As promised, I split the chapter into 3 chapters. Consider this chapter 1B. This allows everyone to easily read the chapter and properly digest the contents. 20K is a lot. Besides a few formatting changes, I added some more descriptions and dialogue to help things follow better.
Now the reviews
Solon75: Glad that you're feeling better. This cold and flu season is insane. Every show that one random episode where EVERYONE hates the MC for some reason or doesn't believe them
Oh you're right it's a 4-way. No Dusk Shine is still a virgin. The invasion would still happen but in a different way. Dusk Shine is focused on the objective which is defending Canterlot. Something I always do in my stories is the MC doesn't do everything themselves, especially with shows that have the whole Power of Friendship gimmick. There are other strong characters in the show so why not show them off? The only time where other characters help out was the Series Finale.
I don't think I made them that terrifying. I utilized their abilities in ways that made sense. They're shapeshifters. Double defectors adds more drama and tension opening the doors for later chapters. We know before Throax took over the hive, changelings were able to live in Equestria without fear as seen in the Slice of Life episode. What will Equestria do with the traitors?
Luna will be the hammer to Celestia's anvil. One of the BIGGEST missed opportunities in the show! The invasion hasn't been stopped yet more like it's halted. Chrysalis is still in the city with tons of forces at the ready
The Elements' aura fizzled with a dying stutter. They stared blankly, attempting to shake and stimulate their gems to activate. Were they out of juice? A sneer curved on Chrysalis's lips.
"That usually works," A guard muttered, tensing their bodies to charge in.
"Performance issues are more common than you think," Cadance & Chrysalis consoled.
"Come on, let's try again," Rainbow Dash encouraged, getting the Bearers to close their eyes and focus. Dusk Shine stared at Chrysalis, tightly gripping his blade as the rest attempted to harness the magic again.
"It won't work," Celestia said, breaking their focus as their jaws dropped. Why?
Chrysalis laughed slowly. A nasty jubilant belly-busting cackle echoed throughout the chamber. The success of a gamble. Basking in their dumbfounded anguish as Chrysalis and others knew the truth. She broke from the golden orb, sending a shockwave throughout the room. This day can't get any better than this. Dusk Shine, Shining Armor, Cadance, and the platoon readied their arms.
"Why? Why won't the elements of harmony work?!" Applejack demanded the cackling Queen. She reloaded her shotgun, aiming for a clean headshot. It won't pierce a magical barrier but that hasn't stopped her from trying.
Chrysalis stopped, keeping a smug smirk as she relished their confused expressions. "Simple. Someone . . . doesn't trust you anymore," Her emerald eyes directed themselves to a stone-faced Dusk Shine, clutching his blade hilt. They stared at his back aghast at Chrysalis news. He didn't speak nor acknowledge them as if he knew. Did he?
"Dusk Shine," Rarity reached out, clasped his shoulder, and turned his body. He stared. What they saw didn't stab a knife in their chest but what they didn't. Their chests tightened at Dusk Shine's utter indifference. They expected something. Anything! A clenched jaw with bared teeth. A folded brow, glaring intensely. Scorching tears ready to unleash all his anger towards them. Nothing. Rarity found nothing. It cut them worse than any salted dagger embedded in their hearts. His amethyst eyes once charted the cosmos and knew the stars by name and shape. He held an umbral abyss rejecting any light. Rarity had similar expressions while dealing with a dreadful case of art block, peering into a blank canvas. Dusk Shine carried an aloof conceitedness, pondering who allowed her to touch him. Dusk Shine brushed her hand off. A practiced removal similar to a scholar used a pair of tweezers to move a desired sample. Cold and professional. He turned to his enemy. No. Chrysalis doesn't deserve the honor. She's an obstacle. All obstacles must be surmounted.
"I mean why would he?" Chrysalis mocked, broadly gesturing to the mayhem outside. Some days she wished was a siren, savoring their anguish. "Just with the Want it-Need-it spell. You all ignored his pleas, laughing as you downplayed his anguish," She recalled the disastrous event. Each averted their gaze in shame as the memories ached. Shining Armor and Cadance shot them a nasty glare upon receiving the truth. Celestia reported Discord left traces of Chaos magic in Dusk Shine's mind, exploiting his paranoia and dramatizing his worst fears. "None. None of you helped him. None of you tried to console him or ease his worries. All of that could've been prevented if you were his friend," They replayed the scene wishing they told Dusk Shine to sit down and enjoy the picnic instead of laughing him off. "He would never do that to any of you. You know it," They knew she was right. All of them banded together to help each other especially when the Flim-Flam brothers attempted to buy Sweet Apple Orchards. "Oh let's not forget that the capital was on high alert," Chrysalis nitpicked on how moronic the other 5 elements were to ignore warnings from the Royal Guard Captain, Celestia, and Dusk Shine. "Tell me. Was betraying Dusk Shine for your personal whims worth it? Hm?" Chrysalis condescended, raising her brow and tilted her head to mock them. The remaining Elements hunched their shoulders with dry throats as their words were useless as dust in the desert. Her cruel eyes focused on Rarity."Your little dream shop here in the capital Rarity?" Rarity's alabaster skin decayed into a putrid gray with tinges of corpse blue. "Was galavanting with the Canterlot's elite who'll submit to anyone above them more important than Dusk Shine's birthday and designing a special suit?" Chrysalis flickered between the various socialites she mingled with as she ignored her promise to Dusk Shine. They glared at the fashionista. Rarity kept her head down, unable to retort for a thread of innocence. She's fortunate that Dusk Shine loves his clothing to be plain and usable
Chrysalis focused on Fluttershy, the weak one. Fluttershy flinched at the sadistic glint in her green eyes. "How about you Fluttershy? Bet you love your moral pedestal when you stole Celestia's dear pet," Some Royal Guards muttered about it, shrugging their shields in Fluttershy's direction. Few nodded. She shrinks from their patronizing glares and whispers. "Oh wait, let's not forget how you traumatized all those exotic pets in her garden during the Gala. And you're supposed to be the animal lover," Who can anyone forget? Fluttershy barraged in the dance hall like an elephant bellowing at animals that we're going to love her. It was more memorable than Dusk Shine's & Blueblood's duel for how unexpected it was. Fluttershy's eyes watered.
"Gonna cry again? Leaving Rainbow Dash to do the work for you again. She doesn't like you, she pities you. Ms. Ego-centric loves being the hero more than anything and you're the perfect whittle victim. Right? Mare-do-well," Chrysalis taunted using Fluttershy's docile voice, rubbing knuckles under her eyes to mimic sobbing. The Elements sans Dusk Shine grimaced shouldering the blame for humbling Rainbow Dash. Rainbow's nostrils flared, readying her shield and saber before rage consumed her. Dusk Shine raised a finger to stop her. She seethed instead. "Don't try to act tough. When you were shaking worse than Fluttershy during the Wonderbolt junior tryouts. Rarity had more confidence than you and she barely had those gaudy butterfly wings for a day," Dash's eyes widened, sliding back into the group at the reveal as Rarity gasped offended at the statement. How did she know that? Was she watching them for that long?
"Applejack the stubborn coward. If it wasn't for the Rainbow Boom, you would've abandoned your Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Applebloom. Wait a minute you already did," Chrysalis sneered. Applejack's shoulders slumped, loosening her grip on her shotgun. Others' hearts' froze. How did she know about Applejack's journey to visit her relatives? Did her scouts overhear her with the CMC? "How can someone boast about the importance of family only to abandon them and work for a competitor because you were ashamed about getting 2nd place at a rodeo? I've been alive for well over a millennia and seen the worst of ponies. Yet that's one of the most ridiculous things my scouts reported to me. Dusk Shine had an excuse with Discord messing with his mind but you. That was your ego," She berated. Applejack wanted to yell and fire a shot but could only tightly grip the handle as she hung her head. Pinkie Pie was the first one who met Dusk Shine.
"Pinkie. Where do I even start with you?" Chrysalis admonished, shaking her head at the pink party pony. "All about having fun as long as everyone's happy right? You know every little detail about everyone in Ponyville. Despite all of that you never cared enough to ask if Dusk Shine was okay or offered him a cupcake," She chastised the pink baker. "Who am I kidding? You probably already ate it. Here I thought I was a glutton. Tarturus be damned as long as you have a full stomach and the time of your life," Chrysalis shrugged, padding her stomach. Pinkie covered her belly as the stinging claws of self-consciousness replay the Gabby Gums article. "You all made my mission such a breeze because all of you wanted to cozy up to the bride and abandon Dusk Shine for a damned wedding. The friend who saved your flanks. The friend who helped you conquer your fears. The friend you help achieve your dreams. I guess you don't know the true meaning of friendship when you betrayed one of your friends for a total stranger," Chrysalis harangued, hovering above them with her horn crackling with green power. "It must be so easy since he's the outsider but he wasn't here. Who'll be the scapegoat?" Her smirk expanded nastily with a cackle as they viewed each other. How fragile was their friendship?
"This is fucking stupid," Dusk Shine grumbled, covering his face as the crown weighed heavy on his frustrated brow. He can't believe he's listening to a villain's monologue. Her laughter stopped abruptly. All eyes were on him now. To use such profanity in a sacred place with Celestia in the room. Everything about his demeanor changed. Before Chysislis took Cadance's form, her opinion of Dusk Shine was simply Celestia's personal sycophant with nominal influence and immense magical power. He was a bookworm. A shut-in. Desiring nothing about his academic pursuits with a few moments of moronic bravery. That changed. He stood taller with broad shoulders and firm muscles. His eyes changed drastically. They were previously soft and round. Now whetted into shards. Her jade eyes widened in shock at the sheer size of Dusk Shine's blade. A two-handed weapon twirled like a marching band leader's baton, cutting through her hordes like rotten twigs. Might and magic?! Impossible! What draconian training regiment did Celestia put him through?
Something in his eyes killed her next sentence in her throat. A malignant cunning, documenting her every move and thought with a checklist of countermeasures. The hunger for knowledge with the skill to apply. Was Dusk Shine her successor? Phantom sears in her old wounds sang a haunting reminder of her defeat. Atavistic dread pulled Chrysalis back a slight and with sweat moistening the back of her neck. What is this?!
"Dusk Shine," Shining Armor & Cadance whispered. Dusk Shine staked his blade into the stone floor, walking past the smoldering changeling corpses with a blank mask. His revolver lay behind him. He touched his crown. Without glancing at it, Dusk Shine tossed it like a rag. It chinked and clanged as it rolled a short distance. They stared mouths agape at his callous rejection. The Elements of Magic was once wielded by Princess Celestia of Equestria herself, signifying him as the most powerful mortal magic user in the country and possibly the world. Tossed aside like a coin in a beggar's cup. Silence thundered.
In all of Celestia's prophetic dreams throughout her reign and before, she envisioned countless things. The complex web of time, alternate realities, and probability dulled the concept of surprise. Her personal student managed to achieve a nigh-impossible feat. She's dumbfounded. Celestia's gape jaw and wide stare weren't born from the idiocy of arrogant nobles or bloodthirsty generals. This was . . . well, surprising. Celestia didn't know what other word to describe how she felt. That one action bewildered her, ushering another deep-rooted sensation. A chill. Celestia viewed this moment a handful of times. She caught glimpses of triumphant horror as Dusk Shine sat on her throne, alone. Each started with this moment but the catalyst for him becoming a benevolent and wise ruler or manipulative and cruel dictator was unknown. She prayed it was the former.
"I don't need it to beat you," Dusk Shine challenged, positioning in a fighting stance with his hands and horn blazing. Cadance & Shining Armor were right behind him.
"Are you challenging me of all people?" Chrysalis questioned with mirth. "I fought Celestia," She boasted as if that was something worthy of praise.
"And lost," Dusk Shine corrected, his cold eyes surveying the holes in her waxy flesh. Her humiliating defeat was wonderfully illustrated in several books.
"But now thanks to your brothers' love, I'm beyond your dear Princess," Chrysalis gloated, blowing Shining Armor a kiss and a wink. His skin crawled.
"I'm not losing to some parasite living on borrowed power," Dusk Shine remarked, undeterred.
"Look around you, Dusk Shine! I've already won. Canterlot is under my control. Your cheap rocks are useless. Your barrier is cracked with my swarm pouring in. There's nothing you can do about it. Don't worry, Dusk Shine, I'll make sure you live comfortably as you release all your frustrations, " Chrysalis beckoned with a guaranteed purr. She morphed into each of the Elements attempting to coax Dusk Shine and winked as they paled. "This day is just perfect!" She exulted for the feast they'll gorge themselves after this.
"My Queen!"A soldier changeling barged through the window, spraying glass on the floor. Their armored inky dark blue carapace was shattered with dents and holes and lost a chunk of their helmet. They lost their horn. One of their eyes was a slashed mess. It's a miracle they could've flown here.
"What? What is it?!" Chrysalis snapped at the interruption. It better be important. This changeling reeked of smoke and fear. Why fear? What's HAPPENING out there?!
"Enemy reinforcements! The Night Court has arrived!" The soldier blurted out with heavy breaths.
Well, well, well. Luna honors her oath as a princess of Equestria and defends her home. Will this help redeem her in the eyes of the nation?
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