//------------------------------// // Intermission: the kill command // Story: Worlds Apart // by Elkia Deerling //------------------------------// Chrysalis sat on her throne in the inner sanctum of her new palace. She was actually impressed how well the early scouts had done. They had told about a group of mercenaries, including one pony, a red one, carrying two guns at once. Chrysalis had listened with growing enthusiasm to their story, and had complimented them all with a mutation. She descended the stairs and faced her throne. When a new opening appeared, she could look inside the throne, at the rift. It was a strange phenomenon. It looked as if the air became thick and murky, and was constantly swirling around like a cup of coffee when you stir it. The rift… Chrysalis considered herself lucky that she got teleported right in the middle of the Aurora crater, where the rift was. The nuclear bomb that had wiped out the city had also weakened the space between the worlds. Now, Chrysalis had an emergency exit, for when things got out of hoof. It really was a shame she couldn’t find a way to communicate with her commanders—and Discord—in Equestria. Silently, she wondered how they would do, and then she grinned. Equestria was hers, and soon, all the ponies would be eradicated in this world, so that the element of kindness will never be found. It was only a matter of time. Very quickly, Chrysalis had noticed that the metro system around the crater held tons of opportunity. The changelings had rapidly multiplied and explored the land, and had given some valuable information. Apparently, there were still strongholds of human civilization, and there were two major powers in this world; the Americans and the Russians. These powers were well-organized, armed, and clever. But they couldn’t change shape. Suddenly, a changeling, just a normal one, skittered into the throne hall, its tiny wingbeats echoing in the vast space. The hole in the throne closed, and Chrysalis turned around. “What is it? Another victory, I hope…?” The changeling bowed. “We do have a victory, my queen. The base is now manned by a battalion of changelings, in case there’s another compound that could take revenge.” “I take it that everyone has been destroyed?” The changeling grinned. “And it was delicious.” “Then you deserve a mutation, my son. But, why does your commander not bring me this news, and sends an emissary instead?” “He didn’t send an emissary, my queen. The commander is dead.” Chrysalis flung her wings open. “WHAT?! But, how is that possible? Maxillary was one of my finest creations! I have personally overseen his birth, mutation, and training. How could this happen?!” Chrysalis’s voice was laden with so much rage that the changeling first had to gather up his nerves again to be able to say anything. “Eh… I saw how, in fact. He died by the hoof of a pony.” Sighing, grunting, Chrysalis said, “A pony?!” “That is what I saw.” Chrysalis did her best to keep her frustration in check; frustration mixed with grief. She had lost one of her many sons and daughters. She sighed once more, before asking, “What did that pony look like?” “We didn’t see much of him, but he wore a gasmask, and had a bow and arrow.” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “A bow and arrow, are you sure?” “Yes, my queen. I could see the arrow sticking out commander Maxillary’s eye.” “That’s… interesting…” Chrysalis’s voice rapidly lost volume. It seemed as if she were mumbling to herself now. The changeling rubbed his muzzle with his hoof. “There’s just one tiny thing…” “What is it, my child? Don’t be scared.” “Well…” Despite Chrysalis’s words, the changeling still trembled. “Thanks to the archer pony, a small group of people managed to escape. We did chase them and managed to feed on quite many of them, but a few high-priority targets managed to escape…” Chrysalis frowned. “Who? Can you tell me?” “Well, there was actually another pony there too. She was a brown mare with a blonde, short mane. We haven’t heard or seen her, so she might be hiding somewhere…” “But there’s more…” Chrysalis guessed. “Yes, my queen. We have also lost sight of the archer pony. He’s gone.” The changeling gazed at the ground in shame. Slowly, Chrysalis walked towards the changeling, and raised his chin with a hoof. “Don’t worry, my child. We will find the ponies, and we will feed on them as much as we can. It’s just two ponies, and this world is very deadly.” The changeling nodded. “That is all, Queen Chrysalis.” “Very well. You may leave.” As soon as those words left the queen’s mouth, the changeling swiveled around and bolted off. When Chrysalis blinked again, he was gone. Chrysalis walked towards a peculiar stone. It was broad and flat, with markings all over it. It was Chrysalis’s own map of Ground Zero, based on what her scouts had told her. The Aurora crater and Chrysalis’s palace made up the center of the map, while Russian and American bases dotted the area around. Chrysalis had chosen this location for a purpose. Obviously, men didn’t go into the crater, poisonous and radioactive as it was. No, Chrysalis knew no one would make a move against her. Not the Americans, and not the Russians. As she studied the map and crossed out Democracity, she thought deeply about her next step on the path to total domination. There was only one big Russian base left, at the other end of the forest. The one next to the Aurora crater had been the first one to fall, and was a bit of a test for her changeling army. She had crossed it off. Suddenly, a window opened. Changeling hives kept changing and transforming. New exits and entrances appeared and disappeared, and only the changelings knew where to go. Chrysalis walked towards the window and looked outside. She couldn’t have picked a better time to look at Ground Zero. Through the haze of green and grey, she saw a great fireball, blinking like an eye on the horizon. It flashed to the east, before releasing a large shockwave. Chrysalis saw how the radioactive winds made the scrawny trees kneel, as if they worshipped the ultimate weapon. When that too had passed, a great cloud of smoke crept higher and higher, until it disappeared through the cloud cover like a stairway to heaven. “Impressive,” Chrysalis said to herself, wondering what formidable weapon had just been deployed. Gazing spellbound to that ultimate destruction, Chrysalis didn’t hear how the communication scarabs flashed. They opened up, and poured out smoke. Only when she turned around and saw one of her changeling commanders, did she fully return to the here and now again. “Speak!” The changeling was clad in the commander red armor. There was a forest on the background. “Commander Vestax from the eastern post reporting. It seems that the base of the ‘Russians’ has exploded somehow. Scouts are moving in to check the perimeter.” “No need,” Chrysalis said with a wave of her hoof. “I saw it too. No one could survive such a blast. It was probably one of those ‘nuclear weapons’ that transformed this land into the paradise it is now. Return to the hive and regroup. We are launching a new attack.” “Yes, my queen.” The vapors slowly receded, until the image faded. Chrysalis reckoned that someone else must have had a grudge against the Russians. Probably the Americans, she thought. Well, whoever it was has served me well, and couldn’t have picked a better time. She walked over to the map, and used her horn to cross out the red base next to the forest. Now there were neither Russian bases nor American bases standing. Her work was almost done. She called for her hive commander, who strode into the room minutes later. He bowed. “My queen.” “Rise and prepare, Hive Commander. We are beginning our final assault. There is only one big footstep of civilization left that must be wiped out. Only then will we have total dominion, and only then can we assign our full forces to finding the elements of harmony and destroy them. My spies have already told me much about the place. It is supposed to be very popular for both the Americans and the Russians. For some reason, they don’t fight over it.” She swished her tail. “Doesn’t matter. Hive Commander, get our troops in line. Arm our soldiers. We will go to war as soon as everything and everyone is ready. Everyone but the humans.” “Yes, my queen,” the hive commander said with a salute. But then he realized he forgot something. “Eh… my queen, what is the name of the place we will march upon?” Queen Chrysalis narrowed her eyes. “My spies told me it’s called ‘Plaza City.’” “’Plaza City?’ what a peculiar name.” “Yes,” Chrysalis hissed. “A name that will be wiped off the map.”