The air was forced out of Mark’s lungs and he struggled to get it back.
“It gives us great relief to know that you are safe Mark,” Luna stated, not caring about the royal ‘we’ as she held her friend in a vice-like hug just a couple of seconds longer before releasing him.
Coughing once, Mark looked at her in surprise as he regained his breath. It wasn’t that he thought she would be unhappy to see him, he knew her well enough that she’d be overjoyed to see him in this crisis. He didn’t expect the Princess of the Night to practically tackle him however. It wasn’t till he looked at her eyes that he realized that they were bloodshot and had bags underneath them. With all this going on when was the last time she had gotten a some decent sleep? Just how much magic did she have to use to keep everypony safe?
‘You know, add the fact that she probably thought you were kidnapped by a changeling queen almost a week ago I think she has a pretty good reason to be relieved at your safety.’
Mark felt a pang of guilt but pushed it aside. If given the choice whether to help Chrysalis or not, he’d do it all again in a heartbeat. Maybe without some of the frustrating or annoying parts of the adventure, but still the same overall decision. It was then he realized he still had some news that could brighten up her day further. “Celestia’s here too with reinforcements. It’s only a matter of time now before the city is ours again.”
As expected, Luna’s eyes brightened. “Indeed? That is excellent news! Grimshadow, show Mark where everypony else is so he can rest. Then prepare the troops, it is time for us to join our sister and retake Canterlot.”
Mark shook his head at that. “No can do Luna. I need to get back up to the throne room quickly. If my friend isn’t in danger already, she’s going to be soon.”
“Mark...” Luna hesitated with a frown. “We do not want you to go back up there. Not alone. Yet our place must be here to lead and we cannot spare a guard to protect you.”
“Then don’t,” Mark stated with a confident grin. “I can move faster on my own anyways. And besides, I can take care of myself.” His eyes narrowed and he tapped his chin as an idea struck him. “Instead of going on the offensive, leave that to the guards Celestia brought. You and everypony else here have been in these caves for who knows how long, so bring them to safety. That king re-applied the shield, but I have a feeling that it's weaker than before. Nothing you can’t handle.”
Luna looked aghast, almost angry at that. “You are telling us to leave you alone? The castle is filled with these horrible changelings who will not hesitate to kill you. This is not even counting the diamond dogs?!”
“No, I’m telling you- wait, what about diamond dogs?”
It was a good thing that Bastion had left Fluttershy and Razor behind with Mimzy keeping guard over them. After what those three had been through and done, they deserved a rest. Though that was only the second reason why Bastion was glad they weren’t present.
“Diamond dogs.” Ironwing spit, using the fur of one of the dead diamond dog attackers to clean his weapon of blood.
After reaching the upper limits of the city where the wealthier denizens of Canterlot lived, Bastion and Ironwing stumbled upon diamond dogs mid-robbery. Dropping their sacks full of gems, valuables, and anything else that looked expensive to them, the bandits drew their weapons and attacked. It was clear that they didn’t expect much from the two ponies, and didn't have the chance to regret that fact when Bastion and Ironwing got to work. The smart ones —the ones whom escaped, used their weaker “comrades” as a gauge for the two ponies’ strength and seeing the difference between their skills grabbed as much of the dropped treasure as they could before high-tailing it to the castle. The ponies probably could have caught them too if the fighting hadn’t drawn more changelings.
The area now secure, Bastion noted that the scene before them would have likely sent Fluttershy into a shock-induced coma. Granted, it was enough to make most ponies queasy —as the streets ran red and green with changeling and diamond dog blood. Bastion himself felt disgust, though not from the scene —but with himself. During the battle the thrill, the adrenaline, the pleasure in knowing he would live and his enemies would die came back to him. He had thought he’d changed since all he felt in his previous fights was a mix of duty and indifference; his best metaphor describing it as that of a custodian taking out the trash.
“Why are they here?” Ironwing snorted loudly, breaking Bastion out of his grim thoughts.
“To loot.” Bastion’s reply was obvious, quick and to the point. This new train of thought gave him a distraction. One where he didn’t have to think about his previous bloodthirsty demeanor.
Why the bandits were here was simple as the vast majority of diamond dogs not in any formal tribes —exiles and criminals, usually gathered together to form a bandit clan. Seeing a weakness in Equestria’s defenses, they wouldn’t hesitate to capitalize on it. The real question that was putting Bastion on edge was how were they here? Using their common mode of travel through tunnels would have taken years due to Canterlot’s mountainous terrain and there were annual security checks for just that sort of threat too.
“Why didn’t we know about this beforehoof?” Ironwing growled as he stared at Bastion, knowing the other pony had thoughts on the matter.
“I don’t know,” Bastion stated absently, still putting the pieces together.
With tunnels being out of the question, it could only mean that they traveled above ground and given what the two ponies had seen, were working with the changelings to an extent. But why? What was their goal? Even a fool would know that attacking Equestria’s capital city was paramount to a suicide mission assuming they weren’t captured alive.
“Damnation! What do you know then?” Ironwing all but shouted, his tone and body language heavily implying that he wanted Bastion to share his full thoughts.
Bastion closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. Tried to see the big picture. If material gain wasn’t their main purpose, then there was only one other explanation Bastion could think of. “They’re sending a message...”
Equestria had seen hundreds of years of relative peace. Mostly out of fear and respect for Celestia, no other nation had involved Equestria in their wars. Rather, Equestria had become known for staying neutral and impartial in such disputes, often playing a role as mediator. There had been minor skirmishes and battles dotting their place in the country’s history due to bandits and other internal circumstances such as Princess Cadance and Shining Armor’s wedding. To the best of his knowledge, the only ponies left in Equestria to have seen —much less lived through, true warfare in their lifetime were Celestia, Luna, Bastion, and Ironwing, though the latter to a lesser extent due to only being more of an observer in his youth.
The message was clear however. There are ways to get around Equestria’s defenses. Ways of getting past Celestia. And if those two were capable of being bypassed, there were ways to win.
“Then I’ll send a message of my own!” Ironwing stated angrily.
Though Bastion had similar sentiments, he couldn’t help but have some trepidation to just a show of force. Unless this was just some sacrificial force, pawns, then the leader would be safely in diamond dog territory. If the one leading them was here however, they had to be either incredibly foolish, or remarkably cunning. He hoped that it was the former.
Hearing a faint but consistent sound, both ponies ears perked up. Someone was running and the fact that the steps were getting louder, whoever it was was getting closer. The lack of a clack of hooves made it clear that it was neither pony nor changeling which left only one more option, Diamond dog.
Glancing to the side, Bastion gave Ironwing a look and hoofsign that informed him not to react immediately. Ironwing glared back but nodded, resting his lance on his shoulder. Bastion wanted to catch this one alive and get as much information as possible before continuing. Eyes ahead, Bastion prepared himself to strike.
It wasn’t long before a ragged looking diamond dog with scruffy fur and a terrier-like face emerged from around the corner of an alleyway, sword in paw, before tripping over a trashcan. As he scrambled to his feet, the two ponies noticed that he was clutching his side with his free-paw and that he hadn’t seen them since his gaze remained behind him and towards the rooftops. Even as he began to run straight at them he kept his gaze upwards. Taking several strides before finally looking ahead, the diamond dog finally saw them but didn’t stop or even hesitate, instead raising his sword up high. “Outta my way or I'm gonna cut you down!” He yelled more out of desperation than malice.
Before the diamond dog could get any closer a sudden rush of air knocked against him, almost sending him sprawling on the ground. He turned his head to the rooftops again but was too late as a large shadow fell over him and he was thrown to the wall of a building. The larger and more ferocious assailant didn’t stop, picking the diamond dog up into the air by his throat and sword arm.
There was a murderous look in his eye regardless of the bloody axe and an unconscious blue unicorn tied to his back. After clearing his throat and spitting to the side Sperze spoke. “I’m going to give you one last chance to tell me where your boss is before I gut you like I did your buddy back there.”
“I don’t know! I don’t know nothing!” Sperze twisted the bandit’s arm until there was a pop and the bandit screamed before his sword clattered to the ground. “Please! If I talk, he’ll kill me!”
No longer needing to hold the dislocated arm, Sperze lifted the diamond dog closer until they were eye level and then placed his free talon on the Diamond Dog’s sternum. “Wrong. I’ll kill you!”
“Sperze,” Bastion stated loud enough for the griffon to jump in surprise, though he never lost his grip.
“Ah, hey.” Sperze chuckled. The griffon’s tone going from murderous to jovial in an instant. Even as he kicked in one of the diamond dog’s knees after setting him down. “Well this is a bit embarrassing. You see all that?”
Bastion stared sternly at the griffon who in turn scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. The pony let out a deep sigh and felt a touch of pity for the diamond dog. “Enough. I’ve got some questions for you, after I get some answers out of him.”
As Bastion walked to the diamond dog, the bandit in turn whimpered and unsuccessfully tried to crawl away. Looking at the diamond dog, the tactician had a better picture of what his injuries were: three maybe four broken ribs, several minor cuts, and the broken leg and arm Sperze had inflicted in front of them. Before he began the interrogation however, Bastion glanced at his friend again. “Was all that really necessary? I’ve seen you use less than this and still get the information you wanted.”
Sperze looked away, unable to meet Bastion’s gaze not out of shame, but because he was hiding something. Usually forthright and blunt — especially with Bastion — whatever it was was something that he didn’t want the pony to find out. Bastion couldn’t help but be a bit angry at Sperze’s hesitation and uncharacteristic secrecy. “What is it Sperze? What are you hiding?”
The mercenary, experienced as he was, understood the situation well enough to know that time was a valuable resource. One that he couldn’t afford to waste for a multitude of reasons. Clenching his talon in frustration, Sperze admitted his reason. He could only hope that it was for the best. “I had to, Red. He’s so close this time.”
“He?” Bastion looked to his friend in confusion. It wasn’t until he analyzed the frustration and impatient expression on Sperze’s face did he come to a realization. Bastion’s blood seemed to run cold, everything around him numbing.
There was only one individual that Sperze could be referring to. He had hoped it wasn’t, even if it made sense. The fact that diamond dogs were present and the fact that nopony had known about them, He’d have kept them in line for the most part.
It was no wonder Bastion was feeling such bloodlust earlier, subconsciously he had to have known the moment they began fighting the diamond dogs. Memories flooded his mind, Bastion’s face flushing with rage as he remembered it all as if it just happened.
An observer to all this, Ironwing looked at Bastion in surprise. The Royal Tactician had always kept his emotions in check as far as the General knew, but here and now Bastion’s face had contorted into a terrifying grimace. “Who’s here?” The pegasus asked.
Ignoring the general’s question, Bastion placed a hoof on the diamond dog’s diaphragm and pressed down, hard.. The diamond dog frantically looked everywhere, at anything for help. Spotting his dropped sword, he grasped for it with his good arm but couldn’t reach. Then vainly he began to pound his fist against Bastion’s hoof. Bastion in turn continued pressing until several cracks were heard. “Where is he?”
Knowing there was only one way to get out of this the bandit conceded. “He-sin...assl…” The diamond dog tried to confess, but the intense pressure was keeping him from having the air to say it.
Lifting his hoof before the diamond dog could fall unconscious, Bastion allowed the bandit to take a deep breath before repeating his inquiry with one word. “Where?”
“HE’S IN THE CASTLE! HE’S IN THE CASTLE!” The bandit shouted, before going into a coughing fit. It wasn’t long before the pain from even breathing caused him to faint.
With this information, Bastion was no longer interested in the diamond dog and turned around to Ironwing. “We’re continuing to our destination. Can I trust you to handle the changeling king?”
The General’s eyes narrowed. “No.” Of course the General felt he could take on the changeling king on his own, however, he’d never seen Bastion act like this. Never seen this pony look so on edge. He had the feeling that if he left the tactician to his own devices that there would be some harsh consequences. Looking to the griffon who seemed to know Bastion, he noticed that said griffon had untied the pony and axe on his back, the former laying on the ground and the axe in his grip.
Taking flight, Sperze hovered just below the rooftops, the gust from his sudden jump causing Bastion to turn and look at him in surprise and then anger.
“Sperze!”
“Sorry Red. As much as I’d love to let you, I promised I wouldn’t let you kill him. That’s my job. Get Trixie there to safety, I’ve got this,” Sperze said before turning and making a beeline to towards the castle.
“Ironwing take-” Before Bastion could finish what he was going to say, Ironwing had already taken off after Sperze, following behind the griffon.
Bastion screamed out of frustration, punching the wall as he did so and leaving a cracked indentation. As much as he wanted to run after them, they had known that it would be against his nature to leave the unconscious Trixie just laying there. Picking her up onto his back, the Royal Tactician began to run her to where he’d left Mimzy and Fluttershy.
After that however, nothing was going to stop him from vengeance.
With a flourish, Chrysalis used her magic to whip the blood off her rapier. Stepping over the bodies of the two ‘lost’ guards her brother had left to guard the orb, Chrysalis stared at her family’s heirloom. The Orb of Thorax, once used long ago to store and supply the hive with love, now a cracked and broken relic, its purpose corrupted by her own brother’s ambition and placed on Celestia’s throne as if it were some niche trophy.
Reaching out, Chrysalis placed a hoof onto the orb, a wicked smile forming on her lips. Would it be so hard to use? If she could separate her brother’s link to it and replace it with her own, she’d be able to feed her hive with whatever love was still stored within. She’d embolden her hive, do what her predecessors could only dream of: subjugating and ultimately uniting the diverse changeling kingdoms in the world. Becoming the most powerful queen in history.
“And for the most powerful Queen in history, I’d need a king. Or at least a consort to continue the line,” Chrysalis whispered. Immediately a picture of Mark’s face popped up in her mind and she burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it. After all, the moment she thought of the tactician again, her plans to use the orb instantly shattered. The orb was too tempting for her not to use responsibly, she’d become just like her brother and then what would Mark think of her? No, she was better than that.
Stepping back, her horn began to glow and she prepared her magic. Once she reached a sufficient distance, she shot a beam of pure magic at the orb. It shook, old cracks widening and new ones forming, Chrysalis’ magic shining through as the orb was about to shatter.
“NOOO!”
Quickly Chrysalis ended her magic, dodging to the side and using her wings for extra acceleration just as a beam of magic flew by where she was standing. Turning to the source she was met with the sight of Morphos equipped with his lance and— like her, was wielding it with his magic. Her rapier came up, the point aimed between Morphos’ eyes.
In a straight up fight, Chrysalis still wasn’t entirely confident she would win against her brother. That’s why she wouldn’t give Morphos the opportunity this time. All she needed was the proper opening.
“Do you realize what you almost did? What you’ve done already?” Morphos’ voice cracked hoarsely for a moment. The consequence of his constant yelling and screaming all day.
With a smile and shrug Chrysalis replied as insolently as she could. “Of course I do. You broke our hive apart and usurped my throne, now I’ve put an end to your ambitions and will reclaim what is mine. You’ve lost brother.” Despite her arrogant facade, as she said the last word it left her with a feeling of disgust. How could such a monster be her brother? Why did fate have to curse her with such an idiotic sibling?
His eyes narrowed, Morphos continued his ranting. “I could have conquered Equestria! I could have been the king to conquer the other hives and reigned supreme, ensuring our survival!” For a moment, Morphos’ expression changed into that of fear. “You’ve doomed us all!”
Sensing his fear, Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed. Even if he was physically capable, he was and had always been emotionally vulnerable. It behooved her to capitalize on the opportunity. “You’ve doomed yourself. I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re an idiot as always but somehow you just keep outdoing yourself over and over again. I bet that you even had an entire speech you wanted to give me about how you were more suited for the throne than me.”
Chrysalis grinned triumphantly as Morphos’ face contorted into rage. She struck a particularly sore spot. She always did.
“I WAS MORE SUITED FOR THE THRONE! You were mother’s favorite, that’s the only reason why-”
“She chose me because the alternative was giving the throne to a fool that couldn’t see past his own selfish desires and flaws!”
“You’re the same way!”
“If I was, then I wouldn’t be here now, would I?”
Morphos’ teeth gnashed together and didn’t say anything more, glaring as his sister kept a satisfied smile and matched his gaze with her own. The scream as Morphos launched the spear at his sister like a missile was the official conclusion that talking was over and was exactly the opening Chrysalis had waited for.
Dodging just enough so that she didn’t lose too much time nor take too much damage, Chrysalis reciprocated by closing the distance. She grit her teeth as the lance grazed along her neck to her flank, leaving a long but minor cut on her side. Horn aglow, Chrysalis shot a quick burst of magic right into Morphos’ face. The blast didn’t cause any real damage since Morphos had quickly shielded his face with magic, however, it did make the king’s head recoil and blind him to Chrysalis’ followup strike.
Putting all the force she could into her rapier, there was a small crunch as Chrysalis’ blade pierced straight through Morpho’s armored chitin until it was hilt-deep into his chest.
A wheezing scream of disbelief filled the room before Morphos back-handed Chrysalis away with whatever force he could muster. “Y-You-” The king’s legs buckled for a moment but he managed to remain upright and despite the pain, left the rapier where it was for fear of causing more damage. His eyes danced around the room with fury and desperation before they fell upon the cracked orb sitting on the throne. “I won’t let it end like this! I can’t!” He screamed, blood trickling out of his mouth and wound. Slowly at first, Morphos soon sped into a do-or-die hobble towards the orb, leaving a larger and larger blood trail as he moved.
Recovering from her hit and seeing Morphos’ goal, Chrysalis’ horn began to glow with magic but canceled it after a few seconds. No matter how much love Morphos absorbed or took from any Changelings still connected to the orb, even that wouldn’t be enough to heal himself enough to heal those wounds.
“I didn’t want it to end this way,” Chrysalis spoke softly but sternly whilst shaking her head. “Despite what you’ve done, despite how much I hated you, you were still my brother. My last direct blood relative. I can’t condone what you’ve done, but I think I understand why you did it.”
Morphos’ flashed a brief look to his sister but kept moving to the throne.
With a rare feeling (for her) of sincerity and regret, Chrysalis continued, following her brother at a sedated pace. “You’re right. I did covet being queen, just as much or maybe even more than you. Had I been kinder, maybe even shared my power, maybe we wouldn’t even be here. Maybe we would have even repaired our…hostile relationship.”
When Morphos reached the throne, he grasped the orb, and proceeded to suck the love out of it. Chrysalis for her part stopped where she stood, looking to her brother with a cool, even stare and her horn began to glow again. A mercy killing wasn’t what he deserved, but it was the last kind thing Chrysalis could do for him. “I don’t regret doing this brother, but I’m sorry that it had to be done.”
Her concentration on the spell was interrupted as an arrow whizzed by, just barely missing her head.
“My king, our forces in the city are being overwhelmed! We have to run!” Mewta yelled, as she launched another arrow at Chrysalis. It was clear she didn’t see the extent of Morphos’ wounds, nor did she notice that she had interrupted what Chrysalis considered a private moment.
Without hesitation, Chrysalis shot two beams of magic at Mewta, the changeling archer dodging the first but getting knocked into the wall by the second. “It’s over,” Chrysalis announced definitively, returning her attention to Morphos whose breathing at this point had become ragged and difficult.
Then something strange happened. Morphos began absorbing something from the orb, but it wasn’t love. It wasn’t even an emotion, yet he was absorbing it, and as he did, her rapier was being pushed out of his body.
“You say you’re sorry?” Morphos’ breathing had returned to normal and his eyes were now glowing with an eerie light. “A certain someone taught me how to absorb more than love, more than emotion. Something even more powerful. Quintessence.”
Hearing a strange sound, Chrysalis looked to her right and saw that the corpses of the changelings she had killed earlier were crumbling into nothingness. A scream to her left caused her to turn again and see that Mewta was screaming and her body was also slowly disintegrating. In fear and shock, Chrysalis looked towards her brother and saw that the orb’s cracks were getting larger and larger as Morphos absorbed the quintessence from every other changeling connected to him. Had she not been trembling she would have attributed her inaction to magic.
With a final shudder the orb’s light gave out and then crumbled into itself, turning into a thick dust that fell to the floor. Morphos’ hoof came down with a resounding thump and scattered the orb’s remains. The sound snapped Chrysalis out of her stupor and she quickly used her magic to not only to reclaim her rapier but to send a large blast at Morphos.
Morphos didn’t even bother shielding, instead swiping the blast away with some of his own magic. “Sorry? No. You’re not sorry yet.”
“Okay, so now to just quietly make my way to the throne room. I only hope Morphos hasn’t made it there yet.”
‘He might have, but I also get this strong feeling that his ego is making him take awhile to get there. Thinking of those long rambling villain speeches is pretty hard after all.’
Mark laughed at that.
After much coercion and a little arguing, Mark made his point perfectly clear that he wouldn’t be swayed. Though reluctantly, Luna finally agreed, sending Starstreak to escort him to the tunnel leading to her royal chambers and then return. Had she more guards at her disposal, Mark was almost positive that she’d have had two guards accompany and play bodyguard to him. As it was, he was now alone again in an occupied castle with no knowledge of whether or not Chrysalis had accomplished her part of the plan and destroyed the orb. Pinkie...he was fairly sure he didn’t have to worry about her. Mark knew that Pinkie could be extremely elusive and unpredictable when she wanted to be. Plus she had her Pinkie-Sense which made him almost feel bad for any changelings that still chased her.
Pushing the bookcase door open, Mark entered Princess Luna’s room which was only dimly lit, the only source of light being the sunlight which seeped in from between the window curtains. Taking note of his surroundings and attempting to find the door, Mark happened upon an unexpected sight at the base of the Princess’ bed. A safe.
‘No. No no no. You wouldn’t. Did you learn nothing from Celestia’s room? Even if you could get in there why-’
“There could be something useful in there,” Mark justified, inching closer and closer to the safe until it was practically inches from his face. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of excitement, the same excitement he felt when searching the other diarch’s room upon returning to Equestria. The only thing stopping him now was guilt. Would he really invade his friend’s room and see what she had locked up for what probably was a good reason and purpose? It could be something very personal and sensitive that she wouldn’t want anyone to see. Could he really call himself her friend if he betrayed her in that way?
‘Now you’re thinking. Let's hurry and get-’
“Just try one combination and then I’ll leave. No sweat. I’ll probably get it wrong anyways.” Mark mumbled to himself as he lifted his hoof and examined the lock on the safe. It was a magically powered keypad safe with eight digit password, there was no way he’d get the combination right given the sheer number of possibilities. Heck, he was only gonna press three numbers. Pressing the first button he decided to get it over with. One, zero, two, two, two, zero, one, and one. There, now lets get-”
Mark almost jumped as he heard a click from the safe’s locking mechanism and the safe door come slightly ajar. Instead of fully opening it however, Mark just stood there dumbfounded that it had actually worked. It took a bit until it dawned on him and he facehoofed. “Of course Luna would pick her first Nightmare Night as a password. When this is all over, I gotta do something about that.” Sighing, Mark set his hoof down from his face and reached for the safe’s door. “Might as well see what’s in it.”
‘First sign of more works by M.O. Lestia and I’m out.’
Opening the safe, Mark had expected some jewelry, a diary, maybe even a failsafe that would trigger an explosion should it be opened incorrectly. Though definitely happy that it wasn’t that last one, he didn’t expect to see a single dark grey-purple book which —upon closer inspection, he noted was a tome with tiny runes on it and a larger symbol at the very center of the book resembling six eyes connected by two arched lines.
“Well, ain’t that a kick in the flank. It actually is something useful,” Mark said as he lifted the tome with his magic and put it into one of the inner pockets of his cloak before he could change his mind.
‘I dunno. I’m getting a real ominous vibe from this thing. Like it's hungry and you just rang the dinner bell.’
A shiver went down Mark’s spine, but he chuckled afterwards. He was being ridiculous. It was just a book. A tool. A weapon. It was just a magical tome and he had bigger things to deal with than be scared of something with pages. “I wonder what it does anyways. Worst case scenario I can just overload it with magic and throw it at any jerkwad I see.”
Mark said that, yet felt that when the time came, he’d probably use his last two fire tomes instead, leaving the mysterious book for last if necessary. It was safer that way since he actually had experience with the elemental tomes. Not to mention the fact that he only had one elixir left should he get hurt.
With nothing left to investigate and with Chrysalis still in danger, Mark left the room, entering one of the bigger hallways of the castle. In most castles, hallways like this one were meant to show off the wealth of the royalty, decorated with intricate tiles, shields with the crest of various noble houses both old and new on the walls, and large windows, alternating between stained and clear glass, all separated by columns and all giving full views of the city and horizon. Being here reminded him of the time he graffitied all the shields because he didn’t know which one Blueblood’s household belonged to. Good times.
‘Focus Mark. Focus.’
Looking out one of the vast windows, he was able to see the thestrals of Luna’s guard flying just within the perimeter of Morphos’ shield. She was ready to get the last of the civilians out of the city.
Smiling to himself, Mark began to briskly trot down the hallway. There were a few discrepancies, mistakes, and variables he hadn’t taken into consideration at first, but things were finally beginning to go as he’d imagined. The only thing keeping it from being complete was Morphos’ defeat. Though he had faith in Chrysalis’ combat and magical prowess, he also didn’t want to leave anything to chance right now. Especially when his best friend was in danger. Luckily the throne room was literally one floor above this hall.
‘While we’re on our way there and since this is all almost finished, we need to talk about something real quick. Now don’t be mad... but ever since Crystal/Chrysallis showed up, I’ve been suppressing some of your memories and feelings. That way you’re not distract-’
Mark halted, his ears perked up and towards the doorway at the end of the hall. It creaked open.
Thinking quickly, Mark moved to one of the oversized curtains that hung by the window and quickly enveloped himself with it. His breath hitching when the door hit the wall from someone pushing it a little too hard.
Taking a deep but quiet breath, Mark focused on remaining perfectly still as whoever it was moved closer, partway in a discussion of some kind already.
“-What I mean boss is that despite this being our biggest haul ever, how are we supposed to bring it all back with us? We’d be hard pressed carrying all of it and getting away, especially considering the reports that we’ve had some losses in the city.”
Mark had never heard that voice before and he had the feeling he wouldn’t have heard the ones accompanying him till now either. Daring to peek out a bit, Mark was met with the sight of four diamond dogs, all fully equipped and with one carrying a large bag. However, Mark’s focus laid on the dog in the middle.
Of wiry build and with several small scars along his muzzle, Mark noted that out of the four, this one was also the most simplistic in his equipment, wearing only a silver sword at his side and a couple leather paddings over a shirt and vest combo. It took a moment for Mark to realize why he continued to stare at that particular diamond dog.
Several years ago when Bastion had taken him to the zoo, Bastion seemed to focus on the more dangerous animals for Mark to learn about. One particular animal, a cragadile, laid lazily not doing anything at all but looking like a pile of rocks in the mud. It was this creature however that sent shivers down Mark’s spine.
Mark, looking at this one diamond dog —whom he assumed was the aforementioned boss, and realized that he gave him that same feeling. Fear. Not a rational fear explained from an experience beforehand, fear on an instinctual level.
Realizing that the diamond dog boss’ eyes were constantly scanning for danger, Mark quickly enveloped himself completely behind the curtain again and hoped that he hadn’t been seen beforehand. They were only four, but with the presence of just that one, Mark knew that he didn’t stand a chance if he fought them. Silently praying to the heavens, Mark hoped that the diamond dogs would pass by quickly so he could get back on his way.
Barrows’ eyes narrowed as he looked around the hall. Clearing his throat he gave his subordinate a response. “Of course I knew we’d take losses and it was almost certain that the king’s plan to takeover would fail. Everything has been accounted for, at least as far as we’re concerned. If our oh so gracious benefactor,” the word came out bitterly, “-can’t find what he’s looking for in the vault that’s his problem. We’ve only done what we’ve been paid so far to do and play to that idiot’s pride.”
“But the loot-”
Rolling his eyes, Barrows waved his paw dismissively. “I’m sure that pretty blue princess in the caves can spare some of her ponies. Willingly or not.” Mark bit his hoof to hold in a gasp of surprise. How long had they known where Princess Luna was? He was only thankful that he’d convinced her to go ahead with the evacuation of the caves earlier. “How that idiot couldn’t figure out where she and all those ponies hid is beyond me.”
“But boss, we can’t just take one of the princesses as a prisoner! She’s got sun powers and stuff!”
“That’s her sister,” Barrows said, giving the diamond dog a smack to the back of the head, “Besides, I didn’t say anything about capturing her. It’d be more trouble than it’s worth to keep her as a hostage. No, just some of those ponies hiding with her will do. If she doesn’t run, knock her out. That sort of-”
Barrows shut his eyes suddenly, inhaling deeply through his nose. Opening his eyes again, he began scanning the entire hallway with renewed fervor.
“Boss, what is-”
Barrows’ paw shot out, grabbing the offender’s muzzle, effectively keeping it shut as he continued to look around. “Someone’s here. We’re being watched.”
Mark’s eyes widened and he held his breath, flattening himself against the wall as much as he could.
Sniffing the air again, Barrows continued. “Pony...Unicorn...Female…” Mark wanted to scream his indignation. Yes he was told before he looked a little feminine sometimes, yes he even turned into a girl after a run in with poison joke, and yes he used mare shampoo, but really? He had to have that fact rubbed in his face like this? That was just cruel. “...Smoker.”
Mark blinked. He never smoked. The closest thing he’d come to that would be the moments he’d nearly got set on fire but even then it would smell like burning fur, not tobacco smoke.
‘On a separate note, how the hell can this guy even determine all that by scent alone?’
Upon his epiphany that the one Barrows smelled wasn’t him, Mark let out a sigh of relief. It took him only a second to realize his mistake as he heard the sound of weapons being unsheathed and one of the diamond dogs taking steps in his direction.
‘Dumbass!’
The situation was out of Mark’s control. Then again, this whole day was a rollercoaster of the tactician being in and out of control. He was just glad he was a quick thinker.
“WAIT!” Mark shouted, peeking his head from behind the curtain. Looking at the bandits, Mark was able to tell by their off-balanced stances that he had successfully caught them off-guard, with the exception of Barrows who was just standing there lazily, his sword still sheathed though his paw gripped the handle as if expecting something. “Now I’m sure you’re wondering, why hide behind the giant curtain? Is this guy stupid? Well to answer all those questions, it’s so I can activate my element.”
“El-Element?! Wait, boss didn’t that guy say not to kill those ponies? Something about dealing with them hims-” Barrows’ fist moved like lightning, cracking the diamond dog across the jaw hard enough to send him sprawling almost in front of Mark.
“You talk too much.” Barrows’ snarled before turning his attention back to Mark. “And you kid, you’re quite cheeky. Especially since I know the Element Bearers are mares.”
“I-” Mark began to speak but was instantly shushed by the bandit boss who smiled as he shook his finger as if Mark was a naughty child.
“Atatata. I know what you were doing. You were trying to regain some semblance of control of your current predicament and once you saw the perfect opportunity you’d’ve quipped about being the ‘Element of Surprise!’ and then fled. Now, how far off the mark am I?”
Mark gulped, the color draining from his face. That was exactly what he was going to do, give or take explode one of his tomes as he fled. It was evident that from his expression that Barrows’ knew he hit the bullseye before even asking and began to chuckle.
“Tell you what kid, you’ve already amused me a little and I don’t care if you’re alive or not so here’s what I’ll do. If you can make it past that idiot there,” Barrows pointed to the diamond dog he just punched, “Then I’ll let you go. Scot-free. Chops, on your end, use that technique I taught you, I want to see how well you learned it. Don’t disappoint me. ” A shiver went down both Mark and the diamond dog named Chops’ spine as they looked at the bandit boss. Barrows still had that disarming smile on his face, but it was evident from his last statement that whoever lost this little ‘game’ would be dead one way or another.
Gulping, Mark watched as Chops ignored the small drops of blood leaking from his mouth —probably having lost a tooth, and took a stance. Mark felt like he’d seen that stance before but didn’t have more time to think on it as the diamond dog charged.
In swordplay, the shoulders were almost always the tell-tale sign of which way the sword was moving. Exceptions to this were equines whom usually used the traditional mouth-grip method of swinging their weapon, thus the neck was the thing to watch. Unicorns were the other trickier exception— having the capability to use their magic to move the weapon, in that case though, going for the horn was the ideal method. This was something Mark had learned from Bastion and the most relevant to what was happening right now. His knees already bent in anticipation, Mark was prepared for the inevitable reading of movements and improvised dodges he’d have to do. Only, it wasn’t necessary.
To put it in more correct terms, Mark dodged but it wasn’t anything he had to think about. It was all muscle memory. The one holding the weapon was different and the height difference was there as well, however, every time Chops swung Mark was already out of the way. He had indeed seen the diamond dogs stance before, just as he had seen this combination of swings only at that time it was a firm wooden stick wielded by Armored Bastion.
Just as Chops had prepared another swing— his breathing heavy from fruitless attacks, a loud, intimidating voice rang out, freezing both Mark and Chops in place. “Enough.” Barrows snarled, his amused— if not cheerful, tone from earlier gone as he pointed at Mark. "You, kid. How did you know where that fourth swing was going to go?”
‘Because I was constantly hit by it until I learned how to dodge it!’ Mark almost voiced aloud, his blood running cold at Barrows’ intense stare.
‘Why’d he single out the fourth swing?’
Growling at Mark’s silence, Barrows inhaled a deep breath to recompose himself before addressing the tired diamond dog. “Chops. Block the exit while I get this kid to cooperate.” Barrows said simply as he began strolling towards Mark.
“Kid, I’m going to give you a choice here since I’m a little short on time. You come with us, or I cut off a leg or two and drag you with us. What’s it going to be?” Barrows asked, his thumb flicking the hilt of his sword so that it was just out enough to ensure a quick-draw. His gaze left Mark however as he a thud resounded through the room and he glanced towards Chops.
Three steps after Chops moved, the diamond dog had fallen forward onto his face. Under normal circumstances anyone would assume he’d tripped over his own feet in a bout of urgency. However, the knife embedded at the base of the diamond dog’s neck, separating his spinal column, further proved that this wasn’t an ordinary circumstance.
Seeing what had occurred, the other two diamond dogs goons began looking around frantically. Their paws trembling as they tried to locate the unknown assailant
Barrows himself carefully surveyed as much of the hallway as he could as he slowly unsheathed his blade. “I was wondering when you’d make your move. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you dearie.”
Mark blinked. For a moment, his gaze was stuck on the dead diamond dog, stunned at how quick the kill was. He then considered slapping himself. This was the moment he needed, once Barrows had fully turned around, he was going to make a run for it. If the other diamond dogs came after him he could probably manage, but Barrows was the one he needed to avoid. As cold hearted as it sounded, he hoped that his impromptu savior could provide a good distraction so he could run away. He still needed to get to Chrysalis and if whoever had thrown that knife really wanted to save him or even take on Barrows, the most Mark could do to help would be get out of the way.
‘Was that movement?’
In the corner of Mark’s eye, he saw it. A slight shift in the shadows of one of the columns. Carefully, Mark began to inch his way towards his original goal, the door. Luckily Barrows couldn’t possibly know what he was up to just yet.
Glancing Mark’s way for a brief moment, the tactician froze, not just because he didn’t want to give away what he was doing, but because upon making eye contact, the diamond dog grinned as if he had an idea. Barrows turned his head in the opposite direction, the most likely direction of the assailant, his sword up and on guard as he began taking strides towards the dead diamond dog
‘Okay, bad news, he saw you moving, good news, he’s not looking at you and I’m fairly sure he still doesn’t know what you’re doing. Plus even if he is, what’s he gonna do?’
What was he going to do? Why worry about some dumb unicorn who was here at the wrong place and time when there was somebody more dangerous lurking about? No, this was probably the best if only chance he’d get.
Inhaling a reassuring breath, Mark broke into a run towards the door. He had a strong feeling that he knew what the bandit leader was about to do. It was along the lines of using the body as a meat shield, or judge the angle and throw the knife back to where it had originated from. Only, Barrows never reached for the knife. Without even looking, Barrows did a quick swipe with his sword,dislodging the knife from Chops’ neck and sending it flying directly at Mark.
‘Before we die, I just want to say that that was pretty cool.’
Mark gasped and tried to stop only to trip on his own hooves. Whereas the knife would have lodged itself in his leg, it now would hit his face since he’d stopped shorter than expected. Without any time to think, much less use magic, the tactician flinched, expecting the inevitable pain from being headshotted with a knife. The pain never came.
Peeking open one eye, Mark saw the knife only inches from his face, levitating in an ice-blue aura before dropping onto the tiles with a clank. What caught his interest more however was the matching colored light emanating in the shadows where he’d seen movement earlier.
“Gotcha,” Barrows teased as the mysterious assailant finally stepped out of the shadows.
If it weren’t for being able to see their hooves underneath the torn and singed cloak, Mark would’ve assumed the hooded figure was floating because of how graceful they moved. The figure glanced Mark’s way, making eye contact and triggering something in his memories. The eyes, a cold, ice blue just like her magic. Much like last time, they had gave him that feeling of reassurance. It was probably one of the reasons why Fluttershy cared for her so much.
“Miss Angel?” Mark whispered, stunned as the words came out of his mouth. He’d figured the mare was hiding something back in Manehatten, but didn’t expect this. How’d she even get here was the first question that popped in his head but he figured it out almost immediately given the state of her attire. Scorched, singed, and ash covered, she had hitched a ride on his now destroyed ship since she couldn’t very well teleport into the city with the changeling shield. Unlike Mark and the others however, it looked like she got off the hard way before its untimely destruction. Until now she probably wasn’t using much magic either so that she could hide and sneak easier. That in itself meant that she must have had years of practice to throw a knife with her hooves or mouth. Then again, Plum did say that she was both the nicest and scariest mare in the city.
Widening her stance, Angel’s horn glowed brighter and from her cloak a multitude of knives flew out, orbiting her and spinning in a deadly fashion. If he hadn’t seen the beginning of it, Mark would have thought that Angel had made metallic leaves flutter and flow around her.
“You two, get the loot and go. I’ll handle her,” Barrows said, his sword up in a guard stance as he faced the mare.
The two lackeys looked to each other then back at Barrows and then Angel.
“You have ten seconds,” Barrows added with a predatory grin though his eyes never left the dangerous mare.
Had the situation been less tense, Mark would have definitely laughed at the two diamond dogs’ reactions as they quickly grabbed the previously dropped bag of loot and almost trip over each other sprinting out of the hallway. He couldn’t however as Barrows and Angel began to circle each other in slow, even steps, reading their opponent carefully. It didn’t take long for Angel to make the first move, her knives flying out like a swarm of bees towards the diamond dog. Barrows in response began swatting them away with unbelievable speed and precision.
At first the diamond dog stood his ground, but no sooner did he swat or parry the knives, did more take their place in an unending cacophony of steel. The speed of the knives began to get faster and Barrows became forced to dodge as well as parry, with a few of the knives grazing him and giving him some light cuts. He was being forced back.
“Color me impressed.” Barrows managed to mutter under the barrage of blades. “But I wonder just how long you can keep that up.”
Stunned and in awe of the scene before him, it was only with Barrows’ words that Mark managed to pull his gaze away from the diamond dog and look to Angel. One thing he remembered from Twilight’s lessons was that magic drained more based on it’s complexity. Judging from Angel’s grave expression along with the sweat building on her face, the control of this particular spell, or series of, was taking its toll on her.
Mark bit his lip, nervously looking back and forth between the fighting and the door. Now was the best —and likely last, chance to escape. On one hoof with the amount of time he’d already lost, there was no way that Morphos hadn’t made it to the throne room already and Chrysalis might need Mark’s help. On the other hoof, if he left Fluttershy’s surprisingly dangerous Aunt with this diamond dog and she died, it would break the yellow pegasus’ heart.
Then again, why not the best of both worlds? Though a (self-proclaimed) expert at making tomes explode, Mark was also capable of using them in a normal capacity.
Using magic to pull out one of the fire tomes he kept in his cloak, Mark focused and sent a small but still dangerous fireball at Barrows back before grabbing the tome with his mouth and running for the door.
The tactician grinned with satisfaction when he heard a pained yelp from behind him. Yes it was a cheap shot, but so what? His revelry was cut short as he heard something rapidly approaching.
“N-No way…” Mark gasped in disbelief when he looked behind him to see that Barrows had turned his attention to him and was closing the distance with an unbelievable speed.
“That. Hurt.” The diamond dog seethed, before grabbing Mark by the scruff of his neck and flipping him over his shoulder, causing the tactician to drop his tome and once again be faced with a knife stopping mid-air, inches from his face. Said knife was soon followed by the swarm of knives doing the same, stopping only inches from Mark.
“I notice you don’t talk much.” If he wasn’t in his current precarious situation, Mark would have scoffed at that. He then realized that Barrows was addressing Angel again, not him. “At first I thought it was just because you were here to kill me but then I started thinking, ‘Why not appear earlier?’ There were much better times to try and assassinate me but it was only when I met this little scamp-” Barrows had adjusted and placed his blade along Mark’s throat. “That you made your grand entrance.”
A chill went down Mark’s spine. The chill was not just from being danger from Barrows again, but at the fact that Angel’s usually cold expression— one he’d only seen break into a smile for him and Fluttershy, was replaced with something he could only describe as terror.
“...Please...Don’t hurt him." Mark's terror grew at how vulnerable she sounded.
‘Celestia dammit-all to the pits of Tartarus!’ Mark thought to himself. He meant to help then flee, quick and easy, but instead made the situation much worse. He didn’t know why Angel seemed to care so much about him, but right now wasn’t the time to figure it out. He had to think of another plan ASAP! No, not just a plan, he needed to predict what Barrows was thinking. Heck, the diamond dog was doing that to him and Angel this entire time!
‘Help me out here Brain.’
‘Already on it! The only problem is that it all starts with him. Whatever his first move is we have to read and react.’
“I’ll start with how this ends, I stroll out of here and he can run along to play hero. Now here’s how we get to that happy ending, you are going to set all of those knives you have on the ground and I’m going to give you the kid. If I even see your horn light up we’re both going to see just how fast and far his head can roll. Any objections?”
Angel looked at Barrows her eyes narrowing in anger before she switched her gaze to Mark. Staring at him long and hard before she lowered her head in defeat. She knew what was coming.
“Just don’t hurt him…” She stressed again before she released her magic and her knives clattered against the marble floor.
Barrows lips curled into a grin that didn’t seem to reach his eyes, the kind you’d see on a liar. Without hesitation he then spun, throwing Mark right at Angel before sprinting after the airborne pony.
Angel for her part was left with only one option as she galloped full speed towards Mark. Without time to pick up all her knives again— let alone her exhaustion from magic use, the only option she’d been left with was to shield Mark with her own body. She felt no regret in doing so. Bitterly, she accepted that this ending was long overdue anyway. The only thoughts rushing through her head now as she tried to shield Mark, were the happy memories and what-if scenarios had things been different. There was one faint thought too that started small but quickly expanded as she reached Mark. How and when did he pick up one of her knives?
“Sorry about this!” Mark said before planting all four hooves on Angel’s face and kicking off, separating the two ponies and sending Mark rocketing towards Barrows. The diamond dog’s face betrayed his surprise as Mark angled the knife, leaving a long, hideous gash down Barrows’ sword arm before crashing into him, knocking them both over.
“Not bad kid.” Barrows confessed through grit teeth before grabbing the tactician’s head and picking him up with his good arm. It didn’t last long as soon after Angel —whom had continued to charge even after getting kicked in the face— bull-rushed the diamond dog, stabbing him in the side with her horn and pushing him back several feet at the same time.
“Now run Marked! Get out of here!” Angel shouted as she turned and prepared to buck Barrows into the wall.
Mark, needed no further encouragement. He was already sprinting to the door by the time Angel had said it. He’d lost enough time as is and Angel could take care of the rest. She’d have to.
Despite his crunch on time however, when Mark reached the door he took one last look back at the ensuring battle. Barrows had his sword again —in his other, uninjured arm— and Angel had retrieved one of her daggers, though she was holding it in her mouth rather than by magic. The two stood at a standoff, circling one another and waiting for an opening or the opportune time to make one.
There was movement in the corner of Mark’s eyes, had the windows been smaller he would have likely missed it, but the sheer size of them left him time to see what it was. The moment he saw who it was, time seemed to slow. Chrysalis, battered and bleeding fell, her wings broken once again and fluttering, in a futile attempt to slow her descent.
It wasn’t until he had gone back halfway did he realize what he was doing. That he was doing something incredibly foolish, stupid, and for the most part, crazy.
‘This is gonna hurt…’
‘This is such a bad idea!’
Mark heard Angel shout in protest as he finally reached the window where he saw Chrysalis fall. Jumping, and covering his head with his forehooves, he broke through with a crash then with an immediate follow up, Mark pulled out the elixir he’d been saving with his mouth, and used his magic to throw his last fire tome behind him before overloading the tome with magic until it exploded.
Mark let out a stifled scream as the flames and force of the explosion hit him. His back only somewhat scorched due to his cloak between him and the flames. Luckily the force from the explosion did just as intended, blasting the unicorn downwards.
A monstrous, guttural roar resounded behind him
‘By Celestia, does he ever stop doing that?’ Mark thought to himself, not even bothering to look at the source of the noise. It was obviously Morphos who was likely watching his sister fall and who again was angered by Mark’s intervention. He flinched a little as a scorching green beam of magic passed by him, missing him by a only a few inches.
‘At least his aim sucks.’
His front legs tucked to his sides, Mark cut through the air and headed straight to his injured friend.
‘Mark, as the smartest one amongst us, I’ve been able to calculate how long you have before you both go splat. You only got twenty two seconds.’
Reaching out with his hoof, Mark was almost within reach of Chrysalis.
‘Twenty.’
There! Mark managed to wrap his hoof around Chrysalis’ and pull her towards him, however he screamed in pain as another blast went by, grazing his hind leg. With a quick glance, Mark saw and could even smell the burnt fur and flesh, a thick charred black mark on his leg.
Ignoring the pain to the best of his abilities, Mark twisted his body with the changeling queen in his grasp, placing himself beneath her for his plan to work.
‘Fifteen.’
Reaching into his cloak’s pocket, Mark pulled out the last elixir he had on him. Struggling a moment with the cork, he finally managed to yank it off before placing the opening to Chrysalis’ mouth.
‘Eight.’
To Mark’s dismay he realized that Chrysalis had fallen unconscious and that already half of the elixir, though placed to her lips, hadn’t actually made it into her mouth.
‘Five.’
Holding Chrysalis close, Mark manually re-corked the elixir, held the vial in his mouth and looked past Chrysalis, and past the balcony from which Morphos was staring back down at them, his expression unreadable from this distance.
‘Three.’
Mark’s eyes locked on a specific point near a cloud. He knew this was going to suck, after all if he wasn’t exhausted before, this would do it. His horn glowed brilliantly.
‘One.’
There was a flash of yellow as both Mark and Chrysalis blinked out of existence briefly only for the same flash of yellow to be seen in the air, approximately one hundred meters higher than the tallest tower of the castle.
Dizziness. Nausea. His head felt like something was stabbing directly into his brain with an icepick and he could barely even form a coherent thought. Mark had overdone it. Red droplets originated from his nose and flew past Chrysalis’ face, some of them actually hitting her cheeks and leaving a small streak.
Had he been fully rested Mark would have been completely fine with that amount of magic and a teleportation spell. The cumulative stress, use of magic from this battle, and rush of casting the spell however had taken its toll and now his own eyes felt heavy.
Struggling to keep his eyes open and ignoring the air rushing past his body, Mark stared at the changeling queen. He felt oddly at peace right now as if the entire world had gone quiet.
Uncorking the elixir once again, the tactician instead took what remained into this own mouth before bringing his forearm behind Chrysalis’ head. From there he then pulled her face closer until their lips met. He then used his tongue to pry Chrysalis’ mouth open, allowing what remained of the elixir to enter this time and hit the back of her throat, forcing her to swallow it.
Mark felt an odd and strangely familiar warmth from his stomach as he did this. It was almost as if he’d done it, or at least tried to do it before, but couldn’t recall. As his eyes grew heavier and heavier, he could feel Chrysalis’ limbs wrap around him tightly, and her snake-like tongue wrap around his own like a snake and it’s prey.
As the warmth in his stomach left him, Mark’s eyes closed to the comfort of darkness.
__________________________________________________________________________
Darkness. Darkness and a strong wind. Chrysalis could feel it. She was healing and better yet, there was the tastiest love she had ever had the pleasure of eating. It reminded her of the time she had invaded the royal wedding only something about this brand of love satisfied her more than Shining Armor’s. It was almost addictive.
Her eyes fluttering open, Chrysalis realized that not only was she falling through the air, but within her grasp was a familiar yellow unicorn. Even more surprising was the fact that both of their lips were together causing the queen’s head to recoil. She immediately regretted it however when she saw the state of probably the only pony she truly liked. His nose was bleeding, his leg had a large, charred streak across it, and his fur was specked with ash and blood —that going double for his cloak which was tattered and scorched as well.
“Mark!” The queen whispered, her lip trembling slightly before she was forced to blink from the wind. It was then Chrysalis realized just where they were, falling just past one of the rooftops of the castle.
Without so much as a thought, Chrysalis flipped Mark onto her back, using his own cloak to strap him onto her and though it still hurt, she fluttered her wings as hard and fast as she could. It wasn’t enough to fully stop their fall, but it was enough to change their direction and slow their descent.
As she descended closer to her target —the castle’s gardens— her hooves lit up with green flames and she became like a falling star, if only for the briefest of moments.
Chrysalis’ magic lessened the impact for her and Mark, creating a medium sized crater and sending a tremor through the ground that knocked several of the nearby statues and sculptures over. Unstrapping Mark’s cloak from her, she then used her magic to gently place him down onto the ground while cradling his head with her hoof. The bleeding from his nose had stopped, but his fur had turned a pale yellow. Bringing her head close, she waited until a faint bit of air touched her ear, looking towards his chest she saw it rise a little. Good, he was still breathing.
“What did you do you idiot!” Chrysalis said as brushed some of his mane out off his face. “We’re alright now, so wake up already.”
Looking around, Chrysalis saw a bump in Mark’s cloak, laying Mark’s head onto the ground, she searched all the pockets for something, anything, to heal him. To her dismay she only to found some pebbles, crumbs, and a dark grey-purple tome.
“You fool! At least save something for yourself!” Chrysalis all but shouted at the unconscious tactician before she slumped over him. After seeing a few droplets hit his face Chrysalis brought up her hoof to wipe her eyes. She couldn't be crying. She was over such displays by now and yet, the tears kept going down her face.
She did this. She was too weak to stop Morphos to begin with, too late to save her troops, and when she had the chance to finish it once and for all she instead squandered it, giving him the opportunity to become even more powerful than before. The worst thing she felt however was know that she had dragged him into this whole mess. Time and again Mark would come to help her, from the hospital in Ponyville to Miasma’s hive, no, it was even when they were kids he’d go out of his way to help her.
Now they would both suffer the consequences of her failures. After all, with Morphos’ having gone powermad and with his grudge against her, Chrysalis had no doubt he’d seen her and where she was landing. It was only a matter of time now.
Placing her forehead against his, Chrysalis took comfort in his closeness. “I’m sorry Mark. I’m so sorry.”
She heard and felt it as another tremor resonated in the garden. Morphos had arrived.
“This is almost too perfect. Now I can extinguish both you and that annoying pest once and for all.” Morphos sneered.
Taking a deep breath, Chrysalis gently removed herself from Mark and stood between him and her brother. “You can certainly try,” she responded grimly. She already knew that she was no match for him now, however, she wasn’t going to back down. If she was going to die, she was going to die fighting.
With that determination set in her mind, it almost didn’t process when a few shadows passed over her. Chrysalis’ eyes widened as the two figures landed in front of her, one roughly, causing his armor to clank loudly. The other however, landed softly and with grace. Chrysalis’ dread grew as Princess Celestia and an armored Pegasus with a spear now stood in front of her, with Celestia facing her brother while the pegasus faced her, his spear poised to attack her.
Chrysalis’ breath hitched a moment when Celestia glanced back at her. She tasted the emotion before she had even felt it from the Alicorn. Bitterness. Sadness. Rage.
The Changeling Queen was stunned. At the royal wedding, Celestia hadn’t time to prepare herself for a confrontation. The Princess had underestimated the Queen and the result was a resounding defeat for her.
This time Celestia had the time to prepare.
“So the Princess finally decides to show herself!” Morphos called manically. Once again, Celestia returned her focus to the self-styled ‘King’. “Unfortunately for you, surrender is no longer an option! Here and now you will die and-”
“I agree,” Celestia said curtly, just loud enough to interrupt him. “It is too late for you to surrender.”
Scowling, Morphos’ horn lit up as he prepared to cast another beam of raw magic. Celestia’s horn lit up as well, though hers wasn’t nearly as bright nor did it look as powerful.
His lips quirking into a victorious smile, Morphos tilted his head back as he readied to launch the spell, only, the moment he did that, Celestia’s horn released a small but impossibly fast beam of magic that hit Morphos directly in the chest.
Instead of unleashing the spell as he had intended, Morphos remained still, his eyes darting around until settling back onto the Princess. Whatever she had just done had completely halted the King’s movements. Paralyzed, he couldn’t move his body at all. He could still look around with his eyes, still hear, and still feel the ground beneath his hooves. His chest wouldn’t contract or expand though, causing his body to instinctively panic as it worked to breathe. After a few struggled and ragged releases the king managed to let out a barely coherent response. "Whet id oo..?"
“We told you before,” Celestia interrupted again, her voice cold as she adopted the royal ‘we’. Her horn was glowing again, her eyes fiery with magic, this time until it shown with such a brilliant radiance that Chrysalis had to shut her eyes. Morphos didn’t have a choice however as the light took up his entire vision, blinding him indefinitely. “You would feel the wrath that we’d bring down upon you.”
By the time Chrysalis had decided to open her eyes again, it was already over. Where her brother was standing all that remained was a large scorch mark that had trailed along the ground. Following the path of the mark with her eyes, she saw the large, circular hole in the hedge, the walls, and a (now broken) fountain until it led to the view of the landscape.
What was probably the most terrifying aspect however was how easily she had disposed of Morphos as if he was trash. How quick and decisive the Princess' actions were. How anti-climactic she had made it.
Princess Celestia took a deep breath and exhaled a large sigh, before she looked to the sky, her horn aglow and watched as the sun moved — accelerating quite quickly, before it slowed to the edge of the horizon showing the world that after such a long ‘afternoon’ it was now evening at last. From the city and even to the outskirts cheers could be heard. The ponies knew they had won and some had even started to sing. For them, the nightmare was over.
For Chrysalis however, she could only imagine her fate now as Princess Celestia turned to her fully this time, the pegasus guard with her now lowering his weapon. After all, his ruler had it all under control now. Fear gripped Chrysalis as the Princess let a small smile work its way onto her face, the changeling however could still sense the Princess’ emotions. Even if it was considerably less than before Chrysalis still tasted them there was also a hint of positive emotion. Sadness. Anger. Bitterness. Curiosity? Happiness?
The last emotion confused the Changeling Queen, yet Celestia’s next words gave her chills. “I think it’s about time that you and I had a discussion.