Chapter 4
Flurry waited nervously at her table for the speeches to start. She saw Twilight walking up on stage. Some attendees began to cheer, until everyone else joined in. Flurry sat upright and took a deep breath as Twilight began.
“Thank you, everypony!” she called as the crowd stopped to let her speak. “I hope you all are having a wonderful time preparing for this wedding. I want to start off first by thanking everyone that has made this wedding possible: to all of you for attending; to the mayor and all her staff for helping prepare things back at the town hall; to the staff of the Ponyville Recreational Center for letting us rent it for this dinner and the reception; to all members of both the Pie and Sandwich families for their contributions and roles in the wedding; to each of the members of the Pillars of Equestria order as well as our current Element of Harmony-wielding teachers of the School of Friendship; to the Cake family for baking the wedding cake; to my friend Rarity for helping with Pinkie’s dress; to all my other friends who are serving as bridesmares; to all of Cheese’s friends serving as groomstallions; to Pound Cake, our ring-bearer; to our flower girls, Annie Smith, Pumpkin Cake and my niece Flurry Heart; and last but not least: to my long-time friend, Pinkie Pie and her fiancé Cheese Sandwich for all the amazing things you’ve done for us and deciding to tie the knot so we can all be here to enjoy this momentous occasion.”
Everyone got up and cheered loudly as Pinkie and Cheese stood up and waved to them. Flurry still had a lot on her mind, but she smiled and went airborne with all the other winged attendees and clapped her hooves together.
“She just looks so happy now,” Flurry thought to herself as she watched Pinkie. “And Cheese’s eyes are back to normal. Maybe I was just seeing things with whatever happened between them earlier. There’s no way that can be Chrysalis. Still…I’ve got to prove it to everyone. This is the only chance I’ll get, so I might as well do it now.”
“Before I hand it over to Flurry Heart, I want to share with you all a little story about how I met the bride,” Twilight continued. “Most of you know that before I came to Ponyville back when Nightmare Moon returned, I wasn’t the friendliest of ponies. When I landed in Ponyville, believe it or not, the first one I spoke to was Pinkie Pie. See, I was really nervous to meet new ponies and I wasn’t too happy that Princess Celestia was making me go into this little old town to make friends. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but of course I can always count on Spike to push me in the right direction, so he just told me to give it a try and talk to somepony. So this random pink girl comes up and stops in front of us, and I was just like ‘Um…hello?’ and she just gasped so hard and then ran off to plan a welcome party for me. I of course didn’t think much of it and just went on to get the Summer Sun Celebration ready. So anyway, to make a long story short, we all know Nightmare Moon came in right after that and my friends and I had to go find the Elements in the old castle…”
As Twilight continued, Flurry sat, deep in thought. She couldn’t get her mind off of everything she had seen today that got her thinking about a possible changeling takeover. She glanced at Pinkie every so often and kept seeing the same thing: Pinkie was happy as ever. Flurry also didn’t see the whispering happening anymore, but what was happening with the magic-canceling rocks being erected outside still had her concerned. She looked over to a nearby table with her parents and Starswirl present. They all smiled at her and she smiled back. She then heard everyone applauding and realized Twilight had finished her speech.
“And now, my niece Flurry Heart has a few words she would like to share with you. Come on up, Flurry!”
Everyone cheered for Flurry as she smiled and hopped down from her chair. She walked down an aisle to the stage and gave Twilight a hug. Twilight then left the stage for Flurry to start.
“Hello, everypony,” Flurry said before the microphone blared for a second and everyone laughed. “Whoa. Hehe. Anyway, I couldn’t be happier to be here, seeing one of my oldest friends getting married to the stallion of her dreams. I don’t remember much of my first moments with her sadly since I was just a baby, but I still don’t believe Mom and Dad when they tell me I blew a hole through our castle with my horn while sneezing, so I guess anything could have happened that day.”
The audience laughed for a few seconds as Flurry laughed with them.
“It took us forever to fix that!” Shining called back to her, jokingly.
“Hehe. Thanks, Dad. Well throughout my childhood, I never forgot my sweet Auntie Pinkie. She’d always bring sweets and presents whenever she’d visit us in the Crystal Empire and she never once missed throwing a huge birthday party for me. She’d bring Cheese along with her most of the time, and I still remember what it was like when she surprised me to let me know they were dating several years ago. You can imagine my surprise when they were engaged recently. I was so happy; I already started having visions in my head of what tomorrow’s wedding would be like. But perhaps one of my fondest memories of her is when we became ‘matching bow mares’. That’s right; this bow I wear is the same color as the one she wears, and it’s no coincidence.”
Flurry took a deep breath before continuing. She looked at her friend in the audience and finally took her chance to prove this was the real Pinkie Pie.
“In fact…you know what, Pinkie, you tell this story way better than I do. Mind letting everyone know how it happened?”
“Of course, Flurry!” Pinkie exclaimed as she stood up in her chair and everyone turned to her.
“Ya see, when Flurry was just a little cutie, patootie, foal, she wore these diapers that were the same color as the bows we now have, and I was like ‘Awww, that color goes so well with her!’, and when she got too old for diapers, I kinda missed it! Anyway, I went out shopping one day and I found some really nice ribbons in a craft shop that were the exact same color, and I had a brilliant idea, so I bought the ribbon and fixed it up a little, and then I gave it to her one Hearth’s Warming Day, but what she didn’t know was I had one made for myself too, cuz, like, it was just so cute and I thought I’d also look cute in a bow, so I’ve been wearing it ever since! I came up with the term ‘matching bow mare’ for Flurry and I say it every time we meet!”
“Awww!” said some of the audience.
Flurry smiled as Pinkie kept talking and everyone cheered when she sat back down. A small tear formed in Flurry’s eye and she wiped it away. Now she knew for sure this was the real Pinkie Pie. Queen Chrysalis couldn’t possibly know that detail about their lives and recite it so effectively. Flurry closed her eyes and sighed contently.
“Thanks, Pinkie,” she said, tenderly. “I still wear this bow because it makes me happy, knowing the love and care that was put into it from the pony that gave it to me. Well everyone, if there’s one thing Pinkie has taught me, it’s that every cloud does have a silver lining. Whenever I’m sad, I try to imagine being her and just go with it and smile. It’s helped me get through tough times with my schooling and other similar adversities I’ve faced recently. I think part of why I’m so positive about things is because of her in my life. I see the same thing in Cheese Sandwich. He’s had the exact same effect on me, and he’s a perfect match for you, Pinkie. I was so overjoyed when Cheese told us he was going to propose to you last month and we started planning it all out. Even though he didn’t get to propose the way he wanted, it still made you the happiest I’ve ever seen you when he finally did propose. I’ve been looking forward to this wedding so much, and I pray you will both have a safe and prosperous marriage. Thank you.”
Everyone stood up and applauded Flurry. More tears formed in her eyes as she wiped them away. She took a curtsy and walked off stage, as Twilight walked on stage to introduce the next speaker. Flurry walked over to Pinkie to hug her before going back to her own table.
“Thank you, Flurry!” Pinkie said.
“Any time, Matching-Bow-Mare,” Flurry replied, gratefully.
Flurry sat back down at her table next to Pound. Everyone looked at her as she smiled.
“Feel better now?” he asked her.
“Much better,” Flurry responded.
“See, I told you everything was all right,” Spike said.
“You’re right, Spike. I don’t know what I was thinking. This wedding is going to be just fine.”
As they spoke, Twilight had finished announcing the next speaker. She walked down from the stage and off to the side behind her guards. Pinkie walked over next to her. They smiled and hugged each other before turning around so no one would see them. The guards moved in closer to keep them obscured.
“What was that all about?” Pinkie whispered angrily through the side of her mouth.
“We need to move in on the princess next. I think she knows,” Twilight replied.
“Does she now?”
Pinkie turned her head halfway around and peered through the guards to see Flurry. She grimaced at the sight of the little filly.
“I should have disposed of her when I had the chance.”
The dinner finished with several more attendees giving eloquent speeches. After they were finished, everyone exited the rec center and the staff prepared it for the reception the next day. All of Flurry’s friends went home with their parents, while Buttercream took Flurry home. Spike had to stay behind for volunteer duties with cleanup.
“Flurry, your speech was beautiful!” Buttercream complimented.
“Thanks, Butter. Sorry I was getting all worked up like that. I’m glad to know Pinkie’s fine now. I had this weird feeling she was Chrysalis.”
“What exactly made you think she was Chrysalis?”
“Eh, don’t worry about it. Probably just my imagination.”
“Yeah, probably. Well anyway, I’m pumped for this wedding tomorrow cuz it’s the first one I’ve been to in years! I wish I’d have known about it earlier, or I could’ve helped with the cake, but I’m sure Pound and Pumpkin’s parents can handle it just fine.”
“Yeah, the Cakes really know their stuff. It’s going to look amazing and taste excellent!”
“Hey, Flurry? Buttercream?” said a monotone voice.
Flurry and Buttercream turned around to see Maud Pie standing behind them.
“Oh, hey, Maud!” Buttercream said, waving, as they walked to her.
“Hey, Maud,” said Flurry. “Shouldn’t you be helping the others out?”
“I just have to do something over at the town hall. I hate to ask, but would you girls mind helping out with something in the basement real quick? It’s just over this way.”
“Oh sure. I was just taking Flurry back to the palace for the night, but we can drop in,” said Buttercream.
“What is it you need help with, Maud?” Flurry asked.
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Maud walked over to the town hall. Flurry and Buttercream looked at each other questioningly. They just shrugged their shoulders and followed her in. Maud took them through the front doors and to a door off to the side where it would lead to the cellar. The lights were off in the building, but the doors were somehow still unlocked. Maud turned the light on and they went down a flight of stairs. The room they were in was a large storage room with random cabinets and boxes. Flurry and Buttercream looked around to see what Maud was talking about.
“So what didja need, Maud?” Buttercream asked.
“Hold on one second,” Maud said as she walked back up the stairs to make sure the door was closed.
Flurry and Buttercream watched in confusion, as Maud began breathing heavily and rushing all over the place. She checked each of the cellar windows to make sure no one was looking through them. Her eyes were opened wider than she would ever show, and the pitch in her voice went too high for Maud’s range of speaking.
“Is there anyone else in here?” she asked, frantically. “Okay, I think we’re good.”
“Maud, are you alright?” Buttercream asked.
“Yeah, you’re never like this!” Flurry said.
Maud ran in front of them, tossed her glasses aside and undid her hair bun.
“Girls, I’m not Maud Pie! I’m a changeling!”
This statement hit Flurry hard. Her heart immediately pounded in her chest and she covered her mouth while gasping.
“WHAT?!” shouted Buttercream.
A green aura slowly zoomed down Maud’s body to reveal a female changeling drone with yellow eyes. Her head frill and back carapace were orange, and her wings were sparkly, as if they had hundreds of tiny jewels on them.
“I knew it! There are changelings at this wedding!” Flurry said, angrily.
“Flurry, let’s go get Twili-”
“NO!” shouted the changeling as she covered both their mouths. “Please, I just want to help! I promise!”
The changeling put her hooves away from them and they stood still. It was now evident that this changeling was obviously a defective one. Flurry recalled being told how Thorax’s wings were sparkly after he had joined the crystal ponies when he was still a black changeling. This changeling was not here to hurt them. Instead, she looked helpless and sympathetic.
“Look, my name is Elytra. I was ordered to mimic Maud Pie at this wedding, but I’m defecting as of right now.”
“So…so you’re with us then?” Buttercream asked.
“Yes. I’ve been wanting to do this for years.”
“So there was a changeling. What about Pinkie?” Flurry asked.
“She’s a changeling too. Queen Chrysalis is mimicking her to get love magic from Cheese Sandwich just like she did with your parents.”
“What?! But that’s not possible! Twilight said she scanned the whole room for black changelings!”
“Flurry, don’t you get it? That Twilight Sparkle is a changeling! She’s General Scutellum in disguise!”
“Then…then he must’ve taken the teachers too. He saw them use the Elements against him a while ago. Are any of Twilight’s friends or the Pillars around?”
“No. Everyone who ever used the Elements of Harmony has been kidnapped and replaced with changelings. Twilight’s group, the Pillars, the teachers, Princess Celestia and Luna…even your parents.”
“N-no…”
Flurry sat down with tears in her eyes, as Buttercream tended to her.
“Please don’t tell me my friends were taken…” she cried.
“The little ones? No, they’re all right. Chrysalis didn’t see them as a threat.”
“Well…that’s at least good to know.”
“What about the guards? Them too?” Buttercream asked.
“Them too,” Elytra replied.
“How…” asked Flurry. “How is this happening? Everything Pinkie said earlier…she knew the story of how we became matching-bow-mares. There’s no way that can be Queen Chrysalis. Even Twilight was acting like her normal self. So were Mom and Dad! Everyone was!”
“It’s because of the memory-transfer spell we changelings have learned. General Scutellum figured it out after the Queen’s imprisonment years ago and he taught it to her after she regrouped with us last month.”
“Oh…a memory-transfer spell. That explains why Scutellum was able to read my mind to figure out where the Tree of Harmony was back when I first met him. He was using that same spell.”
“That’s right. We’ve all been using it for the past day or two. Scutellum attacked Twilight the other night first, so he could get the changeling necklace and pretend Twilight knows everything is fine. The spell is so effective; we can mimic the subject almost perfectly. Changelings seem to be evolving with their powers. I had to use it on Maud to get her memories earlier. I feel so horrible for it. I’ve been fooling her husband Mudbriar this entire time.”
“Do the creatures you get the memories from lose theirs?” asked Buttercream.
“Thankfully, no. The spell only copies the memories and we lose them once we copy another creature’s memories.”
“If General Scutellum has Twilight’s memories…he already knows a lot of sensitive information about Equestria’s national security. This isn’t good,” Flurry said, forlornly.
“We need to get help,” Buttercream said, standing up. “I know the leaders of several dragon nations. If I fly off now, I can get them.”
“What we need first is to rescue Cheese,” said Elytra. “If the Queen gets that kiss from him tomorrow at the height of the wedding, it will all be over.”
“What happens if she gets the kiss?” asked Flurry.
“She needs that kiss to sap Cheese of all his love magic. She gets all that magic, and she could very well be ten times more powerful than her last attack.”
“I don’t understand,” Buttercream interjected. “Why the kiss? She didn’t try to kiss your dad during his wedding, Flurry, so why now?”
“Because that’s where the most magic is,” Flurry answered. “Think about it: the most pivotal moment of a mare and stallion’s relationship is when they make their first kiss as husband and wife. There’s probably more love magic put into that kiss than anything else. Chrysalis could gain so much love from just that alone. She must’ve not realized that till now.”
“That’s right, and the worst thing is, she already has enough magic to start another invasion, but she’s really after that kiss in order to ensure a longer reign,” Elytra explained. “Since she’s dispatched all Element-wielders, she just might get it, but if we keep Cheese away from her, she might just be weak enough to take down.”
“Alright, here’s the plan,” said Buttercream. “We all go find Cheese and escape with him to Nordo Dracos where my dragon family lives. Soder Dracos is a bit more protected, but it’s too far, so we best go get Dad first. Cheese should be safe over there.”
“But Butter, what will the dragons do?” asked Flurry. “They’re too big to enter this town without destroying it.”
“We’ll think of something,” said Elytra. “Right now, we need to get Cheese. Follow me girls.”
Elytra led them to the stairs, but the door suddenly opened and they all jumped in shock. Pinkie’s voice could be heard at the top.
“Maud? Is that you down there?”
Elytra quickly transformed back into Maud while Buttercream and Flurry rushed over to some nearby boxes and pretended to look busy.
“Uh…yeah, Pinkie. It’s me,” Elytra replied in Maud’s voice.
“What are you doing down here?” the pink pony asked as she walked down the stairs and locked eyes with her.
“Just…um…”
“Just cleaning up!” Buttercream said, nervously.
“Yeah, the mayor said she wanted this place clean for some…uh… preparations for the wedding tomorrow and we volunteered,” Flurry added.
“Yeah, we’ll be done in no time,” Elytra said, trying to hide the frog in her throat and the banging in her chest.
Chrysalis disguised as Pinkie walked forward to Maud, smiling. Elytra could already tell she knew what was going on, but she had no idea what to do. She swallowed hard and watched as the changeling queen’s smile slowly dropped.
“Aw. Well that’s good to know you want to keep helping, Maud…or should I say, ELYTRA!”
Buttercream and Flurry turned around to see Elytra, being transformed back into her changeling form. She was thrown against a wall, engulfed in a green aura. Flurry was about to cast a spell on Chrysalis but felt her entire body seize up. She, too, was flung against the wall along with Buttercream. Chrysalis did not transform her entire body, but her eyes turned to their regular green look, while her bangs transformed into the same horn Chrysalis had as a changeling. All the changelings disguised as Twilight and Spike walked down with some royal guards, flanking them. Clearly Twilight, or rather Scutellum, had reported Flurry to Chrysalis earlier.
“I knew I couldn’t trust you, little one,” said Chrysalis, still using Pinkie’s voice to keep from alerting anyone outside.
“Mother, this isn’t right! You have to call off the attack!” shouted Elytra.
“SILENCE! You have defied the changeling code, Elytra. Now you will suffer like the rest of them. And you, little Flurry Heart, I should have known you would be this clever to figure out what we were up to!”
“Queen Chrysalis, you’re going to regret this!” Flurry said.
“Oh, I believe it is you who will regret ever crossing the changeling horde!”
“What have you done with my brother?!” Buttercream demanded as she glared at the changeling disguised as Spike.
“Aw, isn’t that precious. The fat one really did have a twin sister after all.” Chrysalis crooned as she poked Buttercream’s belly. “Too bad I’ll have to separate you two again!”
“My Queen, what should we do with the princess?” asked Scutellum in Twilight Sparkle’s familiar voice.
“We don’t have time to set them up for harvesting like the others, but this little one here is too powerful to be allowed to use that horn. I’ll let you do the honors, General.”
“With pleasure.”
Scutellum charged up his horn with green magic and shot a beam at Flurry’s horn. It was quickly encased in a black, crystalline shell with holes in it.
“UGH! What have you done to my horn?!” Flurry said.
“Just making sure you won’t try to fight back ever again!” Scutellum barked. “I will have more proper revenge another time for what you and those blasted teachers did to me, Princess.”
“And you two back there, copy their memories so we have proper replacements!” Chrysalis told several of her drones disguised as royal guards.
The drones walked forward and used the memory-transfer spell on Flurry and Elytra. The one in front of Flurry took a copy of her memories while Elytra’s took the memories she got from Maud. They then transformed into Flurry and Maud with sinister grins on their faces.
“You won’t win, Chrysalis,” Flurry told the queen disguised as her friend. “The Elements will defeat you.”
“The Elements?! BWAHAHAHA!!” Chrysalis laughed with the others joining her. “You little foal! I have all the Elements captured and imprisoned as we speak! I came far more prepared this time! You can’t stop me!”
“There will be another way. There always is.”
“Whatever. I’ll deal with you three later. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a groom to kiss and a kingdom to conquer!”
Flurry, Buttercream and Elytra felt the wall behind them give away. They moved backwards and felt gravity take them further. Chrysalis had opened a portal behind them and sent them falling through a chasm. Flying in the opposite direction did no good since Chrysalis was still using her magic to keep them frozen in place. The changelings all watched them move further away, laughing. The portal closed up, and everything went dark. The last thing they felt before blacking out was the impact of cold, stone ground against their bodies.
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And with this episode our group has officially hit rock bottom, nowhere to go from here but up!.......hopefully next chapter!
So, is Elytra Chrysalis' daughter or all the changelings are her children?
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that will be clarified later.
Sigh good times it really does bring back memories I really miss the show so much
It was only a matter of time before this happened. Flurry’s suspicions are proven right, with a vengeance…
A memory-duplication spell. Now that’s a dangerous bit of magic. Makes the deception seamless, while also exposing private and sensitive information…
And now, only Flurry, Buttercream, and Elytra know the truth, with everyone else but Flurry’s young friends replaced by imposters... I know they’ll find a way to stop Chrysalis and Scutellum, but at the moment, things look pretty bleak…
I see. That explains why Chrysalis and the other evil Changelings are doing so much better this time. They copied the memories of those they are impersonating. That is why they are acting like them so much better and can tell stories they weren't there for. That is truly horrifying.
Chrysalis needing a kiss from Cheese to gain full power is like a perversion of a true love's kiss. Almost reminds me of Shrek 2 in a way. Now Chrysalis has trapped Flurry, Buttercream, and Elytra, after their plan to get help failed.
As bad as things are, I did like Flurry's little speech and how she mentioned the time when she was a baby. Not even she believes how destructive she used to be. Too bad the fact most of the other speakers were Changelings kind of undermines the moment a bit.
It's still kind of ask a lot of question how in the world does she know every information of ponies and creatures
“I knew it! There are changelings at this wedding!” Flurry said, angrily.
“Flurry, let’s go get Twili-”
“NO!” shouted the changeling as she covered both their mouths. “Please, I just want to help! I promise!”
You're right flurry heart but take it easy I think she wants to help
“The little ones? No, they’re all right. Chrysalis didn’t see them as a threat.”
“Well…that’s at least good to know.”
But they're still not safe at all
Oh no this is really not good at all I think I said that before but it's true anyway it looks like everything was going pretty good and flurry heart did not expected anything but until maud pie ask her and buttercream to help out with something else but it looks like she was also asking for help because she was in Disguise and that changeling name Elytra reveal that everything was already too late that mostly everybody who have powerful Magic have been captured and being replaced and flurry heart is in a panic and she even told her if Queen Chrysalis kiss cheese sandwich then she could be even more powerful than ever and they need to rescue him but unfortunately Queen Chrysalis figure it out and captured all three of them and now flurry heart buttercream and Elytra have been replaced now who is left out there since Discord doesn't want to help for some dang reason well I guess we'll find out next time
Nooo! Flurry, Butters, Elytra!!!
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They’ll be okay, just Flurry won’t have a chance to do much fighting without her magic, but she’s still got her brain.
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Oh, good. Glad they're okay physically-
I think you forgot the “T” in “they”
Honestly, I had forgotten about that spell that copies memories.
That explains SO much.
Well, this is just great! Flurry and Buttercream have been captured, and right when they had found out the truth and gained a new ally. Here's hoping that they can escape from wherever they are and stop Chrysalis from stealing the all important kiss.
On to the next chapter.