Misfits

by MattTOB

Chapter 1: Crossroads of Destiny

Author's Note:

Here's something that's been in the works since July 2020! (For reference, that's also when I started writing Pinkie's Bug Surprise.) However, with this story, I've been stuck on the first chapter until just a few days ago, when I suddenly had a wave of inspiration.

So please enjoy, and give me any and all feedback in the comments!

A cool morning wind blows across the plains as a lone cart makes its way towards a distant city. The sun is barely above the horizon, casting the land in a soft reddish hue.

An off-white earth pony pokes her head out from inside the wagon and tells the driver, "Lavvy, dear, I can't find the tea..."

The driver, a unicorn named Lavender Burst, rolls her eyes amusedly. "Third box from the back, just under the chess set, Mom."

The mare, Morning Dream, retreats back into the cart. After a moment of searching, she leans back out, teabags in her mouth's grip. "Thank you, dear. Do you want any?"

"Sure, I'll—"

But Lavender's thought is interrupted when she spots something in the ditch up ahead. It looks like... Uh-oh.

"There's somepony in the ditch!" The unicorn cries out in shock, quickly unharnessing herself. Morning Dream has to strain to see the pony as her daughter approaches.

Lavender quickly takes the pony's pulse, sighing in relief. "They're still alive, just unconscious." Judging from the bottle in the pony's wing-grasp, the pegasus got drunk and somehow found themself out here.

Lavender lifts the unconscious pegasus in her magic, getting a good look at them for the first time. While their body has the build of a stallion, they have eyelashes and medium-length hair. Their Cutie Mark is a bottle with 3 X's on it.

"Mom, help me with this pony," Lavender states, bringing them around to the back of the wagon. Morning Dream unlatches the back after a bit of fumbling, and the two bring the unconscious pony aboard.

---

A while after they get back on the road, the pony wakes up.

"Ugh, my head," they groan.

"Are you alright?" Morning Dream asks. "We found you lying in a ditch on the side of the road, and decided to bring you into our cart."

"Oh? Well, thank you." The pegasus peeks out the front of the cart; the city of Manehattan looms in the distance. "Must've been one heck of a party if I managed to get all the way out here..."

"You were at a party?"

The pony grins, "I was the party. Literally; I planned it. Name's Cupcake Foil."

"I'm Morning Dream."

"And I'm Lavender Burst!" the unicorn pulling the cart chimes in.

"We'd be more than willing to give you a ride where you need to go."

Cupcake smiles. "Again, thanks. I owe you one; if you ever need a party planned, you know who to call."

---

Meanwhile, in Manehattan...

Icarus the unicorn sits on the edge of the hotel pool, dipping his hooves in the water. His best friend, Tepid Waters the earth pony, is currently swimming laps, while another friend, Ollie the pegasus, is currently out getting them coffees. Icarus's pet moth, Lite, is resting on a pool chair beside him.

"Aren't you worried about Cupcake, Tepid?" Icarus asks her. "They've been gone since last night..."

Tepid pauses her laps to give her friend a calming look. "We both know Cupcake; they'll always find their way back, no matter what."

Icarus frowns. "They do have a habit of doing that..."

It is at that moment that Ollie returns to the group, two coffees and an iced tea held in his wings. "I'm back," he announces.

Icarus takes the iced tea. "Thanks, Ollie." Tepid Waters swims up to the edge of the pool and takes her coffee, too.

Ollie takes a sip of his drink. "So, did you guys hear about the wedding in Canterlot?"

Icarus eyes him. "How could we not? It's all over the news."

"I know."

Tepid sighs wistfully. "I wish we could be there, even for a minute."

"Why?" The unicorn raises his eyebrow. "It's not as if it'd be interesting; it's just a princess and a knight getting married."

---

Canterlot is torn by screams of terror and flashes of green fire. Ponies flee from the Changelings that are making their advance.

And in the Wedding Hall, their Queen sings.

♪This day has been just perfect,
A kind of day of which I'd dreamed since I was small
Everypony I'll soon control
Every stallion, mare, and foal
Who says a girl can't really have it all?♪

While the Queen is distracted, Twilight sneaks up to Princess Cadance and frees her legs. "Quick! Go to him while you still have the chance!"

Cadance doesn't need to be told twice; she rushes over to her husband and holds him. The moment before their horns touch, a spark of magic zaps between them.

Shining Armor slowly wakes from his hypnotic trance. "Wha– where... huh? Is...is the wedding over?"

Unfortunately, Queen Chrysalis notices what they are doing. She stomps over, declaring, "It's all over!"

Twilight Sparkle quickly blurts out, "Your spell! Perform your spell!"

Queen Chrysalis laughs, "Go ahead, try your best."

Shining Armor strains for a moment, but due to having been the energy source for the Changeling, he fails. "No! My power is useless now. I don't have the strength to repel them."

Princess Cadance moves to comfort her husband. "My love will give you strength."

Now, Queen Chrysalis isn't the brightest of bulbs at times. She sent Twilight into the same prison as Cadance, allowing them both to escape; and she openly monologued her plan to Celestia, allowing her plenty of time to strike.

But she knows the power of love; after all, it is what gave her strength.

So when she sees what is about to happen, she reacts accordingly: she hocks a glob of Changeling resin at them, covering Cadance's horn before she can supply her husband with power.

"What!?" The pink princess gasps, along with the other ponies. "No! That's not—!"

"All's fair in love and war," Chrysalis grins. Her horn lights, and the group is surrounded by a green fire that transports them down through the floor.

---

When they are next aware, they find themselves in the old mines below Canterlot.

"Here again? Well, no matter," Twilight declares as she casts an illumination spell, "we can just—"

But what is revealed in the darkness stops her cold in her tracks.

Dozens of blue eyes are angrily staring at them from all sides.

"Well," AJ remarks, "fiddlesticks."

The swarm converges, and their screams echo throughout all of Canterlot.

Comments

[TwilightSparkleRocks]

This is what everypony gets for not listening to Twilight at the rehearsal. If they listened to her, they could have stopped Chrysalis.