A Tale Never Told

by TimeFactor

Lament

There was a soft grumble as sunlight peered through the massive glass windows of the Heartstrings' manor. Inside the second floor bedroom that overlooked the street, Lyra lied in an queen-sized bed. Tightly gripping a soggy pillow the mare let out an agonized moan. Her body was twisting as pillows and blankets were kicked onto the floor. Lyra was also mumbling incoherent phrases under its breath. All of this had been going on for the past few hours.

In her dreams Lyra recalled conversations she had with her mother. In a calm yet progressively stern voice, Mrs. Heartstrings constantly warned her daughter of the nasty effects that even the tinniest bit of alcohol had on her body. The older mare even told a story of a past incident to further emphasize her point. However, Lyra was a filly back then. She never adhered to those warnings, but she still had a vague memory of the event though she always thought of it as a terrible nightmare rather than an actual experience.

The night was young, and the Heartstrings were invited to attend a Canterlot Garden Party, a momentous occasion in Canterlot that only came second to the Grand Galloping Gala. This event took place in the most obvious location. The castle gardens weren't decorated on a grand scale, but the minimal details satisfied everyone. A large platform stage held a quartet performing numerous classical pieces. If not enjoying their performance, the guests were either helping themselves to the grand buffet prepared by the castle chefs or taking part in a game of crochet hosted by the famed Fancypants.

Standing by an empty table, Mr. Heartstrings carried his yearling daughter on his back. He was left alone as the wife left to mingle with the other ladies. The stallion originally decided on not attending the party as there were no available foalsitters, but Mrs. Heartstrings already accepted the invitation. Among Canterlot's high society it would have been extremely rude to make last minute changes, and the Heartstrings greatly disliked to disappoint. Luckily Mr. Heartstrings was joined by a small band of gentlecolts who had noticed him sitting alone for the past hour.

These ponies were foal-less, but they still understood the stallion's predicament. Their conversation started off slow with introductions, but it then picked up once they began discussing their leisure time. Mr. Heartstrings was never the kind of pony to share many interests with Canterlot's elite, but the stallions surprisingly shared a passion for collecting valuable artifacts. Their conversation soon lasted longer than the actual party.

Lyra was asleep the entire the night, but she suddenly awoke when most of the guests had already departed. She was lying on a makeshift bed made out of her father's coat and a clean tablecloth. The filly looked up to see her parents conversing with two gentlecolts and another couple, all of them unaware of her being awake. However, Lyra ignored them as there was only one thing on her mind. She reached for the nearby glass next to her father's hoof, stared inside, and finally took a few sips. The other couple, specifically the wife, was the first to notice this and quickly alerted Mr. Heartstrings.

The stallion responded immediately and seized the glass from Lyra before she could have consumed any more. It was too late though as Lyra suddenly began coughing violently. Eventually tears poured followed by anguished screams. Mrs. Heartstrings screamed as she desperately looked around for help. No one present had any kind of proper medical knowledge, but every unicorn used any spell they knew that could lessen the pain. Meanwhile pegasi made haste to city. They soon returned carrying a doctor who immediately injected Lyra with an anesthetic. The hysteria died down, but now there was a crowd gathered over the unconscious filly. It the last moment recall could recall from that night.

"Lyra?" a voice said weakly. "Are you awake?"

Lyra slowly opened her eyes and pushed herself up. She rubbed her head as she drowsily looked around the room. When her vision cleared, she saw her mother with a joyous expression on a tear-covered face. Lyra was soon caught in a tight, warm embrace.

"Oh thank Celestia!" Mrs. Heartstrings exclaimed. "I thought I was going to lose you again!"

"Wha-? Mom? H-How did I-?"

"Bon Bon and a nice stallion brought you home. But don't worry about that! Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Yeah... I'm fine. I have a headache, but I can probably walk it off... Why? Did something happen?"

"Don't you remember? You drank last night!"

"I did...? Oh yeah... I di-"

Mrs. Heartstrings slapped her daughter, but the young mare didn't show any physical reaction. She only rubbed her cheek and stared at her mother's piercing eyes.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again! One time was terrifying enough!"

"I won't..." Lyra said plainly.

As if the previous action never happened, Mrs. Heartstrings instantly smiled and patted Lyra's head. "Well now that I know you're feeling better... Bon Bon!"

Bon Bon soon appeared under the doorway holding a gold tray in her mouth. As she placed it on the bed, Lyra drooled over a plate of sizzling scrambled eggs with fresh toasted bread and butter on the side. Ignoring her utensils, Lyra seized the warm plate and instantly scarfed down every bit. Bon Bon and Mrs. Heartstrings simply laughed as the mare finished her glass of milk.

"I still wonder how you didn't turn out to be a chubby girl!" her mother remarked.

"Can't blame a high metabolism." Lyra said shrugging. "Hey, Bon Bon, did you hear from Vinyl and Octavia yet?"

The earth pony shook her head. "They never came back. I guess they didn't find anything. Wait...how do you know that? You were asleep."

"I was coming and going. I caught bits of its. But how are we gonna find out if we don't know where they are?"

"We can stop by Beat's bar and ask him if you want."

"Alright! Let's go- Er..." She turned to her mother. "If it's okay with you..."

"Honey," Mrs Heartstrings said, "you definitely learned your lesson. If anything, I'm much more relieved than angry with you. Plus this wedding is a momentous occasion. I can't let you miss that!"

"Oh, right!" she exclaimed as leaped from her bed. "What time is it anyway? I'm gonna be late!"

Bon Bon grabbed Lyra's hoof and pulled her towards the door. "Plenty of time if we run!"

The two mares exited the bedroom into a grand foyer. Lining the gold-red striped walls were twenty-four urns placed on marble pedestals. Each piece was painted in a different art style and depicted a certain event in Equestria's history such as the "Banishment of the Goddess" or the "Downfall of Chaos". Hanging from the center of the ceiling was a large twelve-lamp chandelier. Each lamp's position corresponded to a door on the second floor, Lyra's room being at six o'clock.

Bon Bon dragged Lyra to the opposite side where they descended a massive staircase. It was the same area Vinyl had seen during her first visit to the manor. The maze of display cases made this room seem more like a museum than someone's home. Bon Bon slowed her pace as she navigated past the obstacles and allowed Lyra to catch her breath. Once the mares were past the front door, Lyra finally took the lead down the eastern street towards Beat's bar.

The streets of Canterlot were mostly empty now, a very rare moment. Any ponies still around were either closing up their shops or heading to the castle. By the time the mare's arrived at the restaurant, Beat was already locking the front door.

"Beat! Wait up!"

The stallion turned his head as he stuffed the key into his shirt pocket. "Oh, Lyra! You feeling better now?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine, but what did you hear from Vinyl and Octavia?"

Beat looked at her strangely. "Huh? I thought they were with you?"

"What? You mean...they didn't come back?"

He shook his head. "I just assumed they were sleeping at your house..."

"Is there any other place they could've stayed?" Bon Bon asked.

He looked up at the restaurant's second floor. "No, Octavia lives with me up there. Vinyl...well she stays wherever the hay she wants."

"Oh man!" Lyra exclaimed while gripping her head. "Maybe they got caught by the guards!"

"But Octavia and I have connections." he said putting a hoof to his mouth. "I would've at least known if she got sent to prison..."

"Well let's just ask Cadance!" she said with a stern face.

Bon Bon and Beat looked at the mare with wide-eyed expressions.

"I'm gonna be one of the closest ponies to her today! And she of all ponies has to know. I'll just-"

"But Lyra," Bon Bon interrupted, "what about-?"

"No! This is serious! Two of my friends are missing and it's my fault anyway for not stopping you guys! I don't care if Cadance's really turn into a massive b-!" She quickly stopped herself and took a deep breath before continuing. "Let's just go!"

Lyra turned and dashed towards the castle neglecting to even check if anyone was actually following her. Bon Bon then worriedly turned to Beat.

"Go," the stallion said, "I'll ask around here. You make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."

Bon Bon nodded and immediately chased after Lyra. As she got closer to the castle, there were many more ponies blocking her way. At the edge of the city, the mare made a short detour up a small staircase and peered over the crowd. Lyra was already halfway down the dirt road, expertly zooming past ponies before they could even notice her. The only obstacle was the massive line of ponies waiting to cross the drawbridge.

Bon Bon's agility was not very comparable to Lyra's, but the earth pony did her best to catch up. When she arrived at the drawbridge, Bon Bon extended a hoof to grab a furiously stomping Lyra, but the unicorn suddenly moved away and dived into the river. The mare emerged seconds afterward on the other side and climbed ashore. She easily zipped past the guards who were still staring at her completely baffled.

"Sweet Celestia..." Bon Bon muttered. "Definitely not showing my face around here for a while when I do this...

She took a deep breath and jumped into the river as well. The current carried her under the bridge, but she managed to get a firm hold on the other side. This time a guard was able to react accordingly and pulled her out.

"Good heavens," the stallion said, "is everypony that anxious to see the wedding?"

"Sorry," Bon Bon replied coughing, "I just need...to catch that mare before she does something crazy."

After shaking some of the water from her body, the mare ran through the gate. Inside there was already a crowd gathering on the other side of the courtyard. In a few hours at the strike of noon, the newlywed couple would emerge on the balcony overlooking the area once the ceremony is completed.

Knowing even a serious Lyra would not dare force her way through this many ponies, Bon Bon began looking around for an alternate route to the princess. She soon found Lyra to the left struggling to push open a door. Though relieved Bon Bon sighed as she approached.

"It's pull." she said deadpan.

Lyra paused. She stared at the door handle and then looked at Bon Bon while rubbing the back of her head. "Oh... Hehe... Guess I got carried away, huh?"

She smiled and pointed inside. "Just go."

Lyra nodded and hurried inside while Bon Bon closed the door behind them. The mares turned left at the end of the hallway and headed up a staircase to the second floor. They then opened a nearby door to the spiral staircase leading Cadance's suite. After ascending the tower, Lyra was the one to force open the doors with a powerful burst of magic. She even startled Bon Bon as the strong gust of wind accompanied a loud crash.

"Cadance!" Lyra exclaimed.

The princess was standing awestruck by the window, but this expression did not last when she realized who entered the room.

"There you are! Where have you been?" She stared at the droplets coming from their manes and pointed at Bon Bon. "Why are you wet and why is she here?"

"Look, I'm not in the mood right now. My friends are missing, and we think you're one of the only ponies who knows what happened to them."

"Me?" she said feigning innocence. "I've been here all morning."

"And what about last night?"

"Oh?"

Bon Bon noticed a spark of interest in the princess' eyes, but there was something else. It seemed the color of Cadance's eyes had turned into a luminous green for a split second.

"I didn't want you to find out," Lyra said, "but...I let two ponies go spy on you last night."

Cadance grimaced and closed the doors with her magic. "Go on..."

"You been acting like a completely different pony from the one I know. I don't know if it's because you changed or this is the real you, but I don't care anymore."

"I see... I didn't appreciate those two ponies invading my privacy."

"So you did see them!"

"Yes. I had my guards take care of them."

"Well...can you...release them? I'm really sorry for what happened."

"Oh, I will after the wedding when I personally deal with them, but first..." She turned to Bon Bon. "You were also an accomplice?"

"Y-Yes..." the earth pony replied hesitantly.

"Very well then. Seize her."

Lyra and Bon Bon were confused until Cadance pointed above them. When they looked up, two Changelings who had been observing the entire conversation immediately swooped down and tackled Bon Bon against the wall. The mare struggled but was unable to escape. Not even her advantage as an earth pony could help against these wicked creatures. Meanwhile Lyra tried using magic to blast them away, but she was stopped by Cadance's own levitation field.

"You sure saved me the trouble of searching for you. I actually thought there was a chance our plan would fall apart!"

"What the hay are you doing!?" Lyra exclaimed as she thrashed around in her prison. "What are those things?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned over. In fact, you never need to be worried about anything again!"

"What do you me-Gaaah!"

A focused magic beam struck Lyra in the forehead and enveloped her entire body in a green aura. Bon Bon ceased fighting back and gasped in horror as she was forced to watch Lyra's squirming in pain. As time progressed, Lyra gradually stopped resisting. Her body went limp, and her eyes stared blankly at the princess. Her pupils were now glowing, and the color of her iris was transformed into a sickly green.

"Wha-! What did you do to her!" Bon Bon exclaimed.

"Why, just made her into my obedient slave~ Isn't that right, dear?"

Still staring into space, Lyra remained silent and nodded.

Cadance grinned and looked back at Bon Bon. "Now...what about you?"

"P-Please! Just turn her back! She's not even herself anymore!"

"I don't think you're in any position to give me orders! But since I was only in need of one more slave, consider yourself lucky. Put her with the others!"

A intense light radiated from Cadance's horn, making Bon Bon and the Changelings disappear in a flash of light. Turning back to Lyra, the princess raised the mare's head with a hoof.

"Why don't you get changed into that hideous dress of yours? I need you to deal with a certain problem if it arises..."

---

Deep within Canterlot Castle, Bon Bon growled at her captors as she struggled against the ropes binding her arms. The two Changelings had now disguised themselves as royal guards. They were dragging the earth pony down a long dark corridor leading to the castle dungeon. It was a tight space that was suited for two ponies side-by-side at most. The only light came from mounted torches, their fires being sustained by an everlasting spell. The corridor had also deteriorated with age. Masses of cobwebs could be found sewn into the bricks. The Changelings even decided to humor themselves by shoving Bon Bon's face into any thick masses they came across.

After almost every thirty seconds, Bon Bon screamed for help. However, she soon realized her desperate calls were useless as she was taken deeper. Though they did not speak to her, the Changelings snickered at the mare's attempts. Eventually Bon Bon stopped struggling and shut her eyes in despair.

Descending a short staircase, the Changelings came to a wooden door with a rusted handle. Forcing it open they dragged Bon Bon inside a small rectangular room. On the opposite end was a line of doors evenly spaced apart, each with a sliding slot at eye level. Bon Bon assumed her cell was the rightmost one as it was the only door still open. However, that was not the case.

Using the keys left on an old wooden table, one of the Changelings unlocked the middle door. Bon Bon jaw dropped when she saw Vinyl and the others imprisoned inside. Their eyes were closed and Bon Bon could not tell if they were breathing. The second Changeling removed Bon Bon's restraints and quickly shoved her inside closing the door behind her. The mare then hastened to the nearest pony.

"Vinyl!" she exclaimed while shaking the unicorn's body. "C'mon! Wake up!"

Vinyl made a faint mumble and slowly opened her eyes. "Mmm? Bon Bon? Ugh... What's wrong with your face?"

"Oh, thank Celestia! Quick! Help me with the others!"

Vinyl looked at Bon Bon strangely but soon pieced together the situation when she saw the earth pony attempting to wake up the Doctor. The stallion's case seemed particularly serious. He was sweating heavily and his contorted face was not improving. His mouth was moving, but audible words rarely left them.

"N-No!" the Doctor muttered. "No! Don't do it! No!"

The Doctor's eyes snapped open as his body wildly trashed about. Caught by surprise, Bon Bon accidentally got struck in the stomach by his hind leg. The sound of the startled mare's yelp allowed the Doctor to quickly regain his sense of reality. He grasped his head, but soon stared in shock over what he had just done. He lifted Bon Bon's head and began examining the afflicted area.

"Bon Bon!" He was speaking very rapidly. "Are you all right?! I didn't hurt you, did I? Nothing's broken, right? Please tell me I didn't-... I never intended to-!"

"I'm okay." Bon Bon said coughing. "I've taken worse..."

"But...! Sometimes I don't know my own strength, you see, and I...!"

"No, really... I'm fine. Just help me wake up the other two."

"Oh... Well...ahem, of course..."

After gently setting Bon Bon against the wall, the Doctor walked over to Derpy and lightly tugged one of her wings. The pegasus immediately shot up looking around in a panicked manner. Derpy was a little disoriented with her eyes spinning, but the Doctor's guidance let her to regain her composure.

As the stallion was dealing with Derpy, Vinyl began nudging Octavia, but the earth pony did not provide any kind of response. Vinyl stared at her while contemplating her likes and dislikes. An idea then dawned on Vinyl to use a certain spell. Lowering her head so her horn was close to Octavia's ear, Vinyl cast auditory magic. In seconds Octavia's head was overwhelmed with manipulated drum patterns and bass lines. The earth pony's face soon contorted as she sat up clutching her head.

"Oh Celestia! Not that again!"

"He-Hey! I knew that would work!"

"Never...do that...again! Ugh...Where are we?"

She shrugged. "Don't ask me. Ask Bon Bon."

Everyone turned to Bon Bon who was able to stand now. She informed them of what happened to her and Lyra starting from the moment they entered Cadance's room. She was worriedly proclaiming that Cadance has something sinister planned for Canterlot.

"That was not Cadance." the Doctor told her. "She's an imposter, a Changeling to be more precise. They're twisted creatures that can manipulate their physical form and feed off somepony's love for another."

"Not to mention it's the Queen that's up there." Vinyl added.

"Then...where's the real Cadance?"

"We tried rescuing her, but the Queen got the upper hand. She's still probably down in those caves..."

"Is there anything we can do?"

The Doctor shook his head. "We can only wait..."

"Uh, guys?" Derpy said. "What happened to Philomena?"

---

The true Cadance awoke to find herself still trapped within her crystallized prison. After being captured by a pair of very familiar unicorns to her, she was blinded and taken to a new cavern and sealed inside. This time she was given no provisions to sustain herself. Her aching stomach pleaded to her at every possible moment, but the princess eventually grew tired of hunger. It was like eating didn't matter to her anymore.

Cadance sullenly looked up at her reflection as tears ran down her face. The thought of her very image transforming into a monstrous creature in front of the unsuspecting citizens of Canterlot repeatedly flashed in her mind. Now her dreams were shattered, her hopes were fading, and everyone she loved would soon fall to the Changelings. She could even hear the Queen laughing in her voice. Except...that wasn't in her head.

The princess looked up, listening more closely now. She could vaguely hear own voice talking to someone just beyond the cavern's wall. The words were unintelligible, but it was definitely a female on the other side. The conversation soon turned into maniacal laughter accompanied by numerous magic explosions. Cadance slowly backed away, fearful of what was going to happen. She shut her eyes as a large portion of the wall was instantly shattered. When the dust cleared there was a furious unicorn with a glowing horn standing before her. The mare then leaped at the princess.

"No! Wait!"

The mare tackled Cadance to the floor. As the dust cloud cleared, she was now standing over the cowering princess shielding her face.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" Cadance looked up and was soon relieved to see it was Twilight. "Twilight, it's me! Please, you have to believe me! I've been imprisoned like you! The Cadance that brought you down here was an imposter!"

"Likely story!"

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake." Cadance was hopping in place and then crouching while covering her eyes. "Clap your hooves and do a little shake."

After clapping one of her hooves with Twilight and shaking her flank, Cadance looked at the unicorn with a tearful smile.

"You remember me!" Twilight exclaimed as they both embraced each other.

"Of course I do. How could I forget the filly I loved to sit for the most?"

Cadance looked ahead after hearing her imposter's echoing laughter. For a moment she saw a distant glimmer of light being reflected off one of the crystals. She looked at Twilight who also knew what this meant.

"We have to get out of here." the unicorn said.

The princess nodded and took the lead. It was easy to follow the light's direction, but this particular cavern proved difficult to navigate when numerous large crystals obstructing the path. This would not be a hindrance to Cadance, but Twilight lacked wings and the princess doubted she had enough energy to fly extensively. The mares were thus forced to take detours through other caverns.

Twilight occasionally took charge when it they ran into a dead end. She was always the one to backtrack and leave special markings on places they already explored. After almost an hour the mares made significant progress, but the light was still vastly beyond their reach.

"Twilight," the princess began, "there's something else you should know... Before you came along there were a few others who came to rescue me, but we were caught and I got separated from them. I don't know what happened to those guys, but they told me to forget about them and do whatever it takes to save Canterlot."

"Are you saying you want to look for them?"

"It was a last request to leave them, Twilight. I want to honor it, but I just can't bear the thought that I'm leaving them for dead..."

"Can you at least tell me their names? If worse comes to worst, we can at least honor their memory..."

"I didn't catch all of their names, but one of them definitely knew you. I think he just called himself Doctor."

"The Doctor...!?" Twilight looked away for a few seconds, but soon faced Cadance with a confident expression. "Don't worry! The stallion can take care of himself and anypony else he's with! Right now, let's just focus on getting to the castle before it's too late. We have a wedding to crash!"

"You seem to have a lot of faith in him..."

"Of course I do. He's the Doctor. All he needs is a little push."

Comments

[Colt .45]

Mrs. Heartstrings slapped Lyra with her hoof: something that could accidentally KO somepony.

[TimeFactor]

1559098
Maybe she suddenly sprouted fingers and morphed her hoof into a palm

[PL]

Now this much better
and loving the direction were this is going