Mahanon pondered the situation in front of him; half his advisors suggested he seek out the Changelings, historical enemies of Equestria who began reaching out to them, and half of them suggested he seek out the Crystal Empire, longtime allies of Equestria who suddenly and mysteriously cut off contact.
“Well, Inquisitor?” Cassandra asked as all the advisors waited in complete silence. “Which should we pursue?”
Mahanon ran through his decision in his head, making sure he was comfortable with it. He wasn’t, but it was the lesser of two evils.
“We should seek out the aid of the Changelings,” he proclaimed, which was met with a dissatisfied hmmph from Fancypants and a look of horror on Twilight’s face.
“What?” Twilight exclaimed. “We have to go after the Crystal Ponies!”
“The decision is finalized,” Cassandra said firmly.
“I understand your objections, Twilight,” Mahanon said sympathetically. “But if the Crystal Ponies are actively trying to distance themselves from us, they would only attack us when we do show up.”
“But my brother’s there!” she said, becoming emotional. “We have to help him!”
“I’m sure he’ll be alright,” he said comfortingly. “If what you and the Princess have said about him is true, he’s capable of fending for himself. And it sounds like Princess Cadence is, too.” Seeing that she was still upset, he smiled at her. “Don’t worry; if we get back and he still hasn’t contacted Equestria, we’ll send everything we have to find him.”
“I will look over the forces for the time being,” Cassandra volunteered.
“Sounds good. How long until we will be able to get to the Changelings?”
“I can send messengers and have them be there and back with a response in about two days,” Fancypants spoke up.
“There’s no time!” Cassandra objected. “We should go ourselves. Show the Changelings we are devoted to an alliance and thwart any traps they have waiting for us.”
“We could probably have the Royal Guards fly you there fairly quickly,” Harding said, looking at the map of Equestria. She pointed to an area marked ‘Badlands’ on the lower edge of the map. “Not too far. Maybe as far away as Baltimare was, maybe shorter.” She pulled out a few instruments, then started doing calculations on the side of the map.
“Is there anything we should know about the Changelings before going there?” Mahanon asked. All three ponies gave a collective groan as his answer.
“Changelings can transform into other creatures at will,” Twilight said.
“They’re incredibly manipulative,” Trixie added.
“And their Queen controls them,” Fancypants finished.
Mahanon and Cassandra looked at each other, then back at the ponies. “So then why did you suggest them as an option?” he asked.
“Changelings are fiercely loyal to the Queen,” Trixie said. “And they’re good fighters, nonetheless. Just get on her good side and you’ll be fine.”
“It shouldn’t take very long to get to their city,” Harding proclaimed, looking up from the map. “Shorter than Baltimare, so you’ll probably be able to take a regular-sized party there.”
“Sounds good,” Mahanon said happily, looking at everyone in the room. “Everyone prepared for this?”
“As much as we’ll ever be,” Twilight said below her breath.
“I am ready, Inquisitor,” Cassandra said confidently.
“Spymaster Lulamoon and I look after the Inquisition while you’re out,” Fancypants said.
“Well then,” Mahanon said with the slight excitement he got from preparing to embark on a momentous journey. “Let’s go recruit the Changelings.”
“This wind is not helping my hair at all,” Dorian said with a little bit of disgust as he ran his fingers through it.
“This is what you’re worried about?” Cassandra asked him.
“He cares about the Inquisition,” Cole spoke up.
“See? I can care for things beyond my own grooming. Just maybe not as much, you see.”
Mahanon looked out over the side of the chariot flying through the sky; the ground below had turned from a lush green to a sickly yellow, and it was starting to turn to a desolate brown of dirt and rock. “Are we getting close?” he asked Twilight.
“Soon, I think,” she confirmed. “It’s hard to tell in a place with no landmarks.” As the chariot started pulling down, she shrugged. “I guess we are close.”
The chariot continued its downward descent for a few minutes until landing on the hard and rocky earth, shaking the chariot and causing all its riders to grab onto something to avoid falling out of their seat.
“We’re here!” one of the Guards coughed. “Lots of dust here, so be careful.”
Mahanon jumped out of the chariot, which confirmed the Guard’s warning; a cloud of sand and dust shot up to his face as he hit the ground, sending him in a coughing fit. The other members of the Inquisition did the same, except for Twilight, who flew out of the chariot and landed softly.
“That’s it over there,” she said, pointing to a dirty marble gate with worn-out engravings that they could tell were expertly crafted at some point long ago. They walked through the gate to see a similar gate further up the path they were, and as they continued following the gates, they became cleaner, better maintained, and the area as a whole became less dusty. When they came to the last gate which was the only way through the city’s walls, two black insect-like ponies were standing in front of it and holding their spears over the entrance.
“So this is the Changeling capital city,” Mahanon said out loud. “The city of…” He looked at the name ‘Ilihseronntreppziktkaastiikkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkzkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkklkkkkzuuka’, which was etched in marble.
“Good lord, did the alphabet vomit?” Dorian asked, which elicited glares from the two ponies guarding the gate.
“...I’m not even going to try that one,” Mahanon said.
“Are you the Inquisition?” the guard on the right asked.
“Yes, and I am the Inquisitor,” Mahanon said, stepping up and pointing to himself. “We are here to see your Queen about an alliance.”
The two guards moved their spears. “Her palace is on the top of the hill in the center of town. Take in the glory of the Changeling Empire, but make haste to her palace.”
The Inquisition walked into the city, and the guards immediately moved their spears back as soon as they passed through.
“Were those Changelings?” Mahanon asked.
“Yes,” Twilight confirmed.
“And that...thing, is that the name of the city?”
She nodded. “Its name is seventeen syllables and takes hours of practice to pronounce correctly.”
“Which one of the thirty k’s is silent?” Dorian asked.
“Thirty eight k's, and seven of them of them are,” Twilight responded seriously, which got a laugh from Dorian.
“It’s a nice city,” Mahanon noticed as they walked through. The city, unlike the outside area, was very clean, with very liberal use of marble in all the buildings and all the ornate fountains, which depicted everything from battle scenes to abstract art.
When they reached another wall, the Changelings guarding the gate opened their spears and let the Inquisition into a large palace grounds, where a small crowd of Changelings was gathered and a closed Fade Rift was far off in the distance. The palace, constructed of dark stone, loomed over the courtyard, giving a stark change from the otherwise bright and clean city.
“...Is that a Rift?” Dorian asked upon seeing it.
“I wonder if they’re struggling with demons down here as well,” Cassandra spoke up. “Perhaps that is why they invited us here.”
“We should see why they’re gathered,” Mahanon suggested. The Inquisition walked up to the crowd, which seemed to sense their presence and quickly dispersed, glaring at them in the process. Upon their dispersal, a cage with a Changeling in it was revealed hanging from a pole.
“Who’re you?” the Changeling inside asked fearfully.
“We’re the Inquisition,” Mahanon said calmly, stepping up to the cage. “Why are you all caged up?”
“I don’t know,” she replied sadly. “I can’t transform, that’s why.”
“You just said you don’t know...then provided us with an explanation,” Dorian said, suspicious of her response.
“I’ve never been able to,” she said. “But normally, the worst thing they’d do would be point and whisper.” She pointed to the Breach, which was still visible despite the city being very far south of it. “When that thing appeared, they became a lot more hostile towards me. Throwing rocks, calling me names, vandalizing my home.” She tried to point behind her, but being caged prevented her from fully doing so. “Then that thing appeared by the palace. That’s when they got really hostile, taking me and locking me in here.”
“They started acting strangely when it showed up?” Cassandra asked, stepping up to the cage. “How so?”
“Yeah,” the Changeling confirmed. “They seem to be drawn to it. They’ll just come here and stare at it for hours, like they’re in some sort of trance. And then they go and do weird things, like locking me up for being a freak.”
“You’re not a freak,” Cole said, coming up to the cage. He put his hand through, and while she recoiled, he eventually put his fingers on her chest. “You’re not hurting like they are.”
“I’m in this cage,” she moped. “I hurt a lot.”
“I think Cole means she is not possessed by a demon,” Cassandra suggested.
“Possessed by a demon?” Dorian echoed. “I doubt that’s the issue here.”
“No, she’s right,” Cole confirmed.
“Princess Twilight?” Cassandra asked. “You said Changelings can change their form. Why do they do so?”
“They feed on love,” she explained. “They take the form of somepony else and pretend to be them so they can feed off love.”
Cassandra gritted her teeth together. “They’re jealousy demons.”
“Jealousy demons?” Mahanon asked. “You mean envy demons?”
“No,” Cassandra shook her head. “Jealousy demons are less sophisticated than envy demons. The feeling of jealousy leads to rage; you want something, so you take it. Envy is more complicated; it is an all-consuming feeling. You want it badly. A jealousy demon sees something it wants and takes it; an envy demon sees something it wants and wants to become it, to live it. ”
“Queen Chrysalis once took over Princess Cadence!” Twilight exclaimed. “She didn’t pretend to be her very well; I saw right through her.”
“That’s the difference,” Cassandra said. “A jealousy demon sees someone it wants to have the life of, then forcefully takes it without thinking. An envy demon is more careful. It studies its target for weeks, maybe even months at a time, then quietly disposes of it and lives its life so well that not even those closest to it can tell the difference.”
“So the entire Changeling population except for her are possessed by jealousy demons?” Mahanon asked, trying to get a grasp of the situation.
“Not just me,” she said. “There are three others. I knew one of them, Kardalaan, before I was imprisoned. He learned about me when I was really young and sought me out so he could help me through it. I don’t know the other two, though. They keep us all in the palace dungeons and rotate us throughout the day so the Changelings don’t get bored with just one.” She sighed, tears pooling in her eyes. “They all have their favorite one to hate. Some of them have started making games about pelting me with things.”
“We might be able to cure all the Changelings if we can free all the non-possessed ones,” Twilight mused.
“Oh?” both Mahanon and the Changeling asked together.
“Changelings are predominantly insect in nature, so they have a hive mind,” Twilight thought out loud. “The Queen must’ve been possessed, which let all the others become possessed. For some reason, the demons ignored her and the other ones. If we free her and all the others, they would be able to perform an exorcism on the Queen, and then she could act as a channel between them and the rest of the Changelings to exorcise them all at the same time.”
“I suppose that’s the best option we have as of now,” Mahanon said. “Don’t worry, we’ll rescue your friends and then you.”
“Thank you,” she smiled back at the Inquisition.
“What’s your name, by the way?”
“Bzkdlina,” she said happily. “Though they told me I wasn’t allowed to have a name after they locked me in here.”
“Don’t worry,” he smiled at her. “We’ll be back soon. Do you know where in the palace they’re keeping the others?”
“Somewhere in the dungeons, I assume,” she shrugged. “It’s where they keep me, but I’m all alone down there. I assume they do the same thing for all the others, as well.”
"We'll be out soon with the rest of them."
“Thank you,” she said, starting to cry.
“Come on,” Mahanon said, starting to walk to the palace. “We might be able to free the other Changelings without raising any alarms.”
“But just how do you propose we all go to the dungeon without arousing suspicion?” Dorian asked. “I doubt they’ll believe we’re all dungeon aficionados, but only when we’re together and not followed.”
“The Changelings might not have a lot of security inside,” Twilight said. “They put great faith in themselves, and they probably think we haven’t even considered this could be a trap, so they won’t try and follow us.”
“Seems a little foolhardy,” Dorian replied.
“It is,” Twilight agreed. “I just hope I’m right.”
The Inquisition walked up the massive staircase leading up to the palace. When they reached the top, Mahanon turned around and looked over the massive, sprawling city below them. In the distance, beyond the city walls, the landscape changed drastically from the clean and carefully planned city to a vast and seemingly endless desert with mountains cropping up in the far reaches of the horizon.
He could hear the doors behind him open, and he turned around to see two guards using the magic to hold them open. “Go straight ahead into the Queen’s throne room,” one of the demanded.
“Thank you,” he replied, walking through the doors. When they got in, the doors slammed shut, sealing them inside the palace. In contrast to the hot and bright city outside, the inside of the palace was dark and cold, and its size made all the Inquisition’s members feel insignificant.
“Certainly not what I expected after the city,” Dorian muttered. "I swear I can see my breath in here."
“Come on, we should see if we can find a way into the dungeons,” Mahanon said, walking through the grand hall. Each side passage they passed, he looked down; most of them lead to stairs going up or other rooms, but when he came upon one with a Changeling guarding a door, he turned down it.
“Wrong way, imbecile,” the Changeling hissed.
Without hesitation, Mahanon pulled out his staff and cast Winter’s Grasp on the guard, freezing him solid. Cole followed up by hurling Hidden Blades at him, shattering him and eventually succumbing to the numerous attacks.
“Let’s see where the door leads,” Mahanon said, walking up to the door. He opened it to find a staircase leading down, with a few torches illuminating the darkness. “I suppose this is as good a place to start as any.”
The Inquisition all stepped over the dead guard and down the staircase, emerging in a cell block that was completely empty. “I wonder if this is where Bzkdlina is held,” Cassandra thought out loud. “Only one guard guarding it, and all the cells are completely empty.”
“It could be,” Mahanon responded. “Come on, we should see if there’s a way to get to some of the other blocks from here.” He walked up to a small wooden door at the end of the block and tried to open it, but it was locked. “Cole?”
Without responding, Cole walked up to the door, got down, and started picking the lock. “Are you sure this is where they’ll be keeping the other Changelings?” Twilight asked.
Cole stood up as the door unlocked and swung open. “I’m not,” Mahanon replied, “But this is the best place to start looking.”
The Inquisition walked through a dark and damp hallway until coming upon another door, which Cole unlocked as well. When they stepped through, a Changeling guard turned to them. “You’re not supposed to be here!” he growled as his horn lit up.
The Inquisition responded by pulling out their weapons, preparing for a fight. Cassandra and Cole ran up to him, while Twilight and Mahanon stayed back as Dorian used Barrier on them.
Cassandra and Cole began attacking the Guard with their blades, and Mahanon cast Incinerate as Dorian cast Energy Barrage, sending a flurry of spells at the Guard. As Cassandra used Lunge and Slash to sink her sword into the guard, the light on his horn pulsed three times before falling over dead.
“...Whoa,” a voice said from inside the room. The Inquisition looked into one of the cells to see a Changeling inside a cage, just like Bzkdlina.
“Are you here because you can’t transform?” Mahanon asked him.
“Yeah,” he replied, suspicious of their knowledge. “Okay, what are you? And isn’t that one of the pony Princesses? And who told you that’s why I was here?”
“We’re the Inquisition,” he explained. “This is Princess Twilight, who is working with us. And we met another Changeling like you, Bzkdlina, outside. She told us you’d be in here.”
“Don’t know why she’d save me,” he laughed. “Doubt she even knows me. I only knew there were others like me because some of the Changelings talk about it while throwing things at me.”
“Well, not you specifically,” Dorian clarified. “She told us to save all of you.”
“So long as I get saved,” he chuckled. “My name’s Zoixia, by the way. And all of you are…?”
“The Inquisitor, Cassandra, Cole, and Dorian,” Twilight said, pointing at all the non-ponies. “I’ll try and explain everything later. It’s complicated.”
Mahanon opened the door to the cell, then Cole walked in and started picking the lock on the cage. “So how come you’re rescuing us?” Zoixia asked. “Just because?”
“The rest of the Changelings, the ones that can transform, are all possessed by demons,” Mahanon explained. “We need your help to exorcise them.”
“‘Demons’?” he echoed. “Man, I guess this is what I get for never believing any of that religious stuff.”
“Demons and religion are different things,” Cassandra said, slightly offended. “Demons are a very real thing in our world; religion just tells us how they came to be.”
As the cage unlocked, Cole opened the door to let him out. He crawled out of the cage and tried to stand, but quickly fell over.
“Are you okay?” Twilight asked worriedly.
“Yeah,” he moaned. He flapped his thin wings, but they did not pick him up off the ground. “Ugh, I can practically feel the atrophy. I’m fine, just give me a few.” He forced himself up, then used a hoof to balance himself on Cole. He stood there shakily for a few moments, then put his last hoof down and started taking tiny steps.
“Better?” Mahanon asked.
He flapped his wings, which brought him a few inches above ground but could not keep him in the air. “So long as I’m not needed to do any of the fighting later, yeah. Just have been in there for too long and need to get used to walking and flying again. Being nearly starved to death can’t help, either.”
“Just stay back and let us do everything,” Mahanon said. They walked to the locked door at the back of the block, and Cole unlocked it, just as he had the last one. The Inquisition walked down a nearly identical hallway to the last one, then opened the door into an empty block.
“Watch out!” a panicked voice called out.
Before he could consciously process the warning, a creature jumped at Mahanon from behind, but his instincts kicked in as he grabbed it and threw it in front of him. While the creature was not slammed onto the floor, it used its wings to turn around in midair and land on the ground, where the could see it was another Changeling guard.
Just as before, Cassandra and Cole ran towards the Changeling as Mahanon, Dorian, and Twilight stayed behind.
Mahanon quickly cast Immolate on the Changeling, while Dorian cast Lightning Bolt to stun it. Cole used Twin Fangs on the stunned guard to Rupture it, while Cassandra used Shield Bash to finish it off. The Changeling’s horn pulsed three times, just as the last one’s had, before its head fell on the ground dead.
“Who’s there?” the same panicked voice from earlier asked. The Inquisition walked up to the cell where the voice came from, and the Changeling inside the cage inside recoiled a little bit. “That’s not really what I expected,” she said after a few seconds of shock.
“They’re the Inquisition,” Zoixia said, hobbling up. “Long story short, they’re saving all of us that can’t transform so we can exorcise demons from all the other Changelings.”
“Oh.” She bit her lower lip. “Okay.”
Mahanon opened the cell door, and Cole went in to unlock the cage. “What’s your name?” Mahanon asked.
“Kaldiina,” she responded, scooting to the back of the cage in fear of Cole. “They’ll be expecting us in the next room, by the way. Just like how they were in here.”
“How did they know we were here?” Twilight asked.
The cage door opened, but Kaldiina only scooted up to the door and did not exit the cage itself. “The guards set off alarms,” she said, pointing to the dead Changeling.
“Alarms?” Mahanon asked, looking at the Changeling. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“They’re magical. That pulsing light on her horn when she died set off an alarm.” She blushed a little. “My older brother’s a guard. He once told me this. They’re supposed to do that when they die after being ambushed.”
“How come the first Changeling wasn’t expecting us?” he wondered.
“We must’ve killed him too quickly,” Dorian concluded. “He would’ve been dead before he knew what hit him.”
Kaldiina moved out of the cage and tried to stand on her hooves, but like Zoixia, fell down. He ran over and helped her up, then put one of her hooves around his own shoulder. “I’ll help you walk,” he told her.
“I suppose now we know what to expect in the next room, at least” Mahanon said, looking at the door. “Cole, could you get that?” Without a word, Cole went over and worked the lock, eventually opening it. When he opened it, the Inquisition walked down another hallway identical to the previous ones.
“Everybody ready?” Mahanon asked, to which the rest of the Inquisition responded by pulling out their weapons.
Mahanon felt Dorian’s Barrier around him as he opened the door and walked in, expecting a surprise attack. But as he walked to the center of the room, nothing happened.
“Perhaps the Changelings are waiting for us outside?” Cassandra proposed.
“They’re still here!” an old, tired voice called out. When Mahanon looked to its source, he saw another Changeling in a cage, but he was older and thinner than any of the others they came upon.
“What do you mean?” Mahanon asked, putting his staff away and walking up to the cell he was in.
“They transformed into really tiny things,” he said worriedly. “I think I saw one of them transform into a spider. The others transformed into other things, but I didn’t see exactly what. They were out of my sight.”
Mahanon pulled his staff out again. “Everybody be on alert. Cole, can you try and break him out while we watch for them?” Cole nodded, then walked into the cell and started picking the lock on the cage.
“Aah!” Cole yelled as he was thrown to the side by a Changeling becoming full-sized right under him. Mahanon suddenly felt himself pulled down by a heavy weight on his back, and from the ground, he saw another Changeling become full-sized on top of Kaldiina.
“Inquisitor!” Kaldiina cried out. “Help!”
He scrambled to his feet, but not before the Changeling had bitten into her shoulder, generating cries of pain from her. A flash of purple light shot by him, hitting the Changeling onto the ground. “Finish him now!” Twilight called out.
Mahanon tried to attack the Changeling attacking her, but as he put his arm up to cast Winter’s Grasp, he felt a shooting pain in his arm as the other Changeling bit down hard on it.
Cassandra came up and used Shield Bash on the Changeling dangling from his arm, knocking it to the ground. “Go help her!” Cassandra demanded. “I’ll take this one!”
Mahanon took a deep breath; the pain was strong, but bearable. He cast Winter’s Grasp on the Changeling, freezing it and preventing it from attacking her again.
“Go!” he called to the two. “We’ll handle this!”
Zoixia nodded, then hobbled away with Kaldiina. Twilight ran up next to Mahanon and started casting spells with him, while Dorian started helping Cole with his Changeling.
When his mana regenerated, he cast Spirit Mark on the Changeling. He and Twilight gradually hurt it with their magic, and when his mana regenerated again, he case Immolate on it to kill it. Instead of setting off an alarm, the Changeling’s body simply disappeared and turned into a blue spirit.
Mahanon turned around and saw Cassandra with her shield up, blocking the Changeling’s attacks while Cole and Dorian attacked it with regular attacks. Eventually, she lowered her shield and hit it with Payback Strike, knocking it on the ground. Its horn flashed three times, then its body went still. Mahanon dismissed his spirit, which simply dissipated into the air.
“Dorian, Cole, did your Changeling set off an alarm?” Mahanon asked.
“It did,” Dorian confirmed. “But with that trickery of yours, only two got set off. Hopefully they’ll take that to mean we’re dead and the last one finished us off.”
“Now all we need is Bzkdlina and we’ll be able to exorcise the Changelings,” Mahanon said happily.
“Bzkdlina?” the Changeling in the cage asked as Cole started unlocking his cage again. “She’s still alive.”
“She’s outside,” Twilight confirmed. “You must be Kardalaan, then.”
The door opened, and he walked out of it as shakily as Zoixia and Kaldiina had. “Yes, yes I am. I’ve known Bzkdlina since she was just a young child; her parents had heard of me and reached out to me when they found out she couldn’t transform. I’ve helped her cope with it.”
“We just need to rescue her, and then we can save the Changelings,” Mahanon said. “She should still be in the courtyard.”
They Inquisition moved to the back door of the block and opened it, as it was not locked. Instead of a damp hallway, they encountered stairs like the ones they took down. They walked up them, and when at the top, Mahanon slowly and quietly opened the door to see if there was another Changeling guard on the other side. There wasn’t, so he opened the door further and stepped into the small hallway it led into. He walked to the end of it and discreetly peeked around the corners, checking to see if there were any guards waiting for them. When he was satisfied there weren’t, he beckoned the rest of the Inquisition over.
“I don’t like this,” Dorian admitted. “It’s too quiet. The guard posted to this door is probably waiting in the form of a spider to ambush us again.”
“Or he came to the dungeon and tried to help the guards there,” Cassandra suggested.
“I don’t feel any pain here,” Cole said. “They’re not here right now. But I do feel a stronger pain. It’s coming from outside.”
“We’ll need to be alert,” Cassandra said, moving her hand to her sword.
“Agreed,” Mahanon replied. The Inquisition walked into the grand hall of the palace and walked to the entrance, then opened it to the blinding sun of the Changeling capital.
There were no guards at the palace doors, nor were there any Changelings congregated around Bzkdlina’s cage. The Inquisition walked down into the courtyard. “Bzkdlina!” Kardalaan called out.
She turned around in her cage, then smiled at seeing him. “You’re safe!”
Kardalaan started running towards her, but a tall, thin Changeling dropped from the sky in front of her cage.
“Hello, my subjects,” she said slyly as four more Changelings dropped down next to her. “Who told you you could go free?”
“Q-Queen Chrysalis!” Kardalaan stuttered, backing up from her and into the Inquisition.
“So this is the ‘Inquisition’ I’ve been hearing so much about,” she said, eyeing them all. “I’ll admit, I expected more. And is that...Princess Twilight I see?” Twilight simply grimaced at her. “What was it? ‘Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake’?”
Twilight didn’t respond, instead just glaring at her. “I assume she’s the Queen, then?” Dorian asked.
Chrysalis glared at them all. “I don’t recall asking you to break into my palace and let out convicted criminals. This is not a healthy start to our alliance, which I so graciously reached out to you to offer!”
“She’s lying!” Bzkdlina called out. “We did nothing wrong! She’s possessed!”
Mahanon and the rest of the Inquisition pulled out their weapons. “Queen Chrysalis, we cannot let you do this!” he called to her. “If there’s any part of you that hasn’t been possessed, stop yourself and let us cleanse you!”
Chrysalis responded by growling, and then in a flash of green light, transformed into an exact replica of Mahanon. “You’re going to have to stop me first!” she called out.
The four Changelings around her transformed into copies of the other members of the Inquisition. The one that turned into Cassandra pulled out her sword and put up her shield, the one that turned Cole spun his daggers around, the one that became Dorian straightened a few loose hairs in his mustache, and Twilight’s copy powered up her horn.
The liberated Changelings backed up behind the Inquisition, and when they did, Chrysalis held out her staff, then cast a Wall of Fire in a ring around the Inquisition and Chrysalis and her Changelings, trapping them in an arena. “When we defeat you, we’ll take over the Inquisition and put an end to your influence!”
Mahanon looked at his companions, who all were clearly eager for a battle. “Leave Chrysalis alive!” he yelled to them. “We need her to cure the Changelings!”
His companions took that as their cue to engage in battle. Cassandra and Cole ran to the Changelings while Dorian cast a Barrier on all of them. Cole and Cassandra focused in on ‘Cole’ while 'Cassandra' attacked them from the side. ‘Twilight’ and ‘Dorian’ focused on Mahanon, Twilight, and Dorian, and Chrysalis stood back and watched her Changelings fight.
Mahanon began the battle by engulfing the two Changelings in a Static Cage and quickly using Immolate to hit both of them with fire and electricity at once. Dorian cast Horror on them, causing them to flee but ultimately being pulled back to the center by the cage.
When his mana was high enough, Mahanon cast Walking Bomb on ‘Twilight’. “Focus on the one that looks like Twilight!” he ordered Dorian and Twilight.
While the Changelings were not as powerful as their real counterparts, ‘Twilight’ was still capable of interrupting Mahanon’s spells by hitting him with a concentrated bolt of magic, and ‘Dorian’ was able to cast a few spells, such as Energy Barrage and Incinerate, though not as effectively as the real Dorian.
Eventually, a cast of Chain Lightning by Dorian killed ‘Twilight’, who exploded and passed on the Walking Bomb curse to ‘Dorian’. While the curse was almost over, it chipped away at his health a little while still under its influence. When ‘Dorian’ reached low health, Mahanon cast a Spirit Mark curse on him, and when he died, he turned into a blue spirit that turned on his former Changeling allies.
“Unacceptable!” Chrysalis called out, pulling out her staff. “You cannot best my Changelings!”
As Cole used Shadow Strike on ‘Cole’ to kill him, Mahanon turned to Chrysalis. “It looks like we are!”
Furious, Chrysalis raised her fist and then brought it down, casting Veilstrike and knocking Mahanon, Dorian, and Twilight down. She then turned to Cassandra and used Stonefist on her, which knocked her down and took out some of her guard.
When Mahanon stood back up with the others, Dorian cast another Barrier on them. He cast Winter’s Grasp on ‘Cassandra’, then called for the rest of the Inquisition to target her. Cassandra used Payback Strike on her, which delivered the final blow.
The whole Inquisition then focused on Chrysalis, who had cast Wall of Ice in front of her to make Cole and Cassandra have to go around to fight her. Mahanon used Static Cage, then Dorian used Energy Barrage to assault her with a flurry of electricity damage.
When Cole and Cassandra grew close, Chrysalis cast Mind Blast, knocking them back. When they got back up, Cassandra used Blessed Blades while Cole threw Mark of Death at her.
Mahanon used Winter’s Grasp on her to freeze her solid, and Cassandra quickly followed with a Shield Bash to Shatter her and deal massive damage.
When Chrysalis thawed out, she cast Fade Step to fly through Cassandra and Cole and chill them and up to Mahanon. She then cast Mind Blast, knocking them down as well.
“It’s not over!” she cried, using a Wall of Flame to make Cole and Cassandra burn as they went after her.
When he got back up, Mahanon cast Horror on her, causing her to run away while taking constant spirit damage. He, Dorian, and Twilight continued casting spells on her until she fell to her knees, using her staff to keep her from completely falling onto the ground. There was another flash of green light, and she turned back into her Changeling form as she fell to the ground and the Wall of Flame separating the Inquisition from the Changelings died down.
“You did it!” Bzkdlina exclaimed. “You did it! You defeated her!”
Mahanon walked up to the pole her cage hung from, and with the help of Cassandra lowered it. Cole picked the lock and opened the door, letting her walk out shakily. Kardalaan walked up and put a hoof around her, helping her walk.
“How are we supposed to exorcise her?” Zoixia asked. “I’ve never really done something like this before.”
“The demons are relatively weak ones,” Cassandra pondered. “They have to fight a constant struggle to keep the host possessed. Maybe if you thought pure thoughts, you could somehow channel them towards the Queen?”
“‘Pure thoughts’?” Bzkdlina asked. “Like what?”
“They’re jealousy demons,” Twilight said. “Maybe think of times you could’ve taken something for yourself but didn’t because it was wrong?”
The Changelings all closed their eyes, and eventually, a small blue orb appeared over Bzkdlina’s horn.
“There it is!” Twilight said excitedly. “Just like that!”
Eventually, the other Changelings got orbs as well, and they all grew to a large size. The orbs then shot light out, focusing in on Chrysalis’ horn. She cried out in agony, and eventually, a green wisp flew out of her horn and to the Rift, which opened and let it in.
The Changelings stopped, and Mahanon and Twilight walked slowly up to Chrysalis, who was stirring and moaning on the ground. “Are you okay?” Mahanon asked.
Chrysalis got up shakily, then rubbed her head. “I feel...different. It is not a feeling I have ever experienced.” She thought for a few moments. “I no longer crave love, yet I feel my magic is diminished.” She closed her eyes and concentrated, then opened them when nothing happened. “I cannot transform anymore. What did you do to me?”
“You were possessed by a demon,” he replied. “We exorcised it from you. You might not be able to transform, but you will be able to think for yourself now.”
“We need you to help exorcise all the Changelings,” Twilight said. “The same Changelings that cured you will need you to use your hive mind to act as a channel to affect all the Changelings at once.”
Chrysalis looked over to the four Changelings, who were looking at her worriedly. “...I see. Very well!” She held her head up high. “My subjects, help me take control of every Changeling by taking it from the demons that think they can use us!”
The Changelings’ horns glowed blue again, and when their orbs shot to Chrysalis’ horn, it spread out in thousands of little streams of light, flying out everywhere in the city. After a few seconds, thousands of green wisps flew up out of the city to the courtyard, and they all entered the opened Rift. Eventually, the streams of light from Chrysalis’ horn ended, and the Rift sputtered a little.
“Inquisitor, now!” Cassandra called to him. “Close the Rift!”
Mahanon held up his hand, and the Anchor connected with the Rift, shooting out a beam of green light. A second beam of light came out from the corner of his eye, and when he turned his head, he could see Chrysalis using her magic to help him close it. When it was sufficiently closed, he moved his hand and she swung her head, causing the Rift to go away in an explosion.
“I didn’t know you were able to close Rifts,” Mahanon said, turning to Chrysalis.
“The demons taught me a lot about the Rifts and the Fade,” she said, slightly angrily. “They have been a part of my kind for thousands of years; eventually, we were bound to learn some of their secrets.”
“We did it!” Twilight exclaimed, jumping up and down.
“Yes,” Chrysalis said hollowly, hanging her head. “Inquisitor, I would pledge the Changelings to you, if you would have us. The demons infested my people and dictated our every move, and destroying them would avenge every Changeling ever lost to the pursuit of love to feed on.” She sighed. “Though I would understand if our actions are unforgivable and you do not want us.”
Mahanon looked at the other members of the Inquisition, who had walked up to him. “Thoughts?” he asked.
“The Changelings seem to be formidable foes,” Dorian said. “They would help us greatly.”
“They’re angry,” Cole said. “They hate the demons who possessed them.”
“I’m not sure,” Cassandra said skeptically. “They would be good allies, but they could still be prone to possession. Still, we are hardly in a place to be turning away allies.”
Mahanon looked down at Twilight. “And what about you, Princess? They would likely still be your allies even after we leave.”
Twilight thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t know. They’ve done terrible things to Equestria, and I know that it was because of the demons, but it’s still caused lots of harm to us.” She took a deep breath of confidence. “No, ally with them. We need to show them forgiveness.”
He smiled and looked at Chrysalis. “Well then, Queen Chrysalis; the Inquisition will ally with your people.”
Chrysalis smiled broadly. “You will not regret this, Inquisitor.”