Chapter 3. Crazy Train on a Highway to Hell
There was no conversation between the individuals as they flew towards their target.
As they approached the train, Iron Will noticed several darkened shapes flying above it. He silently pointed them out to the rest. Trixie nodded and lit her horn up. The air around them briefly shimmered before settling.
They easily flew by the bat-winged Night Guard unimpeded.
Approaching the train, the fliers slowed down and landed on the roof of one of the carriages.
Trixie shivered and raised a shield in front of her face. “Yeesh, this wind is atrocious!”
Iron Will nodded, unperturbed by the hostile environment. “All the more reason to get this over with.” He turned towards the insectoid queen. “Chrysalis, would you mind?”
She nodded emotionlessly and lit her own emaciated horn up. One of the changelings stood to attention before falling flat on the roof and crawling over the edge.
“And now we wait...” Gilda muttered as she watched it crawl off.
-o-
Mi Amore Cadenza hummed joyfully to herself as she danced around her train car. “This day is going to be perfect!” She sang. “The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small!”
She collapsed backwards onto her bed, giggling gleefully. “Oh, I can’t wait! I’ll be there soon, Shiny! Oh!” She darted up, her smile growing wider as a new thought struck her. “I bet that Twilight will be there too! I hope she remembers our old hoofshake!”
She jumped off the bed and wiggled around in the familiar motions. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" She squealed giddily. “Ooooh this is going to be great!”
“All of my old friends will be there too! Celestia, Luna, Ch-!” The pink alicorn suddenly cut herself off, her mood souring instantly. She was silent for a moment before shaking her head vigorously. “Don’t think about it, Cadance. Those days are long gone,” She lit her horn up, grabbed a nearby bottle and proceeded to pour herself a glass of Johnny Trotter. “Long gone.” She emphasized as she drained the glass in a single gulp.
Suddenly, a flash of green in the corner of her eye caught her attention. However, when she whipped her head around, all she saw was an empty window, the Salt Lick Flats silently flashing by outside.
She blinked in confusion before silently shaking her head. “Just your imagination, Cadance. Just like every other time...” She took a swig of scotch directly from the bottle.
One of the major downsides of immortality: over time, it became really, really hard to get hammered even if you wanted to be. A fact that was extremely inconvenient when all you wanted to do was forget.
-o-
Chrysalis was quiet as her child crawled back onto the roof. “She’s in the caboose. Besides that, there are four other guards. Two unicorns patrolling along the cars, two earth ponies guarding her carriage,” She snorted derisively. “For the record, I am going to have a really hard time imitating the bubblegum princess.”
“Irrelevant,” Iron Will stated. “You’re aiming to get caught anyways. You don’t need to be flawless, just convincing enough until the ceremony. By then, it’ll be all eyes on you. After that...”
Chrysalis nodded solemnly. “I know, I know,” She sighed heavily. “At least she’s got a well-stocked bar, I get the feeling I’m going to need it.”
“Alright, whatever,” Gilda interjected. “So, how do we get this little shindig started?”
“Actually!” Trixie interjected. “The Tactical and Calculating Trixie shall handle things from here! After all, smoke and mirrors are Trixie’s speciality!”
“What do you have in mind?” Chrysalis inquired.
Trixie smirked sadistically in response.
-o-
Iron Vigilance repressed a yawn as he trotted slowly through the empty carriage. The Princesses had rented out the entire train for security purposes, but they still wanted their soldiers to remain on guard, just in case.
‘Honestly,’ Vigilance mentally groaned as he walked out between the carriages. ‘This is ridiculous! For Celestia’s sake, she’s a Princess! There isn’t a single pony in all of Equestria stupid enough to try starting anything with them!’
Vigilance stopped and sighed as he gazed out over the passing Flats. ‘Then again, it’s not exactly my place to complain. Orders are orders, I just follow them. Just gotta keep a sharp eye out! As my grandpappy always says, “Constant-!”’
His train of thought was abruptly cut off when he was snatched off his hooves and had his head slammed into the carriage wall so fast he didn’t even have time to blink.
-o-
Gilda tutted mockingly as she held the limp pony in her talons. “Honestly now, letting a fully grown griffon clad in armor sneak up on you? This guy needs to learn how to keep a better eye out!”
Trixie chuckled. “Trixie agrees completely. Now then!” She clopped her hooves together. “Strip him nude. And Chrysalis? It’s time for phase two!”
-o-
Adamant Faith strode confidently through the train car. His mind was set solely on his patrol. ‘Alright, Vigilance should be coming through that door right...about...’
The carriage door opened and Iron Vigilance strode through.
‘There he is. Right on time, just as usual.’
Adamant nodded at his stony-faced comrade as they crossed paths. However, something made Adamant slow down slightly.
His face twisted in confusion as he sniffed a bit. “Hey, Vigilance, can you smell that? Smells like, I don’t know, an insect or somet-”
That was all he was able to get out before something tackled him from behind and the world devolved into a blur of black, chitin, fangs and pain.
-o-
Chrysalis sighed as she looked down at the twitching form of the guard. “That was so easy it was almost sad. Maybe he’ll learn not to be so trusting in the future.”
Iron Will withheld a chuckle. “Iron Will finds it hard not to agree.” He looked over at his equine comrade. “So, what next?”
“Now?” Trixie responded eagerly. “Now Trixie takes center stage! Follow Trixie!” she turned and trotted towards the caboose. However, she stopped after taking a few steps. “Oh! Trixie almost forgot!” She raised her hoof and waved it around. “Help Trixie get this armor off, would you?”
-o-
Stone Heart and Steel Resolve were silent as they stood guard over the Princess’s carriage. They were the perfect model of a guard. Unflappable, immovable, solid as statues, nothing surprised them.
Nothing, that is, until the door to the carriage in front of them burst open and a flustered mare tumbled out. “Oh! Excuse Trixie! Oh dear! So sorry” She cried as fell in front of them.
In a flash, the two assumed their trained ready-positions, prepared for anything. “Identify yourself!” Stone Heart commanded brazenly.
“Oh! Yes yes yes, of course!” The mare exclaimed as she slowly climbed to her hooves.
Stone Heart and Steel Resolve’s jaws dropped as she did so.
The mare before them...was gorgeous! With her awe-inspiring blue coat, alluring shimmering eyes, and the way her mane seemed to flow like liquid mithril, she was the very epitome of beauty. Not even one of the Princesses could begin to compare.
“Please excuse Trixie,” She said softly, her voice tinkling like a thousand bells. “Trixie is so sorry for the inconvenience, she just so happened to get a teensy bit lost is all.”
Steel Resolve swallowed heavily. “A-ah, that’s alright ma’am! W-would you mind giving me your name?”
The two soldiers felt their hearts skip a beat as the enchanting mare before them gave off simply the most beautiful laugh they’d ever heard. “Oh, but Trixie would so much rather hear your names instead!” She fluttered her eyelashes daintily. “If it’s not too much trouble?”
“S-stone Heart milady!” Stone exclaimed.
“And I’m Steel Resolve!” his comrade interjected. “But you can call me Steel!” This earned him a glare from his partner.
The hostilities ceased immediately when the enchanting mare before them giggled again. “Such fine,” the two caught their breaths as she sidled up close to them, “strong names. My name,” she breathed in Stone Heart’s ear, “Is the Beautiful, and Alluring, Trixie.”
Stone Heart swallowed heavily. “A beautiful name for a beautiful mare-hrk!” He withheld a grunt and scowled at Steel Resolve as he withdrew his hoof from his side.
“S-so, Miss Trixie,” Steel Resolve asked. “W-what brings you here?”
Trixie sighed mournfully, a truly heart-shattering noise, as she trotted in front of them. “Ah, how Trixie wishes she could tell you! Trixie is a travelling mare, you see, wandering where the wind will blow her. One second she is having the most wonderful times in Las Pegasus, the next, poof! She is here, afraid, scared, alone...” She emphasized the last word, making it sound like the most tragic word ever uttered by ponykind.
“Y-you don’t need to be scared!” Stone Heart exclaimed.
“Yeah! I’ll protect you!” Steel Resolve concluded. Stone Heart glared at his friend.
“No, I will!”
“I will!”
“Boys!” They both snapped their jaws shut and whipped their heads towards Trixie. “You can both protect Trixie!”
The two broke out into a pair of love-struck grins. “Okay!”
“Now...” She nodded her head back towards the door she’d walked through. “Why don’t we move to somewhere more...private?”
The guards expressions dropped simultaneously. “W-we can’t...” Stone Heart stuttered.
“We need to guard the Princess...” Steel Resolve lamented.
Trixie’s expression dropped. Her bottom lip quivered as she tilted her head to the side, the moonlight flashing silver in the bottomless pools that were her eyes. “Pleeeease?”
Steel Resolve and Stone Heart’s hearts all but stopped. They glanced at each other quickly.
“A few seconds couldn’t hurt.”
“Just five minutes. Nothing more.”
Trixie squealed joyfully. She wheeled around and faced the door. “Great! Let’s go and find somewhere a bit more...” Stone Heart and Steel Resolve’s jaws dropped as Trixie walked, her exquisite flank shaking just so. She glanced back at them, eyes filled with lust. “Comfortable.”
Stone and Steel glanced at each other again as she trotted through the door. Then they pelted after her like hounds out of Tartarus.
A few steps into the carriage, it became apparent that something was wrong.
It was immediately obvious when the door slammed shut behind them as they entered. Wheeling around, their hearts dropped as they stared up into the eyes of a griffon and a minotaur.
The griffon, a female, was chuckling sadistically as she cracked the knuckles in her talons. “Hello boys,” She taunted.
The minotaur smirked at them as he mirrored her movements. “How nice of you to join us.”
The two tried to back away, but stopped when they bumped into something. They shakily turned their heads and all but pissed themselves as a pair of sickly green eyes glared down at them.
The eyes narrowed menacingly and leaned in closer.
“Boo.”
The two didn’t even have time to scream.
-o-
Chrysalis shook her head as the two earth ponies groaned in pain. “This is pathetic. Has the quality of the guard dropped so much over the years?”
Gilda snorted derisively. “Lady, the last war Equestria saw? It was fought with pies. By civilians!”
Chrysalis stared at her deadpan. “Are you- cough! Hack!” Chrysalis collapsed as another fit racked her body. “Gragh! Damn this blasted harmony!” She wheezed. “If it weren’t clogging the air, I could get my powers back and conquer this pathetic nation myself!”
“That’s why we’re doing this.” Trixie intervened. “We get him out, and then he can free the magic up again. You and your hive will be able to breathe freely. We all will.”
Chrysalis panted heavily for a moment before nodding “Fine. Fine! So now what? Do we take her down?”
Iron Will raised an eyebrow. “A griffon, a unicorn, a minotaur, a crippled Queen and her entourage against an Alicorn. Sounds like a bad joke.”
Trixie nodded in agreement. “That’s because it is. We need to continue our ploy. Gilda!”
The griffon blinked in surprise. “Yeah?”
“Did you learn that trick you told Trixie you read about and that Trixie told you to figure out?”
Gilda frowned. “Yeah, why-?” Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh. Oh! That...do you think you can do it?”
The unicorn nodded. “Trixie most certainly hopes she can! Alright, listen up!” Her comrades leaned in.
“Here’s how we’re going to do this...”
-o-
Cadance was dozing peacefully on her bed, trying to forget the old, unwanted memories she’d stirred up. Suddenly, she was awakened by a ruckus arising outside her door.
“Ma’am, no! You can’t! Stop right there!”
“Please! I-I neeeed to meet with her! I-I’m begging you!”
“He said no, la-!” THUD! “OW! GRAB HER!”
“Pleeeeeease!”
Cadance got to her hooves and dashed to the door, slamming it open. “What is going on...out here!?”
Cadance stared dumbfounded at the sight before her. Steel Resolve and Stone Heart were struggling to hold down a unicorn mare who was putting on a vicious struggle.
The mare was...not ugly, but not particularly attractive either. Her blue coat was disheveled, and her mane and tail were particularly frizzy, sticking out at odd ends. Oddly enough, she had a feather stuck behind one of her ears.
Stone Heart’s head snapped up and he caught sight of Cadance. “Princess! My apologies, we don’t know where she came from, we’ll-GAH!” He cried out as a stray hoof lashed out and caught him on the chin. “Damn it, hold still you little-!”
“Steel, Stone, stand down!” Cadance commanded firmly.
The two guards stood back and let the mare scramble to her hooves.
“Now!” She said. “Could someone please explain to me what’s going on!?”
The mare fell into a sloppy courtesy. “P-princess! I-it’s an honor!”
The guards snapped into a salute. “Milady!” Steel Resolve said. “This person stowed away on the train and attempted to intrude on your carriage!”
“N-no!” The mare exclaimed. “I-it’s not like that!” She whipped her head around towards the Princess. “Y-your highness, m-my name is T-trixie! Trixie L-lulamoon. I-I’m sorry for w-what I d-did, I know it was w-wrong, b-b-but...”
Cadance blinked in confusion. “But? Please, why did you-?”
“I-I needed to meet you!” Trixie blurted out. “T-I’ve been your biggest fan f-for so long, so w-when I saw t-the opportunity to m-meet with you-!”
“Alright, that’s enough out of you!” Stone Heart said gruffly as he and Steel took her by the shoulders. “We’re going to find a nice carriage for you to sit in for the rest of the ride. Then, we’ll hand you over to the nice ice-cream stallions from the Canterlot Mental Hospital when we arrive.”
Trixie immediately began struggling again. “N-no, wait, please! No!”
“Hold it!” Cadance exclaimed.
The three ponies paused and stared at her.
“Please, let her go.”
The guards gaped at her in shock. “Wh-! Milady, we can’t advise-!”
Cadance cut them off by holding her hoof up. “She’s just an overenthusiastic fan. There’s no harm. She went to all this trouble to meet with me, it would be wrong to turn her away now.” She smiled kindly at Trixie.
Trixie returned the smile, a slight twitch appearing on the left side of her mouth. “Th-thank you, your highness! This is...truly an honor!”
Cadance giggled lightly. “It’s quite alright, my friend.”
Stone Heart was adamant. “Princess-!”
“Stone Heart, please.” She said. “I understand your concern, but I’ll be fine. Look, if you want to help, why don’t you go and get us something to eat? The attendants at the last station forgot to provide any food in my carriage and the poor thing sounds like she’ll be sick any second!”
Trixie’s eye twitched viciously all of a sudden.
“Have you considered getting that looked at?” Cadance asked curiously.
Trixie’s smile stretched ever so slightly and her eye twitched again. “Y-yes. I-it’s fine, doesn’t act up often.”
“Oh, that’s great! Would you care to come in?” Cadance gestured into her carriage.
“G-gladly!” Trixie exclaimed as she trotted in.
“Milady-!”
“Thank you, Steel Resolve, that will be all.” Cadance cut him off as she shut the door. She sighed tiredly. “I apologize for that. They mean well, but I swear that Shiny chose the most oppressive guards he could find for my security detail!”
“I-it’s fine, they d-didn’t hurt me.”
“Good. It’s just...I know that Shiny means well, he worries and I love him for it, but honestly! Who would try and hurt me? Even if someone had a problem with me, I’m sure I could easily handle it without violence!”
Trixie’s eye twitched again. “T-that sounds...wonderful.”
Cadance looked at her in worry. “Are you sure you’re alright? Your voice really doesn’t sound well.”
Trixie waved her hoof dismissively. “I-it’s nothing! J-just a b-bit of motion s-sickness is all.”
“Oh! Well in that case, would you like me to pour you a drink? It might help you settle your stomach!”
Trixie nodded enthusiastically. “O-oh yes p-please!”
Cadance giggled at Trixie’s antics as she trotted over to the bar. “So, Trixie,” She said as she got the glasses out. “Why exactly did you need to meet with me so desperately?”She asked as she turned around and levitated a glass over to her new friend.
Trixie accepted the glass eagerly. “T-thank you!” She drained it in a single gulp. “Ah! That’s d-delicious! A-anyways, T-I-I wanted to m-meet with you to t...t-t-t,”
“Motion sickness again?” Cadance asked worriedly.
“Sure, y-yes, that. Look, I wanted t-to meet you so that I c-could...t-thank you.” Trixie finally managed to spit out.
Cadance blinked in shock. “Thank me? But I’ve never met you before!”
Trixie nodded her head in agreement. “N-no, you haven’t, b-but you still h-helped me!” Her horn lit up as she levitated the feather out from behind her ear. “T-this feather. I-it belongs to Trixie’s special someone.”
The pink Princess tilted her head in confusion. “Don’t you mean somepony?”
Trixie shook her head shyly. “N-no.”
Cadance was silent for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. “Oh. Oh! Oh!” The Princess was rather surprised. While not non-existent or forbidden, inter-species relationships were notoriously rare. “I-congratulations!”
Trixie hid her smile behind her mane. “T-thank you. I-I l-l-loved her for a l-long time. I-I wanted to tell her so much, but I-I just c-couldn’t. T-then...” She turned her smile up towards Cadance. “I-I prayed to y-you for s-strength and c-courage. A-and then...” She smiled dreamily at the feather. “She g-gave me this. As a s-symbol of our l..l-l-love...”
Cadance smiled kindly at her. “I’m so happy for you! I wish you both the happiest and most prosperous of futures!”
Trixie chuckled. “Th-thank you. S-say...” She levitated the feather over to Cadance. “W-would you like to feel it? I-it’s the s-softest t-thing I-I’ve ever felt...”
Cadance giggled pleasantly. “I would be honored.” she raised her hoof, extending it to touch the soft vane of the feath-
ZAP!
Cadance’s eyes shot wide in horror as an electric shock traveled the course of her body. She tried to move her body, her wings, use her magic.
Nothing.
‘Wh-what’s going on!?’ she cried out mentally.
To her shock, Trixie seemed to transform before her eyes. The timid, nervous look in her eyes washed away, replacing itself with a cold, cocky look, and her mouth twisted into a scowl. Her horn lit up as she used her magic to flatten out her coat and tame her mane. The filly that Cadance had gotten to know for a whole of three minutes was gone. In her place was a calm, self-assured mare.
“Urgh!” The unicorn exclaimed as she trotted past the paralyzed Alicorn to the door. Her voice had lost any and all trace of it’s previous stutter. “Trixie is so glad that you fell for that. Ten more seconds of that pure and utter manure and Trixie really would have puked!” she rapped her hoof on the carriage door. “It’s done!”
The door swung open and, to Cadance’s surprise, a griffon and a minotaur stepped and stooped through it respectively. However, while she was shocked by their species, she was terrified by something else about them.
Their armor. She knew that brand of armor, she knew it all too well.
And the implications of said armor’s re-appearance was too horrifying for words.
‘No...’ she mentally whimpered. ‘No, not them. Please, dear Celestia, anyone but them. Anyone but him!’
The griffon, unaware of the Alicorn’s distress, or perhaps all too aware of it, smirked at the unicorn. “So, Trixie? We’re lovers are we?”
“Trixie would sooner fall to her knees and worship Celestia’s glorious alabaster ass.” Trixie snarled. She trotted over to the bar, grabbed the bottle and took a swig. “Ah! Trixie is keeping this bottle! She needs to forget about this little stunt, desperately!”
“Hehehe.” The minotaur chuckled sardonically. “Now who’s putting on the interesting performances?”
“Shove it, Iron Will! Shove it somewhere painful!”
Iron Will raised an eyebrow. “Still though, how exactly did you manage to pull that off?”
Trixie sighed miserably as she took another swig. “Trixie has had more than enough fans over the years to learn how to imitate one. But that does not mean Trixie enjoyed it! Now shut your traps and let the Miserable and Ashamed Trixie drown her sorrow in peace!” she cried dramatically as she tilted the bottle back and began desperately draining it.
Cadance fought vigorously against her paralysis, but all she managed to do was get a few words out. “W-what d-did...”
“Well would you look at this!” the griffon leaned down and smirked at her terrified face. “She speaks! Impressive! Really says something about you Alicorns that you can work around that kind of a voltage. Just in case though...” The griffon plucked a feather out of her wing. Her gauntlets lit up in a sickeningly familiar pattern of runes, lightning engulfing the feather. When the light faded, the feather was unchanged. The griffon lightly brushed it along Cadance’s snout-
ZAP!
Causing her to whimper as another bolt of electricity ran through her, robbing her of her ability to speak.
“To answer your question,” the griffon gloated smugly. “That was a trick my ten-times great grand-dad Ignatius Behertz came up with. Took awhile to work out, can’t even begin to tell you how many times I shocked myself trying, but it looks like it paid off!”
“Of course it did, Gilda!” Trixie cried out, her voice slightly slurred. “It was all part of the Great and...great and... ah, whatever, it was all a part of Trixie’s plan, of course it worked! Hic!”
Gilda raised an eyebrow at the unicorn. “One bottle and you’re already hammered? How light-weight are you?”
“Not even a bit!” She protested, “Trixie just isn’t trying to resist alcohol’s sweet, tender embrace is all!”
“Enough!” Iron Will said. “Iron Will thinks it’s time we move this along.”
“Agreed! Hic!”
“Hehehehe, got it.” Gilda leered at Cadance. “We’ve got a friend who’s been dying to meet with you, Princess. Do you want to meet with her?”
“Mmm! Mmmm-mmm!” Cadance whimpered.
“Great!” Gilda turned her head towards the door. “Come on in!”
The carriage door re-opened, and to Cadance’s shock, Stone Heart, Steel Resolve and Iron Vigilance trotted through.
Her heart all but stopped as the trio of guards were engulfed with a familiar green fire. When the fire died away, her heart really die stop for a second. Left in their places were a trio of black, insectoid figures, all wearing the soldiers armor.
She knew what they were.
And she knew that their presence could mean only one thing. One person.
Her eyes widened in horror as her worst fears came true.
Proud, tall and unflappable, Queen Chrysalis strode through the door, towering over Cadance’s diminutive form.
“Why, hello there Princess.” She said coldly. “It’s been awhile. How long, hmm? A few thousand years? At the least. How have you been? I hear you’re getting married now. That’s great! I’ve just been having the most wonderful nap.”
Tears were streaming down Cadance’s cheeks as she stared up at the Changeling matriarch.
“Let me clarify something for you. Yes, this is exactly what it looks like. Our goal is to break him out of the hole you threw him into. But, to do that, we’re going to have to crash your beautiful little ceremony. Tragic, I know, but what can you do!” Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly. “So...before I render you unconscious and take your place, I have to ask,” She gestured at Gilda, who put her talon on Cadance’s shoulder. Energy flowed through Cadance before her tongue loosened up. “Any last words?”
Cadance whimpered miserably as she stared up at the Changeling Queen. “I-I’m s-sorry-!”
SLAP!
“EEP!”
Cadance’s head jerked to the side from the hit. She then cried out in pain as her mane was yanked and she was forced to look into Chrysalis’ glowing green eyes. Her face had contorted into an expression of pure fury.
“Don’t,” Chrysalis whispered, her voice filled with quiet rage. “Don’t you dare try and apologize for what you did. What you and those two did was disgusting, despicable. You betrayed Concordia. You betrayed us all. You betrayed Minos, and Serpense, and the Brothers, and Solum and Daemos and so many others. You betrayed me.” She pressed her face right up next to Cadance’s, her voice dropping to little more than a breath.
“You. Betrayed. Scholar.” She pulled back again, glaring down at Cadence imperiously.
“There is no forgiveness for the atrocities you have committed. No excuses. All there is is justice.” Chrysalis strode past her, moving out of her line of sight. “Pray that Astraea has mercy on your soul. If you have one left. Trixie?”
“Hmm?” The unicorn turned her attention away from the bottle she’d been nursing, suddenly alert.
“Wipe her.”
Trixie’s horn lit up and her eyes flashed silver. “On it.”
Cadance felt the telltale signs of a mental probe, but emotionally wrecked as she was, she couldn’t even begin to attempt to mount a defense.
She only had enough time left for one coherent thought.
‘Shiny, I’m sorry. I’m so so sorr-!”
After that, everything went blank.
-o-
Chrysalis was silent as she stared through the window and off into the distance.
Finally, a voice spoke up. “It’s done. When she wakes up, the last clear memory in her head will be getting on this train.”
Chrysalis sighed and closed her eyes, nodding in acceptance. “Thank you.”
All was quiet for a moment.
Finally, a heavy hand fell on Chrysalis’ shoulder. She looked back and up into Iron Will’s eyes. A silent question was present within.
She stared for a moment before sighing and looking back out the window. “She was my friend. We were all friends back then. Good ones. Close. Like the Elements, but...bigger. When those three...did what they did... betrayed us...” She closed her eyes as a single green tear flowed down her cheek. “It hurt.” She was silent for a second before re-opening her eyes, all traces of emotion gone. “We don’t have time for this. We can talk later, but for now I have to prepare.”
She walked up to Cadance’s prone body and stared down at her impassively. Finally, she sighed and twisted her face in distaste. “Urgh, this is part I’ve been dreading,” she muttered. Her horn lit up in a green light and a beam engulfed the Princess from head to tail. When the light died down, Cadance was unharmed but Chrysalis was coughing and sticking her tongue out in disgust. “Ugh, gack! Disgusting!”
Gilda blinked in surprise. “The heck did you do?”
Chrysalis spit her saliva out. “Yuck. Urgh, I just fed off of her love for that Shining Armor of hers for extra energy.”
Gilda reeled back. “Wh- you can do that!?”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Yes, I can do that. Honestly now, what kind of Alumnus are you?”
“The kind that only takes interest in researching things that go bang!” Trixie supplied.
“Hey!”
“It’s true!”
“Well...yeah? So what!?”
Chrysalis scoffed. “Figures. Anyways, I used Venti Canis.”
Gilda raised an eyebrow. “The Wind Dog?”
“Good, you’re not totally inept. The Wind Dog is a technique developed by studying the Boreads, the northern and most famous subspecies of Windigo. Windigoes of all species are renowned for feeding passively off of emotions, so Venti Canis was developed to let those skilled enough do it directly, and with a higher emotion-to-magic ratio.” She groaned in disgust as she grimaced. “But doing it on love is less than inadvisable.”
“Why, it doesn’t taste good?”
“No, it tastes sweet.” Chrysalis stuck her tongue out. “Too sweet. It tastes like I just ate an entire bag of sugar. Only an idiot would feed off of it! And unfortunately, I need to be that brand of idiot if I want to have enough magic for this to work. I’m going to to have to skim some more off of her fiancé, Shining Armor. Which will not be fun.”
“Right!” Trixie clopped her hooves together. “Well, we’ll leave you here to get into character. Meanwhile, we’ll be tying up the rest of the loose ends. Agreed?”
Chrysalis nodded. “Agreed.” Her horn lit up again. “I suggest you get out of here. Long-term disguises cause a hell of a light-show when they’re cast.”
Iron Will drew the blinds on the windows while Gilda picked up Cadance’s body. They followed Trixie out of the caboose.
The unicorn glanced inside one final time. “Good luck, Chrysalis.”
Chrysalis was silent for a second before finally...“You too...Trixie.”
Trixie shut the door and caught up with her comrades. As they walked away, the caboose was filled with green light.
-o-
Shining Armor grinned giddily as the train pulled into the station.
“Guards, attention!” He cried out. He beamed in pride as his men snapped into their practiced positions.
The carriage door opened. Iron Vigilance, Adamant Faith, Stone Heart and Steel Resolve filed out, standing at attention. Then, at long last, out stepped...
“Cadance!” Shining cried in joy as he ran up and hugged his beloved.
“Shiny!” She squealed, hugging him back.
“I missed you so much, my love.” He said blissfully.
Mi Amore Cadenza’s smile grew wider. “Me too, Shiny, me too. But don’t worry, just a few more hours. Then...”
No one saw as her smile gained a vicious undertone and her eyes flashed green.
No one saw as the four guards who had walked off the train rubbed their heads, their eyes tinted slightly silver.
No one saw as a blur of air left the train, flying towards the defunct entrance to Canterlot’s abandoned Crystal Mines.
“...you’ll be mine, all mine.”
No one heard the malicious hint to her giggle.
To Be Continued...
Stats
Page generated in 0.051 seconds
Total duration
1,040 users online
244,334 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I like how this is going, keep up the good work
4049881 agreed
I am really excited. The characters are done extremely well.
Yup. Competently re-purposed canon is one of the signs of good fanfiction.
I can't wait for him to introduce himself properly.
I do so love this fic, can't wait to get the whole story of what happend Before our fellow human was imprisoned.
ah, so the alicorn of love is actually a alicorn of hate, deceit and treachery
? God, I hate self-righteous scum
SO looking forward to more of this
When the ponies learn the truth it will hurt
Oh god I can't believe how good this story is. And it's only the opening act. i can't wait to see how your story unfolds after the opening act is over.
the only thing i could do while reading this was ( evil laugh) through the whole thing
4052047
Oh fuck the hell yes
4053012 could not have said it better
trixie's comment on the train in picture
OBEY w/ celestia ass above worship
I have to say I like this story as it makes Chrysalis not look like the biggest idiot ever in Canterlot. It actually seems like a legitimate idea for this to be the biggest distraction ever. The sad part is that in the show, it may have worked too well as she almost freaking wins!
grandpappy always says, “Constant-!”’
I see a reference to Mad Eye Moody here.
Harry potter, am I right?
Damn this is good.
i thought at the beginning when chrissy was let out of the goo she already fought at canterlot?
this is amazing so far
What does insect smell like?
4722433 ever smell a stink bug? maybe like that, or the smell after it rains, but you have a good point.
Could this be the answer to the anomaly that is subject Zero? A.K.A. Pinkie Pie?
Wow, so her performance was that bad because it was part of the plan all along? Kinda brilliant, but if she actually succeeded, then how is that bad for them? If she actually succeeded in that invasion, how does that hinder the efforts of The Scholar?
Even though they mind wiped her, was it really such a good idea to say exactly what they planned to her? There's always a chance something could slip though. Now I'm wondering how they justify taking Cadence underground beneath Canterlot.
Okay here is my crack point.
If they were so intelligent to erase Cadance memories of the events... why didn't they copy her knowledge about Twilight and the "sunshine" greeting?
If she had emulated Cedance in that, there would have been NO suspicions at all.
Since Twilight still had the reassurance, that Cadance remembered their most secret greeting dance.
derp
5947491 Remember Chrysalis needs to be identified for the plan to work and distract the princesses so being perfectly in character would be bad. also moving memories from one subject to another is probably a lot more complicated than erasing memories.
And the conflict that forced them (in canon, at least) to come to Equestria was fought with insults.
... Ship it!!!
I love this. I wonder what the princesses did, it must've been something horrific.
6152691
Like FedEx
Wow. seems like the villains are actually the goo guy's this time around.
I legitimately made a that’s fair face at this