//------------------------------// // Chapter 12. // Story: I AM Human // by Synthetic Soul //------------------------------// “Ahhh!” cried Luna as she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked up into her child’s eyes to see them wild, and full of malice. The evil cackling of the Changeling Queen filled her ears. “Yes my servant! Finish her now!” Tristan pushed his sharpened hoof deeper into Luna’s chest. The mare cried out, with tears coming to her eyes, and flowing down her cheeks. “M-my son…” stuttered Luna. “If this is what it takes to make up for what I’ve done to you, I’ll readily accept it. But don’t let Chrysalis do this to you! She’ll kill you once she’s done with you! And I would rather die a thousand times than let that happen!” Tristan’s eyes softened a bit. He stopped pushing his hoof deeper. He slowly retracted it as blood leaked from the wound. “This is starting to irritate me,” complained Chrysalis, as she lit her horn. Tristan cried out in pain, his hooves turning back to normal as he pressed them to his head. “Enough of this delay! Kill her now!” commanded the Queen. “N-no!” cried Tristan as he stumbled off of his mother. “I am not your slave!” “The only reason you are alive right now, is because I allowed it!” shouted Chrysalis as she walked down the stairs, making her way towards Tristan. “If I had wanted to do so, I could have killed you the moment you arrived in my hive! I allowed you to live, therefore, your life belongs to me!” “N-no!” yelled Tristan through grit teeth. “Y-you used me from the start! I won’t be your puppet!” “You will obey!” shouted Chrysalis, as she used more magic on the colt. He collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain. “No, I won’t!” Chrysalis stopped once she stood right in front of the hybrid. She said nothing as she continued to torture Tristan. After a few moments, the queen spoke in an eerily calm voice. “Very well. It appears I can no longer control you. Which means you no longer serve a purpose.” Chrysalis used her magic to physically force the colt to remove the amulet from his neck. As soon as the necklace came unclasped, Chrysalis lifted the prince in the air with her magic. She got in close, her face right in front of his, as he ran ragged breaths. “You disappoint me.” Luna, recovering some her strength, lifted herself up to see Chrysalis fling her son into one of the walls of the throne room so hard that it cracked the structure. The boy let out a cry of pain, as he spit out a bit of blood. The Queen then sent him flying into the ceiling with a similar result. “Stop it Chrysalis!” shouted Luna as she clutched her chest. “Anyone who defies me will pay the price!” asserted Chrysalis as she flung the colt into another wall. “I said stop it!” commanded Luna again. As Chrysalis slammed the boy onto the floor, she responded to Luna’s request. “You are in no position to give demands!” said Chrysalis as she walked forward towards Tristan, who was lying broken on the floor. “Don’t worry,” said the queen as she lit her horn, preparing to finish off the prince. “Once I finish off your offspring, I’ll send you his way. You will be together forever!” Time seemed to slow down for Luna. She could feel her blood rushing, along with adrenaline. The pain of her wound did not ebb away at her like it had been. Mother’s instincts ran through her as she watched what was about to happen. But she would not ALLOW it to happen. She had thought her son dead for a year. Even if it had been fake, even though her son had used it as a ploy to torment her for revenge, she would not allow him to die for real. He deserved a happy life, like the one she had taken from him. She would give him that; she would not allow his unhappiness to weigh him down for one more day. And it started right here, right now! She would not let Chrysalis snuff his life out! Chrysalis was about to unleash the spell that would take the boys life, when she felt a hard object slam into the side of her head, knocking her back twelve feet. When she regained her senses, and looked, she saw a furious Luna standing above Tristan, holding her hoof up, with changeling blood on it. Chrysalis’s look of surprise morphed into one of anger, as she wiped the green blood off of her cheek. “Guards! Kill the brat! I will deal with this bitch myself!” Chrysalis charged at Luna, tackling her to the ground. The two started struggling against each other, trying to gain the upper hoof. The changeling guards rushed towards the unprotected child. But right before they reached him, a magical shield appeared around his body. The changelings slammed into it, before being bounced back. They rubbed their noses, and looked with wide eyes, as they saw none other than Princess Celestia hovering above the shield. “Sorry. You’ll have to deal with me first,” said the Princess with a smirk. The two changelings looked at each other, and gulped. Meanwhile, Luna and Chrysalis continued to fight. Pinning Luna, Chrysalis raised a hoof, and struck the mares face, once, twice, but before the third, Luna retaliated by jabbing her own hoof into Chrysalis’s throat, causing her to make a choking noise. Luna then shoved the queen off of her. Before Luna could strike another blow, Chrysalis teleported a good ten feet away. Luna quickly got to her hooves, and fired a blast of magic at Chrysalis. Chrysalis fired back, but a little too late, as it hit her, blowing her strait back into the wall behind her. Before she could react, Luna was upon her. The Princess began brutally beating the changeling. “This is for what you did to my son!” cried Luna as she struck Chrysalis’s face, causing green blood to fly from her nose. Luna continued to beat Chrysalis, crying out in rage as she did so. It went on for nearly a minute, before the queen was fully defeated. When she was finished, Luna let the queen fall to the floor. Chrysalis let out a cry as she hit the ground. Luna stood above her, breathing heavily, before she composed herself. “That…felt good. Very therapeutic.” Luna turned to check on her sister, to see that she had both changeling guards lying on the ground defeated. Celestia looked up from the changelings, to see her sister. Luna quickly galloped over to her Celestia, and gave her a hug. “Ha ha…what’s this for?” questioned the alabaster mare. Luna’s heavy breaths could be heard. “I’m…just glad…this is over now,” said Luna through breaths. “Me too,” replied Celestia. At that moment, the sound of hooves could be heard on the floor, as the bearers of the Elements galloped into the room, along with several royal guards. At that same moment, Luna, looking over Celestia’s shoulder, saw her son lying on the floor. “M-Tristan!” she cried, quickly moving to his side. The elements ran up to Celestia, while the guards dispersed. “Guards, escort Chrysalis and her followers to the dungeons. We will deal with them later.” Two guards shackled chains to the queen’s hooves, and placed a suppressor ring on her horn. They then hauled her up, and started dragging her towards the princess, while a few other guards did the same with the other changelings. “That’s…Queen Chrysalis to you… you mule!” spat the defeated monarch. “Not anymore,” replied Celestia. The queen growled as she and her followers were dragged away. Celestia looked down at her student and her friends. “Princess, we were able to find the elements! Though, it looks like we’re a bit too late,” said Twilight. “Just a little,” replied Celestia playfully. “But I’m glad you made it back, intact.” “Yeah, we also found and freed some of the guards, and with the elements, we were able to disable the changelings magic! We have them on the run!” “I am very glad to hear that,” replied Celestia, with a deep sigh. Just then, a voice broke the silence. “Tristan!” As soon as Luna reached her son, she lifted his head and held him with her hoof. She frantically started checking over his wounds. He had cuts, and bruises in his chitin. She tried to wake him up but to no avail. “Tristan? Tristan, wake up! Tristan?...Tristan!” she called as she failed to wake her son. She heard galloping as her sister and the elements galloped to her side. “Luna!” cried Celestia. “What’s going on, is he alright?” questioned Pinkie. “I don’t know, he won’t wake up!” “Guards, grab a medic!” commanded Celestia. A guard nodded, and ran off to find a pony that could help. Meanwhile, Luna held her son close. She could see that he was still alive, but wasn’t sure of his condition. Luna could feel tears leak from her eyes, as anxiety gripped her heart. “No, please…you’ll be all right…I can’t lose you again,” whispered Luna. All the ponies looked at the scene with worry and fear. As Luna contemplated the possible third loss of her child, a song came to mind. The song she used to sing to her son back before he was taken, when he was just a foal. Wanting to comfort her son in any way possible, she started to sing. “Hush my baby, do not cry Listen to my lullaby See the moon in the sky A shining light in your eye For you I will move mountains and boulders I will carry your weight on my shoulders You are my most precious gift Slip into peace and let your eyes drift For you I would surrender all my power Just so your mood would never sour I love you more than all the rest I swear to give you my very best Close your eyes and drift to sleep I won’t let your fears creep Sleep now child, I love you so More than you could ever know” When she finished, Luna closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her son. His chitin felt hard, yet warm against her fur. She had been waiting for those ponies to return for what seemed like an eternity. It was driving her crazy. Suddenly, she felt something shift beneath her. A moan emanated from the body Luna held. She quickly raised her head, and looked at her son just in time to see his eyes slowly flicker open. “M-mom,” he muttered through blurry eyes. Luna was taken aback. For a moment, she was worried he had once again lost his memories. Before she could reply, he spoke again. “Oh…it’s you.” “Yes,” replied Luna with a sad smile. “It’s me.” “Where…did you hear that song?” he questioned. Luna looked confused. “It…it is the song I used to sing to you, when you were a foal.” “That…that’s the song my mom used to sing to me when I was young.” Luna’s eyes widened, before softening, as a few more tears seeped through. “It’s…it’s a good song.” Just then, the clopping of hooves could be heard, as the guard and the medical team rushed in. Two nurses made their way over to Luna. She released her grip on her son, as the two ponies moved Tristan on to a stretcher, and assessed his condition. “Will he be alright?” questioned the princess. “We think so,” replied one of the ponies. “We’ll do everything we can for him.” The ponies then lifted the stretcher, and steadily started taking it out of the room. Luna stood, and watched the ponies take her son away. She was about to follow, but suddenly a sharp pain could be felt in her chest. Adrenaline gone, Luna could feel the wound in her son had inflicted. She pressed a hoof to the wound, gasping out. “Luna!” cried Celestia as she rushed to Luna’s side. “I am alright,” replied Luna. “The wound did not reach my heart. All it needs are some stitches.” “Are you sure?” questioned Celestia. Luna nodded, and then embraced her sister in a hug. Through the embrace, Luna could see the medical ponies moving her son out of the room. Guilt filled Luna’s heart as she lamented over all that had happened since her son had returned to Equestria. “Sister?” “Yes Luna?” “I need your help with something.” Luna sat by Tristan’s bed in the medical wing of the castle. She had not left his side since her own wound had been treated and bandaged. The doctors told her he would be fine with rest, and that none of the injuries he sustained were major, thanks to his Alicorn endurance. At the moment, he was resting peacefully on the bed. Luna was thankful that his body wasn’t majorly damaged, though she worried for his mind. He’d gone through more than someone his age should. She knew he probably would need time to find peace with all that has happened. She just hoped he could find release from all of this pain. The sound of groaning could be heard. Luna looked to see her son rousing from his sleep. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he looked around the room, before his eyes found and focused on Luna. Seeing her, he let out an annoyed grunt. “…Ho-how are you feeling?” she questioned gently. “What happened?” he asked. “Where am I?” “You are in the hospital wing of the castle. We brought you here after we defeated Chrysalis.” “She…she’s gone?” he asked apprehensively. “Yes, she won’t hurt you ever again.” “At least someone got what they deserved,” stated Tristan grumpily. Luna, for her part did not appear to take that anymore personally than anything else that had been directed towards her lately. “Tristan…I understand why you hate me. I understand everything. It’s just that…losing your own child is a mother’s worst fear, and greatest hell. A mother would do anything to see their child again. That’s what I thought. But now I realize that a mother must do anything to make sure her child is happy, and protected. I see that now. I didn’t do my job. You were happy, you had a family, and I took that from you. I want you to know…that I’m sorry.” Tristan didn’t respond, he just looked into Luna’s eyes, before casting them back down towards his bed. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but…I have something to show you. Something I think you will like.” “And what would that be?” the colt asked. “It’s a surprise,” replied Luna with a half smile. She stood up, and made her way around the bed. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to it.” Tristan did not reply. He looked uneasy for a moment, before, he got up from the bed, and set his hooves on the floor. Luna started walking away, gesturing for him to follow. The two made their way through the halls with neither pony speaking a word. Eventually, the two found themselves standing in front of the closed doors to the dining hall. Tristan could hear the sounds of speaking on the other side. Luna looked to him as he looked to her. She closed her eyes with a smile, and then used her magic to open the doors. The two walked in, to see Celestia and the element bearers conversing with a pair of ponies that Tristan did not recognize. They were unicorns, one male, the other a mare. The stallion had a cream colored coat, and a grey mane and beard. The mare had yellow fur, with rose-colored hair. Every pony in the room turned to see the two newly arrived ponies. The strangers looked at Tristan with smiles on their faces, and tears in their eyes. “What’s going? Who are these two?” questioned the prince. “Tristan?” spoke the mare. The colt’s eyes widened a bit, as he recognized the voice of the mare. “M…mom?” questioned the colt. He then, looked to the stallion. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it son?” said Tristan’s father. Before the colt had time to process, or even reply, the two ponies rushed in, and embraced him in a hug. He could feel tears flowing onto his fur. “I…I don’t understand,” he said. The two ponies, his parents detracted from the hug, but still stayed close to him. The colt turned to look at Luna. “You said that you erased peoples memories of me. You said what you did couldn’t be undone!” “It is true, what I did could not be undone in your world. But three was a loophole to get around this problem. It turns out, we were able to bring your parents to Equestria, and return their memories.” “And once we remembered, we missed you instantly,” said his mother. “I missed you too,” he replied, detracting from the hug. “But…you’re ok with this? With being in this world, away from home?” he asked his parents. “As long as we’re with you, we are,” replied Tristan’s mother. This time, tears did come to Tristan’s eyes as he was finally able to process and accept what was happening. This time the family embraced in a hug, with the son returning in full. All three ponies embraced in the most passionate hug they had ever done. Finally, Tristan had his family back. Later that night Luna stood on the balcony in her room, staring at the newly risen moon. The stars shone brightly in the sky, and the lunar object projected its light onto the lands below. Luna closed her eyes, and let out a deep sigh. Luna knew that her actions had not, and probably could not ever be fully atoned for, but she was thankful that she was at least able to mend the family she had broken, even if she could never fully return them to the life they’d lived. Of course, Luna would provide the family with what they needed to get started in Equestria; food, money, housing. She’d do everything she could to help them adjust. She owed them that much. Luna was roused from her thoughts by knocking on her door. She turned, and made her way back into her room. “Come in!” she called. The door opened, to reveal a pony Luna was not expecting. Tristan walked into the room, and stood before Luna. “Oh, um…Tristan, what, what can I do for you?” she questioned. He was silent for a few moments, before he spoke. “Thanks.” Luna was taken aback. “I’m not saying that I’ve forgiven you for what you did, but…well, I do appreciate how you tried to make it right. Thanks for…giving me my parents back.” Luna bore a sad smile, as she felt tears welling up, but she held them back. “It was the least I could do.” Tristan nodded, and then turned to make his exit. But before he left the room, Luna spoke up. “Tristan!” The colt turned to look at her. “You…you’re always welcome here. If you ever need anything…I will gladly lend you my aid.” “Thanks,” he replied. And then he was gone. Luna shut the door, and made her way back to her balcony. She took in a deep breath, as tears fell down her face, yet she wore a happy smile. Luna may never be able to take on the role of being Tristan’s mother, or even his friend, but… he had his family back. He had a path that would hopefully lead to him becoming a happy adult. And that’s really all she could ask for. She would leave her son alone, unless he came to her. But he seemed to be happy now, and that’s all she could ever ask for. “I’m…I’m ok with this,” she said. Then she went to her bed, and got under the covers, preparing to get her first good nights sleep in quite a while.