The Element of Corruption

by Fyronarion

Judgement

Nightmare Moon watched from the ridge that overlooked the Crystal Empire. She saw swarms of changelings flying en masse over the empire. The citizens of the kingdom looked up in terror as the drones caused havoc by breaking property and smashing various artifacts. The guards were trying to keep the chaos at bay, but they were no match for the drones. As Nightmare watched, a pair of changelings shoved one of the guards back until he fell, and quickly tied him up with their special sap.

Most of the houses were invaded by them, and a couple of changelings dragged out the ponies hiding within. As if on cue, the large fountain in the Plaza exploded, showering the ponies with water and ceramic as the statue mounted on top of it collapsed. The changelings were very hyperactive.

Nightmare felt a burst of heat wash over her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Chrysalis standing there.

“My changelings have successfully captured the Castle. Unfortunately, Shining Armor and Cadence are not there.” she reported.

“That is good. This means Princess Cadence cannot activate the castle defense.” replied Nightmare. Chrysalis looked affronted.

“How’s that good? My poor drones are starving. They found no source of love to consume and survive!” she said angrily. Nightmare raised her hoof to silence her. She then pointed down at the chaos happening below.

“I do not see them starving.” she said. Chrysalis followed her gaze and saw a couple of changelings feasting from the bodies of unconscious crystal ponies.

Chrysalis was speechless. Nightmare smirked.

“Where is Discord?” she asked. Chrysalis snapped from her gaze.

“He’s inside the castle at the moment. He said he will open the entrance to the Crystal Cavern.” she said. Nightmare Moon nodded.

“My plan is progressing smoothly.” she said. However, Chrysalis looked at her strangely.

“But Twilight Sparkle has left our side. You said that she is an integral part of our plan!” she objected. Nightmare only chuckled and her horn glowed. A small black box popped out of the blue in front of her. It opened, and a small black tiara slowly levitated out of the box. It was the Element of Magic, except for the color scheme. The corrupted tiara pulsed with arcane energy as she held it in her magical field.

“We do not need her. This tiara imbued Twilight’s magical prowess. However, I have cast a charm on it that allowed the Element to be tied to her soul. When we sacrifice it, she will die. We get to kill two birds with one stone, as she’ll be getting her comeuppance for leaving me. Besides, even if she manages to survive, I will personally hunt her down and eliminate her from the face of Equestria.”

“Aren't you clever...” muttered Chrysalis, averting her gaze to her swarm that successfully overtook the Crystal Kingdom. Drones were rounding up the crystal ponies and were sending them to a large, fenced area, possibly to use them as a love source.

Nightmare placed the Element of Magic carefully in the chest and locked it before she warped it to somewhere safe. She then told Chrysalis to get busy and to disable the Crystal Heart, which would prevent it from sending a distress beacon to Cadence and would decline the morale of the kingdom’s residents. She nodded, teleporting with a bang. Nightmare had a dark expression on her face as she looked on.

“Run, Twilight. The clock is ticking, and King Sombra is waiting.” she said quietly.

Meanwhile at Canterlot...

After climbing up several flights of stairs, the guard stopped at a small brownish looking door with an intricate lock. He inserted his horn and twisted it sharply to the left. The door hummed with energy, and it slid open with a hiss. Twilight followed him through the door, which closed behind her. She was impressed.

They must have improved security a hundredfold since the last time I was here. she thought. It seemed like the guard read her mind, because he told her the door is made out of “Strengthened imperial bronze, able to withstand the most extreme kinds of pressure. It is also resistant to fire, explosives and many other ways to get around it.”

Both of them were in a long corridor. Small golden lamps lit the way, brightly illuminating the hall. Paintings of ponies dotted the walls. Twilight recognized one of them: it was Starswirl the Bearded. The figure was painted in oils, but she had an odd feeling that it was watching her. Guilt racked up inside her. How would Starswirl think of her at this state if he was here with her?

The guard that was taking her was silent. A few minutes of trotting later, they reached a set of golden doors. Two guards clad in a special type of golden armor stood side by side. Both were armed with sharp swords that flickered blue and white. Twilight looked quizzically at their weapons.

“Arcane swords. They are charged with magical energy. Only Elite Guards use them. You do NOT want to get stabbed by those swords.” said the guard escorting her, answering Twilight’s puzzled expression. She nodded understandingly.

The guard walked up to the two Elite Guards and showed them his identification. They scrutinized his ID and nodded, parting their swords. The door swung open, letting both of them in. It was a study, filled with books and gadgets. Philomena sat on her perch at the corner of the room, cooing occasionally. Two chairs were in front of them, which faced the polished wooden desk. The occupant behind it had her back to them.

“Your majesty, Twilight Sparkle is here.” he announced, bowing. Twilight felt jumpy. She felt her mouth run dry. How is she going to explain the events that have happened?

“Good. You may leave.” she said, without turning to them. The guard nodded and trotted out of the room, closing the door behind him.

It was now Twilight and Princess Celestia in the room. An awkward silence passed.

“So. Twilight Sparkle. You came back.” said Princess Celestia, breaking the silence and turning around to face her. Twilight immediately dropped her gaze. Celestia frowned at her.

“Please look up.” she asked. The lavender pony raised her head and looked at her. She searched for malice in her eyes. She knew that the Princess must be eager to punish her for what she brought upon Equestria. She kept staring at Celestia with fearful eyes, looking for signs of betrayal, anger,and hate, all of which she deserved. Yet, she found none of those. Instead, the Princess’ expression was full of pity.

“I want to know why you chose this path.” she said. Twilight kept quiet, her eyes glued to the floor. This went on for five minutes until Celestia sighed and stood up. She turned around and faced her window, which offered a fantastic view of the sun setting in Canterlot.

“Princess...I was...bewitched by Nightmare Moon.” croaked Twilight. The Princess turned around, a look of understanding on her face.

“Why? Bewitchment charms usually put up a fight with the host’s own opinions and ideas. Strong minded ponies can sometimes overcome it. What made you turn against me and accept the charm?” she asked, her tone becoming urgent. Twilight inhaled deeply and finally let it out.

“Forgive me, Princess! I thought you were using me as a pawn, to do your biddings! The voice in my head...it kept telling me that you only took me as your student because I had strong magical powers! It-it told me how my friends only liked me because I was your student. I-I thought everyone was using me!” she screamed, tears flowing freely from her eyes. Celestia looked surprised as Twilight cried, tears dripping to the floor.

As she wiped her eyes with her hooves, she felt something warm over. Twilight looked up to see the Princess covering her with her wing. She had a warm smile on her face.

“Twilight, I would never use you. Yes, you possessed strong magical talent since the very first day.I took you in as my student, because I wanted to teach you how to master your abilities, and help you reach your full potential.” she said gently.

“B-but that v-voice-”

“She was manipulating you, my little pony. Look at me. Look at me, Twilight.” said the Princess. A pair of lavender eyes locked with the magenta eyes, and Twilight realized that her mentor’s eyes were filled with compassion. Right at this moment, a small, golden wisp was slowly seeping out of the Princess. Twilight looked at it curiously as the small cloud floated towards her and wafted into her snout.

It felt like a fire had ignited inside of her heart, and she felt a feeling of warmth spreading through her body, tingling her senses and filling her up with something...was it hope?

She sobbed and buried her face onto the Princess’s wing. Celestia, not noticing the vapor, patted her on the back, trying to calm her down.

“Twilight, you have chosen the wrong path. But your mistakes can be rectified. Aid me in stopping my sister and her allies. I have already forgiven you, but the entire kingdom is still thinks that you are the enemy. This is your moment to earn back their trust.” she said. Twilight looked up. The tears have dried up on her face, but a look of determination soon filled it.

“Yes, I will do the right thing for the kingdom.” she said firmly. The Princess smiled at that remark. For Twilight, those words meant a lot for her. She felt a huge burden lift off of her as she smiled for the first time. And it was not a fake smile. She genuinely had a feeling of joy.

“You will do excellent, my faithful student. But before I dismiss you, you are going to need a partner for the task that I will assign you.” she said.

“Pardon, Princess, but why me? I thought you wouldn’t task me with anything from now on. How are you trusting me that quickly?” asked Twilight, confused. Princess Celestia ignored that question and her horn glowed. The door of her study glowed with a golden aura, and it swung open. Two Royal Guards carried Nucleon into the room, who kept struggling fruitlessly against his chains.

“Let me go!” he shouted. “One of the guards let go of his hoof and punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the changeling’s lungs, effectively shutting him up. Nucleon doubled over in pain, his face contorted in agony, unable to breathe for a moment. The guard who had punched him looked apologetically at the Princess.

“My apologies, your highness. This one was giving us issues when he dragged him up here.” he explained. The Princess raised her hoof to cut him short and dismissed both of them immediately. As the door shut behind Nucleon, he glanced at Twilight and froze, feeling his heart skip. Fortunately, he controlled himself and managed a subtle nod, before ignoring her eyes. She too nodded back. He then turned to the Princess with a calm expression on his face.

“Am I going to be executed?” he asked. Princess Celestia shook her head.

“Unlock.” she said sharply. The chains that held his hooves together simply slid open and clanked against the floor.

Nucleon felt his hooves and rubbed them in relief. He looked up, puzzled.

“So I’m not going to be executed? Why-”

He fell silent when Princess Celestia glared at him.

“Take a seat. We’re going to have a long talk relating to Nightmare Moon and the Crystal Empire.” said Princess Celestia, pointing at the chair next to Twilight. He rolled his eyes.

“What if I don’t? What’s the point of helping you? You’ve forgiven her, so my job is done.” he said. The Princess laughed at that, and leaned forward.

“You know, I would love to keep you in the dungeon. But Onyx told me you may be a valuable asset to us. So sit down.” she said.

“Either way, I’m bucked. I can’t go back to my Queen, she will shun me from the hive. I don’t know about helping you. For all that matters, you’ll probably turn turn around and tell them to kill me after I help you.” he said indifferently. Princess Celestia leaned back and raised her brows at him. Finally, she answered.

“Very well. I have an offer. You will help us reclaim the Crystal Kingdom and stop my sister along with her friends, and I’ll offer you asylum in Equestria. Your former Queen will not do this for you. You have my word, as a Princess never breaks a promise.” she said, sticking her hoof out.

Nucleon thought about it. She was right about Chrysalis. The Queen doesn’t tolerate traitors, and if he goes back, she will at the least publicly humiliate and/or kill him. Yet, he doesn’t think that he will fit in with the normal pony folks if he accepts Celestia’s offer.

Hey, at least it’s still better than going back to the conditions of the Hive. Queen Chrysalis never treats us well. This might be my chance to start anew. he thought. He finally decided to accept her offer, and he shook her hoof. Princess Celestia had a smile on her face as Nucleon took a seat next to Twilight, ready to hear what she has to say.

Back at the Crystal Empire...

Nightmare Moon strolled through the bottom of the castle, where the Crystal Heart was mounted. She was amazed with the architecture as she looked around. As she admired the underbelly of the castle, she spotted a few changelings that surrounded the heart, looks of hunger on their faces.

“Shiny and filled with love” rasped one of them.

“I agree. Let me try some.” said the other one, reaching out towards it. Before he could touch it, the air around them shimmered and Discord appeared, looking oddly serious. He clicked his claws and Nightmare felt a sense of vertigo as the castle flipped upside down. The drones yelled in surprise and crashed into the ceiling. Luckily, Nightmare reacted before she fell and opened her wings, allowing her to hover.

“Don’t lay a hoof on the Crystal Heart! I still have to do a few more enchantments and disable the defense mechanism before you can feast on it. Until then, no touching!” he warned them. The changelings acknowledged this, frightened looks on their faces. Discord, satisfied with their response, snapped his claws again and the castle righted itself. The changelings fell to the ground, groaning in pain. He looked over at Nightmare.

“Sorry about that. If they touched the heart, it would’ve created a chain reaction that wouldn't be pretty.” he said.

“That is fine. Where is Chrysalis?” she asked. Discord had a thoughtful expression on his face.

“I think she’s busy overseeing her changelings. It must be a headache; they’re too annoying.” he said, glancing at the pile of changelings that were lying on the ground.

“Very well. You should continue with the work. By the way, how much longer will it take to reach the bottom chamber?”

“Judging by our pace, it’d take about a day. I’ll continue working on that.” he said, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Right when he disappeared, the magical dome surrounding the city started to flicker erratically. The sky too changed with it, turning from clear blue to stormy gray. Finally, the shielding failed and the once beautiful sky became filled with gloomy clouds. Snow started to flutter inside the kingdom, piling up everywhere.

Nightmare just laughed.

All according to plan... and not a moment too soon she thought as she calmly walked out of the castle.

Back to Twilight and Nucleon...

“...that is how we can stop the changelings from invading us.” finished Princess Celestia. Nucleon gaped at her, while Twilight had a stunned expression on her face.

The plan that the Princess just told them was full of daring and insanity, possibly even suicidal. But it could just work if it was timed and executed perfectly. Although the three of them were brainstorming, Nucleon seemed to not hold himself back.

“Excuse me, Princess, but this plan is outrageous!” he exclaimed. Celestia stayed quiet and beckoned him to continue.

“First of all, we can’t be sure that they won’t have defenses set up against us. Second, we’re going to need tons of firepower if we are about to take on Chrysalis and at least make a dent so that our allies can enter. Finally, no offense your majesty, but standard issue guard armor won’t really protect us from the drones. When I was fighting for the other side, I have seen the magic beams make swiss cheese of your poor Royal Guards armor.” he said.

Princess Celestia absorbed that and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Finally, she answered.

“Although I am confident that this plan will be done correctly, I agree with you about the armor. I would’ve gladly issued higher tiered armor to my guards, but that would be too expensive. I don’t think my citizens would like being taxed heavily.”

“This is a time of war. You can tax your ponies heavily.” said Nucleon.

Twilight chose this moment to cough discreetly. Both of them turned their heads towards her, and she stood up.

“I agree with Nucleon with his first two reasons, but I agree with the Princess on the last one. The cost will be too much, and we can’t afford losing the support of the population. I suggest we alter the plan a bit.” she said.

“How so?” asked Nucleon. The unicorn exchanged glances with the Princess.

“Me and Nucleon will go behind the lines and shall try to activate the Crystal Heart. Obviously, this will be a covert operation, so we’re going to have to go in silently. If we are successful, we’ll manage to cripple Chrysalis’ changelings due to the burst of love energy and let our guards in to mop up the remainders. That will leave you time to deal with your sister and Discord while Nucleon handles his former Queen.” she explained. A long minute of silence passed after she had finished explaining.

Princess Celestia seemed amused by the plan, and Nucleon nodded, seemingly approving that idea.

“You’ll need some heavy firepower and protection if that’s your final plan.” said a voice behind them. The Princess looked behind them and had a mysterious smile on her face. Both Twilight and Nucleon swiveled to see Onyx leaning against the door sill. He had overheard everything they were talking about, and soon walked into the room and closed the door, making sure it was locked before proceeding towards them. He bowed to the Princess.

“Sorry for eavesdropping, your Highness. I was walking down the hallway when I couldn’t help hearing what you three were talking about.” he said, pulling up a chair and taking a seat.

“Doesn’t matter, Onyx. What do you think we can do about this situation?” asked Princess Celestia. He smirked before standing up and trotting towards the window, gazing at the castle grounds. He then spoke with his back turned.

“I don’t know about the weapons, but I do know about the armor, your Majesty. I mean, we certainly don’t have a pair of prototype class M armor that, judging from both Twilight’s and Nucleon’s sizes, could fit them and are located somewhere down in the laboratories.” he said with a sarcastic tone.

Twilight and Nucleon seemed highly interested, but Princess Celestia put a stop to it.

“Enough, Onyx. You’ve just told them valuable information. I’ve half a mind to incinerate your service record.” said the Princess sharply. Onyx shut his mouth and didn’t utter a single word. Twilight raised her hoof.

“Excuse me Princess, but what prototype armor? Does it work?” she asked. Celestia waved off her question.

“You shouldn’t concern yourself with that-” she was interrupted when Nucleon slammed his hooves against the table.

“Damn the concerns! A fleet of changelings are attacking your niece’s empire. Your kingdom is on the verge of war, yet you’re still refusing our ideas? What kind of protection will your inadequately trained guards offer? I’m sorry to say this Princess, but you are acting foolish.” he said, glaring at her. Celestia stiffened at that outburst, a look of utter disbelief on her face.

Onyx & Twilight gasped. Nopony talked like that to the Princess. They were both waiting for the Princess’s response, which was probably imprisonment for speaking out against higher authority.

However, she surprised them by exhaling deeply. Her horn started to glimmer and a roll of parchment popped out of thin air in front of her. She quickly scribbled something with the quill before rolling it up tightly and levitating it to Onyx, who caught and held it as if it were a relic.

“Show this parchment at the security checkpoint once you reach Subbasement III. Tell the guards down there that Twilight and Nucleon are vouched by me.” she instructed. Onyx nodded dumbly before bowing to her and leaving the room, taking the two ponies with him. The guards that guarded the door closed it and ushered them out.

“Sub Basement III?” asked Nucleon, confused. Onyx nodded excitedly as he opened one of the doors that went down the castle tower.

“Yeah. I’ve only been to Sub Basements I and II. Rumors have it that SB III holds some crazy things the Princesses scavenged over the years.” he said, leading them down the spiral stairs.

“Do you think we can find what we need down there?” Twilight asked. Onyx laughed.

“Oh, just you wait. You’ll be in for a surprise, I assure you.” he said. And with that notice, the trio continued down the ever-descending flight of stairs...

Back at the Princess’s study...

Princess Celestia paced back and forth in her office, a feeling of dread spreading over her. The decision she had just made could easily cost her reputation, or could turn out to be the best decision of her life. Whatever the case was, she was still worried.

“Don’t fail me, you two.” she muttered to herself....

Author's Note:

The plot has developed! Stick around to see the reveal of what is to come.
Summer is coming up! More free time to post :D
Leave comments/suggestions/con crits if you choose.