Intense light gleamed from Chrysalis’ horn. Everyone scrambled from the scene except Celestia, Luna, Discord and Starswirl. Shining Armor and Cadance combined a spell to create a shield around the kids, while Spike and his siblings flew in to fight the enraged changeling queen.
Chrysalis made her first move. She spun around, firing direct shots at all of the dragons and knocking them into submission. Celestia and Luna soared upward, engulfing their bodies in energy. Chrysalis filled her horn with energy and slashed it at both of them. Their shields were just enough to protect them, but they were sent flying back down to the earth, creating large craters where they landed. A blast of energy was fired at Chrysalis from Tirek, but she quickly incapacitated him with a return shot. A white beam beat down on Chrysalis, only causing her mild discomfort. She looked at the source of the beam to see Starswirl firing it. She fired her own shot back at him, but Starswirl cast a spell to create a portal in front of him. Another portal opened above that sent her shot firing back at her. The blast hit her but didn’t do any damage. It was her own magic, which would only heal her body and return some of her used energy back. Starswirl quickly figured out this would not work, so he teleported out of sight to devise another plan to stop her.
Chrysalis looked down to see Celestia and Luna still weary from battle. She fired at both of them, but a giant trampoline appeared and sent the blast flying back at an angle. It passed by Chrysalis and went through the sky to dissipate in the atmosphere. She looked down to see Discord was standing next to the trampoline, which he had created to help out. He rushed underneath it and there was a bright flash of light. Chrysalis fired a laser at the trampoline to dissolve it. Her magic wasn’t capable of reversing Discord’s spells, but it was powerful enough to cancel out their affects or disintegrate any simple objects he created out of thin air.
Chrysalis felt something heavy fall down on top of her. It did no damage to her since she already had a bubble shield spell protecting her. Whatever just hit her was not a magic blast. As the object moved away, she turned back to see King Smite had tried pounding her. He thrust his other fist forward, attempting a punch. He was only met with the same results as before, but the mighty dragon king did not give up. He continuously pummeled Chrysalis’s shield, as Chara eventually joined in. She emitted a surge of energy that knocked the dragons back. They nearly landed on top of some buildings, but were teleported safely to a nearby hilltop by Discord. Calida then appeared behind Chrysalis and roared. She continuously bit and clawed at the shield. Chrysalis teleported behind the wyvern and blasted her. Calida was resilient and continued flying. She then blew a continuous stream of fire at the changeling queen. Tirek, who had recovered from his earlier wounds helped out by firing continuous fireballs, with hopes it would at least take her down over time and prevent her from using a teleportation spell.
“SPIKE! GET THE KIDS OUT OF HERE!” shouted Shining Armor.
“GOT IT! EVERYPONY FOLLOW ME!” Spike called to the kids as they followed him out to a nearby alley.
“But, Mom, Dad, what about you guys?!” Flurry asked.
“We’ll see if we can hold her off!” Cadance called back.
In the air, several Soder Dracos and Nordo Dracos guards joined Calida in fighting Chrysalis, but they too were no match. She teleported all around them to strike back. She sliced at them with her energized horn in quick succession. It did not cut through the dragons’ scales, but it was painful for all of them. Billow hurled Beo at her, producing the sound of metal striking metal. The living axe came back and did the same over and over again from several angles. Chrysalis remembered that she could not lift this axe even with her own magic, so she cast a spell that would temporarily disable magic within ten feet of her. Despite the fact that Beo was a different kind of magic that could not be cancelled out from the hive earlier, the spell Chrysalis used was still enough to cause her to plummet back to the Earth. Billow caught Beo before she hit the ground. The brave dragon princess knew she would not stand a chance against Chrysalis, so she flew in the opposite direction to try helping the others escape. Chrysalis fired a beam at her, but Scorch dove in and took the shot. He tumbled out of control into a nearby concession stand and was knocked out temporarily while his siblings attended to him.
The good changelings arrived on the scene to fight their former queen. They sadly could not use their combining abilities due to the effect of Starswirl’s necklace being destroyed, so they surrounded Chrysalis and fired blasts from all angles in an attempt to overwhelm her. Chrysalis zipped around with a fiery aura surrounding her body, knocking herself into all of them as they were sent hurdling back down to the earth.
The overpowered changeling queen continued to grit her teeth in rage while hyperventilating. She was not interested in monologuing or mocking her opponents anymore. Revenge was the only thing in her mind. There was no one that was capable of hurting her. She had overcompensated with her magic to a point of being invincible and always able to strike back at anyone that opposed to her. Her anger over what happened to the other changelings had sent her on a rampage, but she wasn’t even tiring herself out. She looked back down to the ground to see Shining Armor and Cadance tending to Elytra who was one of the changelings that had just been beaten. Chrysalis didn’t realize this was Elytra at first since she hadn’t seen her transform earlier, but she quickly figured it out after hearing Cadance say her name. Her heart filled with anger, knowing these three were the ones responsible for destroying her hive and banishing her army to the farthest reaches of Equestria where they would be lost for a long time.
“DON’T THINK I WILL EVER FORGET WHAT YOU TOOK FROM ME!” she snarled as she teleported in front of them.
Shining Armor and Cadance put up a shield to protect Elytra. Chrysalis walked slowly towards them and cast them aside with her magic into the side of a building. Using her tarsal claws, she then grabbed Elytra by her neck and began strangling her.
“Before I kill them, daughter, I’LL KILL YOU!”
A weak blast hit Chrysalis’s face before she could continue. She barely felt anything but saw the light effect from it. She looked over to see Flurry had fired a beam at her face. Spike quickly pulled Flurry back in and ran off with the kids. Chrysalis looked back at Elytra. She realized the little princess had most likely helped her achieve this form; meaning Flurry was also responsible for her loss. Before she had the chance to go after Flurry, Shining Armor and Cadance got back up and fired a very powerful blast they combined with their magic. A pie then flew into Chrysalis’s face from the other side, while a hooked cane pulled Elytra safely away from her. Elytra was then in Discord’s arms. He set her down and allowed her to escape with the other two while he took care of things.
The pie on Chrysalis’s face dissolved into embers and she looked over to where it was thrown. She saw Discord donning a red taekwondo dobok and sporting long, yellow hair, standing on end. She fired at him and he countered it with his arms crossed. They both met in midair and fired blasts repeatedly at each other. Discord’s blasts resembled random nonsensical objects that exploded into confetti upon contact.
“Now what?!” asked Pumpkin.
“I dunno, but this is kinda cool to watch!” Stormy blurted out.
“STORMY!!” everyone yelled in unison, surrounding the little pegasus.
“What?!” he replied.
“Guys, we need to find the teachers! If all the other changelings are gone, then that means those ones that stole the Elements yesterday have dropped them! We can get them while she’s distracted!” Flurry said, frantically.
“She’s right! They’re the only ones that can stop her!” Pound added.
“Well for now, we’ve got to get out of here!” Spike said as he coaxed the kids along to flee the scene.
Before they could run off, Discord landed in front of them. He ached all over his body but could still fight. He stood back up and soared into the sky. While at Chrysalis’s level, he put both his hands to the side and formed a small glowing orb of energy, while Chrysalis charged up an orb above her horn. They fired at each other and their beams met in the middle, pushing back. Discord tried with all his might to summon as much of his own chaos magic and translate it into powerful energy-based output, but it was no use. Chrysalis was still ahead of him and managed to win the stalemate. He could not take it any longer and teleported away. His blast dissipated and hers fired where he once was. The beam shot off into the horizon. Discord had put himself at the proper level so her blast would not fire downward and destroy any of the town, though it did manage to graze the side of a mountain. Chrysalis then looked behind her to see a tower of Pinkie clones with the real Pinkie and Cheese on top. The clones had stacked themselves on top of each other and formed a giant mesh of Pinkie Pies and moved like one giant body. Pinkie and Cheese prepared to fire a shot from their Party Arm Cannons, until she flew through them like a bullet, causing the entire thing to break apart like building blocks. All of the Pinkies fell and bounced on the ground as Pinkie and Cheese landed on top of them. They scattered and tried to help Spike and the kids escape.
Finally, Twilight Sparkle appeared, having recovered from her earlier wounds and used a spell to put a shield around everyone below. She then began firing blasts at Chrysalis that were trickier to counter. Twilight had been watching the battle the entire time, studying her moves to figure out what could break her. Chrysalis still managed to counter all blasts and rushed forward to slash at Twilight with her claws. Twilight evaded the slashes and bucked her in the face with one of her rear legs. Chrysalis was surprised at how good she had gotten with her fighting skills over the years, but she did not fear the Princess of Friendship. After cracking her neck to the side, she fired at Twilight, but Twilight was quick and teleported. She suddenly noticed that there were tons of duplicates of her from every angle. She couldn’t figure out which one was the real Twilight since all of them fired the same beams, though they were weaker which meant her power had been divided. These duplicates were merely a distraction as Celestia, Luna, changelings, dragons, and other various winged creatures surrounded Chrysalis. She had finally had enough and used one last spell. An explosion of energy emitted from her and surged past them all, paralyzing them and knocking them into nearby buildings.
“ENOUGH!!!”
The deafening sound of her voice echoed throughout the land and shattered nearby glass windows. Chrysalis landed on the ground in the middle of town where her victims all lay in a heap. She looked around to see them all looking at her. They just stared at her in horror, afraid but unable to run off and escape. It would not matter if they could. There were no more warriors left to stand up to her and nowhere to run. In her head, she believed she truly had won now, though they all knew this battle wasn’t over and there was still another way to stop her.
“Is there anyone else that wishes to defy the queen?! Give up, all of you! I rule over all of you pitiful creatures now! There isn’t a single one of you that can stop me!”
“Eh. I can think of six others that can,” said Gallus behind her.
Chrysalis quickly reared her head and saw the only thing that could strike fear into her: Gallus, Silverstream, Sandbar, Yona, Ocellus and Smolder had arrived on the scene. Sure enough, they had all six of the Elements of Harmony around their necks. In the midst of her psychotic rage and her desire to inflict pain on her adversaries, Chrysalis had completely forgotten about them.
The changeling queen gasped loudly as they hovered and the Elements began to glow. She knew there was no way she could win against them, but in her desperation to come out on top, she did the best she could. Her horn fired a powerful blast at the teachers, but the Elements had already created a shield to protect them. She tried a more powerful blast with all the magic she could muster, but it made no difference. Energy continued to build up around the teachers. Chrysalis panicked and flew away, only to bump into something. She grunted in pain and put her claws in front of her to find another shield had been created to keep her there. She tried to teleport, but her spell was cancelled out. Now she realized she had lost.
“No! It cannot end like this!!” she shrieked.
The teachers closed their eyes and concentrated like they had before when they last tried to use the Elements on Cozy Glow. Thankfully, this time it worked. A rainbow beam spun around them like a double helix and projected on the changeling queen. She felt it beating down on her body, sapping out all of the magic she had stolen and only leaving behind her original base magic. She could do nothing but scream in agony.
“AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!”
Everyone else watched as Chrysalis reverted to her true form. All of her upgraded body parts morphed back to how they once were. Her large stinger turned back in to the tail she had before. Her wings shrank. Her mane turned from red to dark green. Her tarsal claws disappeared along with the barbs on her legs. Her split jaw mended shut as she cried out in anguish. She finally went silent and felt herself falling to the ground; drained of so much magic that she had lost her energy to stand or hold her head up. She fell into a brief slumber as all of the love magic she absorbed floated out of her. Pink auras soared through the air and were immediately returned to everyone she had robbed of the magic. One large aura floated over towards Cheese Sandwich and went back into his body. Cheese was lifted in the air and wiggled his legs around with a smile on his face and his eyes closed. He opened them again and felt completely reenergized. Pinkie dove in to hug him. He spun her around and lifted her in the air with his newfound strength before they shared a passionate kiss. Everyone else cheered wildly for the Teachers for their victory against Chrysalis.
The Elements powered down and the teachers landed gracefully. They opened their eyes, surprised to see that the Elements did not turn her into stone or transport her to Tartarus, but they did not question it. The Elements had chosen to not work in the past with Tirek, Cozy Glow and the Sorceress because there were better ways to handle them, but this time was different. The Elements recognized that there was no other way to stop Chrysalis, and they acted quickly and efficiently, though they left her behind for a reason. Princess Twilight would decide her fate now.
Flurry and all her friends jumped up and down and whooped for joy. They hugged each other and danced around in circles. Spike gave the little princess a big hug and looked up to see all his siblings had gotten up and celebrated with everyone else. The power of the Elements had healed anyone who took damage from Chrysalis during the skirmish. Buttercream flew in and joined the kids in celebration.
They then looked over to see Twilight walking in to Chrysalis with some royal guards and Tempest Shadow flanking her. She had been smiling at first, but as she got closer to the queen, her smile quickly turned into a stern scowl. Chrysalis opened her eyes to see Twilight standing before her. Her base magic was not even enough to help her fight against Twilight and there was no way of escaping now with Discord being able to teleport after her. Chrysalis’s heart dropped and she began to hyperventilate. Her frustration boiled over but she could not use it to fight back anymore. She hissed at Twilight and then finally admitted defeat.
“YOU FOOLS! YOU IDIOTS!! Fine then! You’ve won! Do what you must! I would rather spend an eternity in Tartarus than spend another minute amongst you hideous, filthy animals!”
Twilight wished more than anything for an apologetic Chrysalis, but she wasn’t in the mood for that. Even as the Princess of Friendship, she had boundaries and the changeling queen was far too dangerous to keep around and clearly regretted nothing. She was about to speak until Discord stepped in between them.
“Whoa, now hold on just a minute, Twilight,” he said, putting both his hands in front of her.
“Discord, please step aside. The queen needs to be dealt with,” Twilight said, firmly.
“Yes, I know, I know, but we had a deal. You haven’t forgotten our deal, have you?”
“I remember the deal, Discord, but she’s done too much damage,”
“Ah, but she’s also defenseless. We’ve already reformed Cozy and Tirek, I’m sure we can get to her eventua-”
“NO! DON’T LISTEN TO HIM, WELPS! JUST PUT ME IN TARTARUS! TURN ME INTO STONE! I DON’T CARE! JUST DO NOT SPEAK OF REFORMING ME!!!” Chrysalis screamed over Discord.
“Hey, come on now, Chryssie! I’m trying to help you out!”
“Do not ever call me that again!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Chryssie Poo.”
Discord put his head next to Chrysalis’s and stroked her chin with his lion paw as he spoke. Chrysalis gritted her teeth and lashed out at him.
“I SAID DON’T CALL ME THAT!!”
Chrysalis chomped down on his lion arm with her fangs and Discord allowed the entire thing to pop off. A cloud of smoke obscured her and the arm as she fought it like a wild animal. Everyone else giggled at the sight. Discord turned back to Twilight to continue talking with her.
“Twilight, look: if someone out there undid my spell to turn them into stone, then doing it again clearly isn’t going to work, and she certainly won’t be reformed in Tartarus.”
“Go on.”
“And I know I’m not the best person to be advising royalty here, but just look at me. Was I any different? Granted I didn’t steal love magic or put ponies in harvesting pods, but I was a bad boy. You were willing to give me a second chance and I still screwed up along the way, but you got to me eventually. Maybe the same can be done with her?”
“No! She needs to be punished for her crimes!” shouted a stallion citizen of Ponyville from the side.
“That’s right! Look what she’s done with our beautiful town!” said a female next to him.
“Not to mention she completely demolished the town hall!” added the Mayor. “It’s going to take so long to build it back!”
“Alright, you’ve all made valid points,” Discord continued, “We can’t keep her around here, so here’s my proposal: I keep her in my chaos realm, where she’ll have no way of getting out and she can’t hurt any of you or steal your magic. I’ll try and see if I can reform her in there. That was the original plan anyway, and I am ready for her.”
Everyone around Discord fell silent for a moment with only Chrysalis’s snarling heard in the background as she continued to fight his lion arm. Twilight maintained a stern look. She would want Chrysalis to reform, but as a leader, she had to make the wisest decision. She then turned to speak with Pinkie and Cheese who were standing a few yards away.
“Pinkie Pie, Cheese Sandwich, is there anything you would like to say?”
“Well, she did ruin me and Cheese’s big day,” Pinkie replied. “She knocked me out the other night and stole my memories.”
“Not to mention she fooled me into believing she was Pinkie all along and absorbed all my love,” Cheese added.
Pinkie and Cheese shared glances for a moment. Pinkie then spoke with a smile on her face as she.
“But…to be fair, we have given a lot of other villains second chances.”
Pinkie then pointed to Starlight and Trixie who were standing off to the side with Sunburst.
“That is true,” Cheese continued, “We’ve seen quite a few baddies turn good in recent weeks. Some really dangerous ones.”
Cheese looked to see Tirek walking in with Elytra, Cozy and Melody behind him. Twilight nodded her head up and down and sighed deeply. Flurry walked in next to her with Cadance and Shining Armor not far behind.
“Can I say something, Twilight?” she asked.
“Go ahead, Flurry Heart,” Twilight replied with a smile on her face.
“I mean, we both know the Elements work in mysterious ways. Maybe there’s a reason they didn’t use their power to turn her into stone. Didn’t you tell me that the Elements didn’t do it last time during the Canterlot battle?”
“That is true. They only took the magic those three had stolen. It’s possible the Spirit of Harmony wanted them all reformed much earlier.”
“If we’d have known that, my sister and I would have told Discord to imprison them to be reformed right away rather than keeping them in stone for ten years. We could have probably prevented more damage,” Luna commented.
“And with what we now know about Tirek and Cozy Glow, I think it’s safe to say, sometimes bullies have a reason for what they do, even if they make bad decisions in the process,” Celestia added.
“That is true. I certainly would know.”
As Celestia put her arm around Luna, Twilight thought hard about what they had said. She looked up to Discord as he stood before her with only one arm.
“Discord, you have got to promise you will keep her safe from anyone,” she told him.
“I promise. She’s not going anywhere. Without all that love magic, she’s actually quite weak.”
“And if you do reform her, I expect she will make up for all her misdeeds.”
“As do I. I won’t set her free until I have seen that in action.”
Twilight smiled and nodded to Discord. He then used his eagle fingers to whistle and his arm returned to him with scratches and bruises, which quickly disappeared with a snap of his fingers after it reattached. The cloud around Chrysalis vanished as she fell to the ground, wondering where the arm went.
“Oh Chryssie!” Discord called. “We’ve decided your sentence.”
“I know what you’re trying to do! You fools will never reform me! You’re wasting your time!”
“Well since you don’t want any of that, I think it’s the proper punishment until we can figure out what to do with you. Don’t worry, you’re gonna love it in my realm.”
Chrysalis stood still, gritting her teeth and snarling. She had no idea what she could do now that she couldn’t fight back or escape. With one monstrous sigh, she reluctantly accepted her fate.
“Alright then. Captain?” Twilight said to Tempest Shadow.
“Yes, Your Highness?” Tempest replied.
“Assemble my troops and advisors and meet me over by the town hall. And bring me a quill and some parchment. I’m going to be announcing a new decree today.”
One hour later, Twilight had met with several advisors and parliament members in front of the town hall ruins. Most citizens had already started filing back into Ponyville to tend to their homes, while everyone that was a wedding invitee or helped fight the invasion had congregated around the town hall. Twilight had just finished writing an executive order on Chrysalis’s imprisonment. Once it was ready, Discord stepped forward with Chrysalis next to him. Now wearing her regalia, Twilight read the law out loud.
“To all honorable members of the Equestrian parliament present, the citizens of Ponyville, and all else witnessing this event: I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, hereby order that Queen Chrysalis be temporarily banished to Discord, the Lord of Chaos’s realm for imposed rehabilitation. She will be kept away from Equestrian citizens, until I have deemed that she is reformed and safe enough to coexist among ponykind. During this time, Discord will only bring her out when properly harnessed and incapable of harming anyone, and only with my permission. After she is released, I expect to see her make up for her crimes. Discord, I am entrusting her to you and you alone. She will be your number one priority. Am I clear?”
“Absolutely, Princess,” Discord said, bowing politely.
“Then so be it. This law is now official.”
Twilight took the quill and signed the paper. She then turned the paper outward, so everyone could see her signature. Some nearby press members began taking pictures. Everyone started clapping when Chrysalis took one last chance to curse them.
“You fools think you have won, but this isn’t over! I will not stay hidden for long! My changelings will find me and I will make you all pay for what you have done! You will all face my wrAAGGHH!”
Suddenly a portal opened up beneath Chrysalis and she fell right through. Discord had sent her into his realm with a snap of his fingers and closed it up before she could fly back out.
“Alright, alright. Save it for Villains Anonymous,” Discord said.
Everyone cheered for Discord and he waved back, bashfully. He then turned to Twilight and winked to her as she winked back.
“Hey, Discord?” said a random Pinkie clone next to him.
“Oh, yes…um, Pinkie Pie…number…whichever one you are?”
“Would it be okay if we lived in your realm?” asked another.
“Yeah, we don’t wanna have to go back to the mirror pool.”
“It’s kinda cramped.”
“And kinda boring.”
“And not very fun.”
“Plus we could keep Chrysalis company in there.”
“Pleeeeeease?”
With a smile on his face, Discord opened up a portal to his realm and the Pinkie clones all joyfully hopped in while shouting “FUN” over and over again. As the last one hopped in and the portal began to close, the sound of Chrysalis groaning could be heard. Twilight felt good to watch them go, knowing she didn’t have to cruelly zap them back to the Mirror Pool again.
“Well then, we are a day late, but let’s all pitch in to set up a new wedding,” Twilight told her guards, as they nodded in agreement.
Off to the side, Flurry stood next to Elytra and Pinkie. They all came together in a hug.
“You guys did so great!” Pinkie said. “I thought we were done for, but that was so cool!”
“Still unbelievable how well we managed!” Flurry laughed. “I think it’ll be a while before we see the changelings again too.”
“I just hope Mother does alright,” Elytra added. “I know she’s a monster, but I still care for her.”
“She’ll come around, Elytra,” Flurry said. “I’m sure Discord will find a way to get to her. What matters is that you helped us out and you became a good example to the rest of the other black changelings. Hopefully you won’t be the last to do that.”
“That’s true. Thanks, Flurry.”
“Elytra?” said Thorax, entering in behind her.
“Oh. King Thorax!”
“That was you talking to me the other night about changeling reformation, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. That was me. I’m sorry I fooled you.”
“Well now I know why Maud Pie was so interested in changelings that night: it was you all along. I’m glad you came to me. And no need to apologize. You’ve done us all a huge favor, and I would be happy to welcome you into the new changeling kingdom.”
“Thank you, King Thorax.”
“Elytra? Is that you?” said a voice nearby.
Elytra turned her head to see Ocellus. She remembered what she looked like in her transformed state since the last time they met. Ocellus was taller now, but Elytra recognized her right away.
“O…OCELLUS!” shouted Elytra as he rushed to embrace her old friend.
“Elytra! That really was you that transformed and destroyed the hive! I knew you’d come around eventually! I’m so proud of you!”
“Thank you, Ocellus! I’m just sorry it happened so late.”
“Hey, that’s fine. Your past doesn’t matter anymore. You did the right thing.”
“If I’d have known it would be this good, I would have done it years ago.”
“You look beautiful.”
“I feel beautiful.”
Elytra and Ocellus hugged once again. Other good changelings came over to introduce themselves and welcome Elytra into their tribe as one of their own. Flurry watched happily as Twilight stood next to her.
“What did you learn today, Flurry Heart?” Twilight asked her niece.
“I learned today that love conquers all. Pinkie and Cheese fought on with their love and Elytra used it to overcome all odds. I saw so many examples of it today, and it was the greatest weapon we had against our adversaries. And I never realized how much hope could have the same effect. I continued to believe we could find a way, and we did. It took some time, but we got there.”
Flurry nuzzled up against her aunt. Spike walked in next to her and had just finished writing down her friendship report.
“We’ll keep this one for the collection,” he said, handing the scroll to Twilight, while she returned to the troupe of guards awaiting her.
“Well that was something else, right guys?” Pound asked all his friends.
“You’re telling me, bro! PHEW! Talk about cutting it close!” Pumpkin said, using Pound’s back as a fainting couch.
“I’m just glad it’s all over. That was pretty scary!” Annie said.
“Are you kidding? That was the awesomest battle ever! Chrysalis was all like ‘MUAHAHA, YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!’ and then everyone else was like ‘PEW PEWE PEW!’ and then Gallus and the others come in and BOOM, she’s all green again and can’t fight back!” Stormy yammered.
“Yeah that’s Stormy for ya,” Chip laughed, rolling his eyes.
Everyone else laughed as Buttercream came in and picked up Flurry Heart in her arms.
“Flurry, you did amazing!” she squealed. “As soon as I met Elytra, I had a feeling we’d see her reformed by the time this was all over! And now she’s a cute fuzzy moth girl!”
“Thanks Buttercream! And thanks for helping us out too!” Flurry responded.
“Aw, you’re welcome! I’ve never had to fight like that before, but man was it fun! And Spike, I had no idea you were such a brawler too!”
“Well, when you’re a bodyguard for the Princess of Equestria, you gotta keep up that Northern Drake fighting physique!” Spike said, patting his belly.
“That’s our little brother and sister!” Singe said, picking Buttercream and Spike up in his arms.
“You guys were great out there!” Scorch told them. “So were you, Billow.”
“Hey, no problem,” Billow said, walking in next to Scorch.
“Omighosh! So this really is Princess Billow!” Pumpkin said, rushing to meet her as the other kids joined in.
“Hey there, kids. I’m guessing you unlocked me in Super Dragon Warriors?”
“Sure have! You’re soooo cool!” Stormy said with his hooves against his cheeks.
“Hehe, thanks. I look so blocky in that game, but I love the moves they gave me. I can actually perform every single one of them. The ‘Dance of the Living Axe’ is my favorite.”
“So how many of the royal family members in Soder Dracos wield axes like that?” Scorch asked Billow.
“Like Beo Tuag? Oh she’s the only one of her kind.”
“Uh…she?”
“Yeah, Beo’s a magic axe that’s been passed down in the royal family for thousands of years. You can’t even lift her unless you’re judged worthy.”
“Tell him he’s handsome,” Beo told Billow in her mind.
“Huh? Oh. Beo says you’re a good fighter too.”
“Go on, Billow. He likes you. I can tell.”
“Beo, can we talk about this later?” Billow whispered out of the side of her mouth.
“Are you talking to her?” Scorch asked.
“Yeah. Sorry, hearing her speak is also something you can’t do unless you’re worthy. Sometimes she teases me.”
“Hehe, she sounds like fun.”
“Yeah, I’ve gotten through a lot with her at my side. We’ve both fought plenty of battles, but this was the biggest one I’ve ever been in.”
“Well we appreciated you coming in to help. It was pretty hilarious when Beo pinned Chrysalis down like that.”
“Hehe. She does that.”
“So, random question, but are you by any chance related to any Northern Drakes? I couldn’t help but notice you’ve got a body like my dad and my brother and sister. My grandma’s also got it.”
“Thanks for noticing. My mom’s dad is a Northern, so I get it from her side. We Southerns have some variety, but the chubby ones still make fantastic warriors.”
“Well hey, it looks good on you.”
“Thanks.”
Billow maintained eye contact with Scorch. She stroked her thigh with one hand, while putting the other on her hip. He looked at her with a warm smile on his face, not knowing what he was even doing. They were both interrupted by Buttercream, slowly moving up between them. She put her hands in front of her mouth, which already had a big, smile. She was unable to contain her enthusiasm.
“Hehehe! Are you two flirting?” she asked.
“WHAT?!” Scorch and Billow said in unison.
“Uh…no, we just met!” Billow said, nervously.
“Yeah, I mean she’s fine, but it’s been like…what, a few hours?” Scorch added as he put his arm behind his head and blushed.
“Yeah, exactly.”
“I mean she’s…”
“Yeah, he’s still…”
“We’re fine!”
“Yeah! We’re fine!”
“I…well…”
“Yeah…”
“Um…”
“Hehe…”
Buttercream looked back and forth, observing their body language and the shyness in their voices. She could already tell they had chemistry. Scorch and Billow looked over to see that Singe, Barb and the kids had been watching them interact as well; they just forgot they were there. Singe and Barb both looked at each other with big smiles on their faces, while the kids giggled.
“Gosh, Scorch, slow down over there!” Singe teased.
“Alright, knock it off, Singe,” Barb laughed, while playfully shoving her little brother to the side. “Give them space, you two. After all, it’s…oh…”
They all looked to see Calida flying in and landing on all fours. She wasn’t so angry and ready to fight anymore, but she wasn’t smiling either, for she was not accustomed to doing so. Billow and Buttercream walked over to her to show her to the others.
“Oh yeah! We forgot to introduce you guys to Calida!” Buttercream said. “Calida, these are my siblings, Spike, Singe, Scorch and Barb. And over there is Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Kingdom and all her friends: Pound Cake, Pumpkin Cake, Apple Chip, Annie Smith, and Storm Streak. Everyone, this is Calida.”
“Charmed,” Calida said, flatly.
Barb, Scorch and Singe looked nervously at her. Spike wasn’t quite as scared but could tell this was an unusual experience for his siblings. He waved nonetheless and they did the same.
“Hey…” Barb said. “So…are you, like, not with the other wyverns?
“I left them years ago. I couldn’t stand living with them.” Calida replied.
“Calida didn’t have such a great life in Oster Dracos, so she came over to live with Billow’s family down south!” Buttercream said, cheerfully.
“Yup. And she’s assimilated quite well,” Billow added.
“Well, that’s at least good to hear,” Scorch said.
“Yeah, I guess not all wyverns are that bad after all,” Singe added.
“Whoooooa! That is such a cool dragon!” Stormy said as he flew right up to Calida.
“Uh…Stormy,” Flurry said, cautiously.
“Are you in Super Dragon Warriors too, Miss Calida?”
“I might be,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders.
“Stormy, we might wanna wait and see for ourselves. You know, not have the game be spoiled and all,” Chip told the eager, little pegasus.
“That’s okay. If you are in it, you’d be a really awesome playable character!” Stormy told the large wyvern.
Calida finally cracked a smile and chuckled a bit.
“I like these kids,” she said.
“Aw, she’s smiling!” Pumpkin whispered to Pound.
“Well guys, Pinkie and Cheese are gonna need all the help they can get,” Flurry said to all of them. “What do you say we all head over to help with setting up the new wedding with them?”
“I agree. You guys ready?” Pound asked them all.
“Yeah! Let’s go, guys!” Stormy said, flying ahead.
“Don’t worry, Pinkie! We’ll make sure you guys have the best wedding ever!” Pumpkin told Pinkie as they all joined her and Cheese.
“Thanks, everyone! We really appreciate it!” Pinkie said.
“Alright, you ready, Sweetie Pie?” Cheese asked his soon-to-be-wife.
“I’m ready, Cheesie!”