Cadance woke up and stretched. She had probably slept in a little, but she didn’t mind. Just yesterday, Shining had (finally) proposed to her, and now she was as happy as possible. Okay, she was a little nervous, but she knew everything would be fine. Seriously, what was the worst that could happen?

She got up and put on her shoes and her necklace, then she noticed that her tiara was missing.
Well, that was strange. She was sure she had put it on the nightstand. Perhaps Shining had taken it to polish it up a little? Or he was playing games. She smiled. He could be pretty playful.

Cadance turned around - and looked into her own face.
Huh? A mirror? No, mirrors didn’t suddenly pop up out of thin air. And this ‘reflection’ wore her tiara!

“What?” Cadance asked in confusion, then the pony - or whatever it was - in front of her spoke:

“Surprise, princess.”

Cadance’s voice! What was that creature?

Now, a sickly green glow surrounded the intruder’s horn, and a circle of green flames came into existence around Cadance. Before she could react, she started falling. She landed hard on her back and took a look around as she got up.
She was in some kind of crystal cave, but she didn’t know where this cave was. She did not have the time to ponder this question, as the ‘other Cadance’ teleported into the cave and fired a magic blast at her. To say that this hit had hurt would have been an understatement. To make it even worse, it had weakened her enough to force her back onto the ground. As she was lying on her back again, still wincing, her enemy jumped at her and stood directly over her.

“Defeating you was almost too easy, you pathetic little pony,” the creature snarled.

Cadance narrows her eyes. Maybe she was down on the ground, but she was not defeated. She remembered Antonius’ training and realized the her hind hooves were in a good position, so she bucked the imposter in the gut and sent her flying. Cadance was weakened, but still an alicorn, after all. She jumped to her hooves and saw the other one do the same.

“Foolish pony,” the creature spat,
“do you think you can defeat me? ME?”

As an answer, Cadance fired a magic blast at her, but she dodged and fired back. This time, Cadance was able to evade and retuned fire. Her cyan blast hit the creature and smashed her against the cave wall. This hit had made an impact. The impostor was slowly picking herself up from the ground, clearly battered. Cadance allowed herself a little smile.

“ENOUGH!” the creature barked and exploded into green flames.

When the flames were gone again, Cadance looked at a creature she could not identify. It looked like a twisted mixture of a pony and an insect - with holes in its legs, about as tall as Celestia.

Cadance lit her horn again, ready to attack, when something hit her in the back. She tried to ignore the pain and spun around: another creature of the same kind was there, just smaller, about the size of a regular pony.

Now, she was hit again, probably by the larger one, and sent to the ground again. The pain of the blast almost made her loose consciousness, but she forced herself to stay awake. The larger creature was standing in front of her with a glowing horn. It fired a blast into her gut. Cadance screamed in agony, but the thing fired again. As she finally lost consciousness, Cadance could her the creature say:

“That should teach you not to challenge me, Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings!”

Queen who of what?

Queen Chrysalis stood over the beaten, unconscious body of the pink pony princess. She had to admit, this pony had fought better than she had thought. Of course, Chrysalis’ triumph had been inevitable. She was the Queen of the Changelings, after all! Which made her turn to the drone:

“How did you dare interfere in this fight?” she hissed.

“My Queen, I though you were in trouble,” the drone answered.

“You will take action only when I tell you to, got that?”

“Of course, my Queen.”

“Good. Now, return to the swarm and tell them to prepare for the invasion. Come here again tonight for additional orders.”
Chrysalis changed back into Cadance and grinned:
“In the meantime, I will play my part.”

The drone left and Chrysalis teleported back into Cadance’s quarters. Keeping an eye on the real Cadance would just be a waste of time for now. The pony had no idea where she was, and was too exhausted to risk a teleport. If Chrysalis blasted her again tonight it should suffice. Everything was going according to plan… or almost. The fight had cost her more energy than she had thought. Now, she needed some love.
Thankfully, and right on cue, there was a knock on the door.

“Cadance, sweetie, it’s me, Shining! May I come in?”

Perfect!

“Of course, my dear,” Chrysalis answered sweetly.

Shining armor entered the room, all smiles.

“You slept in a little,” he said,
“how about breakfast?”

This fool had no idea how right he was…

“Well, there is one thing I would really like to have,” Chrysalis breathed longingly.

Shining Armor snickered:

“Oh, and what is that?”

Now Chrysalis lit her horn and attacked him mentally. It was almost too easy, there were no mental defenses worth mentioning she had to overcome. This idiot hadn’t suspected anything. His eyes rolled and flashed green. She had him under control!

“Love, Shining,” Chrysalis grinned,
“I would really like to have some love.”

About an hour later, they both left the room. Shining armor went to do his gratuitous guard-stuff, and Chrysalis looked around the palace to get familiar with her surroundings. Her spies had told her a lot already, but nothing was better than first-hoof experience. Especially since her spies had obviously been a little cowardly. They had told horror stories about some kind of giant warrior - ridiculous. When this invasion was over, she would punish them.

Chrysalis walked onto a balcony and looked around. Beneath her was a garden - one of those useless places those ponies were so keen on. The garden was empty, except for…
AAAAAAAHHHH!!!
WHAT THE HELL???
The giant! This thing existed! Tall and broad, it was sitting under a tree, looking at some… piece of glass? It still noticed her and looked up.

“Morning, Cadance!” it greeted, raising a hand.

According to it’s voice, this creature was male.
Chrysalis quickly raised her hoof and waved back:

“Good morning!”

“Is everything alright?”

“Of course! I just wanted to get some fresh air. But now, I have to go! Bye!”

“Bye!”

Chrysalis quickly left the balcony.

“Hmm… that was a little weird… but in comparison to all the stuff going on here on a daily basis, it is nothing, I guess” Antonius mumbled.

“What exactly do you mean?” Al asked.

“Cadance looked quite surprised when she saw me.”

“Perhaps she is stressed. According to my information, weddings have a tendency to stress the engaged couple.”

“Hmm… probably.”

Damnit! Chrysalis was furious. Her plan did not incorporate this warrior! She did not even have the least bit of information on how dangerous he was.
According to his size and muscles, he certainly looked dangerous. Could he use magic?
She had to find Shining Armor and grill him on that matter. Unfortunately, he was on guard duty, she couldn’t just ask him now. She had to wait. This made her even more furious.

Chrysalis continued exploring the palace and Canterlot until Shining’s shift was over - of course she knew the schedules of the guard - then she led him into her room.
Once the door was closed, she lit her horn again and said:

“Now, Shining, you will tell me everything about this giant.”

“Giant?” Shining asked drowsily,
“do you mean Antonius?”

“Yeah, let’s go with that.”

Shining started talking. And Chrysalis started turning pale.
It was worse than she had feared. This Antonius could not use magic, but despite that fact, he was apparently deadly. But perhaps…

“Can we convince him to join us?”

“No, he is loyal to his friends,” Shining mumbled, controlled by Chrysalis’ spell.

“Okay, then the hard way. How can we get rid of him? Can we lead him into a trap?”

“He will just kill every creature that attacks him.”

“Can I send him away? I’m a princess, after all.”

“No. Princess Luna is his commander.”

Damnit! DAMNIT!

“Is there no way of getting rid of him?” Chrysalis asked.

“The empire he comes from is apparently a little paranoid,” Shining Armor answered,
“if a threat is made against Canterlot, he might suspect that it is a distraction to cover an attack on the ancient base he has found.”

“You suggest I should alert everyone to our invasion? This is stupid!”

“Yes, that is why there is a chance that it might work.”

“And if it doesn’t, we have the guard and him to fight!”

“This is a risk.”

“Thank you for this perceptive insight!” Chrysalis hissed.

Damnit. She would have to take this risk. Defeating the two princesses of Equestria would be difficult enough. If the younger, Luna, was supported by this killing machine, the plan would probably fail.

“Okay,” she sighed and rubbed her temple,
“you will forget out little talk.”

“As you wish.”

“And now, I need a little energy.”

As Chrysalis and Shining Armor left the room again, Chrysalis felt great. Devouring this fool’s love was really fruitful. Ironically, now it was the ponies’ time for dinner, and to avoid being conspicuous, she would play along. As they entered the dining room, the princesses and the giant were already waiting for them.

“Hello, Cadance!” Celestia greeted,
“how are the preparations going?”

Oh shit. Chrysalis had been so busy getting information about this Antonius, she had actually forgotten to take care of the wedding preparations!

“Umm… great,” she stammered.

“Really?”

Okay, Celestia didn’t buy this lie, so perhaps Chrysalis could allow herself to tell a bit of the truth:

“Well, I have to admit that I am a little behind schedule.”

“Don’t worry,” Celestia laughed,
“I thought it might be a bit much for you. What do you think about calling Twilight and her friends to help?”

Twilight? Twilight Sparkle? And her friends, the Elements of Harmony?
Great. First, this warrior. Then a plan that would alert the guard. Now, the damned Elements of Harmony. Somehow, it wasn’t her day today.
Although… perhaps there was a way to keep them in check… did they have family? Perhaps even younger siblings? She had to ask Shining Armor about that. If so, she would see to it that they were invited to the wedding, too. You never knew when you could need hostages, after all.

“That is a great idea!” Shining Armor cheered,
“I will travel to Ponyville tomorrow morning to tell her about the wedding and ask her for help!”

What? Her energy source was about to leave?

“Do that, she will be delighted to hear it!” Celestia smiled.

Yeah…

That night, Chrysalis teleported into the cave again. The drone had returned, and the real Cadance was conscious again, but still pretty battered.

“Hello, Princess,” Chrysalis grinned, dropping her disguise,
“I hope you like your accommodations.”

“At least they are not as filthy as my host,” Cadance returned.

What an arrogant little prissy princess pony…

“Oh, I am so glad you like them,” Chrysalis replied with a false smile,
“for you will have to stay here a little while longer while I execute my plans.”

“And what plans might that be?”

“Plans with your stallion, for example.”

Chrysalis saw with delight how Cadance paled.

“Do not dare to touch him, monster!”

“Too late.”

Cadance’s face!

“You haven’t…”

“Oh, I have. I so have.”
Oh, how Chrysalis loved to rub that in!
“And once I have married him, he will be mine forever!” Chrysalis continued.

She was tempted to tell this foolish little pony that all of Equestria was about to fall, just to see the horror on her face, but decided against it. Revealing all of your plans to your enemies was not advisable, after all.

“You will never succeed!” Cadance cried.

“Oh, I think I will. And now, good night, Princess!”

Chrysalis fired a beam of magic at Cadance, turning her into a screaming heap of pony until she passed out. That should keep her weak and quiet until the wedding was over. Now, Chrysalis turned to face her drone.

“Orders, my Queen?” the drone asked.

“Yes. You will make an anonymous threat against Canterlot. See to it that you are not discovered! Then, return to the swarm and await my signal.”

The drone tilted his head.

“My Queen, is it advisable to alert the ponies to an attack? Even if it’s anonymous?”

“No. And that’s why they will think it’s a distraction. I know, I am a genius. You may praise me now.”

“There are no words to do you justice, oh most magnificent one!”

“Thank you. And now, remember that your duty is to follow orders, not to question them! Go and do as I told you!”

“Yes, my Queen.”

Chrysalis changed back to Cadance’s appearance and teleported into her room.

The next morning, before pony breakfast, she was called into the throne room. Now, things got critical. Would the threat work?

The princesses, the giant and Shining Armor were already present as she entered the large room.

“Cadance!” Celestia said,
“good that you are here now. I have terrible news.”

“Oh dear. What is it?” Chrysalis asked innocently.

“A threat has been made against Canterlot.”

“And who was that stupid?” the giant asked coolly.

“We don’t know. It’s an anonymous threat,” Celestia told him.

“Huh? A threat only makes sense if you use your reputation to strike fear into the hearts of your enemies.”

“Right,” Luna agreed with him,
“an anonymous threat - that sounds like a trap, a distraction. Maybe our unknown enemy wants to strike somewhere else?”

Yes!

“Maybe,” the giant stated,
“but this trap is a little too obvious for my liking. Maybe this threat is part of a scheme we are not able to fathom yet.”

Uh-oh.

“What do you suggest, Tony?” Celestia asked.

‘Tony’? She called this giant ‘Tony’?

“Well,” he answered,
“for now, it is impossible to be sure what’s behind it, so we have got to be prepared for everything. Alert the guard. Let them patrol the city and the surroundings.”

“What about the ancient base? Is it just a coincidence that the threat was made just a few days after we discovered it?” Luna inquired.

Hmm… now that Chrysalis thought about it, she had no idea where this ominous base was. Well, that would have to wait until after the wedding. No distractions now!

“Unclear,” the giant said,
“however, ignoring a threat to the base is a risk we cannot take. I will drive there, search the area and secure it.”

Yes! One problem gone.

“I’ll join you!” Luna offered.

Two problems gone? Even better!

“No, Luna. Help Tia protect Canterlot and the Elements. If I need your assistance, I will call you.”

‘Tia’? Well, that was not important now. Important was that the giant was lured away. Unfortunately, Luna would stay. So, just one problem gone. Still good.

“Okay, let me summarize,” Celestia said,
“Tony, you will take care of the ancient base, Luna, you will stay in Canterlot. Shining Armor, as captain of the Royal Guard, and as matters now stand, you will not be able to visit Twilight in Ponyville. I will write her a letter to inform her about our request.”

Her energy source would stay in Canterlot, ready to be drained further. Perfect!

“Cadance,” Celestia continued and Chrysalis almost winced in surprise,
“you just prepare for your wedding,” the princess smiled.

“I will leave immediately,” the giant announced.

Good. He would certainly be gone for a few days, perhaps even weeks!

“I should be back tomorrow,” he continued.

WHAT? Tomorrow? Damnit! So she alerted the guard just to get rid of him for a few hours? The whole invasion was on a knife-edge again!
That completely ruined Chrysalis’ mood. Everything would depend on the speed of this giant, a factor she could not influence. And she hated factors she could not influence!

Antonius had donned his armor and weapons and was now on his way to his Land Speeder, accompanied by Luna.

“You will miss the wedding,” she stated.

“Can’t change it. The safety of the base has priority.”

“Well, you will probably not the only one being absent. The last days have been exhausting, and after my nightly guard duty, I will probably be too tired to attend.”

“So, it will be duty instead of leisure for us. Honestly, I’m fine with that. I really prefer a patrol over standing around uselessly, listening to speeches. What do you think about taking care of the leftovers together once I’m back?”

“Now, that is a good idea!” Luna laughed.

When they arrived at the Speeder, Antonius jumped in and said:

“Take care, Luna. We still have to discover the true intentions of our unknown enemy, and something tells me that Canterlot is not the distraction, but the objective.”

“I concur, though when I think about an attack on Canterlot, I wish you and I were just a little paranoid.”

“Perhaps we are, but better a little paranoid than a little dead.”

“True,” Luna snickered, then she became serious again:
“I guarantee that no enemy will be successful while I am on duty.”

“Good, that reduces the danger by 50%. On my way back, I will make a short stop in Ponyville to deliver Stormy’s PDA. And now, see you tomorrow!”

“Until tomorrow, then.”

Antonius started the engines and left the hangar.
The trip was uneventful and he reached his destination around noon. He checked his auspex and combed through the area.
Nothing. No sign of an enemy. He contacted Al:

“Al, I can’t find a trace of enemy activity.”

“I’m just about to bring the short range sensors back online. If they work, I should get a good reading on our surroundings.”

“Do that. In the meantime, I will block and camouflage the entrance to the base.”

He climbed up to the entrance and examined the aperture.

“No traces, no climbing equipment. Unfortunately, they could still have flown or teleported in. The auspex doesn’t show any life signs, though.”

“We will know for certain in a few seconds… bingo! Short range sensors online. Scanning area… base is clear, no intruders, just a few lesser animals.”

“Identify.”

“Insects, spiders, and so on. Working as vermin exterminator would be a waste of time, though. I suggest you continue with your plan.”

It had gotten dark by now, and Antonius needed the whole night to block and camouflage the entrance to the base.

“Finally,” he told Al,
“do you pick up anything?”

“No. If there is an army here to attack me, they are patiently waiting beyond my sensor range.”

“I don’t think there is an army out there, at least not around here.”

“Canterlot?”

“I don’t know. The enemy’s plan is weird. Perhaps parts of it are improvised?”

“It’s difficult to envision the enemy’s actions if the enemy doesn’t know their actions themselves.”

“Yeah. I will see that everything is all right in Ponyville, then I will return to Canterlot. If you notice something suspicious, contact me immediately.”

“Affirmative. Good luck.”

Antonius went back to the Land Speeder and departed.

He passed Canterlot an hour before noon. As far as he knew, the wedding should take place now. The city was protected by a magic bubble, and everything seemed alright.
He stopped in front of Moonlight’s, Blackwing’s and Stormy’s house and delivered the PDA. After some explaining how the device worked, he left the rest to Al and left the house again, taking a look at Canterlot in the distance.

“Oh damnit,” he muttered as he saw what was happening:

Hundreds of small creatures were attacking the magic bubble. Even with his superior eyesight, it was impossible to tell what they looked like.

“Al!” he immediately voxed as he put on his helmet.

“Yes?” Al answered.

“Canterlot is under attack.”

“Then your suspicion was obviously correct. Who is the attacker?”

“No idea. Too small, too far away. Wait! Five of them are approaching Ponyville.”

“Combat imminent. Please allow me to read the telemetry of your armor. I could act as mission control then.”

“Granted.”

On Antonius’ HUD, a little rune lit up, and a second later, Al’s head appeared in the communication section.

“Connection established,” Al told him.

“Call Luna.”

“I can’t. Her PDA is turned off.”

“The other PDAs?”

“Please wait… no responses.”

“Great.”

The five creatures kept coming closer. And there were ponies on the roads!

“TO ALL PONIES! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! RETREAT INTO YOUR HOUSES AND BARRICADE UP! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!” Antonius thundered.

The ponies looked confused for a second, then they followed his gaze and realized what was happening. Thankfully, they followed his orders.

He dashed to the center of the town, repeating his warning several times until the roads were empty. Not a moment too soon, the creatures were already quite close.
They landed next to the town hall and Antonius took cover behind a house, carefully peeking at them to gather information. They looked like wicked hybrids of ponies and tyranids.
Antonius’ anger rose. No Ultramarine would ever see a creature that reminded him of a tyranid and stay completely calm. To make them even more disgusting, they had holes in their legs and looked overall pretty rotten.
A blight of Nurgle? Was he facing creatures that combined the abominable alien and the despicable daemon?

“Al, do you know this species?” he asked as he took his auspex to memorize the life signs they emitted.

“Negative.”

Okay, so they had no idea what those things were, but Antonius knew a scouting squad when he saw one. Now, there were two methods how to deal with scouts:
Feed them false information and let them return. If done correctly, it was almost like a remote control for your enemy. Here, that was impossible, though. So, he would take method two:
Do not let them return at all.

Now, his lack of information was a problem: What kind of threat did they pose?
Well, they had wings and they could fly. That meant that he had to kill all of them within seconds, or the survivors would flee. But they also had unicorn horns… psykers? So, they could possibly teleport.
Crap. Five kills before they could react, and he had no idea how fast they could react or if a bolt could penetrate their natural armor. Well, he would find out.

Suddenly the creatures split up and walked away in different directions.
Antonius realized that he was lucky: those things were morons!

The best course of action was clear now: silent kills. No bolter, no chainsword; combat knife and fists.

One of the ‘tyranoponies’ - or ‘ponynids’? - was coming his direction, so he hid behind the corner of a house, drew his knife, held it in a reverse grip and waited. As soon as the creature came into view, he stabbed his knife through its skull. Besides a little ‘crack’, the kill had been silent, no scream, no noisy fight.

Antonius dragged the creature behind the house and snapped its neck to be on the safe side. Then, he quickly examined the corpse and hid it afterwards. The creature had not been very resilient. Quite the contrary, it had been easy to kill. No reason to get cocky, though. There were four more enemies to kill. At least his ambush tactic worked. He started looking for the second thing.

Despite the fact that his bright blue armor made sneaking a little difficult, he soon found a location for another ambush. The creature came around the corner and died like its companion. Two down, three to go.

Antonius took a look at his auspex. Two of the creatures were close to each other, the third was moving towards Fluttershy’s cottage. Antonius followed the lone enemy. Without the houses for cover, sneaking up to it became much more difficult, and Antonius was slowed down a bit.

When he finally reached the cottage, he saw that he was too late - but in an entirely unexpected way: The ponynid was lying in front of the bridge that crossed the rivulet in front of the cottage. It was dead, beheaded!
Antonius quickly examined it: bite marks.

Okay, what creature here was capable of killing this thing that way? One of Fluttershy’s animals? As he pondered that question, a white rabbit came hopping along the way that led down to the rivulet.

“Angel?” Antonius asked somewhat confused.

Angel looked at him, obviously startled. His paws and muzzle were wet, as if he had just washed them.
Just a moment: A killed ponynid and Angel had just washed himself? The simplest explanation of those facts led to a thoroughly weird scenario.

“No, you didn’t… did you?” Antonius asked incredulously.

Angel pointed at the corpse, then at Antonius.

“No, Angel, I don’t bite my enemies’ heads off.”

Angel seemed to think about that, then he just shrugged.

“Okay, I don’t have time for this now. There are still two of those things running around. Perhaps you should hide the body somewhere, then stay in the cottage until this is over.”

Angel gave him a quiet thumbs up and Antonius turned around to deal with the two remaining enemies. A glance at his auspex told him that they had separated again. He picked the one closest to him and started looking for a position for another ambush.

This position was soon found and Antonius waited for the creature to come along. According to the auspex, it would show up any second now, so he put the scanner away and got his knife ready. Then a creature walked past the corner of the house he hid behind, but it was not a ponynid; it was a pony!

Huh? Why had this pony emitted the same life signs as the ponynids? The pony - a stallion - had passed him now without noticing him. He just walked along carelessly and Antonius stared at him, trying to make sense of the situation. Then he noticed that something was off: His auto-senses picked up something in the ultraviolet spectrum. It was hard to see, but this pony glittered a bit. And ponies DID NOT GLITTER.
Shapeshifter!

The thought popped up in Antonius’ head at the same time as Al voxed:

“Quick! This pony! Kill it!”

Antonius jumped forward and stabbed his knife through the creature’s skull. As it died, it was bathed in green fire for a second, then the corpse of a ponynid was lying on the ground.

“Really a shapeshifter,” Antonius mumbled.

“Apparently. I was worried you had missed the UV anomaly,” Al told him.

“I haven’t. And now, one creature to go.”

Antonius took his auspex. According to the device, his last enemy was… oh shit.
He spun around and saw the thing. It had just come around a corner and now it was staring at him.
So much for stealth kills...

Antonius immediately dropped the auspex and grabbed his bolter. The creature took off and darted skywards. Antonius took aim and pulled the trigger.
Thunder echoed through Ponyville as the bolt left the weapons’ muzzle and flew towards its target, leaving a trail of fire behind. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The bolt closed in on the thing - and hit.
It slammed into the creatures’ rear and detonated, creating a shower of green blood and pieces of chitinous carapace. The front half of the thing hit the ground with a wet thud. The scout squad was eliminated.

Antonius took a look at Canterlot. The magic bubble had failed, that meant that the attackers had entered the city. He picked up his auspex and dashed back to his Land Speeder. On his way there, he met Blackwing, armed with his crossbow, who joined him.

“Where are the attackers?” the bat pony asked.

“The squad that attacked Ponyville is eliminated,” Antonius told him.

“Oh, good. Sorry that I’m late, but I had disassembled my crossbow for maintenance. I put it together as quickly as I could.”

“Don’t worry about that, they weren’t much of a problem for me. Return to your family and barricade up. I’ll tell you when the attack is over. Now there is still work for me to do…”
Antonius took a look at Canterlot,
“Canterlot needs an Angel of Death!”

Suddenly, some sort of explosion occurred in Canterlot and a spherical, lavender shockwave propelled tiny black spots - the attackers - away from the city. Antonius’ gaze followed them as they were sent flying towards the horizon, obviously not in control of their flight attitude.

“Or not,” Blackwing commented drily.

“Or not,” mumbled Antonius his agreement,
“Blackwing, what the hell was that? The Elements of Harmony?”

“I don’t think so. I have never seen them in action, but I’ve heard they’re more rainbow-y.”

“Well, be that as it may, I should better go to the city and check in on the ponies there.”

“Okay, but I wouldn’t be surprised if everything was perfectly fine again.”

“I hope you are right, but better safe than sorry.”

“Right. I guess you have made a bit of a mess here, but don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. The least I can do. Now, good luck, and please tell us what happened.”

Antonius jumped into the Land Speeder and departed for Canterlot. Instead of heading to the hangar as usual, he steered the vehicle directly towards the palace and landed in the gardens.

There were no ponynids, but quite some ponies. Antonius immediately took his auspex and made sure that they really were ponies - they were. Among them was Rarity.

“Rarity?” Antonius asked.

“Oh, hi, Antonius. Sorry, but I don’t have time to talk. I must take care of the dresses!”, she exclaimed and was gone.

HUH?

“Whatever happened here, it seems to be almost forgotten,” Al opined.

“Not before somepony tells me what exactly happened at all,” Antonius answered sternly.

He left the Speeder and started looking for somepony who was capable - and willing - to tell him what had happened. So he entered the palace and soon found Celestia.

“Oh, Antonius!” she greeted as soon as she spotted him,
“I am glad that you are here. We had a little commotion here. Let’s go to a quieter place, then I can fill you in.”

“Outstanding idea,” Antonius answered flatly and followed her into her quarters.

As soon they had shut the door, she said:

“Okay, now that we can talk: Is everything all right in the north?”

“The entrance to the base is blocked and camouflaged,” Antonius reported almost automatically,
“no enemy contact around the base. However, there was an enemy incursion in Ponyville. Five creatures that looked like blighted tyranid-ponies… I mean some sort of decayed pony-insect hybrids.”

“Oh goodness! What happened?”

“They tried to scout the town and were eliminated.”

Celestia looked a little startled now, probably because of his matter-of-fact tone, then she nodded.

“Well, that’s good news. Did any ponies come to harm?”

“Negative, no casualties.”

“I’m relieved to hear that. We didn’t suffer any losses here, either, but they caused quite a commotion.”

“Do you know that species?”

Celestia nodded again:

“Changelings. A swarm of creatures that can change into other creatures and drain their love - they live off that emotion. The Changeling queen, Chrysalis, assumed Cadance’s form and they tried to take over Equestria. Fortunately, Cadance - the real one - and Shining Armor were able to banish them.”

“So, no Elements of Harmony?”

“No. The power of love.”

Ugh, sappy. But wait a second? Cadance and Shining?

“What about the Element Bearers? What about you?”

“The changelings cut us off from the Elements, and me… let’s say I was otherwise engaged.”

“‘Otherwise engaged’?”

“I fought their queen, but she was so charged up with Shining Armor’s love that I lost that battle.”

“I guess we have to intensify your training. And I probably need to do something, too. When did this ‘Chrysalis’ take Cadance’s place?”

“Yesterday morning.”

“Damnit! I noticed that Cadance was acting a little weird, but I blamed it on the stress of the wedding.”

“I have to admit that it is actually my fault,” Al voxed,
“I told you that it was wedding-related stress. I am sorry.”

“Don’t blame yourself. You have only seen her for a few minutes. We all had more time, yet we still made the same mistake, except for Twilight,” Celestia told them.

“Of course,” Antonius said,
“Cadance was Twilight’s foal-sitter, after all, so she noticed the differences. Still, this incident needs clarification. Could you tell me what exactly happened?”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. It was Raven, Celestia’s secretary:

“Excuse me, Princess, but your attendance is requested.”

“Well, Antonius, I suggest we continue this conversation later, after the wedding, when Luna will be present, too,” Celestia said, then she turned to her secretary:
“Okay, Raven, let’s go.”

Antonius left, returned the Land Speeder to the hangar and swept the palace for any remaining Changelings, but there were none.
Everything was perfectly fine again, just as Blackwing had speculated - at least for now. Antonius informed him and his family that the situation was under control.
He would stay alert, though. As far as he knew, those Changelings and their queen were just driven off, not killed, after all. There was nothing that prevented them from coming back one day.

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice:

“Antonius! There you are!” Rainbow Dash shouted,
“we have been looking for you. Come on now, the wedding is about to start, and they are not going to wait for you!”

“Actually, I never demanded anypony to wait for me,” Antonius replied.

“Less confusing, more following,” Rainbow demanded and led him to the hall in which the wedding was about to take place.

While Rainbow got into position at the far end of the large room, Antonius selected a spot in a corner behind the audience that provided him with a good overview.

Then, the ceremony started. Antonius followed it half-heartedly, but his focus was still on the new enemies.
They were anything but defeated, just sent flying, yet this still existing danger seemed to all but forgotten, and everypony was occupied with this wedding. Okay, it was a special event, but in his opinion… oh, of course.

For the first time in months, he had been in a real fight again, battling a malevolent alien species - that reminded him of the Tyranids as well. He had been able to do his basic duty again, no ‘benefit of the doubt’, no ‘special path’, just plain old extermination. Yet, this moment had been over pretty soon, and it had been rather anticlimactic, too. Prepared to fend off an invasion, he had just been able to kill four aliens, and now everything was sunshine and roses again.
He needed some time to calm down now, to get the anger and the excitement of battle out of his blood. Until that was done, he would just keep patrolling the palace and let the ponies enjoy the festivities.

“I now pronounce you mare and colt!” Celestia declared, and the audience cheered.

Okay, so this was over now.
No, not jet: Rainbow Dash performed one of her ‘Sonic Rainbooms’, then the ceremony was over and the reception began.

“Hello, everypony. Did I miss anything?” Luna asked as she landed next to her sister.

“I’ll tell you later, Luna,” Celestia said with a small sigh.

Huh?
Luna wondered if anything interesting might have happened, but she soon was distracted when the music started. She had to admit, she loved a good song (with a decent beat), and Twilight Sparkle really was an excellent singer. So Luna had fun, until she noticed that someone was missing.

“Sister, where is Antonius?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Celestia answered,
“he has attended the wedding, but he did not show up for the party.”

“Why not? Did something happen?”

“Well, we were invaded by Changelings.”

“You are kidding, sister.”

“No, unfortunately not. Cadance’s and Shining Armor’s love was able to repel them. Antonius was in Ponyville at the time. He killed five of them when they scouted the town.”

“And now he is secluding himself from this party?”

“Seems so. Ah, there he is.”

Celestia pointed with her hoof, and Luna saw him: A dark shape against the setting sun, patrolling the battlements of the outer walls.

“I will talk to him,” Luna said and took off.

She landed directly in front of Antonius and greeted him with a smile:

“Hello, Tony. How are you?”

“Fine,” he answered,
“everything’s alright in the north and the Changelings are gone. Oh, do you know what has happened?”

“Only roughly. They tried to invade Canterlot, and you killed five of them in Ponyville.”

“Hmm. Unfortunately I can’t tell you more than that, since I am still waiting for details, too.”

“And that makes you grumpy?”

“Grumpy? No, Tia wanted to wait until you are here, and I accepted this delay.”

“Then, why are you secluding yourself? Come down with me and enjoy this wonderful reception!”

“I have to admit I’m not a big fan of such parties, and especially now I don’t think I’m in the right mood.”

“Then, in what mood are you?”

“Have you ever prepared yourself to fight an army and then your enemy suddenly vanished?”

“Do you mean you are suffering from spare aggressions?”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘suffer’, but I thought it wise to keep some distance to ponies, and someone really should take care that those Changelings don’t execute a surprise attack.”

“You do not need to worry. They do not act with precipitation, and since their plan was foiled, they will not attack us for a while now. So, you can come down with me and enjoy the party.”

Luna used her nicest smile and tilted her head a little. She was rewarded with a chuckle from Antonius, then he took his helmet off.

“Okay,” he smiled back,
“let’s go down.”

They returned to Celestia, who was just having a piece of cake.

“Ah, there you are again,” she greeted,
“now have a piece of cake and enjoy the party!”

The cake was no problem, but Luna was anything but sure if Antonius enjoyed this party. He looked somewhat misplaced, calmly towering over the party-goers. Perhaps she could help him mingle?

“Would you like to dance?” Luna asked him.

“No, thank you,” he answered.

“Tony, I think we have a little cultural misunderstanding here,” Luna smiled,
“if the Princess of the Night asks you for a dance, you are supposed to reply: ‘With pleasure, your highness’.”

Antonius chuckled and said:

“There are some cultural traits I refuse to adopt. But seriously, Luna, I do not dance. I wouldn’t even do that if I knew how to.”

“You cannot dance? Well, of course not… I guess dancing is considered a waste of time where you are from.”

“Since it’s rather hard to weaponize it, yes.”

“Do you still enjoy the party?”

“Yes, it’s quite nice. Too bad it’s not also a victory celebration.”

“Well, it is. The Changelings are gone.”

“That’s what I mean. Just gone, not dead. This matter is far from over.”

“Yeah, I know. But you should not allow that to spoil your enjoyment of the party.”

“I don’t, Luna. I’m just not as… outgoing as you ponies are.”

Luna snickered.

“You can say that again,” she grinned.

When the reception was over and Twilight and her friends had said good bye to the newlyweds, they all met in the round room where they had spent the night some moons ago.

“Well,” Celestia started,
“I think now the time has come to tell my sister and Antonius what happened today.”

And so she, Twilight and her friends told the story - sometimes a little contritely - about what had happened this day. While Luna listened carefully, she also kept an eye on Antonius. He did not show any emotion while the story was told, but considering that they had not exactly covered themselves in glory, she was curious about his opinion.
The story ended and there was silence for a few seconds. Then Antonius started laughing. Luna had heard him laugh before. This was different, though. It was a cold laughter that made her shiver.

“That’s it?” he asked,
“That’s all it takes for you to forget your valued friendships and turn on one another? A bad impostor and a little distraction?”

Well, calling a royal wedding a ‘little distraction’ was an understatement, but Luna knew what he meant.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said sarcastically,
“it you had been here everything would of course have been fine.”

Antonius’ glare made her shrink a little.

“According to what you told me,” he said coldly,
“I seriously doubt that we would be sitting here together now if I had been here.”

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked.

“Well, let’s run a little simulation. Twilight, imagine I would have been in Canterlot after you had discovered the clues that something was wrong with Cadance. What would you have done?”

Twilight looked a little perplexed, but she answered:

“Umm… I would have gone to see you and told you what I had found out?”

“And you instantly would have known that she was right?” Celestia asked defensively.

Another glare from Antonius.

“No,” he said,
“but she provided enough evidence to make further investigations necessary, so I would have followed her to find out what was going on.”

“Okay, so let’s say Twilight accused Cadance of being evil and Shining Armor explained everything…”

“Explained? He just delivered another plausible theory. Up to this point, there was no chance to actually figure out the truth. Only by interrogating the false Cadance one would have been able to do that, but I doubt that you would have allowed that.”

Celestia took a breath, and after a few seconds of hesitation she answered:

“No. I’d have thought that you just were paranoid, and I would have protected the creature I thought to be Cadance.”

“Alright, so all of us basically repeat our mistakes,” Applejack opined,
“just with you around. But why would we not be sitting here together now?”

“Because,” Antonius started to explain,
“we now have two sides, each of them sure to do the only right thing: Princess Celestia wants to protect Cadance, I insist on interrogating her. Celestia wants to brush me off. Now do you think I would allow somepony to brush me off?”

“You mean…” Twilight stammered.

“Exactly. As an Astartes - and as this could have been a threat to the Elements of Harmony and by association my primary mission - I would have forcefully conducted the interrogation, fighting everything, everyone - or everypony - that wanted to interfere.”

“That is a horrible notion,” Twilight mumbled.

“Indeed. Either Celestia managed to defeat me somehow, leading to this world being destroyed by Chaos or my - in this case particularly vengeful - chapter, or I defeated her, leading to ponykind basically being under my reluctant but now required rule.”

What? There had to be a middle course between those two extremes... but Antonius was probably too disgruntled to consider that.

“There is something you have forgotten,” Celestia said, clearly miffed,
“Luna.”

“No, I actually haven’t. But there are already rumors that we are leagued to overthrow you, so putting her in charge would not change the outcome.”

“That’s not what I meant. Luna, since we are still doing this ‘simulation’, you would have helped me fight Antonius, wouldn’t you?”

Horse apples. That was a question Luna did not like at all. There were only two possibilities: betraying her sister or betraying her friend, and both of them acted the way they did because they thought to be right.

No, Luna did not like the whole situation at all. Even this meeting had become too dark and aggressive by now. She had to lighted the mood. She had to try at least. Luna sighed:

“Well, either I join my sister, and ponykind gets wiped out. Or I join Antonius, become queen and rule ponykind with an iron hoof.”
Now she leaned back with a grin and winked at her sister:
“What a hard choice to make.”

The following silence lasted for a few seconds, then, thankfully, Twilight and her friends realized that she was joking and started snickering. Celestia needed a few more seconds to join in.

“Okay, enough ‘what-if questions’,” Antonius said in a serious tone,
“it’s time for some reality and the debriefing: I made two mistakes: I did not recognize the false Cadance as an impostor and I got lured to the north.”

“That’s hardly your fault,” Luna told him,
“you only saw her for a minute and you had no other choice than to check in on the base.”

“Even if you have a justification, a mistake is still a mistake,” Antonius answered,
“it shows that I lack alertness and wisdom.”

Damnit, he was really hard on himself. He continued:

“Luna, your mistake was being a really heavy sleeper. There was an invasion going on without you noticing.”

“Yeah, but… ah, okay, I admit it.”

“Furthermore, you turned your PDA off.”

“Well, I didn’t want Al to watch me in my sleep.”

“But it meant that I couldn’t contact you. So, keep it on standby.”
He turned to the others:
“The PDAs seem to be a problem for everypony here. Where are they? I wasn’t able to contact anypony.”

‘At home’ was the predominant answer, and Antonius continued:

“From now on, take them with you. Twilight, next time you notice clues that something isn’t right, tell me. Or tell Al.”

“But… didn’t you say that it was good that you weren’t here?” Twilight inquired.

“This once: yes. Generally: no, at least if everypony takes this debriefing to heart. Next, you were not able to defeat the Changelings.”
Before she could answer, he turned to her friends and Celestia:
“The same is applies to you, with two additional mistakes: You did not notice the impostor and turned on you friend respectively pupil.”

“Hey, they are gone now, aren’t they?” Rainbow asked defensively.

“Yes. But if you refuse to learn from this experience they will wipe the floor with you the next time they attack. I strongly suggest that you do not allow anything to interfere in your friendship, and take the warnings of one of you seriously.”

“Hindsight is always easier than foresight,” Celestia said.

“And foresight is always better than being defeated,” Antonius retorted.

Celestia nodded, but Luna could easily see how miffed she was.

“We will take your debriefing to heart,” Celestia told him, then she turned to Twilight and continued,
“but now, I suggest we end this and you, Twilight, and your friends return to the party. The Changelings are gone and Cadance and Shining Armor got married, so it was a good day, after all. Let it end accordingly.”

“Just one more question,” Antonius said,
“what about the Royal Guard? How was their performance?”

“They had no chance against the Changelings’ superiority in numbers.”

“I see. Thank you. I’ll go to my quarters.”

“So will I,” Celestia said and they parted.

Luna went with Antonius.

“So, no leftovers for us?” she asked cautiously.

“Perhaps tomorrow,” Antonius answered,
“I’d prefer to meditate now.”

“Okay, but please do not be too hard on us - or yourself.”

“I don’t think I am. I didn’t require you to do penance, after all.”

“And what about you?”

“I have been careless.”

“Goodness, Tony! Nopony was harmed! Everything is fine again! You have no reason to blame yourself, and I know a thing or two about real reasons to blame oneself.”

“I have told you I would take care of you. And now, you almost got defeated - by a species that reminds me of the cursed Tyranids!”

Luna cocked her head a little:

“Ah, there is the problem. You have some kind of flashback.”

“A flashback?” Antonius asked incredulously.
“Of course. You encountered creatures that remind you of those xenos, and suddenly you are all no-nonsense.
Relax. We are alright, and seriously: Even if the Changelings had successfully invaded Canterlot, they still would have lost. You were already on your way here after all, weren’t you?”

“Was just about to jump into the Speeder when this ‘lovesplosion’ happened.”

“See? So, take it easy, and good night.”

Antonius smiled again. A genuine, warm smile.

“Good night, Luna,” he said.

Luna left Antonius, glad that she had been able to help him. He had been too hard on himself, but Luna would take care that he did not repeat this mistake. Tomorrow, she would surprise him with breakfast, not that he started some silly penitence-fasting or something like that.

And he wasn’t the only one Luna would look after now. She went to her sister’s quarters and knocked:

“Hello, sister? It is I, Luna!”

“Come in!” Celestia answered.

As Luna entered the room, her sister was pacing up and down in front of her fireplace.

“Is something wrong?” Luna asked innocently.

“You know what’s wrong,” Celestia replied,
“Antonius rebukes me as if I were a little filly and my little sister can’t wait to overthrow me!”

“Well, didn’t you say you like that he treats you like a normal pony? And his suggestions were perhaps a little blunt, but well-meant.”

“Of course! Take his side again! Sorry that I didn’t really give you the chance to betray me again!”

That hurt. Luna did not have to be reminded of her past, she knew it all too well.

“I’m sorry, Luna,” Celestia sighed,
“I didn’t mean that. Forget that I said it.”

“Not used to being rebuked, eh?” Luna smiled.

“Not really. For the last ten millennia, I have been the pony to guide our species. Everypony always expected me to be flawless, and now that I made a - justifiable - mistake, Antonius just like that rubs that fact into my face without accepting any sort of explanation!”

“He is just as hard on himself in that matter. The Changelings reminded him of an abominable species he knows. That triggered some kind of flashback and he went all ‘Space Marine’ on us.”

Celestia stopped and stared at Luna.

“Yeah,” she exclaimed,
“you must be right! He even called the Changelings… what was it… tyranid-ponies when I first met him after the invasion!”

“Hmm. That is why they disgruntled him, especially since they were not killed. But do not worry, sister, I talked to him. He is better now.”

“So, no overthrowing me?” Celestia smiled.

“Nah, not today,” Luna grinned back.

A flashback… no, he wouldn't call it a flashback, but Antonius had to admit that those Changelings had activated his indoctrinated behavior patterns.
Damned, they really reminded him of Tyranids - the overall insect-like appearance, the swarm… but instead of devouring bio-mass, they drained love… it was really fascinating that he found so many similarities to the galaxy on this planet, just in a ‘lighter and softer’ version.
Well, they were gone for now. Of course they would return, but not tonight, so Antonius changed into his pajamas and went to bed.

The next morning, Luna surprised him with self-made pancakes. Or something like pancakes.
Actually, the meal she brought consisted of a few round, grey slabs obviously made of compressed dust.
Damnit, it was really high time that he convinced Luna to leave the cooking to him. Of course, he would have to learn it first, but how hard could that possibly be?

“Not good, hmm?” she asked him as she saw his face as he sampled the pancakes.

“To be honest: Not really.”

“Okay. The ‘normal’ breakfast will start in ten minutes. Get ready, and we will attend.”

When Antonius and Luna arrived at the table, Celestia, Twilight, Spike and Applejack were already present. The rest of Twilight’s friends arrived soon thereafter. Last was Rainbow Dash, wearing shades and suffering from a headache.

After the breakfast, Antonius, Luna and Celestia had another training session. As they were fighting, a guard entered the room and said:

“Princesses, Lord Commander, Doctor Rapid Cure requests an audience.”

They stopped the training and Celestia said:

“Send him in.”

The guard left and the doctor entered the room, bowed and said:

“Your Majesties, Lord Varus, I have unsettling news. It may not seem too important, but I thought I better tell you.”

“What is it, Doctor Cure?” Celestia asked.

“Do you remember the darksteel splint we used as Princess Luna had injured her horn?”

“Yeah,” Luna grumbled,
“I will never forget that thing. It was very inconvenient and most unpleasant.”

“Well, after the invasion and confusion yesterday, I took stock of the medical equipment. The splint is gone.”

“Gone?” Luna asked.

“Indeed,” Rapid Cure answered.

“Perhaps it was mislaid?” Celestia suggested.

“I don’t think so, Princess. The item was well coffered and the locks have been broken.”

“Is anything else missing?”

“No, everything else is where it’s supposed to be. I fear that those Changelings might have stolen it.”

Luna shook her head:

“I do not think so. They can suppress our magic with their slime, stealing such a splint would be pointless.”

“Then, who is the culprit?” Rapid Cure asked.

“The material is rather rare,” Antonius opined,
“so it could just be thieves. Or there is another faction we don’t know about as of yet.”