"Less than an hour..." High up on the Recinante cliffs that surround the Froud Valley, the spectral figure of a Harpy resembling the appearance of a Scarlet Macaw spoke up, its voice eliciting a grunt of acknowledgement from the Blonde Unicorn that sat beside it, silently eating a pre-cooked and magically preserved meal.
"So you have everything prepared, right?" The Harpy asked, its eyes looking down at the drained and dying valley below, "Kingfisher?"
The Unicorn swallowed the food in his mouth before nodding, only to take another bite of his meal as he waved his hoof in the Harpy's direction as if trying to tell it to scram.
"Yeah, yeah, You're trying to focus~" The Macaw said with a roll of its eyes, "Just don't forget what you're here for."
The Unicorn paused for the briefest of moments before he resumed his meal, trying to pretend he didn't hear the ghost's words.
Of course, he knew why he was there. Three small fillies were kidnapped, and it was his job, as a representative of The Crown, to make sure they'd be returned home safely.
That was a nice lie to tell himself.
The Harpy, however, looked at the Prince of Equestria with pity, knowing full well that he only traveled so far to try and fight the Changeling Queen, fueled by some sort of adrenaline addiction mixed with a unique kind of suicidal obsession with being close to death.
If saving those girls was truly his most important goal, he would have traveled to Canterlot and brought a lot more help with him instead of leaving that for his Bodyguard to deal with. He would have worked with the Elements of Harmony to plan the rescue mission, or he would have simply entered the castle by himself and rescued the girls under an Illusion so advanced that by the time anyone would have noticed something wrong, they would have been long gone.
Prince Blueblood might have been a good liar, Good enough of a liar to convince even himself at times. But that Harpy could read through his lies.
That Harpy, sadly, could read everything.
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Looking up at the scene in front of her, of the vast valley leading up to a vast bay surrounded by sharp rocks, the waves of the sea slamming against the rough and stony coast, lapping at the layer of hardened green slime that covered much of the valley, the silhouettes of buildings trapped beneath the green sludge as if hinting at her end, trapped forever beneath the wave of green.
Pinkie Pie didn't want her friends to know, but she was terrified.
She still remembered how nonchalantly Prince Blueblood spoke of the Changeling Queen, acting as if it were out of the question that their lives would be forfeit if they confronted her without a plan.
"Where are you, Blueblood?" Pinkie Pie asked in her mind, looking over the Changeling Kingdom, searching for any hint of the prince's whereabouts.
She knew he went ahead because he was setting a trap for Chrysalis, and she made sure to keep her knowledge of his trap a secret, but still.
She was sure she would feel a lot less worried if she knew he was ready.
"We need to hurry. The Secretariat Comet will be flying overhead soon." Twilight Sparkle's words pulled Pinkie Pie out of her silent search for the Prince, a bright smile crawling up her face as she turned to her Unicorn friend.
"And that's when the magical surge happens, right?" Applejack asked, her eyes staring up at the large metallic gate that was erected between two towering rocks, "We need to find Apple Bloom and her friends before that happens, yeah?"
"Yes," Twilight responded, "The magic surge it will cause will be felt all across the continent, perhaps the entire world even! If we don't get the girls out of there before that happens, we won't just need to deal with a regular Changeling Queen. Chrysalis is a magical creature; she'll be powered by the Comet just like Rarity or I."
"I really do not wish to deal with that Changeling when she's normal, so I would very much like it if I never had to deal with her when she's powered up on magic comet energy." Rarity said, a shiver running through her body at the thought of meeting a vastly empowered Chrysalis.
"Then let's stop talkin' and start walking." Applejack said, "My Sister and her friends are trapped inside that castle with that evil insect lady doing who knows what to 'em!"
"Alright! Here's the plan. We go in, storm the castle, grab Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle..." Rainbow Dash paused for a moment as she thought over the rest of her plan, "Then we win the day and go home."
Pinkie Pie smiled at the plan. It sounded easy, reliable, just like anything else Rainbow Dash could come up with.
But it didn't totally silence that gnawing voice in the back of her mind telling her that things won't be nearly that simple.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight spoke up, making sure to put Pinkie Pie's worries to rest, "This isn't going to be nearly that easy!" Or not.
Pinkie Pie made a mental note for herself to remind herself later to give Twilight a lesson about tact and raising morale during stressful situations.
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"Woo!" Deep inside the conquered Lynx-turned-Changeling Castle, a trio of small Fillies was cheering at the sight shown in the magic orb before them.
"My Sister is here!" The youngest daughter of the Apple family yelled at the Changeling Queen, "You're going down!" A wide smile full of hope and joy spread across her face. The joy radiating from the filly was only slightly diminished by the sunken cheeks and tired eyes on her face, caused by a lack of any meaningful meal in recent days.
The food prepared by the Changeling Guards was not filling in the slightest, and tasted really bad.
"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle joined her best friend in cheering, "Her Sister is here! You're going down!" Not even the sweaty coat and sticky mane from a lack of shower and good sleep could hide the joy on the young unicorn's face.
"What about your Sister, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked her best friend, turning away from the orb to look at her fellow filly.
"Err..." Sweetie Belle tried to think of a response, her legs weakly trembling as she rubbed at her chin. "Yeah!" She suddenly shouted, the smile returning to her face. "Rainbow Dash is here! You're going down!"
On the other side of the orb that sat in the middle of the room, a certain Changeling Queen licked her salivating mandibles at the sight of the six ponies entering her newly captured lair, deciding that she had seen enough. The time for games was over.
"You know..." Chrysalis began, "I feel an immense amount of jubilation at the thought that soon I will not need to hear a whisper coming out of any of you three," The Changeling Queen told the three little fillies as she looked up from the orb, the green gelatinous tentacles that were transformed from her mane slowly wrapping around her like a Jellyfish pretending to be a dress.
"That's because we're getting out of here!" Scootaloo shouted, her tiny hooves banging on the translucent green cocoon the trio was trapped in.
"That will be incorrect~" Chrysalis said, tossing the crystal orb away to a corner of the room. "Those ponies will fall." She said as a matter of fact. "My subjects will devour their love like an all-you-can-eat buffet, and I will personally make sure Twilight Sparkle is sucked dry of any speck of magic inside her squishy little body~" Chrysalis paused for a moment, licking her lips, "I do hope she at least worked on her protection since the last time we met face-to-face." A soft chuckle escaped her lips.
The image of the Purple Unicorn lying on the floor as her ribs were getting kicked by the Changeling Queen disguised as the Princess of Love echoed in her mind. "I wouldn't want to break her too quickly, now would I?"
"They'll defeat you before you can drain them of their love!" Apple Bloom shouted, "Their friendship is stronger than you!"
"And-" Sweetie Belle joined in, "You'll never be able to take Twilight's magic! She's a bajillion times the magical pony... thing... you are!"
"You three have spent almost three days with me, and you still haven't figured out how powerful I am?" Chrysalis said, looking at her reflection on the surface of the cocoon, shifting the gelatinous tendrils that made up her dress to make sure she'd look as good as she could for Its arrival. "I'm hurt. Really."
"Hey!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Our sarcasm rubbed off on her!"
"You know..." Chrysalis began, shifting the back of her dress a bit in order to create an opening for her wings, "I just realized that now that those six are here, there really is no need for me to keep you around." She buzzed her wings a bit in order to test her dress. "Maybe I should just..." Chrysalis stopped going over herself and turned to the three little fillies. "Go ahead and put myself out of my misery~" She said with a soft, almost motherly tone of voice.
"Uh... By letting us go?" Scootaloo asked, slowly backing away from the wall of the cocoon, creating as much distance as she possibly could between her and the Changeling.
"No." Chrysalis said calmly, an uncharacteristically serene expression on her face.
"That's what I thought..." Scootaloo said quietly, gulping as her two best friends joined her in hugging the back wall of the cocoon.
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Atop a cliff overlooking the Froud Valley, a certain Unicorn watched as his bag was sent flying, disappearing over the horizon like a cruise missile aiming in the direction of Canterlot Castle.
He knew the bag would reach its destination, and that there was nothing to worry about in that regard. He simply used that moment as his last momentary pause before the very crucial and dangerous job he signed himself up for.
All of his preparations were complete. All he had to do was wait.
"Jupiter..." He whispered under his breath, several blue and gold orbs conjuring themselves beside him.
"Venus..." Another whisper left his lips as he lowered himself to the ground, gold plates and chains wrapping around him like the bondage of a prisoner, sealing away most of his senses.
"Jupiter..." He whispered again, conjuring more orbs, silver in color, granting him sight through his sealed senses.
And with an illusory message sent, he waited in silence for the opportunity to strike.
----------------------------------------
"Do not react." Twilight Sparkle jumped in fright as a familiar voice whispered in her ear, "When you reach Chrysalis, blow open the wall behind her."
Twilight Sparkle quickly looked around, hoping to find out where the voice was coming from. Her eyes fell on Pinkie Pie, who simply winked at her before she put her hoof over her mouth in a shushing motion.
Twilight widened her eyes before nodding at her friend-
"What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked loudly, causing Twilight to once again jump, her heart beating way too fast to be safe.
"We're miming." Pinkie Pie spoke up, pulling Rainbow Dash's attention away. "Twilight was a secret agent who just received a hidden message, and I was the enemy spy trying to build a rapport with her before planning to betray her once I got the secret plans!"
"Oh..." Rainbow Dash decided to ignore the two mares once she decided that it was nothing more than regular Pinkie Pie shenanigans.
"Okay." Twilight Sparkle spoke up as the group finally neared the gates of the castle. "Let's do this." She shook her head to clear her mind and focus on the here and now. "Applejack, would you like to do the honors?"
"Oh, would I?" Applejack smirked as she marched up to the gate, spun around, and kicked her hind leg at the large reinforced wooden doors.
Only for her leg to hit nothing as the doors magically opened themselves with an ominous creak, causing her hoof to hit air, and for the Element of Honesty to fall over.
"No fair!" Applejack harrumphed as she picked herself up. "Nopony told me the door was automated!"
"How modern~" Rarity cooed as the group stepped into the castle.
"Okay, now we need to-" Twilight began to speak, only to once again jump in place as a voice sounded in her ear.
"I told you not to react." The voice began by chastising her, "Now stop wasting time. Chrysalis and the Fillies are on the third floor; take the second flight of stairs to your left."
"Twilight, is everything okay?" Fluttershy quietly asked as she walked up to her friend, placing a hoof on her shoulder.
"Eh? -I mean, yeah! Everything is fine!" Twilight let out a fake chuckle, trying to make it seem like she wasn't scared of what could come next. "Anyways, I know where the Cutie Mark Crusaders are! Follow me!"
Twilight quickly began following the instructions she was just given, hoping to grab the three little ponies and leave as fast as she possibly could.
"Okay, they should be- Woah..." Finally stepping into the castle, Twilight had to quickly stop herself from running ahead as the floor before her opened up into a large open space of doors and staircases.
Sideways became down, left became up, yes became a banana sundae.
"How are we supposed to get to the second flight of stairs to the left?" Twilight asked herself as she watched the room before her shift and morph, the stairs and doorways that dotted the walls moving around as if purposefully trying to confuse her.
And knowing who she was dealing with, they likely were trying to confuse her.
"We're wasting our time just standing here!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she flew into the castle, only to tumble to the side, slamming herself against a painting of a very nice-looking old Lynx.
"Owww..." The Pegasus grumbled as she stood up, only to find herself standing on the wall.
"Twilight, what do we do?" Fluttershy asked as she peered over the edge of the entryway the rest of the group stood on, watching the floor beneath her bend and twist into a seemingly endless hallway going straight down like a pit.
"There is no second flight to the left..." Twilight Sparkle quietly said to herself, "Why would Blue-" Twilight's eyes widened as the realization hit her.
It wasn't that there wasn't a flight of stairs to the left, and Blueblood gave her the wrong directions. But the actual room in front of her was the one in the wrong!
With a bright burst of purple magic billowing out from her horn, the sound of a balloon popping could be heard as the castle's space-bending interior corrected itself into its correct position.
"Yay! We fixed it quick- HEY!" Rainbow Dash's cheers were cut short as the corrected gravity caused her to begin falling down towards the ground from her new position of standing on the ceiling.
"Let's get movin' then!" Applejack yelled as she ran ahead, "Twi! Where are they?!"
"Third Floor!" Twilight responded hastily, "We need to take the second staircase to the left- Wait!" Twilight Sparkle shouted as she hurried up after Applejack, "Slow down! We don't know what could be up there!"
Twilight's voice fell on deaf ears as Applejack rushed ahead, her need to save her sister making her throw her caution to the wind as she dashed up the stairs, quickly followed by Rainbow Dash.
"We don't have time to wait!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew up the stairs, "You said it yourself, there's going to be a big magical comet coming soon. We need to save the girls before it arrives!"
"Yes!" Twilight shouted, "But we still need to be careful!" She ran as fast as she could to try and keep up with the two headstrong mares. "This is Chrysalis we're talking about here! We can't just go in blindly!"
"We're not going in blind, Don't worry!" Applejack yelled as she ran up the stairs, her legs jumping up several steps at a time. "I have a plan!"
"And do you not find it important to tell us what the plan is?!" Rarity shouted, trying to keep pace with the three ponies that ran ahead of her.
"It's a super simple plan. Even Rainbow Dash already figured it out!" Applejack yelled as the group ran past the second floor, continuing up the stairs towards their destination.
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "It's super simple and easy!" With a mighty flap of her wings, she flew forward faster than before, the door leading to the third floor already in her view.
"I still don't know what the plan is," Fluttershy said as she flew beside Pinkie Pie.
"Here's the plan!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash yelled together as the Pegasus reached the door to the third floor.
"We kick her butt!"
Rainbow Dash spun in the air so her body was positioned to drop-kick the door open, flinging it off its hinges as it flew into the room, slamming against the wall on the opposite side of the room while kicking up a cloud of dust.
The rest of the group quickly followed into the room, preparing to deal with whatever came their way.
And as the dust from the thrown door settled, the sight before them became clear.
"You know... Maybe next time we should leave the plans to Twilight." Rarity said quietly as she looked around her, seeing the entire room almost packed full of Changelings, their teal eyes all turning in unison to stare at the group like floodlights at a Wonderbolts Derby.
"Chrysalis!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew up into the center of the room, "Where are they?" She glared at the largest changeling in the room.
"Where's Apple Bloom and her friends?!" Applejack joined Rainbow Dash in questioning the Changeling Queen, who stood at the other side of the room.
"Answer us now, and we won't pummel you too hard!" Rainbow Dash followed up, threatening to punch the changeling.
"..." On the other side of the room, a tall Changeling with a sharp, blade-like horn stared at the group, most of her body covered by a deep green dress with only a thin slit near the front to show off her left front leg. "Who are you two?" The Changeling Queen tilted her head at the two mares.
"Rainbow Dash, over here!" Before the two mares could angrily charge in, the muffled voice of a young Pegasus filly was heard from behind the crowd of Changelings.
"Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she turned to the source of the voice, the crowd parting to reveal a green cocoon holding three little ponies. "Hang in there! We're coming to get you!"
"Oh, please do shut up~" With a simple flicker of green light shining from the Changeling Queen's horn, the rainbow-maned Pegasus found herself thrown back towards her friends, landing on top of Pinkie Pie, who let out a weak groan at the new weight on her back.
"Chrysalis!" Twilight Sparkle said loudly, elevating her voice to appear much more confident than she truly was. "We made it in time before your deadline... Now hoof them over."
"Ah... Little Twilight, finally found your voice, did you?" Chrysalis asked, an innocent smile on her face. "And asking for my cute little hostages is the first thing you do?" She let out a shocked gasp. "Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd assume you hated me~" Chrysalis wiped an imaginary tear from her eyes. "But you know what they say about assuming things?"
"Oh! I know!" Pinkie Pie raised her hoof as she stood up, dropping Rainbow Dash from her back. "It makes an ass out of you and me!" Pinkie answered with a smile, proud that she knew the answer.
"Correct~" Chrysalis told her. "It makes you a piece of shit unfit for even compost~" She turned back to Twilight. "And I am many things, Twilight, but an ass isn't one of them."
As soon as the Changeling Queen finished her sentence, her body was engulfed in green flames, transforming the changeling into a Donkey.
"Oh wait? I could be! Haha!" With another burst of green flames, Chrysalis returned to her previous form. "See, that's a little Shapeshifter humor. I would explain the joke to you, but it's a very visual style of comedy~" She chuckled as her horn glowed green. "It's very hard TO MISS!"
Twilight Sparkle covered her eyes as she ducked down, blocking her vision from the bright wave of green magic that escaped the Changeling's horn.
"I will not let you hurt my- HURK!" Twilight's words stopped before she could even finish them as she felt a tight grip take hold of her neck, forcing her eyes open to see what the Changeling Queen had done.
The small changeling army that packed the room was hugging the walls, climbing over each other to stay out of the way of their Queen's magic.
Her friends, the ones that came with her to save the foalnapped fillies, were all trapped inside slimy green cocoons, no different than the ones that held the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
And the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, stood a breath away from her face, a slimy green appendage extending from her dress into a clawed hand, the fingers hardening into a crystalline form as they wrapped around Twilight's neck.
"Finally, some peace and quiet~" Chrysalis purred as she lifted Twilight up, a glint of pleasure in her emerald eyes as she watched the Unicorn stretch her body in a futile attempt to keep her hooves on the ground.
"Let us go!" Twilight managed to yell at the Changeling, her horn glowing with magic as she attempted to pull the claw off her neck.
"And why would I do that?" Chrysalis curiously asked with a tilt of her head, "I have you all exactly where I want you~" With a single step forward, Chrysalis pulled herself so close to Twilight she could feel the Unicorn's heartbeat hasten through her chest. "Your little friends and those pesky fillies are dealt with, ready to be drained of all love should I simply give the order."
"You'll never-" Twilight struggled to breathe as Chrysalis began to rub her cheek, looking at her as if she was a pet.
"Never what?" Chrysalis cooed as she continued petting the Unicorn, "Get away with it?" She guessed. "Silly Twilight Sparkle~" Chrysalis shook her head in disagreement before leaning closer to the purple pony.
"I don't need to get away with anything." Twilight Sparkle found it hard to speak as she looked straight into the two emerald orbs that pierced through her soul. "By the time Celestia comes by to save you, my ritual would already be complete. With your magic right here in my grasp, I have everything I need."
"My Magic?" Twilight asked, trying to keep the Changeling talking as she felt her magic grow stronger. Even indoors, she could feel the upcoming arrival of the Secretariat Comet.
"Yes, little Twilight, your magic~" Chrysalis smiled at the Unicorn as if she was talking to a puppy. "When I devour your power, the wielder of the Element of Magic, I'd be stronger than ever before. Mix that with the Secretariat's Magical Surge powering me even further, why I might be able to take on Celestia just like that~"
"Just a little more..." Twilight whispered as she began charging more magic into her horn.
"That's right!" Chrysalis continued as she took a step back away from the Unicorn, "The cam already feel the Secretariat, can't you? In only a few more minutes, the effects of the comet will be witnessed in full."
"Just a little more..." Twilight repeated, taking a deep breath so she wouldn't need to worry about the claw around her neck for the next part.
"You already said that." Chrysalis rolled her eyes as her horn began to glow green, planning to waste no more time and just drain the Pony's emotions.
"Got it." Twilight Sparkle whispered as the purple aura of her horn began shining so brightly it almost seemed white.
"Wha?" Chrysalis didn't have time to move before a beam of bright purple light slammed against her, throwing her back into the wall behind her as it tore her newly grown dress of hair apart, allowing Twilight Sparkle to land back on her hooves and turn to free her friends.
Before Twilight could get far, a brilliant green beam of magic landed before her, a slimy wall growing from the small impact crater and blocking her view of her friends.
"Twilight Twilight Twilight..." Chrysalis's voice echoed around the room, bouncing off the growing green walls. "If you wanted me out of that dress, all you had to do was ask!"
Twilight Sparkle turned to look at Chrysalis, noticing the wall behind her was blown apart, revealing the open evening sky outside, and in the distance she could see a ball of fire growing closer in the sky, like a star preparing to pass over her head.
"But you really need to try harder than that if you want to knock me out~" Chrysalis licked her lips as her gelatinous mane burned away in green fire, replacing itself with a long, dark cerulean mane. "You didn't even try to aim for my heart..." She said with disappointment as she placed her hooves on her chest, "It's right here. You could have really gotten me during my monologue. I was not prepared for you, and you threw the chance away..." A disappointed sigh escaped her mouth as she imagined what a certain other Unicorn could have done if he was given the same opportunity.
"I'm just here to save my Friends, Chrysalis." Twilight Sparkle said as she fully faced the Changeling Queen, "I'm not to beat you."
"How disappointing~" Chrysalis sighed with a roll of her eyes, "If I knew you were going to be so boring, I wouldn't have bothered to prepare a speech-"
"He is." Twilight Sparkle didn't want to admit that she felt good seeing the expression of the Changeling Queen's face contort into confusion at her interruption.
"What are you-" Chrysalis paused as she felt it. At the very edge of her emotional sensory range, in a place so far that she wouldn't have been able to sense it if it wasn't for the Secretariat Comet gradually enhancing her magic over the past few minutes.
"Oh..." Chrysalis said simply, her face slowly contorting into a predatory grin, "I'm so wet right now~"
"What did you-" Before Twilight Sparkle could finish her sentence, she watched with widened eyes as a golden pillar of twisting magic impacted with the Changeling Queen, sending her flying through the walls of the castle and out of the other side of the building, creating another passage to the outside world.
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"...Mars." High up on the Recinante cliffs that surrounded the Froud Valley, a certain Prince whispered to himself as another golden spear the width of a pillar shot out from his horn, spinning like a drill through the sky as it broke the sound barrier, following the trajectory of the previous shot he fired.
He had no doubt that the attack would hit his target
He won't miss.
"...Mars."