//------------------------------// // Chapter I // Story: The Ending of the End - Love and Tolerance Edition // by StarlightisVERYcute //------------------------------// “So, who’s ready for a beach vacation?” Pinkie asked the others around the cutie map. “I most certainly am,” Rarity said. “Beachwear is so in this season!” “Aww yeah, surf’s up!” Dash said with a cocky grin. Spike flexed his small muscles. “Hope you ladies are ready to see a muscular dragon. Oh wait, you do every day!” He missed the eyerolls from the others, his own eyes fully occupied admiring his own physique. Further discussion was cut short by flashing cutie marks and scales. The cutie map showed them all in Canterlot! “Eugh, and I had just packed for the beach!” Rarity whined. “Hey, don’t worry!” Pinkie said, smiling reassuringly. “Maybe it’ll be a quick friendship problem and we’ll be back here in no time!” “Really?” Applejack asked. “A quick problem? When the map called all of us?” “It could happen!” Pinkie insisted. Spike burped, a scroll with the royal seal appearing in his claws. He unfurled the scroll, skimmed it, and sighed. “Looks like that isn’t happening, Pinkie.” “What is it?” Fluttershy asked, concern in her eyes. “What’s going on?” Twilight echoed. Spike sighed again, and read aloud, Dear Princess Twilight, Canterlot is currently suffering something of a riot. Three loose factions have emerged: earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. Normally, the Royal Guard would be enough to contain the crisis, but reports of guardsponies receiving contradictory orders keep following in, and there seems to be a recurrence of the sickness that struck on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. If you could come and lend your reason, we might be able to calm everypony down. Having your friends along would also be a major boon—as they’re not alicorns, the townsponies might empathize more with them than us. Your friend, Celestia Rarity looked aghast. “A riot in Canterlot? Imagine all the beautiful architecture that might be getting smashed!” “Not really the point, Rarity!” Applejack said with irritation. “Twilight, we’ll go, right?” “Of course,” Twilight said. “Let’s head out.” Spike reclined on the train couch. Despite their vacation being cancelled at the last minute, and the rather dire cause for their new trip, he was determined to squeeze as much R&R out of his time as possible. Across from him, the girls were discussing when they could reschedule their trip. He smiled at the sight. Hilarious Pinkie, brilliant Twilight, enthusiastic Rainbow, dedicated Applejack, sweet Fluttershy, and… Rarity. The beautiful, amazingly built Rarity. From her perfectly hooficured hooves to her sterling horn, she was the most gorgeous mare he’d ever met. And that was just her outside! On the inside she was generous, kind, inspired, creative, and so much more. He’d loved her since he first laid eyes on her. But she just wasn’t interested in him the way he was in her. And… it wasn’t like there weren’t others he’d had his eye on. Their faces flashed through his mind: Sweetie Belle, Ember, Thorax, Smolder, Gabby. Rarity would always be his first crush. But she wouldn’t be his last. He took a deep breath, forced his wings back into their resting position, and forced himself to think about something else than the creatures who made him feel that way. Ogres & Oubliettes! That’s something else. But that has Princess Schmarity… and Skellinore… “Gaaaaaaah!” he screamed. The girls turned to look at him. He blushed magenta and quickly said, “Pinched my claw, heh heh.” “Oh, poor Spikey-Wikey!” Rarity said sympathetically. She trotted over to him, her perfume making his condition even worse. She examined his “hurt” claw, and soothingly stroked it. “Feel better?” “Y-yeah, thanks, haha,” he said, sweat dripping down his face. “I’ll just rest it, okay?” “Of course, Spike! It’ll be better in no time!” Rarity walked back to her seat, and Spike wiped the sweat out of his eyes. Twilight looked out the window, down at Ponyville. Though she did her best to hide it, fear clutched at her heart. A race riot in Canterlot? How could this happen? What about my parents? They’re unicorns! What if they get hurt? The horrible thought pierced her to her core. Twilight narrowed her eyes. No. That won’t happen. I won’t let it. She flexed her wings, feeling raw power flow through her. A wellspring of electric fire burned in her heart, and she let it flow outward to her extremities. Fueled by her own determination, she felt powerful enough to face down a full changeling invasion alone. “Alright girls,” she said aloud. “Pinkie, Applejack: you two calm down the earth ponies. Fluttershy, Rainbow, you take the pegasi. Rarity, the unicorns. Spike, stay close to me.” “What are we gonna do, Twilight?” Spike asked. “Get the royal guard in order. Something’s going on with them, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it.” She stood up, and placed her hoof forwards. “Together, we can do it.” Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack placed their hooves on hers, and Spike placed his claw atop them all. “Aw, shucks. Solvin’ a friendship problem? It’s been a while since we did this hooves-on!” Applejack said with a confident smile. “Yeah. Seems like we’re always dealing with some rampaging monster or villain trying to conquer Equestria,” Dash chuckled. Twilight allowed herself a small smile. With my friends by my side, things will be okay. We’ve solved every problem we’ve ever faced. The moment the train ground to a halt, Pinkie leaped out of it. “Alright, Canterlot! Who’s ready for a party?” A few ponies perked up at her words. “Pinkie Pie?” a blue unicorn asked, his voice rising as a hint of hope crept in. “The one and only!” she replied with a big grin. “I heard there’s an argument here?” “No argument, just a crime!” The earth pony pointed an accusatory hoof towards the unicorn next to her. “The unicorns are draining the magic of earth ponies and pegasi! We’re all being left vulnerable!” “What?” a green pegasus demanded. “Earth pony low-quality food is making the rest of us sick!” “You’re both wrong!” the blue unicorn retaliated. “It’s the pegasi who’ve been putting chemicals in the clouds that turn us unicorns powerless!” “Really?” Dash snorted. “Do you actually think we do that?” She shot him a withering eyeroll The stallion who’d made that claim looked a little abashed. “P-Princess Celestia herself admitted it was happening! She said it was time to put a stop to your aerial tyranny!” Rarity strode forward. “Really, all this clashing is so uncouth. Can’t you just talk your problems out?” The assembled ponies seemed to waver, so Fluttershy took the ball. “I understand you all have problems with each other,” she said calmly and kindly. “But please, just calm down. You have my word that Princess Twilight will make sure the other princesses hear you all out.” Pinkie could feel her Pinkie sense going haywire, and she leapt forward onto an off-white pegasus. “Wha—?” she cried, as Pinkie pushed her out of the way of a falling anvil. “We’re on your side!” Applejack insisted. “All of yers! Now come on, tell yer friends to stop fightin’ and head to the castle all peaceful-like!” Pinkie saw ponies all around taking deep breaths, and settling down. She knew that she was in the right team for the job. Chrysalis stepped into an alley, and dropped the disguise of one of those silly pony aerial performers. Wonderbolts, she recalled. Such a stupid name. “You’re doing well, Chrysalis,” Grogar praised. Was his voice grudging, or proud? It was so hard to tell. “But you must be more cautious now, as Twilight Sparkle and her friends have arrived. Proceed carefully.” Chrysalis focused, and let the emerald fire wash over her chitin. Bones grew inside her, her exoskeleton melted away to a soft, fragile skin, fur sprouted across her, feathers replaced membrane, and in less than a second, she was Rainbow Dash. It’s good to be a queen, she thought. She darted out of her alley, and roughly shoved some important-looking white unicorn to the ground. She stuck out her tongue, and flew off, as he yelled after her. “Ruffian! Get back here this instant!” Of course, he stood no chance of catching her. But being a revolutionary is nearly as much fun. Cozy Glow put on her best scared face, extracted a hint of a tear into one eye, and slowly trotted up to a guard. “M-mister?” she sniffled. “What’s wrong, kid?” He was an adult pegasus with a brown coat and the standard beautiful gold armor. “Are you okay?” “I don’t know where my mom is,” Cozy choked out. “We got separated. C-can you come look?” The guard sighed. “Kid, I really wish I could, but I’m needed to help with the big fights. I have to make sure nopony else’s parents get separated from their kids.” “I understand…,” Cozy said between soft whimpers. “You must have a lot of work to do. Be safe…” He winced. “I’ll help you find your mom. Where did you last see her?” “Right over there,” Cozy said, sadness dripping from her voice. She pointed to a dimly lit side road, apparently empty. The guard cantered down the street towards the side road. As soon as he reached it, he collapsed over, his body suddenly atrophying. His packed layers of muscle were simply too weak to hold him up. “G-golly!” Cozy looked horrified as she ran over to him. “Are you okay, mister?” “So… weak… tell the captain… medic…” the guard moaned under his breath. “Don’t worry,” she reassured him soothingly, a comforting smile on her face. “I’ll take care of it!” She flew back over to another guard. “Help! Something bad happened to another guard! He needs a medic!” Tirek will be getting an awful lot of power from all these guards, Cozy thought with glee. He’s going to be really dangerous when it’s time to fight! Twilight entered the throne room. “I have good news. Things are calming down out there. But we need to figure out how this happened—and prevent it from happening again.” Celestia nodded solemnly. “Gather your friends as soon as you can and bring them back here. They may be able to offer insight that myself and my sister miss.” “Should we ask Shining Armor to come here?” Twilight suggested. “Maybe he’ll be able to sort out the guard crisis?” “We already have somepony else working on that,” Luna said with a faint smile, and gestured outside. In the courtyard, Flash Magnus was organizing his troops back into ordered regiments. “He told us that a group of guards all came down with the same enfeebling illness. Perhaps you and your friends can find out the source?” Twilight’s heart rose. “We’ll do our best.” Celestia and Luna each gave her a smile of brief encouragement, and she offered one of her own, perhaps with just a hint more of hesitation. She dashed back outside, her wings beating with purpose. Down below, she spotted her friends leading a discontented group of ponies towards the castle. At least they’re not a mob anymore, she half-joked to herself. Twilight started to descend, but a flash of green light from an alley caught her eye. Green light? But that means… Twilight flew low over it. Nothing. She rubbed her eyes. Is the stress getting to me? Or is Queen Chrysalis actually here in Canterlot too? She shook her head. I have more urgent matters to attend to. Between the thick sound of her own thoughts and the assembly of ponies pressing down, she completely missed the fly in that alley. Once Twilight was gone, it zipped down a narrow hole in the road’s rocks into a hidden underground cavern. “Hey Twilight!” Pinkie said with a grin, bounding up to give her a big hug. “What’s up? Spoiler alert: it’s you!” Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle. “Come on girls, the sisters need our help!” “But these ponies here need our help too!” Fluttershy insisted. “They have some real complaints. Complaints I understand and sometimes even agree with. And they need to be heard!” Twilight looked from the crowd of angry ponies to the palace, and back again. It was time for a decision. She looked to her friends for guidance, but in that instance she found not a single word needed to be spoken. She knew what they were thinking. “Attention everyone,” she shouted with the Royal Canterlot Voice. “My friends and I need to talk with Princesses Celestia and Luna, but I promise we’ll be back out to address your complaints as soon as we can!” Pinkie bounced forward to beside her, Rarity pranced, Applejack trotted, Rainbow dashed, Fluttershy strolled, and Spike, her ever-faithful assistant, proclaimed, “We’ll be back soon!” The seven of them left the crowd behind, and strode into the magnificent halls of Canterlot’s royal castle. In the topmost layer of the caves beneath Canterlot, a fly was engulfed in a wave of sickly green fire, and Chrysalis strode out of the blaze. Despite the external similarities between changelings and ponies, their innards were vastly different, and transforming into one always felt uncomfortable. Insects were so very preferable to ponies, even if they had an unsettling extra pair of legs. At least they kept their skeletons on the outside where they belonged. She’d been to these caverns so long ago, in her first invasion of Canterlot. They’d served as a splendid prison for Twilight and the real Cadance. The bitter irony of having to hide in them herself now was not lost on her. Across from her sat Grogar, Father of Monsters. A palpable aura of menace extended from him, and not for the first time Chrysalis reflected on how lucky it was that she was on his side. The thought of him marching on her hive had given her more than one night of horrible nightmares. Chrysalis pushed such thoughts aside. He is on my side. That is what matters right now. We can betray him at our leisure later. “Where are the others?” Chrysalis asked Grogar. “Tirek is making his way down here as we speak, and Cozy Glow is leaving a parting gift to Twilight Sparkle and her friends,” he answered. “Once everyone is here, we’ll make our move.” Chrysalis didn’t have to wait long. Tirek and Cozy arrived within 5 minutes of her own appearance. “Now, I am going to let the three of you have the spotlight for the start of the fight. You may lose this portion. Fear not, for if that happens, I will intervene.” A predator’s grin crept across Grogar’s face. “If we can get them to exhaust a portion of their magic initially, when I join battle they’ll be less able to evade or defend. And for you who enjoy savoring defeat, a moment of hope just before all is lost makes victory all the sweeter.” Tirek nodded. “I have an enormous amount of power at this point, and I gather Chrysalis does as well. We should be able to at least hold the princesses evenly… assuming Discord doesn’t defeat us instantly.” “Don’t worry about Discord,” Grogar replied calmly. “I’ll deal with him. I have prepared for him.” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at Tirek. Deal with Discord? To Chrysalis, that sounded only slightly less dubious than “turn the sun purple.” “Now, begin your attack. I will join you at an opportune time.” He breathed onto his scrying orb, and smoke engulfed the three villains. When their vision cleared, they stood at the front gate of Canterlot Castle. The ominous spires pierced the sunny morning sky. Chrysalis flicked her horn. Now the fun really begins.