//------------------------------// // That's not good... // Story: Of Iron and Crystal // by King-Mac-13 //------------------------------// Chrysalis made her way back to her hidden gemstone. On the way, she made sure to avoid the guards’ patrol and the Nuckelavee, as it was apparently called. Surely such a powerful creature would be a great asset to her plan. If she could recruit the beast… No. Her magic would just anger the Nuckelavee. Instead… perhaps it would be advantageous to allow the Nuckelavee to get a little more breathing room… She smiled to herself as she finalized her plan in her mind. Her smile faded when she found the Nuckelavee staring at the stone. “How did…?” The creature’s breath surrounded the stone, leaving a thin layer of purple on the blue gem. It struck the gem with its hoof. Chrysalis knew there was a weak magic signature within the gemstone, but she hoped it was weak enough to stay hidden from magic scanning spells. As it turns out, this creature could still find it. What caught her attention, however, was that it wasn’t attacking the stone. Perhaps it was possible to control this creature after all… \/ “You realize this is insane, right?” Grey made his position on their situation well known. Shining Armor, to his credit, stayed calm. “She’s weakened after she lost her hive. We can stop her.” “Can we?” “Without her full power, we can beat her.” “With two of us sidelined as long as that Nucka… thing is still out there?!” “Nuckelavee. And there are ways around it. If we find her without it around, we can use the time before it tracks us to bring her in.” “Do you really believe that?!” “Do we have reason to doubt him?” Flash tried to act as a voice of reason. Sombra was just walking along in silence. Shining Armor looked around, still vigilant as he spoke, “Then do tell, Grey, do you have a better plan?” “Not my job.” “Then shut up and let me do mine.” “Um… Captain?” The group turned to Sombra. “If I may, I think we might be able to use the creature to our advantage.” “How so?” “When I found saw the creature, I was in my shadow form. It looked toward me but didn’t attack. I think it might react to certain levels of magical power. If we keep our magic weak, we could work around it.” “Good to know.” Shining Armor was keeping his mind sharp and his eyes open, despite the night growing longer and darker. “Now, let’s find Chrysalis while we still have an advantage.” \/ Off in the distance, Chrysalis was attempting to create her own advantage. She tried to use smaller amounts of magic to create a suggestable state in the creature. If she succeeds, she could create an opening for a more powerful, all-encompassing brainwashing, placing the creature squarely under her control. The issue is that she can’t seem to get the suggestion to set. Try as she might, it just won’t stick. “Gah! This is getting ridiculous! Why won’t this work?!” The Nuckelavee started to walk around the area whist remaining close to the gemstone. It’s breathing never stopped sounding painful to the former queen. She also noticed that the purple miasma was actually killing off any plant life that tried to grow in the prison. It would be a valuable pawn, but she can’t get into its head and seal the deal. It wasn’t actually mindless, that much she could tell. But there was something in there that was keeping her out. Her frustration was growing, but she knew she had to stay somewhat silent. Her angry outbursts would echo through the halls and give away her position. In any other circumstance, she wouldn’t care. She was more than powerful enough to take down any number of lowly ponies on a normal day. But her hunger has drained her of much of her powers. If Chrysalis was going to stand a chance for the moment, she would need subordinates like the Nuckelavee. That said, Chrysalis was no fool. She knew that if she couldn’t tame the creature soon, she would have to make her exit and get some distance before the guards-ponies figured out she was gone. Part of the problem, however, was that her plan hinged on that crystal, which the creature was circling. She knew that the crystal was the same material as the Chrystal Heart. If she could repurpose its magic effects, she could feed off the love it gathers until she’s strong enough to finally take down those Equestrian whelps, like Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer. Just the thought of those insufferable ponies filled Chrysalis with inconsolable hatred. The creature’s roar pulled her out of her revenge fantasies. She looked toward it and found it reacting to the gemstone. It was pulsing with magic and the crown symbol in the middle was more pronounced than before. “What in the world?” She was trying to make sense of what was happening. The gem was reacting to something. Was there a source of love nearby? After a moment to survey her senses, there was no sign of a large source of love. So, what was causing this? The creature looked on toward the gem, deciding to stomp on the magical stone. The gem’s glowing was dimming before it erupted in a pool of blinding light. It was unlike anything Chrysalis had seen before. When the light faded, the Nuckelavee recoiled and trotted off, away from the gem. Chrysalis looked from the retreating monster and the gem. She had felt the power of love before. She had seen the Crystal Heart in action. This? This was something else. Even when being defeated by love or the power of the Heart, you felt warm and safe. This? She felt burned. Like the fires of the sun had licked her in a single flash of power. Chrysalis had taken the gem, thinking it could bring her power. If that’s what this thing actually did, she was done. That thing would be nothing but trouble to a love-draining changling. Now her hate was self-directed. How could she mess this up so badly?! “Damn it! Damn it all!” The gem started to glow again. Chrysalis froze and looked toward it, “Nope.” She made haste to get to the exit. \/ Shining Armor. Flash Sentry. Grey Hat. Sombra. The four walked through the prison keeping an eye and ear out for the former queen of the changelings. She couldn’t approach/attack them with her powers as long as they stayed together. Their search, as it turned out, didn’t last long. Chrysalis ran in from of them toward the exit hall. Sombra used his shadow form to get in front of her and prevent her escape. The former queen stepped back and was soon surrounded. “Going somewhere Chrysalis?” Shining Armor was more than happy about this arrangement. A completed mission and a captured fugitive equals excellent day for the guard. As for Chrysalis, she just smiled. “As a matter of fact, I was planning on leaving.” “Oh, you’ll be leaving, alright. In cuffs and straight to an Equestrian royal prison.” “You’ll forgive me if I refuse the offer. Besides, if you chase me down, you leave the gem in the hooves of the… Nuckelavee, I believe you called it.” “Wait, what?” “Oh… and I’d get to it quickly if I were you.” “What do you mean?” “It’s starting to show signs of magical bursts. And they’re only getting stronger. How much longer until it erupts and destroys the town? You could split up, but I’ll have an opening to escape. I have enough magic left that it will take all four of you to hold me.” Shining Armor knew she could be bluffing. He knew she could be lying to get away. But… he was also aware that she knew he couldn’t take the chance. He wanted nothing more than to bring her in. His duty took precedent in the situation. “Where is it?” “Hold on, you can’t…” Flash was silenced by his brother. Chrysalis let out a quick laugh at the ponies before answering, “Upper floor, C-Block. Last I saw it, that Nuckelavee was hanging around. Best move quickly before it agitates the gem any further.” Shining Armor narrowed his eyes at the Changeling, “You can run, but you won’t stay hidden in Equestria anymore… You know that, don’t you?” “We’ll see little prince.” Shining turned his back and slammed his hoof on the floor. “Get to the gem! We can’t risk a magical detonation.” The guards growled, but ran off into the prison toward the C-Block. Chrysalis used this opportunity to make her escape. As she flew off, she knew her magic was beginning to fail her. Her bluff allowed her to escape, now she had to use this momentum to refuel her magic and prepare a new revenge plan. As she escaped, Shining Armor and the guards approached the C-Block and ascended the staircase, or flew up in the case of the pegasi, to find the stone resting on the floor. It was giving off a feint glow and a warmth that filled the area. However, just as Chrysalis had felt, this was not a kind warmth similar to the Crystal Heart. This was a heat that seemed to burn the very air around them. Shining wanted to keep distance for a moment. He turned to Grey, “Any idea what the issue is with it?” Grey stayed silent a moment before answering, “Well… if she was bluffing, she didn’t realize she wasn’t wrong. That thing is giving off magic energy and if that crack forming is any indication, it’s full to bursting.” “That’s a problem. How much energy can be stored in a crystal?” “It doesn’t matter.” The group turned to Sombra, “This isn’t like normal gems fueled by magic. It’s fueled by emotions it’s fed. Those emotions have no way to leave and spread out like the Heart does. As a result, it’s set to blow in a literal emotional outburst.” “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” “If it had been fueled by love or other ‘positive’ emotions, it would just result in the local populace having a better day than they were. However, this is not one of those emotions. This is all too familiar… hate. If this gets out, it will fuel anger and resentment throughout the area.” “So… unless we get this thing out of here ASAP, it’ll send the town into a mad frenzy?” “More like a bloodlust. Chrysalis has been feeding this thing such unbridled hatred long enough to turn anypony into a rage-fueled monster.” “That’s not good.” “It gets worse,” Flash chimed in, “When we first arrived to search the city, Grey and I had to deal with a few thugs. We were fine, but they would be a problem for anypony that isn’t trained like we are. And they were just a bunch of thugs.” “He’s right,” Grey continued, “This is a town of mercenaries, all of which are trained and of various forms. If they rose up to attack Equestria, our forces will definitely be taxed if not overrun.” “Alright, let’s get this thing out of here…” A pained yell interrupted the guards. They turned to find the large, broken beast back in the hallway. It’s eyes now a glowing red.