My lungs screamed at me to stop moving, to take a break and just let them rest.
"Blueblood! Are you alright? Can you keep moving?!" Starlight screamed at me, a bit too close to my ears for comfort, but I forgave her, she's simply worried.
It was almost funny, in a way, having someone worry about your life.
I never had something like that before.
"I can keep going," I managed to say, my legs shaking as I held onto Starlight's shoulder, the two of us making our way up the stairs to the top of one of the spires overlooking the hall.
I could see it almost perfectly from up here, Chrysalis in the form of Cadance down below, wearing a wedding dress that was not hers to have, standing in front of Shining Armor, the fool wearing something that wouldn't have been found weird on a British Noble in the early 20th century, or perhaps late 19th century... If it doesn't include boats, my knowledge of history becomes spotty.
And standing above the two, acting as the officiant of the wedding was... Never mind her.
"Just a few more steps," I told Starlight as we resumed our climb up the tower, the mare nodding her head as she practically carried me up the stairs, breaking open the door to the bedroom at the top of the tower, It was filled with mannequins, or Ponnequins or whatever they're called here, and rolls of fabric.
I let go of Starlight and dropped onto the floor, Starlight lowering my bag so I could reach it easier.
I opened the bag and started searching for something specific, "Starlight, help me find that thing Rutherford gave me,"
Following my fight with Chrysalis on the train tracks, and a long and awkward talk with Celestia in regards to the security of Equestria, I had the opportunity to check the gifts the delegations from Yakyakistan and Caninia brought for me.
The Old Caninian Castle, the delegation headed by the Princesses Indiana Ambereyes and Fiona Floppyears, brought me a collection of traditional Caninian spirits, some real high-quality Stout.
The New Caninian Castle, the delegation headed by Princess Moonbeam Twinkletail, brought me a wardrobe filled with Caninian Clothing fit for a Pony. If anyone ever finds me wearing an open luxury vest and a fashionable collar, they'll know who it's from.
But the gift I'm looking for right now, Is the one from Yakyakistan.
"Here it is!" Starlight yelled as she pulled it out of the bag, I turned my head to see if she got the correct one, when a sudden explosion rocked the castle.
--------------------------------------
She knew she was powerful, she remembered watching her cousin fight her back in Caninia, and she saw what remained of the train after she tried to fight him again, and even the forest clearing, which now stood as little more than ash and dust, all indicated to her that Chrysalis was strong.
She simply didn't understand what that meant without truly seeing it with her own eyes.
One moment she watched as the Changeling Queen in her body turned to look at Celestia, the next her eyes were filled with the color green as the ground shook.
"AAAH!" She heard Twilight Sparkle scream from beside her, her eyes closing as the bright green almost blinded her in its intensity.
And the moment she opened her eyes, she finally understood it.
The wedding hall was in disarray, the pews were broken, shattered into wooden splinters. The guests were lying on the ground in differing states of injury, some had simple bruises while others clutched their legs in pain as wooden splinters stabbed into their flesh, Luckily it seemed no pony was mortally wounded.
She turned away from the guests and the pews and watched as the green flames receded and fizzled out, showing the monster that took her form, her body trapped inside of a shimmering dark blue bubble that managed to capture the brunt of the explosion.
A Short dark cerulean green mane, smooth black chitinous skin resembling the carapace of a beetle more than anything, thin insectoid wings extending under shimmering elytra which went from a gradient of arctic blue to a moderate green, a smooth black horn that looked more like a weapon to stab with than a focus for magic casting, her eyes were green, both sclera and Iris, only her Pupils remained black, but also they were slits, like those of a cat or a lizard, highlighted by her dark green eyeshadow, and on top of her head she wore a small black crown with four protrusions ending in the same cerulean green as her wings and mane.
She hated to admit it, but she wasn't ugly, she would have even considered her attractive if she had grown out her hair a bit, and she also wasn't a psychotic monster.
"It seems we were correct," Cadance's eyes focused on the source of the voice, watching a pony walk from behind the shimmering bubble that held Chrysalis in place.
Princess Luna let out an exhausted breath as her horn shone with dark blue magic, the bubble around Chrysalis shimmering once more.
"Changelings?!" She heard Celestia exclaim in shock, but she wasn't focused on her, her eyes remained glued to those shimmering emeralds.
---------------------------------------
Twilight Sparkle held her breath at the sight of the creature in the bubble, was that truly what replaced Cadance?
"What in tarnation is going on here?!" Right! She couldn't sit here and gawk, she needed her friends to help her!
"Girls!" She yelled as she ran past Cadance and towards her friends, "We need to hurry!"
"Darling, what's going on? What's happening?" Rarity asked her as she jogged to meet her halfway across the hall.
"I was right! Cadance was evil! But not actually evil, because it wasn't actually Cadance!" She told them, watching their confused and worried faces slowly shift between the real princess and the creature in the bubble.
"I don't get it," Pinkie Pie raised her hoof and said.
"It doesn't matter, I'll explain later, but we need to get to the Elements of Harmony, quickly!" She told them.
"That is correct, Twilight Sparkle," She turned her head to see Princess Celestia giving her a serious look, "This foe is not someone you can simply battle," Celestia turned to glare at the bubble, "Go and get the Elements, we'll buy you time,"
"But-" Twilight wanted to argue with that, with Celestia putting herself in danger just so she could get the Elements, but before she could finish her sentence, the creature opened its mouth.
"You Idiots..." It stared at Celestia, "Your Elements of Harmony won't do you any good, They only work on chaos and evil, on things that bring imbalance to the natural order of the world," A smirk started to spread on its face, "A Perfectly pure creature is immune to such power," The smirk morphed into a sick smile, her head pointing up so she could look down on them.
"Then we are fortunate you aren't a creature like that, Chrysalis," Celestia told the creature as she stood between Twilight and it, "Go, Twilight, bring the Elements here so we can put this day behind us,"
"You heard the old hag," The Creature's eyes turned to stare at her, piercing through her soul with its stare, "Run along now, The Adults are talking."
Twilight wanted to stay, to check up on her brother, to help Princess Luna, and to do something useful.
But she couldn't, she knew she couldn't fight, she didn't know how, All she could do was use the Elements of Harmony, and hope for the best.
"Let's go girls," She nodded to her friends and ran out of the wedding hall, putting her entire trust in the Princesses behind her.
-----------------------------------
Luna took deep breaths as she once again reinforced the bubble, she was lucky she acted fast enough to contain most of the flames as Chrysalis transformed, but she wasn't used to casting spells like this.
If she could remain in her tower, isolated from the troubles of society, reading from her books and watching the world from afar, casting her magic from the safety of her room, she would have done so.
This active spell-casting in the heat of the moment with no preparations or fallbacks is something much more fitting for Celestia, or Blueblood.
"Heh, They're not too dissimilar in that case," She wanted to chuckle at the thought, but instead grit her teeth in concentration as she tried to keep the bubble up.
"Someone Snap Shining Armor out of it!" She yelled, hoping one of the guards would step up and slap their captain.
Luna watched as Cadance ran up to Shining Armor, trying to shake him into some form of coherent consciousness instead of the hypnotic trance that he was stuck in.
"It's no use, you know?" Luna scowled as Chrysalis spoke up, her eyes still locked on to Celestia, "It's no use at all, your little captain is all out of juice..." She mock sighed, tilting her head to the side, "If only one of you little cretins noticed something was wrong sooner... But you didn't!" Faster than Luna could react, Chrysalis's leg shot forward and slammed into the bubble, a small crack spreading from the place of impact.
"Luna! Reinforce that bubble!" Celestia ordered her, and Luna would have rolled her eyes and told her not to say the obvious if she wasn't focusing on keeping the bubble reinforced.
"Three weeks?!" Chrysalis laughed as her leg once again shot forward, a loud gonging sound echoing from the bubble, "I had your little Prince for Three Weeks! And your Princess for another Week! And you didn't notice!" Another kick.
The more Chrysalis kicked the bubble, the more Luna struggled to hold it, the echoing sounds weren't helping either, and neither was Celestia just standing there!
"Why~ If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you hated them! How awful of a ruler!" Luna wanted to yell at her sister to shut her up, but she was too busy keeping the shield from breaking.
"AN AWFUL RULER LIKE YOU SHOULD JUST GIVE UP AND DIE ALREADY!!!" Chrysalis didn't kick the bubble, which showed to be a useless endeavor. As long as Luna had magic, she could keep the bubble reinforced for as long as the Elements of Harmony required to arrive.
Instead, all she did, was softly put all of her legs on the floor, and tap it once. Like a dignified lady calling for the attention of a butler, a soft tap on the floor with her hooves was all she did.
"SHINING!!!" Luna widened her eyes as she turned away from the bubble to see Cadance drop to her knees, holding onto Shining Armor's knocked-out body as he lay out cold on the floor.
And that brief moment, barely over a second, where Princess Luna wasn't focusing on the Changeling Queen, was all it took.
Where once stood a leg of black Chitin, now stood a sharpened spike. And faster than the untrained eye could follow, Chrysalis jabbed it at the bubble and smiled with sadistic glee as it shattered, raining down around her with the sound of breaking glass.
But she didn't stop there, her leg kept going, passing through the shattered shield and towards the Alicorn that stood there with a lost look on her face.
"DIE!!!!" She screamed, her chitinous stake driving forward to impale her target.
Luna was pushed back as the winds created by the speed at which Chrysalis moved hit her, her legs unable to hold on to the ground as she was thrown into the broken pews, roughed up but mostly unharmed.
She watched with silent horror as the stake drove into Celestia's chest, a scream already on her lips as she waited for the expected blood to come spurting out of her sister's wound.
"Huh?" Instead, her legs automatically moved to wipe at her forehead as the room temperature started to skyrocket.
She watched with stunned Silence as Chrysalis looked up from the stake that was her leg and into her Sister's eyes, and saw her face of sadistic joy seemingly melt away.
"You dare?" Celestia asked quietly, ignoring the stake lodged in her chest, "Attack my Son, Kidnap my Niece, Live in my Castle, Take from what is mine, and then still try to kill me?"
Chrysalis, who previously looked ready to stab and claw and fight till the end in an attempt to get rid of Celestia, was now on the back foot as she took a step back, away from the Princess of the Sun.
"You- WHY WON'T YOU BLEED?!" She screamed as she stabbed at her again, feeling the stake at the end of her leg stab into the soft Pony flesh, but no blood came out.
"You dare?" Celestia repeated as she slowly took a step forward, her voice echoing around the hall with magical empowerment as the temperature kept rising, "Lay your filthy hooves against me?"
With a simple flick of light from Celestia's horn, Chrysalis started to scream.
Luna watched as she pulled the stake out of her sister's body, now red hot and partially melted as if she had placed it inside a burning furnace.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Chrysalis screamed as she transformed the stake back into a hoof before jumping back to the other side of the hall, "YOU SHOULD BE DEAD! I KILLED YOU! I FELT YOUR HEART TEAR!!!" Green flames enveloped her body, transforming her slim Alicorn-like appearance into one covered in a heavily armored carapace, broad shoulders, and thick legs, her wings were hidden under a thick elytra, and her blade-like horn was replaced with a two-pronged thickened horn, resembling that of a rhinoceros beetle.
Luna couldn't take her eyes off the two, the Changeling who just moments prior seemed so confident in herself was panicking at her failed attempted Regicide, and her Sister, always so soft and inviting, like the gentle sun on a warm summer day, now seemed to raise the temperature around her to unbelievable degrees, each step she took left the marble floor beneath her smoking and blackened.
"JUST DIE ALREADY!!!" Chrysalis screamed as she raised one of her thickened legs, her horn glowing with bright green magic as an explosion of green flames burst out of her elbow, acting as a thrust to punch her leg forward harder than before like some sort of organic rocket.
Luna closed her eyes as a cloud of dust exploded outward from the force of the punch, hiding Celestia and Chrysalis beneath the screen of rubble and smoke.
"Heh... Hehehehah... HahahaHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Chrysalis's laughter echoed out from the dust, assured in her victory.
"Time's up..." She whispered as the dust settled, showing her leg, as thick as a log, smoking under the intense heat emanating from the body it just punched, "Time's up!" She repeated, ignoring the lack of visible damage on Celestia's body, "Time's Up Time's Up Time's Up!" She cackled maniacally, a beam of green magic escaping from her horn and creating a hole in the ceiling, giving Luna a view of the sky outside.
And at the army of Changeling's banging on the quickly weakening bubble of protection.
Luna watched the elytra on Chrysalis's back open up to reveal shimmering beetle-like wings, letting the Changeling Queen fly out of the wedding hall with a glow of green magic in her insectoid horn, a shower of green sparks falling behind her to deter Celestia from following.
Luna tried to stand up, ignoring the ache in her back from where the wooden splinters of the pews attempted to stab into her.
"Sister! We must hold her off until Twilight Sparkle-" Luna called out to her sister, hoping the two of them could think up a plan to buy enough time, but Celestia wasn't listening.
Princess Celestia stood stoic and unmoving, her eyes staring up at the hole in the ceiling, and at the Changeling that just flew out of it, with a detached expression.
As if she wasn't looking at someone who just tried to kill her, who held her family in captivity for weeks, who did who knows what awful things to them!
No, Celestia was looking at Chrysalis as if she were a bug on the side of the road.
"You Dare..." Celestia whispered, the steadily rising temperature that surrounded her seeming to explode outward in an inferno of blazing heat, Her flowing aurora of a mane catching fire and turning into a burning pyre.
And with a single step forward, she disappeared in a tower of flames.
--------------------------------
Chrysalis felt her smile halt as a near-unbearable heat assaulted her, but she ignored it as a bolt of green magic left her horn and hit the giant pink bubble that surrounded Canterlot, a green wave expanding from the place of impact as the shield shuddered, before-
CRACK
It shattered, like a crystal ball, shards of pink magic fell from the sky as they disintegrated mid-fall, followed by her army of Changelings, ready to turn the city below them into an all-you-can-eat buffet.
The sounds of her army buzzing past her as they rained down onto the city was like music to her ears, but she could not stop and enjoy the sight for long.
With a burst of green magic from her horn, a screen of protection was formed in front of her body, just in time to absorb a pillar of flames that would have swallowed her whole if she was just a second too late.
She could not wait, she could not allow the Princess of the Sun to get the upper hoof, More and more screens and barriers started to surround her, pillars of green flames turned into snakes of fire, flying around her like guardian angels, Claws and Spears of gelatinous magic and burning green flames started to build up behind her like an army ready to descend upon one singular foe.
"You..." And there she was, her mane a burning pyre, just like she remembered her all those centuries ago, "Insignificant..." Her horn glowed with a rainbow of power, her very presence boiling the moisture out of the air as a cloud of steam followed her, "BUG!!!"
A beam of fire, hotter than any natural flame that could be found on the surface of the world, burst forth from the Alicorn's horn, like a blade made of the sun itself, immediately burning away most of the hastily put-up barriers between the two.
"HAHAHAHA! THIS IS WHO YOU REALLY ARE!!!" Chrysalis cackled at the sight of the burning Princess, the exact same sight she saw so many years ago, "YOU'RE NOT SOME SOFT PATHETIC PONY SMILING AT YOUR SUBJECTS LIKE A FUCKING GRANDMOTHER! YOU'RE A WARRIOR! A SCOURGE OF FIRE!!! A MONSTER OF WRATH INCARNATE!!! HAHAHAHA!!!"
"Be Silent!" The Burning Celestia ordered, her voice reverberating with magic, "You shall bring my family harm no longer!" Her wings burst into a pair of flaming pillars, spreading behind her like a cape of orange fire.
"OH? ARE YOU GOING TO KILL ME?! IN FRONT OF ALL YOUR PATHETIC LITTLE SUBJECTS?! A PUBLIC EXECUTION?! HAHAHAHAHA!!! GO RIGHT AHEAD!!!" Chrysalis's eyes shrunk into pinpricks as she ignored everything around her and focused solely on the Alicorn in front of her.
The Sky, The Ground, The Changelings, The Ponies, Even the Buildings, They all melted away in her mind, leaving only Celestia and Her.
And with the speed it took for a nerve to send an idea into her Brain, Chrysalis shot forward, the claws and spears behind her falling after her as she dove into Celestia's burning embrace, her black chitin shimmering as she continuously reinforced it.
A Fight like this was perfect for her! She'll be able to absorb Celestia's love for battle as the fight goes on, weakening her opponent while maintaining her own strength, just like she did with the Prince!
And as Chrysalis's horn slammed against Celestia's, like a pair of clashing blades, Chrysalis swallowed as much love as she could from her opponent.
And then coughed out as a burning sensation started to spread down her throat.
She disengaged from her blazing opponent, letting her conjured weapons deal with her for now as she tried to understand what went wrong.
She focused on Celestia, trying to read her emotions, and froze, for less than a fraction of a moment, Chrysalis froze as her body felt fear.
"What..." She shuddered as she watched the Burning Alicorn melt away all the attacks she sent at her, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" She screamed at her, "WHERE IS YOUR LOVE?!"
Chrysalis locked eyes with Celestia for a single moment, and her body froze.
One of the Princess's eyes had a burning orange iris surrounded by a cinder-red sclera.
And she screamed.
-------------------------------------
"Shining! Wake up, Please!" Down in the ruined wedding hall, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was trying to wake her unconscious fiance up, praying that he was alright, hoping that everything was going to be fine.
"Give us a moment," Cadance turned to see Princess Luna drag herself close to her, her horn glowing with dark blue magic.
"He's going to be fine, right?" Cadance asked as Luna sat down beside her, her horn lowering to touch the Guard Captain's head.
"He'll be fine, It's just a mixture of Magic Exhaustion and Hypnotic Shock," The Alicorn of Dreams told her before she turned to look at her, "You might want to stand back a little,"
Cadance didn't want to let go of her fiance but decided to listen to the Princess anyway.
With a dark blue glow to her horn, a circle of magic appeared above Shining Armor's head, and with a soft hum of magic-
"PFFFT! Cough Cough, I'm up! I'm up!" Shining Armor bolted up as a splash of water landed on his face, coughing to get the little water that he accidentally inhaled out of his lungs.
"Shining!" Cadance cried as she hugged her fiance, using the strength of an earth pony to pull him into a bone-crushing hug.
"Cady!" Shining Armor ignored the aches in his lungs as he returned the hug, looking into his fiance's wet eyes, "I'm so sorry! I was too busy with the shield I didn't notice you were replaced- I Can't-" Whatever Shining Armor was about to say would remain lost as he suddenly found his lips taken in by his fiance, unable to speak as she pulled him into a loving embrace of locked lips and battling tongues.
After a moment, Cadance let go, allowing Shining Armor to breathe heavily as he tried to catch his breath, "I... I thought you said we weren't going to kiss like that until we were married..." He managed to say, his cheeks a burning red, the previously serious Guard Captain from the days prior was once again little more than that innocent boy that Cadance fell in love with.
"Just shut up and kiss me~" Cadance told him before she pulled him into another kiss, Shining Armor was unable to resist, not only because of his fiance's superior physical strength but also because his legs seemed to have been hit with a "Turn to Jelly" spell seconds before the kiss began.
"Ahem, We hate to break this wonderful moment, but we do still have an invasion to stop." Cadance and Shining Armor quickly let go of each other, their faces flushed in embarrassment as they turned to look at the unamused look on Princess Luna's face.
"Ahem~ Apologies Your Highness!" Shining Armor saluted the princess from his spot on the floor, his legs still not responding.
"Apology considered, Captain, Now listen closely-" Luna looked at the two of them, "We currently have an army of Changelings inside of Canterlot City, we can either wait for the Elements of Harmony to take their sweet time in getting back here, or we can do what we've been doing for the past three weeks." She focused on Shining Armor, "Captain, Are you able to recast the shield you used to defend the city?"
"I see where you're going Your Highness, but I can't-" Shining Armor demonstrated as his horn glowed with a pink and purple light, a small bubble starting to grow on the tip of his horn before it fizzles out in a shower of sparks, "I'm all out of juice." He started to rub at his horn.
"I... I think I have a way to fix that... But we're going to need to get Chrysalis back in here if it's going to work," Cadance spoke up, a plan forming in her mind.
------------------------------
High above the City of Canterlot, Princess Celestia was fighting two battles.
One against the monster in front of her, and the other against the monster within.
"Just burn her!" Her own voice shouted, trying to order her from the recesses of her mind, "You don't need to rely on those flimsy Elements of Harmony to do it, You're stronger than all of them!"
"Was this how Luna felt before she became Nightmare Moon?" Celestia mentally asked herself as the sheer heat emanating from her body burnt away all the attacks Chrysalis tried to throw at her, "This overwhelming emotion trying to claw its way out?" She wouldn't let it win, she wouldn't force her sister to go through the same loneliness she did.
"Aren't you angry? Why should you share the spotlight with her? She's weak, unfit to be your equal! Just make an example out of this Bug and then take the throne all for yourself! You deserve this!" The voice in the back of her mind kept trying to goad her on, wanting her to sink deeper and deeper into an all-consuming rage, a fire that would burn away her very being if she let it.
"YOU MONSTER! BEAST!! JUST DIE ALREADY!!!" And Celestia didn't forget about her, a flap of flaming wings dodging the shower of green bolts from the Changeling Queen.
"Just give me control, I'll deal with her no problem! You'll never have to worry about her ever again!" Celestia grit her teeth as her anger kept rising, more and more, like a volcano ready to erupt.
"Celestia!" She heard her sister call to her from down below, "Cadance has a plan! Get Chrysalis down here!"
Celestia nodded her head, ready to follow through with her sister's wishes, "Why listen to her? You're the one who's supposed to lead! Not her! You're the one who led this nation for one thousand years! And when your oaf of a sister returns the entire nation falls into disarray with one disaster after another! It's a sign from above! This land is better off with just you!"
Celestia roared in anger, fighting off both Chrysalis and herself, twisting in the air as she dodged and weaved the hail of attacks from the Changeling before she spotted something in the near distance.
A Gold and Blue shine, glowing at the top of a nearby spire, and Celestia felt her mind focused for the first time in minutes.
"I am Stronger than Luna," She told herself, for once agreeing with the voice in her head, "And it's thanks to that strength that you have NO POWER!" She yelled, her horn glowing a rainbow of colors as a rope of magic burst out of her horn, wrapping around Chrysalis's leg and pulling her towards her.
"Listen to me! You need me! You might be strong, but I can make you stronger than your wildest imagination! Nightmare Moon will be nothing when compared to our power!" Celestia closed her eyes as she dove down towards the castle, a screaming Changeling Queen dragging behind her in a rope of rainbow-colored magic.
"Shut UP!!!!" She yelled, silencing the voice in her head as she slammed Chrysalis onto the ground, her back landing on the marble floor of the wedding hall, leaving a cracked crater underneath her chitinous body.
"You... You haven't won!" Chrysalis spit out, "My Changelings are already ravaging your city, taking all the love they can get! I WON! YOU LOST!" She cackled, her chitin was cracked and burnt, but she cackled victoriously as if she truly had won.
"No." Celestia turned to see Cadance walk up to Chrysalis, "You didn't win," She told her, "But that doesn't mean you need to lose," Celestia watched as Cadance extended her hoof to the Changeling, "You can do better, We don't have to fight,"
Celestia smiled at the display, noting how this was how fights were supposed to end, with an opportunity of new friendships, not whatever the voice now back in the corner of her mind wanted.
"You..." Chrysalis stuttered as she watched the hoof offered to her, "You want me to... Do better?" She looked lost, tears starting to glisten in her eyes as she stared at the hoof before slowly reaching out to grab it.
"I do, And I think if we all work together, we can reach a conclusion every one of us will be happy with," Cadance smiled at Chrysalis.
"You..." Chrysalis smiled as she grabbed hold of the hoof, Cadance's face smiling as a glimmer of hope for the chance of redemption appeared on her face.
"ABSOLUTE MORON!" Only for Chrysalis's horn to glow green with magic as a pink fog escaped Cadance's body and swam into the Changeling's mouth, "You really are her daughter! A Love so pure, It's addicting! HAHAHAHA!!!" Chrysalis pulled her leg away from Cadance as she burst back up to her feet, ready to continue the fight.
"So that's how your love eating works~" Only to pause as Cadance kept talking as if she didn't just have her power sucked away.
"You don't eat emotions, but the magic associated with them," She noted as her body started to disappear, turning into flakes of snow and flower petals, "Love is simply the purest emotion you can eat, simple pure magic, a fuel with nothing else,"
Celestia looked away from the small pile of flower petals and snowflakes, watching Cadance walk up from behind her Sister's back, the pile where Cadance previously stood disintegrating into a pink magical cloud.
"AN ILLUSION?!" Chrysalis exclaimed with widened eyes, grabbing a feel for her magic reserves only to notice that they hadn't replenished in the slightest from the love she just took.
"You didn't really think I spent an entire week in that cave doing nothing, did you?" Cadance smirked as her horn started glowing with baby blue light, "Now all I need to do is reverse the process of you stealing love-"
"NO!" Chrysalis cried, her body throwing itself towards the youngest Alicorn, "NONONONONO!!!"
"And turn it into a gift!" Cadance's face spread into a glorious smile, the magic at the tip of her horn turning into a pink heart, floating out of her horn and into Shining Armor, whose horn started to shine with his purplish-pink aura.
"NONONONONONONO!!!!!" Chrysalis cried, Celestia and Luna joining forces to hold her back from reaching Cadance.
"Watch, Chrysalis! The True Power Love!" Cadance's mane started to levitate as her aura exploded with pink and blue light, "The Source of my Strength!" Her smile was dazzling, her hair was beautiful.
Celestia didn't even try stopping herself from shedding tears at the sight before her.
"Now! Shining Armor!" Princess Mi Amore Cadenza cheered as a bubble started to quickly expand from Shining Armor's horn, Passing over the Ponies and pushing the Changeling back.
"NONONONONONONONONO!!!!!!!!" Chrysalis screamed as the expanding bubble pushed her away, her leg quickly shooting forward to punch the barrier, her legs digging into the floor in an attempt to gain hold, digging trenches into the marble as the barrier kept pushing her back.
"SCUDO SPLENDENTE DELL'AMORE!"
Cadance cried out as her magic fueled the shield Shining Armor was creating, pushing Chrysalis up against the wall.
Celestia watched the scene with a teary smile on her face, "We don't need the Elements of Harmony to fix all our problems," She told the voice in her mind, "But that doesn't mean we must do it all ourselves," She looked at the glorious smile on her adopted nieces face, "Doing it all alone, Sounds sad, doesn't it?"
She got no response, but that was fine. As long as she had her family with her, she had no need to worry about ever becoming corrupted like Nightmare Moon.
"NOOO! I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE LIKE THIS! I CAN'T LOSE LIKE THIS!!! YOU'RE NOTHING LIKE HER!!! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE HER! ME!!!!! NOT YOU!!!!!!!!!" Chrysalis screamed as cracks formed on the wall behind her, the barrier trying to push her out through the solid wall.
"If being like my mother was what you're going for, then I'm glad I never met her," Cadance told her, her eyes glowing with pink and blue magic as her love kept powering the spell Shining Armor was casting, "And Besides, why would I want to be like her? I already got the perfect role model right beside me~" Cadance turned to smile at Celestia, a soft smile, small, but full of so much love Celestia felt like she could fight Chrysalis ten more rounds without getting tired in the slightest.
BOOM!
Out of nowhere, a beam of golden magic burst through the window on the other side of the hall, flying through the air, and slammed into chrysalis, who let out a scream of pain as the beam dug into her.
Celestia's mind started to focus as the world started to move in slow motion around her, giving her time to look at the beam of magic, and at the object in its center, currently spinning like a large drill, digging into reinforced Chitin.
"Isn't that?" Celestia's eyes perked up as she recognized the object inside the golden beam, a smile on her face as she turned to look through the window where it shot in from, watching a small figure on top one of the castle's spires.
--------------------------------
"Told you I'd just fucking shoot you~" I smirked, ignoring the pain that burnt all around my body as my magic finally ran out.
"Quick- Kingfisher- Give this attack a cool name- You know you want to~" I wanted to ignore the hallucination of my tired mind, just as a way to Spite Macaw through the grave, but I had to agree with it.
I really did want to give this spell a cool name.
"This Shot holds the Last of my Magic- Weapon of the Stars, Crush and Break until all Runs Out-" I smirked as a fitting name appeared in my mind-
"MARS!"
And after going through with the masculine urge to shout out the names of attacks, I let my body finally rest as I blacked out.
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"AAARRGH!" Chrysalis screamed as the beam of magic dug into her chitin, joining forces with the Barrier of love as the two spells finally pushed her body through the wall, the barrier now able to quickly expand to surround the entirety of Canterlot and even the mountain beyond, pushing all the Changelings out of the city, sending them all flying far away.
"CURSE YOU! MI AMORE CADENZA!!!" Chrysalis screamed as her limp body joined her changelings in being thrown far away, where she wouldn't be able to harm any pony any time soon.
Cadance let the smile on her face stay there for a few more seconds, watching the Changeling Army disappear into the distance until they became nothing more than a speck on the horizon before her legs finally gave out on her and she allowed herself to collapse onto the floor.
"Cadance!" Shining Armor quickly ran to his Fiance, holding her dearly, worry in his eyes.
"I'm fine," Cadance chuckled, "I'm just not used to all this action, I'm still reeling from living in a cave for a week," She chuckled once more before grimacing as her stomach started to rumble, "Auntie Celestia?"
"Whatever you need, Cadance~" Celestia smiled softly at her niece.
"I think I need a doctor," She chuckled as if saying those words was a funny joke.
"I'll bring the best Doctors in Equestria, don't you worry," Celestia told her as she caressed her cheek softly, telling Cadance that everything was going to be alright.
"Thanks, Lulu?" Cadance turned to Princess Luna.
"What is it Friend Cadance?"
"Can you go check up on Bluey, he needs more medical attention than I do, I know that if he's still awake he'll try and shrug it off and say that everything is fine, but I know he'll listen to you,"
"We'll go pick him up right away, You just wait here," Luna smiled at Cadance before she flapped her wings and flew out of the hole in the roof.
"And Shiny?" Cadance turned to the last pony remaining in the room.
"Anything, say it and I'll do it," He held her hoofs, worry on his face.
"Nothing like that," She chuckled, "I just wanted to apologize, It seems we'll need to delay the wedding for a few days," She smiled as if she just told the funniest joke in the world, "Also, did anyone ever tell you-" She paused for dramatic affect before she whispered something weakly.
"Yes? What are you trying to tell me?" Shining Armor leaned closer, trying to make out what she was saying.
"I said-" She whispered again, a voice so small she could barely be heard.
Celestia smiled, covering her mouth as she laughed to herself, already knowing what was going on.
"Yes?" Shining Armor leaned even closer, only to freeze as he received a peck on his cheek.
"Nothing, I just wanted to tell you that you look cute when you're worried~" Cadance smirked at her fiance, watching his face flush a bright red in embarrassment.
"Princess Celestia! We brought the Elements of Harmony!" All three ponies in the room turned to the entrance of the hall, watching Twilight Sparkle and her friends stand there, covered in several small bruises and marks from a fight against the Changeling forces outside.
"Why... Why are you looking at us like this? Did we miss anything?" Twilight Asked, and Celestia couldn't hold it in any longer.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" She burst into laughter, falling on her back and holding her gut, rolling on the floor as she laughed her heart out.
"What?" Twilight Sparkle looked around, "Seriously, what happened?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"