"Mother, If my calculations are correct, why don't I just return to the Crystal Empire? I know Princess Celestia would have sent Princess Twilight to investigate the attack, it would be the perfect opportunity to steal back more of your magic."
"Though thy intentions seem pure child, make no mistake, that is exactly what they are counting on. Furthermore, the presence of a far stronger princess is awaiting at the empire. T'is a foe you would experience difficulty with, though she is younger you mustn’t underestimate Princess Luna. The ambient voice was loud, but soothing. With no one else around, it appeared as though the disembodied voice was coming from the Tree of Harmony.
"Then what am I to do now?" The cyan colored unicorn bowed her head humbly before the tree, awaiting a response. "What are your further orders mother?"
"Fret not Faith, thou still have a many a purpose to serve. In fact, I need thou to travel somewhere rather dangerous; another ally is needed for my second coming. Celestia shall be our next target, however, I suspect she'll be on her gaurd so you shan't go alone.
"Who is this second ally you speak of?"
"Creatures with unique transformation abilities, known as changelings. Though to seek them out you must venture forth to The Badlands. T'is an area you should tread cautiously, you'd do well to remember that. Take the Shades, they are made of my own shadow and will protect you from any threat that may come your way. Fair warning my child, Queen Chrysalis is your target, she is stubborn. If you need our help, thou knows what to do.
"Yes ma'am," Faith raised her head only to see she was now surrounded by several shadow like creatures which twitched and convulsed themselves in violent, jerking motions. None of them appeared to hold still and they moved awkwardly as though they were shifting through planes of existence, though to Faith it seemed as though they were teleporting all over the place. “I shall depart at once.”
"Cadence!" Twilight cried as she rushed over to the bed where the princess lay, Cadence greeted her sister in law with a weak smile as she now rested by her side. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, my strength is returning but I'm afraid for now my movement is restricted." Cadence looked past Twilight to see Shining Armor and Princess Luna making their way toward her now.
"Princess Cadence, we have been sent to investigate this attack on your kingdom. Surely thou ought to remember who it was that attacked thee?" Luna's awkward way of phrasing her question was still true, they had been sent to investigate, so knowing who the main attacker was could be a turning point.
"I'm not too sure if she was behind the attack, but the pony who stole my magic was a cyan colored unicorn with a mane that was a shade of deep blue. She wielded with her a strange looking emerald, it was that item which stole my magic." Cadence found the strength to sit herself up in the bed, Twilight wasn't reluctant to help her when she decided to do so.
"Anything else?" Luna insisted.
"Actually now that you mention it, she said something about her mother....something about Alicorn magic being needed for 'Mother's Rebirth' and that she was going to bring 'true peace' to Equestria." Cadence tapped a hoof under her chin as she attempted to think of any details she may have left out. "I'm not really familiar with what any of that means."
"True peace? Assaulting a kingdom and stealing a princess's magic isn't peaceful whatsoever, as a matter of fact--"
"T'is a declaration of war!" Luna boomed as she stomped a hoof on the crystal floor, interrupting Twilight and startling several guards which presided nearby. “Such an act cannot be seen as anything else but that! I shall notify my sister at once to prepare the troops!”
“Wait!” Twilight called out to stop Luna from flying out of the room. “We still don’t know all the details yet, if you rush this, you could be bringing on an unnecessary war.”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Luna began as she descended back down to ground level. “Thou hasn’t seen war before so clearly thou doesn’t know the signs. An attack on a kingdom, especially one as peaceful as the Crystal Empire, is a direct declaration of war by any standards.”
“But Cadence said it was only one unicorn, we can just imprison her.”
“That might not be as easy as you think,” Shining Armor added. “She brought with her these strange looking creatures that appeared to be made of shadows or something; there were thousands of them, but I did manage to figure out that their weakness is light.”
“Hmmm, the ability to steal magic; being able to conjure up an army of shadow creatures.” Twilight said each clue out loud as though she was crossing each off on a mental checklist. "Whoever we're dealing with seems to know a lot of powerful spells. Is it possible we're dealing with another old student of Celestia?"
"I don't think so," Cadence began in her weak voice. "She wasn't a mare whom I've ever seen before, and the magic she used felt.....angelic, almost divine."
"Perhaps some long awoken spirit is behind this, either way, we need to start looking for clues." Twiligiht turned to a stern faced Luna. "Luna, you and I shall search the ruble of the kingdom and see if we can't find anything. Shining," Twilight now turned her gaze to Shining Armor who appeared ready for action. "You should release the civilians, maybe somepony saw something out of the ordinary before the attack."
"Right." Shining agreed before galloping out of the room with Luna and Twilight following behind shortly after.
Faith wasn't too sure exactly where she was, it had been some time since she entered the Badlands. The sun was now hanging high overhead indicating that it was now around noon. She carried with her nothing but a sadle bag which contained a pouch of Bits that was needed to take the train which brought her to the Badlands; the trian conducter feared for his and the other passengers' safety, so he stopped at the border of the area which left Faith to continue on hoof. Faith now felt as though several pairs of eyes where watching her; she shifter her gaze to a shrub and she could have sworn she saw a shift in its leaves. A twig from behind her snapped causing her to whirl around, not of fear but of instinct. She was graced with the precense of a crature she had never before seen. It had bright eyes of a shade of blue; a pair of sharp fangs which hung over its pointed muzzle; a pair of insect-like wings; and several holes and puncteres on its hooves and tail.
"So this is what mother called a Changeling, kind if creepy if you ask me." The changeling hissed at Faith and when it spoke it sounded like it was hissing and buzzing.
"What is a pony doing here? Come to surrender your love? Because we grow hungrier everyday."
"We?" Faith's question was answered with the presence of seven other changelings coming from out of nearby bushes and shrubs joining the first. The eight creatures appeared ravenous and surrounded Faith from all directions, her demeanor had not wavered however, she was still smiling a happy smile. "Oh, so its a numbers game huh? Then here, let me make it fair." Faith tappered her hoof on the ground and was quickly surrounded by shadowy figures which stood between the changelings and her, their movements still appearing convulsed and haunting. The changelings had a genuine look of fear, never before had they seen such strange creatures in their lifetime; the creatures stepped forward twitching and shiveriing violently, causing the changelings to back off.
"W-what is it that you want?" one changeling managed to cry out, a hint of fear mixed with worry hung in his voice.
"Oh finally, somepony has the common courtesy to ask." Faith tapped her hoof on the ground once more, causing the shadow creatures to disappear as otherworldly as they came, exploding into black and white flashes before dissolving into smoke. "Now then, I wish to speak with your queen, Chrysalis I believe?"
The changelings looked at each other in bewilderment, never before had a pony come to speak to their queen, especially not willingly. One changeling looked over at several others and received what Faith only assumed was a confirmation nod, then, he motioned with his hoof for her to follow.