Cadence pawed helplessly at the ground, attempting to gain a hoof-hold and yelping in pain as the monster dragged her towards it with the strange appendage. It's gurgled hiss sent shivers down her spine. Her eyes shut tight and tears poured from them as she screamed for any who would save her from this fate.

"Pl-please! Somepony! Anypony! S-Save m-!" With a single hard yank, she was snatched off the ground by her leg. Her strangled pleas turning into a scream of pain, blood pouring from the wound in her leg.

As the second serpent whipped forward, she crossed her hooves in front of herself in a vain attempt, but it did nothing to stop it as the serpent's sharp teeth bit hard into her flesh and jerked, pulling her leg away and turning her right side up. Her screams only encouraged the creature as it bore down on her, seeming to get even taller as its mouth grew wider. The sharp jagged teeth began to grow in length and the long tongue covered in a black slime slithered forward, nearly touching her face.

She closed her eyes and cried silently, sobbing as she waited for her demise at the jaws of this monster, her thoughts drifting to the ones she loved so dearly and pleading for them to forgive her weakness. Shining Armor, the stallion who despite all odds, had stolen away her heart and who loved her as much as she did him. Her adoptive aunt Celestia, who had been kind enough to take her in after she had become an alicorn so many years ago, guided her and helped her to establish a true home here in Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle, the young and energetic filly who she had taken care of on nights that Mrs. Velvet, Twilight's Mother, would let her babysit, and her would-be little sister had she gotten married...

She lamented on never seeing them again, never feeling their loving embrace. Her sobs and hiccups grew softer as she felt the disgusting tongue of the monster begin to wrap around her neck slowly, tormenting her with as it took its time. Her fur became stained with the dark saliva and she whimpered as she felt a shadow over her head, the heavy and harsh breath of the creature baring down her neck. Keeping her eyes closed, she kept the thoughts of those she loved in the forefront of her mind, her favorite memories of being together with Shining, of dining in the castle with Celestia, of the silly little song her and Twilight shared...

If this was the end... she would go with a smile... and the memories that she cherished most...

"... Sunshine... sunshine... hic... ladybugs... awake..." She whispered silently, her trembling lips trying valiantly to curl into the shape of a small smile as she felt the mouth of the creature begin to close around her head.

She waited for the final moments that never came. One second passed into two, then three, then four, but the silence was deafening. Her tear-stained eyes slowly opening in confusion, the scene that met her vision was something she wished to never see again. Her entire head was within the creature's mouth, it's teeth just centimeters from her face and it's long tongue held her in place by her throat. Trails of dark saliva dripped around her vision, the smell of death and decay filling her nostrils.

The creature began to move suddenly. Assuming the worst, she quickly shut her eyes, her lips releasing an almost silent whimper. Only to open them again in surprise as she felt the hot breath over her head vanish and the long tongue begin to unwrap from her neck. Cadence turned her head as best she could to stare back at it as the creature backed away from her, it's own twisted eyes wide as it returned her gaze. Slowly it began to shrink, the serpent-like creatures holding her up dropping her to the ground. She yelped in pain as she landed on her injured rear leg, quickly gripping at the wound with her uninjured foreleg.

With a grimace she turned to face the creature once more, only to look in shock at what seemed to be a normal-sized, if very dark looking, unicorn mare across from her. Her eyes had not changed, however, and that more than anything unsettled her. The serpent-like tendrils had also vanished into what looked like a pool of black tar beneath her. She seemed to be saying something that Cadence barely caught.

"Clap your hooves..." Her eyes widened even more if possible. The voice was different and heavily distorted, but it was a voice she knew all the same. She stared at the mare and they both continued in unison.

"And do a little shake..." Silence reigned between them.

"T-twilight?" Cadence asked, fearing the answer. After a moment that lasted far longer than Cadence would have liked, the mare gave a small nod, her mouth slightly open in surprise. Cadence could still see the sharp teeth behind them and it made her shiver.

"Cadence? What..." Twilight took a step forward, only to stop when Cadence flinched away from her. She thought back to what had just happened, what she had nearly done. Lifting her right hoof, she stared in contemplation.

'I... I don't regret it... I really wanted to...' Her eyes shook with turmoil as she realized that she had nearly killed and eaten one of her best friends, even if she had been the cause of everything that happened.

"Wh-what... what happened to you?" Cadence asked softly, her legs slightly shaking from the amount of pressure she was putting to stop the bleeding. She flinched as Twilight's eye's snapped to her and the dark sludge beneath her began to boil and hiss.

"Don't you remember...? You're the one who put me down here after all." She accused as the sound of her puddle echoed between them. Cadence stared in shock, then realization, as she struggled to her hooves, limping on her back left leg that now no longer bled freely, and keeping her right foreleg under her barrel.

"N-No! I didn't! The Cadence in the castle right now, she's an imposter! Something called a Changeling." Twilight looked to her with suspicion, her gaze hard. After a few more moments she relaxed and nodded slowly.

"I remember reading about them before, but I never thought I would ever encounter one..." Her face turned pensive as she looked away from the princess and she contemplated the situation, Cadence sighed in relief.

"You believe me?" Twilight looked back up and nodded as she approached her, Cadence flinched back again, taking a few struggling steps before falling on her flank due to putting too much pressure on her hind leg, she yelped lightly before grimacing. Twilight continued her advance undeterred, upon reaching pink mare she lit up her horn, a glowing teal light encasing it. The same aura engulfed Cadence's injuries and she gasped in sharp pain.

"Hold still, I can't heal the wounds, but I can stop the bleeding for a time." Cadence glanced at her nervously as she worked. Silence filled the air between them as Cadence took the time now to fully inspect the younger mare's body. Her eyes trailed over the dark purple coat before she gasped at the sight of her cutie mark. Before she could observe more, a twinge of pain in her legs brought her back to her current situation. She watched silently as the blood in her limbs slowed, then looked up carefully to the face of the mare who tended to her.

"H-how..." Twilight sent a sharp look at her, causing Cadence to look away and whimper. With a sigh, Twilight continued her work.

"...I don't know..." Cadence looked back towards her carefully, avoiding meeting her gaze.

"...I was in the ballroom, I had my suspicions about the imposter. No one believed me..." Her form started to shift, but with a great show of will, she kept herself the same and continued her work, not looking at Cadence.

"Obviously at the time, I didn't know she was fake. I had just thought that you had turned evil and were plotting something against my brother." She grits her teeth as she thought back to the actions of the imposter.

"The fake you returned while I was alone... after my friends and Celestia had..." She released a shuddering breath as a trail of fresh black tears made their way down her face, Cadence felt that she would have probably tried to wipe them away if they weren't so off-putting.

"She sent me here... I don't really remember what happened after she left... I just know I woke up... different..." She glanced at Cadence as her horn's glow faded.

"I'm not Twilight Sparkle anymore... I don't know who, or what, I am... But I KNOW you are the real Cadence. The fake didn't know our song..." She backed away slowly as Cadence struggled to her hooves, wincing as she stood. She looked to Twilight as tears started to form in her own eyes.

Her friend and the favorite little filly had become something terrible, something that she didn't know how to approach, and it was all because she had been captured by that thrice-damned Changeling!

"...We can fix this... I can fix this!" She looked Twilight in the eyes, shrugging off the urge to look away, it wasn't easy as the dark orbs stared back.

"I'll find a way to get you back to being you. I promise!" Twilight turned her head to the side slightly, her eyes still locked with Cadence's, before finally looking away.

"What if... I don't want to?" Her voice was slightly above a whisper, but Cadence still heard her and she stared in shock.

"Wh-what?" Twilight sighed and turned to look her in the eyes again.

"I'm stronger now... I can do things I had never even dreamed of... I don't know what caused this, but I'm thankful to it." Cadence took a step back at the bite in Twilight's voice, tears streaming down her face.

"B-but you have to! You can't stay like, like this! You're not a pony anymore Twilight, I don't know what you are! You have to, you have family and friends who lov-" Twilight's puddle hissed and boiled louder than before, a tendril shoot out and forming a serpent that snapped it's jagged teeth just inches in front of her face, silencing her.

"I WAS BETRAYED!!" Twilight's voice grew strangled as her form began to stretch and twist, partly taking on her more demonic appearance.

"I was left alone, abandoned, when I had needed them most! I knew you better than any of them! Better than Shining, better than Celestia! I remembered you as you had always been! But they, they refused to listen, they refused to take a moment and look at the facts before them, and by the time I am done with the Changeling that has brought this about, THEY SHALL SEE WHAT THEIR BETRAYAL HAS WROUGHT!!" She had not completely transformed into her more monstrous state, but it was enough to have Cadence backing away and crying profusely as she hugged the nearest wall, her eyes wide in fear and horror at the demon before her. After a few moments of heavy breathing, Twilight slowly returned to normal, her serpent withdrawing within the puddle that now simmered beneath her. She stared at Cadence in silence as she considered how the mare now shrunk away from her. Closing her eyes, she grit her teeth before biting back her temper and looking away.

"The wedding is still happening... If you want to stop it, we have to go..." Turning from Cadence, she began to walk out of the hole in the cavern and back towards the larger opening. Cadence stayed still for a moment more, trembling as she watched after the mare. Cautiously, she crawled out from the cave and began trailing after Twilight, her head low and tears dripping from her face.

Cadence limped along behind Twilight as she stared at the pony's back.

'How... how could this have happened... no matter what Twilight, I will find a way to bring you back to us! I swear it on my life!' Her gaze on the pony hardened along with her resolve, her limping steps gaining strength.

The entity from within the crystal observed the one it now knew as Twilight Sparkle, adjusting to her new form. It curiously maneuvered within her mind and studied her memories more closely. Such strange things, these ponies.

Sadness, fear, envy, disgust, resentment, Hatred. It knew only of the last emotion, the others, though they held similar aspects, were foreign to it. Yet there were still more emotions here that it not only did not understand but seemed almost polar opposites to what it did know.

Joy, courage, kindness... Love...? It paused on the last one, it seemed like a strong emotion, possibly rivaling to the hatred that composed its existence. It would need to take extra care with how it would proceed, the host seemed particularly attached to those last few...

Twilight and Cadence walked together in silence for a time. Neither had spoken since they left the small cave that would have become Cadence's tomb. They soon came across a large gorge in the cavern, the bottom seemed almost endless as it sank towards the abyss and the other side could be seen.

Glancing to a fro, neither could see a way across until an idea came to the pink alicorn. Cadence sat down and began to preen her wings the best she could, straightening crooked feathers so she could fly across smoothly. Looking over to her companion, Twilight watched her momentarily, before sighing and turning away from her. Hearing a small splashing, Cadence stopped her work and stared after Twilight as she walked towards a nearby crystal wall.

"Wh-where are you going? I-I can fly us across." She spoke aloud, nearly jumping at the sound of her own voice after so much tense silence. Twilight turned her head only slightly, her left eye staring back at Cadence, causing her to wilt beneath her gaze.

"You go ahead... I think... I have another way across... I'll meet you at the wedding..." She seemed distracted as she spoke, her right hoof raised and resting on the cavern wall. Cadence looked unsure as she stood up and faced her.

"Twili-" A sharp look from the dark mare stopped Cadence before she could fully say the dead mare's name. Twilight's glare was venomous.

"Never... say that name..." Cadence gave a tentative nod, gulping nervously.

"A-are you... certain? I can fly us across... it's not that far." She paused as she spoke, glancing down apprehensively at the strange puddle that had been following her friend through the tunnels. Twilight, however, ignored her and turned back to the wall, saying nothing. With a slight push, her hoof began to sink into the crystal, black liquid oozing from the contact. Dark, spiderweb-like marks began to stretch and cross the surface of the wall from where it and her hoof met. She grinned as she pushed forward, her whole form sinking into the wall and leaving a massive black spot in a shape eerily similar to a pony. Cadence watched in shock as the mare phased through the crystal itself, but then in horror as the wall began to crack and chip as the black spot grew a little more, long black veins splitting across the surface for a moment longer before finally stopping. Hearing a hiss, she looked down to see the puddle sinking into the base of the wall, a dark stain left in its wake.

A few louder cracks caught her attention, and she looked back up to see a dark, shadowy figure beginning to move through the wall, the damage to the wall trailing after the presence within and spreading out, splintering across the surface of the wall as it gave chase to its master.

"O-oh Celestia... what have you become... Twilight..." She whispered, tears burning her eyes as she stared after the form in horror. Shaking herself, she turned and spread her wings. With a final glance back at the dark figure that had faded deeper into the wall, she turned and jumped over the cavern, spreading her wings and flapping with all her might to get across.

Author's Notes:

Shaded: Covered in many, MANY extensive bandages "Yo-you know, cough, I once heard that a mare who treats you badly, often has a thing for you..."

Dimmed Star: "Let me give you some advice Shaded, don't let Twilight hear that, or you won't survive the next time."

Shaded: "Point taken, I'm doing the disclaimer, aren't I?"

Dimmed Star: "Good guess."

Shaded: "Crap... ah well, I do not own MLP:FIM or the Equinox Ponies, nor do I own any music that may be implemented into this story. Also a special thanks to King Blackfire for proof reading and editing! I hope you guys enjoy the early release of Chapter 2!"