//------------------------------// // The Kingslayer's Flaw // Story: The War of the Mark // by Wise Cracker //------------------------------// Celestia saw the panic in their eyes. The drones had slowed down their assault, leaving her Treeguards more room to swing. Up above, she got a few shots off at the ones that took to the skies. What just happened? “If I had to guess, Chrysalis just absorbed something she shouldn’t have.” What are you talking about? She absorbed solar magic. She’s got you. Or she should, now. How are you winning? Celestia hid her smirk behind a hoof, hoping none of the drones would notice. “There are only a few ponies in Equestria with talents like mine, Discord. That means there aren’t a lot of ponies who know how my power works. Solar magic is selfless in nature, it barely has any power on its own. On the rare occasion another pony is born with it…” They struggle to learn anything else. “Exactly. I’ve had a few students who managed it, but many more who failed. And even if she didn’t get to a failure, she’s only absorbing the talent. She doesn’t have the experience, or the acquired skills to compensate. In other words, all of her stolen magic is eliminated now, including that blasted super-speed.” So what are you waiting for, then? Fly up and teleport out already. She can’t counter you anymore. Another volley sent five drones plummeting to the ground, while the conifer colossi held off further attacks on the ground. “Not yet. There are other types of magic that won’t be blocked by this, and if she finds one of those while I’m out in the open, well… I cannot risk that. I just have to hope Roxy and Philomena can tip the scales at the Academy.” The drones retreated to their safe zone. Panting and growling, they stared at the Princess hidden in the makeshift pine forest. “Had enough yet?” Celestia called out in her Royal Canterlot Voice. “It seems your eyes were bigger than your stomach. Perhaps if we settled this one against one, you wouldn’t have to waste so many resources.” One of the drones in front of her chuckled. “Nice try, Celestia, but I won’t be falling for that. No, you stay right where you are while I go and fix whatever this little defect is.” “You can’t fix it, Chrysalis. Unless you happen to have enough fine control to eject only one talent, you’re not going to be able to purge yourself of this weakness.” “Didn’t anyone tell you, Celestia? There is one way to be rid of a bad cutie mark, actually. All I need to do is destroy the source of it. That pesky Sunburst fellow fooled me, and he’ll pay with his life.” Celestia had to stop herself from bursting out laughing. “Sunburst? You took Sunburst’s powers? Oh, dear, that was a very poor choice indeed, if you wanted raw power. Although I suppose at least now you’ll be a fantastic speed-reader.” “Laugh all you want. You’re only delaying the inevitable. I can still get rid of this.” She’s going to kill him, Celestia. A cutie mark can’t exist without the pony’s soul. “I know that,” she whispered. “But I know Sunburst as well. She said he fooled her. If he did this on purpose, then he must have known what would happen.” You think he pulled a fast one on her? “I know what he’s capable of. I know he doesn’t think on the short term. He must have had a plan, but what, exactly, I won’t know until she tries to kill him. Perhaps he’s trying to distract her.” Well, then use the distraction already! She’s going to wear you out eventually. It doesn’t matter how many of them you shoot down, she’s got more incoming! Celestia closed her eyes. “What’s her position?” Last I sensed her, she was just past the walls. Two hundred yards into Canterlot, due West. “Then that’s where Sunburst’s body will be. The plan remains the same.” Why? You’re not going to get another chance to cut her numbers down like this. What are you waiting for? “Patience, Discord.” You don’t really have a plan, do you? You’re just going to sit around and wait for her to find something that’ll beat you. Celestia sent a scattershot fireball across the palace wall, striking down another two squads. The drones hissed, and started flying in circles around her like vultures. “And what would you have me do? If I teleport, there’s no telling if I’ll be at the right place. There’s no telling if she has hostages, if she has superior numbers, there’s no telling if the original has powers that these drones do not. I can’t leave here.” She gritted her teeth and let loose a flame pillar into the air, scattering the swarm again. “She’s determined to wear me out, and I have dug my hooves into defending this spot.” Anything is better than here, Celestia. She’s trying to get your powers, so why not deny her? Celestia whispered even more hushed than before. Her Treeguards blocked her lips from view, just in case Chrysalis had had a lip reader for breakfast. “Because then she can still get to you.” What? “She has Tirek’s powers, Discord. She can steal yours, as well.” Not while I’m in stone. “You don’t know that, and that’s not a risk I can take. You are too valuable. The Academy can stand as long as there are ponies defending it. The Vaults are secured by the Royal Guard. You are not. You are out in the open.” Don’t give me that pathetic sentimentality, Celestia, you landed by me on accident. She chuckled, and another miniature Sun scoured through the ranks of the swarm, sending more to an ashy end. It didn’t matter. Their numbers were endless, replacements ready as soon as one fell. “I suppose that’s true.” Then why? “I told you: every single one that falls here is one my little ponies don’t have to fight. The only way I can end this myself is if I find the real one, alone, and catch her unawares, or if I can wipe out every single drone in Canterlot with one fell swoop. So unless you have some magical means of tossing me right in front of that wretched Queen, or some way of holding the entire army down while I charge up my spell, it’s a numbers game.” You really plan to risk everything for your ponies? She’s going to kill you eventually, you know. She’s going to kill anything she doesn’t like. “I know. But I am not fighting alone. My little ponies are resourceful, Sunburst’s sabotage is proof of that. I have one spell that will end this, and I suspect she’s aware it. I can’t afford to fire a spell that leaves me exposed if I don’t know for absolute certain that it will let me win.” The buzzing in the air intensified. The swarm formed a hemisphere around the garden, covering both the Treeguards and the Princess. Their wings started producing a whistling sound, focused inward. “Sonic attack. She’s trying to give me a headache. Must be desperation.” With a flick of her horn, Celestia let out a gout of flame to streak through the ranks, dropping another dozen. She sighed. Looks like the headache worked. “It’s not that. I’m running low on spell power. I only have a few large blasts left at this point. I’m going to need a recharge soon, or a rest.” Good thing you’re still in the sunlight, then. “Yes.” She spread her wings, and breathed in. Her mane and tail shimmered. “Treeguards, defensive formation. Let her tire herself out for a change.” In the distance, she saw five drones flying high, heading West. “And let’s hope Sunburst knew what he was doing.” Neighsay looked out through the hole in the wall, where a drone had approached him. “Who’s Maugris?” she asked. That was the last thing that one uttered from its mouth. A force of magic formed around it, crushing it in its grip and snuffing it out instantly. Three more drones stalked around him. “Allow me to introduce: the Grasping Hand of the Big Bay,” he said. “One of our oldest and most powerful spells, developed by Maugris, the infamous bay pony of unusual size. The spell’s a bit of a rarity these days, unfortunately, but a perfect fit for situations like this. One casting, near infinite damage potential, superior defensive capabilities.” The drones scowled. “So you’ve got a monkey’s paw made of magic. That won’t help you against us.” They rose up on their hind hooves and brandished their horns. Nothing happened. “I see we were correct in our assessment,” he gloated. A second hand appeared on his right and punched one of the stunned drones right into the Stone Age section. “What? What did you do?” asked another. “Me? I didn’t do anything. You are the one who underestimated Sunburst and his capabilities. His talent gives him access to solar magic. Solar magic is, by its nature, selfless and supporting. In other words, his talent blocks him from learning other varieties of magic. Of course, a bit of hard work soon corrected that handicap, and his acquired skills more than make up for his inherent weakness, but… you can’t steal those yet, can you?” The Chrysalises growled. More came in through the hole, circling around him. He cracked his spectral knuckles in anticipation. “Well, that’s a shame,” she replied. “Guess he’s no use to me anymore, then.” Neighsay tilted his head. “Strange. So you left him unattended after you consumed his powers. The real Chrysalis is on the move, then.” The drones took a step back, confused. “You knew. You knew this would happen, and you sacrificed him. What kind of pony are you?” He glared at them. “I am an academic, as is Sunburst. And we are Unicorns. You should read up on pony history sometime: sacrifice is in our nature. Besides, we took our precautions.” The drones raced to the cake shop where they’d left the bodies. Without the speed of the museum pony, though, they lost precious seconds. Once inside, they looked around for their mark. Bastion’s mother, Amber, the museum pony, Bastion’s mother, all were still in stasis and all were alive, but no Sunburst. It didn’t make any sense. They’d sedated him, and drained him. He ought to have been comatose, and no one in Canterlot knew where the bodies were left. Walking forward, they found a note on the floor. One of the drones picked it up and read it aloud. “Delayed teleportation spell, stored in an item. There’s a reason wizards wear capes.” A wave of anger flowed through the swarm. In the Academy, in Ponyville, even on the field with Celestia, rage filled their bodies and clouded their singular mind, making their left eye twitch in synchronised frustration. The drone holding the note threw it aside and whipped her horn about. If he’d teleported, there was a trace to follow. He was still out, still unconscious, he wouldn’t have gotten far from his exit point. All it would take was a simple tracking spell to find him and yank him back. She concentrated and held her energy, not even relying on stolen pony powers this time. She’d done this a hundred times before. Nothing. The drone beside her picked up the note and read another line. “You should get a tracking spell off in about six months or so, but only if you do your homework tonight.” And to think, the day had started off so well. Chrysalis sat atop a building, looking down at the entrance to the caves of Canterlot, and her drones who were dropping like flies against a colt in fancy armour. She knew the design, she knew its capabilities. She felt no surprise when one of her drones had its skull crushed by an ice ball, though it did smart a little. She very much anticipated the tension and pain of being electrocuted by another thundercloud summoned by the built-in Lightning Rings, which would last up to thirty seconds on average, but this one managed a full minute. Once that minute was up, the drones moved in again and tried to get a hit in. Of course, with no ranged magic to speak of, this was a suicide mission. A Kingslayer armour piloted by a capable artificer, it had been a while since she’d been up against one of those. Under normal circumstances, she would blast the boy. That was not an option, and as he cloaked himself again for a surprise arcane scattershot against three more drones (from the helmet, of course), she did sorely miss that option. He ducked out of the way of a hard swipe, rolled out from under a body slam, and used a Wind Belt to create distance, before firing a Thunderbolt. He was good, this little one, and smart: he knew to aim for the head and horn with electrical attacks. Bastion had probably explained that to him. But blasting him wouldn’t work, even if she could. The Kingslayer designs were notorious for keeping healing charms in little pockets on the back, capable of reviving and revitalising an assassin so he could finish the job after ignorant guards had delivered him before their liege. She’d have to kill that boy three, maybe even four times if she was unlucky. She groaned. The day had started out so well, and now she was stalled. Bastion was not far, she knew. All she really needed to do was get past the entrance and into the caves, and her plan would be complete. Celestia was stalling her forces at the Palace, the Academy was a deadlock now, and even that annoying Neighsay was taunting her with his hand conjurations. Sunburst got under her skin the most, though. She’d let him distract her from her plans. He’d tricked her into making a mistake, and now there was no way to correct it. With the cutie mark of a failure in her essence, she had no way to access the real powers she wanted. Ponyville, thankfully, was still a battle in her favour, now that the Elements of Harmony were spent. She closed her eyes and scowled. A dragon? Where did those ponies get a full-grown dragon from all of a sudden? Even that didn’t matter. Once she had Bastion, her spell would be complete. Once she had him, nothing would be able to stop her. The armoured boy had taken his toll on her forces, but he was starting to tire out, silly little thing, he probably used up the revitalising magic too early. Chrysalis grinned as she saw his movements slow. His right arm began to twitch, that horned helmet shooting light at her drones was looking heavier by the second, and his spells were running low on power. He must have been using his own magic to fuel at least a few of them. Even the more powerful armours didn’t let a pony last this long, not when he was burning that much power that quickly. She chuckled to herself and rose up on all fours. The little guardian was down to using a Flame Bracer, using it conjure up a wall of flame. Oh, classic noobie mistake. If you have to throw up a wall of fire, you’re practically begging the enemy to attack you. So cute, I almost feel bad. She flew over and commanded her drones to step aside. Marching forward, she passed through the flames unharmed, as those too were dying down from magical exhaustion. She stood before the boy now. Such a small thing, and yet such a nuisance. “Sixty drones to one pony. I’m impressed,” she said. “Mind if I ask you your name, little boy?” He threw his hooves up in a casting motion, but nothing came out of the armour. He tried the necklace, the belt, the helmet. He wasn’t faking it, either: she could taste his exhaustion in the air. It was delicious. “Well? At least let me know who cost me so much. I want to savour this.” He gulped and backed up. “D-Doldrum. My name is Doldrum.” “Well, then, Doldrum. Let me just say it’s an absolute pleasure to come across a boy like you. Artifact magic is rare these days.” She stepped forward. “Especially in the young ones. But do you know why it’s become rare?” He kept on backing away, then stopped, bracing himself. “W-why?” “Because of creatures like me.” She snatched him up by the neck, snaring him with the indent in her right arm. He squirmed feebly, but she didn’t squeeze at his throat yet. “See, artifact magic is all about writing things into other things. You put magic onto something else. I’m sure you’re familiar with the tradition of Stormcrafters, no?” He kicked and squirmed and slapped at that arm, but to no avail. “Stormcrafters were the beginning, really. They became the things they wanted to imprint. They passed on their magic, even beyond death. That’s the sort of thing I can respect, more than you’ll ever know. And it’s why you’re so quick, isn’t it? You don’t have the gloves yet to catch arrows out of thing air, but you have the skills to make a set. You can create new power for yourself, and put it into something else. A very good skill to have, but it comes with a flaw. Can you guess what?” Now she squeezed, making him squirm more. She casually removed his helmet and smiled. Golden eyes, blue coat, quite a lot of throbbing veins in his neck, too, clearly this boy worked out. She idly wondered if there was any filly she might turn into and really mess with his head, but she had to stick to her priorities. “There we are, you handsome little killer. The problem with artifact magic is that artifacts can lose their magic. You can drain things from an artifact, copy them, if you know how. And since the ponies making them had the same magic, well… that makes you a prime meal, doesn’t it?” “You won’t win,” he croaked. “Bastion’s already gone.” She chuckled. “He’s about three hundred yards into the mountain, in the old mining quarters.” The boy’s eyes widened. “Don’t look so shocked. I kept Princess Cadence in those caves for weeks, and you ponies never bothered to undo my surveillance spells on the crystals there. Even if I am a little handicapped at the moment, I’ve known exactly where he is since he went in there. So you and I can have a little fun, can’t we?” His struggles intensified. She felt his wings clench up under those armoured plates. “Fine little toy you have here, though, did Neighsay set you up with that? Oh, of course he did, but it must be uncomfortable now, let me help you out of it first.” She drove a hoof into his gut, forcing out a groan of pain. Not quite content with how restrained that groan sounded, she ripped the metal plates off his chest and belly. With the spurs of her free arm, she cut into the gambeson underneath and ripped away the fabric covering his torso, exposing his belly and the trinkets he wore. “Wind Belt? Check.” She ripped the belt off before doing the same to his arm and leg guards, tearing off more protective fabric. “Lightning Rings and Flame Bracers? Check. We’ve already got you out of that silly Triple Radiance Helmet, oh, and that Frost Necklace has to go as well, far too girly for a rugged little boy like you.” She bit into his neck and ripped off another trinket, drawing blood in the process. “N-no…” “What’s that?” She leaned in. “Oh, you were planning another little sabotage, were you? Think you can fool me with the same trick Sunburst did? Not this time. I know this design, I know the tricks of the old assassins. Your armour has a Revival Amulet right around…” She patted down his wings, baring them as well. His tail armour fell to the ground, leaving his entire body exposed. “Oh.” She checked the back of his neck, behind his ears, wingfolds, but nothing came out. For a moment, she felt genuine sympathy, and shock. “No Revival Amulet, no Revitalisation Charm. Dear me, you were fighting without any back-up. That is a gross oversight on Neighsay’s part, I’ll be sure to punish him for that on your behalf. I would have loved to see you try. Wait for me to feed on you, then revive yourself and break my hold. That might have worked. Or maybe not, I’m not entirely sure how this works, to be honest.” She squeezed down harder. “But regardless, there will be no second chances for you, little boy. There was an arrogant stallion around here not so long ago, and I need to fix what he did to me.” “S-sunburst?” He barely managed. His eyes started to water, his nostrils dripped. She sharpened the edge pressing against his throat. “Oh, that’s right, you know him, I almost forgot. You pests really do flock together. Thanks to him, I can’t use any of the spells I so rightfully acquired from you ponies. But magic like yours, that’s written deep into your core. Magic like yours, that will work. So, Doldrum, in your final moments, I want you to know: when I am through, I will take over everything. I will make your body into a piece of decoration. I’m going to make a hobby out of keeping you alive just to suffer. I’m going to take a trip to the local archives and find out where your family lives, where you go to school, just to have a little fun with every single pony in your life. I’m going to get creative and make an example out of you. Did you honestly think you could defeat me?” Still he resisted. “W-wouldn’t be the first time.” “What?” “W-warrur devl, herrda.” His eyes began to flutter shut. Chrysalis’s jaw clenched. The insolence, the defiance, it drove her mad. More importantly, she couldn’t feed because of it. “You’re the uppity pony that stole my kill? You’re the reason I had to delay my plans, you little…” She shook her head. She couldn’t kill him outright, not when she needed him. “No matter. I suppose I should expect as much. Bastion really did choose his allies well. You’re a good boy, Doldrum, with commendable powers. So, how about you act like a good boy, and share.” She cut off his air completely, sensing the despair throughout his body, even if his spirit still resisted. For a few seconds, his mouth hung open, his nose desperately sought air, and heavy legs kicked in a futile attempt to break loose. “Yes, there we go. It’s lights out, little Doldrum. Feel that throbbing in your head? Those little spots in your eyes? That’s you, all alone, right at the edge. That blackness creeping in, that’s me, taking what I deserve.” It was a waste of precious time to speak to him, she admitted that much to herself, but it was necessary. Only in despair, only in the moments before death, could she get what she needed. “You can struggle all you like. It doesn’t matter. In the end, your body will give in. You’re a strong little boy, you know you should listen to your body, don’t you?” His kicks slowed, then stopped. His wings went limp, his ears drooped, and his eyes, already welling up with tears, fell shut. “Thaaat’s it. Accept defeat, embrace despair. Everything you’ve done, was all for nothing.” His body stopped moving entirely, and she could feel he was on the brink. In that moment, she released him. His body drew one final breath, one desperate attempt to cling to life. That one breath was charged with all his talent, all his will to live, everything that made him unique and so annoying but useful to her. And like any breath, he had to let it out eventually. Sucking in that breath of his, she stole everything he was. It felt good: fire, ice, thunder, wind, all the things Earth ponies lacked flowed through her. His body shuddered hard after hitting the ground, the essence of a young pony with a fresh cutie mark was purer than that of an adult who had experience to dilute its influence. The elemental magic he used with his artifacts wouldn’t help without a trinket, especially with Sunburst’s influence still corrupting her, but she had speed again, even greater than before. This ran deeper, on a more primal level. Reflexes, instincts, body awareness that would take years to develop, he had been gifted with, and she’d taken it as easily as taking a lollipop from a baby. Flexing a hoof, she felt strength, as well, more magical enhancements to her body. This was a calculated strength, focussed, reliable, not the raw clumsy power of an Earth pony karateka. It was like she’d plundered a magical arsenal, and put everything on at once. On a body so young, limited by size and development, the result wasn’t too impressive, but on hers? The possibilities were endless. She tossed his limp body aside and let the power flow through to her Primes, who then shared it through the whole Hive. “This will do nicely. Even a Treeguard can’t stop this magic from coming through.” She turned back to her drones. “Keep Celestia contained. This will all be over in just a little while.” The drones took off, and Chrysalis left Doldrum’s body at the cave entrance.