Camaraderie is Sorcery

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 2:26 - The Cant'r Laht Wedding, Part the Second

Author's Note:

Translations

Chapter 2:26 – The Cant’r Laht Wedding, Part the Second

Drifting … floating … dream … cold …

It was wrong. It was all wrong. Twilight Sparkle knew she should be doing something, but her mind was completely unfocused. So was her body, suspended and barely able to sense anything. She should be breathing, but her lungs hadn’t taken a breath in hours. Something was wrong, but she had no way to place what it might be.

Wedding … trap … Cadence … imprisoned …

Clarity struck her like a shower of ice water down the back. Her suspicions about Cadence had been true, perhaps even underestimated. The alicorn sorceress who’d once taught her the fundamentals of sorcery had subdued and imprisoned her … somewhere. She didn’t remember anything after the throne room except the conflicting feelings of being unfocused and free while being trapped at the same time.

She tried to snap her eyes open, but her lids slid slowly, mired in slime. A green ooze surrounded her on all sides, cushioning her, suspending her … upside-down. She wanted to hyperventilate, especially when her lungs realized they should be functioning again, but she’d barely sucked in the slime before she had to hold her breath. She would suffocate quickly. She had to get out.

Her sorcery failed her. Though she could remember her spells now, which was an improvement over when she’d been captured, no effects manifested. It was the ooze that surrounded her, still damping her magic even if it no longer dampened her mind and senses. The ooze wouldn’t be necessary soon to keep her unconscious, since in failing that it had also ceased to eliminate her need for breathing. She struggled in the ooze as her vision narrowed from oxygen deprivation. Her hindhooves were secured above her, but she was able to move through the slime slowly, until her face pressed against the membranous wall of her prison. Jerking her head around, she managed to puncture it with her horn and tear open a slit. The membrane fell apart and the slime poured out, leaving Twilight alternating between coughing up ooze and sucking in air.

By the time she could breathe with some semblance of normalcy, blood was beginning to pool in her head. Her magical abilities were returning, and she reached out with them to break the chitinous shell around her hindhooves. The sorceress fell heavily to the floor, her hindhooves still stuck together but no longer to the ceiling. She shivered wet and naked on the ground, and cast up a magical fire to help warm herself.

Now that she was no longer fighting for her life, she was able to get a good look at her surroundings. She was in a cavern, lit dimly by luminescent mushrooms. Other pods like the one she’d been in hung around the cavern. The few that she could vaguely see the ponies within didn’t seem to contain anypony she knew. She had no idea where she was or how long it had been since Cadence had subdued her. Her strength was quickly returning, but her knees were wobbly as she trotted around trying to get her bearings.

She had no inkling of where she might be until she came across a strangely diagonal column in the next cavern over. It was overgrown with moss, but scraping some away revealed a gleaming, white, and almost perfectly smooth surface. There was only one place she knew of where such a thing existed; this was one of the supports that held up Cant’r Laht, built magically by sorceresses shortly after the Conjunction introduced magic to the world. She was under the city in the crystal mines that had been exhausted several centuries ago. Almost all the gems used by sorceresses in their experiments and enchantments today used crystals harvested from these mines. They’d been cleared out centuries ago and the shafts that connected them to Cant’r Laht had been closed up, but Twilight was counting on there being another way out. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure what she’d do.

She didn’t know exactly what she would do when she escaped, but she was determined to escape. If she could have been certain where she was, she would have teleported her way back up into Cant’r Laht, but that was a dicey decision when she had no idea how far above her Cant’r Laht was. She didn’t want to end up teleporting inside of a cave wall or the Cant’r Laht sewer system. Twilight conjured up a light and began making her way through the caves, searching for an exit. Through marking the walls to make sure she didn’t loop back on her path (which she did several times) and following the fresher air, she finally found a way out of the mines.

The caverns and tunnels came to an end at an opening in the side of the Titan’s Horn. The Equestry Valley was spread out before the sorceress, shadows covering much of the land as the sun set in the distance. Off to the right, Twilight could barely see the White River cascading over the edge of Cant’r Laht as it began its journey to Onon’r Laht far below. She had a better idea where she was now, south of Cant’r Laht and far enough down that the entirety of the hemispherical platform the city was built on was above her.

Stepping back from the ledge, she concentrated on teleporting away. The distance it would take to teleport all the way into Cant’r Laht would stretch even her abilities, and arriving in Cant’r Laht Castle was practically out of the question. She certainly wasn’t going to teleport into the middle of the street naked, so she instead focused on the small collection of houses outside of Cant’r Laht’s walls where the ponies who farmed the land lived. It had been mostly abandoned while the Manehattanite delegation had set up camp nearby anyway. Hoping she wouldn’t materialize in front of some peasant, she cast the spell and winked out of existence.

Twilight Sparkle reappeared among the cottages and quickly ducked out of sight. Nopony seemed to have seen her, so she calmed down a bit. In fact, the only pony in sight was a young stallion dragging a sack filled with items the Manehattanites had left behind when they’d broken camp into a home, and he left a few minutes later with an empty sack ready to be refilled. Twilight considered teleporting from here to her chambers in Cant’r Laht Castle, but Rarity was likely to be there, as well as any number of other ponies getting fitted for their wedding attire. Cadence might even be there, and Twilight didn’t think she could stand against the alicorn. What she really needed was to find Celestia and somehow convince her that she was telling the truth, but she also didn’t want to appear before Celestia without any clothes.

She had no idea what Cadence had done with her sorceress robes, so she prowled around the village looking for something to wear. Clotheslines were strung between some of the buildings, and she quickly located items hung up to dry. A skirt was a necessity, but she also found a soldier’s shirt forgotten by a Manehattanite. The shirt wasn’t technically required, but she had lived so long with sorceress robes that she felt as naked without her front half covered as she did were it her back half. Twilight also found a cloak and pulled it on over herself, which probably wouldn’t be required, but it would help hide the oddity of her outfit from the casual observer.

Focusing on her bedchamber in the castle’s north tower, she teleported away from the village. Normally, teleportation seemed instantaneous, but this time Twilight almost felt that it lasted some non-zero amount of time. There was also never a sensation of being between source and destination, but she did feel like she was suspended over Cant’r Laht for an instant. When she rematerialized, she was not in her bedchamber, but standing in a copse outside of Cant’r Laht. It took her a moment to realize what had happened. Shining Armor had told her a threat had been made against Cant’r Laht. A city of sorceresses would assume that that threat would be of a magical nature, so of course the protective spell that her brother had erected around the city would prevent somepony from simply teleporting inside. She should have known that already, but her mind was so inundated with worries about what Cadence would do that she wasn’t thinking straight.

I suppose I will have to walk in through the front gate before I can teleport to the castle. A snapping branch ahead caught Twilight’s attention, and she ducked behind the fresh growth in case it was somepony she didn’t want to meet right now. Two creatures that Twilight Sparkle had never seen the like of before trotted between the trees. Their bodies were shaped like that of a pony, but there was no hair covering their flesh. Instead, they were covered with a shiny black carapace, segmented to let them move freely, like the body of a beetle. Insect-like wings were tucked against their backs, and one of the creatures fluttered its wings briefly. Their manes and tails were webbed and membranous, their eyes were without visible pupil or sclera, and both had a curved horn on their foreheads. Wings and horns, but surely not alicorns. Their mouths had an upper and lower jaw like a pony, but they also had two mandibles that met in the middle. As they trotted around and investigated the area, they went back and forth with a series of clicks, buzzes, and hisses intermingled with sounds that were almost distinguishable as words, speaking in a language Twilight had no comprehension of.

What are they? Why are they here? Are they looking for me? Perhaps Cadence was in league with these creatures and had discovered Twilight’s escape. If so, she didn’t dare reveal herself to them. Neither could she risk trying to fight them off until she knew what they were capable of. She was a Cant’r Laht sorceress, Celestia’s personal protégé, but she wasn’t foolish enough to rush headlong into this engagement even with her incredible power. What if they could restrict her magic as Cadence had? Then she would really be in trouble. Two other ponies approached from the west wearing Cant’r Laht City Guard armor, and the two creatures retreated back behind some bushes themselves, mercifully not the same ones Twilight was hiding behind.

“They’re probably gone by now,” one of the guards, the shorter of the two, a unicorn stallion with a beige coat, said, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

“If they are, that just means more walking,” the other, a cream-coated earth pony, replied, “This was definitely where the attempted teleporter was ‘bounced’ to.”

Twilight considered presenting herself to the guards, but with those creatures lying in wait, she worried she might put the duo in danger by exposing herself, so she stayed put for the moment.

“If it turns out to be … her, then shouldn’t we have brought back up?” the shorter guard asked as he looked around nervously, “She’s Celestia’s apprentice. Shouldn’t we at least have another sorceress with us?”

They’re looking for me? Why?

“A sorceress that stands a chance against Twilight Sparkle? Sure, you go ask Celestia or Luna to do it,” the larger guard harrumphed, and the shorter flinched at each of the names, “Or, better yet, you could ask Lady mi Amore Cadenza. I’m sure the Captain would love to send his bride-to-be out after the pony who tried to kill her.”

They think what? That I tried to kill Cadence? Cadence had slandered Twilight’s good name by accusing her of such a thing! She would never have done anything like that! Still, her behavior toward Cadence didn’t reflect well on her, so it must have been an easier lie for some ponies to swallow. Twilight had to make it to Celestia and clear her name. Cadence had to be stopped before she did any more damage than she’d already done!

“I can’t believe it was Celestia’s own pupil that made the threat against Cant’r Laht. Does she intend to make herself Matron of Sorceresses, do you think?” the larger guard asked.

“I don’t want to think about it,” the smaller guard said, “Let’s just get this over with.”

From where Twilight was, she could see what the guards could not. The two creatures she’d been keeping a watch on transformed before her eyes. Their bodies metamorphosed until they appeared to be two stallions in City Guard armor. The shorter of the real guards drew his sword frantically before seeing two other guards standing in front of him.

“What are you doing here?” one of the creatures said, its voice matching the body it was now in perfectly, “We were sent out to investigate the disturbance in the protective shield.”

“So were we,” the larger of the real guards said, “Should we … join forces?”

“Not necessary,” the second creature said, “It must’ve been a mix up. We can take it from here.”

“Oh, thank Faust,” the smaller of the real guards breathed a sigh of relief.

The two true guards departed, headed back toward Cant’r Laht. By the time they were out of sight and the creatures transformed back into their true forms, Twilight was gone as well.

***

The sorceress didn’t know what to do now that she was a fugitive. She approached the gate to Cant’r Laht in the hope that she could slip through somehow, but it was futile. Guards were abundant, and even if she could slip past them, there were sorceresses and sorcerers present as well, probably compelled to come here by Celestial decree, judging by the looks on their faces. If they didn’t detect spells used to hide her as she entered, there was still the matter of Shining Armor’s shield. There was no telling what they’d do to a pony who tried to pass through while using sorcery. She had to abandon the plan of slipping into Cant’r Laht, at least for the moment, and put some distance between herself and Cadence.

When she’d learned how to detect the location of ponies, she’d also learned how to keep oneself from being located. It was one of the first spells she cast after learning that she was being sought after for attempting to kill Cadence. She had done no such thing, but a guard or another sorceress wouldn’t be likely to believe her. Besides, many of Cant’r Laht’s sorceresses would love to see the Golden Filly hang, jealous of all the years she’d spent as Celestia’s pupil, so they might turn her in even if they did believe her.

She headed the only direction she could to get away from Cant’r Laht by hoof, east along the path that wove around and through the White Mountains. At one point where no path could be carved and maintained, there was a tunnel through the Titan’s Horn itself, stretching straight as an arrow nearly half a league. What made it even more impressive was that it had been carved before the Conjunction, without the use of any sorcery. Although magic had been used later to smooth and reinforce it, it had originally been carved using only unicorn engineering and determination, much to the annoyance of the pegasi who’d lived where Cant’r Laht was today and only wanted to be left alone by the invaders of their land.

On the Cant’r Laht side of the tunnel was an inn where travelers could rest before or after making the long trek through the dark. Twilight entered the inn as the crescent moon rose above the mountains. The establishment was moderately busy, with about half of the tables occupied by ponies eating or drinking, most of them hangers-on of the Equestrian delegations still in Cant’r Laht who’d left early since they had no reason to stay, not being invited to the wedding and all. A stodgy mare, the innkeeper for sure, stood behind the bar in the center of the room.

“How can I help ye tonight?” the innkeeper asked as Twilight approached, skeptically eyeing her mismatched attire.

“I need a room, as well as maps of Equestria and Cant’r Laht, a silver coin, and something to eat,” the sorceress said.

“That’ll be two Bits,” the innkeeper said, “One and ten shillings for the map, six shillings for the room, and four shillings for the meal. You can use one of your own shillings for the silver coin.”

“I do not have any money on me right now, but I can return and pay you later,” Twilight Sparkle said desperately, and the innkeeper snorted, “I am Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s personal protégé, and I need your help urgently.”

“I’ve never heard that one before,” the innkeeper said sarcastically, “Pay or leave me alone. I won’t turn you out—you can sleep by the fire—but if you want a room, a meal, or a map of Equestria of all things, you’ll have to pay.”

“Leya,^[1]” Twilight Sparkle said, and instantly everything on the bar rose into the air.

“Okay, I believe you now,” the innkeeper said as one of her patrons swore and fell off the stool he’d been sitting on to get away from his hovering beer.

Twilight lowered everything back onto the bar, and the innkeeper retrieved what she’d asked for. The fugitive sorceress took her hot meal into her room and locked the door. For good measure, she also placed wards over the door and propped the little furniture there was in the room against it. There was no telling if royal guards or those creatures she’d seen in the woods might come after her.

After her meal, she began to plan. Maybe in a few days she could reenter Cant’r Laht, but it might be too late by then to stop whatever Cadence had as an end goal. When she did enter Cant’r Laht, she’d have to know where Cadence was so that she could either avoid her or unmask her for the despicable pony she was, if she could figure out some way to do so by then. She cast an enchantment on the silver coin she’d been given so that it could be used to locate Cadence. Out of curiosity, she checked to see where Cadence was at the moment. Unrolling the map of Cant’r Laht, using her mug and bowl to hold the edges down, she spun the coin atop it. It spun and spun, circling Cant’r Laht Castle before meandering through the rest of the city and eventually over the Titan’s Horn. Strangely, it did not stop spinning, which meant that the pony it was attuned to was not at a location on the map.

Where in Equestria could she be? Had Cadence left Cant’r Laht? Was she waiting outside the inn? No other magic-users were nearby, as far as Twilight could sense, but it was possible that the alicorn had found some way to conceal herself. Twilight pulled out the map of Equestria and rolled it out on top of the Cant’r Laht map before spinning the coin again. This time, the coin spun around Cant’r Laht before jaunting off toward Vanhuv’r and then reversing course to swing back southeast. It passed Cant’r Laht and continued on past Balte-Maer and across the Shimmering Sea. The spinning of the coin slowed, and it came to a stop on end at the very corner of the map, in the middle of Tyrannus.

What was Cadence doing there of all places? One would think she’d never want to see Tyrannus again after her long “visit” there. Unless … during her imprisonment, she’d somehow been turned and sworn allegiance to Ingrirtireth. That didn’t seem likely, but neither had Cadence imprisoning her in the mines beneath Cant’r Laht, or the existence of strange shapeshifting bug-ponies until very recently. Based on what Twilight recalled from the times she’d studied the sketchy maps of Tyrannus that ponies were able to produce, the coin had stopped above the mountain that served as Ingrirtireth’s stronghold. Could it be?

A washbasin sat next to the room’s bed, and Twilight poured out the pitcher beneath into the basin. Images appeared in the basin as she scryed for Cadence, swinging her magical gaze far to the southeast. Across the Shimmering Sea, the forests of Tyrannus, and the island’s lava plains, her gaze swept until it reached Ingrirtireth’s mountain. She let herself be drawn in, past dozing dragons and through caverns until eventually passing through a wooden door. Chambers here were carved out of rock, and the image froze as Twilight spotted Cadence sleeping in them. So, she was in Tyrannus; but, why would she travel to Tyrannus just to sleep, and how would she have gotten there so quickly?

Twilight pulled her magical gaze back and swept back across the sea and over the mountains. Cant’r Laht was beginning to go to sleep, but guards still patrolled the streets, searching for Twilight Sparkle. The water suddenly grew foggy before clearing up again. The moment it was pristine, Twilight swept her gaze over to the Cant’r Laht Commons. Shining Armor staggered out of the pavilion there, having just renewed his spell and rubbing the side of his head with a hoof. Cadence approached him as he did so.

Cadence! Two Cadences? It didn’t seem possible. Cadence could not be sleeping in Tyrannus while simultaneously trotting around Cant’r Laht. Unless … one of them wasn’t really Cadence at all! Perhaps neither were, but Twilight would prefer the one that hadn’t imprisoned her until she knew better. Could the Cadence in Cant’r Laht be a fake? She had seen those creatures in the woods take on the appearance of ponies; could one of them be impersonating Cadence? The change in personality, the strange magic, the evilness—it all seemed to make sense now.

She had to get to the other Cadence. That would prove to Celestia what was happening for sure. However, there was one small problem. It would take Twilight weeks to reach Tyrannus, and that was assuming she could find a ship captain who’d take her there, and that she wouldn’t be eaten by a dragon the moment she arrived. Even with all the travel across Equestria this past year, she’d never longed so much to be able to simply open a portal and step from one place to another anywhere in the world in an instant.

“Twilight Sparkle! We know you’re in there!” a gruff voice called from the inn’s common room as the door rattled, “Don’t cause any trouble! Come on out!”

The guards had found her. Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to reveal to the innkeeper who she was. She couldn’t go with them; there was no telling whether they were real guards or those creatures in disguise, or which option would be worse. She was wanted for attempted murder of Celestia’s heir, and she had no hard evidence to convict Cadence. Nothing could link her to the other ponies imprisoned in the mines beneath Cant’r Laht except for Twilight’s word.

“I am innocent!” Twilight Sparkle called back. It probably wouldn’t do much good, but maybe it would buy her some time.

“Break it down!” the guard on the other side of the door ordered. So much for that plan.

Twilight Sparkle had to get out of here, but simply escaping for a moment wouldn’t do her much good. She could teleport out of the inn, but there was only one direction she could go, away from Cant’r Laht, which meant heading into the tunnel. Despite how this year’s long journeys had better conditioned her body for traveling, she would not be able to outrun or outlast the guards, especially if there were pegasi in their midst, who could loop around and cut her off. Even she couldn’t teleport indefinitely.

The first blow against the door was stopped by her wards, but they began to unravel a few seconds later. They’d brought at least one sorceress along with them; smart for the guards, but bad luck for Twilight. She had to find another way out, even if it was a long shot. The wards had weakened enough by the next blow that the door budged and some of the planks splintered.

Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath to calm herself before facing the wall away from the door. It was now or never. She concentrated on everything she’d studied, and performed the mental incantations. She felt the magical energy flowing out from her body toward the far wall, mounting as the door behind her splintered and a chair propped against it toppled. The chambers she’d seen Cadence in firmly in her mind, she completed the spell.

A magical doorway appeared in the far wall, only a slit at first, but quickly widening. The edges wobbled and pulsed with energy, but eventually stabilized. Through the doorway, she could see a dark room with bare walls of volcanic rock. Twilight laughed raggedly as she realized she’d done it; she’d finally managed to conjure up a portal. If only it had happened within happier circumstances and she could tell Celestia about it right away.

The room’s table flew away from the door, dinnerware and maps scattering off it, the coin rolling under the bed, and it nearly hit Twilight in the hindquarters. She ran toward the portal without looking back, jumping through to the sound of splintering wood. She did look back as the portal snapped shut behind her, catching a glimpse of guards shoving themselves into the room and pushing furniture out of the way. None of them seemed to have seen her portal.

The chambers she’d entered were pitch-black, so the sorceress prepared to conjure up a light. Before she could, a strangely melodic hum sounded, and Twilight found herself unable to move. She squeezed her eyes nearly shut as a bright light appeared in the room. As they adjusted, she saw that the light was balanced on the tip of Cadence’s horn, who looked very surprised.

“Twilight?” Cadence said as she released her, “What are you doing here? And what in Equestria are you wearing?”

“It is a long story,” Twilight said wearily, before stiffening, “I want to trust you, but I have made that mistake already.”

“What are you talking about, Twilight?” Cadence asked with concern.

“Prove you are who you claim to be,” Twilight demanded as she prepared protective spells in case this was a trap.

“Twilight, it’s me, Cadence,” Cadence (allegedly) said.

“I wish I could believe that,” Twilight said.

Cadence looked thoughtful for a few seconds before giving a slight nod.

“Fire, Water, Air, and Earth,”

“Present at the world’s rebirth.”

“Speak their names, they come again:”

“Bei, Ill, Caen, nof Eren,^[2]” Cadence and Twilight sang together.

As Cadence named the four elements, a tiny sphere of each appeared in front of her, and all four spun in a circle before dissipating. When she had been a filly, Twilight had been enthused by that trick, something she’d never been able to pull off herself. Now she was certain it had something to do with the musical way that Cadence performed magic, and that this was truly the pony who’d once tried to teach her sorcery.

“Cadence!” Twilight cried excitedly as she embraced the alicorn.

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Cadence comforted her, “Now, what is going on that brought you here?”

Cadence lit some torches, and Twilight relayed to her in detail everything that had happened in the past few days, from the invitation to the wedding to being pursued out of Cant’r Laht. Cadence was very concerned, especially about Shining Armor, interrupting Twilight’s story several times to ask if he’d been hurt. Perhaps a wedding would still be in order once this fiasco was over, but they had more important things to worry about right now. Cadence took the news that somepony or something was impersonating her rather well, though that was why she was Celestia’s heir. She wouldn’t let anything shake her.

“This explains why Ingrirtireth does not want me leaving my chambers. He probably knows all about this plot,” Cadence said more calmly than Twilight would have expected.

“We have to stop your doppelganger,” Twilight Sparkle said, “I do not know what plans she has, but they cannot be good for anypony, least of all Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, or the Equestrian monarchs in Cant’r Laht at this moment.”

“We can’t go in without a plan, though, Twilight,” Cadence said after nodding in agreement, “We need to know more about who we’re up against. You said you saw some creatures outside of Cant’r Laht able to mimic other ponies. I think that would be a good place to start. It’s a shame we won’t be able to research them in the Cant’r Laht Archives.”

“I have an idea where we might be able to do some research,” Twilight Sparkle said.

***

“Just what did you think you were doing, opening a portal on college grounds?!” Summer Blossom demanded angrily of Cadence and Twilight Sparkle, who were ringed by the College of Eyes’ guards and not a small number of mages, “You think that being apprentices of the ‘great Celestia’ gives you the privilege to intrude anywhere you wish?!”

“My apologies, magister, but it is an emergency,” Twilight said anxiously, “I will speak with the archmagister and formally apologize for this intrusion if need be, but we need access to your archives immediately.”

“Your impertinence is legendary, if nothing else. To think I once stood in your defense before the other magisters,” Summer Blossom said sourly, “You presume too much, Twilight Sparkle. To demand access to our archives!”

The sorceress had every right to be angry. Twilight had transgressed against the College of Eyes in what she’d done, but she was willing to pay the penalty. Opening a portal to outside the College’s territory would have been proper, but she and Cadence had no time to wait around while messages were passed back and forth and the college’s magisters deliberated over whether to let them in, possibly sending a letter to Celestia to ask her intentions and unwittingly notifying the false Cadence of their location. Entering the college’s grounds directly was risky and dangerous, but it would help cut right to the heart of things. Given that Cadence and Twilight were still alive, the risk had paid off.

“Archmagister Mendetheles accompanied Duchess Seaspray to Cant’r Laht, and left me in charge while she is away,” Scalai said as she trotted up, “You ought to know that, Lady Cadenza. After all, your wedding is the reason she is still there.”

The blind sorceress looked much better than she had four months ago. Being possessed by the Chaos shard of Discord’s soul and forced to conjure up a tower beneath the Tower of Inner Sight had taken a toll on her, but she’d recovered. Twilight wondered if the other victims of Discord’s possessions had been so fortunate. She realized that she and her friends had mostly just left them and had heard no further news about them. Discord wasn’t the threat in front of them today, though.

“A wedding I had no part in,” Cadence replied, “The pony in Cant’r Laht using my name is a fake, a fraud who has found a way to impersonate me perfectly.”

Scalai went stiff, and her eyes widened behind her blindfold.

“Changelings?” she whispered under her breath.

“What was that?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Come with me,” Scalai commanded, and Twilight and Cadence followed.

“Scalai, what are you doing?” Summer Blossom protested as she followed, some of the guards and sorceresses coming along as well, unsure what to do, “They have intruded in the College of Eyes. They must be punished, or at the very least expelled from the grounds!”

“I am in charge while the archmagister is away,” Scalai reminded her, “They may stay, at least until after I have learned more from them.”

Most of the followers fell away, only Summer Blossom staying and fuming at her fellow magister’s decision. The trek across the dark college grounds brought them to one of the buildings the Brave Companions had visited before. Up they went into the highest point of the tower. The Twins of the Tower were as they’d been last time, Amaelia watching her crystal balls and Amaury with his muzzle buried in a massive book.

“Oh … hello,” Amaury said as he looked up.

A small wooden figure of Cadence was sitting next to Amaury’s book, and he picked it up and deposited it atop the building they were currently in within the College of Eyes’ miniature. Models representing Twilight, Summer Blossom, and Scalai were already there. Twilight Sparkle recognized that her figure was completed now, as was the model of Ponieville that now sat on the ring surrounding Equestria.

“I told you it was Cadence,” Amaelia said without looking away from her crystal balls.

“I know you did,” Amaury shot back.

“I thought you said it was impossible for her to be here and in Cant’r Laht,” Amaelia replied with a hint of satisfaction.

“No, just unlikely, and especially unlikely with Twilight Sparkle at her side,” Amaury defended himself, “Must be another duplicate.”

“So, it’s true, then?” Scalai asked, not even trying to contain the worry in her voice, “It’s changelings?”

“Yes, there have been several sightings in the past few days that can only be explained as such,” Amaury said as he flipped through the book in front of him, searching for the notes he’d made on such occasions, “There has especially been an increase in number in and around Cant’r Laht.”

“Magister Scalai, you mentioned changelings before,” Cadence said, “Who or what are they?”

The blind sorceress sat down on a bureau shoved against the wall and beckoned for the others to take seats of their own. The Twins of the Tower continued at their work, Amaelia calling out to her brother the movements of important ponies in Equestria and Amaury marking them down. Scalai visibly steeled herself before continuing.

“Changelings are a plague, a pestilence that has the potential to worm its way into all of Equestria, yet usually contents itself with nibbling at the edges,” Scalai said, “They did not exist in Equus prior to the Conjunction, and they did not arrive here during it like earth ponies, gryphons, and the like. Fragmentary records from the Long Winter indicate that once they marauded with the White Procession, but why they stayed here when the centaurs and bat-ponies haven’t, we may never know. They reside in the Broken Lands for the most part, but have been known to venture out to hunt. To do so, they take on the appearance of another creature and feed off strong emotions directed toward that pony. As you can imagine, stepping into the place of somepony as well-known as Celestia’s heir, especially if she were a bride-to-be, would be an ideal situation for them.”

“And with nearly all of Equestria’s leaders in Cant’r Laht …” Twilight Sparkle said, and Scalai nodded glumly.

“You seem to know a lot about these creatures,” Cadence commented.

“Magister Scalai is the foremost authority on the changelings,” Amaury commented, apparently having been listening in even while marking things down in his book and adjusting his maps.

“When I was a young sorceress, I sought to study them. In their natural form, they look enough like ponies to fool you only from a distance. They are as if insect and pony were merged, while also possessing the essential traits of both unicorns and pegasi, but they only tend to appear that way when no ponies are around,” Scalai said, and Twilight nodded as she explained exactly what she’d seen outside of Cant’r Laht, “I ventured into the Broken Lands to search for their home, and they did not take kindly to it. Some of them can spray acid. They took my sight from me.”

“I’m so sorry,” Cadence said with sincerity, and Scalai hesitated before accepting it.

“Is there any way we can stop them?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“I know some spells that will help in fighting, unmasking, and protecting against changelings,” Scalai said, “I will teach them to you.”

“Thank you. We will not forget this,” Twilight Sparkle promised.

***

The sun rose and fell and rose again before Twilight and Cadence departed the College of Eyes. Scalai taught them everything she could in the time given, and though they learned more quickly than she’d expected, she couldn’t impart on them all of her knowledge. If they could have stayed another day and rested more than a few hours, they would have, but they were out of time. Twilight had thought she had more time, but she’d underestimated how long she’d been in that chrysalis beneath Cant’r Laht. The wedding was today, and there was no way she was going to let her brother marry a changeling, or let other changelings leave with the Equestrian monarchs back to their home countries, disguised as powerful figures, perhaps even the monarchs themselves.

Within Cant’r Laht Castle’s great hall, the most important ponies of Cant’r Laht and all of Equestria were gathered. There were few here who actually liked Celestia or knew enough about the bride or groom to make a fair judgement on them, but this was an important event. It wasn’t every day that an alicorn was married. Celestia’s heir and House Haltrotsun would be bound together, increasing the prestige of that nearly-dead house even more than inheriting the title of Prince of the City had. With the marriage came questions among some of the monarchs if Celestia intended to set up a hereditary monarchy after her death. Those in the Lodge of Sorceresses kept their mouths shut; they already knew what Celestia had planned.

At the front of the hall stood the wedding party, Shining Armor and mi Amore Cadenza facing each other. The groomstallions and bridesmares were lined up on either side, the best mare position occupied by Fleur de Lis, a sorceress who had been friends with Cadence before her time away. Behind the couple and to the side stood a priestess from the Church of One who would officiate the ceremony, unhappy that the wedding would not be held in Cant’r Laht Cathedral but satisfied that at least it would be performed by a priestess, which was more than some sorceresses thought was necessary for the marriage to be legitimate. Celestia stood directly behind the couple, dressed in regal splendor, and advanced to address the hall.

“Mares and gentlestallions, we are gathered here today to witness the union of the Lady mi Amore Cadenza, sole member of her house, and Lord-Captain Shining Armor of House Haltrotsun,” Celestia announced.

Shining Armor grunted as he felt a buzzing in the back of his head. Odd, that’s never happened before. Cadence reached out a hoof to steady him, and he felt her sorcery work its magic on him to whisk away those aches and pains and put his mind at ease. Everypony gasped as a portal suddenly opened in the middle of the great hall, near enough to the bridal party that nopony was hurt, but still surprising. Chatter arose in the hall as two ponies trotted out of it and it snapped closed to reveal them to everypony in the room.

One of them was Twilight Sparkle, not looking as bedraggled as the rumors spread by a certain innkeeper had described her. She was clad in sorceress robes again, gracefully donated by a sorceress at the College of Eyes, and she’d been able to have a bath and groom her mane. Guards around the hall nearly forget their orders before some of them tried to press through the guests. Twilight Sparkle had tried to kill Lady mi Amore Cadenza once already, and she might try again. The guards quickly came to a halt, however, for Twilight Sparkle was not the most shocking sight.

A second mi Amore Cadenza was standing next to her, looking ready to kill … well, herself. Everypony had something to say, mostly expressions of wonderment, and noise in the hall grew to a din. How could this be? Two Cadences? What was happening?

“Twilight Sparkle, explain yourself!” Celestia demanded, “What manner of trick are you attempting?”

“The only trick here is the one she’s been playing!” the Cadence next to Twilight cried as she pointed at her doppelganger, “She is an imposter, a changeling sent her to take my place while I’ve been imprisoned in Tyrannus!”

A gasp went up, and many of the sorceresses in the room began to conjure up shields to protect themselves.

“I don’t know who you are, but you’re not me!” the Cadence with Celestia said, “Twilight Sparkle has clearly caught you up in her schemes to seize my position. She’ll kill you too, once your usefulness to her is at its end!”

Twilight Sparkle directed a spell at this Cadence while she was still ranting and let loose. Celestia conjured a shield and Shining Armor stepped in front of his bride, but neither stopped the spell; it wasn’t meant to cause damage. Emerald flame writhed over Cadence, burning away her wedding dress as her true form was revealed. Somepony screamed as the illusion of a pink alicorn melted away to reveal what was beneath. The imposter was a changeling all right, but she didn’t look exactly like the creatures Twilight had seen outside of Cant’r Laht or Scalai had observed in the Broken Lands. She was nearly as tall as Celestia, and her eyes had visible slitted pupils and sclera, her irises the same emerald green as the other changelings. Instead of a simple curved horn, hers was long and crooked, and looked as if it had had several chunks taken out of it. Her legs bore similar divots, with no discernable purpose. Her mane and tail were longer than that of the other changelings, and more pony-like in appearance, though still made of the same webbed material. She hissed as her mandibles clicked together, a sound that made many ponies want to climb the walls.

“Well done,” the changeling said, her voice buzzing and vibrating as she spoke, “I should have killed you instead of imprisoning you, Twilight Sparkle. I, Chrysalis, Queen of the Broken Lands, vow not to make the same mistake a second time.”

As she spoke her name, several other ponies in the room transformed into changelings and hurried to block the exits. Amaury had said that duplicates had been seen frequently in and around Cant’r Laht recently. How many of the ponies in the city were actually changelings in disguise? Somepony bravely cast a lightning bolt at Chrysalis, but she contained it with her own magic and hurtled it back at them, leaving them writhing and screaming on the floor. Scalai had taught Twilight and Cadence spells that would be effective against changelings, but how effective would they be against their queen?

“How did you get past Shining Armor’s protective shield?” Twilight Sparkle asked, playing for time, as she spotted Celestia’s mouth moving.

“It was simple,” Chrysalis bragged, more than happy to monologue, “In fact, his spell made it easier for us to enter Cant’r Laht. I have been in control of it from the start, poisoning it, sabotaging it, and all without any of you so-called sorceresses noticing! All it took was a vague threat and a suggestion to my darling fiancé to convince you to put it in place. A few magically induced headaches later, and Shining Armor was more than willing to let me cast any spell I wanted on him. Right, dear?”

Shining Armor nodded dreamily as she asked, though he looked pained, as if he were struggling and failing to resist. Cadence looked pained as well, at seeing Shining Armor like this. At least that is still true.

“I had hoped this would be a quiet takeover of Equestria, slipping into your positions during tonight’s festivities and on the way to your homes, but it seems we’ll have to do this all at once,” Chrysalis said, “Fear not, the rest of my army will arrive shortly, and there is no shortage of space for you in the mines beneath Cant’r Laht.”

“I believe you’ve forgotten something,” Celestia said as she approached Chrysalis from behind.

Astral chains sprung up around Celestia and lashed out at Chrysalis, tying her up. As the other changelings jumped to assist their queen, Celestia glanced at them, and spikes of silver jumped out of the ground, impaling them. They hissed and squealed as their sticky green blood flowed down the spikes and they tried to flap free. Fire was burning in Celestia’s eyes as she stepped closer to Chrysalis to stare her in the face. A small drop of blood fell from one nostril and sizzled on the floor, a fact nopony but Chrysalis saw, but one she could not forget.

“You were a fool to reveal your plans, especially in my presence,” Celestia said as the chains tightened around Chrysalis and began to burn her flesh, the stench of burning exoskeleton drifting away from her.

“Oh, Celestia, I could never forget about you,” Chrysalis said with a grin that was made exceedingly unnerving by her mandibles.

Emerald flame burst from the floor around Celestia, and the ancient sorceress quickly summoned a shield around herself. The divots in Chrysalis’s flesh seemed to glow as she forced the astral chains away. As she cocked her head swiftly to the side with a sickening sound, the chains shattered, though the magical energy still hung in the air. Chrysalis directed it toward Celestia, who dodged out of the firestorm.

“Mi Amore Cadenza was just the opening act,” Chrysalis said as she trotted toward Celestia, “You were always the prize. We changelings must feed off strong emotions to survive by taking the place of the pony they are directed at. Nopony has such strong emotions directed at them and in such abundance as you, ‘greatest living sorceress.’ Shall we put that title to the test?”

Not oft-used muscles beneath Celestia’s flesh tensed as she withstood the indignation of being forced back. Nopony had stood against her seriously in centuries. Steam coiled off her body, and the tiles beneath her hooves began to melt.

“Bei,^[3]” the ancient sorceress said softly.

A pillar of flame engulfed Chrysalis, and the wedding guests tried to jump back farther. Some of them took advantage of the dead changelings ringing the great hall to flee, but they found more changelings waiting for them outside, rushing to Chrysalis’s silent call. Twilight realized with a start that she couldn’t sense Celestia casting any spells. Something Chrysalis had done with Shining Armor’s shield was blocking her ability to sense others using magic, perhaps blocking everypony’s ability. A battle was raging between Celestia and Chrysalis, and it was likely none of the other mages in Cant’r Laht were even aware.

Emerald flame began to peek through Celestia’s yellow as Chrysalis conjured up her own pillar of fire. Tongues of fire in both colors fanned out in all directions as Chrysalis’s pillar broke free. Twilight conjured up a shield to protect the wedding guests, and was surprised to see some of the other sorceresses in the room doing the same (though they may just have been protecting themselves and saving others’ lives was merely a coincidence). Windows shattered and their frames warped as the flame hit them.

A blizzard hit Celestia in the face, flakes of snow turning to raindrops before they struck her. Lightning crackled in the air between the changeling queen and the ancient sorceress, the only indication that they were trying to cast a nastier sort of spell on each other but were being countered. Some of the mages in the crowd took the initiative of striking out at Chrysalis themselves, but she easily swatted their attacks away or redirected them at Celestia. Some of the mages in the crowd would undoubtedly have liked for their attacks to hit Celestia on any other day, but today the changeling queen took priority.

Celestia was holding her own at first, but began to fall back, defending more than attacking, erecting a shield to absorb attacks instead of dissipating or neutralizing them. She’d expected to be able to dispatch this interloper without much difficulty, but instead she was struggling just to stay on her hooves. The only reason blood wasn’t dripping from her nostrils as it tended to do these days when she overexerted herself was because it had been singed and plugged her naval cavity early in the fight. She tried to entrap Chrysalis again, but her chains failed to latch on.

While she was defending against frontal attacks, she missed noticing her throne suddenly flying across the great hall. The head of the throne struck Celestia across the back of the head, and her sight blurred more than it already had. Her legs gave way and she fell to the floor. Celestia tried to push herself up, but collapsed again. A silence fell over the room as the shock of what had just happened settled. The undefeatable Celestia had just been defeated.

“A valiant effort, but you are just a pony,” Chrysalis gloated over Celestia, who was slipping in and out of consciousness.

“Twi’, what are we goin’ t’ do?” Applejack asked at Twilight’s side.

During the events of the last few minutes, the Brave Companions had made their way across the great hall to her and Cadence. Twilight Sparkle was glad to see them, but also worried about what might become of them and everypony else in this room. Chrysalis seemed to be planning for the changelings to take everypony’s place, but she doubted she’d also go to the trouble of imprisoning everypony in the mines beneath Cant’r Laht.

There was no fighting the changeling queen, not if she could defeat Celestia on her own. Without Celestia, fighting back was futile. No, we’ve faced more fearsome foes without Celestia’s help before. Celestia hadn’t defeated Nightmare Moon and she hadn’t been the one to return Discord to his stone prison. The Brave Companions had been the ones to do that, and though Celestia couldn’t express it at the moment, surely she’d want the Brave Companions to help again.

“The Elements of Harmony,” Twilight said, “They may be our only hope.”

Rainbow Dash nodded affirmation and started to clear a path out of the great hall.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Chrysalis asked, and Twilight was sure the jig was up.

“I won’t let you get away with this, and I won’t let you hurt Shining Armor anymore!” Cadence said defiantly.

Looking behind her, Twilight could see the young alicorn standing up to the changeling queen, occupying all of her focus. Small balls of flame circled Cadence’s head as she hummed to herself. Suddenly they all spun away and toward Chrysalis, where they exploded. The changeling queen was singed by the blasts, but shrugged them off and swung a hoof around, beckoning for a spell that threw Cadence across the great hall. Cadence spread her wings before striking a wall or pillar and pointed her horn at Chrysalis, using it to direct a beam of vibrating energy. She glanced at Twilight and gave her a look telling her to go. Thank you, Cadence. Please don’t die.

The Brave Companions took advantage of Cadence’s distraction to flee the great hall. Applejack bucked a changeling blocking the door in the face as they left, the impact of her hindhooves making an audible crunch. There were more changelings in the hallways of the castle, some trotting along the floor, some buzzing around overhead. Twilight Sparkle used one of the spells she’d learned from Scalai, directing beams of it at the changelings. Wherever it impacted, their shiny black exoskeleton became mottled and red and they squealed in pain, either diving toward Twilight or withdrawing.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy yelled as the Hunter flew away from the group down the hall.

“I’m sure she’s just getting her weapons, darling,” Rarity assured her.

“I sure wouldn’t mind havin’ a weapon o’ m’ own right now,” Applejack admitted.

Pinkamena had a weapon, a halberd that had been dropped by one of the dead guards in the hall, but she wasn’t wielding it correctly. Correctly or not, she was managing to trip some of the changelings up, making it easier for Twilight to strike them with her spells or for Applejack and Rarity to buck them. In some places, other guards were fighting changelings, and the Brave Companions tried to help where they could. Rainbow Dash appeared up ahead, skidding out of a chamber as she just finished pulling on her gear, but a second later, a second Rainbow Dash emerged from a different chamber, pulling on her sword belt.

“It’s me!” the second Hunter yelled, “I mean, I’m me! That’s not me!”

“She’s lying!” the first Rainbow Dash yelled, “She’s the changeling!”

The two were exactly identical in every way, but fortunately Twilight had a spell to identify who was real and who was false, the same spell she’d cast on Chrysalis. She cast it on the nearer Rainbow Dash, and nothing happened. The other was the fake, and she jumped into the air before diving toward the Hunter. They clashed in midair, tussling with each other, but the real Rainbow was victorious, stabbing her doppelganger in the neck until she transformed back into her true form.

Twilight led the way ahead, cringing as she stepped over the dead changeling whose webbed mane was still transforming in color back from Rainbow Dash’s spectrum. The Elements would be in her old chambers in the north tower, and the quickest way to get there would be to cut through the castle grounds. The Brave Companions galloped outside, only to stop after several paces. An army of changelings was assembled on the grounds, rapidly transforming into Twilight and her friends. Twilight prepared to teleport them up into the tower, but the changelings attacked before she could, and they were soon intermingled so that the sorceress had no idea who was real and who was a fake.

While the other Brave Companions struck out at their doppelgangers or defended against attacks from their friends, Twilight tried to unmask as many of the changelings as possible. She alternated between her spells, using the attack spell only when the unmasking one had already revealed that the pony she was attacking was not a pony at all. The attack that Scalai had taught her and Cadence was not to be taken lightly; it was more effective at harming changelings than traditional sorcery, but it hurt ponies just as much, if not worse.

A pile of burned changelings began to take shape around the sorceress as she defended against all attacks. Smaller piles of changelings who’d been chopped up instead of magically burned lay around the battlefield, the victims of Rainbow Dash’s sword or Pinkamena’s halberd as she swung it around. Applejack jumped atop a changeling’s head, crushing it, and bounded up to Twilight.

“‘Tis me!” Applejack promised as she guarded Twilight’s back, “There’s too many o’ ‘em, Twi’.”

“I know,” Twilight said as she blasted a changeling that tripped over Fluttershy, who was cowering with part of her body under a bench, “We need to get to the Elements, but I need to know who is who.”

Rainbow Dash shot down out of the sky and zipped along a line of other Rainbow Dashes, gutting them with her sword. A Twilight Sparkle attacked her from behind and she lopped her head off before darting over to the real Twilight and Applejack.

“What’s the plan?” she asked, sheathing her sword in a changeling’s head to allow her to speak normally for a moment.

“Once I know which one of us are genuine, I will teleport us to the tower, but I do not know where Rarity is,” Twilight Sparkle said, after casting the unmasking spell on Rainbow to be sure.

“She’s the one over there with the statue in her mouth,” Rainbow Dash pointed her out.

“How can you be sure?” Twilight asked. She was too far away to use the unmasking spell on.

“She’s holding it like her blacksmith hammer,” Rainbow Dash said.

The Hunter’s perception was good enough for Twilight. She focused her magic on the two ponies with her, the druidess cowering under a bench, the blacksmith using a statue of a fish as an improvised weapon, and the bard spinning around with reckless abandon with a halberd in her mouth. The six of them were instantly transported from the grounds outside Cant’r Laht Castle to Twilight’s chambers.

Her chambers were crawling with changelings, not as many as down below, but in a smaller space it certainly seemed like there were more. Twilight Sparkle felt something tighten around her ability to work sorcery, somewhat like what Chrysalis had done to her before when she’d imprisoned her, but not as strong. Maybe I can break free. That plan was put to an end as the pressure grew stronger and she was sure she wouldn’t be able to cast any spells.

“Get off of me!” Rainbow Dash demanded, three changelings standing on top of her and pinning her down.

The other Brave Companions were likewise being restrained. A pair of changelings forced the sorceress to the ground. Her chambers had been torn apart by the changelings. Ahead of her, Twilight could see some of them looking in the chest that contained the Elements of Harmony. They’d failed.

***

The great hall was swarming with changelings by the time the Brave Companions were led back under guard. Celestia was standing at the head of the room, but it only took Twilight a moment to realize that it was merely Chrysalis in Celestia’s body. The real Celestia was still lying on the floor, but now she was covered in green ooze contained under a membrane fastened to the floor. Was Chrysalis afraid she might wake up? Cadence was lying nearby, beaten and bruised but still breathing, and she hadn’t been contained in such a way.

“You’re quite troublesome, you ‘Brave Companions,’” Chrysalis said as she transformed back into her true form, her voice jarringly shifting from Celestia’s to her own in the middle of the sentence, “Not a problem I can’t deal with, though, as you all can see. I will have to find some very special members of my hive to take your places. With your names and appearances, they could do almost anything and nopony would question them.”

“I hate to disappoint, but that is not exactly how it works,” Twilight said.

The sorceress had noticed that though Cadence appeared out for the count, she was slowly moving toward Shining Armor. Did she have a plan? Twilight had no idea what it could be, but she hoped it was a good one. Unless … she just wants to be closer to Shining Armor in the end. Yes, that seems more likely. Still, better to let her be with the pony she loves for however long she has left. I can keep Chrysalis’s attention long enough for that.

“Many ponies do not want us interfering in their business and see as a nuisance wherever we go and whatever we do,” Twilight continued to address Chrysalis, who was beginning to trot toward the Brave Companions, her wings fidgeting.

“It’s true,” Rainbow Dash said, “We don’t get many warm welcomes.”

“Hatred and distrust are just as powerful emotions as love and adoration. Why else would I seek to take Celestia’s place?” Chrysalis said, “Still, I see your point. Perhaps I ought to just kill you now and nopony would care?”

“Oh, ponies would care, alright, but if y’ don’t know enough about us t’ impersonate us, then ponies’ll figure out we’re gone anyway and discover your plot,” Applejack said, thinking on her hooves, “Y’ didn’t fool Twi’ wi’ that impression o’ mi Amore Cadenza.”

“But I fooled everypony else, and Twilight was part of my plan,” Chrysalis said.

As the changeling queen and the Brave Companions continued to go back and forth, Cadence had pulled herself over to Shining Armor and placed a hoof against his foreleg. Magic surged across the contact as Cadence carefully reached into his mind and gently undid the shackles that Chrysalis had placed upon it. As the last of her control was removed, Shining Armor groaned and squeezed his eyes shut before blinking them rapidly.

“What’s going on?” he asked, “What are all those creatures? Cadence, what happened to you?”

“Quiet, my love. We’re in danger still,” Cadence said after shushing him, but tears glistened in her eyes as she saw that he was fine, “I need you to cast your spell to protect Cant’r Laht.”

“What good will that do now?” he whispered back, looking at all the changelings in the room, his eyes widening as he spotted Celestia, “Besides, I have to be in the Cant’r Laht Commons to cast that spell. I don’t have the strength to do so from here. In fact, I don’t know if I have the strength to cast it at all.”

“Don’t worry, I will help you,” Cadence assured him.

Shining Armor wanted to protest that it was impossible, but plenty of impossible things had happened recently, foremost among them Cadence returning to him after so many years away. With her at his side, he could believe that the impossible was possible, and not just because she was an alicorn. He prepared the spell, foregoing the motions he would have taken around the crystal in the pavilion—they would do no good here. Cadence lent him her strength, as well as adding something to his protective spell. Just as Chrysalis had poisoned the spell, she healed it and incorporated the spells Scalai had taught her. Weaving them together, the attack spell would only affect changelings, provided she’d done it right.

Chrysalis, wrapped up in her conversation with the Brave Companions, was taken completely off guard when a bright beam of light shot from Shining Armor’s horn in the direction of the Cant’r Laht Commons. When Twilight Sparkle had witnessed him casting the spell before, the light had been pure white, but now there seemed to be a touch of pink in it. Outside the broken windows, the shield over the city was briefly visible again.

“What did you do?” Chrysalis asked as she slapped Shining Armor to the floor and picked Cadence up in her magic.

Hissing came from some of the other changelings in the room, and Chrysalis looked around. Most of them had fallen out of the air, the ponies giving them a wide berth where they’d landed, and were scratching at themselves with their hooves. Cadence fell out of Chrysalis’s magic, and the changeling queen looked at her with astonishment. She struggled to pick her up again but failed; her magic had ceased working. Smoke rose from the flesh of the other changelings as their exoskeletons began to burn on the outside now, becoming bubbled and pockmarked in patches.

“What did you do?!” Chrysalis demanded as her own flesh began to burn.

She stepped toward Cadence, but flinched in pain as the effects of the spell spread. Giving a banshee-like scream, the changeling queen flew out of the nearest window and fluttered away from Cant’r Laht as quickly as she could. Other changelings tried to follow her lead, but many were dead before they reached a window or before they could leave the shield around the city. They curled up and their bodies quickly began to flake away as ash. Celestia’s prison was the same way, hardening before crumbling away, and the ancient sorceress coughed as she returned to consciousness.

“Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle cried as she trotted up to her mentor.

“Forgive me, Twilight Sparkle, for doubting you,” Celestia said, quietly enough that nopony heard except for Raven, who was hurrying up to check on her mistress.

“There is no need,” Twilight assured her, surprised that Celestia had offered, “Chrysalis fooled everypony; I just happened to get lucky because I was looking.”

“I remember!” Shining Armor yelled as his memory of everything he’d done under Chrysalis’s sway returned, catching the attention of all the traumatized wedding guests, which wasn’t great for his next awkward interaction with the pony next to him, “So, um, Cadence, I guess it wasn’t really you who asked before, but do you still want to get married?”

“Of course,” Cadence said, grinning happily.

“Well, Twilight Sparkle, it seems you have a wedding to plan again,” Celestia said with a mischievous smile, “This time, less damage to the great hall might be a good idea.”

***

This time, preparations for the wedding went off without a hitch. Cadence acted exactly as Twilight had expected her to before, though perhaps she’d also become less critical herself of her future sister-in-law’s actions. Of course she would have suggestions for her own wedding and wouldn’t be immediately satisfied with how things were, but she was much easier to work with than the snide, dismissive fake Cadence.

Cadence agreed with Celestia that it would be important for the various rulers of Equestria to witness the wedding, so preparations were made swiftly. The delegations remained an additional two days, something the sorceresses who’d come along were especially pleased about because it gave them an opportunity to study what was left of the changelings, the shield over Cant’r Laht, and the spells Twilight and Cadence had learned. Many ponies were also too shaken to travel after learning the extent of the changeling plot. Some had seen their councilors transform before their very eyes, and some Cant’r Laht residents had seen the same thing happen to friends. Many of them had been retrieved from the mines beneath Cant’r Laht, but many others were still missing and presumed dead.

The true wedding between Cadence and Shining Armor was held in Cant’r Laht Cathedral, both because Cadence insisted on it and because the great hall was in no state for an important ceremony at the moment. High Priestess Rubius herself presided over the wedding, which was practically unheard of; however, Cadence was Celestia’s appointed heir, and Celestia was the closest thing to royalty in Cant’r Laht. It was a tremendous honor to be wed by the pontiff of the entire Church of One, an honor that Cadence was exceedingly grateful for and would be aware of always. Nearly all the important ponies in Cant’r Laht and Equestria assembled in the cathedral to witness the wedding, Twilight with a close view of things next to Cadence, best mare once again.

“You have made your vows to each other. Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor Haltrotsun, in the sight of Faust and these witnesses, I now pronounce you mare and husband. If you wish, you may seal the union with a kiss,” Rubius announced at the end of the ceremony.

And just like that, Twilight’s brother and the mare who’d taught her the basics of magic were married. Both of Celestia’s apprentices were now related, something that the sorceresses of Cant’r Laht would surely speculate on when it came to discussing succession. Twilight was happy for them, and happy to see Cadence back, even if the circumstances around her return hadn’t been ideal.

While the wedding had been moved to the cathedral, the feast afterward was still to be held at the castle, and the wedding party and guests both began moving in that direction. They didn’t move very quickly, all these powerful ponies who took every opportunity to shake hooves and talk to each other. As they were exiting the cathedral, Celestia pulled Twilight aside.

“Twilight Sparkle, I have a request of you and your friends,” Celestia said as she gave the ponies around them looks that told them to move on.

“Of course, Celestia, what is it?” Twilight asked.

“In two weeks’ time, I want you are your friends to return to Cant’r Laht to be present for my coronation,” Celestia.

“I am sorry, I think I misheard you there,” Twilight said. Celestia couldn’t have just said what I thought.

“I want the Brave Companions to be at my coronation,” Celestia said, “Mine and Luna’s, that is. I vowed long ago never to wear a crown again, but my sister has convinced me it is in the best interest of the Dominions of Cant’r Laht that they be no longer a disparate collection of dominions bound to me alone in various ways and not to a singular title.”

Celestia nodded to Luna, who looked very uncomfortable surrounded by prominent ponies asking questions of her. She’d been more active ever since the Night Festival and had made her debut before the monarchs of Equestria at the Grand Galloping Gala and the summit this year, but she was still uneasy with public appearance.

“I-I do not know what to say,” Twilight admitted, “You have taken me by surprise.”

“It is important to me that you be there, my most faithful apprentice,” Celestia said, “I will need you and your friends’ help to improve the Dominions of Cant’r Laht—indeed, to improve all of Equestria. I am counting on you.”

“Of course, we will be there,” Twilight Sparkle promised. Just what is she planning?

Comments

[hamster wizard]

Hm, so Chrysalis was working with Ingrirtireth then? And once word gets out that Celsestia was defeated, things could get bad.

[TasermonsPartner]

The idea of Chrysalis framing Twilight for attempted murder was a nice twist. It was a sensible move too, since it would ensure that any guards who found her or civilians would report and detain her before she could get close to Celestia. But, uh, I can't help but notice a large chunk of the premise missing; the reactions of the other Brave Companions.

Did they believe the story of Twilight attempting to murder Cadence? They were at the wedding, but were they there because the believed what "Cadence" said, or were they suspicious of the story and were following her around, or did they beileve Twilight to be under some type of enchantment and acting against her will? They'd seen Twilight nearly open a portal to Tartarus before; did they think she capable of attempted murder as well? Or were the reactions mixed, varied, and discussed between them? Did the ponies believe Chrysalis, but Spike perhaps not believe her? The chapter doesn't say, but their reactions are just as important, if not more so, than Celestia's.

I will say that I liked how there was emphasis placed on how Twilight realized that she was judgemental of Cadece regardless of the circumstances, and how even the real Cadence was somewhat critiquing of the wedding plans, but Twilight's perspective had changed as well. It's more realistic and grounded.

Nearly all the changelings died? One wonders how that will effect Thorax's eventual story arc (assuming he even survived or was there).

Having the changelings be full-on emotivores, rather just feed on love itself was also an interesting twist, and lends itself to different possibilities in the future; they can incite hate and fear through subterfuge and feed off that just as much as they could love.

With the marriage came questions among some of the monarchs if Celestia intended to set up a hereditary monarchy after her death. Those in the Lodge of Sorceresses kept their mouths shut; they already knew what Celestia had planned.

Celestia's mortality was also heavily emphasized in this chapter, and it would seem that many higher-ups recognize that she is building a "family line" of sorts for when she passes, but previous chapters made it seem like the only one who knew Celestia's time was drawing near was...well, Celestia herself. Like a secret she had kept from everyone, including possibly her sister. I think I remember the entire treaty with the buffalo being based on the assumption of her immortality (as far as age). Has that changed and she begun revealing her condition to others?

Speaking of Luna, while the show uses a comedic excuse of her sleeping through the invasion, no real explanation for her absence is given here?

Also, if Celestia's coronation is in a mere two weeks, that won't give much time for the dignitaries to go back home, prepare, and then come right back again. Why not just have them all stay put in the meantime?

10725823

I'm in agreement. What was Ingrirtireth's motivation here? It's especially odd given that he killed another dragon just a short while ago when that other dragon reacted with shock to "Cadence" being let go. And what will be the possible ramifications, if any, for the dragons?

[Xanderfox]

10728628
Super late comment as many chapters came before I read this. But I too wonder about Thorax and how he might survive. It could easily be that certain changelings where not effected by the shield in the same way, mutants or those with a spiritual quality others lack not being harmed. Like they are more evolved just waiting for a trigger to take on the more gregarious form of the"reformed" changelings, of signify they are part of a diffrent "tribe" of changelings that was forced to assimilate into Chrysalis' swarm.