//------------------------------// // The Sun Rises Anew // Story: Little Consequences // by Skijarama //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle let a beam of magic fly from her horn with a growl from the bottom of her voice. The shot of lavender light surged forwards but was effortlessly deflected by the slowly advancing Queen Chrysalis, ricocheting off into a building to one side and exploding on impact, sending dust and debris flying. Taking a fearful step back, Twilight tried again, with identical results. The queen walked towards them leisurely, taking her time to savor the terror in their eyes, all the while continuing to hum her sinister melody. They couldn’t run from her anymore. Rainbow Dash was crippled and Twilight would never abandon her. It was just perfect. Another purple shot of magic was fired at her and again it was redirected to harmlessly impact into the side of a home without even so much as a blink from the intended target. Twilight took another terrified step back, her brave face crumbling away to reveal the terror in her eyes. She was shaking, there was seat starting to form on her brow, and her eyes were darting every which way looking for a way out. Of course, there wasn’t one. This was it, and she knew it. Chrysalis grinned wider, her horn lighting up with green energy. She pondered just vaporizing the two of them then and there but determined that there would be no fun in such a swift and painless finale. She observed the two of them idly before her gaze settled on Rainbow Dash. Her sadistic grin returned in full force, and she reached out. A green glow encased Rainbow’s entire body, and she was forcefully hauled into the air in Chrysalis’ telekinetic grip. The reaction was immediate. Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened as wide as they could, and with her voice hoarse, she began to scream as loud as she could, thrashing and twisting in a meaningless effort to free herself. Twilight turned at the horrible sound, her ears falling flat against her head at the sight of her beloved’s suffering. Chrysalis took this moment of distraction to grab her, next, lifting her into the air while pinning her forelegs to her sides. Twilight grunted and squirmed, trying to struggle free just as Rainbow was. It was futile. Chrysalis was silent, just letting Twilight hear Rainbow’s screams, letting the despair of her powerlessness settle in. She made sure they were at the same elevation, just beyond what Twilight could reach with her hooves if she could use them, making her watch. She just held them there for a time, allowing Rainbow’s screams to devolve into pitiful whimpers and sobs, the once-cocky princess curling into the fetal position in the air. Twilight, barely withholding cries of her own, just managed to look at Chrysalis from her suspended position, her eyes shimmering with tears. “Please! Stop it! I’m the one you’re wanting revenge on, so hurt me, not her!” she begged desperately, making Chrysalis roll her eyes and sigh in amusement. She slowly brought Twilight down and turned her until they were face to face, looking into each other’s eyes. Smiling coquettishly, Chrysalis lifted a hoof to slowly trace Twilight’s jawline with its tip. It was a feather-light touch, one that made Twilight squirm is discomfort “Oh, Twilight Sparkle… how you fail to understand… hurting Rainbow Dash does hurt you…” she whispered softly, lifting her hoof from Twilight’s jaw to catch a falling tear. She then rolled out her tongue to lick up the moisture from her hoof, her eyes narrowing. “What could be worse, after all, then hearing the agonized screams of the mare so near and dear to your heart, watching the life slowly and painfully squeezed out of her, and being completely incapable of doing anything to ease their pain?” Twilight’s eyes widened when she heard a sickening snap come from Rainbow Dash, and her screams grew in volume again to the point they were almost deafening. Chrysalis chuckled merrily. “She only has so many ribs, you know. How long before I have to move on? Maybe her femurs should be next…” Twilight squirmed again, her breath coming in rampant, desperate gasps. “You’ve made your point! Just let her go! PLEASE!” she screamed out as loud as she could before screwing her eyes closed and openly sobbing. Chrysalis tilted her head curiously, her ears perking up as she listened to Twilight’s sorrowful wails. She then scoffed before bringing Twilight down to the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her, silencing her cries. Still entrapping the unicorn with magic, Chrysalis then deliberately forced Twilight’s body into a deep, deep bow with her horn touching the ground. Chrysalis then smiled in an almost mothering way, leaning down so that he lips were by Twilight’s ear. “Ask me nicely… beg,” she said softly, lightly stroking Twilight’s mane like she were a small dog. Twilight swallowed heavily, her entire body shivering. “P-p-please… let her go... I’m begging you, just let her go...“ she managed to stammer out, her body being racked by another uncontrollable sob. Chrysalis’ smile softened somewhat, and for several seconds she just kept petting Twilight’s mane, making a show of thinking over Twilights plea. Then, after a moment, she withdrew her hoof and lifted Twilight smoothly back up to be at eye level with her. She looked searchingly into Twilight’s eyes, which were becoming red and puffy from the tears that were so freely spilling out of them. Chrysalis’ smile turned into a bloodthirsty smirk. She drew Twilight closer until their noses were touching, making the terrified mare whimper. She then said one word in barely even a whisper. “No.” With her eyes going wide in terror, Twilight could do little more than yelp in fear when she was suddenly hurled against the wall of the house they were next to with enough force to send her crashing through it. Raw agony exploded all across her back, drawing out a long and harrowing scream as chunks of crystal fell over her, battering her body from above. The crumbling wall was soon followed by the twitching body of Rainbow Dash, who was unceremoniously hurled against Twilight, sending both of them sliding farther into the house. Realizing she was free from the spell, though, Twilight struggled to sit up onto her haunches. Her body burned in protest to her every movement, but she forced herself to keep moving. She stopped, however, when Rainbow’s head falling into her lap. Twilight stared down at her in shock, seeing that Rainbow’s eyes were wide open and unfocused, her entire body shaking uncontrollably. “Rainbow…” Twilight choked out, cradling the pegasus’ head in her hooves and stroking her mane, trying to bring her back to her senses. “Rainbow, it’s me… it’s just me… I’m here…” Rainbow didn’t respond. A few hitching whimpers slipped past her lips, but they were barely audible. A shadow then fell over the two of them, and Rainbow let out a long, pitiful wail, trying feebly to cling to Twilight like she were a lifeline. For standing there, silhouetted against the backdrop of the light outside, was Queen Chrysalis, staring down at the two with her head held high in contempt. The light streaming in from behind her cast her in shadows, with only her glowing eyes being well defined through the smoke and mist that was slowly seeping into the home. Her smile did not return, this time. She was done toying with them. “It’s time to say goodbye,” she stated coldly while the light on her horn grew brighter and brighter. And brighter. And... golden? Twilight squinted, as did Rainbow Dash as a blinding golden light slowly began to appear in the skies above and behind Chrysalis, easily piercing through the mist. In fact, it was doing more than piercing the mist… it was burning it away. Chrysalis’ brow furrowed in confusion when she saw that the contrast between her shadow and the light was getting more and more intense. Her eyes then widened with horrified realization as it clicked, and with the light on her horn winking out, she turned to look over her shoulder at the light in the sky. “No… it can’t be…” she breathed out in shock. Despite the pain in her body and the despair in her heart, Rainbow saw the light appearing in the heavens. She knew what it was, and the realization was just enough to ignite a spark of hope in her chest. She managed to smile. “Heh… he did it…” she murmured before looking at Chrysalis. Her smile turned cocky. “You’re in for it now.” The light continued to grow and grow, to the point that Chrysalis had to squint and shield her eyes with a hoof to avoid being blinded. She snarled through clenched teeth, her entire body quivering with rage and confusion. How was this possible?! Then, all at once, the light faded. Chrysalis lowered her hoof to see what had happened, and her eyes went wide with shock and horror. For there, where the light had been but moments ago, and still surrounded by a bright aura of magic, was Princess Celestia, her eyes narrowed with conviction and determination. Her wings spread open like those of an angel and the golden light of the sun itself radiated from her horn, making a very simple announcement to the Empire and all within it. The sun had risen anew. Celestia’s purple eyes immediately caught sight of Queen Chrysalis and narrowed with disgust. Then, from behind her, a form of dark blue mist shot out. Chrysalis watched it with growing horror as it sped along the perimeter of the cyan barrier that covered the empire, where several small holes were starting to form from her drones efforts. Several were starting to desperately try to climb through the holes, but as the shadow passed, a volley of dozens of focused beams of dark blue magic shot out of it, punching any drone trying to struggle through the barrier back out into the blizzard in rapid succession. In her wake, the barrier’s light grew dramatically in intensity with another layer of cyan light, as well as a color similar to Twilight’s magic. Every crack was healed, every breach was sealed. The mist swung back around to Celestia, then suddenly parted to reveal Princess Luna. Her wings flared wide open before giving a powerful flap to end her momentum right next to Celestia, where she hovered and glared down at Chrysalis as well. It was only then that the queen caught sight of the other figures that had joined the two sisters. Princess Cadance hovered in the air behind them with Twilight’s older brother, Shining Armor, on her back. Both of them had lit their horns, and Chrysalis could see that they were providing power to the barrier, making it virtually impenetrable to her swarm. There was also a gray bat pony stallion that she did not recognize, and more importantly, there were two changeling drones that she immediately recognized. The one with purple eyes was supporting his blue-eyed brother, but both of them were looking at her, one with distaste, and the other with an apology in his eyes. She bared her teeth in rage, her eyes pulsing with light. “Thorax…!” she snarled. Twilight Sparkle finally snapped out of her own shocked reverie when the queen spoke. Her horn lit up and let off the most powerful burst of magic she could, directing it all at Chrysalis. The queen, having been unprepared for the blast, was sent off of her hooves to rocket into the house across the street, breaking through the wall with a shout of surprise and pain. With the coast clear, Twilight hefted Rainbow onto her back before stepping out of the building. Soon enough, the new arrivals came to a landing around her, with varying expressions. Celestia’s eyes were locked onto the brutalized pegasus on Twilight’s back, wide open and filled with shock. Luna looked similarly concerned, though she seemed to be more focused. The gray thestral, who Twilight assumed to be Squall Dreamer, looked around in awe and wonder at the Empire while he had the chance. Thorax and Pharynx were looking unsure of what to do next, although Thorax was constantly glancing at the building Twilight had blasted Chrysalis into. Cadance, for her part, looked about the same as Luna and Celestia when it came to spotting Rainbow Dash, a hoof flying up to cover her mouth. Shining Armor, though, almost immediately slipped off of Cadance’s back the second they touched down to gallop towards Twilight. “Twily!” he shouted, sliding to a halt in front of her and wrapping his forelegs around her in a tight hug. “Oh, sis, are you okay?” “I’m fine, Shining Armor,” Twilight replied, gratefully returning the embrace and burying her face into her big brother’s shoulder. With Rainbow on her back, though, it was hard to properly return the gesture. Shining took notice of this and backed off. “I’m glad…” he said before his eyes found Rainbow’s, and he cringed. “Oh… I guess I don’t need to ask you that question, do I, your highness?” he asked gingerly, to which Rainbow merely grunted. “I’m all kinds of hurt,” she muttered before her eyes slowly lifted to look at Celestia. “Mom…” This finally drew the alabaster alicorn to act. She stepped forward while Twilight gently slid Rainbow off of her back to set her on the ground. Celestia came to a stop in front of her daughter, slowly laying down on her belly to be near Rainbow’s eyes level. Her eyes roved over Rainbow’s body, taking note of every single bruise, scrape, cut, and scar. She saw the swollen flesh around her chest where ribs had been broken, she saw the swelling in her forelegs, she saw the bite marks and the cracks in her hooves. Her eyes began to shimmer. “Rainbow Dash… oh, my little girl…” she choked out, reached out and gingerly pulling Rainbow Dash up against her. Rainbow tried weakly to return the hug, but there wasn’t enough strength left in her to do it. So she just settled with nuzzling into Celestia’s chest fur. “M-Mom…” she whispered, her body shaking again. The moment, sadly, had to come to an end. The home that Chrysalis had been blasted into exploded in a storm of green fire, being reduced to little more than dust and ash. Chrysalis slowly walked out of it, her entire body twitching erratically and nothing but murder in her eyes. All eyes turned to the scene, watching as she steadily advanced on them. Luna gritted her teeth before her horn lit up. “Twilight Sparkle,” she addressed simply before something solid and invisible pressed itself against Twilight’s chest. She lifted a hoof instinctively to hold it and felt something moving around inside it, whatever it was. “Take this, take Rainbow Dash and find your friends. It is well past time that this battle was drawn to a close.” Twilight, confused, looked down at the invisible item in her hooves. For a brief moment, it flickered to her eyes, allowing her to see what it was. Her eyes widened as she recognized the box that contained the Elements of Harmony. With a surge of conviction, she gave a sharp nod. “Yes, Princess.” Hearing those words, Celestia very slowly and gently passed Rainbow over to Twilight, although her eyes never once left Chrysalis, who had stopped her advance maybe ten yards away. “Did she do this to Rainbow?” she asked in a cold, near-emotionless tone. Twilight’s blood ran cold, and when she looked up into Celestia’s eyes, she was shocked to see them dilated with barely contained rage. Her face was twitching erratically, and Twilight could have sworn she saw embers of actual fire drifting out of her aetherial mane and tail. Still, she had been asked a question, and so she answered. “Yes… she tortured us…” she said weakly. She almost regretted it, as Celestia inhaled sharply through her nose, her entire body tensing while her eyes began to glow with magic. “...Squall, Thorax, Pharynx, you three are to escort Twilight and my daughter to wherever they need to go. If you allow either of them to get hurt…” she left the sentence unfinished, slowly stepping towards the changeling queen, Luna moving to be by her side. Thorax and Pharynx said nothing, both of them doing as they had been told and moving to stand by Twilight’s side. Squall gave a bow in response to the order before moving to join them. “Where are we going?” he asked. Twilight hesitated in answering, her eyes boring into the back of Celestia’s head in what could only be described as fear. She swallowed heavily, shook herself and made sure Rainbow was secure on her back. “To the palace. Come on.” They turned to head down the street to their left, but Rainbow stopped them for a brief moment by tugging on Twilight’s mane with her teeth. She then lifted her head slightly to call after Celestia. “Mom?” Celestia paused and looked over her shoulder into Rainbow’s eyes. “Yes, Rainbow?” Rainbow recoiled for only a moment at the intensity in Celestia’s eyes but soon managed to put on a cocky grin. “Give her a few for me, would ya?” Celestia nodded, smiled, and then moved to stand at the head of the group. Luna was to her right, while Cadance and Shining Armor were behind her and to her left and right respectively. Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at them, then scoffed dismissively. “You can’t stop me. I am going to tear that insufferable cockroach of a unicorn and her beloved pegasus pet into pieces.” “Stay away from my daughter,” Came Celestia’s simple response, her eyes narrowing. “I am only going to say this once. You are outnumbered, and I can guarantee you that you will not be the winner should you choose to fight. Surrender, now, and maybe I’ll show you mercy.” Chrysalis’ face was split with an enormous, insane grin. One of her eyes twitched erratically, and her pupils expanded and contracted in rapid succession. “You’re offering me a chance to surrender? Oh, Celestia, I thought I made myself clear the last time you tried to stop me. I will topple any and every obstacle that stands in my way. I will never surrender to you, pony.” Luna took a step forward. “You are making a grave mistake.” Chrysalis cackled, her horn starting to glow with sickly green light. “Do you want to know something? I heard the most beautiful song earlier…” she began a dreamy look coming over her eyes. “It was a gorgeous duet. The tones and melodies… oh, I could have listened to them for centuries and never grown tired.” Celestia’s nostrils flared. Cadance took a step forward. “What song is that?” she questioned skeptically. Chrysalis then focused on Celestia, her pupils dilating in anticipation. “Just the delightful screams of your daughter and prized pupil as I broke them. Piece. By. Pie-” She didn't get to finish the sentence. She was too busy forming a barrier of green light over herself to protect her from the sudden stream of golden flames that was sent her way from Celestia. The crystal around her dome almost immediately melted into slag, and a few cracks appeared on the forward face of her barrier. Her eyes widened in shock. “STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!” Celestia repeated, her voice echoing for miles around. Windows shattered from both the heat and the volume of her royal voice, and Luna, Cadance and Shining were taken off-guard by her sudden rage. They didn’t remain stunned for long, adding their own magic to the mix. A rush of swirling dark blue, a pristine beam of cyan, and a steady stream of lavender all joined the flames, creating more and more cracks in Chrysalis’ barrier. Chrysalis gasped. Her barrier shattered, and an enormous explosion erupted from the point of impact. A large, mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke and dust rose into the air while a pressurized shockwave expanded from the epicenter of the detonation, shattering more windows and shaking the leaves off of their parent branches. The explosion was so mighty that it caused Twilight, Rainbow and their entourage to come to a sliding halt several blocks away, looking on at the rising smoke cloud in shock. Rainbow saw the explosion and managed a weak smirk. “Heh… get her, mom…”