When everyone around you is a possible enemy... Who do you trust?
The Magic of Friendship has survived many tests before. An ancient princess going rogue, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony... but can it survive betrayal from those one consider "true friends"?
"How... did this happen?" Said one Twilight Sparkle, alicorn princess of Equestria.
She was lying on the ground in the throne room, every guard unconscious along with princess Celestia. Her own magic had been rendered useless by her opponent...
"How, you ask? Very simple, actually..." Her enemy said as she walked out of the shadows, revealing none other than the Changeling Queen. "Fate wanted this to happen. We were destined to rule, as it was predicted in the ancient texts. Don't believe me? Look at the images your princess so kindly left for us."
Twilight raised her head to look at the images of Equestria, all five of them generated by Celestia's magic and kept in place by the residual power... It was chaos. All over Equestria, Changelings were destroying everything on their path and trapping all living creatures. Twilight knew they were planning to drain every prisoner from their love, and when a living creature is completely drained...
"You can't... I won't let you do this. You're not gonna win." Twilight barely managed to say.
"Oh, my little pony. There's a flaw in your plans..." Chrysalis said while moving closer to Twilight. She lifted the downed alicorn's head and looked deep into her eyes, all to convey her final message. "I've already won. Hahahahaha."
And with that final, soft and terrifying laugh, Chrysalis lowered Twilight's head and made her way out of the throne room. She stopped at the door to give an additional message, all just to put another nail in the coffin of her hopes.
"And don't worry. You won't be alone for long. My subjects will come to take you and everypony else to a more 'comfortable' location. Tata, Twilight Sparkle."
And with that final sentence, the queen left the room and Twilight was left alone. Powerless to do anything and seemingly defeated.
*I can't believe it. Have we really lost?* She thought to herself. *I should have seen this coming, The signs were there, but... No matter how much I think about this, it's obvious why I didn't notice anything before...*
The reason was one that pained her to acknowledge, but every train of thought led her to the same sentence...
*Friendship blinded me from the truth.*
Location: Cantelot Royal Library. 6 months ago.
A lonely guard was standing in the abandoned library. Nearly all facilities were unoccupied due to the special event that was being celebrated that day, but this one pony had one last business before moving on to his next location.
"Come on. Where is it?"
He was going through one document after another, back and forth, reading them more than once in case he missed anything. At first it seemed like a lost cause, but then he saw an abandoned book in a shelf, deep within the darkest corner of the room.
"Could it be..."
The Earth Pony pulled a ladder and reached out for the book. He carefully went through its content...
"Found it! This is it. The spell we've been looking for... Our majesty will be pleased."
Suddenly, bells were heard all across Canterlot... Wedding bells.
"It's time."
The Royal Guard made his way out of the library and to the castle.
"The future will be glorious. I know it."
Location: Royal Castle's Garden. Many hours later.
The Changeling attack on Canterlot had been stopped, and now the wedding was going smoothly. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were now a happily married couple and everypony was celebrating... Well. Everypony except a troubled Twiligt Sparkle.
*It's finally over, but I still feel like we missed something. The Queen didn't even consider their love a threat, even thought her power was coming from that same love. Could it be that she simply got overconfident?* Twilight thought.
"We sense that something is troubling you, child."
Twilight turned to look at the one talking...
"Princess Luna!" She said surprised and bowed before the Princess of the Night.
"Rise, Twilight Sparkle. Such formalities are not necessary." Luna said.
Twilight returned to her usual standing position.
"Now, Twilight... Why don't you tell me about what keeps your mind tense?" Luna continued.
"Well... I can't shake off this feeling that it was all too easy."
Luna merely raised an eyebrow and had a "Seriously?" face on her features.
"Ok. Maybe not THAT easy, but what I mean is that the queen..."
"Chrysalis." Luna interrupted.
"Excuse me?" Twilight asked confused.
"The Changeling Queen is known as Chrysalis. Her subjects were heard by many referring to her by that name." Luna elaborated.
"Good to know. Anyway... What I mean is that Chrysalis didn't fight back at the end. She even disregarded Cadance's attempts to snap Shining Armor out of that spell and the use of their love as futile, even though she was being powered by that same love. It doesn't make any sense!" Twilight explained.
"I understand your concerns, Twilight. But I believe this is what they call 'overthinking things' these days." Luna said.
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked.
"Much like others before her, her arrogance was her undoing..." Luna said and looked at the ground with sadness in her eyes. "Even I underestimated you and your friends during my dark days, despite of knowing the power of the Elements of Harmony in person. Alas, it allowed you to free me from the darkness."
Sad memories aside, Twilight knew what the princess was talking about. Trixie, Discord, Nightmare Moon and now Chrysalis. All previous opponents had let their arrogance get the best of them.
"I guess you're right. I'm probably just being paranoid." Twilight finally caved.
"Excellent. Now, why don't you join your friends in the dance floor?" Luna suggested.
Twilight seemed pretty uncomfortable about the offer.
"Er... I'd rather not. Pinkie showed me a few pictures from the last time I danced. It wasn't pretty."
Luna giggled at the mental image she was getting of Celestia's student being a bad dancer.
"Very well, but do not stress yourself more than necessary. It IS a party, after all." Luna said and left to do whatever she pleased.
Twilight was left with her own thoughts. *Maybe she's right. If something happens, I'll deal with it when the time comes. For now, the battle is over.*
"TWILIGHT!"
"GYAH!" Twilight shouted and went high into the air from the scare. She landed in front of the one who scared her...
"Pinkie Pie! You scared me!"
"Oh! Whoopsies! I just wanted you to come and try the cake. It's awesomelicious! That's a new thing I made. It means something is awesome AND delicious at the same time. Are you coming? Pretty please!?" Pinkie said without even pausing to take a breath.
Twilight's head was now spinning, but she got most of the message.
"Alright, Pinkie. Let's go." Twilight said and followed Pinkie to the cake table...
A few hours later. Canterlot-to-Ponyville train.
The party was over, and the Elements of Harmony were now on their way back home.
"Weehoo! Now that's what ah call a wedding!" Applejack said.
"You got that right! Sure, I could have gone through it without the invasion, but it was AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Speak for yourself. Those mosters ruined one of my best dresses!" Rarity said while mourning the lost.
"All that matters is that my brother and Cadance are back together, happily married and the Changelings are gone for now." Twilight added.
"Um... Twilight. What do you mean by 'for now'?" Fluttershy asked quietly.
"Probably that there will be a new invasion where Changelings will slowly replace anypony until their numbers are greater than ours and then they will take over all of Equestria when we least expect it!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
All of her friends just stared at Pinkie like she was crazy (more so than usual).
"That... sounds like the plot of a cheesy comic book." Rainbow Dash broke the silence,
"Meh. It could happen." Pinkie said and shrugged off the comment.
"Anyway... What I mean is that the Changelings are still out there, and we don't know when they will attack again. What I do know is that we will be ready for anything if we have each other." Twilight said.
They were all touched by her comment and a group hug happend immediately afterwards.
"Next stop: Ponyville. Please, remain in your seats until the train has fully stopped." One of the train crew members said.
Rainbow Dash stretched out and yawned.
"Finally! I could use some rest after what happened today."
"And I need my beauty sleep as soon as possible." Rarity said.
They were all exhausted, but at least they were back safe and could enjoy some much-needed sleep. The train stopped and they all picked up their stuff. They parted ways in front of Twilight's library, each of them going to their own homes. Pinkie and Rarity lived fairly close, but Rainbow, Applejack and Fluttershy still had a long way to go.
Location: Sweet Apple Acres.
*Whew! Ah sure am busted. All ah need is a full night of sleep... Maybe ah should ask Big Mac to take care of the farm tomorrow.* Applejack thought.
"Welcome home, Applejack."
Location: Rainbow Dash's home.
*You know what? I'm taking the day off tomorrow. I doubt Ponyville will fall apart with one less member of the weather team.* Rainbow thought.
"Greetings, Rainbow Dash."
Location: Fluttershy's cottage.
*Oh, dear. I want to sleep until late so much, but I have to feed the chickens tomorrow.* Fluttershy thought.
"Hello, Fluttershy."
"Who said that?" The three mares whispered at the same time at their own locations. Fluttershy was the first to identify the voice of her intruder...
"Oh... I didn't know you were here, Polly."
A parrot on a perch was the one who greeted Fluttershy.
"Yes. I know, Polly. I still remember I have Angel on a Diet." Fluttershy told the parrot.
Meanwhile, with Applejack...
"No... No! This can't be!"
Her intruder... was herself. As was Rainbow's...
"Wh-What is this trick? Why do you look like me?" Rainbow demanded to know.
Neither of their duplicates answered, as the two shocked ponies were simply blasted by green energy coming from behind them. In a second, everything became darkness for them. The responsibles for the attack were hidden in the shadows, but the duplicates were completely visible under the moonlight from a window.
"The infiltration..." Both impostors said at the same time before turning to their real forms: Changelings. "Has begun."
"Perfect. Use the spell now." The voice of Chrysalis echoed in their heads.
The unconscious body of Rainbow Dash was moved to solid ground for the spell. In the meantime, the Changeling that blasted Applejack was now drawing a symbol around Applejack. A circle decorated with many runes and charms now surrounded the Element of Honesty. The same happened to the Element of Loyalty once her captors were done.
"You might have been a genius in magic, Starswirl. But you were a fool when it came to thinking about the future..." Chrysalis' voice was heard again.
The Changelings specialized in magic from both groups charged up, and then they casted a spell on the circles surrounding the ponies. A dome of green magic covered them for a few seconds before concentrating on the top and firing a harmless blast on the ones that were previously replacing Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They turned into flawless duplicates of the ponies once the light dissipated.
"Who would have thought one of your spell you so innocently created could benefit the Changeling race so much? A spell to identify and duplicate anypony's memories..." Chrysalis telepathically mocked.
"Ah can't wait for the next Apple Family Reunion, y'all. Ah'm dying to see little Babs Seed." The impostor Applejack said.
"And abilities." The Queen concluded.
The fake Rainbow Dash flew high into the air with uncanny speed, avoiding clouds in a tenth of a second before the impact and performing many maneuvers that were known to be only possible for the real Rainbow. The duplicate flew into the mountains at full speed before doing the impossible: a Sonic Rainboom. The multi-colored blast exploded on a mountain's peak and spread across the forest, eventually fading before anyone woken up by the explosion could see it. "Rainbow Dash" landed back under her cloud home.
"Now, my subjects... Take those ponies back to our homeland. We don't want them to interfere with out plans."
After receiving the telephatic orders from their Queen, the magic Changelings pulled out a rock (each) previously charged up with a teleportation spell. All they had to do was carry the unconscious ponies on their back and trigger it with a minor bolt of magic. In a green flash of light, they were gone along with their prisoners.
"Perfect. Proceed with the plans, 'Rainbow Dash' and 'Applejack' and await future orders. Soon, your hunger and that of all of my subjects will be satisfied. But for now, blend in with those ignorant ponies." Chrysalis ordered her subjects before cutting off communications.
*For the empire!* Both duplicates mentally shouted before retreating to their beds, knowing that Equestria was about to face its greatest challenge yet... A challenge they were not willing to lose.
As the Sun was slowly rising by command of Celestia, so was Twilight Sparkle. After rubbing the leftover sleep off her eyes, she walked slowly to her bathroom in order to prepare for another day in Ponyville.
*It's a good thing I don't drink anything stronger than Apple Cider, or I'd be having a nasty headache... I can only imagine how Shining Armor is doing after all the drinks he had at the wedding.* She thought.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Canterlot...
"Achoo! Ow... It even hurts when I sneeze." Shining Armor whispered from his bed, totally crippled by the worst hangover in Equestria's history.
Back at Ponyville, Twilight was done fixing up her coat and mane and she was finally ready to go outside...
*But first, gotta make a list of everything I'm gonna do today.* She thought before going to Spike's bed.
"Rise and shine, Spike. We need to get going."
Her number 1 assistant merely opened one eye (barely) and muttered something along the lines of "I'll be with you in a minute", which Twilight found to be enough of a response from the young dragon. Once Twilight was downstairs, Spike sunk his face on the pillow. *Just five more minutes.* He thought...
"SPIKE!!!"
"Woah!" He gasped from the scare and fell out of his bed. "Coming!"
After a few minutes of Twilight nagging at him and breakfast afterwards, Spike was holding a scroll and waiting for Twilight's orders.
"Ok. First things first... We need more scrolls. It seems like it was just yesterday that we bought them, but we're already out of them."
"I wonder why." Spike said in a sarcastic tone.
"Next is..."
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
Twilight was interrupted by a knock on the door. She spared a glance at Spike before opening the door.
"Hello?" She said but there was nopony at her door. There was, however, some sort of cart that was strangely familiar. It was only until it started to open to resemble a stage with a lights show and fireworks that she recognized it. *Oh, no. Not her.* She thought.
"Behold, everypony! After an extensive journey to improve my control of magic, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, have decided to grace your town with my presence once again." The 'Great and Powerful' Trixie said with front hooves high into the air in a flashy display... Which went completely ignored by everypony in Ponyville.
*Yeah... No.* Twilight thought and closed the door of her library/home. "Now, Spike. Where were we?"
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
"Open this door at once, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie demands your presence!" Trixie shouted while knocking on the door.
Twilight groaned in exasperation, but still half-opened the door.
"What do you want, Trixie? In case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda busy."
"As I was about to say before your exhibition of rudeness, Trixie has important business to discuss with you."
"If this is about what happened with the Ursa..." Twilight said but was hushed by Trixie with a hoof gesture.
"As much as Trixie resents the humiliation suffered because of you, that is not why I'm here."
"Then why are you..."
"TRIXIE!!!" A female voice shouted from a distance.
"Gyah!" Trixie yelped and turned to her cart. She used a spell on it to make it either invisible or teleport it somewhere else, Twilight didn't know which. It seemed to her like Trixie was highly adapted to this routine. "Please, Twilight Sparkle! I'll explain you what is happening, but you have to hide me!" Trixie begged (yes. BEGGED) Twilight.
*If she's begging, it must be something serious... Ugh. I'll probably end up regretting this, but...*
"Get in. Hurry!" Twilight told the travelling unicorn, who did as she was told without hesitation... Just as Spike was coming back from the kitchen.
"Hey, Twilight. Should I add that we're all out of..." He said before noticing Trixie, going silent instantly. "Ice cream?"
He was about to scream, but Twilight ran to him and hushed him. There was another knock on the door, louder than Trixie's, so Twilight had to gather her wits ASAP.
"Listen, Spike. Go to the back and hide Trixie somewhere she can't be seen from a window. Once I'm done with the door, she WILL explain just what is going on. Understood?" He nodded in response and Twilight turned to Trixie. "And you?"
"OPEN THIS DOOR, SPARKLE!" The voice shouted while knocking (smashing?) at the door, choking any protest from Trixie and making her nod repeatedly. The two ran to the back while Twilight headed to the door and opened it just enough to see the rude visitor: a griffon that looked very familiar.
"Gilda?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's me, Sparkle. Now, where is that fraud?" Gilda asked.
"Fraud? What are you talking about?" Twilight asked her, pretending not to know what the griffon was talking about.
"Don't try to play innocent with me! I saw that 'Lame and Powerful' Trixie in front of your tree and she owes me for that boring show of hers that I stupidly paid to watch. Now, tell me where she is!"
Being the best student of Princess Celestia meant that Twilight had to be good at several areas, and improvising on a crisis was one of them.
"Yes. She knocked on my door, but I don't know where she is. She wanted to challenge me on a magic duel, but I told her I wasn't interested. She even threatened to use her magic on my friends if I didn't agree to it, but then I told her that Princess Celestia was on her way here and then she left." Twilight said calm but firmly, which somehow made Gilda look nervous.
"T-The Princess is coming?" Gilda asked while stuttering.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Umm... Nevermind, then. I'll look for her somewhere else." Gilda said and stepped away from Twilight's tree before going high into the air, leaving Twilight confused about her panic.
*Weird. Maybe she got in trouble somewhere else... Nevermind that. Somepony owes me an explanation.* Twilight thought before walking to the center of the library. "It's ok. She's gone. You can come out, Trixie." Twilight announced loud enough to be heard anywhere inside the building. Spike and Trixie came out of the kitchen shortly afterwards... With Trixie covered in dust and what seemed to be mold and with a face that was a mixture between angry and disgusted.
"I think we should add 'Getting a plumber to check under the sink' to today's list." Spike said awkwardly.
A few minutes later.
Twilight, Spike and Trixie were on the main bedroom, curtains closed to keep unwanted guests from spying inside. Twilight asked Pinkie Pie to gather their friends while Trixie was in the shower, but they had yet to arrive. Right now, Trixie was explaining the other two about her experiences after her time on Ponyville...
"After being humiliated in this poor excuse of a town, Trixie tried to perform in other places all over Equestria, but everything turned the same: ponies mocking her because word of what happened here had spread to all locations, followed by locals chasing Trixie out of their cities... Do you have any idea what Trixie has gone through? I've had to accept one lousy job after another just to survive! Farming, mining, waitress at restaurants and even shows whose nature Trixie will never discuss!" Trixie said, and both Twilight and Spike could swear they saw her blushing when she described the part about shows.
"Hey, don't blame this on Twilight! You're the one who kept bragging about things you never actually did!" Spike countered.
"It's ok, Spike." Twilight interrupted and turned to look at Trixie. "That was never my intention, Trixie. I stopped the Ursa to protect my friends in Ponyville, not to shame you or anything of the sort." *Ok. Maybe a LITTLE part of me wanted to prove I was better, but she doesn't need to know that.* Twilight thought to herself.
"That doesn't solve anything, Twilight Sparkle. Ponies will keep mocking Trixie wherever she goes, all thanks to you."
"You're right. It doesn't, and I'm sorry... That said, I already saved you from getting caught by a griffon with nasty temper, so I think that's something. Isn't it?" Twilight said trying to switch the tides of the conversation on her favor.
"I, um..." Trixie merely muttered.
"Yeah. What was that for? Why running away from Gilda? You could just use a spell on her. I mean, it's not like you have a problem with using spells and curses on others." Spike said, memories of Rarity's terrible mane still fresh on his mind.
"You think Trixie hasn't tried that? No matter what Trixie uses on that annoying griffon, she just shrugs it off and gets somepony knowledgeable enough on magic to reverse it before flying after Trixie again!"
"Which brings us back to the point... Why is Gilda after you?" Twilight asked.
Before Trixie could answer, though, there was a knock on the door softer than the previous ones. Twilight went to check and saw her friends through the window. She opened the door for them, careful to keep an eye on the sky in case Gilda showed up again. Once inside (and after getting Pinkie to stop screaming and the others from chasing out Trixie), the blue unicorn told her story once again and moved on to the subject of Gilda.
"Trixie was performing one day at the Griffon Kingdom. As usual, all Trixie got were jokes and laughs at her expense. Usually, none of the ones who pay to watch The Great and Powerful Trixie ask for a refund, but this 'Gilda' insisted Trixie returned the bits she paid. The thing is..."
"You had already spent that money, didn't you?" Rainbow Dash said.
"I-It's not like Trixie wasted it on some pointless spa treatment!" Trixie argued.
"Pointless? I'll have you know that spas are..." Rarity said but was hushed by everypony else.
"As Trixie was saying, those bits were spent on basic supplies for future travels. If only that griffon had asked Trixie before the transaction was done, she could have done the refund without much trouble and still have enough to survive. Now she keeps chasing Trixie and interrupts her shows before a chance to get paid presents itself. When Trixie does get money from alternate sources, she's already running low on food and basic supplies, so..."
"As much as I dislike Trixie for her recent insult against spa and what she did to my precious mane..." Rarity said with a tear running down her face. "Can't we just pay Gilda and move on?"
"Um... There's a funny story about that. The first spell Trixie used to keep Gilda at bay gave her feathers a clown-ish pattern, so she wants to 'beat me into a pulp', as they say, for embarassing her in front of her fellow griffons."
As they all imagined Gilda with a clown design, the six ponies plus Spike bursted into laughing fits. It took them five full minutes to regain composure.
"Ok... So, now what?" Rainbow Dash said, still trying to hold back more laughs.
"Trixie suggests we hide her cart. The invisibility spell can only do so much before it runs out or the griffon bumps into it."
"Why not just teleport it somewhere else? I've seen Twilight using that one before." Spike suggested.
"Because that kind of magic requires a lot of concentration, which is kinda difficult when you have an angry Gilda chasing you just a few feet away." Twilight answered. "Anyway... She's right. We need to hide it somewhere Gilda won't be able to find it."
"Why not hidin' it in Sweet Apple Acres? No way she's gunna find it on accident in a place that big." Applejack said.
"I'll go with her and keep an eye on the sky in case Gilda gets too close." Rainbow Dash added.
"Well, that takes care of that. We need to do something about Trixie as well. If Gilda comes knocking on my door again and sees her, we're done." Twilight continued.
"Oh, I think I can do something about that. Nopony will recognize her once I'm finished." Rarity said with a somewhat evil glint in her eyes, scaring Trixie about whatever the fashionista had in mind.
"O-K... And about Gilda, we need to distract her." Twilight added finally just as Pinkie Pie was coming out of the kitchen.
"Twilight. Did you know that you're all out of ice cream?" Pinkie Pie said, and was greeted by everyone staring at her. "What?"
1 hour later.
Twilight and Spike were keeping an eye around their home in case Gilda showed up again, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were moving the still-invisible cart to Sweet Apple Acres, Rarity and Fluttershy were working on Trixie's disguise and Pinkie Pie... Truth be told, none of them had any idea what Pinkie had in mind for the griffon (they hardly knew what the party pony had in mind most of the time). Twilight only had a chance to tell her she had to do something about Gilda before Pinkie ran off saying "I got this!" to do Celestia knows what. *Well, she did solve the Parasprite incident so I know she'll come up with something to get Gilda out of Ponyville. I'm still worried, though, but it's not like Pinkie would hurt anypony on purpose... Right?*
"Speak of Nightmare Moon and she shall appear."
"GAH!" Twilight screamed when Pinkie popped up right behind her. "Pinkie Pie! You scared me... Wait! How did you know I was thinking about you?"
"You were? Oh, I didn't know. I was just repeating a phrase I heard from Lyra once."
"Riiiight... Is everything ready?" *Whatever "everything" means.*
"You bet your books it is! All I need now is for Rarity to finish her part." Pinkie Pie replied.
It was in that precise moment that Fluttershy came out of the room she and Rarity were using to disguise Trixie.
"Twilight... I think we're done." The shy mare said, and two unicorns came out.
"B-But... She's... I mean, she..." Twilight stuttered.
"She looks the same." Pinkie stated what Twilight was struggling to say.
Indeed. Trixie hadn't changed at all: same attire, same mane and coat colors, same everything. From top to bottom, Trixie looked the same way she did before the so-called "make-up".
"Are you absolutely sure about that?" Trixie said... With Rarity's voice.
Twilight was certainly surprised, but Pinkie looked slightly annoyed.
"Hey! I thought I was gonna play Trixie!"
"At first, that was the idea. But you lack something unique to unicorns." 'Rarity' said.
"We realized that if Gilda notices that 'Trixie' isn't using magic to keep her away, she might suspect something's up. So, we had to make a sudden change of plans." The real Rarity said. "And I don't intend to brag, but my acting skills would make this charade even more effective."
"Wow. Just... Wow. You even managed to hide your true Cutie Marks." Twilight commented.
"That, of course, was Trixie's doing. Illusions are foals play for the Great and Powerful Trixie."
"I think I can do something to make the switch more convincing..." Twilight said before concentrating magic on her horn. She touched each of their necks for a few seconds with the horn and stepped back, her horn's light fading away soon afterwards.
"What have you done to Trixie,Twilight Sparkle!?" Trixie said, only this time her voice matched her looks. "A voice spell? Hmmp! Trixie could have easily done that herself."
"And you didn't because..." Spike taunted from his position near the window.
"Not now, Spike." Twilight scolded her assistant. "Now that everything's ready, let's get Trixie and Gilda out of Ponyville... Er. No offense, Trixie."
"None taken, if this means Trixie willl get that griffon off her flank."
"Alright, Pinkie. This is your plan, so you'll be leading." Twilight added.
"Alrighty, then! This is what we're doing..." Pinkie said and gathered everypony in the room to discuss her plot...
Meanwhile, somewhere in Ponyville...
"Are we there yet?" Asked one (very) bored Rainbow Dash.
"Ah told ya five minutes ago: we're almost there. We can't stop until we reach the farm, and then we move on to the next part of the plan." Applejack replied while dragging the still-invisible cart of Trixie.
"As long as everything works..." Rainbow said but suddenly stopped as she saw a familiar face coming. "Hide your gear! Gilda's coming!"
Applejack did that ASAP (a pony using work equipment while seemingly carrying nothing would look suspicious, after all), and just in case went inside Sugar Cube Corner. *Ah do need rest and a refill, after all.* Back with Rainbow, she was spotted by Gilda who caught up with her almost instantly.
"Well, well. If it isn't my old 'friend' Rainbow Dash."
"Hey, Gilda. What are you doing here?"
"Are you implying I shouldn't be here?" Gilda replied, her frustration already high.
"N-No. I-I just wanna know what brings you here and maybe help. For old times' sake." Rainbow knew exactly why Gilda was in Ponyville, but she had to play dumb.
"Pfft. I don't need nopony's help... But if you really wanna know, I'm looking for that sad excuse of a magician known as Trixie."
"Well, uh..." *I have to get her off my flank somehow.* "Hey, isn't Trixie over there?" Rainbow said while pointing randomly behind Gilda.
"Do I look like I was born yesterday? She's obviously not... Oh, there you are!" Gilda then took off in the opposite direction of Rainbow's pointing hoof. Rainbow tried to follow the griffon, but something stopped her.
Leave her. You have a much greater task to accomplish.
*Yes... My Queen.*
Rainbow left to meet up with Applejack. Once they were both ready they left to Sweet Apple Acres, paying no attention to anything else around them.
Right now, Gilda was chasing Trixie very closely, easily dodging spell after spell. They went through restaurants, market stands, crowds of other ponies and pretty much all of Ponyville. *For the love of fashion and Celestia, Pinkie Pie! Where is that signal you mentioned?* 'Trixie' thought. Then it came: a blast from her Party Cannon for all of Ponyville to see, covering the sky above the Everfree Forest with confetti. The fake Trixie changed her route before going full-speed ahead to the forest, with Gilda following her closely. They reached the entrance of the forest and 'Trixie' hid herself in nearby bushes. *I hope this works.*
"What a load of... Show yourself, chicken!" Gilda shouted after landing when she noticed that her prey was nowhere in sight.
She was on her way to tear the forest apart when she heard... *Music?* Indeed it was music, and she heard a filly passing by pointing out that it was similar to an old game with some plumber pony in it. Then out of the forest came Pinkie Pie...
Wel~come to Ponyville, where you can always sta~ay. But if youu're up-to-no-good, you'll have to go~o away.
As she finished the last verse of her seemingly-improvised song, a large group of fillies and colts popped out from the bushes, each of them holding a tray full of cupcakes. A shout of "FIRE!" from Pinkie Pie was all they needed to unleash a sweet assault upon Gilda, who was rendered unable to fly due to the candy and chocolate that got stuck on her wings. She was forced to step back from the massive assault.
"Hey! Cut if out, will y-AAAAH!" She screamed when she fell into a hole... Except it wasn't a hole.
"Surpriiiise!" Pinkie Pie said before pulling the cord of her King-size Party Cannon, sending Gilda flying over Ponyville and to somewhere she wouldn't be a trouble.
"Are you sure she'll be ok? We're supposed to distract her, not hurt her." Rarity asked still with Trixie's voice.
"She'll be fine! I've used this cannon myself before and it's guaranteed to land in a soft cushion I have outside of town. It's really fun!"
*I'd question your definition of 'fun', but I know better than to question anything related to Pinkie* Rarity thought to herself. Meanwhile, back at the Library...
"I wonder how things went." Spike said before the panicked scream of a certain griffon was heard above them. "Nevermind."
"Hopefully, that will scare her off. But just in case, we better keep the switch until Trixie is a safe distance away from town. Rarity was going to stay in her boutique working all day, anyway, so no magician will be visible today." Twilight said.
"Finally, the Great and Powerful Trixie will be free of that winged pest!" Trixie said.
"Please, don't use your full title with Rarity's voice... It's creeping me out." Spike commented.
*Knock Knock Knock*
"Ugh. Now what?" Twilight groaned and opened the door... "P-Princess Luna!?"
"Greetings, Twilight. 'Tis a pleasure to see you again." The Princess of the Night greeted.
"Permission to investigate the flying entity, Your Highness." One of the guards escorting her said, but Twilight noticed he was dressed slightly different.
"Go on, Lone Justice. And please, fly there quickly instead of trotting. We won't be here for too long." Luna replied and the pegasus took off in Gilda's direction. "Now, Twilight. I just came here to report you that the reparations of the Changeling incident are progressing smoothly and we should be done by the end of the week... Oh, and Princess Cadance asked me to let you know that they'll be opening the gifts from the wedding tomorrow once your brother recovers from the hangover."
"There are gifts left?" Spike asked. "Wow. Surprising they didn't all get destroyed during the invasion."
"What inva-HMMP!" 'Rarity' was about to say but was silenced by Twilight's hoof in her mouth.
"Rarity! W-Why don't we go get some tea for Princess Luna and her guards?" Twilight tried to change the topic. Thankfully, Luna didn't think too much about it.
"Worry not, my dear. We will be on our way once Lone Justice returns."
And as if summoned, the pegasus arrived and approached to whisper something on Luna's ear. This gave Twilight the chance to give the unusual guard a better look: a crimson coat with short messy brown mane and beard, wearing some sort of cape (a poncho, if her memory was right) over his official armor. The armor, like him, looked like it had seen better days. He was definitely an aged and experienced soldier.
"I see..." Luna replied to whatever message the guard delivered. "Return with your partner to the castle and report your findings to my sister. I will deal with this matter personally."
Lone Justice nodded respectfully before taking his place next to his partner, then they took off.
"Are you leaving already, princess? What happened that made you send your guards back to the castle?" Twilight asked, pretending not to know anything about the 'flying entity'.
"It is nothing important, my dear... Between you and me, I simply wanted some time alone. The guards can be overprotective." Luna said and then stepped back from the library. Just like the pegasus before her, she took off instantly in the direction of Gilda's landing point.
"See you tomorrow!" Spike casually said. "Well, that went better than expected."
"Let's just leave everything about Gilda behind for now. Why don't we go have lunch outside today?" Twilight suggested. "Are you coming Tri-er, Rarity?"
"The Great and Power... *growl*" Trixie was interrupted by her stomach. "Umm... That sounds lovely... Darling."
"Better. Let's go." Twilight said before they all went out.
Later that night. Location: route outside of Ponyville.
The Elements of Harmony plus Trixie (who was still disguised as Rarity just in case) were gathered to say goodbye to the magician. After the initial chaos, the day came and went without any big events and Trixie was ready to leave.
"The spell will wear off in about thirty minutes. When it happens, you can clean off and restore your Cutie Mark." Twilight explained.
"Trixie is fully aware of the plan, Twilight Sparkle. Don't take her for a fool."
*Let her be, Twilight. She'll be away soon.*
"And, umm... Well... What Trixie is trying to say is..."
"You're welcome, Trixie." Twilight said.
Trixie merely nodded in what seemed to be respect and turned around, her cart secured to her so she could drag it across the road. The Ponyville girls also turned back and made their way home.
"I can't wait to get this cloak off of me! I couldn't even design a better one." Rarity said, wearing a cloak to conceal her Trixie looks.
"Well, a fancy cloak kinda beats the purpose of hidin', don't ya think?" Applejack said.
"At least this is over. No more Trixie or Gilda for now." Twilight added.
"But is it really over?" Pinkie Pie said in a creepy tone, as if she knew of things to come.
"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash said.
"I don't know. I just thought that would work for dramatic effect."
*Face. Meet hoof.* The others thought and did the popular gesture before moving on.
Location: somewhere inside the Canterlot Castle.
Lone Justice climbed down several sets of stairs, walked through seemingly-endless halls and crossed dozens of doors. The chamber he was heading to was a secret to all but Celestia and Luna along with those worthy of their absolute trust... So far, he was the only one in that list. After what seemed like hours of walking, he reached the oldest of dungeons where war prisoners were held many years ago. He entered one of the holding cells covered in dust and spider webs and pushed a specific sequence of bricks, which made the wall separate revealing a hidden door. Lone Justice opened it and found himself inside a meeting room, complete with a large central table that both princesses were staring at.
"I have arrived as you requested, Princess Celestia."
"Who else knows about this?" Celestia asked in an emotionless tone.
"Only the three of us." The guard repliad just as emotionless.
"What does this mean, sister?" Luna inquired, but Celestia remained silent for a few seconds.
"It means..." For once, Celestia was speechless. Discord, Sombra, Chrysalis and even Nightmare Moon. Celestia always had a plan for any crisis, but this... This had the potential to destroy all of Equestria in the blink of an eye. All thanks to what their self-appointed Personal Guard found in Ponyville... "It means we are in serious trouble."
On top of the table was a Changeling, but this was no ordinary Changeling, This one resembled a griffon, one that Celestia was somewhat familiar with based on the letters she received from her faithful student Twilight. According to Lone Justice, he found what at first looked like a regular griffon, but it turned into its true form in front of him.
"First Cadance, and now this... Heaven knows how many of them are already out there, and how many of our subjects are being replaced as we speak." Luna said.
"Permission to voice my opinion." Lone Justice requested, making Celestia give a short and quiet laugh.
"Always so formal, Justice. You don't need to ask for my permission, but go ahead." The princess said.
"With all due respect, we all must be cautious. My instinct and experience tell me that a war is coming." This made Celestia give out a long sigh.
"You speak with the truth, dear Justice... But I still fear the day when it will happen, and I know my dear Twilight and her friends will be crucial for this."
"Should we tell them, sister?" Luna asked.
"No... Not yet, at least. We must prepare the battle field so we can have a chance to win. For now, let them rest peacefully. When the time comes, I'll do it myself." Celestia said in a calm, soothing voice. *Rest easy now, Twilight. You and your friends deserve it after everything you've done, but I fear that you will all have to do more in the future... And this will be your greatest test. A test not only for you and your friends, but for the frienship that bonded all of you,*
Hours later. Location: ???
Applejack and Rainbow Dash found themselves in a dark place with no hints to their current location.
"I have summoned you to this 'mental plane', you might call it." Came the voice of the Changeling Queen from somewhere.
The 'ponies' changed back to their true forms which now resembled the ponies they were pretending to be. It was like looking at twisted versions of the elements of Honesty and Loyalty.
"Majesty." The Changelings said with a bow, and out came Chrysalis from the darkness.
"Did you find it?" She asked.
"We searched all over the cart of the one known as Trixie. The object was nowhere inside of it." Changeling Applejack said.
"Pfft. No matter. I was prepared for this outcome, and at the very least the secret remains as such. Even losing one of my subjects is irrelevant."
"Now Celestia knows about us." The fake Rainbow Dash said.
"She knows about us, but she doesn't know the extent of our presence. She thinks such measly knowledge gives her an advantage, but this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg... Our time will come, and we will succeed. For it was written in the ancient texts that we would take our place as the dominant species of Equestria!" The Queen concluded her speech with a loud stomp that resonated everywhere in the void.
"As it was written" Her subjects said.
"For now, return to your positions. Until our day of glory, we must remain hidden. Let those ponies rest for now... Soon, they will choose between submitting or perishing."
"For the empire" The minor Changelings said, and the plane became nothing as they all returned to their bodies.
