Chapter 41
– Mercy –
Fake Twilight landed inside the cave at the bottom of the ravine, throwing all her fellow fake elements in front of her. All of them groaned and glared at her before looking towards the Crystal Tree at the edge of the cavern.
“MINE!” Fake Rarity screamed as she dove for her respective element.
The other Fake elements went to retrieve their respective elements as well, all except Fake Twilight.
“Stop it you fools! We need to figure out how to wield them.” She shouted at them.
“You’ll never wield them!” Princess Twilight declared as she entered the cavern with her friends beside her.
“You’re too late Princess. Now we’ll be the true Elements and rulers of Equestria!” Fake Twilight shouted, firing a ray of magic at her counterpart.
Princess Twilight fired her own beam and the two collided as they had before. Princess Twilight was through holding back. She gave her all into the beam, starting to push the Fake back.
As the two struggled, a black pulse traveled through the cavern towards the Tree of Harmony. As the fake Elements tried to remove the Elements from the tree, the real element bearers rushed around the alicorn beam struggle to stop them. The clash near the tree caused the Element crystals to glow black.
The tree started to release white wispy tendrils that spread out across the cavern. They came up to each pair of Elements and knew to grab the Fakes somehow. As the one tendril came towards the two Alicorns, it grabbed the fake Twilight, causing her magic to fail. Princess Twilight stared in confusion as the Fake Elements were all pulled towards the Tree of Harmony.
The rest of her friends joined her as they were kinda creeped out by the tendrils. What made it worse was when the Fake ponies started to shrivel up.
“What’s happening to them?” Fluttershy asked, hiding behind Twilight.
“I don’t know.” Twilight said.
As the fakes continued to shrivel, Fake Twilight yelled out, “Imbeciles! You ruined everything!”
A bright light suddenly shined from the tree, making Twilight and her friends shield their eyes. When the light faded, the Fake Elements were gone, and all that remained of them were six colored logs that fell in front of the tree.
“What in tarnation was that?” Applejack asked.
“It was creepy, that’s what it was.” Rainbow said.
“I agree, that was absolutely ghastly.” Rarity said, looking horrified.
“I never thought the tree had that kind of power. Maybe it could sense the corrupt magic in those fakes and saw them as a threat to the Elements?” Twilight theorized.
She walked up to the logs and examined them, “Maybe Starswirl can tell us what kind of magic this was. And why the Tree reacted the way it did.”
“Hey, we can worry about them later. We gotta help Starlight and the others with Chrysalis!” Rainbow shouted.
Twilight’s eyes widened, “Starlight!”
The gang moved back towards the mouth of the cavern, rushing to their friends.
Starlight and Chrysalis continued to trade spells, the land around the bridge was scorched and torn up. Trail and the others watched on as they tried not to get blasted.
“Starlight is gonna run out of magic at some point. We gotta get in there.” Trail said.
“Sounds good to me. Maud, Zecora, keep the kids safe.” Tala said, looking back at the mares in question.
Maud nodded silently while Zecora brought the kids closer to her and Maud. Trail nodded to them and he, Tala, and Zala moved onto the battlefield. Chrysalis seemed to have gained the upper hand as Starlight’s brow was drenched in sweat. Despite this, the unicorn did not falter in her attack. One particular blast got Chrysalis in the side, knocking her down to the ground.
Trail moved to Starlight's side, “Starlight, you ok?”
“I’m fine!” Starlight shouted back, pushing past Trail.
Another bolt of magic flew from Starlight’s horn, barely missing Chrysalis as she fired her own. The green bolt missed Starlight but almost hit Trail behind her. He needed to watch his step.
“I grow tired of this battle! I will have my revenge!” Chrysalis yelled.
Tala took this opportunity to tackle the Queen, knocking her to the ground and on her back. Tala immediately jumped on top of the changeling and began pummeling her.
“Don’t.. You.. Ever.. Touch.. My.. Niece… AGAIN!” The griffin screeched between each punch to the Queen’s face.
Chrysalis grew annoyed at the constant blows and let loose a burst of telekinetic energy, knocking the griffin off her. As she stood back on her hooves, she was hit in the face by a sack, which released a cloud of powder all around her head. This powder caused her eyes to water and made it difficult to breathe.
“What is this?” Chrysalis said through coughing.
“Grounded magicite flower seeds, cuts off any magical power on contact with a living being. You’ll find it difficult to use your precious spells for a few minutes.” Zala smirked.
“You think a little flower dust can stop a Queen!?” Chrysalis shouted, firing a beam of green magic at the zebra mare.
Zala was hit dead on, the beam was not as large as it had been before, but it still sent Zala flying back towards Zecora and her group. Zala flew past them and landed just shy of the treeline. She laid there unmoving.
“Zala!” Zecora shouted, running to aid the mare.
Trail and Tala saw this and their blood burned hot in their veins. Both siblings charged at the Queen, Trail getting up close and trying to strike at the changeling’s side. The Queen ducked around his kick, only for Tala to catch her from behind. Tala grappled with the bug, trying to wrestle her to the ground.
But Chrysalis was having none of it, and threw the griffin over her shoulder. As Tala lay stunned on the ground, Chrysalis attempted to fire another beam of magic in Tala’s face. Her attempt earned her a buck in the face from Trail, causing her to fall to her side holding her head in pain.
Trail went to his sister, “Tala, you ok?”
“Darn bug is stronger than I thought.” The griffin grumbled.
As Trailed helped her to her feet, Chrysalis had recovered and knocked Tala away with a blast of magic. Trail had little time to react before the Queen grabbed him with her magic.
“This is all your fault! You’ve ruined everything! My plans, my revenge! You and your brat will pay!” Chrysalis screamed in his face.
She was about to throw him on the ground before a blast of light blue magic caused her to drop him and she skidded a few feet. Starlight teleported between her and Trail, eyes white with magic.
“You hurt Comet, you are not hurting Trail! Or anypony else I love!” Starlight shouted.
More beams and spells filled the air as the changeling and the unicorn continued their fight.
Chrysalis looked over to where the Fake Trail was cowering, “You, make yourself useful and take care of that stallion!”
Fake Trail nodded in fear and moved to confront his counterpart once more.
“Zala, you must remain still. Lest your condition become more ill.” Zecora said, trying to tend to the downed zebra.
“Ugh.. my head.” Zala groaned.
“You probably have a concussion. You should stay down.” Maud said plainly.
“Auntie…” Comet said, standing to the side to not get in Zecora’s way.
Zala looked up at Zecora, eyes all blurry, “Oh hi Zecora, you look lovely today. Of course you look lovely every day.”
Zecora blushed at this sudden compliment, “A concussion it must be, for she is having delusions of me.”
Zala snuggled into Zecora’s chest with a dopey grin on her face. Zecora’s face was now more red than her usual gray.
“Maud! What happened?” Princess Twilight said, landing with her friends.
“Chrysalis hit Zala with a beam, and now she’s fighting Trail, Tala and Starlight over there.” Maud said, pointing over to the battlefield.
Applejack looked at the bump on Zala’s head, “She got her dome knocked pretty good that’s for sure. Doesn’t look too serious.”
Twilight looked over to the battlefield, “Starlight…”
Fake Trail tried to strike at Trail while he was recovering, kicking him while he was down.
“There! You see! You’re nothing! I’ll be the only Trail Blazer, and I’ll rule Equestria by my Queen’s side!” Fake Trail said.
Then he found himself up in the air in the grip of an angry griffin. Tala held him in a choke hold while suspending him in the air.
“You are an idiot if you think you can rule anything. Or if you think that Bug Queen over there actually cares about you.” Tala said.
“She’ll accept me, I know she will.” Fake Trail said as Tala loosened her grip a bit.
“Well then, let’s test that shall we?” Tala said, taking off with the stallion.
They flew over the battlefield, toward Chrysalis and Starlight. They were still throwing spells at each other. Then as they were right above them, Tala grinned at the fake and dropped him like a sack of potatoes.
Chrysalis was out of breath, panting heavily as her magical reserves started to run dry. How could this unicorn keep going after everything Chrysalis had thrown at her? Where was she getting all this strength?
As she prepared her next attack, a pony fell on top of her from the sky. Fake Trail groaned as he laid atop the Queen. Her frustration fueled her horn and she pulled him off her and held him in front of her.
“I thought I told you to take care of the others!” Chrysalis shouted.
“The griffin grabbed me from behind. Let me help you destroy Starlight Glimmer my Queen.” Fake Trail said.
The Queen huffed in frustration, she was too drained to be dealing with this idiot. And that thought brought another to mind. She was low on energy, so she needed to replenish. She looked wickedly at the fake pony.
“It seems you can be useful for something.” Chrysalis said, licking her lips.
Fake Trail’s face paled as she opened her mouth. A green stream of magic flowed out of his chest, making him feel strange. Then everything started to get colder, the world seemed to be fading. Starlight watched as the Fake Trail shriveled in the Queen’s grasp, and after a flash of light, a small purple log fell in front of the Queen.
“Ah, that’s much better. Now then, BEGONE!” Chrysalis shouted, firing the largest blast of magic she had produced yet.
The beam struck where Starlight had been standing, a cloud of dust being all the Queen could see. She must have gotten her.
Another blast came and bounced off the shield that Chrysalis hastily put up. The shield didn’t last very long as it broke after the third blast. Chrysalis fell back and her magic flickered. The power she took from the clone was all used up in that attack.
Starlight emerged from the cloud, unharmed and unwavering.
“Where did you get all this power?” Chrysalis huffed.
Starlight didn’t answer as she slowly approached Chrysalis, eyes still pure white. Her body was drenched in sweat but her legs did not buckle. Her horn still glowed bright, sparks flying off it as she closed the distance.
“You could never understand.” Starlight said darkly.
Starlight blasted Chrysalis with a wave of telekinesis so strong it tore up the ground as it surged towards the Queen. The impact was so quick that Chrysalis didn’t have the time to put up any defense. The Queen was knocked back several feet, landing on her side as her vision became blurry.
“You tricked me. Manipulated me into thinking my stallion was cheating on me with my best friend. I want to hear it. Why?” Starlight asked.
Chrysalis chuckled, “Isn’t it obvious? The vessel for a perfect revenge, is a broken heart.”
Chrysalis stood up on shaky legs, “I could have just used my clone minions to take the Elements without ever bringing you into the picture. But as I watched all of you, I saw your blossoming relationship with that stallion. And it was then that I knew exactly how to make you suffer the most. Love tastes so sweet right before it crumbles into dust.”
Starlight’s eyes glowed brighter as the air around the two combatants grew warmer.
“I hate you.” Starlight said, through gritted teeth.
“Now you know what it is like to have everything taken away from you! Like you took my hive! And when I have the Elements, Princess Twilight and her friends will be next! Then I’ll go after that prissy pink Princess Cadance in the Crystal Empire! Then all of Equestria will be my new hive! And then I’ll make every one of my traitorous subjects pay the price for their betrayal!” Chrysalis declared.
Starlight stood in front of the Queen now, not showing a speck of fear, “No.”
Chrysalis tilted her head, “No what?”
“No. You won’t.” Starlight said, her voice getting darker.
A bright white flash erupted from the unicorn's body, sending the Queen rocketing away into a tree, which promptly fell atop the Changeling Queen. The Queen screamed as she found herself trapped beneath the tree, her strength too diminished to release herself.
Starlight walked around the fallen tree, eyes still glowing white and radiating a rage filled heat around her. She stopped just to the side of Chrysalis, looking down at the trapped Queen. The Changeling growled at first but after feeling the energy radiating from Starlight she froze and looked at the unicorn with a hint of terror.
Starlight pressed her hoof on Chrysalis’ head, pushing it into the dirt, “You won’t be doing any of those things. You won’t hurt anypony ever again. In fact, you won’t be doing anything ever again.”
Starlight’s magic grew brighter at the tip of her horn, the light getting stronger and stronger with every passing second.
Chrysalis looked up at the unicorn with a grin, “Oh please, we both know this is just for show. You ponies don’t have the stomach for something this drastic.”
As soon as those words left her lips, the light above her grew brighter, not showing any sign of stopping. The grin on the Queen’s face slowly disappeared, replaced with shock and realization. Starlight wasn’t bluffing.
Trail had recovered and was on his hooves again. He had been watching Starlight battle the Queen, looking for any advantage he could give his marefriend. But when the tree fell on the Queen, he breathed a sigh of relief. She was beaten, it was over.
But as he watched Starlight pinned her head down and charged a spell that’s light shined so bright, he felt the warmth from several meters away, his eyes widened. What was she doing?
He ran towards the scene, he had to stop Starlight from doing something she would regret for the rest of her life.
“Well, Chrysalis is down. Let’s go congratulate Starlight!” Rainbow Dash shouted, starting to take off in the direction of the fight.
But something pulled her back by her tail, “Rainbow wait!”
Rainbow looked back to see it was Twilight who stopped her.
“Twilight, what the heck?” Rainbow asked.
“What is Starlight doing?” Twilight said, looking horrified at what she was seeing across the field.
Starlight was charging up a spell, with much more force than was considered safe. Putting that much magic in a blast that close range could cause serious harm. Not just to Chrysalis but also herself. What could she be thinking?
Twilight gasped, “Starlight, I don’t think she’s thinking clearly. We have to stop her before she hurts somepony.”
The rest of the group gasped, except Maud.
Comet heard what was said and looked towards the field, she could barely make out her teacher. All she could truly see was the pure white glow of magic. She couldn’t take this anymore.
Comet ran out into the field, past all the grown ups, past Tala, who was flying back towards the group.
“Comet!” Tala shouted.
She tried to turn around to follow, but the little filly was moving so fast she was long gone.
Comet didn’t stop, she couldn’t stop. She had to save her teacher.
“Starlight!” Trail shouted, having arrived at the scene.
His voice made Starlight look his way, her intense glare softening a bit at seeing him. The magical glow and the heat it radiated did not lessen.
“Starlight, listen to me. She’s beaten. We can leave her here and call the royal guards to take her away.” Trail said, trying to inch towards Starlight slowly.
“Trail…” Starlight said, her voice almost distant.
She then looked down at the Queen again, the hatred once again igniting causing her to growl and focus all her attention back onto Chrysalis.
“Starlight! You don’t need to do this. It’s over. She can’t hurt anypony anymore.” Trail pleaded.
“She came back before, I can stop her for good!” Starlight said, her voice echoing.
“But that’s not you. You don’t hurt others.” Trail said.
Starlight’s eyes started to soften again, she started to look away from the Queen. But just as she almost turned her head to him, she caught Chrysalis charging her horn out of the corner of her eye. She immediately turned back and pressed her hoof hard against Chrysalis’ head. The Queen screamed in frustration and pain as her horn stopped glowing.
“See! She won’t stop. But I can stop her!” Starlight’s horn glowed brighter.
The heat Starlight was generating started to make Trail sweat. He was getting pushed back a little from the force of the glow, shielding his eyes with his hat.
“Starlight, don’t!” Trail shouted.
Starlight couldn’t hear him anymore, all she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears. Her focus now entirely on her spell. It was almost ready, just a few more seconds. Then this monster would never hurt anyone ever again. Not her, not Trail, and not Comet.
“NO!” A younger voice called out.
Starlight felt something grab onto her hind leg, making her head snap behind her. Who could it possibly be? She was so close to finishing this.
The culprit was now in sight, and the image would forever be burned into her memory. Comet was clinging to her hindleg, eyes spilling tears as she gave her teacher the most pleading look she had ever seen. The glow of Starlight’s horn started to falter, her eyes softening once more.
“Please, Starlight. Please don’t. You’re a good pony, you don’t hurt others. She’s evil, but it’s still not right.” Comet cried.
“You’re the best teacher ever. I want to be like you when I grow up!” Comet cried, burying her face against Starlight’s leg.
Starlight’s heart melted at the sight, her student’s words cutting deep. The white glow of her eyes faded as well, returning to their usual blue. The spell she had been charging fizzled out immediately. The mare hugged the filly close, tears flowing like a waterfall.
Trail approached the two, slowly as he looked at them with concern. Starlight noticed his approach and a look of shame and sadness fell over her face. She couldn’t bear to face him, and simply buried her face into the top of Comet’s head.
Trail did not hesitate to go to them, hugging them both close and using his magic to levitate them all away from the Queen. They landed a few feet away, Trail comforting the two as best he could. He too was tearing up. All the pent up emotions of the day spilled out of all three ponies.
But they soon heard the tree behind them move, Chrysalis having recovered enough to free herself.
“You ponies are weak. And now you’ll pay the price!” Chrysalis declared.
Trail had no time to act, all he could do was hold them close and brace himself. But as the Queen’s blast was fired, it bounced off a shield. Not a light blue one, but a golden one.
From the sky, two beings landed between the Queen and Trail. Two alicorns stood regally as they stared down Chrysalis.
“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!” Trail shouted.
“Fear not subject, you are safe now.” Luna said, fanning out her wings to block the group from Chrysalis’ view.
“Why are you here?” Trail asked.
“Maud Pie had Spike send us word that something was happening in Ponyville. We came as quickly as we could.” Celestia said.
6 royal guard pegasi landed beside the Queen, all pointing spears at her. Chrysalis growled, frustrated at her predicament.
“Queen Chrysalis, you are hereby under arrest for assault, fillynapping, and conspiracy against Equestria.” Celestia proclaimed.
The alicorns produced shackles around each of the Queen’s legs, making the Changeling gasp and fire beams of magic at the restraints. It did not even leave a scratch.
Trail breathed a sigh of relief and looked to Starlight in his hooves, only to be horrified at her expression. Starlight’s eyes were clouded, she wasn’t responding to anything Trail did. Her horn was blacked and her forehead was burning up.
Trail’s eyes widened, “Princesses, help! Something’s wrong with Starlight!”
Comet cried and tried to get her teacher to talk to them, but to no avail.
Celestia and Luna appeared next to them, the former getting a closer look at the mare. Her eyes widened.
“She’s fading, she’s used up too much magic. Luna, you must take her to the hospital in Ponyville immediately.” Celestia said urgently.
“At once! Give her to us good stallion.” Luna said, reaching out for Starlight.
“Princess, what’s wrong with Starlight? She’s gonna be ok right?” Comet asked with tear filled eyes.
“She will be, once we get her to the hospital, you have our word little one.” Princess Luna reassured them.
Trail and Comet reluctantly let Starlight go, and even unconscious, Starlight reached out for both of them before the Princess teleported her away.