The Days in the Cavern

by PinkamenaPiePrincess

The Battle

"WHAT?" the fake me said. "But how did you escape my bridesmaids?"

She wasn't even trying anymore. Twilight and I exchanged a mischievous smirk.

"It was easy," I said. "Whenever the real bride throws a bouquet, the bridesmaids tend to chase after it."

"Hmm. Clever." She said. "But you're still too late!"

"Ah...ah don't understand," the orange one...Applejack, said. "How can there be two of 'em?"

"She's a Changeling!" I explained. "She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!"

I didn't notice her eyes change color and her horn glow, until green fire had surrounded her. Now that I was here no point in maintaining her disguise.

She'd gone for a more dramatic transformation this time, as opposed to when I was captured. A green blast shot up from where she was standing near the alter, the ponies around it had to shield their eyes. Everypony except Twilight, me, and the unusually still Shining Armor, gasped as her wings bent and broke from my form to her true, insect-like form. Her legs turned from my pink to a sickly black filled with holes, she grew taller, her horn grew black and misshapen, and her eyes took on their true green-blue color. She grew fangs, and smiled evilly, her mane turned from my tri-color pink, purple and blonde to teal, it was also filled with strange holes. Over all, she looked alien to all the ponies in the room.

Her wings fluttered like an insect and she began to cackle. I grew nervous again.

"Right you are, princess, and as queen of the Changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects," she gestured dramatically and then began to walk toward me. "Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered! My fellow Changelings will be able to devour so much of it, that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!"

At this she got right in my face. I stood my ground. I was done with letting her intimidate me.

"They'll never get the chance!" I said. "Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!"

She might have gotten in, but her army would be stopped.

She chuckled again. "Oh, I doubt that...isn't that right, dear?"

Her horn glowed, and...so did Shining Armor's eyes. He nodded.

Oh no.

That was it. I was done with her playing with Shining Armor.

I charged.

"Uh uh huh," she taunted. "Don't want to go back to the caves now, do you?" Her horn glowed.

I was trapped. I stopped and backed up. I'd have to settle for glare for now. Twilight crept up next to me.

"Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you," she began again. More monologing?
"Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now my minions are chipping away at it."

We heard a small crack. I looked up. I could see through the stained glass the Changeling minions breaking away at the shield. My heart sank.

She laughed evilly again. "He may not be my husband, but he is under MY total control now!"

I gasped. This is what she'd been torturing me with for six days.

"And I'm sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as Captain of the Royal GUARD!" she hissed.

I couldn't take this anymore. Totally under her control?

"Not my Shining Armor!" I gasped.

"Soon, my Changeling Army will break through! First, we take Canterlot, and then ALL OF EQUESTRIA!"

She rose into the air at that, a cruel smile on her face.

"No."

My aunt spoke from behind her.

"You won't."

Celestia. Oh thank you aunt. I shall be forever in your debt if you stop her.

"You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self," Celestia lunged for the Changeling Queen, their horns locking.

"I can protect my subjects," Celestia launched into the air. It was a rare sight to see my aunt on the offensive.

"From YOU!" Celestia shot a beam of light at the Queen.

She shot back with a green bolt of light, the met in the air, each fighting for dominance. The Queen squealed in pain and I prayed Celestia would triumph.

Then, Celestia lost the advantage, the Queen's bolt of power shooting through Celestia's magic. A look of shock appeared on my Aunt's face as the Queen struck her down.

Celestia's tiara flew off of her, and she fell to the floor, her horn burned. The entire room gasped. Their leader had been beaten in front of all of them.

"PRINCESS CELSTIA!" Twilight shouted, admittedly predictably. She ran for her mentor, her friends quickly followed.

The Queen stared for a moment. Then she smiled and spoke to me.

"AH!" she exclaimed. "Shining Armor's love for you is even stronger than I thought! Consuming it has made me even more powerful than CELESTIA!"

She flew up into the air, triumphant. I could think of nothing to say. My Shining Armor...

"The elements of harmony..." I heard my aunt say weakly to Twilight. "You must get to them...and use their power to defeat the Queen!"

Twilight and her friends nodded and raced out of the Chapel. They threw off their bridesmaid gowns, which the white unicorn tried to gather up. They shouted for her to follow. She did, embarrassed. I magicked her lovely gowns into a neat pile, so they wouldn't be ruined when she came back with her element.
Go Twilight, go. I silently urged.

The Queen taunted them as they ran out of the room.

"You can run, but you can't hide!"

It was then that the Changeling army broke through. They swarmed into the room, capturing Celestia in a pod, tying up guests.

I tried to sneak up to the alter, to try to do something about poor Shining Armor.

"Uh-uh, my little princess, don't think I've forgotten about you," the queen said, and magicked me onto the altar, then trapped my feet in some horrible green slime.

I growled. I wasn't going to go down that easily.

My horn glowed, but I'd forgotten about all the conjuring spells I'd done. Any offensive magic I had left would leave me dry. The best I could do right now was cast a love spell on the queen and that would probably make her stronger...

"What's the matter, princess? Out of juice?"

I glared.

"You won't get away with this! Twilight and her friends will..."

And that's when Twilight and her friends were led in by a group of Changelings...

Oh no...we...no, we couldn't be doomed...somepony would do something...I had to do something. I glanced at the hypnotized Shining Armor. My eyes welled.

"You were saying?" the queen asked smugly. "You do realize the reception's been canceled don't you?"

Ugg. Her taunts were just beginning to get unbearable...

"GO!" she commanded. "FEED!"

Her Changelings began to swarm Canterlot, taking on the helpless ponies in the street.

I blocked the queen out after that, trying desperately to break my bonds, even when she got in my face again. I didn't dare use magic, I was virtually out.

I heard Twilight's friends apologize to her, which prompted the queen to brag some more about how she fooled everypony.

"This day has been just perfect, the kind of day of which I've 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?" the queen sang mockingly, laughing as she observed her victory.

This had to be my chance. I frantically tried to break my bonds.

Fortunately Twilight saw it too. She crawled on her belly towards me.

"Quick, go to him while you still have a chance!" she urged. She zapped my bonds with her magic. I looked at her gratefully, and ran where I had wanted to go this whole time...for the past six days, I'll I'd wanted was my Shining Armor.

I looked at his hypnotized eyes, unable to recognize me, my eyes welled again as I caressed his face. I let myself cry as I threw myself on him, embracing him, desperately hoping this wouldn't be the last time I held him.

My magic does things on it's own sometimes. Especially when it comes to romance and love, since my talent is love. When I'd fallen in love the first time, my magic had caused my horn to light up, making it way too obvious that something was going on. This time, it sparked, as if my low reserves were making it sputter. A heart popped out of my horn and floated down to Shining Armor, landing on his face, I felt him wake up.

I jumped back. Shining Armor shook his head. "Wha...huh? Wha...is the wedding over?"
I beamed. He was out of her control. My Shining was back.

She had to ruin it again...

"It's ALL over!" the queen announced, landing in front of Twilight and her friends.

Twilight looked like she was brainstorming desperately. It hit her.

"Your spell!" she told Shining Armor, "Perform your spell!"

My hoof rested on Shining's chest, I wasn't letting him go ever again. She cackled in front of us. I glared. I was beyond done with her.

"What good will that do?" she asked. "My Changelings already roam free!"

"No!" Shining said. There had to be something I could do to help. He strained to perform his shield spell.

"My power is useless now..." he said sadly. "I don't have the strength to repel them."

Strength...she took his strength by taking his love...my strength WAS love...

"My love will give you strength!" I said, and threw myself on him again.

The Queen said something else cruel and taunting. But I didn't hear. I was in my Shining's hooves again, and I wasn't giving up. Together...we could do anything.

Shining glared at her...then looked at me.

He focused his spell. I placed my horn on his. It sparked, the spark connecting our horns, then...our horns truly connected. A glowing light began to surround us starting with our horns, a soft wind spiraled down around us, we both opened our closed eyes, equally shocked. How I knew Shining was shocked I'll never be able to explain. Something about the magic around us connected us in a way that we'd never been connected before. Our shock faded to relief as we realized...we'd never be separated. I looked into his eyes the same time he looked into mine. His tender look and goofy smile made me remember why I'd fallen for him in the first place. As I remembered, we closed our eyes, and we rose off the ground, the magic around us growing stronger, and stronger, until it burst from both of us, at least as powerful as the elements of harmony, I felt like my body expanded with my love, growing and growing until light burst forth from both of us and our bodies joined in a heart shaped catalyst. I didn't physically crash into the Queen, but I felt my...our...love crash into her, then into the changelings, washing over the ponies, while blasting the Changelings out of Canterlot, out of Equestria. I didn't hear her scream, though Twilight told me later she shouted. All I remember was feeling like Shining Armor and I were one pony. One being of pure and true love.

We sank back to the ground looking into each other's eyes. We touched the ground. I smiled. He smiled. And we embraced, for the first time in six days not in grave danger. Twilight ran to help my Aunt, Shining mumbled that the love magic thingy had fixed my mane, in typical Shining Armor fashion. I elbowed him, then embraced him again. I couldn't bear to let him go, not for a little while anyway...