“First we take Canterlot, and then, all of Equestria!” cackled the Changeling Queen
“No,” said Princess Celestia, “you won’t. You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self,” Princess Celestia charged forward, locking horns with the Changeling, before retreating and taking to the air, “I can protect my subjects from you!”
Celestia fired a beam of magic from her horn, intercepted at the last minute by the changeling’s own twisted green magic. For a moment, the two were equal, and then Celestia began to push, forcing the collision point of the two beams of magic towards the changeling. But then, somehow, the changeling managed to get the will to begin to fight back, and Celestia could feel the power that she had drained from Shining Armor. Truly, that stallion did love his wife, or the changeling would have never been able to match Celestia.
Unfortunately, her momentary rumination of the Changeling’s power was enough to cost Celestia, and the green beam impacted her horn, forcing her out of the air.
“Princess Celestia!” gasped Twilight Sparkle, rushing to her side.
“Twilight,” hissed Celestia, “point my horn at the observatory. I need to cast one last spell.” Though confused, Twilight had always been a faithful student, and did as Celestia asked. While the Changeling Queen gloated about how she was more powerful than an alicorn, Celestia let off a pulse of magic, attuned so that one pony in particular would feel it.
*****
In the observatory, that pony felt it, and went to perform the most dangerous of dangerous tasks: waking up Princess Luna without coffee present.
*****
Princess Celestia watched the Observatory tower, as the changeling continued to exposit her plan to every pony in the room. In the streets below, she could hear the screams of her beloved ponies, and only hoped that Luna would awaken in time, and would be sufficiently grumpy.
As some of the changelings hoisted Celestia up to be bound in a green cocoon, she saw the side of the tower explode, and smiled.
A streak of blue shot across Canterlot, and four hooves, clad in polished steel, shattered the marble.
The changeling turned to find the younger of the two alicorn sisters glaring at her.
“I have already bested your elder sister,” she said, “I should not need to fight you.” With a wave of her hoof, several changelings piled onto the Princess of the Night. There were several cracks and screams, and when the Changeling Queen turned to face the younger princess again, every single one of her changelings had been torn in half.
“That is funny,” said Princess Luna, levitating a glob of green goo off her back, “because I too, have bested my sister before. You say that like it is difficult to accomplish.”
Inside her green, goopy prison, Celestia would have objected, but she couldn’t speak, because the goop was inside her mouth. She’d be tasting it for weeks.
“My sister is not a warrior, changeling,” said Luna, “she is a diplomat. Likely, she is horribly out of practice and shape from eating too much cake. I, on the other hoof,” continued Luna, casually ripping a ten-meter long stone column from its mount with her magic, “am the warrior of the two of us, and I remain very much in practice. You have five seconds.”
“Huh?” was all the Changeling Queen managed to get out before Princess Luna started swinging the stone column at her.
And, unfortunately, no matter what delusions of grandeur the Changeling Queen had about her magical ability, she was smart enough to recognise that she was not tough enough to survive that column smashing into her.
Fortunately for Luna, however, the Changeling Queen was also not nearly fast enough to get away from Luna, and she ended up as a green smear on the end of the column.
After that, the changelings, now devoid of a queen, fled the city.
“And do not come back!” bellowed Luna, deafening everypony in the room, before dropping her column, and flying back to her tower and her bed.