After the evil changelings had been banished, Twilight walked straight up to her brother and poked him harsh onto his chest “YOU SIR, GOT SOME SERIOUS EXPLAINING TO DO! AND IT BETTER BE GOOD!” the angry alicorn demanded- poking hoof harshly against Shining's chest... -and so he did, alongside Celestia and Chrysalis.
It was many years ago, far before “Cadance” would become her foal-sitter, but not long after King Sombra's first reign, when the real Cadance discovered the powers of the Crystal Heart and used those to banish him.
This also was when one character trade of King Sombra slowly manifested itself inside the young princess... greed.
It took many years and dozen's of minor – and seeming unimportant changes, to manifest itself inside of her... but with any passing year, the minor flaws grew inside the princess, as she more and more realized, what powers this artifact hold within and what power it could grant her above everypony.
Only a small spell was necessary and everypony in her castle would suffer from sadness, without any reason at all – just to cheer right on the next day, when another spell was cast upon the Crystal Heart, since it would multiply the strength of her spell and assure nopony would speak up against their leader.
After those “minor test run's” as she called them, she decided to use the Heart in order to make everpony to fall in love for her, fulfilling any bidding blind and willingly... unable to love any pony else for this matter and forming her own army, consisting not just out of a few hundred stallions, but ten thousands of citizens... foals, adults and even the old ones...
and if she would had succeed, she would spread the spell even further, to control everypony there is... and all of this without having a single fight or anypony knowing, until it was to late... as soon her final spell was ready.
There was only one thing she had not tough about, which being the nature of the spells she had cast.
Such a collective swing of moods did attract the changelings into her castle since there was more food than in all of Equestria combined... having pony's sobbing in agony, just to see them celebrate minutes later, how could they resist such a buffet of emotions to feast on? It was the howl spectrum, served on a crystal plate.
Back then, Shining Armor was sent to the Chrystal Empire by Princess Celestia itself, to check upon the strange news coming from there. It was one of his first duty's, so he tried to do its best, until he met Princess Mi Amore Cadanca.
He fell for her in right away, it was love on first sight... and she didn't even had to use a spell to do so.
Of course, she tried to use his feelings to drag him onto her side, even explaining his plan, since she would need a King in her new Kingdom and having a mindless slave wasn't good enough... but surprisingly, he refused the offer.
She sure could break him later, but right now he should not report back to his Majesty, so there was no harm to keep him prisoner inside the castle, checking in once in a while if he had changed his mind.
This was probably the wildest mix of emotions in the howl Crystal Empire, which was already a feast for changelings, but unlike the other pony's around him, he did not just trembled back and forth between guilt, love, hope and sheer fear... he experienced it all at once, which got the attention of the Changeling Queen itself – Chrysalis.
She came more and more often to taste this bittersweet mix of his and every time she did so, she consumed a little more, licking her lips in excitement just thinking about it...
she could have spent her life doing so and never would get tired of it, as she snuck once more into the castle, looking like one of the servants as she brought him another meal, in order to be close to him, while Cadance would deliver faked reports to Celestia, in order to keep her calm.
“Here, your meal” she said careless, as she put down the plate in front of him, like she had for months now, soaking up once more some of this incredible emotions and today, they had been stronger then ever. If she could, she had taken a bath in them. It was almost to much to comprehend, even for her level's.
The stallion looked upon the plate and sighed … “so this is my last one” he said, looking down on a boring selection of carrot slices, some potato puree and apple-juice.
She suddenly felt quite disturbed by his comment “Speak, what you mean by that?”
He gave her a short glance and spoke calm as he stared into the air ”Cadance said she had enough with my stubborn behavior... she wants to execute me, first thing in the morning.” he looked down onto the plate and once more into her green eyes “thanks”.
Chrysalis left the room and was heading back for her own Empire, thinking about this piece of new information.
It was such a shame... he was so delicious... so where could she find a new one... she had been quite everywhere and since she had met him other emotions kinda tasted pale.
Then she stopped in her tracks. Why should she just simply let him die like this?
She was Queen of the Changelings afterall, thousands of them roamed right now above the streets unnoticed... her minions still could feed upon other emotions all over the land, but this source was too unique to let it go.
Little did she know, the major reason to execute him, was that Celestia had seen behind Cadance charade and prepared an huge attack on the Crystal Empire, in order to end her cruel reign.
The dawn was about to settle and Shining Armor got led out into the royal garden.
Soon his blood would mix in with the colorful flowers around him, as Cadance observed this process amused.
About three dozens of her best guards stood left and right to make sure everything was going to her will, as he was about to step onto the scaffold, where a masked stallion already was in place to judge him.
“Any last words?” she asked dryly.
He took a moment “I loved you once...”
She just nodded to confirm she had heard him, when she gave the executioner a small wink with her hoof.
The stallion tried to show the same dignity he had shown before, not yelling and begging for his life, or even worse, accepting her offer to switch sides.
The blade rose up... to strike down in a quick motion right next to him, but without putting a single scratch onto his skin.
“What the... YOU! I SAID KILL HIM!” she yelled, as the executioner threw away his mask and changed size and form by the burst of a green flame, to reveal Chrysalis standing in front of her.
“A changeling...” she whispered in disbelieve, but fetched her self just a moment later “GUARDS! KILL BOTH OF THEM!” pointing on the couple.
The guards turned and ready their weapons, but they also suddenly burst into green flames, until every single one of them was a changeling as well, as even more came floated in from all sides.
“Why!? This can't be happening!! IM THE ROYAL LEADER!! IM PRINCESS MI AMORE CADANCE! HOW DARE YOU TO BREAK INTO MY EMPIRE!!”
“So what Missy? I'm Queen - so technical, i'm higher than you!” Chrysalis mocked her, strewing even more salt into her wound, just to feast on her anger right after. Oh it was so pure and honest – and just for her and her alone, what a nice present.
Cadance jumped forward and shot a beam right at her, but she had no problem to avoid it, as she returned the favor with one of her own, hitting Cadance directly, while her minions made sure the Queens favorite food source would not be in danger, bringing the struggling Shining Armor out of the fire line.
Cadance got up right away and shot three more means towards the Queen, two of them she was able to avoid, but the third one struck her right onto the chest, even out the score, when Cadance got into close combat, smashing a few times her hooves into Chrysalis flanks and face.
Changelings wasn't meant for direct conflicts. They would feast upon their victims over time, slowly draining their strength in the process, but this would take time and until now, no changeling of her had feasted upon Cadance, since Chrysalis didn't want to be discovered. Additional to this, the princess just had quite “boring” anger to offer, an emotion which was quite simple to produce and for that would not satisfy for long.
Cadance once more gave a few bursts to her best and hit once again straight upon her target, sending Chrysalis flying through a few hedge's and smashing into a fountain.
“I hate water” she mumbled as she felt the wet element floating over her body, since her kind was used to a dry environment.
The Changeling Queen got up onto her hooves and made her muscles lose, moving her head from side to side, making her neck “crack” a few times in the process.
Cadance followed her quickly, but was surprised, when she could not find the Queen as she looked around. Only thing to prove she had crashed down here was the damaged fountain.
So she landed nearby and searched for some clues, how she possibly could have got away. Maybe a teleportation spell? Hm.. no she sure would had notice the flash coming along with it, when suddenly the statue next to her gave her an horse-kick to the head, just to change back to her real self, closing distance as a black hoof grabbed onto her and beat upon her face a few more times, until she was able to throw of Chrysalis onto her back.
Both royals got up and stared huffing at one another.
“So... you play dirty... I like that...” Cadance said “why don't you just join me... your changelings could feast upon all of Equestria”
“Oh, what a generous offer” Chrysalis spit “What's the catch?”
“Well... of course, I would be in charge” she said, giving a confident shrug.
“Mh... I don't think so Missy” she replied smiling, but lost it right after “There can be just one Queen”
“You ain't no match for my ability's,” she said once again confident in her self, but the mare in front of her burst in laughter at this.
“STOP LAUGHING AT ME! THERE IS NOTHING FUNNY!” she shouted.
Chrysalis almost had to wipe away some tears of joy, if it hadn't been so stupid at the same time.
“You sure have no idea what royal power is darling... it isn't a fancy artifact or magic ability's...” suddenly the sky got dark and the sun vanished behind giant clouds, as just moments later there was not a single piece of blue to be seen “its all about control!”
It took Cadance a while to understand what was going on, this wasn't just a bad weather front – it was thousand of changelings, probably every single one there is, as her jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide – then the swarm crushed down onto her, despite her best effort to shoot them down with her magic.
For every one she hit, fifty more took place, washing her away like a tsunami, only to leave behind their royal Highness, in the middle of what had been a garden just seconds ago.
Today, the Queen was really pleased with her minions.
She would grant them an extra our of feast... or maybe even two.
There was only one more thing to do. Collect her bounty.
She cheerful flew to the location she had ordered her minions to bring him and like it could be any else, he was right there on the dot, since her children never could turn down any of her commands.
As she landed, the changeling soldiers who had stood guard backed off humble, to make some space, revealing the white stallion in their middle.
“You are mine now” she said to the stallion... but he didn't move, except flat breathing.
She quickly got over to him and tapped him a few times, but he didn't respond at all.
“YOU FOOLS! I TOLD YOU NOT TO FEAST ON HIM!” she yelled, as the soldier backed off as far they could, feeling fear for the first time in their life, since they shared emotions with their Queen.
They might even didn't want to, but being so close to such an aroused target and at big numbers at that... she should had known this would happen.
“Nonono...” she panicked. He just could not simply die like this. She had sacrificed ten-thousand of sources for this single one.
“I must think of something“ they just had robbed him blind from anything... he is nothing more than an empty shell right now... how possible she could fix this...?
Of course! The solution was so simple... she just had to give back all emotions they had stolen... then he would be good as new - than she could feast slowly and just by her self from him again for years to come... but... there was just one catch.
Changelings could not give back emotions like this, not as long the target was comatose.
Princess Celestia was right about to storm the Empire when she noticed there was not a single enemy guard upon the walls, no protection spell was cast and nopony was in sight.
If this was some kind of trick, no matter how good, it would had left a huge disadvantage behind, one no army could possible recover from.
She still was careful and ordered her scout troops to spread out over the town, which came back just ten minutes later to report, that the civilians was hiding indoors and all discovered Crystal Guards had been found unconscious, locked away in places all over the town.
There was no way this could be a trick... neither pure magic... some other force must had their hooves in this act, so Celestia told her army to spread out and secure the city, while she would straight head for the castle in the center, but the picture was everywhere the same. There was no Cadance to be found... she sure had never given up her Empire that easy, not without a fight or the use of her disgusting magic.
“I wonder what could had caused this” Celestia said to her self, as one of her scouts rushed back to her, being out of breath at that “Your... your highness, you must come an see this!” as she followed quickly to the big balcony on the backside of the castle.
It was even for her incredible age, an unforgettable sight.
Countless thousands of changelings sat harmlessly on the ground in a big circle, covering the entire area below, forming a large circle around a spot in the middle, while sobbing alongside her Queen, which seemed to sit in front of some stallion on the ground.
Celestia observed the situation for a while, as one of her soldiers spoke up.
“Your majesty, shall we attack?”
“No, it won't be necessary”.
“But your majesty, they seem distracted, it would be an easy victory, with little to expect losses... this chance might won't come again and if I might add... we could finally get rid of this pest”.
The Princess gave him an angry glance on his last line, making it absolutely clear she never wanted to hear those words again.
“They are may mislead, but they are not a pest, so watch your tongue, captain!”
The stallion shrunk in size, ashamed to have angered her highness.
He knew, her wisdom was flawless, leading the land ever since and undoubted for all
future to come... proving this on a daily basis and once more today, as it would turn out.
“I give you and the others one command and I want it to be fulfilled”
The stallion nodded hastily at this, anything - to make up his mistake.
“I want you, to stay back, when I go down there”.
He would had like to protest, but he knew there was no way she could be convinced otherwise, in best case she would remove his rank right away and find someone else to carry out this command, so he gave a sharp salute and stuck to his duty's “Yes Mam!” pressing out his chest as far he could.
She gave him a contented smile and glided down, right into the middle of the swarm.
Chrysalis still was browsing her thoughts on how to pull it off.
She would need a lot of magic to make the spell work.
Also she had to rule out changeling magic, since this was what had caused the trouble in the first place.
“I could kidnap a few unicorns” she thought to her self “a few thousand or so will do”.
She was about to wave a few changelings to her, to carry out the command, when she heard all to familiar steps behind her.
“Well, there is just one lousy pony with so much grace...” she grinned displeased.
“Chrysalis” the alicorn greeted her, receiving a sharp glance from this deep green eyes.
This was when the alicorn noticed, what stallion was laying on the ground “Shining Armor?” she stepped forward and didn't bother the Queen, which bared her changeling fangs at her.
“What have you done?” Celestia said as calm she could, but obviously indignant.
He still was breathing, but she also noticed the sings right away. Shining Armor was in a comatose state... one she had seen to often, so he still would die at some point.
“I kinda … broke it” as she gave her changelings another devastating glance, which made the ones nearby run off like beaten dogs.
Their eyes met and both of them thought about a fight for a moment, as the changelings around them suddenly got really aroused, flapping their wings and hissing, when the Royal Canterlot Guard readied their weapons and got in position all around them.
Celestia noticed her troops and that they would attack any moment, so she stomped onto the ground, but not without using her magic, causing it to be a massive noise, carried by a small shockwave “Retread immediately!” she said loud and clear, as her soldiers let their guard down and backed off.
Chrysalis didn't have to say a word, she just gave a nod and the changelings sat down on their bellies, giving not a single noise from them, waiting patiently, observing the smallest movement of her Queen.
Their attention came back to the white stallion in front of them.
“Here is the deal, you help me to fix my favorite toy... and i will leave”.
“I assume you want to take him with you and feast of him?”
“One stallion, for a
n empire... quite a fair deal isn't it?” she said confidently.
Celestia hated to admit, but the offer was good indeed, she could not risk a howl kingdom for a single stallion, as much as she liked to do so.
She loved every single pony there is, like a mother would her children, he been no exception.
“... and if I step in for him?”
Chrysalis blinked a few times “You? What good are you?” blowing some air through her lips.
The white alicorn was baffled, to say the least...
Chrysalis charged up her horn, making clear there was nothing more to talk about and so did Celestia. The two non-alike rulers focused their energy as one glared in a green devilish tone, while the other glowed bright like heaven as both lowered their heads and their horns touched, causing their magic to bind with one another, as well their essence.
Celestia felt a drag on her emotions when Chrysalis discovered an unlimited amount of love inside of her, from which her swarm could feast for centuries...
but the connection was open in both directions, so the alicorn had a moment of insight into the changelings past.
The horns touched the stallion and the pulse ran through his body in the blink of an eye, making his body twitch like he had been struck by lightning, as he suddenly gasped for air and rolled himself on the side, coughing.
The swarm around the two was somehow upset, as they walked up and down nervous, rolling from side to side or rubbed their snots, while the Queen curious observed the result.
The stallion opened his eyes, to see a shape above him, for a moment he thought it was Cadance “I knew you could change... I love you” he whispered, with a weak smile.
Chrysalis immediately backed off and almost fell backward over doing so, as she suddenly felt some kind of pain in her chest beating.
“I... arg... don't understand” she gasped, winding her self in agony “You ...cheated me!?” she cawed towards Celestia.
Shining Armor got slowly up on his feet again and shook his head, he still felt dizzy, so he thought he was hallucinating, to see thousands of those black monsters all around him, seemingly in some state of pain as he noticed the alicorn next to him, to rub his eyes in disbelieve.
“What... is going on?” he asked, forgetting about the titles in the process.
Celestia let his sight with a small nod to the Queen, which obviously was in some kind of pain, clenching her teeth and hammering on the ground, hissing like she was about to die.
“She is in pain...“ the princess sad sadly, thinking back on what she had seen inside her.
Chrysalis thought she had got rid of this emotion a long time ago, when she had torn out her own heart, in order to lock away the pain, since she was unable to take it any longer.
“She suffers a broken heart”.
The stallion did not understand, every foal knew about the nature of changelings...
“But... I thought changelings don't have a heart?” he said in an asking tone.
The stallion listened carefully to her words, while she told him about it, like it was her own memory she talked about, as sorrow swung in her voice.
“She might locked it away, but she sure has one... and it was hurt many years ago …” as she looked him deep into his eyes
“... but your love, Shining Armor, made it beat again...”
He looked over to the Queen, which was laying on her side, her breath was fast, but flat, to find the changelings around her in a similar state.
“What happened to her?”
“I fear she can't take the pain... she will die” as her eyes filled with sadness “...they all will”
Shining Armor looked into her green eyes, which looked so awful familiar to him.
She had been the mare who brought him food, even at times some treats... she also had saved him from certain death and now... it dawned him so much more.
The connection between Chrysalis and Celestia also had touched him, as he had gained some of their memory's along as well.
She had spared a howl empire and even refused Celestia's offer... just to get him?
It might not be intentional at first, but he would have done nothing less right now.
He walked over to Chrysalis, which glared at him with disgust, but he didn't mind.
The stallion leaned down to pick her up. The Queen wanted to struggle, but the pain had left her to weak to do so and her attempts to get free failed.
The white stallion hold the black mare tight to his chest, as she felt his emotions, passing over. There was so much and even more delicious than before, now that he even willingly gave it to her, she tried to consume all of it – rather him than her she thought.
She needed this energy right now desperately... but it just didn't stop... and not just the pain faded away, she also gained a new feeling inside, but it didn't came from him this time.
Her chest felt warm inside “How?” this feeling... was her own?
It had been centuries since she had felt this way.
He loosened up his grip a little, to look her into her emerald like eyes, giving her a caring smile.
How could it be? She had fed from him as much she could – he should be laying on the ground once more... but it didn't seem to have any effect, as she caught her self suddenly to smile back at him.
This... wasn't actually half bad.
The Queen gave her self in this moment and leaned her head a little forward, as well he did, as they leaned forehead on forehead, knowing they finale had found their special somepony.
Twilight smeared away some tears “okay... it was was good”, still sobbing, like the other pony's in the room, when Chrysalis walked over to her.
“You see... after this, I send my changelings to rest, making them sleep and dream, while I would feed them some of our love from time to time... but, since i'm a changeling... and he was a pony, we could never have kids of our own, that's why I loved to spend time with you... it was like I had found a family to call my own”.
“We been afraid pony's would not understand...” Shining Armor added “so we thought it might be the best, to use this charade... i'm sorry Twi”, as he put his hoof around his mare.
“I guess you had your reasons... I just wished you had told me sooner” as she gave the strange couple a sad smile.
Chrysalis was a little worried about her, so she used her magic to change her form, back into the familiar shape of Twilight's old foal-sitter “i know it isn't much solace, but... I always could hold this form for you”.
Twilight got up to her and put her hooves around her “This isn't who you are... who you are is inside of you”.
Once again the green flames light up, and the pink mare turned into her original slick black form to return the hug “Thank you Twilight...” cuddling up her snot into the unicorns mane, receiving a wave of love, giving her once more a warm feeling inside.
The unicorn turned to her friends and waved them over.
At first, they weren't sure, but Twilight waved once more, as Pinkie Pie was the first one to join the hug, followed by Rainbow Dash and Rarity, which had to be pushed by Applejack at first … last but not least was Fluttershy.
It felt like... feasting on the color-spectrum of love!