Spike walked out of the Palace of Friendship where Crystal awaited him. "Hey Crystal" he says.
"Hi Spike!" she smiles cheerfully "How are you?"
"Good so what was it you wanted to do?" Spike asks her.
"I wanted to go get cupcakes with you Spike." Crystal replies with a smile. "You up for it?" she asks and he nods as they start walking and just chatting.. "you'll never believe it but that pony Twilight found was killed by a vampire but it wasn't a pony!" Spike exclaims "How crazy!"
"Then a vampire what?" Crystal asks curiously.
"She doesn't know." Spike responds "Even er....what's his name oh! Even Lunar Relic that other scholar pony who lives around can't say for sure what it is."
"He's really talented with vampires though right?" Crystal asks shocked.
"Yeah..." Spike says.
"You know I am not a fan of being subjected to gossip." Lunar says walking up to them looking at them both. He looks at Crystal for a second before speaking again "Who are you?" he asks.
"Crystal, Spike and I are getting cupcakes together!" she says hugging the purple dragon who blushes.
"I see you found yourself a special dragon there Spike." Lunar says with a smirk making Spike chuckle nervously getting a laugh from both Lunar and Crystal.
"What brings you here Lunar?" Spike asks.
"I was just passing by." Lunar says "I am on my way to The Everfree Forest to investigate another attack."
"There were two last night?" Spike asks surprised.
"Yeah..." Lunar sighs "But can't say I am surprised...strange part about this one is some weird goop was on the pony. Stranger still was Twilight says it matched a sample from when Chrysalis and the Changelings attacked Canterlot."
"Fool he could have given us away..." Crystal says softly.
"Did you say something Crystal?" Spike asks looking at her.
"Oh no..." she smiles sweetly "Well Spike and I gotta go bye!" she smiles pushing Spike into the store.
"Well she sure is a clingy one..." Lunar comments before departing for the Everfree Forest. When he reached the entrance he was suddenly blinded by a light. "Ugh! What in Equestria?" he spouts before being hit on the head by a Changeling thus knocking him out.
"There the Queen will be pleased." one changeling says as he and another pick Lunar up.-
"Indeed." the other says.
Later at Sugar Cuber Corner Spike and Crystal walked up to the counter "Hey Spike who's your new friend?" Pinkie Pie asks from behind surprising him.
"Oh uh...hi Pinkie this is Crystal." Spike answers still a little shaken from the pink ponies sudden appearance from behind.
"Hello Pinkie Pie." Crystal says "We were here to get some cupcakes." she announces to the pink baker.
"Spike you sure have a good catch there." Pinkie says with a wink as she walks into the kitchen behind the counter putting a small cupcake/muffin tray on a counter.
"What?" Spike asks taking a second to process the statement. "Oh no we're not like that Pinkie." he replies "Just friends."
"I dunno...." Pinkie says trailing off as she grabs the eggs from the fridge.
"Can you just get us some blueberry cupcakes Pinkie?" Spike asks.
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie says jumping up and down to grab the blueberries and other things she needed to bake the cupcakes. Soon aloud gallop could be heard making both dragons look at each other unsure as to what could be making it. Suddenly Twilight runs in "Spike!" Twilight yells as she burst through the front door.
"Twilight?!" he gasps in surprise.
"Thank Celestia I found you..." she sighs "I had an important question to..." the alicorn trails off looking at Crystal "Who's this?" she asks "Another young dragon?"
"I am Crystal." the dragon answers "Spike and I are friends." she smiles. Twilight looks at them a second then nods.
"Anyway since you have been out for a while have you by any chance seen Lunar Relic?" Twilight asks the two.
"We saw him earlier when we were walking and talking." Spike says.
"He said he had business in the Everfree Forest." Crystal says "But that was hours ago."
"That's strange...." Twilight says pondering "He would have been back by now."
"Did he have a research trip?" Spike asks. "Maybe he left right from the Everfree Forest to go to one."
"No he put that off until after this all blows over. Besides he didn't leave a note he was gone in the shop's front window like he normally would." Twilight replies
"You don't think something could have happened to him do you?" Crystal asks looking worried even though she knew where he was and she didn't care if he was safe. "You don't think it could be because he is involved with that investigation do you?"
"I hope not...and wait how did you know about the investigation?" Twilight asks
"Oh uh...." Crystal pauses "I heard it from around." she finally answers "Word of stuff like that travels fast."
"Uh-huh...." Twilight says skeptically "Alright...thanks anyways." she sighs leaving as Pinkie brings out the cupcakes.
"What's with Twilight she seemed worried." Pinkie comments handing Spike the bag of Cupcakes while he hands her the bits as payment.
"Lunar Relic still hasn't returned from the Everfree Forest." Spike says.
"What?!" Pinkie exclaims "But Twilight and him work so well together their minds are like in total sync! She needs him!"
"I wouldn't say that...." Spike says "Twilight is smart she could probably figure everything out on her own." Spike gloats before looking around. "Crystal?" he asks "Where did she go?"
"Dunno." Pinkie says "She was here a second ago."
Crystal was sneaking into the Everfree Forest returning to her cave where two ponies were tied up. Lunar Relic and Trixie. Lunar was still struggling but Trixie was just sitting there with an annoyed look. "Will you cut it out if the great and powerful Trixie can't get out nopony can!" she shouts at him.
"Hay at least I am doing SOMETHING." he shouts back.
"Well looks like you two have gotten to know each other..." Crystal smiles with a small laugh.
"You!" Lunar shouts looking over at the dragon "You're that dragon Crystal who was with Spike! What are you doing here?" he demands to know.
"Oh well perhaps I will tell you..." she chuckles as Crystal transforms back int Queen Chrysalis.
"Queen Chrysalis?!" both Lunar and Trixie gasp.
"Guess that explains the uncanny amount of Changelings..." Lunar snorts looking around at all of the Changelings.
"Exactly...and your little Spikey-wikey is under my control..." Chrysalis coos taunting the two.
"I knew it." Lunar curses "Vampires are just some kind of Changeling thing. I didn't want to believe it until now because it was just too easy to explain."
"And because of that your overthinking mind wouldn't let you accept the simple truth." Chrysalis fake cries.
"Hmph your petty attempts to intimidate me are a wasted effort." Lunar scoffs.
"You won't get away with this." Trixie scowls.
"Who's going to stop me?" Chrysalis asks "I have Lunar all tied up...the only pony to know any Solar Magic spells strong enough to stop me! You two will be the next to join Spike as you slowly help build my army to take over Equestria!" she laughs
"Hey Chrysalis there is one fatal flaw in all of you plans." Lunar says to her.
"What do you mean?" looking at Lunar who's horn was glowing "What?!" she yells in surprise. "Circulus ignis solaris." Lunar says as the glow flashes and a bright fire burns through the ropes before it surrounds both Trixi and him. Some changelings leap at them but the fire forces them back as if another barrier of magic was keeping them away "Trixie please tell me you have a teleport spell." Lunar says looking at the illusionist.
"You're joking right?" she scoffs looking back at him "The great and powerful Trixie knows much more then a petty teleportation spell!" she gloats as both she and Lunar are teleported back to Ponyville. After they made sure they were safe both of them sigh and Trixie comments "Nice ring of fire by the way."
"That wasn't an ordinary ring of fire Trixie." Lunar says "You know I have to tell Twilight the truth so I need to be on my way. Thanks for teleporting us out of there." he says waving "See you later."
"Bye." she says. Lunar then runs off to The Palace of Friendship and knocks when Spike answers he darts in knocking the young dragon down.
"hey!" Spike shouts at him.
"Sorry!" Lunar calls from down the hall as he turns into the map room where Twilight was reading before she looked up to see him.
"Twilight!" he pants.
"What is it Lunar you look like you saw a ghost." Twilight says closing her book. Spike was walking his way back but he stop a second to pick up the quills he had dropped that was when he heard Lunar speak "It's about Crystal..."
"What about her?" Twilight asks.
"She's Chrysalis in disguise! When I went to investigate the second attack I was captured by Changelings. I woke up next to Trixie who was also captured. Then....she revealed it all." Lunar explains.
"That's impossible we kicked them out back in Canterlot!" Twilight argues.
"Tell him Twi." Spike says softly.
"Then how do you explain the goop found on the second victim or the goop in my mane for that matter?" Lunar asks "It all matches the Changelings'!"
"But how could Changelings do that? They don't feed on blood." Twilight asks.
"I should have realized it earlier but vampirism is an early stage of a pony slowly transforming into a changeling! It all makes sense. Why they hate that lake...it's because the water in that lake is poisonous to Changelings. it would also explain how their appearance changes at night. The moon reflects some of Luna's sorrow from being Nightmare Moon, a negative energy which is what a Changelings 'magic' is."
"So then Changelings can feed on blood?" Twilight asks.
"I believe so. Think about it if they can feed on love which comes from ones heart what else in a sense comes from ones heart?" Lunar asks.
"That's right!" Twilight exclaims "It's like feeding off their love only more....brutal and....nasty. We have to do something. We need to capture this Crystal."
"That can't be true..." Spike whispers before running outside his claws echoing enough that the two ponies could hear him.
"Was that Spike?" Lunar asks.
"I think he heard us." she says.
"You don't think he will tell 'Crystal' do you?" Lunar asks.
"I hope not..." Twilight says.
Not long after he fled Spike reaches an edge of Ponyville the same field he first met Crystal where to his luck she was sitting by the statue looking into the skies. "Crystal!" he yells making her jump a bit startled and look over at him.
"What's wrong Spike?" she asks standing up.
"Twilight and Lunar think that you are Chrysalis. They are going to find you and probably destroy you!" Spike explains.
"What?" She gasps "That's absurd!" she looks at Spike her eyes glittering 'though they are right...' she thinks before an idea pops in her head "Spike I have an idea."
"What?" he asks trying not to cry.
"Let's run away together that way they will never find us!" Crystal suggests.
"But... if I just vanish...Twilight will...she will be hurt." Spike says.
"But she also wants to hurt the only other one of your own kind you know that still exists." Crystal says waking up and putting a finger to his chin "Besides don't you want to be my knight in shining armor?" she smiles flirtatiously making Spike blush.
"Alright." he says "We will run away but where to?"
"There is a cave in the Everfree Froest not too far from here." she says "We can hide there."
"Alright..." Spike says before she grabs him and they run off.