Twilight sighed as she flopped onto her bed in her old suite in Canterlot. Shining Armor, her brother, and Cadence, her new sister-in-law, were off on their honeymoon. The excitement of the wedding had burned Twilight and her friends out, and as a result, they were spending the night in Canterlot. Princess Celestia had led her friends to the guest suites, but told Twilight her old suite was still clean and usable, a fact for which the unicorn was grateful. It was nice to spend the night somewhere even slightly familiar.

She fell asleep the moment she hit the covers, and was thus unaware of what would transpire that night.

-----

As Twilight slept, a figure carefully opened the window to her suite. Slipping in, the figure closed it just as carefully. Stepping over to Twilight's bed, the figure smirked, fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

"Twilight Sparkle," the figure hissed, the moonlight showing her for who she was. Queen Chrysalis spoke in a low tone so as to not wake the unicorn. "You were my undoing. I should have made certain to deal with you in a more permanent manner than simply banishing you beneath Canterlot. But I'll make certain that your life is little better than a day in Tartarus after this."

With that, the Changeling queen withdrew a glowing green powder from nowhere, and sprinkled it over the unicorn. "By the week's end, everypony you know and love will turn on you. Despite all you've done for them, they will betray you. This will make certain of that."

Chuckling slightly, Chrysalis departed, sneaking back to her home far across the Equestrian border.

The next morning:

Twilight groaned as the sun shone in through the window. She could have sworn that she had closed the curtains the night before.

She stretched her wings as she got up and jumped out of bed.

Wait... wings?

Twilight turned her head to see two blue wings on her back, small and insect-like. "What is going on here?" She asked herself, trying to stay calm. "Mirror. I need a mirror!"

She rushed into the bathroom and looked into the mirror.

And screamed.

"No!" Twilight wailed. "I'm a monster!"

Indeed, the Unicorn looked very differently. Her coat was black and her mane was blue, though a darker blue than queen Chrysalis's mane had been. There were holes in her legs and in her tail and mane.

But the worst part was her horn, which was now crooked and longer than before.

The finishing touch was the addition of a second horn, shaped like a small crown.

"This can't be happening!" Twilight screamed.

'Knock-knock'

"Twilight?" A voice called out. "Are you okay? We heard screaming!"

Twilight's heart stopped for a second as she recognized Rarity's voice.

Thinking quickly, Twilight threw herself under the covers just as Rarity opened the door. Please, please, please let her not have seen me...

"Twilight? Darling, are you alright?" Twilight heard Rarity trot in, along with the others. "We all heard screaming coming from this room."

Twilight wracked her brain for a solution, and said the first thing that came to mind. "It's... it's nothing, girls. Just a bad dream, nothing more."

"Ya sure, Twilight?" asked Applejack. "You sounded pretty spooked."

Thankful that the bearer of Honesty couldn't see her face, Twilight replied, "Yes, I'm sure. I think I'll stay in bed a little longer, though. I'm kinda bushed from what's been happening the last couple of days."

"No kidding," Rainbow Dash said, stifling a yawn. "I'm still kinda exhausted from pulling a Sonic Rainboom while flying up. Do you know how much work that takes?"

"Well, um, if Twilight wants to stay in bed a little longer, we should probably leave her alone for a while," suggested Fluttershy. "I mean, if the rest of you want to, that is."

"Okey-dokie-loki!" came the cheerful voice of Pinkie Pie. "Just be sure to come down for breakfast before it's all gone, silly filly!"

"I will, Pinkie," Twilight said, though she had no intention of going to breakfast until she'd figured out what the hay had happened to her.

Before anything else could be said, however, Twilight's new body betrayed her. It was a simple, unintentional buzz of her Changeling wings. But in the silence that followed, it seemed to echo menacingly.

"Twilight..." Applejack said slowly. "What was that?"

"Um... some sort of insect?" Twilight suggested. She knew it was hopeless, however. She had felt the covers move when her treacherous wings buzzed.

There was the sound of powerful wing beats, and suddenly Twilight's covers were pulled off. A quick glance revealed that Rainbow Dash had flown off with them, and was now glaring down at the transformed unicorn. "Yeah, an insect called a Changeling!" the pegasus snarled.

Glancing around, Twilight could see that her friends were all glaring at her. Even Pinkie looked somewhat upset. Nevertheless, Twilight gathered her courage and attempted to salvage the situation. "Girls, please listen to me. It's me, Twilight!"

"A likely story!" Rarity said with a sniff. "Why should we listen to anything a Changeling says?"

Thinking quickly, Twilight came up with a plan. "Ask me something only Twilight would know."

"Easy enough," said Applejack with a glare. "How many apple trees did you pick clean by yourself during that one Applebuck season?"

"About... 25, I think?" Twilight couldn't remember all that well, since it had been a while.

Applejack's expression softened for a moment, before Fluttershy interrupted. "That's not good enough, Applejack. We need something more definitive." She stepped up to Twilight. "Um, if you are Twilight, then what was the first animal you tried to help me wake up during Winter Wrap-Up?"

"Snakes," Twilight said simply, shuddering a little. "Followed by bats, bees, and skunks."

Rarity shook her head. "Fluttershy, dear, anypony who wasn't deaf would have heard that commotion. We need something even more specific."

"I've got one," came a young boy's voice. Everypony blinked, turning to behold Spike in the doorway. "What, exactly, did you say to me before I ran off, during that whole thing with Owloysius?"

Twilight winced as her words on that night came back to her, and she repeated them verbatim: "'This is not the Spike I know and love.'"

Spike nodded. "It's Twilight, all right."

Applejack shook her head. "But... but this makes no sense! Twilight's a unicorn, not a changeling!"

"Indeed she isn't," came a serene voice from the doorway. Spike scrambled out of the way, making room for Princess Celestia. Her eyes were stern, and her expression grim.

Twilight gulped. "Princess... please, you believe me, don't you? I'm your student! The one you instructed to make friends at the Summer Sun Celebration? The - "

"That's enough." Twilight snapped her mouth shut. Did Celestia believe her?

Princess Celestia walked over to the transformed Twilight, and leaned down, nuzzling her gently. "Did you really think I wouldn't believe you, Twilight? I've known you long enough, and you were never a good actor."

Twilight nearly collapsed in relief. Around her, the other mares likewise let out breaths that they hadn't realized they were holding. Rarity spoke up. "Still, this begs the question. How did Twilight become a Changeling in the first place?"

Celestia frowned. "If I were to hazard a guess, this is a transparent ploy at revenge from the Changeling Queen."

Twilight blinked. "But why me? Why would she target me, rather than you, or Shining Armor, or Cadence?"

Celestia smiled. "Out of everypony who interacted with her while she posed as Cadence, you were the only pony who suspected her true intentions." The Princess's face fell, and she hung her head. "Yet when you tried to expose her, instead of listening to you, I told you off. You've rarely been wrong in the past, and yet I refused to even consider the possibility that you were telling the truth."

When Celestia raised her head again, the ponies were all shocked to see her eyes brimming with tears. "Can... can you ever forgive me, Twilight?"

Twilight responded quickly, nuzzling the Princess. "Of course I can," she said. "You've been there for me ever since that fateful entrance exam. I could never stay mad at you."

Celestia smiled, and wrapped Twilight in a hug, which the former unicorn eagerly returned. As they embraced, however, Twilight felt a sudden surge of energy. It took her a moment, but she realized that it had to be coming from Celestia... more specifically, Celestia's love of her!

Twilight thought about breaking the embrace... for all of one second. The sheer intoxicating quality of the love she was getting quickly overrode that, and she continued to hold her teacher. At least, until Rarity coughed. "Ahem. This is very touching, truly, but we can't exactly let Twilight roam around Canterlot like this, now can we?"

Breaking the embrace (and the flow of love, much to Twilight's dismay), Celestia nodded. "You're quite right, Rarity. Given recent circumstances, Twilight's condition would only raise undue suspicion, and maybe even outright hostility." She frowned, putting a hoof to her chin. "Still, while I'd normally insist she stay in Canterlot until I can find a way to reverse this change, I believe that would be counterproductive. I think it would be best if Twilight went with you all back to Ponyville, and conducted research there."

"And just how is she gonna do that, yer Highness?" asked Applejack. "Get back to Ponyville, ah mean."

Celestia smiled wryly. "She is a Changeling now, for better or for worse."

Everypony looked at Twilight, who flushed slightly under the attention (or was it a sort of afterglow from absorbing Celestia's love?). Still, she turned her thoughts inward, searching for her magic... and for the means to transform.

FWOOSH!

Twilight's body was engulfed in a brief flash of green light. When everypony blinked the spots out of their vision, they saw that Twilight now bore her standard lavender unicorn form. "Ah, much better!" she declared, looking in the mirror. "That's the face I wanted to see when I woke up."

Celestia chuckled. "Well, it looks like you have things well in hoof, here," she said, and turned to leave. Before she did, she paused. "Though, could you change back for a moment, Twilight? There's something I'd like to check."

Twilight blinked, but complied, returning to her Changeling form. Celestia walked over, and prodded the crown-shaped growth on Twilight's head. The ex-unicorn gasped at the contact, proving that it was attached. "What's up with that crown?" she asked.

"I'm uncertain," Celestia replied. "Although, if memory serves, the Changeling Queen had a similar crown on her head. Perhaps it is a symbol of status?"

Twilight shrugged. "Who knows. Besides, as small as I am, I probably won't be imponynating a Princess." A flash of green light caused Celestia to step away from her student. When it cleared, to everypony's shock, there stood a perfect physical copy of Celestia, down to the jewelry. The only difference was that one was staring at the other, who was staring at her hooves. "Of course, I could be wrong," the second Celestia said, in a perfect copy of the Princess's voice.

Rainbow Dash began giggling. "Oh, man. Imagine the pranks you could pull with this!"

The second Celestia glowed green, returning to Twilight's old form. "Okay, I can shapeshift without worry. And apparently I need to be careful about when I trigger the changes." She smiled at her friends. "Let's head back to Ponyville before anything else unexpected happens, okay?"

"Hey, hold on, Twilight!" Rainbow interrupted. "You may have gotten the hang of shapeshifting, but you haven't even started flying yet! It'd be a shame to waste those new wings of yours."

Twilight blinked. "But if we get back to Ponyville, we'll have plenty of open space, and we'll be less likely to be spotted by other ponies."

Rainbow opened her mouth, then closed it again. "Eh, I guess you're right."

"I wish you luck, my little ponies. Luna and I will do what we can for your condition from here, Twilight," Celestia said.

The ponies all bowed to their benevolent ruler, and filed out, heading for the train to Ponyville. q q q q q q

As the whole group entered the train, Princess Celestia assigned them to the V.I.P train cart so that no regular train riders were able to catch Twilight and her friends.

The V.I.P suite had the most room in it and seemed to have a small bar filled with snacks and popular drinks that the high-end ponies of Canterlot would love to consume, each end of the V.I.P suite were six giant pillows that everyone grabbed and began to rest on.

After thirty minutes in during the way back to Ponyville, Twilight was curious about her strange and newly acquired Changeling powers. Whilst her friends were lying down on their respective giant fluffy pillows, Twilight took close looks at her friends from time to time and began to change herself into her friends. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were secretly watching Twilight transform into close replica images of not only but themselves, but replica images of other ponies that they have seen before. Firstly starting off with Princess Luna, then moving onto Princess Cadence, then moving onto her own brother Shining Armor. While deemed impressive, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash grew curious of Twilight's new power and the instances of how and when she would actually use it instead of her actual entertainment.

"Hey Applejack..." Rainbow Dash leaned over to Applejack who was resting on her designated pillow, turning her head to face Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah Dash?" Applejack whispered back to Rainbow Dash.

"This whole Changeling stuff sounds fishy..." Rainbow Dash whispered.

"What'd ya' mean?" Applejack raised an eyebrow at her winged friend.

"Well... she's taking it pretty well that's she's a Changeling... and I don't trust Changelings..." Rainbow Dash whispered back.

"Ah' guess we've been on edge a little since th' weddin', but it's Twilight were talkin' bout here, we need t'help her." Applejack replied.

"But what if she had to do that love sucking thing on one of us..." Rainbow Dash said.

"C'mon now, ah' don't think Twilight would do such a thing." Applejack quickly re-assured Rainbow Dash.

Suddenly there was a loud thumping sound on the roof the V.I.P suite, Fluttershy jumped up in the air and landed back on her pillow scared of what was going on. Rainbow Dash and Applejack quickly got off their pillows and stood on the floor. Twilight slowly turned around and jumped off her pillow in mid-transformation, she had changed herself into a Royal Guard donning golden armor.

"What's going on?" Rarity asked everyone in the room.

"Dunno, sounds like it came from th' roof." Applejack looked up at the ceiling.

A large stallion quickly ran into the V.I.P suite covered in bruises and scratch marks across his face, everyone looked at him and saw the damage done to his body.

"What happened to you?" Rainbow Dash yelled out to the stallion.

"Some kind of bug-ponies are assaulting the train!" He said. "They're trying to tip us over!"

Just as he said that something struck the side of the train, causing it to tilt slightly.

"You!" The stallion said to Twilight, who was still disguised as a guard. "You've got to do something! Some of those bugs got on board, they said something about a mare! They're looking for a 'Twilight Sparkle' or something. You have to find her before they do!"

"She's safe." Applejack assured him. "What we need to do now is stop the train before somepony gets injured or worse!"

"I agree." Twilight said. "I think it would be best if we-

Another crash interrupted the Royal Guard mimic. The sound of steel tearing rang through the train.

Just up ahead there was a hole in the wall. Several Changelings poured in, followed by their queen.

"So we meet again, you meddling little ponies." She said to them. "Where is Twilight Sparkle?"

"Right here." Twilight said, undoing her disguise and causing the distressed stallion to faint. Fluttershy quickly tended to him.

"Ah good, there you are." Chrysalis smiled. "Come along now, we must leave these wretched ponies behind."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight snarled, baring her sharp teeth. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Chrysalis's eyes shone a deep green. "Oh yes you are."

Twilight felt her mind being invaded by the queen and she struggled to resist.

Twilight loses and trots towards her new queen

She fights her off!

Twilight quickly used her magic to form a 'bubble' around her body, blocking the Changeling Queen's magic. "Nice try! But in case you forgot, I'm the sister of Shining Armor, and more importantly, the student of Princess Celestia herself! You think you're the first to try to mentally control me? Think again. Many unscrupulous ponies have been after me ever since I became the Princess's student!"

The Queen bared her teeth. "So, you think to resist me? Me, Queen Chrysalis?!"

"My ruler was, is, and always will be Princess Celestia," Twilight replied. Then, taking a shot in the dark, she added, "By the way, this was a very nice plot of yours to try to drive a wedge between the Princess and myself. Unfortunately for you, we're already researching a means of undoing whatever you did to change me in the first place."

The Queen blinked. "How did you know it was my doing?!"

Mentally, Twilight nearly face-hooved at how easily her opponent was suckered into the verbal trap. "Easy, you just told me." Her friends all giggled a little.

Chrysalis, however, was not amused. "If you will not submit to my whim, then I'll just have to tear your friends apart!" She motioned to her subordinates, who rushed forward. Before they could move much, however, they all slammed into a barrier.

Twilight's Changeling eyes were blazing. "Attacking me is one thing, but attacking my friends is another. You will not have them or me!" With a yell, she forced the barrier forward, slamming all of the Changelings, the Queen included, out of the train. With another application of her potent magic, Twilight sealed the hole made in the train. She then used her Changeling powers to look like her old self again, before using another spell to awaken the comatose guard.

"Ugh... wha? What happened?" he asked, shaking his head to clear it.

"Don't worry, the Changelings have been dealt with," Twilight said. "Let's get the train moving again."

Nodding, the stallion stumbled out, still a little woozy from his impromptu nap.

Rarity looked at Twilight. "Most impressive, darling. It just goes to show, there's nopony in the world who can match you for power."

Twilight blushed. "Well, like I said, some of the less scrupulous nobles in Canterlot have tried to either take advantage of my naivete, or outright control me with magic. Mental defenses were some of the first spells the Princess taught me."

Spike nodded. "I remember this one time, that Prince Blueblood tried to mind control her into letting him into her suite, which has a massive library in it, as you all saw. He sulked for weeks when she didn't even notice at the time."

Twilight grinned at the memory. "I'd forgotten about that. He wanted some of the books the Princess had gifted to me as her student. When his spell failed - repeatedly, I might add - he outright demanded to my face that I let him into my library. I just told him no, and said that he'd have to talk to Princess Celestia."

Rarity looked like she'd swallowed a lemon. "And to think I once desired to be his wife. I am happier than ever now that the Grand Galloping Gala was such a spectacular failure."

Applejack smirked. "Shucks, ah think we're all a bit happy it didn't turn out like we thought it would. Jus' a bunch of high-falootin' nonsense."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Yeah, well, I'm a bit peeved that the Wonderbolts were too busy to talk to me after inviting me to the VIP section. Still, I guess that's celebrity life for you."

Twilight smiled. "The Gala may not have turned out like any of us wanted, true. But we all learned a valuable lesson, no?"

The mares all chuckled as the Friendship Express puffed its way down the tracks to Ponyville.

*****

Chrysalis staggered to her hooves along with the other Changelings that had been with her. "Damn it all! This wasn't how it was supposed to go!"

"Then how was it supposed to go?" an upset voice said from behind.

Chrysalis froze. She knew that voice. Slowly, she turned around, to come face-to-face with Princess Celestia & Princess Luna, but the two rulers had also brought an entire platoon of Canterlot Royal Guards.

Desperate & angry at the same time, Chrysalis quickly used her magic to cause a nasty dust storm, giving the Changeling Queen and her kin to escape from the might of Equestria's rulers & Canterlot's finest. Disappointed in their attempt to capture Chrysalis in hopes of finding a way to return Twilight to normal, Celestia, Luna, and the Royal Guards walked out of the entrance to Chrysalis's lair, as Celestia pondered about what Chrysalis was trying to do with Twilight as a Changeling.

But then, Luna looked over at her older sibling & asked, "Is everything alright, sister? You've been worrying since you told me about Twilight turning into a Changeling." "I am worried about Twilight, Luna. I'm just concerned that there might be no way to reverse the damage that Chrysalis has done to Twilight" Celestia answered, as Luna tried her best to comfort her own sister.

"Look, I...Understand that Twilight is like a daughter to you, my dear sister. But I can most definitely promise you that Chrysalis will face justice for her crimes." Luna said, hoping to lighten Celestia's mood. Thankfully, it seemed to be working, as Celestia looked at her younger sister with a gentle smile on her face & replied, "I appreciate your reassurance, Luna."

However, little did either of the two princesses know, but someone was watching them from above, away from their sight of view. But it wasn't Chrysalis nor her Changelings, but something else entirely.

Rrrrgh..mmph..hhgggggg..GAH! cried Twilight, cracking under the pressure of resisting the mind control. Her eyes suddenly took on a green hue, and she trotted almost noiselessly over to Queen Chrysalis. The other 5 were terrified, and appalled at Chrysalis for stealing their friend. Rainbow was the first to react. "Twi, can you hear me?", she said, traces of worry in her voice. Twilight didn't react much, just saying "Yes" and leaving the car. They never saw her again.

q q q q q q q q

Meanwhile, Twilight & her friends managed to get back to Ponyville safely, despite Chrysalis & the Changelings trying to find her & make the former unicorn defect & hurting her friends. But thankfully, Twilight Sparkle was a good unicorn at heart, plus with all of the tutoring from Celestia, she built up a good resiliency against any manipulation magic.

As they stepped off the train, Twilight was in her Unicorn form, thanks to a Changeling's ability to shape shift into any creature at will. Then, Rainbow Dash stepped out next, as she looked at Twilight & said, "Man, I can't believe that Changeling Queen tried to hypnotize you, and you made her back off!" "Yes, but that proves that this pony is still Twilight, darling." Rarity replied, as she stepped off the train as well, where Spike wasn't too far behind.

"Ya know, Rarity. It's like my ma always said 'Ya can't judge a book by it's cover'." Applejack answered, as she came out with a sleeping Pinkie Pie, which is a surprise since the pink mare is usually like a monkey on lots of caffeine.

After Fluttershy got off the train, the seven of them went into two groups; Twilight, Spike, Rarity, & Fluttershy went back to Twilight's home to figure out how to change Twilight back to normal, while Rainbow Dash, Applejack, & an unconscious Pinkie Pie went Sweet Apple Acres to help Macintosh with the apple-bucking season.

After a long walk from the Ponyville Train Station, Twilight walked inside her home with Spike riding on her back, as Fluttershy & Rarity weren't too far behind.

When all four of them entered Twilight's house, they each began to cover the few windows of Twilight's Tree Home, just to make sure they don't cause panic if anyone found out that Twilight had become a Changeling. After all, there were uneasy tensions between Equestrian & the Changelings after Chrysalis's attempt on taking over the kingdom that ultimately failed.

After all of the windows were covered, Twilight changed back into her Changeling form, as Spike said, "There. That should give us some privacy." Twilight looked at Spike with a smirk on her face & replied, "Thank you, Spike. I...just wanted to say thank you for not treating me like I was an enemy, girls."

"Twilight, even though you're turned into a Changeling, you're still the same Twilight Sparkle we all cared about, darling." Rarity said, as the white unicorn mare of a fashionista walked up close to Twilight the Changeling, putting her right front hoof on Twilight's left shoulder as reassurance to Twilight's situation as a Changeling. Thankfully, the glowing effect that happened between Twilight & Celestia earlier wasn't happening again.

"So, um....What s-should we do now, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, as she sheepishly looked at her transformed best friend, hoping not to make her upset or anything like that. Then, Twilight looked at Fluttershy & answered, "Well, since I'm now somewhat a Changeling, we should look up any & all information the Changelings here in my personal library."

"Okay, but which books do we need to look for exactly, Twilight? You do have a big library, after all." Spike asked, and Spike was right about one thing; Twilight was a 'Triple-A Egghead' when it came to books, literature, and knowledge.

So, in hopes of clearing things up, Twilight replied, "Actually Spike, here are 4 books that I can recall that have information on Changelings. There is 'The Changeling Anatomy', 'A Changeling Ability Guide, 'The Guide To Equestria's Monsters', and 'The Guide To Changelings For Derps'."

With that information, Twilight & he others began looking through Twilight's library. They looked through book after book for hours, even after the sun went down. However, after searching through these books, some of them fell asleep out of exhaustion to help Twilight. Heck, even Twilight herself fell asleep from looking through these monster-sized books.

It was only 2 hours before midnight, and Twilight, Spike, Rarity, & Fluttershy were sleeping from reading all of the books about Changelings in hopes of getting Twilight to change back into her old form permanently.

But suddenly, they heard these loud shrieking noises outside, causing all four of them to literally jump from the shrieks, as Spike said, "What's going on out there?"

However, Twilight definitely recognized the shrieking noises outside, as she replied, "It's the Changelings, they're here in Ponyville!" "But that's impossible, darling. How could they find out where we're at anyway?" Rarity replied, as they then heard these loud buzzing noises outside, which were the sound of the insect wings of a Changeling, around a hundred of them.

With no other choice, Twilight & her friends went outside to stop the Changelings, but just as they were about to attack the Changelings, Chrysalis launched an ambush on Twilight & her friends, knocking them unconscious, while the Changelings continued their attack on Ponyville.

A short time later, Twilight groggily woke up to feel that she was dragged by two Changelings, one on each side. The former unicorn looked ahead & saw her friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and even poor Spike held hostage by Chrysalis and her bodyguards.

The sadistic Changeling Queen turned her head to see her kin dragging Twilight before her, as Chrysalis gave out an evil smile & said, "Ah, Twilight Sparkle, how nice of you to finally join us."

The two Changelings then tossed the half-conscious Twilight onto the ground, as if she was a rag doll. However, her friends were becoming more worried than ever about their physically transformed friend, especially Rainbow Dash, who wanted to literally spring into action and kick Chrysalis's flank so hard that the Changeling Queen would run back to her mother, as the rainbow-mane Pegasus yelled, "Leave Twilight alone, you oversized bully!"

Rainbow Dash was about to bull rush Chrysalis, but like their Queen, the Changeling bodyguards could use magic, as two of them zapped Rainbow Dash with electricity, stunning the cyan pegasus, as Rainbow Dash fell to the ground from her muscles buckling from the electric attack.

"Rainbow Dash!!" Yelled the rest of the Mane Six, as Twilight painfully got up on her hollow hooves, looked at Chrysalis and asked, "What do want, Chrysalis?!" Chrysalis let out an evil chuckle & answered, "Simple, Twilight; I want revenge."

Twilight knew what Chrysalis meant by revenge, as Twilight the Changeling said, "What this about me foiling your plans to take over Equestrian?" Then, Chrysalis shot a blast of energy at Twilight, as the rest of the Mane Six yelled, "Twilight!!"

But before Twilight's friends could help, Chrysalis's bodyguards aimed their mystical horns at them, warning them that they would suffer the same pain as Rainbow Dash had inflicted. Then, Chrysalis's tone changed into rage, as she answered, "You ruined my plans to take over Equestrian! You & your friends defeated me!"

But after those words, Chrysalis's voice tone returned to an evil form of calmness, as she said, "And now, I've changed you into the same being that your friends feared. However, since your friends still know you as the same good-goody two-hooves pony you were..."

But then, Chrysalis got her face at touching distance to Twilight's, as the Changeling looked Twilight right in the eyes & said, "I will make them suffer. I want to see your 'friendship' destroyed, forcing you into total darkness." Then, Chrysalis then commanded her bodyguards to begin the execution of Twilight's friends.

But then, something in Twilight's brain triggered, causing her to do something drastic as she yelled, "You want to take it out on the Elements of Harmony? Take it out on me then, Chrysalis! I'm the Element of Magic, and I was the one that found out about your plan. Take it out on me, you...living. Piece. Of. Crap!" Both Twilight's friends & Chrysalis heard what Twilight called the Changeling Queen, as it definitely got Chrysalis's attention. From Chrysalis threatening to kill her friends, Twilight really snapped, but as the saying goes, 'desperate times call for desperate measures'.

However, little did the Ponies or Changelings know, but the mysterious being from earlier was watching the whole scene play out from a nearby rooftop. The mysterious being could see Twilight's friends were held hostage, as it's looked to where Chrysalis was kicking Twilight the Changeling repeatedly in the face.

But then, the mysterious creature began to stand up on it's two legs as it tilted it's head up to the sky and screamed, "AARRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It's howl got everyone's attention, including Twilight and her friends, Chrysalis & her bodyguards. They looked up & saw the being that made the bone-chilling howl.

It's body was tall, muscular, and slender-like. It's eyes glowed a bright reddish-orange, as the creatures eyes gave off an angry look to them. Though the creature's mouth also glowed a reddish-orange , showing off it's sharp teeth, capable of biting through any pony or Changeling. It's arms were both strong & long, as the creature's clawed hand gripped tightly onto the post on the rooftop.

Twilight could see that this creature had 3 clawed fingers & a clawed thumb on each hand, indicating it's some sentient type of creature with feral abilities, as the creature's pointed ears showed, confirming it was a wolf-like creature, as it's large lupine tail slowly moved from side to side. But what creeped out Fluttershy, Spike, & maybe Pinkie Pie was that bits of the wolf creature's Arms & legs had these glowing red-orange marks on it.

As it stood up on the rooftop, the moon was full at the time, as it shone behind the wolf creature's body, giving it a very intimidating look & feel to him, all while showing it's fur color to be a menacing dark grey, as Twilight noticed these metal chains wrapped around his arms, like a dark accessory.

Chrysalis looked at the wolf creature & said, "Are you friend or foe, beast?"

"Twilight!!" Twilight's friends yelled, as the scary wolf creature landed right where Chrysalis & Twilight where located at. However, both Twilight's friends and Chrysalis's bodyguards weren't sure which Changeling the wolf creature grabbed.

But then, the wolf creature stood up on his hind legs and large wolf paw-like feet, as he towered an intimidating 7 feet tall over the ponies & changeling bodyguards, while he held a Changeling with long blue hair by her throat in the wolf creature's left hand. "Twilight?" Spike asked, worried about Twilight if she was alright.

Fortunately, they saw the other Changeling get back up, indicating that Twilight was alright, and the Changeling that the wolf creature held was actually Chrysalis herself, meaning the wolf creature was one of the good guys, even if he looked like he could rip a pony's flesh apart.

However, when the Changeling bodyguards then ignored the Mane Six & began to focus their attention on the one being that held their Queen in it's grasp; the wolf creature known as 'Fenrir, The Unbound Wolf'. Fenrir snarled at Chrysalis, as he held the Changeling Queen in his left clawed hand.

"You..will regret your decision, beast." Chrysalis growled, as the skin on Fenrir's upper snout crinkled, snarling even louder at the captured Changeling Queen. But then, out of a feral impulse, Fenrir violently bit down on Chrysalis's left front leg, causing the Changeling Queen to scream from the pain Fenrir was inflicting on her, as Fenrir felt bits of Chrysalis's green blood on his canine teeth from biting on her leg.

From hearing their queen's screams of pain, the Changeling bodyguards confirmed that Fenrir was very hostile, as they charged at Fenrir. But then, Fenrir's senses picked up the hollow clopping of the Changeling bodyguards' hooves, so he gave Chrysalis a nasty claw mark scar across her left eye, as Fenrir threw the Changeling Queen at a few of her bodyguards, knocking those few off their hooves.

Then, Fenrir leapt forward at the bodyguards, as his claws tore through the Changeling armor like it was paper. But when one of the bodyguards fired a blast of dark magical energy at Fenrir, but thanks to his inhuman reflexes, Fenrir noticed the bodyguard firing the energy blast, as the large wolf quickly dodged the attack, rushed at the Changeling bodyguard, and grabbed the Changeling with it's teeth.

However, even the Mane Six couldn't believe what just happened when they saw him dodged the bodyguard attack. But then, Fenrir bit down hard on the Changeling bodyguard's body, as it's spine cracked & broke from Fenrir biting down hard, breaking the Changeling bodyguard's spine like a twig. However, Fenrir only broke the Changeling's lower back, meaning the changeling bodyguard was still alive but can no longer use his hind legs anymore due to the nerves in his lower body are severed from the rest of his body, surely a fate worse than death for a Changeling, as Fenrir tossed the unconscious Changeling bodyguard aside like a ragdoll.

However, only a few of the Changeling bodyguards survived, as they called for help from their brethren to distract Fenrir while they got Chrysalis to safety. Fenrir noticed Twilight reuniting with her friends, as the Changeling that was once a unicorn hugged her friends out of worry for them. Fenrir lightened up a bit, as the Unbound Wolf could see that this Changeling known as 'Twilight' wasn't evil like Chrysalis, but something else entirely.

However, as most of the Mane Six hugged one another, Rainbow Dash began to regain consciousness, as she noticed Fenrir, who had some green Changeling blood on his claws. This caused the cyan Pegasus to literally jumped up onto her hooves, as she screamed, "What the hay is that thing!?!"

From those words out of Rainbow Dash's mouth, it got both Fenrir's & the Mane Six's attention. Twilight approached the terrified Rainbow Dash, as the former unicorn said, "Easy there, Rainbow Dash. He's not going to harm us." "Twilight! That..Thing tore those Changelings apart like they were nothing!" Rainbow Dash yelled, as Twilight the Changeling firmly answered, "He's not a monster, Dash. He could've killed us, but he didn't."

Then, Rainbow Dash looked up Twilight, then looked at her friends, and realized that neither Twilight or her friends were injured, meaning that Fenrir wasn't an evil creature. "Yeah, but why didn't he hurt us as well, sugar cube." Applejack asked, confused about why Fenrir spared them from ending up the same way as Chrysalis's changeling bodyguards.

But unexpectedly, the wolf creature known as 'Fenrir', spoke up in a growling feral tone in his voice and said, "Hate. Bug. Ponies." Twilight & her friends all gasped in unison, as they now realized that Fenrir could talk. Sure, it wasn't exactly perfect speech grammar, but it was enough for anyone to understand what he was basically saying.

Anyway, as random as can be, Pinkie Pie looked at Fenrir and said, "Wait a sec, Mr. Wolfy here can talk?" Fenrir calmly nodded yes once, as Twilight understood what Fenrir was talking about as she asked, "Bug Ponies? Wait, do you mean the Changelings?" "You. Say. So." Fenrir answered, as Rarity spoke up & said, "Wait a minute, darling. Twilight herself is a Changeling, but why aren't you attacking her as well?"

Then, Fenrir slowly walked toward Twilight & her friends, as he only stood about 4 feet away from them, looked down at them, and answered, "She. Smells.....Different." But then, both the Mane Six and Fenrir heard the loud shrieking sound of a hundred Changelings charging toward them at an aggressive speed.

Fenrir turned around to see a hundred Changelings charging toward him, Twilight, and her friends from a distance. Fenrir knew there was only one thing he could do to them; he had to fight the Changelings directly head-on. "Ponies. Find. Hiding. Place. Now." Fenrir said, as he heard Twilight ask, "But what about you?"

"I. Fight. Changelings. Someone. Has. To." Fenrir sternly answered, but as he was about to charge off into the battle, Twilight stopped him as she asked, "Wait..Who are you?" "I. Am. Fenrir." Fenrir replied, as he then sprinted off toward the attacking Changelings on all fours like a wolf. He charged toward the charging Changelings at 100 miles per hour, as both sides closed the distance further & further.

But then, Fenrir rammed into the group of Changelings, as about a dozen of them got knocked off their hollow hooves,and that was when the real battle began. The Changelings quickly turned around and focused their attention on Fenrir, as he clawed at 5 Changelings that charged at him, rendering them unconscious. Then, 10 Changelings lunged at Fenrir, attempting to pin down Fenrir. Unfortunately for them, Fenrir sensed them, as he back-flipped over them, then he quickly attacked the 10 Changelings from behind, slashing his claws at them.

Quickly, Fenrir ripped a lamp pole from the ground & used it like a weapon, as he screamed, "RRROOOOAAAARRR!!!!!" This caused the remaining Changeling forces (73 Changelings left) to attack Fenrir in all directions, as Fenrir swung his makeshift weapon at them, knocking a lot of them down & delivering serious damage to them.

However, from the Mane Six's perspective, they couldn't tell who was winning due to how much dust was picked up around the battlefield, making it hard to see the fighting between Fenrir & the Changelings. But then, there was silence, there was no sign of life beyond the large dust cloud.

"Fenrir?" Twilight asked, as she and her friends became very worried about Fenrir's well-being, worried if he was still alive or....Well, you get the picture. But suddenly, a single Changeling flew out of the dust, as it charged toward Twilight and the Mane Six, hoping to bring harm to them.

However, a blunt metal object was thrown out of he dust cloud, as it hit the Changeling in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. Twilight & the others got a closer look and noticed that the blunt metal object was actually the lantern of the lamp post. Then, they looked forward at the disappearing dust cloud and saw that Fenrir was still in one piece.

He walked toward the Mane Six, as he looked down at them & said, "Missed. Me?" Rainbow Dash flew up to Fenrir's head height with her pegasus wings & said , "Fenrir, you were so AWESOME! Oh man, didn't you see those moves guys!?! He was all like 'ggrrrr' and 'Rooaarr' and 'hooyah'!!" As Rainbow Dash imitated the moves Fenrir used on the Changelings, Rarity noticed the pile of unconscious Changelings behind Fenrir, as she replied, "Yes, it would seem he put up quite a fight, Rainbow Dash."

But then, Twilight noticed Fenrir's fresh scars he received from fighting the Changelings, as Twilight became worried & asked, "Are those...scars?" Fenrir didn't exactly come out of that battle unscathed. Judging from Twilight's point of view, Fenrir had multiple fresh scars on his body. Fenrir had a nasty bite mark on his right bicep, caused by a Changeling that got lucky & bit him from behind his arm, but it wasn't very nasty, just a minor wound.

However, Fenrir also had several cuts on his body; 3 across his upper back, a large one at the abdomen, and a nasty cut that went from his left eyebrow, down across his left eye, and ends about half an inch away from his left eye. "Took. Minor. Hits. From. Them." Fenrir answered, as he responded to Twilight's concern.

But then, Fenrir fell unconscious but alive, as Twilight and the Mane Six yelled, "Fenrir!!" They then got up to him and check if he was still alive. Thankfully, he still had a heartbeat.

He woke up about an hour later, and bolted. Applejack responded to his actions with: "I guess that's the end of that!" They were all exhausted at the events that had transpired that day, so they went to sleep. (Twilight in her Changeling form of course)

The next morning:

Twilight woke up to the sunshine streaming in through her windows...wait, sunshine? She had covered all the windows the night before! she looked over to see a pegasus pony with a pink mane and yellow coat staring through the window angrily. She recognized this particular pony, Sunny Rays was on Rainbow's weather team. Rays turned away from the window, presumably saying something, to which multiple pegasi came up and looked in her window, and left to tell the town.