Chapter 7 - Can You Hear the Bells?
Yawning and stretching her wings, Luna walked into the castle’s dining room, smiling at her sister who sat in a chair, sipping a cup of tea.
“Good evening, Tia.” Luna took her own seat, plucking a bread roll from a plate with her magic. “Wouldst thou like to start on the changeover now?”
“They’re waiting.”
Frowning, Luna looked to her sister. The alicorn’s shoulders shook almost imperceptibly, and her teacup was trembling in her golden magical aura. “Who are?” Luna asked, standing from her seat and moving to comfort her sister.
“The monsters. The Spirit’s foul minions. They lurk at the edge of the Everfree, waiting for dark. Can thou not sense them?”
Luna frowned - of course, she could sense no such thing. “Sister, whatever is the matter?” The sun princess flinched at Luna’s touch, but relaxed slightly as Luna held her shoulder.
“We can feel them. Watching, waiting, biding their time. As soon as night comes, they will emerge and riot again.”
“Oh Tia, you must be exhausted. Come, let's get you to bed, and we can take over after the sunset-”
“No!” Celestia shouted, making Luna flinch back. “No, the instant our sun is gone, they will come and burn the castle town, don’t you understand?”
“Calm, dear Tia, calm. We shall check the forest’s edge before we begin the changeover, to assure you that the ponies are safe. Will that be alright?”
“Yes, yes.” Celestia nodded, breathing deeply to calm herself. “Good idea, sister. You are wise beyond your years.”
“Princess?” Twilight poked her head into the ajar door, high up in the towers of Canterlot, stepping in after barely a moment’s hesitation.
“Ah, the Bearer of the Element of Magic. We are honoured by your presence.” Luna turned to the door and bowed low, moving her wings extravagantly. After holding it for just long enough for Twilight to look perturbed, Luna stood again and extended one forehoof, smiling. “Hello, my dear Twilight.” She said as the unicorn ran into her hug.
“Hello, Luna.” Twilight grinned widely up at her before they broke off the hug, Luna gesturing to her favourite couches with one wing. “Thank you for inviting us all to stay at the castle! The girls are so excited for it.”
“You could’ve stayed with your family, you know.”
“Well, I’m going to stay with them for a few days after the wedding. But really, I wanted to see you, Princess.”
“You flatter me, my dear.” She levitated a teapot over from a side table, pouring Twilight a cup. “Are you excited for the wedding?”
“Oh, it’s only my big brother marrying my favourite foalsitter, of course I’m excited!” Twilight enthused, taking the tea in her magic.
“Well, we do still have a few days before it all starts. I imagine you’ll be wanting to show the other Bearers around the city and ensure that your dresses are ready. And of course, you are always welcome here in the castle.”
“Actually, Princess… I was really hoping that I’d get to see Cadance sometime today.”
Of course, Twilight would want to see her soon-to-be sister. Despite several attempts, they hadn’t been in Canterlot at the same time for over a year, since before Twilight had moved to Ponyville, only having time for a brief tea meeting in that time. “She’s just downstairs sorting the flowers. Come along, I’m sure that she’d be over the moon to see you.”
“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybug’s awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!”
Luna grinned at the pegasus and unicorn, soon to be sisters, as they finished their odd little ritual and embraced each other, laughing.
“I’ve missed you so much, Cadance!”
“And I’ve missed you, Twily. You’ve grown up so much! Not to mention all that with the Elements of Harmony a few months ago.”
“I can’t believe that you and Shiny are getting married? Why did you wait so long to tell me?”
“We wanted to tell you in person, but with everything that happened with you moving to Ponyville, we just didn’t get chance, not until I came for that little visit! But you’re here now, and that’s what matters. Would you still like to be my maid of honour?”
“Of course I would! What sort of question is that?”
“Hey, where’s Spike? I’d like to see my other future sibling.”
“He’s helping the girls get settled in, I’m sure he’ll come by to see you soon!”
“Princess?” Luna was snapped away from watching the reunion with a smile on her face, and turned to Raven, who levitated a small stack of folders to her. “Some documents from the planners awaiting your signatures, my lady.”
Luna paged through them, skimming over each in turn. “Not alphabetized.” She tutted, good-naturedly, winking at Raven. “You’re slacking, Ms Inkwell.”
Although it had been intended as a joke, Raven merely sighed heavily in response, letting her ears droop. “I’m sorry, Princess.”
Frowning at the apparent, uncharacteristic gloominess, Luna put a wing over Raven’s back and led her away from the reunion, out into the corridor. “Are you alright, Raven?”
“I’m sorry that I have been slacking, I’ve just been feeling a bit… off these past few days.”
“My dear Raven, I’ve always told you that you’re going to work yourself into madness one day. You haven’t had a day off for four years, and I practically had to chase you out of the castle with a spear for you to take that one. Take a week off - Tartarus, take a month off - and relax. For me, if not for your own sake.”
Raven removed her glasses to wipe her eyes with a fetlock, before replacing them and clearing her throat. “I think that I will, Princess. Thank you. But not until after this wedding is done.”
“Right you are, my dear. And make sure to keep on top of your stress in the future, please.”
“I will, Princess. Thank you.” And with the gesture of a wing, Luna dismissed her, returning to the room as she sorted through the documents, smiling at Cadance and Twilight’s still-ongoing discussions.
The plan had been for Cadance and Twilight to stay in the castle for the two nights to the wedding, leaving the castle during the day so that the last preparations could be put in place by Luna and they’d be all ready bright and early on the day of the wedding. And, for once, it actually looked as though it was going to go as planned - the girls were extremely excited to see each other, and had quickly made plans to show the other Bearers around the capital, perhaps meeting up with Twilight’s parents and Cadance’s soon-to-be in-laws as well. Of course, Luna would’ve loved the company, but she’d prefer not to have them bogged down with administration and organisation so soon before the special day. Even if Twilight would’ve probably enjoyed it.
Of course, in the two days before the wedding, everything started to quickly go wrong; the string quartet who were supposed to be playing the reception were struck by a particularly potent flu, one of the chefs resigned out of the blue, leaving the catering looking rather tight, a wild thunderstorm had changed course to come straight over the castle at the worst time, somepony dropped the ball and ended up with a cart carrying all the decorations at the bottom of a lake, and, as they were laying out the seating for the ceremony perhaps twelve hours before, a sizeable bird of prey managed to find its way inside from the gardens and made a thorough mess of the hall.
“Would anypony like to tell me that we’re being attacked by a dragon?” Luna ventured to the gathered servants and Guard. “Perhaps that there’s asbestos in the castle ceiling and the whole thing will have to be called off? The beloved couple have decided to elope? The Shelf is about to collapse?” They all shuffled awkwardly, avoiding eye contact, and Luna sighed. “Forgive me. You’re all doing a fine job, and I do appreciate it.”
In truth, it was Twilight and her friends who had (in a somewhat more minor way than last time) saved the day - with Twilight’s logistical assistance, Pinkie Pie had found a small group of musicians she knew who were willing to play on such short notice, Applejack had made her way into the kitchens and begun whipping up desserts, Rainbow Dash had single-hoofedly dismissed the wild storm, Rarity had whipped up a fine new set of decorations in mere hours, and Fluttershy had gently guided the oversized bird back to its nest. And, most importantly, all this had been done without Cadance or Shining Armour getting any indication that anything at all was wrong.
“I am indebted to you and your friends.” Luna told the yellow pegasus as she shut the window behind their unwanted visitor. “Once again, though less dramatically than last time.” Her thoughts strayed to the imprisoned Spirit, his statuesque form now moved to the Statue Garden, that the Princess could keep a better eye on him in the future, and have him well away from his many servants in the Everfree.
“Oh, it’s really nothing, Princess…” She muttered, hiding away behind her mane. “I’m just happy to have been invited.”
“Of course, my dear, of course.”
“I was thinking that, um, maybe, if you like, I could have some of the birds sing during the wedding, like I did at the Summer Sun Celebration?” The pony ventured. “I’m sure that the birds would be happy to do it to apologise for making trouble.”
“You know, I think that Cadance would love that.” Luna had been really hoping that Fluttershy would offer, not willing to ask the pegasus and make her feel like it was an obligation. “You’re sure that you can have it ready? I wouldn’t want to overly pressure you.”
“Oh yes! It should only take an hour or two to have them all ready.”
The joy of cutie mark talents, doing the seemingly impossible in such little time. “Thank you very much, Fluttershy. Sleep well, and I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”
The wedding was to be held in the afternoon and evening, which, given that they were in the midst of summer, would remain light and pleasant long into the evening. Indeed, it had been an especially warm summer, so the evening would doubtless be the perfect temperature for a garden party by the setting sun. The ceremony would, Luna had to admit, start a little too early for her usual preference, but the party would doubtless continue long into the night, which was the sort of festivity that Luna preferred.
Now, at around noon on the day of the wedding, Luna, Twilight Sparkle, and Twilight Velvet were gathered in Luna’s personal chambers, having their manes styled and makeup done by a small team of professionals before they were ready to put on their dresses. Well, the Twilights were, at least; one of the first custom spells Luna had created, as a very young mare, was a glamour that immediately made her look her absolute best. Makeup was uncomfortable, and the process of having it applied was very boring and took far too long, especially for a busy mare like herself.
She could tell, studying them from her dimly-lit nook, that the elder Twilight was still deeply uncomfortable, unaccustomed to spending time in the Princess’ inner sanctum or even simply being so close to Luna. The younger unicorn, conversely, had no such qualms.
“...And so then I realised that the parchment had been damaged by a poorly-done stasis spell and the illustrated matrix was missing the core ley-line, so that let me make the spell work!”
“That’s nice, honey.” Twilight Velvet nodded, ever supportive but equally uncomprehending. “Your dress is nice.”
“Rarity made it. She makes such lovely dresses. I’ll get her to make you one!”
Before the mother could respond, the door to Luna’s bedchamber opened, and they all looked alertly up at the door, watching the figure emerge.
She was radiant, the pink pegasus in the white dress, trimmed with shimmering gold thread. Its long train covered her elaborately braided tail, and a veil covered her face, dropping from a crown of fresh, blue flowers. She shyly adjusted her gold-shoed forehooves as a growing grin slowly emerged on her face.
“Well, how do I look?”
“Amazing.”
“Beautiful.”
“Stunning.”
“Wonderful.”
“Auntie?” Cadence asked after the alicorn didn’t respond for a few moments. Luna smiled, wiping her eyes with her fetlocks, the white and gold bringing a very old memory to the forefront of her mind.
“You look perfect. A better Princess than I look.” Her own dress was intentionally modest and relatively plain, not to distract from the bride on her special day as much as for her own preferences. Luna didn’t want to risk ruining her perfect look with a hug, so settled with a simple nuzzle. “Now, ladies, I will be back shortly, but I must make sure that everything’s running well quickly.” She stood, moving to the window and spreading her wings. “Starting with checking on your dashing groom.” She winked, before hopping lightly off her balcony and catching a thermal to glide gently to her own tower’s twin, one that was carefully maintained within but hadn’t seen permanent residence yet. Luna was certain that its owner wouldn’t mind it being borrowed now and then.
“How are we all?” She asked as she alighted on her balcony, making one of the stallions jump straight up off the floor.
“Princess!”
“So full of nerves, Shining Armour.” She smiled gently, touching his shoulder. “This is supposed to be a nice day.”
In a deep red and gold dress uniform, Shining Armour looked every part the fairytale prince. Against the backdrop of a pristine parlour, all done in warm, summery colours, he could be straight off a book cover if it weren’t for the look of genuine dread on his face. His father stood at his side, in an old-fashioned, black suit, dark mane carefully styled.
“Mr Light, dashing as ever.”
“You flatter me, Princess.” He was a lot more relaxed around Luna than his wife, simply a more naturally easy-going pony, but still bowed as he spoke to her.
“Not flattery, honestly. Spike, very handsome.” The little dragon puffed out his tuxedoed chest. “And Shining Armour, you look fantastic, my dear.”
“Is Cadance OK?” He squeaked like there was something caught in his throat.
“If by ‘OK’ you mean ‘still marrying you’, yes.” He’d asked several times over the past couple of weeks, often accompanied by statements that he couldn’t possibly be so lucky. Funnily enough, from what Luna had seen, his bride-to-be shared similar sentiments. “Please try to relax, Captain. It will all go perfectly, I promise.” Shining Armour cleared his throat, standing a little straighter and nodding stiffly. “Thank you. Can I get the three of you anything?”
“I think that we’re alright, your majesty.” The father offered. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure. If that will be all, I do need to check on preparations down in the castle proper. I’ll be back to check up on you in a little while.”
As was her habit, Luna didn’t make her way inside through the castle’s actual doors, instead banking down through the open skylight into the hall where the wedding would be held. It had been thoroughly decorated, lined with many seats facing the beautiful, flower-lined wooden archway where the couple would stand for the ceremony. A long, plush carpet led up to it, and the walls were lined with white and pink fabric, masterfully created by one of Twilight’s friends. A few servants pottered about, sweeping and straightening and, from the murmurs from the door behind her, a few guests had arrived early, and were being occupied in the next hall.
“All going well in here? No disasters?” A few odd chuckles and nodded heads. A tweeting distracted Luna, and she turned to watch a yellow pegasus fly gently in through the window, leading a flock of multicoloured birds to perch on a specific piece of furniture near the door. It had been decided that these birds would perform all of the music during the ceremony, with Pinkie Pie’s friends being self-described ‘party people’. “Fluttershy! Do you need anything? Any supplies?”
“Um, no, thank you, Princess.” She squeaked. “Maybe just, um, a few minutes of quiet to make sure that they can know what they’re doing?”
“You heard the lady.” Luna gestured to the servants. “The room looks divine, take a break, please.” They murmured thanks and left the room, Luna spreading her wings to depart back out the window before another pony barged in through the door behind her.
“Princess!” Raven gasped, startling the birds somewhat and garnering some attention from the early guests before the door closed behind her. “I’m so glad that I found you!”
“Raven, my dear,” Luna asked as Fluttershy calmed her little choir. “What ever is the matter?”
“There was an accident… in the cellars…” She gasped, regaining her breath. Luna had never seen the loyal aide gallop before. “One of the old shelves fell... Almost crushed Spit Shine and Pocketbook… They stopped it, but they can’t hold it for much longer!”
Luna was already galloping away before Raven could finish speaking, skidding around servants and Guardsponies in the direction of the kitchen cellars, half-flying down the stairs into the dark, dry, stone corridors. They were an expansive and complex series of storage areas, but Luna knew them like the back of her hoof and, when she heard a plaintive squeak echoing along the passages, she set off directly towards it without hesitation, horn already aglow as she prepared a spell.
Which was why she was so surprised when nothing was amiss in that part of the cellars. Had she gotten lost? The cellars were prone to echoes that could’ve distorted the victims’ locations, and that was what she suspected when she heard another shout from elsewhere in the labyrinth, immediately setting off towards it again. But paused when another shout came from another area. And another, another, another.
It was then that Luna became certain that something was terribly wrong. In the mad panic of believing that one of her friends was in danger, she had ignored a number of oddities, but they all began to hit her now. Where were the servants? Surely the cellars would be incredibly busy mere hours before a royal wedding. Wouldn’t one of the many Guard found throughout the palace have been easier to find for help than the Princess? And why had the ever-lit lamps been extinguished? Why was someone else walking, calmly, down here?
“Princess.” A voice echoed, and Luna turned on the spot to see Raven Inkwell standing behind her, horn aglow.
“Raven? What is the meaning of this?” Luna drew herself up to her (rather impressive) full height, glaring down at her loyal aide. “If this is supposed to be a jest, it’s certainly not an entertaining one.”
“Not a jest precisely, Princess,” her voice had taken on a strange, echoing quality, like two people were talking at the same time. “But I’m finding it very amusing.”
Cursing her own unwillingness to simply attack after this betrayal, Luna found herself suddenly surrounded by many of her servants. Spit Shine, Welcome Home, Sous Chef, Alderman, all emerging from the darkness almost silently, smiling sinisterly. One by one, green fire smouldered at their hooves, slowly consuming them and erasing their false skins. When their true forms were revealed, they were pony-like, but with black exoskeletons, jagged horns, and insectoid wings, all scarred and filled with holes.
“Changelings.” Luna whispered. She had encountered changelings before, many times in fact, once with Twilight’s assistance, but this wasn’t how they operated; alone, yes, they were subtle, but in numbers they became quickly overconfident, and would typically seek to overwhelm with sheer numbers. But now that she knew, she could see all the oddities, the strange behaviours of her servants and friends, the absent Guards, the strange sightings around the city. “This is my niece’s wedding day. You wicked things shall not spoil this.”
Before Luna could react, planning to blow the bizarre insects aside with a simple blast of magic, Raven snapped “Seize her.” The four changelings leaped onto her, three pinning her legs and the fourth springing forwards to bite down on her horn with its wicked fangs. She shouted at the intense, sharp pain, and knew that it’d be impossible to channel magic in this state.
“I was really expecting this stage of the plan to be more of a challenge.” The false Raven sighed. “Oh well, I can’t complain.” She too was consumed in the green fire, and revealed a sight like Luna had never seen before.
It was a changeling, certainly, but larger than any she’d seen before, of a similar size to Luna herself. Its horn was long and jagged, as were its fangs. Its blue-ish mane was lank and greasy, its eyes glistening with an intelligence that she’d never seen in a changeling’s eyes before. An antenna-like crown topped its twisted face.
“What are you?” Luna asked between gasps.
“The Queen of the changelings, my dear Princess. Queen Chrysalis, at your service.” The monster hissed, bowing mockingly in front of the pinned alicorn.
“And what? You monsters feed on love, you came today to take the love of my niece’s wedding?” Luna snarled, attempting to throw off her attackers. The one holding her horn bit harder, and the pain forced her back to the ground.
“Not exactly, though it’s a pleasant bonus. No, I’m here for the love a nation has for its Princess.”
Luna gaped at the monster as it transformed into a perfect minic of her, complete with her new dress. The Queen conjured herself a desk mirror, holding it in an imitation of Luna’s magical aura as she adjusted the appearance, adding more jewelery and enhancing the intentionally simplistic dress, to the point that she would take more attention than Cadance.
“A little plain, aren’t you, Princess? I’m sure that I can do better.” The imposter said in Luna’s own voice.
“So what, you plan to replace me? You think that you can get away with this forever?”
“Close to it, Princess. Very close to it.” She smirked with Luna’s own face, before addressing her minions. “Seal her up with the others. I have a wedding to officiate.”
Luna tried to protest again, but she felt something warm and viscous dripping down her face and, when it ran into her ears, she found herself suddenly unconscious.
And then she awoke in a small, dark corner, her view of the world green, like looking through stained glass. The strange lightness in her head made it clear that she was upside-down, and there was a faint swinging feeling as she shifted her body in the warm, moist space. She was suspended from the cellar’s ceiling in a changeling pod. She’d seen these pods before, used to hide away the ponies mimicked by the changelings and sustain them, unconscious.
How long had she been in this pod? She felt disoriented, a headache radiating down from her horn, and, squinting through the translucent pod, she could see no sign of any light to judge the time by. Her limbs were stiff, encountering resistance from the bizarre goo produced by changelings to restrain their prey, and she could feel that her magic, that of all four tribes, was suppressed. Whatever had poisoned her into unconsciousness was still in her system, and it was very tempting to slip back into sleep.
Still, that wouldn’t stop Luna for too long. Probing with her restrained hooves, she found the cocoon’s membrane to be pliant but sturdy, not something that she’d just be able to punch through with unenhanced strength. Adjusting within her prison, slightly dizzy from the sensation of blood rushing into her head and inhaling stale, odorous air, she began to rub her horn against the edge of her prison, back and forth until her neck ached.
A unicorn’s horn was not sharp at all, except in a few individuals, and an alicorn’s horn, while somewhat sharper, was still not good enough to be used as a weapon. But it was pointed enough that, with determination, persistence, time, and the ability to ignore the pain in one of the most sensitive parts of her body, the tip of her horn punched through the membrane with a pop. Not allowing herself to celebrate yet, she shook her head to widen the gap, until she could topple out of it onto the cool, stone floor, and gasp in less-stale air.
Feeling her magic rush back, she sat on the floor to chip the hardened gel away from her limbs with her hooves, purging the rest with a blast of magical energy once she had regained enough strength and once the drowsiness had almost entirely left her. This done, she stood and lit her horn to take in her surroundings.
She was in one of the deepest parts of the castle’s cellars, the areas that were almost never used and practically merged with the ancient mine shafts and escape tunnels that dotted the hill below. Hanging from every part of the ceiling like twisted chandeliers were dozens more of the cocoons, a couple trembling slightly as their residents twisted and kicked. Stepping to the closest, she saw Raven Inkwell’s bespectacled face swim past the membrane, for all the world looking to be blissfully asleep.
How long had these ponies been here? Doubtless all of the missing and replaced staff and Guardsponies were sealed away here. She knew that these pods could sustain victims for weeks, but beyond that, the replaced tended not to reappear. Taking the closest pod in her magic, she tore it open, sending her loyal assistant spilling out onto the stone floor, coughing.
“Raven, my dear.” Luna said soothingly as she pulled the changeling goo away from the unicorn’s stained coat. “You are safe.”
“Princess!” She coughed. “I- The changelings!”
“I know, my dear, I know. They imprisoned me, too. But I don’t think that they know how to imprison an alicorn for good.” She helped the unicorn to stand on shaky legs. “I must go and see if the others are safe in the rest of the castle. Can you free the others from their cocoons? Don’t go anywhere until you’re all free and you can fight together.”
“Yes, Princess.”
Giving her a soft smile, Luna set off at a gallop up into the rest of the castle, dimly aware of the fact that she may have been gone for far too long to truly do anything. Still, that wasn’t the sort of thing that would stop her from trying.
“Say, Twi,” Spike whispered. “Do you think that there’s something a bit weird about the Princess today?”
Twilight looked across the length of the hall to Luna, rising up from the many noble ponies surrounding her like a tree from the undergrowth. Without a doubt, she was the most striking figure in the room, each piece of her jewelery probably worth more than most Canterlot manors. Twilight had to admit that it was strange to see her dressed so elaborately, her mentor much preferring to wear her more modest regalia to even noble events. Still, it was her favourite niece’s wedding, it made sense that she’d be pulling out all the stops.
“She was dressed differently earlier.” She also seemed to be finding a lot more joy in talking to the Equestrian nobles than usual, puffing up her chest and regaling them with booming stories that raised polite laughs. And Twilight had to admit that how she’d been ignored by the Princess when she entered the hall had been out of character and a bit upsetting. And why hadn’t she even said hello to the many guests from Cadance’s home town yet? “You’re right, Spike.” Twilight conceded, thinking of more and more pieces of evidence as time went by. “Something is wrong.”
“Maybe she’s just stressed?”
From across the room, Twilight intensely scrutinised her long-time tutor. She wore a facial expression that wasn’t familiar to Twilight, almost… self-satisfied. Smug, perhaps. Not the humble grace that Twilight was accustomed to seeing. And why did she seem so glad to be the centre of attention? She’d spent months worrying about the idea of stealing the limelight from Cadance, and now seemed quite content to be doing so even before the wedding itself. What could’ve happened to make her behave so differently?
“Your majesty!” A servant that Twilight vaguely recognised trotted into the wedding hall, approached the Princess and whispered something to her.
“Forgive me, my friends, but I have something that must be attended to.” Luna projected over the room, silencing all conversations. “I shall grave you with my return soon.” Twilight watched Luna leave the room, the other conversations slowly resuming.
“We should follow her.”
“What? But Twi, I’ve got the rings! There’s only half an hour before the wedding!”
“Trust me, Spike, something’s very wrong.” She raised the protesting dragon onto her back, walking as casually as possible after the Princess. “I’m worried about the Princess, and we need to make sure that whatever’s happened isn’t going to mess up the wedding.”
Luna was alone as she left the dungeon-like cellars, the freed changeling victims’ nervous voices fading quickly behind her. It was when she crept up the stairs into the kitchens, immediately dousing her hornlight, that Luna saw more of her captors. Four stallions in Royal Guard armour stood guard at the top of the stairs, their stance giving away, now that she was looking for it, that they weren’t real Guardsponies. How many other dead giveaways had she missed, because she wasn’t looking?
Though a talent she hadn’t made use of for many years, Luna was greatly skilled at moving silently. Stepping out of the shadows of the stairwell, she took two of the false Guards in her magic, slamming their heads together hard enough to knock them to the ground in a burst of green fire that exposed their insectoid true forms. Of the other two, one she dealt with by way of a swift buck to the chin, and the last she knocked to the ground with a swing of her huge wings. In less than a second they were all unconscious, and Luna let herself feel a moment of pride at the prospect that she’d still got it.
But no time to gloat, Luna looked around the kitchens - empty, though evidence of the wedding feast’s preparation remained. Good, so she’d been locked away for a few hours at most. It looked to be mid-afternoon, so perhaps the wedding itself hadn’t even started yet. Eager, and regaining more and more of her concentration, Luna set off at a silent trot through the familiar corridors of her castle.
She tried to plan, while she moved. This Chrysalis and her shapeshifting minions had defeated Luna with little effort before, that was true, but they had the element of surprise, and they certainly wouldn’t this time. Indeed, if they were assuming that Luna was still out of the equation, the Princess might have the element of surprise. But could she even defeat the changeling Queen? The return of the Spirit of Chaos had proven to Luna that she was no longer the fabled warrior-princess of old, for certain, and she wasn’t sure if she'd survive another failed encounter with that creature.
Plus, a pitched battle was sure to ruin the wedding.
She needed something more subtle and, more importantly than that, she needed to draw her attacker well away from the wedding. This was something that needed to be dealt with without the lovely couple even knowing that anything was wrong to begin with. So Luna crept slowly towards a voice, peeking around a corner to see two changelings disguised as servants chatting quietly, in a crossroad intersection in the private areas of the castle. She might’ve been fooled by their disguises, if not for one of them saying ‘our Queen’ in their conversation.
Concocting a quick way to distract them, without making it clear that Luna herself had escaped, the Princess conjured an image of an old friend of hers, a thestral mare in Night Guard armour, holding a spear. It wasn’t a perfect illusion, but, if it went according to plan, it wouldn’t be subject to much scrutiny. Clearing her throat, she changed her voice to shout, “Begone from this palace, monsters!” as the illusion charged towards the changelings. As hoped, they both shouted in alarm and bolted down the corridors, in the direction of the wedding hall. Luna manipulated the illusion so that it appeared to be chasing them, just enough that they’d be thoroughly convinced of the danger, before dispelling it and waiting for her foe to appear.
As she traced in her mentor’s hoofsteps, Twilight became more and more acutely aware that something was very wrong. Once far enough from the wedding hall, Luna had begun to berate the servant in an uncharacteristic manner, especially given that the servant looked to be absolutely terrified of (based on the eavesdropping) some sort of intruder within the castle. Given that Twilight hadn’t been spotted, and Luna was a deeply observant pony, she was clearly quite distracted with her ranting, and a few times Twilight heard the Princess’ voice crack in a strange way, and once she was convinced that the usually sparkling navy of her magical aura changed into a sickly lime green.
“What’s going on, Twi?” Whispered the decidedly unsettled Spike when the Princess and her servant rounded a corner out of their sight.
“Something’s happened to the Princess, Spike.” Twilight whispered in reply. “But I don’t know what.” Possession felt most likely in her mind. The imprisoned Discord was in the castle’s grounds, what if he’d somehow slipped free of his bonds enough to send out a tendril of corrupting chaos magic to the Princess? It was the kind of nefarious thing that it seemed like the Spirit of Chaos would do.
“What should we do?”
Thinking, Twilight lowered Spike from her back. “I need to get the girls to figure out what to do. Can you wait here for me? Just keep an eye on the Princess and come find me if she gets hurt, OK?”
“O-OK.” Spike stammered as Twilight smiled encouragingly at him, before setting off at a gallop back towards the wedding hall.
Left alone but for the distant sounds of the castle and the distinct, distant speech of Luna, Spike suddenly felt very nervous. He was supposed to be the ring bearer for the wedding, and it would be starting so soon! He should’ve left the rings behind, so that it could go on without him. Whatever had happened, it shouldn’t spoil Cadance’s special day. Nervously, he crept to the corner of the corridor that Luna had vanished around, and had to clamp his hands over his mouth to not gasp.
Two Lunas were staring each other down.
“So, you’ve escaped.” The more elaborately dressed Luna stated calmly.
“Indeed I have.” The other replied.
“I should’ve had you double-podded.”
“Surrender. Chrysalis. You will not win this.”
Apparently unbothered by this situation, the more elaborately-dressed Luna conjured a strange spell, sending out a pulse of green energy. “Every single changeling in Equestria is coming to the castle. Perhaps I will not win a fair fight against you, but I do not fight fair. And all your precious little ponies will be the ones bearing the brunt of it.” At that, the servant, baring unnatural fangs, charged at the real Luna, but she ducked under his leaping charge and let him crumple in a heap against one wall, his disguise dispelled.
Springing from her duck like a cat, Luna propelled herself at her doppelganger, horn aglow. Already, there were sounds of panic coming from the rest of the castle, which Luna forced herself to ignore as she grappled her imposter with her forelegs, blasting moonlight energy into Chrysalis, a blast strong enough that it forced her disguise to flicker in green fire and then fade completely.
Chrysalis’ response was quick and vicious, twisting her head and sinking her fangs into Luna’s foreleg hard enough to draw blood. Gasping in pain, Luna released her hold on the imposter and took a few steps back. At a safer distance, the two fighters stalked around each other for a few moments, each weighing up the other’s ability. It was Chrysalis who struck first, leaping at Luna with her fangs bared like a winged lioness. But the Princess was ready, and ducked below the attack, blasting magical energy into the changeling’s underbelly to send her spinning, smoking, to the ground.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Chrysalis, nor your changelings.” Luna told the Queen as she scrambled back to shaky legs. “Call them off, and we can resolve this peacefully. Changelings are no less deserving of love than ponies, I would be more than willing to let your people live peacefully amongst my own.”
Chrysalis’ eyes met Luna’s, and the flinty anger seemed to fade. “You would?”
“I have fought for countless centuries for the rights of my thestrals, and I will do the same for your changelings, if they are willing to live in peace.” She took a few steps closer, extending a forehoof to her opponent. “Call your minions off, let the wedding proceed in peace, and let me help you.”
After a long moment of hesitation, and an encouraging smile from the Princess, Chrysalis reached out and took the proffered forehoof, steading herself with Luna’s support. She gave the Princess an unpractised, hesitant smile, before pulling harshly and butting her head against Luna’s, sending the Princess reeling back. She tried to conjure another blast of magic, but was interrupted by a blow to her belly, and then a pair of strong forelegs wrapping around her neck and pulling her to the ground.
“Stupid, gullible, trusting ponies!” The changeling Queen laughed as Luna struggled in her grip. “I don’t want to be your equal, I want to be your master!” Those ragged, hard, chitinous legs tightened around Luna’s neck, and her vision began to blur, her struggle weakening slightly.
“Let go of her!”
Luna gasped in a lungful of air as Chrysalis’ grip loosened, and coughed once before turning to look at her attacker, who was thrashing and struggling against a purple shape on her back. “Spike!” Luna gasped as the little dragon clung to the Queen’s mane, shouting and spitting embers at her. But it didn’t last long before she whipped her head around with incredible strength, shaking the dragon to the ground and regaining her composure as he rolled away.
“There’s a lot of love in that little one. I think I’ll keep him, for-” Chrysalis’ gloating was interrupted by the alicorn slamming into her with incredible strength, knocking the changeling to the ground with brute force alone. And as she gasped in shock and tried to regain her composure, Luna stood over her, horn aglow and an anger like no being alive had seen before in her eyes.
“If you touch my family again,” she said, her voice low and furious. “You will wish that I still employed executioners.”
Chrysalis sputtered, taken aback by a display like this from the ever-benevolent moon Princess, and felt an emotion that she hadn’t felt for a very long time: fear. “I surrender.” She whispered.
“You surrender?” Luna snarled, black mist swimming at the edges of her body. “You hurt a member of my family, you threaten to enslave them, and you wish to surrender? To parlay?” Her voice was slowly increasing in volume, and she stamped with both forehooves, making Chrysalis flinch and sending up shards of the stone floor. “You take this beautiful, sacred day, you sully it with your attempted coup, and you ask me for mercy?” The black mist was creeping up her body, thrashing as though at the centre of a whirlwind as her body shifted beneath it. “Your kind do not understand mercy! And you shall receive none! You cannot love, so you shall fear!”
“Princess?”
And at that little voice, the nightmare vision that had been confronting Chrysalis was gone. Luna was crouching over Spike, gently touching his body. “My dear Spike, are you hurt?”
“Just,” he gulped. “A little sore.”
“Don’t worry, my sweet,” gently, she raised the baby in her magic, laying him on her back. “It’s over now. The changelings are leaving, aren’t they?” She glanced back to Chrysalis who didn’t resist, still laying in a heap on the floor, and sent out another pulse of magic from her horn, a signal to all her changelings to retreat back to their Badlands. “I’ll get one of the healers to have a good look at you, OK?”
“Princess!” Shouted another voice, and she turned to see Twilight and the others charging up the corridor, wearing their Elements and slightly bedraggled from a battle. “The changelings just left! Is everything alright?”
“Oh yes.” Luna said calmly. “Their Queen was just surrendering. Take Spike, please - he got a bit shaken up.”
“You don’t need our help?”
“No, Twilight. You’ve done a wonderful job. Now take your brother, please.”
Nodding, Twilight levitated the shaken Spike away from Luna, and the seven of them hesitantly walked away from the Queen and the Princess, Luna slowly stepping towards Chrysalis.
“Please don’t hurt me.”
“You are going to leave my kingdom.” Luna said calmly, bending low so that she was eye-to-eye with the Queen. “You and your changelings will return to the Badlands. If you ever wish to have any changeling enter my kingdom again, you will come to me through diplomatic channels, and I will hear you out just as I would any other foreign ruler. I still believe that the changelings are not evil at their core. If you break this trust, you will regret it. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Good.” Luna stood tall again, and waved a hoof. “You may go now.” Chrysalis didn’t need to be told again, climbing back to her feet and shooting out of the nearest window. “I have a wedding to run.”
“Do you, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, take Shining Armour to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do.”
“And do you, Captain Shining Armour, take Mi Amore Cadenza to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.”
“Then by the power vested in me by the citizens of Equestria, I now pronounce you stallion and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Whoops and cheers and stamped hooves from the gathered nobles and family members as the newlyweds kissed, happy tears in both of their eyes. Luna watched, smiling with pride as they embraced, nuzzling and whispering to each other. When they pulled apart, the commotion fading, Luna spoke again.
“The meals should be ready soon, so I think that we should all go into the castle gardens and get the reception started.” A pair of servants opened the double doors at the side of the hall, and a few guests began to move out of them. Luna leaned down to the new couple, grinning at them. “Congratulations again, both of you.”
“Thank you, Auntie.” Cadence beamed. “This really has been the perfect day.”
Misdirection, that had been the key. Neither of the couple had encountered any changelings in their high towers, and Luna had enlisted a number of her friends and staff to ensure that the pair didn't get a good look at any of the damage to the castle, or the rather bedraggled state of a number of their guests. It had, as far as their pair of them were concerned, been a perfect wedding day, barring a brief delay to the ceremony itself.
“I am glad. Now, come along, let’s get to the party, shall we?”
Of course, once the mingling started, it didn’t stay secret for long at all. In fact, Luna had just taken one bite of a cake from the snack table when Shining Armour charged up to her, clear panic in his eyes.
“Princess, the change-” He was interrupted by Luna taking his snout in her magic, holding his mouth shut while she finished her mouthful.
“Shining Armour, would you agree that the threat has been dealt with?” Slowly, reluctantly, he nodded. “And you had a lovely wedding?” Another nod. “Then I don’t think there’s any issue, is there?” She released her hold, and Shining Armour paused for a few moments before he spoke again.
“But we need to immediately enhance security to ensure that we don’t…” He trailed off mid-sentence at his new aunt’s look.
“Shining Armour, what time is it?”
“Um,” he glanced up. “About half past six?”
“And when does your shift as Captain end each day?”
“Six...”
“And, given that as of six tonight, you’re on a fortnight’s leave for your honeymoon, improving security isn’t your concern, is it?” Reluctantly, the unicorn shook his head. “I promise, Shining, I will take care of it. You need to enjoy the rest of the night. And that is a royal order.”
“Yes, Princess.” Shining Armour said, looking unusually grumpy for someone who’s been told to not work, before vanishing into the crowd. Looking out over the milling ponies (and very out-of-place gryphon diplomats), Luna spotted someone she wanted to speak with, and made her way over to them.
“Twilight, Miss Velvet, a pleasure as ever.” She nodded politely, before crouching to the dragon riding on his adoptive mother’s back. “How is my hero?”
Spike puffed out his chest proudly. “I’m fine! How are you, Princess?”
“Very well, all thanks to my brave dragon.” The nurse had said that he hadn’t been hurt badly at all, more shaken than anything - which Luna’s loss of control probably hadn’t helped with. Still, he was being treated like a hero by many of the guests, and he would spend the entire night carried by one of his family members. “Thank you again for your bravery, Spike. And I hope you have a lovely rest of your evening.” Indeed, it was shaping up to be a lovely night - the unseasonable warmth had held out, making it pleasantly warm even as the sun began its descent in earnest at Luna’s request.
“Can I come with you for a little while, Princess?”
“Of course, my dear! Come, the least I can do for my hero is a flight around the grounds.” She levitated the little dragon onto her back and took off with a mighty flap of her wings, relieved to be off her hooves as she looked out over the city.
It had been damaged, yes, but not badly. The vast majority of the changelings had attempted to attack the castle, meaning that collateral damage and civilian injuries were very low. The castle itself, thanks to Luna’s (perhaps too paranoid) magical defenses, was almost entirely undamaged, just a few scratches to the facade and shattered window panes. Her brave Guardsponies (those few who hadn’t been replaced) had escaped their attackers with minimal injuries, and all those imprisoned in the castle cellars had been freed and - though feeling rather sticky - seemed to be physically and mentally well.
“Auntie? Oh, and hello Spike.” Cadence appeared beside Luna in the sky, still in her wedding dress and smiling. “I heard about what happened.”
“You’ll forgive me for keeping it a secret.”
“Of course.” Cadence giggled. “But what I wanted to say was, do you think it’d be possible to open the reception to the people of Canterlot? I’m sure that they must be terribly upset after what's happened tonight, so I thought it might be nice to help them feel better.”
“Ever selfless, my dear.” Beaming, Luna levitated Spike over to his new sister’s back. “I’ll make sure the kitchens can get more food out, and we’ll open the gardens.”
Grinning, Luna flew back down to the castle. Of course, it hadn’t been a perfect day - big events like this never were. But it hadn’t spoiled the day, not at all. And, at the thought of all of the wonderful ponies of this city coming together in celebration, Luna knew that it was only going to become an even better night, one to remember for a very long time.
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Luna:
Sneak:100
omg, bow this is a fixfic
Is Celestia never gonna come back? First discord than chrysalis, is sombra next?
10989017
I am playing my cards close to my chest here, but Celestia will be back before the fic ends.
Man, this Chrysalis folded like a wet blanket as soon as she encountered any real opposition!
Luna almost going Nightmare Moon on chrissy tho
11027955
Well I mean, she's a changeling. Subterfuge and espionage is her game, not raw fighting. Especially with Loony going NMM on her sorry cheesebutt, and her not leeching love off of Shining like canon!Chrissy did, she had much less love to work with from the beginning, and thus much less power. Of course she'll fold.
As the most passionate of Chrysalis fans, I love how this was handled! I've always thought that Celestia wasted the opportunity to be diplomatic here (which isn't entirely her fault in canon, obviously). Chrysalis seems to respect Luna's strength far more than she does Celestia's canonical kindness (though Luna is incredibly kind as well); I bet she'll eventually see diplomacy as the sensible choice in this reality.
I'm not sure letting Chrysalis go was wise but there won't be any negative consequences in this story. It won't be easy for Chrysalis to try anything either finding allies you can use and then betray is hard since most who want ot work with her would expect the betrayal.