Is It Everything You Dreamed, Miss Sparkle?

by Arreis Of Avalon

Dualities: The Power Of Persuasion

“You’re not going anywhere,” the three bridesmaids muttered, sickening grins plastered to each of their faces. They slunk closer, their green tinted eyes seeming to shine in the dimness around them.

Cadance backed away, trying to think of a way out of this. Twilight merely scowled. She had hiked through the caverns, tiredly picking through stone after stone, trying to find a way out, just to be stopped by these three ponies? They each looked vaguely familiar, but at this point, she couldn’t care less who they were. They were in her way, and if she didn’t hurry, Chrysalis would win.

“Stay back, Princess,” Twilight growled. Cadance looked at her, wide eyed, saying nothing. Twilight’s horn began to glow, not with her usual magenta aura, but with a blackened red color. Her eyes flashed white. The bridsmaids before her stopped, frightened. Each of their own horns began to glow the same color, and their eyes flashed as well.

Simultaneously, the three mares began to scream.

“STOP! STOP, PLEASE!”

“MAKE IT END!”

“WE’RE SORRY! SHOW MERCY!”

Cadance took another step back, shock written on her face as she watched Twilight. The little filly she used to know was… grinning. She was enjoying this. This power. What on earth had happened to her?

All at once, the screaming ended. The three mares rubbed their heads, their previous agony seemingly forgotten entirely. They all looked dazed. Twilight took a deep breath, the light around her horn fading. “Twilight… W… What did you do to them?”

Twilight gulped, looking at Cadance. “A spell I read about a very long time ago. It clears the mind of any magic whatsoever; unfortunately, it causes unspeakable pain to unicorns, who are the most magical of ponies. It cleared their minds of that changeling’s hypnotic power, but brought them great pain as well.”

Cadance watched Twilight closely. She seemed to be telling the truth. Still… something was off about her. Cadance had known her long enough to tell that Twilight had changed, and not entirely for the better. She had to do something to fix that.

And yet.

Cadance nodded. “Alright.” Time enough for that later. For now, Shining Armor was more important. She had to get back to him, before it was too late. “Lead the way.”

Twilight nodded, and together, they made their way out of the caverns.

*~*~*~

“Princess Cadance and Shining Armor,” Celestia was saying, “it is my great pleasure to pronounce you -”

“STOP!”

Everypony gasped as Twilight strode confidently into the hall. She stood tall, knowing now she had been right all along. She saw the disappointed faces of her friends and nearly laughed out loud. If only they knew what she knew. If only they were as smart as her, if only they could grasp such things as she knew. They had betrayed her, but she would forgive them. She was, and always would be, the bigger pony. The better pony.

The fake Cadance took a step back, startled. Celestia glanced at her, concerned. Cadance glanced around, obviously worried; where had Twilight come from?

Twilight smirked. Chrysalis was scared - terrified, really - of the power she had. Of the power they had, Ardor and she. “What’s wrong, Cadance? Or should I say, Chrysalis?”

Everypony seemed confused by her questions; all except the mare in wedding garb. She gasped, gulping, looking to Shining Armor for assistance. He stared blankly at her. She gulped, raising her hoof to her eyes and pretending to cry. “W-why does she have to ruin my special day,” she said, hoping she could wrap these little ponies far enough to get Twilight out of there.

“Because it’s not YOUR special day.” Everypony turned to look at who spoke. Cadance, the real one, strode into the hall, fury in each step. “It’s mine.”

“WHAT!?” The disguised changeling bit her lip, eyes wide. “B-But how did you escape my bridesmaids??”

Twilight and Cadance looked at each other. They nodded; they had agreed not to tell anypony about what had happened in the caverns. The guests would be disturbed to hear about the pain caused to the bridesmaids. It would be their little secret. Cadance sighed. “It was easy, really. A simple bouquet had them running.”

The queen scoffed. “Hm. Clever. But you’re still too late.”

“A-Ah don’t understand!” Twilight glanced at Applejack. “How can there be two of ‘em?”

Twilight frowned in disappointment. Not even a casual remark about twins? Not a single guess about cloning? How… saddening. They couldn’t wrap their minds around the idea she had been saying all along, even when it was right before their eyes. They still refused to listen to her. To believe in her.

“She’s a changeling,” Cadance said. “She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!” Twilight nodded. Cadance had gotten the full debriefing from her in the caverns. She had passed it off casually as simply “something she learned in a book somewhere”. How simple the little white lies came to her, now. The irony wasn’t lost on her; once again, she felt like laughing.

Everypony gasped as flames erupted in the hall. Twilight watched calmly as the true queen emerged; Queen Chrysalis. This was the mare she had seen in the caverns. This was the mare who was trying to steal her brother. This was the mare who was trying to steal love itself.

Twilight scoffed. Pitiful. She is falling apart; just look at those holes, that hair. She is sick, isn’t she?

No response came from Ardor. Twilight didn’t mind; she knew he was watching, just as she was. He would be beside her through it all. Twilight lifted her head taller as Chrysalis finally emerged from the flames, laughing.

“Right you are, Princess, and as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I’ve ever encountered.” Chrysalis strode forth, seemingly with confidence. Twilight saw the falter in her steps, however. Chrysalis was strong on stolen love, love that would never fully sustain her. She was strong in magic, but weak in physical form. “My fellow changelings,” she continued saying, “will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!”

“They’ll never get the chance! Shining Armor’s protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!”

Chrysalis laughed. “Oh, I doubt that.” She turned. “Isn’t that right, dear?” Shining Armor slowly nodded, completely under the changeling’s spell. Cadance frowned in anger and charged forward. Chrysalis put her hoof down. “Ah-Ah-Ah. Don’t want to go back to the caves, now, do you?” Cadance took a few steps back. Twilight trotted up beside her, surprisingly calm. Both regarded the queen cooly.

“Ever since I took your place, I’ve been feeding off Shining Armor’s love for you. Every moment, he grows weaker, and so does his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at it.” She cackled, turning Shining’s head to face her. “He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now, and, I’m sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as captain of the royal guard!”

“N-Not my Shining Armor,” Cadance cried. Twilight’s eyes were wide in surprise, but they quickly hardened into a wrathful glare. Not her Shining Armor either. Not her brother.

“Soon, my Changeling Army will break through! First, we take Canterlot, and then, ALL of Equestria,” Chrysalis cried gleefully.

So that’s it then, Twilight heard Ardor mutter in the brief silence. This is a power grab, not a true crusade for love. Pathetic. We should end this, right here and now, just to get it over with.

“No.” The voice tore Twilight back to the matter at hoof. She looked in surprise at Celestia. “You won’t.” Twilight shivered. For the smallest of moments, it had felt like Celestia was talking directly to her.

“You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell,” Celestia continued to say, “but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self, I will protect my subjects from you!” The two beings clashed their horns together before the princess rose into the air, horn blazing. Chrysalis gasped, her own horn sparkling with a green haze. Their two beams of magic met, filling the room with intense light. Chrysalis cried out once in vain.

Twilight watched. There was so much she could do, but she was paralyzed. She had never seen Celestia fight before. She is… so powerful.

Suddenly, she was filled with a dread horror. She didn’t know where the feeling came from - she simply felt as though all energy in the world had been drained from her. She shivered, her eyes widening. She heard but 3 simple, horrible words. She needs Luna.

Where was Luna?

Twilight blinked, and it was over. She heard the clattering of the crown as it crashed to the floor; moments later, the princess did as well. The ponies gathered gasped in alarm. Somepony cried out, “Princess Celestia!” As Twilight ran to her mentor, it took her an instant to realize it was her own voice.

Even Chrysalis was amazed. She stared in disbelief at the fallen Celestia. “Ha… Ha! Shining Armor’s love for you is even stronger than I thought! Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!”

Twilight leaned over Celestia. Her horn was charred, her wing obviously broken under her. She gently lifted the princess’s head, seeing her open her eyes. Celestia looked at her student, and Twilight saw only one thing.

Despair.

“The elements of harmony,” she whispered. “You must get to them - they are your only hope, my faithful student.”

Twilight nodded, standing. She looked around; surrounding her were her friends. Each looked determined. Proud. Strong. She shut her eyes tightly and looked away. “Let’s go.”

Twilight ran as fast as she could. If Celestia thought she could handle the Changeling army with the elements, then she should trust Celestia. Her teacher had taught her everything; she was, by far, the strongest mare alive. With her advice, anything would be possible.

But hadn’t that very same mare just fallen to a simple hive queen?

Twilight groaned as she ran. The buzzing in her ears had risen to unbearable levels. She stumbled a bit and stopped when she heard a voice, clear as day in her mind.

Chrysalis’s voice.

The time is now, minions! Break the shield! Stop them from getting to the Elements!

Twilight’s eyes widened. Her horn sparked green, red, purple and black and her eyes flashed. Her friends stopped, looking at her in concern. “T-Twilight!?”

Twilight gasped. “W-We need to go back! This instant!”

All of them looked at each other. “B-But,” Fluttershy stuttered out, “the princess said-”

“I DON’T CARE WHAT SHE SAID!” All of them stared at her in shock. “That shield isn’t going to hold until we get there! I just know it! We need to get back and stop Chrysalis - WITHOUT the elements!”

“We CAN’T Twilight!” Rainbow flew down to her level. “Did you SEE her? She’ll totally kick our butts!”

“We CAN. We can do anything! I am the Element of Magic for pete’s sake!” She spun around, her eyes narrowed in determination. “I can do this alone if I have to.” She shut her eyes tightly. “I’ll do it alone if you make me.”

There was a second of silence. She felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned to see Applejack, smiling. “We’re not leavin’ you, sugar. We… made an awful mistake, earlier. We coulda listened, but…” She shut her eyes, hanging her head.

“But instead of learning our lesson the first time,” Rarity chimed in, “we chose to let stress rule our lives. We missed the point of an important lesson and, as history dictates, we were destined to repeat our mistake.”

“We should’ve listened to you, Twilight,” Fluttershy mumbled from behind her mane.

“We’ve been awful friends,” Pinkie added.

Rainbow rubbed her hoof, sighing. “Can you forgive us, Twi? A… A second time?”

Twilight looked at each of them. Her eyes searched theirs. She swallowed the lump in her throat. What should I do, Ardor?

She watched them and listened. She listened to the buzzing and the nervous shuffling and the held breaths. She listened to herself, to her friends, and to her internal ‘guest’. She listened, and turned her back on her friends. Then, she began to speak very fast. There wasn’t much time left, after all.

“The magic you all just saw from my horn is a reaction to Chrysalis’s magic. She’s been communicating with her minions this entire time. That’s why we have to turn back - my magic reacted because they’re growing more and more powerful by the second. We need to go, now, and stop her, before she steals all the magic in Canterlot.” She shut her eyes. “My element is inside me, not just a little gem I can wear. I have that magic with me always. I need to face off against her.” She paused and opened her eyes. “I need to face her… but nopony ever said I have to do it alone.”

All of her friends gave a collective cheer. “Come on, ponies,” she cried. “Let’s go!”

The ground shook. The world was filled with shattering. She looked up, eyes wide.

The shield was broken. They were coming.

It was time.

“GO! GO GO GO!”

Together, the 6 ponies ran away from the Element Tower, back to the queen.

Comments

[UnbelievablyDeadCultist]

Awesome Chapter . Cant wait to read the next one.

[Arreis Of Avalon]

6206923 xD Wow, you read it fast. Thanks for the comment!!!

[UnbelievablyDeadCultist]

6206929

Well if there is something i am fast at. It would be reading.

[StarLight-Everfree]

ohhhhh dammmmn, this was so AWESOME!!!!!!
CAN'T WAIT 4 DA NEXT ONE!!

[Arreis Of Avalon]

6207020 Thanks!~