//------------------------------// // Observation // Story: Wedding of Deception // by Shadowed Rainbow //------------------------------// Several days passed as the anticipated celebration drew ever closer, with both the citizens of Equestria and Zakelon who had heard the news eagerly making preparations. With now less than a week to go before the big wedding day, the city of Canterlot was bustling with activity, ponies hurrying this way and that to collect everything they'd need. After all, the wedding was to be held in four days time. And nopony in the country's capital suspected that some uninvited guests would be in attendance, or the heinous deception that would soon come to take place. But for the moment, everything was going perfectly for the soon-to-be-wed couple, Princess Cadance and the captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor. The pair were just outside the castle at this time, practically being swarmed by citizens and paparazzi who had questions for them about their upcoming wedding. Two groups of ponies in particular, mingling with the crowd, were trying to get as close as possible without being conspicuous, staying where they were able to see the pair. It was time for a major stage in the changelings' plans, the catalyst for setting everything in motion - observing who the two ponies to be married were, and what their mannerisms were like. Chrysalis and Metamorphosis had already found a place where they could imprison the bride and groom, respectively – a series of mines deep underneath Canterlot. They had been difficult to find, buried deep underneath the city and forgotten by ponykind. And the changelings themselves might never have found it if it hadn’t been for their ability to create “phase-fire”, a fiery shield that allowed them to sink through otherwise solid surfaces. It was an ability used very rarely, but in this case it was an immense help to their plan. The bride and groom would be imprisoned, and nopony would ever know. Then the hardest part of the plan would come: successfully impersonating their target. It was why this stage of observation was extremely important - everything had to be perfect. No suspicion from others. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, are you going for a particular theme concerning the ceremony?" "Are either of you nervous about finally tying the knot after all this time?" "When you say that you're inviting 'everypony', do you mean everypony in Canterlot or-?" "Woah, woah," Shining Armor chuckled, waving a hoof in an attempt to quiet the crowding ponies. "One at a time!" Cadance grinned - not in a smug sort of way, but a sincere, gentle expression. "We aren't going for a particular theme for the wedding, just something simple." "Well, as simple as it can be for a wedding of royalty," Shining pointed out with a laugh. Cadance shot a cheerful grin at her fiance before turning back to the assembled crowd. "And yes, we are inviting everypony who wants to come – in Canterlot or elsewhere. We just gotta send out the invitations everywhere else!" Shining gently placed a hoof around Cadance's shoulder. "Cadance is the most loving mare in Equestria. I can't think of anything better than sharing my life with her." "Aw, how lovey-dovey," a pegasus - actually Screnar in disguise - said with a faint grin. The only response he got for that was a whack upside the head. "Shut up," Boshrok hissed so quietly that only the other one could hear it. "Remind me again why you’re on the scouting team?” “Because I’m good at tracking-“ “I was being sarcastic. Focus." Boshrok then glanced at a taller, light gray pegasus next to him - King Metamorphosis - to see if he had noticed the soldier's behavior. But the King's attention was firmly on the two ponies. At least our King is one who has priorities in order, the Lieutenant thought to himself. King Metamorphosis studied the pair carefully, making mental notes to himself. The pair have a strong bond with each other. Shining appears to care very much for the Princess, and she returns his affections. He smiled, a glint of intrigue appearing in his eyes, briefly revealing a flash of green. No doubt about it - if those two were changelings like us, I could say they have the Circeperma for sure. The 'Circeperma', or the ‘Union Spark of Circe’, was the changeling equivalent of true love, a soul mate, a certain spark of a feeling that only a few changeling's truly found. Typically, it happened between those with the Royal Blessing, those born with a slender appearance like his – his parents, for instance - though it wasn't unheard of between the smaller ones. Of course, not all those with the Blessing found that feeling, or had an interest in one in the first place. No matter how much certain others wanted to try to impose that spark. the changeling king thought bitterly, casting his thoughts out of the past and into the present. Of course, he was going to have to do a little more observation first. Many appeared to have a different way of behaving in private than they did in the eyes of the public. And in any case, he needed to be more familiar with how he would have to behave around the Princess once he took on the stallion's form for the next few days. It may be difficult, but Metamorphosis told himself to be confident. It required strategy just as outmatching anything - it was like a clever game, seeing just how long you could properly deceive the opponent. And Metamorphosis was certain that he'd be able to accomplish that feat. He'd just need to play his cards right. --- Chrysalis and her subjects were also present at the assembly, for the very same reason as those of the other Hive. It was lucky that every other pony in attendance was focused on the Princess and Captain, rather than on the other ponies surrounding them. "So, is this gonna work?" one of the disguised changelings whispered to Shaydra. The speaker was the changeling who had been stated by Shaydra to be 'Captain Obvious'. "It won't work if you give us away, Calir!" Shaydra hissed in irritation as she noticed the brief warning flash that the Queen had given them. "We can't afford to mess this up!" "Exactly," snapped the third changeling scout in a quick retort, silencing their conversation. They may not be heard by others over all of the noise going on around them, but in an important mission such as this, they definitely couldn't take any chances. Queen Chrysalis quickly darted her eyes toward the trio in a silent order to focus before returning her attention to the pair to be wed, carefully watched their mannerisms as they answered questions from the rest of the crowd. She carefully observed them, seeing how close they were to each other, how caring... the look of two ponies that had formed a bond with each other over the years. As she watched them, the changeling queen found her mind drifting to the concept of Circeperma as well. Cadance and Shining may not have been changelings, but there was no doubt in Chrysalis’s mind that the same sort of principles applied with this pair. It was true that she’d have to observe Cadance’s mannerism’s just a little more, getting well acquainted with her character. It was no more like practicing for a play, and theatrics were something that the Queen was quite fond of as far as entertainment value. Chrysalis loved a good performance, and she was going to put on such a powerful display that no one would know what had hit them until it was too late. The citizens of Canterlot kept the duo to be wed so busy that they didn’t really get to spend much alone time together, much to the changeling’s irritation. But as night began to fall and the crowds finally dispersed, the changeling groups went out of sight, in order to morph into the forms of pegasi. As silently and inconspicuously as they could, the swarms began to set off to find where Cadance and Shining Armor had gone off to. Now that their demeanor in the eyes of the public had been taken into account, it was time for investigating their private life, when the two were away from the pressures of crowds. How else would they know how to properly act toward the one they were deceiving? As Chrysalis’s group flew away from the square to talk in private, Metamorphosis and his swarm stayed, for the moment, grounded. “I don’t want to attract too much attention,” Metamorphosis said. “You all stay here while I go properly investigate the bride and groom for myself. It will allow me to properly get in the right frame of mind for what will need to be done. If something ends up going wrong, I’ll contact you. However, with what I have planned, I don’t think telepathic communication will be necessary.” The other changelings nodded. All changelings in a swarm had a specific telepathic frequency that was specific to each Hive, allowing members of the same swarm to communicate over long distances. Seeing as such power could be abused as a form of mind-reading, it was decreed that it only be used for specific, short messages – on important missions like this it was best to be shown the goings-on, not just told them. The King glanced toward the setting sun. “If I’m lucky, you all should be able to go back to the Forest tonight. And when you do return with the rest of the swarm just before the wedding, make sure you remain hidden.” A thin smile. “If all goes well, then the wedding will go off without a hitch.” “And then the bride will be yours, right?” Screnar asked eagerly. The others scouts shot death glares at his insensitive question, especially with their King having been on the receiving end of said question. But the King didn’t reprimand Screnar for his words – he simply held his head up high as he looked at the quartet with a smile. The tracker-changeling inwardly snickered in spite of himself. “I’ll see you all at the wedding,” their King said with a light nod and a barely noticeable wink, before lifting off into the air, keeping his pegasus form as he flew toward the main sector of the palace. --- Unknown to Metamorphosis, the group of pegasi that consisted of Chrysalis and her scouts had already reached the tower where the two ponies in question were, observing the ponies for a time themselves. With a quick command for them to go back to the Hive as inconspicuously as they could, and to return as the day drew closer, Shaydra led the other scouts back in the direction of Zakelom, leaving their Queen alone. Chrysalis hid behind one of the windows, craning her neck just enough so that she could see the two together. She didn’t notice the other pegasus who hovered by an opposite viewpoint. Not only were the two changeling rulers hidden from the bride and groom, they were each hidden from the one who could ruin every bit of their plans, the one that they had stayed away from for years. They just didn’t know it. Cadance and Shining, of course, were unaware of the two rulers watching their every move. Rather, the two of them were standing together, gazing out as the beauty of Luna’s night greeted the city’s skies. It was late, but the duo wasn’t quite sleepy just yet, kept awake in each other’s company. "Ready?" Cadance whispered. Shining Armor nodded, raising his head a little as his horn began to glow brightly. A burst of energy expanded upward from his horn and outward, the beam traveling straight up through the tower so that it hung over Canterlot. The magical energy then began to form into an arc over the city, beginning a descent that would form a bubble around the area. Chrysalis and Metamorphosis both realized at once what the energy field was - it was a shield. Without wasting any time, the two sent a telepathic order to the members of their scouting parties: "Get out of here, NOW!" The changelings however, didn't need the order - the moment the shield had begun its descent, they high-tailed it out of the city's boundaries as fast as they could, reaching the outer edges just in the nick of time. With the shield now around Canterlot, Shining Armor managed a smile at Cadance. "Now if whatever creatures we saw try to come in, they won't be able to break through the barrier." He winced slightly in discomfort. "Ugh, I think this spell is giving me a migraine..." Cadance's own horn glowed as she smiled, touching her horn to his head. "I think I can help with that..." With a flash from her horn, her magic seeped into the top of Shining Armor's head, bringing him relief. It then hit the two changeling rulers as to why that blasted shield had been put up - somepony had spotted at least one of their groups. They could have risked the whole plan! Oh Circe above, no! Chrysalis inwardly snarled. Please don’t tell me one of the swarm was seen! How could they have been so careless?! If Screnar did anything to ruin my chances… Metamorphosis thought in anger. The blue-maned stallion gazed out the window with an almost longing expression as the stars outside began to shine. His bride-to-be smiled gently at him, noticing the expression written on his face. “I know that look, Shining,” “Look?” Shining Armor asked innocently. “What ‘look’?” “That little glance in your eyes whenever you have something on your mind.” She gently placed one hoof on his shoulder. “I’ve known you for over a decade, Shining Armor, and I know when there’s something that you’re really thinking about.” She gently turned his head so that her eyes met his. “You can tell me.” Shining Armor chuckled – he had never been able to resist that loving expression from Cadance. “Okay, okay…” The stallion closed his eyes, gathering himself together for a moment before he spoke. “It’s Twily,” he finally admitted. Twily? Metamorphosis thought incredulously. Who the Tartarus is ‘Twily’? In his curiosity, he was at least glad that the Captain had let an important point like that be revealed – if this ‘Twily’ was so important to Shining Armor, then Metamorphosis would need to know as much as he could about who this mysterious being was. Noticing the tilt of Cadance’s head, urging him to go on, Shining continued. “I know that the she’ll probably get a notice herself soon, but...” he closed his eyes, as if he didn’t want to think about it. “She’ll probably be upset that I didn’t tell her myself.” Cadance’s gaze grew sympathetic. “I know. But you can’t beat yourself up on that… Twilight knows you love her, you’re her Big Brother Best Friend Forever!” The white unicorn smiled at the mention of Twilight’s nickname for him. Unbeknownst to him, the changeling rulers nearby smiled too. So, Twilight was the Captain’s sister. “And with all the wedding preparations and you being on guard duty,” the pink alicorn continued, “there hasn’t really been too much time out of your schedule.” She leaned forward, lightly kissing her fiancé. “I’m sure she’ll understand.” Shining Armor looked into her eyes and managed a smile. Something about Cadance always helped to comfort him when he was concerned about something. Perhaps it was just being near the mare that he loved with all of his heart. “Just remember, there’s only a few more days until we get married,” Cadance gently reminded him. “Then that’ll take a lot of weight off of your shoulders!” The stallion grinned. “I sure hope so.” But as Cadance turned her gaze from Shining to the stars outside, a brief frown crossed her face. A glance of worry. Shining immediately took notice of this. “Now I can tell you have something on your mind, mi amore,” The bride-to-be was silent for a moment, mulling over her thoughts before she replied. “It’s… just the wedding.” “The wedding?” Shining asked, a wave of concern washing over him. Why would the most loving mare in all of Equestria be worried about her big wedding day? A thought suddenly occurred to him. “You’re not-” The young alicorn immediately realized where her fiancé was going with his train of thought, and immediately shook her head frantically. “No, no, no, I’m not having any second thoughts about marrying you. It’s just…” She trailed off, feeling Shining Armor gently ran a hoof along her back in an attempt to console his bride. With that comforting caress from her lover, she elaborated more on her concern. “I mean, I feel like everything should be perfect for it… what if something goes wrong?” Shining tilted his head, the concern clear in his eyes. “Like food poisoning?” he managed a light laugh, having said that as a joke, but he could see by the look on Cadance’s face that she was entirely serious - it was especially the shield's presence that was concerning her. He coughed slightly and grew more serious. “Trust me, mi amore,” Shining said. “As long as we’re together, nothing will go wrong.” You won’t be together for long, Chrysalis thought to herself with a smirk. A voice suddenly spoke as another pony entered the large room where the two were. “I can understand why Shining Armor would be wide awake at this time of night, but you’re usually asleep by now Cadance. Unless you’ve decided to become nocturnal as well, I would have thought that you would be asleep by now.” Shining and Cadance whirled around to see the speaker. It was a dark blue alicorn with a long, flowing mane that appeared to be made of the night sky itself. It was none other than Princess Luna, the ruler of the night. She smiled at them. “We were just talking, Luna,” Shining explained. “About the wedding.” Luna’s expression looked slightly downcast. “I must express my sincerest apologies that I won’t be able to attend your wedding celebration.” Cadance gave her friend a smile of encouragement. “Don’t worry Luna – we’ll still be holding the reception at night.” She laughed. “We’ll fill you in on everything that happened, don’t worry!” The night princess nodded her thanks. “I also thought I should mention that the shield you've put around the city seems to be working just fine.” She smiled, knowing that if there was any pony she could count on guarding the city, it was Shining Armor. "Canterlot is in good hooves." Cadance placed an arm around her fiance's shoulder. “Shining’s the greatest Captain that the Royal Guard could ever have.” “And you’re no pushover either, Cadance,” Shining pointed out. Cadance nodded her thanks. “Everything will be fine!” The princess then added silently to herself, …I hope, Luna seemed to be reassured by the pair. “If you ever happen to need anything during the night, just come find me,” she offered. “It’s always nice to have somepony to talk to.” With small smile, the night princess departed, appearing to be a little more at ease. But the moment that she was out of the pair’s sight, her smile turned into a frown. Despite Shining Armor and Cadance’s assurance that everything would be fine, Luna herself couldn’t help but have a nagging feeling that something was going to happen. It could be nerves from this potential threat just before the wedding, but… She got the feeling that she was being watched. She turned her head toward a window nearby – the same window that King Metamorphosis was hiding behind. Luckily for him, the princess was unable to see him from his position, though with her stare fixed on that window for a few tense seconds, it was a close call. But soon it seemed that she shrugged off the feeling and, with a sigh, she walked off. When Metamorphosis had turned again to the couple (while Chrysalis had still been observing them intently), Shining and Cadance were gently nuzzling each other, giving one another soft smiles. “We probably should-“ Cadance’s sentence was interrupted by a yawn, “… be going to bed now.” The groom smiled slightly. “Yeah, you’re probably right…” He found himself yawning too as he spoke. Cadance kissed him playfully. “I know I’m right.” Gazing lovingly ito each other’s eyes and bidding one another good night, the pair set off through the castle into their separate rooms. Cadance’s was in the lower area of the tower – she often liked to come up and see the view – while Shining Armor’s room was near the castle’s opposite side, close to those of the other Royal Guards. With thoughts of the wedding filling their heads, the pair began to drift off to sleep… But their contented dreams would be short-lived - it was time for the changelings to put their plan into action at last. --- With Cadance not needing to have walked too far to get to her room, it didn’t take long for Chrysalis to find her in that secluded space. Making sure that the young mare was drowsy enough to be in half-slumber, Chrysalis, still holding her disguised pegasus form, she quietly used her phase-fire spell to slip into Cadance’s room… Just as the dim light of the fire caused Cadance to open her eyes in shock, the dome of green fire swirled around her. Cadance instantly began to panic, wide awake now. “W-Wait, what’s going on?!” That was all that she had time to say before the powerful spell began to sink into the ground, passing through the different floors as if they were air. Cadance didn’t want to take her chances on whether or not the fire surrounding her could burn her, but either way, it seemed that she couldn’t get out. The only thing that she could think to do was call out. “Help! HELP!” Cadance shouted, hoping that somepony would hear her. “LET ME GO!” But the alicorn’s cries went unheard, though whether it was because she was falling so fast or the fire worked as a kind of shield, she didn’t know. All that she knew for sure was that she had been ambushed and was now being taken down to who-knows-where. After what seemed like an eternity, the fire dissipated and Cadance hit the ground with a thud, finally able pick herself up to see wherever it was she found herself. She was surrounded on all sides by crystals, shimmering dimly in the darkness. It would have been pretty, save for the one thing that Cadance instantly realized: The crystals completely surrounded her like a small cell. She was trapped. It was then that she saw the green fire from earlier reflected on one of the larger gemstones, and Chrysalis appeared to her in her true form. Cadance gasped and stepped back, stunned at the strange figure reflected in the crystal. “Wh-Who are you?!” She was clearly afraid, but her anger at the situation showed through as well. “And where am I?!” Chrysalis chuckled. “I am Queen Chrysalis, the all powerful ruler of the changelings in my Hive.” Laughing, she faded from the first gem and appeared on a larger one behind Cadance, much to the princess’s shock. Cadance forced herself to stand firm, being as brave as she could. “You’re the threat that we were talking about, aren’t you?! The creature that Shining saw?” Chrysalis glowered. “Not quite - that must have been one of my foolish subjects who let their disguise slip for a few precious seconds.” “Disguise?” Losing her disgruntled look, Chrysalis laughed at the inquiry, appearing on another crystal. “As changelings, we are able to disguise ourselves as other creatures, and then feed off their emotions. We do eat other things of course, but it’s emotions that help give us extra power.” Her eyes glinted. “Love is the most powerful one – I know that there are many different kind of love, but you and your groom have such a strong romantic love…” She cackled, enjoying the look of horror on Cadance’s face. “And he’s rather…” she smirked, anticipating Cadance’s reaction to what she was about to say, “… attractive as well.” The alicorn’s pupils shrank in horror at the implications of Chrysalis’s words. “YOU STAY AWAY FROM SHINING ARMOR!” Cadance screamed, firing a blast of magic on the crystal where Chrysalis’s image was. Unfortunately, when the shimmering blue aura of magic cleared, Chrysalis’s form was gone and the crystal itself stood unharmed. Desperate, the young alicorn fired blast after blast of magic, whether Chrysalis was on a crystal or not. She wanted to get out, save Shining Armor, stop this monster from taking her place… stop the Queen from doing things she didn’t want to think about. But it was no use. The crystals remained intact, unmoving, trapping Cadance in her crystalline prison. “And don’t even try to call out,” Chrysalis taunted, fading away. “No pony will ever hear you in these abandoned mines. You’ll remain down here forever…” As Chrysalis spoke, green flames encircled her image as she changed into another form that caused the princess to gasp – Cadance herself. Chrysalis smiled, but it was a scheming smile rather than the warm, friendly one that the real Cadance wore. “And your precious Shining Armor will be mine!” “NO! DON’T YOU DARE” Cadance screamed, looking wildly upward slamming against the crystals with her hooves, her body, and her magic. But all the heard was Chrysalis laughing away, her laughs of triumph fading as the Queen left the young princess out of sight. “SHINING ARMOR!” --- On the opposite side of the castle, Shining collapsed onto his bed, curling up under the covers as he began to drift off to sleep. The thoughts about a potential threat turned over in his head, but his worried became quelled as his thoughts turned to Cadance and the upcoming wedding. Turned away from the window as he began to drift off, the unicorn didn’t notice the green flames beginning to creep into the room until it was too late. “AH!” He tried to leap away from the flames, but the green dome incased him in its fire before causing Shining to sink through his bed, then the floor, down toward what he almost thought could be the pits of Tartarus itself. “Hey, LET ME GO!” Shining called out, hoping that somepony – anypony – would hear, and somehow stop this fireball that was carrying him downward, past the lowermost floor of the castle. “CADANCE! LUNA!” But nopony heard Shining Armor’s cries, and he couldn’t get out of this sphere of green fire. It finally released him, however, as it dropped him into a deep crystal mine, causing him to roughly slam into the ground. Dazed from the impact, Shining shook his head to clear it as he stood up, getting his bearings. His eyes widened as he realized he was in a sort of crystal prison, the shimmering gems on all sides with no way to a larger chamber. “Hey! What’s the meaning of this?!” the captain demanded, firing a blast of magic at a large crystal. To his dismay, the magic burst didn’t even leave a dent. Shining rammed into another crystal, hoping it would give way and he could get free. No such luck. A sinister laugh interrupted Shining Armor’s attempts at escape, and the guard instantly whipped his head around, trying to find the source of the voice that seemed to echo everywhere. “Who are you?! I DEMAND that you tell me what’s going on!” A burst of green flame caused him to look at one of the crystals, seeing the face of King Metamorphosis reflected in its wake. “Hello, Shining Armor.” Shining whirled to face the speaker, seeing this mysterious being reflected in the crystal’s surface. “You brought me here didn’t you?!” He glared. “Let me GO!” Metamorphosis laughed, his image appearing on three crystals behind Shining now. His voice turned somewhat sarcastic. “Oh yes, I brought you all the way down here in a place where you can’t escape just to say, ‘Look, these crystals are nice, we’re done here’.” The King rolled his eyes, his tone becoming more serious, sinister. “I can’t let you go – I need you out of the way.” The unicorn stood his ground, attempting to stop the sense of dread welling up inside him. “You’re one of the creatures the other guards and I saw, aren’t you?!” “Actually, I believe that was one of my subjects that you saw. And when I find out who, I shall make sure they regret it for nearly blowing our cover.” A look of irritation crossed Metamorphosis’s face before he appeared on a crystal to the side, lips curled into a smile. “But, since you asked – I am Metamorphosis, the King of the changelings,.” He chuckled lightly. “You’ve probably never heard of us, have you?” Shining Armor glared, charging at the crystal where the changeling king was, only to roughly slam against the crystal’s hard surface. “I’m assuming that’s a ‘no’,” Metamorphosis stated bluntly. “Very well – us changelings are able to disguise ourselves as others, and feed off their emotions if we choose.” His voice grew sinister. “Love is the most powerful of these, and I know that you and your Princess have.. a lot of romance love for each other…” He winked, his expression turning almost seductive before fading onto another crystal. Shining was furious, a fire of emotion burning within him as he was hit by what Metamorphosis was implying. “STAY AWAY FROM CADANCE YOU MONSTER!” Shining shouted in rage, charging as furiously as he could into the crystal that Metamorphosis was on. But all that brought the desperate unicorn was a pounding in his head and the taunting laughter of King Metamorphosis. “No one will find you down here in your prison,” Metamorphosis taunted. “And your bride, well…” the King chuckled darkly, and a cold chill went down Shining Armor’s back. “Let’s just say that she’ll still be getting a husband, all right!” “DON’T YOU DARE COME NEAR HER!” Shining shouted in rage, using all of his strength to try to break free – force, magic, anything. But the crystals wouldn’t budge. “Your Princess will be mine, Shining Armor,” the King taunted, appearing once again on a crystal to slowly morph into the form of Shining Armor himself. But the look in his eyes was anything but comforting, his smile one that Shining only would see in a nightmare “Her and all of Equestria!” “NO! NO!” With a look of pure longing and a desperation, Shining Armor tried to knock down the crystal walls, perhaps hoping to find a spiraling pathway that would take him out of this imprisonment. He had to warn everypony, warn Cadance, get that… thing away from her at any cost. The crystals failed to yield, the sense of isolation further accompanied by Metamorphosis’s echoing laugh. Terrible images filled Shining Armors mind as to what might happen… what might become of Equestria… what might become of Cadance… “CADANCE, NO!”