Back home again
Cicada tumbled out of the portal and into a wall. “Stupid portals! Again with the wall?”
She looked around and saw Sparkle was nowhere to be seen, but one of her shoes had come off and was laying on the ground. Cicada decided she wasn’t going to risk being seen and disguised herself as Fireworks. She hoped the alicorn wouldn’t be able to figure it was her at least long enough for her to get Lila and get out.
After a few steps she found Lila had come out from the portal in such a way she fell behind a rock. With her was Spike and both were currently out cold. Cicada started to walk around the area the had come out in. At first she thought they were just in a cave, but as the queen walked around, she thought it to be more like a cavern.
At one point, Cicada found herself on a ledge of a pony made cavern as she could tell from all the marks on the edges, revealing that it wasn’t natural at all. Looking away from the wall, this part of the cavern was filled with various equipment. Not seeing anyone looking in her direction, Cicada went back and grabbed Lila and Spike. She brought out her normal wings instead of pegasi wings and flew down to the bottom of the cavern.
Upon reaching the ground, she shapeshifted her bug like wings away and hid her two friends. Cicada started to walk towards one of the stations, but hid at the last second when she saw Sparkle talking to one of the ponies there.
“We’ve been working as best we can here, but while you’ve been gone, there was a… situation at the capital. Fortunately, we were able to finish our first project.”
Cicada paid so much attention to the small meeting that she didn’t see another pony walk up behind her.
“Hey, what are you doing here? I don’t remember a pony like you in this place before.”
Sparkle came over to Cicada and the other pony. Before anypony could ask why she was and why she was there she gave her answer.
“My name is Fireworks I happened upon this place while in the mountains. And I must say, I didn’t expect to see you Empress Sparkle. Where did you disappear to? There were rumors around where I live that you were dead, or at least imprisoned.”
Cicada felt nervous but tried not to let it show. She hoped the ponies here would buy her story. Fortunately, she had lucked out.
“She’s right.” The pony who had seen her said. “We were worried and had to hide out operations here from the guards.”
Sparkle looked confused. “Why would the guards attack this place? You help create their weapons and other items.”
Before the empress could get an answer, there was a yell from across the cavern. “They found us! Get out! Changeling raid!”
Ponies everywhere were running about the place, trying to escape. Many objects were knocked over, and a large vat of a gel like substance fell right near Cicada. The gel covered the changeling and she couldn’t get out. Instead to changeling guards pulled her out while another found Lila and Spike.
The three of them were put in a steel cage along with Sparkle who was wearing a magic suppressor on her horn. The cage, which was more of a metal box, started to move and the four occupants started to head to an unknown location.
Cicada didn’t know how long she had slept, but by the time she woke up, they had stopped moving. Both Lila and Spike had woken up. The doors of the box had opened and multiple changelings in armor were standing on the outside. Three of them stepped in and grabbed Sparkle. The empress tried to fight back, but she was stopped.
Two more grabbed Cicada, one of them quickly placing a suppressor on her horn. The queen was confused at first, but then she noticed she was still a pony. She tried to change back, but something was stopping her.
Cicada was able to briefly turn her head around and see Lila riding on the last guard’s helmet while he watched Spike. The guards taking her made Cicada keep facing forward, so she could make sure the were okay.
Before long, Cicada realized they were in Sparkle’s castle. When they reached the throne room, the throne itself was empty.
“Your highness, we found the ponies’ operations in the mountains to the north. We also happen to find that former Empress Sparkle was there.”
A voice from behind the throne asked, “And what happened there?”
“We captured her along with another pony, a dragon, and your sister’s pet.”
Both Cicada’s and Sparkle’s eyes widened. Nymph walked forward and sat in the throne. She looked at the beings in front of her. The changeling waved her hoof beckoning the nightshade phoenix. Lila flew to Nymph and landed on her head.
“How are you still alive? I ordered the guards to have you killed.” Sparkle yelled.
A few of the changeling guards who had spears or swords held them up the former empress. Nymph made them lower their weapons and she walked up to the alicorn. “The second you left, I was able to escape. Without you, it was actually very easy to win. I’ve already won over land from each of the ambassadors, and the changeling army is gaining more each day, pushing all the ponies out of the country.”
Cicada looked scared. What had happened to Nymph? They had planned earlier that the pony citizens would be treated well until it was deemed right to make them leave. There’s no way the ponies could have even prepared to be forced out of their homes, and who knows how far they were going.
Nymph turned her head to look and Lila. “What happened to Cicada? Why are you here and she’s not.”
Lila flapped her wings and went over to Cicada and started to fly in a circle around her. Nymph summoned the bird back and she landed on the changeling. Nymph walked over to Cicada with one of the angriest looks the queen had ever seen on her face.
“Piller! Cat!” Nymph barked. “Take her to be executed.”
“No!” Cicada cried. The two guards grabbed her as she tried to run towards her sister. Lila looked shocked too and was about to fly to follow when Nymph pulled her away while she walking in the other direction.
“Now don’t worry, we’ll watch from a bit further away.” She nodded to two guards as she passed them, and the changelings took Sparkle to a jail cell to stay.
Cat pushed Cicada into the execution room. A window could be seen near the top of the opposite wall from where Cicada had come in for viewing. Currently it was empty, but the queen thought that Nymph would be there shortly with Lila. She tried to think of a way to get out of this, but Piller gave her another shove disrupting her train of thought.
The door slammed behind Cicada as she fell to the ground. She lifted herself up and started spitting out the dirt from her mouth and rubbing it from her eyes. When Cicada could see again, she used her hoof to try and dig at the ground, but under about two inches of dirt there was a stone floor.
Suddenly, the wall to her left gave a hissing sound. The seam to a door appeared and opened. A new changeling came in, this one not in armor. Instead he had distinguishing features like red orb like eyes and orange tinted fin like hair.
He closed the door behind him and it disappeared back into the wall. The changeling walked over to Cicada as she watched him, and when he was close enough, he yanked her upright to stand next to him.
‘Nettle’ Cicada thought, looking at his cracked horn. Nettle caught her staring at it and hit her across the face.
“So why are you here instead of Sparkle? You must have done something horrible to be executed before her.”
The truth hit Cicada hard. She has know why she came here, but she didn't accept that her sister would do it until just then. There was no way she could get out of it, especially since she couldn't change back to normal. The only way there was a chance she could escape was if Cicada could take barely any damage from what was supposed to hurt her, and that was only if the disguise would take it instead and disappear.
Then, the queen thought of a new idea. She raced toward the last wall and crashed into it. The second she could, cicada raced back and slammed into the wall Nettle had come from. When Cicada tried to slam herself against the other wall again, Nettle stopped her.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He yelled at her. Cicada tried to push him away, but the changeling kept his grip.
“Nettle, just let me go.” Cicada told him. In shock he did just that.
“H-how do you know my name?” Cicada didn’t answer, but kept throwing herself against the walls. “Why are you trying to hurt yourself?”
“Trying to get my disguise to disappear. Yeah I’ll lose it forever, but it’s better than being killed.”
Nettle stopped Cicada again. “You’re crazy, come on!”
Up in the window, Nymph appeared with Lila. The phoenix started to freak out when she saw Cicada in the room below. Nymph paid no attention to the bird, staring down at the scene below. “Almost time…” She mumbled to herself as a door below the window opened with another changeling and a guillotine. It was brought to where Nettle wanted it, then put upright. The changeling that brought it in quickly left Nettle to do his job.
Cicada kept trying to get way, but she couldn’t get out of the changeling’s grasp. “Nettle, please, don’t do this. I’m not a pony!”
Nettle continued getting Cicada set up as he talked to her. “Then why can’t you change back? Even the foals can do that.”
“I don’t know. Lila and Spike went through the portal with Sparkle, then I followed her disguised as this to find out what was going on. Some sort of gel fell on me when the guards came, and I haven’t been able to change back since. Please Nettle, I’m telling the truth!”
“Try and convince me then. I don’t want to keep the queen waiting.”
Cicada tried racking her brain for something to tell Nettle. As she thought, he started to get the guillotine ready. “Uh, we planned the attack on the castle we had before Nymph was captured a month before it happened. We wanted to try and take down the smaller pony bases first and actually get ponies on our side. Thrip once had a crush on a pony but had to take her life to save everyone else.”
Cicada looked at Nettle, but he showed no signs of believing her. Cicada’s brain went on overtime. What could make him believe her more than those facts. As Nettle started to look like he was about to release the blade, Cicada thought of the answer. She yelled it out at the last second. “Locust was going to propose to Nymph in six months or the end of the war, whichever came first!”
Nettle’s eyes widened, but he had just let go of the rope keeping the blade up. He quickly thrust his hoof towards Cicada’s head. The wood keeping her head from moving out of the way of the blade broke and the blade missed Cicada. Unfortunately, Nettle hadn’t pulled his hoof back in time and it sliced most of his leg off.
Blood started to ooze onto the dirt. Nettle felt to the ground, screaming in pain. Cicada was glad she was a unicorn at the time. Nettle, though in pain, helped take the suppressor of her horn and the queen was able to start using healing spells. She wasn’t that good at healing, but Cicada was attempting to help mend his bone and reconnect Nettles nerves to the leg.
Cicada had trouble when she heard a shattering noise from above. She quickly glanced to see the window’s glass was cracked with a hoof shaped mark where the cracking started.
When Nettle was patched up as well as the queen could manage, she helped him to the door she had come in. He was about to help her open it when it was opened from the other side. It slammed into the two of them, throwing them to the ground. Nymph was on the other side, and used her magic to pick both of them up, taking them elsewhere.
BGI'P VGQQU, UGC'SS BLD OGGI DIGCEF.
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It looks like we've finally earned that Gore tag.
Also, Nymph is about to personally kill Nettle for turning traitor, at which point Cicada's disguise finally breaks. That is to say, after Nettle dies. You know, for drama.
6719569 Well, they art in most chapters, if not all, as far as I have noticed. As mentioned, I do think I can help out when it comes to flushing out errors and similar things. It'd be nice with a change of pace doing some proof-reading. Wait...
I just realized that that was an unintentional pun... huh. 
Well, as promised, the offer stands and I hope thou take it up. 
6719667 remind me to find a new editor. also, i think it might have been my bluetooth keyboard. it does stuff sometime when i use it
6720200 Ah, understandable. Though, if thee art looking for an editor, thy search doesn't need to be continued, as I already have proposed to help out.
If thou take it up is completely up to thee, but should you do, I must warn that it would most likely hav't wait til Sunday or perhaps Saturday, due to me going away and then celebrating my birthday with my cousins. If thou don't want our help, well, I can only wish thee luck as I look forwards to the next chapter and what it shall bring.
6723896 ah, no