-------------------------------------Two days after the Prophecy----------------------------------------
"Help...please...help..."
A pony was wandering a dirt road in the dead of night, just outside a town whose citizens have long since fallen asleep. Luna's bright moonlight was the only illumination the path received.
Despite this, the pony's features were difficult to distinguish. They had the body shape of a mare. The mane was curled, as was the tail. However, her body was pale grey, showing no signs of any color. It was reminiscent of how most ponies looked when Discord attacked Equestria, but this was slightly different.
Where her cutie mark once stood, a basket with some peaches in it, one could barely see the top of a peach and a few inches of handle. Covering the rest of the mark was a black, pulsating mass indistinguishable in the moonlight.
The mare wandered the road aimlessly, her eyes clouding up with the same dark black mass that covered her cutie mark. She could only guide herself using the sounds of her hoofsteps on the ground, carefully distinguishing between the grass and the dirt path as she desperately walked towards the quiet town.
"Somepony...help...me..."
Her voice was raspy and weak. Her strength was fading quickly, and she needed to find somepony, anypony, to help her.
Help would not come. She collapsed about thirty steps away from the nearest building in town. The pulsing black mass crept up and covered up what remained of her cutie mark. As it did so, the grey color intensified further, leaving the dying mare gasping in pain as she took her last breath. The cold soil beneath her offered no comfort as she passed away under the moonlight.
Far beyond the outskirts of town, a hooded figure observed the entire scene as it unfolded. As soon as the mare fell, the figure began to approach the body. However, whatever plans the figure had for the dead mare were dashed away as two local guards patrolling the town noticed the mare's corpse and investigated it immediately. One had left soon after the discovery, probably to alert the other guards and get a doctor if there was one in the town.
All the figure could do then was sink back into the darkness of the night, cursing under its breath and dreading the news it had to deliver to the one that was above all. Above ponies, above dragons...
Above gods.
-----------------------------Four Days after the Prophecy--------------------------------
Twilight was sitting in the room where Mender was resting in the hospital. She was reading the latest Daring Do novel, occasionally glancing towards the gray unicorn in the bed, watching the sheets rise and fall as he slept.
She still couldn't believe that what the Princesses told her was true. Mender being possessed by something of considerable power, power strong enough to match Celestia and Luna's...outside of her own abilities, she wasn't sure anypony could be that strong outside of the Changeling Queen or Discord.
But to think that those two would be mentioned in the prophecy that Mender had uttered...just thinking about them bringing havoc back to Equestria sent shivers down her spine.
As she finished that thought, Mender groaned as he shifted the sheets to raise his head. Twilight smiled and set the novel down, and slowly approached the bed.
"Ugh...is that you, Twilight?" Mender asked.
"Yes, it is. Afternoon, Mender," she responded.
"My head feels like it got bucked by Applejack. What happened? She didn't actually buck me, did she?"
"No Mender, she didn't," Twilight giggled. "But something else happened."
"Remind me, my head isn't in the best shape to try and remember things on my own here," Mender grumbled.
Twilight nodded, then spoke. "Mender, after you interrogated that assassin...Point, you called him? Anyway, when the Princesses had asked you about a healing spell that neither you nor the Princesses performed in your home after you fought with Point, something strange occurred."
Mender racked his head trying to remember, and he did...sort of. "I remember...saying words in a voice that wasn't mine."
"You spoke a prophecy, Mender...well, more specifically, whatever possessed you did."
"Possessed? I was possessed?!" Mender blinked in confusion, and grabbed his head as a headache began to form.
"That's what the Princesses and I believe happened, yes. Do you remember anything that you said in that time?" She asked.
"Sort of...I remember a queen, a draconnequs, and a final trial or something. Then everything went black. I think I passed out."
"That's not surprising, Mender. The magic that was used to possess you was incredibly powerful, and usually leaves the victim incapacitated for some time after the possession. Looks like you weren't an exception to that."
"I see..." Mender really didn't, but talking about this while he had a headache seemed like a bad idea, so he changed the subject. "So I take it the Princesses aren't here then?"
Twilight nodded. "They took that prophecy very seriously, Mender. As soon as you fainted, both Princesses Celestia and Luna came to me and told me of the events that happened that day. How you had fought Point and barely won, then took him to the hospital to get him fixed up for interrogation. The interrogation didn't go...as smoothly as they had hoped it would, Mender."
Mender sheepishly grinned at that last remark, but said nothing. Twilight continued.
"But back to the prophecy. After they told me about all the words you spoke, we set out to translate it as to what it really meant."
"You make it sound like that was difficult."
Twilight smiled. "It really wasn't...though I guess I made it sound that way, didn't I?"
"You tend to do that with a lot of things, Twilight."
Twilight frowned and gave him a small glare, which Mender shrugged off.
"Seriously though, were you able to make any sense out of what I said?" Mender asked.
Twilight nodded again. "Assuming the prophecy will happen in chronological order, I'll talk about the queen first. The queen you mentioned is a threat that Equestria has not seen for some time. She is Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the changelings."
"Chrysalis? Can't say that's a name I'm familiar with...though Fluttershy did mention a queen when she told me about the changelings. I assume this is the same creature, then?"
"Correct, Mender. She initially tried to take over Canterlot during a royal wedding between my brother and my foal-sitter."
Mender blinked. Did she say what he thought she said?
"Your...brother and foal-sitter?"
Twilight clarified, "Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza...er, Princess Cadence for short."
Mender's stomach must have flipped ten times at this information. He had heard about the wedding between the Captain of the Royal Guard and royal nobility while in his army service...but to hear that he was Twilight's brother and the Princess her foal-sitter?!
"Wow, so he really did get married. Lucky bastard."
Twilight cocked her head at the statement. "You know my brother?"
"I had met him a few times before in my service. He had a knack for inspiring the troops in a way that Princess Celestia couldn't sometimes. He also knew how to make a mean veggie stew."
Twilight's eyes narrowed a bit. "...that doesn't sound like information you'd learn from meeting him 'a few times,' Mender."
Mender chuckled. "That's because you don't know him like we did in the army. He cared about our well-being quite a lot back then. Even helped with making a meal for us one time, hence the mean veggie stew I said just a moment ago."
Twilight blinked in response. "Wow...I didn't know he cared that much for his fellow soldiers."
"You ought to be proud of your brother, Twilight. Without him, I doubt even half of our numbers would have had the morale to fight for their Princess...especially during the war."
At this, Twilight smiled. However, she needed to refocus the topic at hand. "I am...but we're leading ourselves astray with this tangent."
"Yes yes, I know. Just thought you should know that I respect your brother for all that he's done for us." Mender grinned.
"...anyway, back to Queen Chrysalis. She nearly took over Canterlot back at the wedding."
Mender was surprised at how calm she stated that. "Nearly? You mean, she almost succeeded?"
"Yes...and there was nothing I or my friends could do to stop her. We tried to get the Elements of Harmony at that time, but we were overwhelmed. Princess Celestia was...defeated by Chrysalis at the time."
"Whoa whoa whoa, the Princess LOST?!" Mender couldn't even fathom that being possible.
"Changelings feed off of love, Mender. She had been stealing my brother's love for Princess Cadence for some time by using her form as a disguise. It was enough to easily overpower Celestia...and even Chrysalis was surprised at how strong she became from it."
"Wow...now I understand why the Princesses were so concerned with Crunch...but wait, it sounded like she had everything set in her favor then. How did Chrysalis lose?"
"I brought the real Cadence with me to the throne room after I helped her escape from the caves beneath Canterlot...where Chrysalis had sent me as well prior to her attack. Then...after Princess Celestia was beaten and my friends and I were brought back to the throne room, I had freed Cadence from some webbing holding her to the floor while Chrysalis was singing about her victory."
"...wow, that's pretty bold of her to do. I'm guessing that was the moment you needed to free Cadence?"
Twilight nodded. "Cadence then went to Shining Armor and they locked horns, freeing him from Chrysalis's hypnotic spell. Chrysalis noticed and mocked their loving gesture...that would prove to be her downfall."
"...I don't get it. What happened?"
"Shining Armor and Cadence conjured a joint barrier spell with all the love they had for each other, and it was powerful enough to force away all the changelings and their queen far away from Canterlot."
The shocked look on Mender's face was all that he could muster as words failed to come from his mouth. Twilight noticed and giggled as she continued. "Then the real wedding took place, and everything went perfect for the rest of the day."
"Waitwaitwaitwait wait a minute." Mender finally found his voice. "So...she was arrogant enough to think she had won, and by all intents and purposes, she did. Then she LET those two embrace each other and...did nothing to stop it? Why? And where was Princess Luna all that time?"
"I'm...not sure why she didn't act on stopping them outside of mocking them. Maybe she thought she had taken enough love from my brother to think they could do nothing to her. As for Luna, she was busy tending to some diplomatic relations with the Griffin Kingdom at that time. She deeply regretted not being able to make it to the wedding."
"Ugh...I guess both of those made sense. Still can't believe she would be arrogant enough to let that gesture slide despite all the planning and infiltration she did to take Canterlot like that."
"I'm not sure what else I can say, Mender. I'm not Chrysalis...and I don't think you would want to ask her yourself."
"No, I wouldn't. She sounds like a tough customer to deal with, with or without any love she steals. Think I'll try and stay away from her, then."
Twilight looked at him with concerned eyes. "Well...see, that's where there's a problem."
Mender blinked. "Problem? There's a problem with me wanting to stay away from a dangerous threat? Twilight, I'm beginning to think you took a hit to the head yourself."
"That prophecy you spoke, Mender. Whoever said it mentioned that you need to be present for these threats...like they're challenges for you to overcome."
Shock set in almost immediately for him. "Oh no. No no no. NO! I came to this town to find some peace and quiet, which I have gotten NONE of so far, and you're telling me I have to face a threat that took down Princess Celestia and nearly took over Canterlot?! Twilight, have you any idea how insane this sounds?!"
Twilight glared at him for a moment, but softened as she spoke. "It sounds less insane if I told you you wouldn't be doing this alone."
"What do you mea-" Mender caught himself mid-sentence. He suddenly realized exactly what she meant by that. "...Twilight, you and your friends are going to help me with this?"
She nodded.
"All of them? Even Pinkie?"
Twilight glared, but nodded again. "We're your friends, Mender. Friends always look out to help each other, and we've fought against Chrysalis's changelings before. We...didn't win on account of them having sheer numbers, but we gave it our all and certainly hurt plenty. Plus, I've become an alicorn since then, so fighting them will be much easier than it was before...in theory."
Mender was unconvinced. "Theory is nice and all, but if I'm really slated to deal with this queen...which I still want to heavily refuse, then theory just doesn't cut it for me. If they're as dangerous as you state them to be, I don't imagine they'll have a problem killing as well."
"They don't kill, Mender. Not unless they have to. They always try to take their victims alive to feed off their love. It's their main food source."
"I get that, and that sounds even worse compared to dying. I certainly don't intend on becoming an all-you-can-eat buffet for those things."
"Mender, I promise you that won't happen to any of us." Twilight's words were firm and brimming with an unusual confidence about them.
Mender noticed...and finally relented. "Bah, fine. I guess I have to do this, don't I? If this so-called prophecy wants me to be present for this crap, then so be it. I have a feeling the co-rulers themselves would drag me out of this hospital bed to get me to do this anyway."
Twilight chuckled at the thought of that happening. "Well, I'll let you get to your rest then. The Princesses have promised me they'll send a letter soon regarding how they want to handle the queen. I'll let you know as soon as I receive it, okay?"
"Fine by me, Twilight."
Their conversation concluded, Twilight left the room.
Probably to go back to her books again, Mender thought.
He then glanced at the familiar nightstand and saw the band resting there again.
...nah, he didn't want to talk to Young yet. He had enough of a headache as is trying not to think about what he'd have to do to help with this changeling queen business. He rested his head on the pillow and fell fast asleep right then and there.
----------------------------------Same Day, Location Unknown-------------------------------------
The hooded figure approached a rather large cave entrance guarded by two burly earth ponies wearing hoodless cloaks. They both glanced at the figure, and let it step inside.
Beyond, the sounds of battle-tempered steel clashing and grunting greeted the figure's ears as it crossed a bridge suspended over a small lit-up mineshaft. At the bottom of the small mineshaft, ponies battled each other with ferocity. Not for killing, no, this was training. The swords were dulled and the tips blunted so that the blows wouldn't cut, but would still hurt. The figure smirked, it sounded like progress was going well for the trainees below.
The figure crossed the bridge and entered a passageway beyond a thick steel door. There in front of him sat a male unicorn in a blood-red cloak upon a shimmering silver throne. The eyes were black as a moonless night, his iris barely distinguishable in color. The mane was cut short, and rusty orange in color. Their coat was maroon red.
The pony on the throne acknowledged the figure, and began to speak with a voice that sounded like a close-up whisper to the figure's ears, carrying a tone that marked benevolence and sinister intentions at the same time.
"Ah, Nile, you've finally returned. Five days you've kept me waiting, and you're a unicorn, so either you're keeping me in suspense with some wonderful news to tell me...or your purposeful delay has a different reason behind it. I do hope it's the former."
At this, the hooded figure pulled off their hood to reveal themselves to be a female unicorn. Her mint green mane hair flowed down to the side, straight and uncurled. Her coat was fuchsia in color, and her eyes were as blood red as the throne pony's coat.
"Lord Locus." Nile stated firmly. "I bring news regarding the experiment."
"Oh, splendid! It must be the former, then! Go on go on, do tell. I'm all ears." Locus leaned in towards Nile and turned his head to illustrate that point.
"The death was as fast as you predicted to be, my Lord. Three days the mare lasted, and no longer."
"Excellent. However, I must ask. Where is her body?" Locus's eyes narrowed and his tone deepened slightly as he asked the question.
Nile's face showed no change to the question. Her tone changed instead, a note of fear present as words left her lips.
"It was discovered by guards patrolling a town she tried to get into. I attempted to get her corpse as per your request, Lord Locus, but I was too late."
"But you are a unicorn, are you not? Surely you could have teleported to her and obtained her body that way."
"That would have made a scene. I know you don't like scenes, so-"
"And I ALSO don't want evidence of our operation to be discovered!" Locus slammed his hoof on the throne, leaving a small dent in the armrest. Nile flinched at his anger as his eyes and nostrils flared, but then he calmed down and went to his neutral, sinister state.
"Yet...I am not worried. I believe you can correct this little problem with ease." A wicked grin spread across his face as he continued. "You know the procedure that is followed when a new disease is discovered. Intercept the corpse before it gets to Canterlot. Bring two pegasi with you. Ensure no survivors, and bring the body back to me. Do so, and you shall get back into my good graces."
Nile quietly nodded, and turned around to head for the door.
"Oh, and Nile? I can forgive once, but not twice. I need not tell you what will happen should you fail me again, but if so...I would hope to think you accept your punishment with honor."
As Nile left the throne room, another robed pony passed her by with a panicked look in his eye.
"Lord Locus, sir!" The pony stood at attention in front of the red unicorn.
"What news do you bring, Recruit? I hope it's good news, I've already had my fill of bad news today."
"It's about the assassin hired to kill Able Mender, sir!"
"Knife Point? What of him?"
"One of our Watchers has relayed information to us. He...has not killed Mender yet."
"Ugh...that idiot still hasn't accomplished that task?" Locus facehoofed, and held his hoof there. "I gave him one job. ONE. JOB." Anger and frustration was clearly present in his whispering voice.
"There's unfortunately more, sir. He's stopped trying to kill Able Mender."
"WHAT?!" The recruit pony found himself lifted up by a dark veil of magic and held directly up to Locus's face. To say that the recruit was scared at that moment would be an understatement of the year.
"I-I'm sorry, sir! Please, don't kill me, sir! I'm only relaying the message that was given to me!" Even in the thick veil of magic holding him, the recruit pulled out a note and held it in front of him.
Locus floated the note to his face and read it. As he did, his anger faded, replaced by a smile of amusement.
Then he laughed. As he did so, the pony held in the dark veil began to nervously laugh along with Locus.
A snap was heard as the pony's neck was broken in an instant.
Locus stopped laughing. "Nopony laughs with me. Ever."
The body was tossed down into a shaft to the left of the throne from where Locus was sitting. The tumbling of the body against the walls echoed through the shaft before a thud came, followed by a brief moment of silence.
"Next recruit!" Locus clapped his hooves together once, and ten seconds later another recruit pony in a hood approached.
"Recruit, relay a message to Long Shot. Tell him he now has two targets to eliminate. Able Mender, and Knife Point. That is all."
Locus clapped his hooves again, and the recruit left immediately.
Locus wore another wicked grin and muttered to himself. "What's your game, old one? Why give me that information? I know you've something planned...in that case, let's see how things turn out, then."