourselves on my account! So, in order to make sure that I don't over-strain myself, I need you both to go and get some rest!" She winked at the two of them. "And that's an order!" The two guards nodded to one another, each giving a long sigh. "If you need us, we'll be right outside." One muttered as they each settled down on either side of her door. Cadence thought about arguing the point further, but shook her head and walked inside. Even as she closed the door and turned to face her bed, however, she was surprised to be met by the sight of a dark-blue unicorn in a night guard's uniform. "Your day went well, your highness?" Cadence blinked for a moment. Luna hadn't told her that any of her guards were going to be watching her, but she wouldn't have been surprised if Shining Armor hadn't asked the night guard for a few extra hooves. "Yes, I got the kind of cake picked out, determined what flowers would go where for the decorations, and even got a few moments to go and visit Shining!" She smiled. "I was just about to go to bed for the night, so I'd really appreciate a little privacy, if you don't- are you alright?" The guard was beginning to cough violently, rocking back and forth as his body shuddered with each release of air. "Y-yes! I'm- fine!" The words stuttered out when he had time to breathe. He continued coughing and retching violently, in spite of his assurances, and Cadence was beginning to see a green substance building in his mouth. Stepping back in fear, she watched as he continued coughing. "D-do you want me to get a doctor?" She asked as the coughing finally seemed to slow to a stop. After a brief moment of silence, the strange unicorn let out one last burst of air, sending the green substance flying across the room... and straight onto her face. "MMMMPH!" Her attempt to scream was muffled and silenced by the goo, which was startlingly adhesive. Before she could try prying it off with her magic, more of the strange goo slammed down onto the crown of her head from above, completely covering her horn and somehow stopping her magic. Before she could register that she was under attack, an indeterminable pink shape had shot down from above her, spewing more of the goo at her hooves and locking them to the floor. Cadence's eyes widened and her terror only grew as her attacker revealed itself to be... Herself. The guard stepped forward, standing alongside her doppelganger. "I knew I could count on your help, Pennington..." Her duplicate smiled smugly. "Well, that soundproofing spell you cast really helped." "Now, there's only one thing left to do..." Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head upwards, horn crackling with green energy while a murderous intent gleamed in her eyes. "We're going to dispose of our liability." Cadence closed her eyes, looking away from the killing blow. There was a crack like thunder, a bright flash of green light... And nothing. After a few seconds, Cadence opened her eyes again. The guard was standing in front of her, panting heavily. There was a smoking hole in the armor covering his side, and blood was dripping to the ground. "No..." He whispered, obviously in pain. "We've been over this, my queen... We're not killing her." "She could ruin everything!" The imposter stamped her hoof in frustration. "You were willing to obey me until now, why not in this? Now you've simply injured yourself!" "Because if Captain Armor is (or was) going to marry her, that would make her Twilight's sister. That means that, through Twilight's relationship with me, she's practically family to me!" He growled. "She'll be just as helpless in the caves, and I'll escort her down myself, Chrysalis... but we aren't killing her." The two seemed to be having a battle of wills, staring directly into each others' eyes, while Cadence tried to make sense of what was being said. He knows Twilight? She called him "Pennington," but it couldn't be the pony Luna was talking about, could it? What would he be doing siding with... whoever that is? "You know that I could dispose of you both now that I've reached Canterlot and reached my target..." She growled. "And you know what happened to the last changeling royalty that tried to kill me." Changeling! How is that possible? I mean, that explains the copy, but why is he siding with the changelings? There was another beat of silence, and the false Cadence scoffed and turned away again, walking to a nearby mirror. "Fine. Take her to the caves and make sure that she cannot escape!" "Yes, my queen... Keeping a hostage is going to be a valuable asset." Pennington tried to bow, but cringed and brought a hoof to his injured side. The changeling's horn flashed again with the sickly-green magic, and the two of them were quickly engulfed in emerald flames. Mere seconds later, they were far below Canterlot, sitting together in some kind of crystal cavern. Creating a light with his horn, Pennington turned to face her. "Your highness, please hold still. I'm going to remove your gag..." Cadence looked from side to side, trying not to panic. After a few seconds, she finally forced herself to sit still. Pennington lowered his horn. There was another flash of light, a wave of heat across her muzzle, and her mouth was free again. "What's going on? Why are you doing this?" Cadence asked, finally able to speak again. "You're not going to get away with this, if you really are Pennington!" "The hive is starving, and Equestria has immeasurable love... I'm helping the Changeling Queen because I'm forced to." He pulled the helmet off of his head as he lurched a few steps away. After a few seconds, he fell to the ground, gingerly removing the breastplate and the armor around the area that Chrysalis had blasted him. "I'm still bleeding red. That's a good sign, I suppose..." "Why? Does she have your friends? Your family? Some kind of blackmail?" Cadence shook her head, trying to understand. "I'm serving her because of what I am..." He muttered, inspecting the wound. "What? A pony who wants to betray all of Equestria?" This seemed to draw Pennington's attention away from the injury. With great difficulty, he rose up on his hooves again. As he slowly advanced on her, Cadence was forced to remember that, aside from being able to speak, she was currently powerless. He finally came face-to-face with her, glaring with anger. Suddenly, a wave of green flames washed over his body, turning his coat an almost-black shade of blue, his mane and tail jet-black, and his eyes into slits of black among a violet iris. His teeth glinted with fangs in the dim light and he was emitting a near-feral growl. Slowly and deliberately, he raised a hoof up between them, glaring at her through a small hole that punctured completely through to the other side. "Do I look like a pony to you, Princess Cadenza?" He whispered, his voice now holding a disturbing dual-tone. Not waiting for a reply, he walked away again, returning to tending his wounds. This time, he laid down so that the wound was facing Cadence, and she tried not to cringe. It wasn't simply a small gash in his side from the blast to the armor, there was a large burn on his side. "You look like someone who wouldn't want to hurt Twilight Sparkle..." Pennington, who was quickly settling down to rest, shook his head. "I still don't think you understand... I don't want to do any of this. If I could, I'd rather have told Chrysalis to take a long walk off a short pier when she showed up at my door..." He shook his head. "And I think that the only reason I can even form those words of my own free will is because I've gone so far away from her." "There's still time to fix it! You don't have to do this! You could let me go and run, just run away! All it would take is for me to make it back to the surface-" "And my queen would be executed." Pennington raised his hoof again, waving it in front of his glowing horn. The holes created a strobe-like effect as the light bounced off the countless mirrored surfaces. "I'm just as deeply bound to my mark as you are to yours, your highness. A normal pony might be able to protect their minds from influence if they're aware that a changeling is trying to persuade them, but I'm afraid that I've already fallen prey once to the hive." He shook his head, resting it on his hooves. "I cannot go against an order from the Queen... It's impossible, hard-wired into a changeling's brain..." "But you saved me." Cadence's voice had dropped to a softer tone. "You stood up against her to save my life. And you're obviously far from being a complete changeling... Doesn't that prove that you have what it takes to fight?" "I saved you because I knew that it would hurt Captain Armor, and that would hurt Twilight Sparkle..." He opened a single lazy eye, indicating that she was keeping him from his sleep. "Don't be mistaken, I saved you because of her, not some jaded sense of familial bonds. I love her with every fiber of my being." "More than that queen?" "Chrysalis is a compulsion in my life. Twilight... is my motivation." He shook his head hopelessly. "One urges and prompts me down good paths, while the other sweeps me up in an irresistible current." "One of the most important parts of love is being able to control your compulsions... That way the two of you can-" "Look, Princess, I'm physically unable to let you go. No amount of talking is going to change that. I can't let you go free because that would be against her orders... But if you can free yourself, I marked the way out." When she gave him a confused look, he smiled. "Why would you do that?" "You know, in case Chrysalis and I got lost! She just never told me to let the markers fade away once we were out..." "Oh, really?" "That's my story, and I'm sticking to it." "Anything else I should know?" "Yeah. After I wake up, I'll be leaving. Back up to the surface to help Chrysalis keep her cover... I'll try to make sure Chrysalis sends anypony else who needs to be disposed of down here... If you escape, hurry." "You're not a very good jailer." "Well, I try, don't I?" Pennington didn't even bother to open an eye to look at her again. "She's not going to get away with this. You know that, right?" "Know that? I'm counting on it! So, let's both pray that she doesn't..." There was another beat of silence between the two, and the light from Pennington's horn faded into darkness. "What's going to happen to Shining Armor?" He didn't respond. "Pennington! What's she going to do to him? Pennington!" "At the very least, she'll feed off of his love until he can be influenced to drop the shield around Canterlot and she is strong enough to conquer unopposed..." She couldn't tell if he was moving in the darkness. "And at the most? Pennington? PENNINGTON!" Cadence continued to struggle for the next few hours before finally admitting that she wasn't going to get out. As she struggled against her bonds, she thought of Shining Armor and the horrible fate that might await him, of the impersonator about to steal her wedding, and, every once in a while, about the reluctant villain asleep only a few feet away. "Twilight!" Moonstone called out as she flew above Ponyville. "Twilight, where are you?" "She's not here!" A voice called up to her from below. Looking down, she caught sight of a cream-colored earth pony waving up at her. "Do you know where I can find her?" Moonstone dropped down out of the sky, landing next to her. "I need to talk to her as soon as I can! It's an emergency!" "Well, I think I saw her and her friends at the train station... They were really excited, and I think that I heard something about a wedding. Why, what's wrong?" "The train station?" Moonstone groaned, slapping herself in the forehead. "Pennington's in trouble, and Twilight just hits the road?" Taking to the air, Moonstone took off flying again. "Thanks for the help! I have to find her as soon as I can!" The pony was simply confused, rubbing her temple with her hoof as she watched the young dragon fly away again. "Pennington's in trouble?" "Bon Bon, come on! We're going to be late!" Lyra called as she looked back from the corner she'd already rounded. "Minuette and Twinkleshine are already on the train, and we can't be late if we want a shot at being the bridesmaids!" Bon Bon looked back towards Pennington's shop, then let out a long sigh. "You know what? You go on ahead, Lyra! I'll catch up with you in Canterlot!" "What?" "I think that there's somepony I need to check up on... You know the way, don't you?" "Of course! But... is something wrong, Bon Bon?" "It's fine! Don't miss your opportunity! I'm just making sure everything's okay with a friend of mine..."