First Morning
The next morning started out like any other in the Equestrian capital… at least, to everypony except for the two imposters now settling into their roles.
As Celestia’s sun rose in the sky the next morning, the denizens of Canterlot began to awaken, unaware that there were two within their midst who were not what they seemed to be.
Chrysalis was the first of the disguised pair to greet the new day, squinting slightly at the light that shone brightly through her – no, Cadance’s – window. She groaned, turning on her side to face away from the light. Even though she woke every morning in the torch-lit chamber of her Hive, not even the sunlight that broke through the Forest’s tree-cover shone with such intensity, except in clearings where there weren’t as many trees.
“How does that princess get up every morning to this?” grumbled the queen as she rose, listening for anypony coming to wake her. To the changeling’s relief, there was nothing. Good. It gave her time to think.
“Okay,” Chrysalis muttered to herself, standing up and observing her new form more fully in the daylight. “I look just like that princess now, just as it should be. Acting the part is going to be the more difficult aspect of this, especially where Shining Armor is concerned. But in the end, it will all be worth it.”
The queen placed a hoof on her chin thoughtfully as she stood in front of the mirror, wearing a confident smile. “This shouldn’t be too hard - if I make sure to act as I saw the princess act, then I should go through this without a hitch… and get to be closer to Shining Armor.”
With a light chuckle, Chrysalis pushed open the double doors and entered the castle hall, reminding herself that she’d have to be used the garish coloring of the castle, rather than the atmosphere of her Hive that she was accustomed to.
Oh well, the disguised changeling thought. It’s all part of the charade. I might as well get used to it for the next few days.
“Morning, Princess Cadance!”
A voice snapped Chrysalis out of her thoughts as she realized that she was being addressed. It was a light blue earth pony wearing a golden helmet, which bore a silver crest to match his mane and tail. No doubt this was one of the members of the Royal Guard.
The disguised queen forced a smile. Being referred to by the Princess’s name was going to take some getting used to, especially when she was so used to titles like “Queen Chrysalis” or “Your Highness”.
She put on a kind smile. “Good morning.”
Chrysalis left her greeting at that, as she was unfamiliar with the names of the guards, or almost anyone else in the castle, for that matter. She silently hoped that the guard wouldn’t get suspicious from her not continuing the greeting with his name.
Luckily, the guard didn’t seem bothered at all by the short greeting, simply returning the smile. “Did you sleep well last night?”
Chrysalis had to stop her smile from twisting into a pleased smirk as her mind turned to her feeling of satisfaction before she had drifted into sleep. “Yes, I did.”
The guard smiled. “Good to hear! Bet you’re excited for the wedding in a few days, huh?”
“Oh, uh, yes, yes, I am!” Chrysalis exclaimed, trying to keep up that enthusiastic demeanor, though she inwardly cursed her hesitation. Her stumble in speech could blow her cover if she wasn’t careful.
“Hey, I can understand,” the guard said with a casual air, “pre-wedding nerves probably got ya nervous, huh?”
The deceiver nodded, relieved that the guard saw her behavior as completely normal, and not something too out of the ordinary.
Speaking of guards…
“Is Shining Armor around, by any chance?”
The guard laughed lightly, glancing behind him to the long hallway. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still sleeping. You always do seem to get up earlier than him – I swear he sleeps like a log some mornings.”
Well, at least I’m doing that right, Chrysalis thought, forcing a good-natured laugh at the guard’s comment.
The gray earth pony nodded in the direction of the hallway leading to the larger area of the castle. “He’s likely still in his room at our sector if you want to see him,” the guard pointed out, beginning to trot in that direction. “Maybe your presence will magically get him to wake up, if he’s not already up by the time you get there.”
Chrysalis was thankful that the guard was at least guiding her in the right direction to go – she and the other changelings may have gotten a view of the castle’s exterior, but aside from a few clever glances into windows, the interior of the building was largely unknown to her.
That could prove to be a bit of a hindrance when she wasn’t accompanied by anypony, but the changeling queen vowed she’d be able to bypass that.
Chrysalis walked down the hallway after the guard, glad that she’d be able to find Shining Armor’s room now without too much trouble, even if it was close to the other side of the castle. She’d have to make sure to pay attention to her surroundings around the castle – she didn’t want to feel like a fool by losing her way later.
The last thing I need is for everyone to think their princess has suddenly developed amnesia.
----
Meanwhile, in the section of the castle where the Royal Guards lived, the room of the Captain was for the most part silent. The room’s occupant was just beginning to rise from the haze of sleep, his eyes groggily beginning to open.
But once his senses became more alert to the waking world, Metamorphosis’s now-blue eyes opened, all feelings of sleep quickly dissipating. He was meant to be Captain of the Guard now, after all! And with that thought in mind, there was no time for dozing.
Metamorphosis rose and stretched, shaking all sense of sleep out of him so that he could properly maintain himself for the day’s events as thoughts swirled around in his head. Today was the first day of his little charade, and thus the hardest one to get into. Not only would he have to deceive Princess Cadance, but he’d also have to trick the guards into thinking that he was Shining Armor, normal as ever.
“Thank Circe that I have experience with armies and military strategies,“ the changeling king said, feeling more confident at the situation. “It will at the very least allow me to get well-acquainted with their course of action if it comes to that.”
He glanced over at a large desk in Shining Armor’s room, where, among other personal belongings, a calendar hung on the wall next to it. The king walked over to study it carefully, observing the dates.
“The wedding is three days after today… so I have today, tomorrow, and the following day to get through with deceiving everyone here.” A sinister smile crossed his lips. “And after that, the day of the wedding will be here at last!”
The changeling’s eyes gazed over to his right, where a small heart-shaped picture frame sat on the desk. Within the borders of the ornate frame was a picture of Princess Cadance and the unicorn whose form he now held.
“You really do have a beautiful bride, Shining Armor,” he said quietly, though his tone was much more sinister than endearing.
A knock on the door interrupted the imposter’s thoughts.
“Shining Armor?” a voice called out – one of the other guards, presumably – “It’s Blaze Storm. You awake in there?”
“Yeah,” Metamorphosis responded, turning away from the picture to face the door. “I’m up.” Holding his head up high, he trotted over to the door to open it, revealing the pony who had spoken to him. Blaze Storm was indeed another member of the Royal Guard, a gray-colored pegasus with a light orange mane and tail.
Blaze Storm raised his right hoof in a quick salute before letting a small grin come across his face. “Just a few more days before the big day, Captain! Think you can handle it?”
“You mean handle guard duty and trying not to get too excited?” Metamorphosis asked with a light chuckle. “I’m Captain of the Guard, Blaze, I think I can handle it.”
As the pair of them stepped out into the ornate hallway, closing Shining Armor’s door behind them, Metamorphosis felt a brief sense of surprise at how naturally this came to him. But he let it pass to replace it with a calm demeanor. Being rather knowledgeable in these guard tactics himself, he saw it as no different than talking to one of his lieutenant changelings, save having gone from the position of King to that of a Captain.
Perhaps this won’t be so hard after all, Metamorphosis thought. I’ll just have to remember to respond to “Shining Armor”, and get acquainted to how things work around here. While it was true that this was only the first morning and he couldn’t let his guard down, Metamorphosis began to feel a burst of confidence on his ability to deceive them.
Another guard came trotting up to the pair, an eager smile on his face. Unknown to them, it was the same guard who had been speaking to Chrysalis several minutes prior.
“Ah, Silver Cloud,” Blaze nodded with a smile. “What’s got you so eager?”
“Well, I see that the Captain here is awake,” Silver said. “Your bride-to-be is here to see you, Shining Armor!” He moved aside to reveal the alicorn they thought was Cadance walking over to them, a smile lighting up her face as Shining Armor – at least, who they believed to be Shining Armor – came into view.
Metamorphosis darted over to the pink alicorn, grinning at her in the loving way her husband actually would. “Sleep well?”
Chrysalis smiled, gently nuzzling him. “I slept wonderfully.”
The stallion wrapped a hoof around her shoulder. “Glad to hear it, mi amore,” he said fondly, using the nickname he had heard the real Shining Armor give to Cadance the previous night. With Chrysalis’s eyes briefly closed, she didn’t notice the brief green glint in the other’s gaze.
“Hey, lovebirds!” Silver Cloud called out, snapping the pair out of their embrace. He and Blaze were already heading down the hall, toward one of the larger areas of the castle. “You coming to breakfast with us or not?”
The disguised changelings forced grins at one another, but making them look just natural enough to work.
“We’re coming, guys!”
As the pair walked after the two guards, side-by-side, the two changelings felt a mixture of pride and satisfaction.
The day may have just started, Metamorphosis thought, glancing at the bride-to-be, but I think this is going to go quite smoothly.
Chrysalis looked back at Metamorphosis in return. So far, so good.
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814744
I was expecting you to charge me, Chrys. Did that talk you have with your brother soften you up?
The awkward moments are going to be strong in this one.
Nice job, a missing word or two here and there, but very well done. I feel that this could get a bit tricky for the two Changelings before long.
814791Chrysalis: *charges* He is NOT my brother!
814801
*Maya Fey charges in and puts up a barrier, stopping Chrysalis's, with Phoenix Wright directly behind her scanning the ground* You REALLY cut is close, Nick!
Phoenix: Hey, I came! That's what matters. *Continues rummaging ground for some time, than stands up. When Chrysalis finished charging, he walked out in front of the barrier.
I can imagine Shining and Cadence finding each other in the caves and figuring out what happened
814793 Thanks! Things will get a bit tricky indeed!
814804 Yeah, that's gonna be an awkward treat! (for us, not for them)
814834 Chrysalis: *stops short* And who in the world are you?
Metamorphosis: I'm wondering the same thing.
814854
Shining: Wait.. Cadance?!
Cadance: Shining?!
*the two run toward each other and hug*
Shining: I thought a changeling replaced you!
Cadance I thought a changeling replaced you!
*stare*
Cadance: ... They're in for a surprise.
Shining: Yeah. Now let's get out of here!
814875
Phoenix: *Reels hand back, and hits Chrysalis with his signature "OBJECTION!" attack. Then this music starts playing out of nowhere, and Phoenix is covered in a yellow aura. He then beats up Chrysalis in this manner)
Me: That is the power of the Ace Attorney.
IT BEGINS!
814854 My guess is that they're put in different caves and for Shining Armor, Dusk Shine saves him and when there's the big reveal, I expect everyone to go like, "You were captured by a changeling? No, I was the one captured!" Twilight/Dusk: "(something about universes)" Chrys/Meta: "What are you doing here? This is MY big day!"
This won't end well
814923 Chrysalis: *crashes to the ground, her head reeling from the fierce attack*
Metamorphosis: *smirks* Ha, you're down, Chrys!
(Also, gotta say the last part of that post had me think, "Now that's the power of the Home Depot!")
814981 Yes it begins... the hilarity and awkwardness shall soon commence!
815019 Well, I can tell you one thing - there is gonna be no gender-bend\t universe type thing in this, so no Dusk Shine here.
815082
Phoenix: One down, one to go. *Glares at Metamorphosis before running at him.*
815082
Let's HIGHLIGHT your HAIR!
815097 Metamorphosis: Not so fast! *stands his ground and fires a strong beam of magic at Pheonix Wright*
(For some reason I think this would make an epic drawing)
815120 Don't get what highlighting my hair has to do with it, but hey, it makes everything crazier!
815140
This may or may not clear things up.
815144
Oh, a TF2 reference, I see! 
I haven't played TF2 yet, but I have The Orange Box.
How they deal with Twilight and Celestia will be interesting.
815160
Aqua Teen Hunger Force actually, the TF2 animation is just set to a clip from the show. I love the show so much.
815165 Indeed - that's gonna be interesting to write.
815167 Ohh, okay! I've never seen that show.
815140
*Phoenix Wright manages to use Advancing Guard enough to get away with only minor chip damage*
Phoenix: This guy's stronger than I thought! Need to step it up a notch! *He activates level 3 X-Factor, and performs the combo done on Chrysalis on him.*
815082 Curses
815177 Metamorphosis: *attempts do dodge the attacks, still using his magic, but at that point decides to focus more on using his hooves, since he's much stronger with physical prowess than magic*
815180 Yeah, sudden gender-bent-universe thing would be sudden and out of place. I'll leave it to you to guess what happens.
814875
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/104/603/YESS!!.gif
815249 I'm not saying that's what will happen, just a potential scenario.
815195
Phoenix: This isn't working! He keeps dodging my attacks! Time to do the inconceivable! *Brings in 3 other sets of Phoenix Wright and Maya, all with different color schemes.*
Me: Mind blown yet, Metamorphosis?
815371 Metamorphosis: *blinks* Do you have an army of changelings too?
Chrysalis: *opens her eyes slightly, still conscious* Oh great. As if we didn't already have problems.
815406
Me: No changelings here! Just fighting game engine technicalities! Phoenix Wrights! You all know what to do! *The 4 PW's all rummage the ground looking for 3 pieces of viable evidence and use Maya to create a barrier. When they all have evidence, they hit Metamorphosis with an "OBJECTION!" attack and proceed to decimate Metamorphosis with the same combo as what was done on Chrysalis.*
815478 Metamorphosis: *braces himself and charges headfirst at them, intending to use his power to decimate them*
Chrysalis: *manages to use a blast of magic to also attack the multiple PW's that are charging at Metamorphosis*
*Two of the Phoenixes get knocked away from Chrysalis's blast, while the other two keep attacking Metamorphosis.*
Me: HA! It's going to need more than that to stop Phoenix Wright! The man's helped demons, ponies, and countless humans!
815663 Chrysalis: Well, he's never fought changelings before, has he?
Metamorphosis: And has he ever gone through military training?
815688
While he doesn't have military training, his dog does. Come 'ere, Missile! *Phoenix Wright's dog Missile runs in, one for each Phoenix Wright, so a total of 4. When all accounted for, 2 get sent on each changeling*
815747 Chrysalis: *is able to stand despite her injuries, and fires blasts of magic at the oncoming dogs*
Metamorphosis: *charges, intending to use his powerful hooves to knock them out*
815766
*The Missiles sent on Metamorphosis dodge his charge, and jump onto his back when he isn't looking. The one of the Missiles sent at Chrysalis just barely makes it out of the way. The other gets the full force of the blast, falling to the ground unconscious.*
815783 Chrysalis:*grins in satisfaction as one of the Missiles falls to the ground* Ha!
Metamorphosis: *tries to shake off the dogs attacking him, lifting off into the air in an attempt to disorient them* Get OFF of me!
815829
*The one Missile heading towards Chrysalis hits her knees, making them buckle, and probable shatter. The Missiles on Metamorphosis's back repeatedly bite and claw at him.*
815855 Chrysalis: AAAAGGGHHH! *falls to her knees, the bones in her front legs broken. She glares hostilely at them, wincing* I'll make you... pay for that! *she tries to stand using just her back legs and her wings, but she becomes unbalanced with the broken weight of her forelegs*
Metamorphosis: *eyes briefly widen* Chrys! *he shakes his head, trying to focus, the expression of what might have been a flicker of worry for Chrysalis dissipating as her turns around in mid-air, trying to resist the bite marks digging into his skin as he attempts to shake off his attackers*
815952
Go Missile Go! Keep at it! *The Missiles switch actions. The one on Chrysalis bites and claws at her, and the ones on Metamorphosis smash his legs in.*
815978 Argh, dang typos! Thanks for the correction, though, and glad you're liking the story so far!
And yeah, the part when Chrysalis and Metamorphosis were kids was really fun to write.
816032 Chrysalis: Agh! *tries to use her magic to get the Missiles away from her* GET... OFF!
Metamorphosis: *attempts to kick the Missiles away, his legs not getting completely smashed due to his strength, but one attacks one of Metamorphosis's hind legs in a way that leaves a deep gash, nearly causing it to snap and break* STOP IT!
816551
You want them off of you? Then give control of the hives to me and Shadowed Rainbow. If you don't, I'll take out the Pinkie Pie Launcher again.
816581 Chrysalis: *snarls, upping the ante on her magic despite being injured* NEVER!
Metamorphosis: *tries harder to ger the dogs off of him, doing several quick loop-de-loop rolls in the air in an attempt to shake them off* You'd have to be scronaut to ever think we'd give up our Hives!
Looking good.
816644
Yes, but remember, I have the Pinkie Pie launcher, Hardcore Luna, and the only way to get the dogs off of you, whereas you have nothing except your magic which has proven ineffective up to this point. So what's it going to be? Give up now, and walk away, or keep this up to the point where one of us dies?
816651 Thankks!
816726 Metamorphosis: *roughly shoving the dogs off of him, he manages to fly over and stand beside Chrysalis* If you think we'd give up, then you're wrong!
Chrysalis: *looks up at him* You're helping me?
Metamorphosis: No. It just stands to reason that we unite against this threat to our Hives.
816860
You guys are standing up against me? Don't say I didn't warn you...
816894 Chrysalis: *tries to stand up with the aid of her wings, but she can only partially stand, with the limp weight of her shattered forelegs weighing her down* We know very well... that you warned us. You may have broken my forelegs *inwardly prays that her back legs don't follow suit* but I still have my magic!
Metamorphosis: And I'm physically stronger thanks to my royal lineage. *narrows eyes* Those dogs off yours attacked me, but aside from these gashes and nearly having a leg broken, I've come out of this mostly unscathed. You're underestimating us. How many others have survived those attack dogs of yours?
816961
Missile was one of the lesser attacks I have at my disposal. If you get caught in my stronger attacks, you WILL die, no questions asked. *Takes out large remote with many different symbols* And all it takes, is the push of one button. Would you two like to tempt fate?
816976 Chrysalis: *glares* How do we know you aren't bluffing? We've had our fair brushes with fate, in different ways.
Metamorphosis: And keep in mind that we have reinforcements. We could summon our swarms we needed to, remember that.
817001
Ah, but you underestimate me. I have the ability to summon every pop culture icon from here to Timbuktu. *Shows abilities by Summoning Xemnas, Sephiroth, Megaman X, The Mario Bros., Master Chief, Raiden, Akuma, Missingno., The Creepyblack GHOST, Slenderman, Ghasts, Ichigo Kurosaki, The entire cast of Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, Megas XLR, Dialga, Palkia, Kyurem, Victini, Zekrom, Reshiram, Auizohtl, and an equal size changeling army.* You will not have any chance of surviving now. Goodbye, King Metamorphosis and Queen Chrysalis. It's been nice knowing you. *Sends everyone on the two changelings.*