//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: The Princess of Equestia // by Ugly-Duckling123 //------------------------------// In the middle of the dark Everfree Forest, lies a castle. In that castle thousands of beings called Changelings live there. All ruled over by their Queen Mother Chrysalis. It was a Changelings job to take the form of someone you loved and feed on that love, to bring it back to the hive. But at the moment, Chrysalis had something else on her mind. That little purple Unicorn that stole her newly inherited Crescent Moon Necklace away from her. Chrysalis was looking in her mirror, and seeing that the Unicorn and her Pegasus guard, Cadence gave her, were just walking out of the forest with three new mares walking along with them. A scarecrow, a tin Pegasus, and a lioness. Knowing that she had to get to Twilight, to get her necklace back, before the Unicorn got to the Emerald City, Chrysalis went to talk to her changeling army. *** "Your job, my children," Chrysalis began "Is to go out and bring back the pony who stole my new necklace away from me. The Changeling that does, will be given royal jelly for a week." All the Changelings buzzed with glee at the sound of that. Then they flew up into the air and shot out of the tunnels and went out to find the pony in question. "Well what did I keep on saying," Pinkie said, to the others as they stopped on top of a hill that overlooked the Emerald City. "I told you all I can find it." "Oh... my," Fluttershy said looking at it. "It's so... big." "And you're sure that that's where the Princess is?" Twilight asked Pinkie who was hopping up and down. "Sure I'm sure." Pinkie said smiling. "Yell what are we waiting for?" Rainbow said shooting into the air. "Let's go." "Wait," Flash said moving his ears "Do you hear that?" "It sounds like buzzing..." Twilight said looking around "Oh no..." Thousands of Changelings were flying towards them, eyes green, horns glowing, each one showing their fangs. "Run!" Twilight cried, heading down the hill followed by Flash and the others. "Why are we running?" Rainbow asked flying above the others. Then she got hit out of the sky and landed in a puddle rusting her wings. "They're Chrysalis's Changeling army," Flash explained flying next to her. "They're probably after Twilight." "Oh no..." Pinkie and Fluttershy said together looking over at Twilight, who was being targeted more than the others. "I said leave me ALONE!" Twilight screamed, her eyes turning white with all the power going though her, as the Crescent Moon Necklace began to glow and shot at all the Changelings around her, knocking them out of the sky, and her unconscious. "TWILIGHT!" Flash called out flying down to see if she was alright. Noticing how this Pegasus reacted to the thief being hurt, the leader of the army gave new orders to his men though their heads. Forget the Unicorn! Take the orange Pegasus, I have a feeling that he would make our Queen happy in more ways than one. Following their leaders commands, the army turned it's attention onto an unknowing Flash who was checking on Twilight. "Flash! Look out!" Fluttershy called out a warning. Flash turned to see what was going on getting into a position to fight, standing over Twilight's limb body. Only to be knocked out, and ambushed. Quickly! The leader cried. Back to the Hive. And they all flew away with a knocked out Flash Sentry. It was getting close to sunset before Twilight woke up, rubbing her eyes. Looking around she saw she was in some sort of, hospital room. Except everything was green, no Emerald. Getting up Twilight saw that Pinkie, Rainbow - wings now oiled again, and Fluttershy, were all lying on the floor next to her bed. Then Twilight heard footsteps coming from the other side of the door. In walked a white Unicorn, with purple hair, in a green uniform, holding in her magic a staff of some kind. And by her side, what looked to be a doctor who was coming to check up on Twilight. "Ah. Your awake..." the Unicorn said, nodding to the doctor, who started checking up on Twilight. "Good." "Er... Where am I?" Twilight asked looking around as the doctor checked her blood pressure. "Why you in the Emerald City of course," the Unicorn said waving her hoof around to show Twilight all the Emeralds around her. "My name's Rarity, I am the gate keeper of the city. And my dear, I saw the whole thing." "Can you remind me... Please?" Twilight asked a nervous grin on her face. "Why the Changeling ambush of course," Rarity said. "And I'm sorry you lost your colt-friend to them my dear." "My... My what?" Twilight asked snapping her head towards Rarity. "Why your colt-friend of course," Rarity repeated "Changelings feed on love you see, so when they see it, they capture it and take it back to that icky hive of theirs." "I... I don't have a colt-friend." Twilight said thinking. Then eyes shooting open realizing some-pony wasn't there "Where's Flash?" she cried. "My dear didn't you hear me," Rarity said. "The Changelings have him." No... No... Twilight thought, He, he was only protecting me. It was me they were after, she sniffed. Why take him? In the Hive, Chrysalis was not at all happy at the Changelings who bought back Flash. "I said get the pony who took the necklace!" she screamed "Not this pony. Not any one else! THAT PONY!" All the Changelings but the leader of the army coward in fear at what she might do to them. "Explain yourself!" Chrysalis cried into the leader's face. "My Queen," he began "We tried getting to the pony in question, but you sister's... I.... I mean your necklace," the Changeling corrected himself "gave off some kind of magic knocking all the Changelings around her out of the sky. Then this pony, seeing that it's mate was in danger as she was knocked out too, flew down to see if she was alright, stood over her and protected her from those that were still after her." "That still doesn't explain why I have him instead of her, Captain." Chrysalis shot back. "My idea, my Queen," the captain said looking Chrysalis right in the eye, "Is we use him as some kind of bait to lure the Unicorn to come to the Hive, to find her love. And seeing as she can't get your necklace off herself, she will be bringing that as well." Silence followed the captain's plan as Chrysalis thought about it. "A wonderful idea," she said smiling "I'm so glad I thought of it." The captain was about to say something about it was his idea, when he stopped himself. "Send the lookouts out to search for that puny Unicorn." "Yes my Queen," the captain said turning to his men to shoo them out the door, to give the lookouts their new orders. "I love where this is going. Don't you Flash?" she said chuckling looking over at Flash Sentry who was bound to the wall who woke up half way though the captains plan. "I wont let you harm Twilight you old witch!" he cried pulling at the green goo stuck to his hooves holding him to the wall. "We'll see about that..."