"Chapter 6: The Western Lands. Unlike the 'zones' of Equestria mentioned in the previous chapters, the Western Lands are distinct in the fact that they are entirely disconnected from Equestria as a whole. Indeed, if it weren't for the efforts of Princess Celestia during the early settlement of Equestria, the entire continent might have gone on as undiscovered to this very day. This is largely due to the presence of creatures known as 'Changelings,' who shall be mentioned in greater detail in chapters 9 to 10. The changeling's natural ability to 'shapeshift,' as the uneducated may call it, has given the entire continent a kind of magical fog that obscures the vision of those that come close to the mainland. Due to this, the changelings developed a kind of pocket civilisation as distinct as the land they come from. But again, there shall be more on that in later chapters. For now, lets focus on the land itself."
The heavy ticking of a clock echoed through the library. At any other time, such a noise would be drowned out under the work of daily living. However, with the sun still low in the sky and the moon reaching to claim its place, there was not a single sound to overpower it.
Nearly no sound anyway. The near silent turning of a book's pages just barely broke through the din, as Twilight hurried through the heavy encyclopaedia. She'd read it before, but that was no reason to leave it gathering dust. And considering the recent changes that had come over Ponyville thanks to her efforts, she figured it was her duty to learn more about the nation of Equestria, lest she face another test based in a far off land.
The candle flickered as Twilight looked around, waiting a moment for the darkness to fade. Spike was still upstairs, sleeping soundly in his bed. There was no reason to wake him, he deserved his sleep. Then Twilight drifted to the pile of unsorted books, the stack of uneven papers, the rainbow of unmatched quills, and sighed. He may have earned his rest, but that didn't make the mess he was suppose to clean disappear.
The book closed with a thump, throwing a thin film of dust into the air. Twilight couldn't be bothered with that. It was simply more work to do. On any other day, she would have kept reading. There was still so much to learn tucked away in those pages, so much knowledge she had yet to learn. Even if she could recite the entire opening chapter, it still pained her heart to have to leave the tempting words so early. But again, without her assistant, the mess wouldn't remove itself.
Besides, how could she focus when there was a red quill next to a green quill? It was madness.
The magic around her horn intensified as she began to clean, when suddenly, there came a tapping. The usually quiet sound was intensified in the dark night air, echoing through the room. Twilight skipped a beat in surprise, dropping the tome she was levitating. It hit the ground with a thud, much louder than the tapping. Twilight stopped for a moment, searching for the cause, until it became all too apparent.
"Tis some visitor," She muttered, "tapping at my chamber door. Only this, and nothing more."
Chuckling at herself, Twilight trotted across the room, giving a wayward glance to the mess gathered on her desk. Surely it wouldn't matter though, her friends would understand why everything was a mess.
The tapping stopped as Twilight approached the door. A spring leapt into her step as she hurried. Didn't want to miss whoever was knocking, didn't want them to think she'd gone to bed already. Slowing to a canter, then a complete stop, Twilight stared at the door. While there were many reasons someone might knock on a door, not many of those apply at roughly eight o clock at night.
Without even a creak, Twilight pushed the door open, smiling at the pony standing on the other end.
Fluttershy crept backwards, trying to make herself look as small as possible. Hastily, her hooves found themselves at her head, adjusting an absolutely ridiculously large hat. It barely even fit on Fluttershy's head to begin with and wavered uncertainly at her every movement. Her eyes couldn't stop moving around, focusing on and dropping everything in sight. Despite all this though, nobody can resist a happy smile.
Fluttershy grinned nervously, tapping the ground with one hoof and holding her hat with the other. "Oh...you're home."
Twilight glanced into the darkness behind Fluttershy. "Of course I am, there's much to do. Ever since we defeated king Sombre I've been reading up on Equestrian history. Did you know there's actually a mountain taller than Canterlot?"
"Uhh, no. I...I didn't. Can I...can I come in, please?"
"Of course you can Fluttershy, I'd never leave a friend out in the cold. Come in."
With a nod, Fluttershy carefully trotted past Twilight, careful not to let her hat bump against the walls. Twilight was forced down to her knees to avoid knocking it clean off Fluttershy's head. Once the 'danger' had passed, Fluttershy let out a relieved sigh and sat down near the desk.
Twilight followed after her, questions building on her mind. "Why are you wearing a giant hat?"
Fluttershy glanced around again, recoiling from the shadows cast by the candle. "I can't tell you. I need your help, Twilight."
"What for? Do the others know? Why can't you tell me? No wait, answer the first question first."
"Something is coming, Twilight. Something...scary."
Twilight's smile faltered, but she still pressed on with her questions. "What's coming? What's going on?"
"It's coming. We need you to stop it, Twilight. You and the elements. You're the only ones with the power needed."
"Fluttershy, you're starting to scare me. Are you feeling alright? Whatever you need help with, you know I'll be there right? Friends stick together."
Fluttershy nodded, nearly throwing her hat off again. "Sorry, you're right. I need to calm down. Panicking won't help anypony now."
Twilight sat down, using her magic to pull a blanket out from under the stairs. It took less than a moment for the sheet to warp around the two ponies, tying them together. "It's alright, Fluttershy," Twilight said, "what's going on?"
Fluttershy swallowed and inched closer to Twilight. "Twilight, do you know what Slax is?"
The purple colour faded from Twilight's face as she paled. "No, don't worry though, I'm sure there's a book here somewhere on it. Just give me a minute to find it, I have everything you need."
"Don't do that, please, we don't have time. I'll tell you." Fluttershy said, "Do you remember the changeling invasion earlier this year?"
"Do think I could forget the witch that nearly married my brother, threw me down into the caves and nearly conquered Equestria?"
Fluttershy blushed, "Well, do you remember the green goo that the changelings used to hold ponies down? That's Slax."
Twilight nodded. "Okay, but what...?"
"Slax isn't simply a glue. It can be used for practicably anything. It bounces, it stretches, it inflates, you can use it for anything." Fluttershy continued, cutting her off.
"Yes, but what does Slax have to do with..."
"But there's something you should never do with Slax. Never, under any circumstance, should you mix green Slax with blue Slax."
"There's a difference?" Twilight asked, before sighing heavily, focusing on her friend. "Fluttershy, what is going on? What is the problem?"
"Somepony mixed green and blue Slax, and now it's coming. We need you to stop it."
Twilight sat silently for a minute. She needed to process this. Something wasn't fitting together, there was just a tiny little voice in her head telling her something was wrong. What was it? Speak up little voice, what's wrong?
And then it clicked.
'We.'
Something hit Twilight like a train. She was just so full of energy, it felt like she could run forever. Run; or fight. Slowly, she turned back to face Fluttershy. Her heart was visibly pounding her chest; she wondered how quickly Spike would respond if she screamed now. Would he even wake up? Would anyone even know what happened to her? Finally, Twilight came to rest on Fluttershy's eyes; deep pools of emerald green.
"Who are you? How do you know this?" Twilight asked.
Standing back up, Fluttershy let the sheet catch on her hat as she moved. The already too large hat needed little more persuasion to fall off Fluttershy's head, showing her gangly green horn for all to see.
Twilight could feel another burst of energy shoot into her. Another burst was just what she needed. Following Fluttershy's lead and throwing the blanket off herself, Twilight pointed her horn at Fluttershy menacingly. "Chrysalis!"
Fluttershy licked her lips, letting the snake-like tongue linger a little longer than necessary. "Please, Twilight, I'm not here to fight."
"Like I'm going to believe that, what have you done with Fluttershy?"
"Fluttershy is still sleeping in her house on the outskirts of the Everfree forest. She has no idea this is happening. Trust me."
Twilight stepped forward, the confidence nearly visibly leaking off her. "Why are you here? Come to get my brother again? Maybe you want to trick Cadence? Huh?"
Fluttershy took a step back. "Please, Twilight, just listen to me! I know we have our differences, but we're all in terrible danger! You need to gather up your friends right now and follow me! The Slax is growing."
Twilight scoffed. "I'm not stupid, Chrysalis, this is a trick. You're trying to trick me into abandoning my friends or lead them into a trap or something!"
Fluttershy couldn't shake her head faster. "Twilight, this isn't a trick. We need the Elements of Harmony, they're the only things strong enough to stop the Slax. Please."
There was no response that Twilight could find. Just what did this accomplish? Twilight pulled her head up so that she could actually look at Chrysalis. "After all you've done, do you honestly expect me to believe any of this? After everything at the wedding, do you really think that, even for a moment, I would believe these lies? I bet there isn't even a thing called Slax. I would know, I have an entire library here. Slax doesn't exist. Just how gullible do you think I am? This has bad news written all over it, you have bad news written all over it. I refuse to believe a single part of this story, now get out before I call Celestia."
Glancing at the door, Fluttershy redoubled her efforts. "Please, I'm not lying. If you don't help us, Twilight, we'll die. We can't fight the Slax, not this time, we need your help." Fluttershy fell to her knees. "We need your help."
That same voice that warned Twilight before was back. Something was wrong again. This time though, Twilight couldn't even notice it. The sound of blood rushing through her veins was all she needed; the sound of her heart thumping through her chest was far louder than anything sense could provide her. There was no sympathy for someone like Chrysalis.
"I said, get out!" Twilight shouted, pointing her horn at Fluttershy again and firing. The spell left her tired, like every spell, but when compared with her history, it wasn't even that strong.
Fluttershy leapt out of the way as the wall behind her exploded, leaving a dark black mark. Her breathing increased as she tried again. "Please, Twilight. We need your help..."
Twilight simply adjusted her aim and tried again, not even waiting for Fluttershy to finish.
This time though, Chrysalis let the situation get to her. Her face twisted with rage as her horn lit up, filling the room with a green glow. Twilight's magic exploded against the sudden shield, showering Chrysalis in sparks. Each one felt hot, like a burning ember. "Enough of this!" She shouted, seconds before she literally exploded.
A huge pillar of fire shot into the ceiling, burning a permanent circle into the wood as Chrysalis ditched her disguise. With a simple flick, the feathers of her wings burned off, leaving four thin translucent sheets instead. The layer of magic keeping her disguised burned away too, showing her for what she was. Holey, black legs stretched down to the ground, keeping in place a hard chitinous chest as the pink of Fluttershy's mane vanished, replaced with ugly green strands that ran down her face.
"Enough of this!"
Twilight straightened her back and spread her legs into a fighting stance. A shadow of a grin rested on her face as she looked back up. Scanning through the room, Twilight's eyes lingered on the stairs to the second story for a split second before focusing back on her opponent. You could practically hear the gears grinding against her head.
Chrysalis didn't spare a second, charging across the room while lowering her horn. Her hooves clicked against the wooden floor as she shouted. "Just listen to me, insolent whelp!"
Twilight rushed forward, eager to meet with Chrysalis. Time slowed down as the two got closer, the distance between them shrinking. Chrysalis was the first to act, her horn lighting up as she charged. Twilight could see it clear as day, the magic rising from the base of the horn to tip, and started her own spell in response.
A green aura wrapped around Twilight's legs. A thick, sticky muck that glued her feet to the floor. She'd probably have fallen over if she hadn't seen it coming. The entire room lit up suddenly as a white flash exploded out of Twilight. Chrysalis struggled to stop, nearly tripping as her feet couldn't slow down fast enough. And from behind her, Twilight rushed up the stairs, barely losing any momentum from her teleport.
"Spike! Spike, wake up! This is an emergency!"
She was just about to pass the doorway into the second floor again, when everything slowed again. This time though, she slowed with it. Her hooves dragged forward impossibly slow, much too slow to escape the danger rushing towards her. There was barely enough time to look at the heavy tome flying at her head, much less dodge it. Green magic wafted off the book as it slammed into her head, throwing her against the wall.
The impact hurt only slightly less than the ache spreading across the side of her face. She swore that she could see bright yellow birds flying around the room, but that was crazy. She was crazy.
Birds and a giant bug, but that was equally crazy. Some sound managed to get through the ringing in her ears though. "Listen whelp. You are going to help me regardless of what you want. If I have to drag you to the hive for that to happen, than you'd better prepare for a road trip."
The ground spun out from beneath Twilight as she was pulled into the air. It only lasted a moment, but flying was always an odd feeling for a unicorn. The mere thought of flying was already wrecking havoc on her disoriented state. Finally, thankfully, the ground returned again in the form of some kind of black shell. Twilight was thankful regardless of what it was, so long as she wasn't flying. Flying made her want to puke.
"If we're going out...we need to...bring quills." Twilight said, placing her attention on the birds flying around the room rather than her conversation. Besides, conversation was hard, all those big words that didn't fit together.
Whatever was carrying her stopped for a moment, occupied by the closed book on the desk. "We don't have time for that."
"There is...always time for...quills. Pretty birds..."
The ground dropped slightly as an audible sigh filled the room. Two feathers, red and green, floated over to her from nowhere. Twilight took them in her mouth. Magic was so complicated, why couldn't it be simpler?
And then she was moving again, gradually heading towards the door. That was good, trips were good. She wondered whether her friends were going on a trip. Maybe they were going on her trip. She loved picnics.
"I really beat the smart out of you, didn't I?" A voice said, also from nowhere.
"Pretty birds..."
Twilight was given a good view of the library as she left. Mess and clutter filled every corner, marring what should have been a clean room. Semi-transparant birds flittered among the rafters, chirping occasionally in a voice that sounded suspiciously familiar.
And then something changed.
"Twilight? Are you still awake? I heard...noises, is everything alright down here?"
Suddenly everything made sense again. Puffs of yellow smoke vanished into the air as the birds popped out of existence. Words made sense again and magic regained its edge, honed like a knife. Something, no wait, someone wandered into her vision, and the danger of the situation fell on her head.
When faced with a problem as dangerous as this, it was important to treat everything with a clear head. So naturally, Twilight acted like a completely calm and collected individual, one who could only find such peace through years of study, or perhaps through a life of mediation.
That is to say, she panicked.
"Spike! Quick, go get the other elements! No wait, get Celestia instead. Wait, no again, help me first! Oh, I don't know, I don't know. Do something!"
The cold wind of the night brushed against Twilight, sending a chill down her spine.
"This is much too slow. We need to hurry." Chrysalis said, sparking her horn again.
"Spike! Help me!"
The world flashed green, sending a signal into the night sky. The sudden blinding light wormed its way into Twilight's eyes, and she closed them quickly. When she opened them, pausing for a moment to let them regain their sight, the library was gone. In its place was instead a collection of huge menacing trees, dark as smoke, with grinning red faces etched into their trunks. Twilight's hooves twitched in anticipation as she launched herself off Chrysalis' back. She needed to get away, figure out where she was.
The wet mush of the ground was all she could hear as she rushed deeper into the forest that had appeared around her, certain that things had quickly gotten out of hand. From behind, another sound distantly rose; the sound of someone in pursuit of their prey.
Twilight's breath came out in heavy gasps. How could Rainbow do this every single day? Twilight made a note to respect Dash a little bit more if she got back to Ponyville. When she got back. Not if, she was going to get out of this. Sweat dripped down her neck and her hooves ached from the repeated collisions with the ground.
She couldn't run anymore, she wasn't built to run.
Panting, Twilight turned around and lowered her horn. She was built to use magic, that was her talent and she did it exceptionally well. If Chrysalis wanted to take her down, the least she could do was provide a fight. Fighting through the pain gathering in her sides, Twilight crept into the bushes that covered the forest floor.
Twilight could hear Chrysalis long before she came into view. The entire forest shook as she came closer; dark green mist parting the trees as she came closer.
Twilight could have done without the banter though.
"Come on baby, don't be like that. I'm not going to hurt you. Probably. Come out, I brought you a diamond and everything. Ponies like diamonds, right? Isn't that your thing?"
The bushes parted as Chrysalis stepped forward, the eyes of a predator scanning the undergrowth for any signs of the fleeing pony.
Twilight wasn't having any of that. She focused her magic to a single point, willing it forward. The magic took solid form, wavering from a vague mist into a beam of dark purple energy. The forest crackled as the attack shot forward, splitting the air with its sheer speed. Chrysalis only caught a quick glance before the attack slammed into her, sending her flying.
Twigs caught on her legs as Twilight charged forward, ready to press the attack, only to find Chrysalis waiting for her. A bee-like buzzing bounced off the trees and into Twilight's ears as Chrysalis beat her wings, easily hovering in the sky a few inches from where she'd been standing.
"You insolent...I mean, come on Twilight, be cool. I don't want to fight. Yet. I just want your help with something, it'll be super easy."
"Take me back to Ponyville!" Twilight shouted.
"Not until you agree to help me. Look, will you just listen for a moment?"
Twilight clenched her teeth. "No! Take me back before I make you. Celestia will know about this, she'll find you."
Chrysalis landed with a thud, and calmly trotted closer to Twilight. "Yes, because she was so very effective the first time. Just listen for a moment alright? I'll take you back when you help me."
Twilight tensed herself, keeping a firm lock on Chrysalis. "Fine, I'll help you. Now take me back."
"Well, alright then. Come on, hope on my back and I'll magic us back."
"Wait, really?"
Chrysalis shrugged. "Of course, I'll even stop for ice cream. And a petting zoo. Plus we can pick up my dry cleaning while we're out. Plus I have been meaning to fix things with my ex, he's been angsty even since I put him on the front lines. Poor thing, barely bigger than a grub. In bed."
Twilight grimaced. "I get it, I get it."
"Better than my last ex though. He was terrible. Always trying to get me to clean my hair and so forth. I do wonder what happened to him. Oh, but he was so very big. In bed."
For some reason, Twilight imagined that she could hear the words 'squad broken' echo through the trees. "I get it, I get it, stop please."
"But that's not the point. I feel I need to explain things further before you make your decision."
Twilight could only nod; or perhaps she was trying to shake the thoughts out of her head?
"Everypony is in terrible danger, and you need to realise this. I don't like it any more than you do, but we need you to stop the Slax."
Sighing, Twilight finally let the questions building in her head burst forth. "What is Slax? Why is it dangerous? Why do you need me? How can you expect me to trust you?"
"Slax is dangerous because it doesn't know when to stop. When green Slax is mixed with blue Slax, the resulting creation is a creature that doesn't stop growing. We tried to handle it ourselves, but there was too much this time. If we don't find a way to stop it soon, the entire hive will be covered in an impenetrable wall of goo. But then, we remembered the wedding, and how the elements removed all the Slax from Canterlot. If you could just whip that up again, the hive will be saved and the colony will have a place to return too." Chrysalis explained.
"But the elements didn't stop the invasion. Princess Caden..."
Chrysalis shoved a hoof into Twilight's mouth, cancelling her sentence. "Details, details. What's important is that we need your help."
The taste of dirt filled Twilight's mouth and she gagged for a second before trying to get it out. "Why should I help you?"
"Love and tolerate. Isn't that one of your morals or something? Come on, Twilight, lend me a favour."
"I've...never heard that before. That sounds like a terrible moral. What would have happened if we tolerated Discord while he wrecked havoc? Or if we tolerated Rainbow Dash when she got all egotistical about saving some ponies? Or Gilda?"
Leaning closer to Twilight, Chrysalis shrugged again. "Come on, help a friend out."
"You nearly destroyed all of Equestria! You hurt my brother and kidnapped my foal sitter. You knocked out Celestia, for crying out loud, in what way are we friends?"
"Are you still stuck up on that? How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? One hundred? Two hundred? A thousand?"
"How about once?"
"Now you're asking too much, sister."
Twilight threw her hooves in the air, fed up with all the nonsense. "No, I'm not helping you. I'm leaving, you can't stop me. Screw you, I'm going to find my own way home." Twilight said, turning around and trotting away.
Her way was blocked by the tall body of Chrysalis. "Listen, moron, what part of 'doesn't know when to stop' did you miss? Once it takes the hive, it's going to get out; and when it gets out, it's going to make its way to Equestria and when it gets to Equestria, I can guarantee that there's going to be too much for you handle. Magic and all."
Chryalis stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Really, why aren't you jumping at this? I'm giving you an exclusive look into a changeling hive, I thought you would love that. Never before has a non-changeling entered a hive, it's normally forbidden. Think about it, you get to save the world, visit a never before seen place and get to hear my insightful conversation the entire time. What's not to love?"
Shaking her head, Twilight said, "I'm not convinced. There's no way I'm dragging my friends into this without proof."
"Then see for yourself. Come on. The hive's just over there." Chrysalis replied, pointing deeper into the woods. "Or perhaps it was this way?" She added, pointing in a different direction.
"You're not letting me leave until I help you, aren't you?"
Chrysalis nodded confidently. Twilight just sighed, changing direction to where Chrysalis was pointing. "Once I figure out where we are, I'm leaving myself. And then Celestia can come deal with you."
Giggling, Chrysalis just followed after her, pushing into the front so that she could lead better.
"Can I just ask you one thing though?" Twilight asked as Chrysalis hurried past her.
"Huh?"
"Why did you do it? Invade Canterlot, that is. It's the one thing I can't figure out."
"Isn't it obvious?" Chrysalis asked. "The hive needed food, Canterlot has a lot of food, the problem solves itself."
"But those are ponies in Canterlot, not just some four course buffet. Surely there were other options."
Chrysalis shrugged. "They're not part of the hive, therefore it's irrelevant."
"What do you irrelevant? Those are ponies you're talking about!"
"But they are not part of the hive. The hive is all that matters, Twilight, all else is irrelevant."
And with those words, the conversation died. All that was left was to follow Chrysalis through the mysterious woods
"And so that's how my 54th ex died. It wasn't that much of a loss, really. He didn't really get it, you know? Oh, right, you wouldn't know. Hehe. Anyway, after that I had my 55th ex. He had the absolutely largest..."
"Sweet Celestia, is that something over there? I really thing there's something over there that was should be paying attention too."
Intense relief washed over Twilight when Chrysalis finally stopped talking. It had been funny at first, if a little interesting, but the magic had lost its touch halfway through the trek. Then it had taken the ball and ran with it all the way to fourth base and threw a perfect slamdunk, netting the changeling team 27 goals and winning them the little league championship. Little P, the self proclaimed leader of the team would later go on to star in the hit television show 'Doctor Whooves;' gaining world wide acclaim for his phenomenal acting, before eventually getting involved in a career breaking controversy featuring himself and several hundred pounds of butter. Full details would be unclear and unreliable at best. The rest of the team would slowly fade into obscurity, only mentioned in intense sports debates between griffins and diamond dogs during lazy afternoons at the pub. She thought; Twilight wasn't the best with sports metaphors.
Luckily, she didn't need to continue, as Chrysalis stole the spotlight. And the ball.
"Oh mother...it's...it's spreading faster than we thought."
Twilight snapped to attention, forcing herself to clear her head. She wished she hadn't though, as the scene in front of her struck a deep chord in her heart.
A large mountain stood in front of her, intimidating in its size; but that wasn't the scary thing. Piled in front of a large hole dug into the side were dozens and dozens of changelings. They littered the ground like scattered leaves, dotting the entire area with splotches of dark green. The occasional twitch was the only thing that told Twilight they were still alive. Even without that small sign, it was obvious that whatever she was dealing with was a dangerous killer. Maybe, just maybe, Chrysalis was telling the truth. Maybe she was trying to protect everyone for once, instead of weaving a huge web of lies to ambush her friends.
Chrysalis was physically shaking as she stepped forward. "Right, keep me covered."
"What with?" Twilight asked.
"Just...keep me covered." Chrysalis repeated, shrugging slightly.
Facing forward again, Twilight barely managed to avoid Chrysalis flying back into her. A large rock hide her from the view of the cave. She didn't even let a single wing show. "Too late!"
"What?" Twilight asked, breathing faster. What was going on? Was the Slax coming back, or was it something more dangerous? Twilight took a position next to Chrysalis, poking her head out the side to see what was approaching.
"There he is!"
Visions of monsters flashed into Twilight's head. She imagined giant beasts of shadows, twisting their way towards her; ponies of evil, left unchecked for centuries; imagined indescribable beasts from her books, like the dreaded Jabberwocky, or a terrifying bald monkey!
A loud thumping resonated from the caves and the changelings not rendered unconscious tried to inch away. Too slow, as the beast already reached the entrance, stepping a foot into the shadows of the night.
And it was adorable.
A tiny pile of blue goo, barely bigger than Twilight's hoof rolled out of the cave, leaving a thin trail of goop as it did. The thing stopped when the moon hit it, turning it a translucent cyan. It's skin rippled and sparkled as it looked around, despite the fact that it lacked the eyes to do so. Content that it was alone, the thing gave a small yawn and fell backwards, basking in the moonlight.
The wind dug into Twilight as she continued to stare at the tiny pile of sludge. This couldn't be it, right? Of course this wasn't it, there must have been something bigger and more intimidating around. Slowly and taking extra care not to alert the creature, Twilight turned to Chrysalis. "Where?"
Chrysalis simply pointed, not bothering to poke her head out from behind the rocks. "There!"
"What, behind the goo?"
"No, it is the goo. That's Slax!"
The wires in Twilight's brain fired up again, struggling to comprehend what Chrysalis was trying to tell her. It took its sweet time, mainly because Twilight didn't want to believe it, but when a conclusion was reached, a wave of annoyance washed over her. "You silly sod, you got me all worked up."
Chrysalis back peddled, "That's no ordinary pile of goop! It's the meanest, most foul tempered, cruel and bad sludge you've ever laid eyes on." Chrysalis pointed at it again, "Look, that ooze has got a mean streak a mile wild, it's a killer!"
Twilight sighed. "Right, enough of the blatant joking, I'm going to go chop its head off. Then you're taking me home."
A holey hoof wrapped itself around Twilight, glueing her to ground. "I'm warning you, it's a killer. It can use magic to...no wait, it can't. Well, it can run at about sixty...no it can't do that either. Look at the bodies!"
Twilight shrugged the hoof off. "Let go of me, it'll be fine."
Grunting as she pushed down on her legs, Twilight came out of hiding. The Slax noticed her immediately.
Twilight was never the best with animals. That was more Fluttershy's area of expertise. And yes, she had taken a few lessons on animal husbandry, mainly while Fluttershy sat in the corner awkwardly and only rushed out to fix her mistakes, but certainly not enough to overcome the sheer power of the Slax. The Slax can not be tamed, cannot be controlled and especially can't be reasoned with.
Sadly, Twilight didn't know that.
"Hey, little fella. How are you? I'm Twilight Sparkle, pupil of Princess Celestia. Maybe you've heard of me, I'm kinda important to her. Are you hungry? I have a friend, she can take care of you. It's much safer there anyway, Chrysalis isn't a nice pony. It's funny, she wanted me to get rid of you, but you're just a harmless little pile of goop, ain't you? Aren't you? Yes, you is. Yes you is," Twilight bent down to her knees, extending a leg out to the Slax. "Come on, little fella. Lets get you out of here."
The Slax crept forward, sniffing Twilight's hoof loudly. There was a brief moment between the two where time seemed to stand still. Twilight felt like she'd done Fluttershy justice. Who would have guessed that she'd be the one to save the day by befriending an animal? This wasn't so hard anyway, you just put your hoof forward and...
A strange smell drifted through the air. It was thick, and choking. Smoke. Then something stabbed into her hoof, and Twilight pulled back hastily, slinging the Slax back with her.
The Slax had wrapped around her hoof, forming a perfect seal before attacking. Twilight swore her hoof was on fire, it felt like thousands of needles were stabbing into every inch of her hoof. It hurt like nothing she'd done before.
She couldn't lose a hoof, she needed all four of them! How else would she walk around and be a good friend? She needed to hurry, figure out how to get the Slax off her hoof. Naturally, she screamed in pure fear and waved her hoof around randomly.
"Get it off get it off get it off! Sweet Luna, it burns, get it off. Chrysalis, help!"
The pain stopped for a short second as the momentum finally got the best of the Slax, flinging it into the air. It jiggled noticeably, before immediately stretching itself into a wide thin sheet. The Slax's descent slowed as its huge girth acted as a parachute. A tiny lick of wind caught in the goo's net and pushed it towards Twilight again, this time engulfing her completely.
The world turned blue and pain as everything around Twilight changed. The stars vanished, replaced by the movement of the waves in an ocean. Waves that brought new heights of hurt.
Twilight panicked harder, falling onto her side. "Help, get it off, Celestia, Chrysalis, somepony, please help. It burns."
Something punched her in the ribs, hard, and for a second Twilight thought the Slax was attacking her physically, until it became apparent that the attacks were coming from outside.
Her head cleared as she realised that someone was actually trying to help her now. She shouldn't be panicking, she could handle this easily.
A purple aura surrounded her horn, shimmering in the dark of the Slax's embrace. There was a special spell she needed to remember, a spell she'd used before. Back in Canterlot, she'd used the spell to remove the Slax binding Cadence. She just needed to remember it again, why was it so hard to remember? The burning got worse as the Slax tried to prevent its prey from escaping.
Another punch broke through the Slax, nearly smashing into her eye. The momentary distraction caused Twilight's focus to waver, making her aura waver in kind.
Why couldn't she remember? Her life depended on it, she needed to know. How did it go?
The pieces of the past fell into place, and Twilight acted nearly immediately. A thin beam, nearly unnoticeable under the best of conditions flew out of her horn. It didn't matter where it landed, since there was literally no way she could miss, save for aiming at the ground. Only a complete idiot would do that.
And since Twilight was no idiot, the spell did indeed go in the direction that she previously wanted it to go in. The Slax shivered, wavering under the weight of its own body as the spell ripped a huge chunk out of its person. There was a wet slopping sound as the Slax pulled itself back into a ball. The relief that Twilight felt was pure bliss. She couldn't being herself to stand back up, so she simply sat still and waited for the energy to return to her.
As she sat there, it came to her attention that the occasional burst of pain was still exploding across her body. Turning her head lazily, Twilight was greeted with Chrysalis' huge mass towering over her, stomping her into the ground.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, you can stop now. I scared it off."
Despite the pain of having a changeling queen stamp all over her body, Twilight couldn't help but feel...relieved. The fact that Chrysalis had tried to save her proved something, Twilight just wasn't sure what it was yet. But, surely if she'd tried to save her life, that meant that they weren't on bad terms with each other, right? Maybe Chrysalis had followed her own advice of forgive and forget.
Chrysalis stared at her, grinning devilishly, and continued to walk all over Twilight. "Why would I stop? I just wanted a reason to punch you. Do you know how much you set me back?"
Then again, maybe she was just being a dick.
"And if you look to your left, you'll see a blank cave wall. Totally identical to the wall on your right, and the one beneath, and probably the same as the one above your head, but only if don't think that bats count as atheistic design. They do, by the way, that wasn't my opinion."
Twilight snapped back to attention, chasing the sleep out of her eyes. Was Chrysalis still talking? Why? She hadn't stopped since Twilight asked her whether the green moss on the walls were a result of the changelings or natural. What could possibly sustain that level of conversation for so long? Excluding Pinkie.
The words droned on and on, mixing with the sounds of the cave, becoming nothing more than background noise. It wouldn't be so bad if she was actually talking about something important.
"And if you remember from before, moving your hooves in front of one another will cause you to gravitate forwards, pulling your body weight with them. That's not the incredible thing though, you see, if you maintain a constant supply of oxygen via a process us smarter ones call breathing, it allows your body to function at a level above that of an angry sea sponge. That's not to say seaponies are stupid, per-say, because while they may not breath air, they still attain much needed oxygen through their gills, and do you understand that you shouldn't ask stupid questions yet?"
"What?" Twilight asked, snapping back to reality.
"Only idiots ask stupid questions, don't ask stupid questions, idiot." Chrysalis said.
Twilight ran a hoof over her face, limping forward to keep her pace with Chrysalis. She wasn't an idiot. She could recite the entire history of jousting with her eyes closed. She could knock a scholar dead at sixty paces. She could show this stupid queen how smart she actually was. Who was she to call her dumb? "Hey, I don't want or deserve..."
A hoof quickly smacked into Twilight's face. "Shut up idiot, we're nearly there."
"Nearly where?" Twilight asked, rubbing her nose. "Why are we doing this anyway, I believe you now. Take me back to the elements and we can get this over with."
Chrysalis sighed, stopping her constant pace. The green glow from the tip of her horn illuminated her face menacingly, making it appear larger and more fearsome than it was. "What did I just say about stupid questions?"
Chrysalis dimmed her horn, effectively turning off the threatening effect. At that moment, she no longer looked like a monster out to capture harmless ponies and harvest them for food. She didn't look like some terrifying villain, acting out of malice and spite. Twilight struggled to find the right word. She looked...broken. Like the will to keep going was slowly slipping out of her.
"We're going because we have too. The hive is...the hive might be in danger. My children might be in danger. They may be stupid insects, but they're the best insects you'll ever see. And if the Slax is in here torturing them...we can't go back. It would take too long. We won't need the elements, hopefully. You can...you can fight the Slax yourself, right? You will fight the Slax."
Faltering, Twilight regained her composure quickly. "I can...try?" She said nervously. Truth be told, she wasn't sure if she could. The burns from before were still fresh on her back, flaming up whenever something touched them. And she could see Chrysalis wince with every step, though she tried to hide it, from the burns on the bottom of her hooves. She wasn't sure whether there was anything she could do.
That wasn't a reason to ignore the shaking queen in front of her though. Chrysalis felt cold as Twilight give her a light shove to lighten the mood. "We'll be fine, of course I can beat it. We can beat it."
Twilight reared back was Chrysalis charged forward, throwing her off balance. Almost instantly, Twilight tried to match pace, but Chrysalis was always a step faster then her. Twilight couldn't tell whether it was accidental or if Chrysalis didn't want her to see her face.
"Thank you, Twilight. The hive is all I have left, now hurry!"
Stopping to catch her breath, Twilight shot a glance upward at Chrysalis, making sure she was still with her before letting her head drop back to the ground. It wasn't fair, Chrysalis barely looked winded. She was like Rainbow Dash, always running around but never actually showing any sign of it. How did they do it? Maybe it was something to do with their genetic make up, Twilight would need to check that theory later.
She swallowed down her heaving breaths though, choking out a quick question. "Why'd we stop? Not that I'm complaining, it's just..."
"Look around Twilight, what do you see?" Chrysalis asked.
Pulling herself off the wall, Twilight did exactly that. At first, the darkness stabbed into her eyes and made examining anything hard, but slowly, the darkness crept back, showing Twilight what they were hiding. The walls to her left and right were the same as they always were, blank and devoid of anything save for clumps of green moss, but staring down the tunnel she was in, something large began to take shape.
There was a huge green...thing, blocking off the entire tunnel. Twilight couldn't tell what it was through the shadows, but it was obviously moving, like it was alive. Twilight shot a glance at Chrysalis. "What's that?"
"Again with the stupid questions, they just don't stop. That; is clearly the entrance to the hive. A seldom used one that runs right to my chamber. If the Slax is still where I left it, that's where we'll find it. Now hurry up already."
"But...didn't we just see the Slax, not a few minutes ago?"
"There are many entrances to the hive, but all of them lead back to my main chamber. If the Slax entered the hive, it'll be in the throne room."
Twilight smirked, "You have a throne room?"
"Celestia gets a throne room, why can't I? It was a gift anyway, my friend built it for me. Yes."
Chrysalis pushed forward again, quickly closing the gap between her and the door. The shadows parted as Twilight followed, clicking her hooves loudly against the stone floor. Dust flew into her face as she stopped.
Chrysalis was shaking again, staring blindly ahead at the huge wall of green goo that formed the entrance. Her face paled as Twilight came closer and her gaze constantly switched between Twilight and the door.
Twilight panted again and fought through her exhaustion. "What's wrong, don't tell me we can't get in?"
Chrysalis stepped forward, sweat dripped down her neck as she pulled her gaze away from Twilight. It was amazing, she didn't even think insects could sweat. "No, no, I can open the door easily, it's in the best shape I've ever seen."
"So go ahead, get us in."
Chrysalis stared at the door. Through grit teeth, she formed an answer. "I can't."
"Why, what's the problem? Open the door."
"I...can't."
Twilight tapped her hoof impatiently. "Why not?"
"There's a certain...thing you need to do to open the door to the hive."
Twilight sighed heavily, "So do the thing already, come on. I want to get home before morning."
Chrysalis stared at Twilight again, swallowing nervously. "O...okay. But, you need to do something first. Turn around until it's over. If I see you peeking, I swear you won't leave this cave alive."
"What, why?"
"Just do it! You want to get home? Don't look at me."
Twilight rotated slowly, facing away from the door. From behind her, the sound of movement rose. A rhythmic tapping that seemed to follow a beat that no one else could hear. From a technical standpoint, Twilight could understand why she wasn't allowed to watch. After all, if someone else knew how to get into a changeling hive, it would defeat the entire purpose of a security system; and simply handing something like that to your biggest enemy would be huge oversight. From the angle of a scientist and a scholar though, this was a once in a lifetime chance. No one knew anything about changeling hives, this could be her chance to make history. One peek couldn't hurt.
It was her duty to turn around and expand the course of science.
Carefully, discreetly, Twilight turned her head, careful not to make any noise with her hooves as she did so. Not that it would matter though, the sound of the ground cracking as her jaw dropped would be enough to wake some kind of giant space bear or something equally wacky. Maybe a hybrid of a chicken and a snake, who knows?
Chrysalis was dancing. Not just flailing her limbs around half heartedly and trying to get through a bad situation, but full blown bogeying. Her hooves smashed against the floor powerfully as she tapped out a rhythm which was followed by the rest of her body. Her head wavered from side to side mechanically, while her flank spun in wide arcs.
Twilight blushed, spinning back around. She stayed frozen for so long she lost count, but the image wouldn't leave her mind. This was worse than any of Discord's tricks, this was what real nightmares were made out of. Every time she closed her eyes, there it was again. Spinning and twirling and gravitating. Nothing she tried could remove the memory. Truly, this was the end of days. Eventually, the ground stopped shaking, and Chrysalis called out to her. "Alright, we're in. You didn't look, did you?"
Twilight couldn't bring herself to look at Chrysalis any more. If she did, there was no doubt she would either break down laughing from the mental image of Chrysalis dancing or blush herself to death under a mound of embarrassment and spaghetti.
"N...no. I didn't see anything. I was looking...looking forward the whole...whole time. No peeking here, who me? No, I didn't peek, no pony did. No peekers here."
Oh god, she was panicking. Quick, say something to distract her. No, wait, don't say anything. Alright, think, just move on. Ignore this and more on. Don't think about Chrysalis, just slip by her and through the door.
Twilight took a step backwards, eventually breaking into a hasty back-pedal. Taking extra care not to bump into Queen Chrysalis, Twilight snuck through the opening in the tunnel with all the subtly of a rhino driving a bumper car.
Or at least she did, until she smacked into what was standing on the other side of the door.
Luckily, Chrysalis was there to smooth over the mistake. "21! 24! You're alive! This is wonderful. Quickly, we must get to the...to the...the..." Chrysalis snapped her mouth shut, simple staring at the scene going on in front of her. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that there wasn't time for this, knew that her children were in more danger the longer she waited, but she couldn't help but stare. Her ability to comprehend things crashed along with her ability to speak.
There were two ponies standing in front of her. Well, not really ponies, it was obvious that they were changelings, albeit cleverly disguised ones.
One, a light purple mare with bubbles floating out of her open mouth, was lying on her back facing the ceiling. The other, a light blue mare with a darker blue and white mane, was sitting over her, hovering several sterilized metal tools in the air above her. Neither one paid attention to Chrysalis as the blue one set to work, carefully chipping away at the white teeth beneath her. Occasionally, the dentist would whisper something to the one on the ground. Unfortunately, any chance of a reply was stifled by the metal tools digging into her mouth.
Twilight, surprisingly, was the first to break the ice. "Berry Punch? Colgate?"
The dentist looked up from her patient, pulling her face mask down while she did. "Twilight Sparkle! Sit down, I'll be with you in a minute."
Twilight sat down subconsciously. Clearly these were changelings, there was no other answer. The idea that two of her friends from Ponyville suddenly appeared in the middle of the changeling hive was insane. Her conclusion was confirmed immediately by Chrysalis suddenly remembering how to speak. "What in green hives are you two doing? Why are you disguised?"
Berry Punch pulled herself up, giving a long stare at Chrysalis. A heavy slur lingered on her words, though Twilight couldn't imagine the reason. "Look, Princessh, we don't go around telling you what to do. Thish is our free time, you can't judge ush."
Colgate sighed, one of her hooves absent-mindedly pushing Berry back down onto her back. "Please ignore her, she's usually better than this. This is just some harmless amusement to pass the time. We like to...uh...hm, how do I say this without sounding weird? We like to...ship ponies and see how they play out. Colgate and Berry Punch is rather fun."
"You tell her, Colsy."
Chrysalis rubbed her eyes slowly. "This is so stupid. Listen, 21..."
"Colgate."
"Colgate, 21, who cares, I need you to listen. The Slax has escaped and I believe it's gone airborne, I need you two to go down and start operation Slax Attack." Chrysalis explained.
Nodding, Colgate returned to her work, half mindedly waving a hoof to the air. "Got it, got it, we'll get right on it when we're done here. Now, Ms Punch, rinse while I prepare the heavy tools. Your teeth are filthy."
Dust flew into the air as Chrysalis rushed forward, forcing herself between the two ponies. "Now!"
Instead of the panicked rush she had been expecting, Chrysalis stumbled out of the way as Berry Punch shouted at her from the ground again. "Chrysalish, again, we don't tell you how to work. Frankly, you can hardly dance and you were never that smart to begin with, so you're in no poshition to tell ush when to work."
"What's wrong with my dance, it was perfect! I mean...what dance?"
"You had two left feet! And two right ones too. Really, thatsh to be expected. Still no excushe though, you tapped when you should have shpun and popped when you should have tapped. Jusht putting it out there."
Chrysalis is usually a calm person. You need to be, when there are hundreds of individual creatures prying for your attention at all moments of the day. But calm people need to have limits, and Queens need to remind their workers why they're the ones in charge. She could take one or two workers disobeying orders. She could NOT take however, that same scenario in the middle of one of the largest crises' she'd seen since she'd been hatched. Time was dripping out as she wasted time here trying to negotiate with two people who, by all rights, shouldn't be arguing in the first place. She was about to bring down hell on these workers, until she remembered something.
She simply didn't have the time. It was busy dripping away.
"Just...make sure the thing is ready by the time I get to the throne room, okay? Useless runts."
Colgate dismissed her with a confident wave. "Bye bye, dear queen. All will be taken care of and so forth. Now Ms Berry, open wide so I can move better."
Chrysalis sighed. It was obvious that this could only end badly. "Twilight, why are you sitting around like an idiot? Come on, already, I don't like repeating myself."
Springing back to her feet, Twilight rushed past the two giggling ponies, taking a position next to Chrysalis. Before they left though, and before Chrysalis lit her horn up again to light the way, she shouted back one final retort. "And when this is over, the two of you seriously need to find a less creepy hobby. I think I have some stamps stashed in the back, collect those instead."
The two ponies simply laughed harder, slowly regaining control of their sides and continuing with their game.
"You know, doc? You're not sho bad. Maybe one of the best."
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm that good."
Twilight took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "No. No way. Absolutely not. There is no way in all of Tartarus and Equestria that you can convince me to do this. I give up, we're done here."
"Come on, Twilight, take one for the team and suck it up."
"No."
"It's perfectly safe!"
"For a changeling! I can't fly. I don't have wings."
"Oh yeah..."
Twilight stared down the giant hole dug into the middle of the cavern. She'd kicked a rock in earlier, and the fact that the echo never returned worried her. She quickly glanced up at Chrysalis, who lazily motioned for her to jump in. And while she had gained a certain level of trust for her companion, there wasn't enough to convince her to jump into a bottomless pit. Even if it was the only way.
"I'm not getting in there."
Chrysalis shuffled forward, a hidden agenda seemingly hidden behind her steps. "Twilight, do you not understand how this works? I've been friendly, for now, because you were willing to come along quietly. If you stop being quiet, then that's were my patience ends. My children are down there, and only you can save them. If I have to drag you down there myself, I will. And if I need to go to those measures, I may as well go the full yard. Understand?"
Twilight nodded slowly. "You wouldn't do a thing though. You need me, you keep saying that. If I get hurt, I'm sure as hay not going to help you with anything. You can't do anything to me without risking the one thing you need to save your people. So how about you cool it a bit and let me do things my way."
Chrysalis crept closer, like a snake advancing on a rat. "And what is your way? Stand here and let them suffer? Truly you are worthy of the element of magic. So compassionate and wise. Not wise enough though, you still don't truly understand the position that you're in."
A green glow lit the room as Chrysalis readied herself. With a shout, a shock wave of fire exploded through the room, burning away the illusion that had been cast over it for so long. The stone walls of the cave burnt away, revealing a huge cavern several hundred times larger than Twilight had anticipated. The true face of the hive.
Thick strands of what appeared to be...some kind of substance similar to the Slax hung from the roof, stretching across the cave in thick, heavy strands. Bulbous sacks littered the ground, clumped together in pairs. Twilight didn't want to know what they were used for. Frankly, she didn't want to know what anything did. Things had gotten to real, way too quickly. She just wanted to go home.
Chrysalis closed the gap between them, giving Twilight a faint wink. "Look around, Twilight. You're in the belly of the beast. There's no easy way back from here, you may as well go on. In this place, I am queen. You will do as I say, or I will use my magic and make you. Either you go, or the hive goes, and the hive always comes first."
Chrysalis took a step back. "I'm giving you a choice here. Either get in the hole of your own free will, or get in the hole of my own free will."
Spinning around, Twilight looked down. The hole loomed in front of her, dark in its sheer depth. She swallowed nervously. "I...I can't do it. I'm so so sorry."
Chrysalis leaned over Twilight, lingering there for a second before whispering in her ear. "I am too."
Twilight's scream echoed down the tunnel they had entered from as she lost her footing and slipped forward, tumbling into the abyss of the earth in front of her.
Chrysalis readied herself for the trip, hovering above the centre of the pit. Wordlessly, she gave the unveiled hive a long look. It was entirely possible that this was all that remained. Centuries of work and effort, of rulers and workers, of pain and blood and love and loss and tears, it could already be undone. Because of her. Because she wasn't smart, or strong, or fast, or brave enough to save it.
Closing her eyes, Chrysalis snapped her wings against her side, chasing Twilight into the void.
Time to see if she was really as smart as she thought she was.
If Twilight was screaming, there was certainly no indication of it. The rushing wind grabbed any sound she wanted to scream out of her mouth before she could say it, causing it to wedge in the back of her throat. She couldn't even hear anything, save for the wind whistling into her open ears.
With a soundless grunt, Twilight rolled onto her back, sliding down the side of the steep tunnel she'd fallen into. No, not fallen, pushed. She was pushed into. If she could move her head, she'd try to catch a glimpse of the queen as she rushed past her, though at the moment, that seemed like an impossibility.
Resigning to her fate, Twilight simply stared straight ahead. She was sure she'd at least be safe, I mean, Chrysalis wouldn't lie to her, right? Surely she would simply launch out the other end any second now, and all would be fine. I mean, yes, she had pushed her into the hole in the first place, but that didn't mean that Chrysalis was trying to kill her.
Unless, this was all a trap to begin with. But that was crazy, right? It's not like Chrysalis would place everyone in danger for the soul purpose of leading the Princess' pupil into a situation where she had the advantage.
Twilight continued to stare forward; the green glow of the moss long ago turning into a vague blur. A wave of dust washed over Twilight from above, forcing her to close her eyes. They ached instantly from their time in the blinding wind, but it was better than having them sting from dust smashing into them.
Two hooves wrapped around Twilight and pulled. A pain ripped through Twilight's arms as she stopped suddenly. It felt like they were going to fall off from the sudden deceleration.
Now that the wind was no longer forcing her breath into her own throat, Twilight took a deep breath. The faint sound of buzzing filled her ears, quickly overpowered by the words of the pony holding her. "Hold still already. I swear, I will drop you. Try me, I dare you, I'll come at you like a flying turtle in a helicopter; practically indestructible."
It was a strange feeling to not be able to feel the ground beneath her. Despite this though, Twilight wasn't about to sit around silently. "Technically, it's a tortoise."
Finally stopping in mid air, Chrysalis took a much more careful approach navigating the pit, using her unique wings to hover down the shaft. "What are you talking about? Are you correcting my metaphor?"
"Why are you making a metaphor? What are you even talking about?"
"I don't know!"
"Neither do I!"
"Fine!"
The two stared at each other in silence, slowly descending into the core of the world. They were still silent as they landed on the ground, a thin film of dust kicking up from the ground. Twilight took in a hasty breath as she was dropped to the ground roughly; Chrysalis already rushing forward into the darkness.
"Come on, we're nearly there. Just one more hole, a real tiny one and we can be done with this." Chrysalis shouted, sending the sound ricocheting down the walls.
"No, no, stop again, wait up." Twilight asked, waving her hooves around aimlessly.
"What? What is it now? We're so close, we can be done with this annoyance once and for all."
Twilight shook her head, a confident smile on her face. "Before I do anything, I have a list of conditions that you need to agree to."
Chrysalis tried to wipe the blank gaze off her face, failing terribly when Twilight pulled a tightly rolled scroll out of no where. With a flick, the lace holding it unclosed twirled off, sending the paper spiralling towards the ground as it opened.
"Number one: Upon completing the spell detailed below, I will be returned to my home in Ponyville, Equestria in no less than an one hour. Failure to follow this agreement will result legal punishment hoofed out by Celestia herself."
Snapping her mouth uselessly, Chrysalis tried to recapture the situation she was suddenly thrown into. "Uhh..."
"Number Four: At no point in this agreement will I, nor my possessions, nor my friends nor any other faucet of my daily life be injured or otherwise incapacitated from their daily routine by yourself or anyone known and unknown to be working with you."
Chrysalis raised a hoof. "Were you just carrying that aro..."
"Of course I wasn't. I wrote it up a couple of minutes ago. Now, Number Seven: If, at any point, my person comes under harm from my involvement, then you will be expected to apply any previous knowledge of first aid to ensure that the damage done remains temporary."
Blindly, Chrysalis pointed at the huge drop above them. "But...when did...how did...what?"
"And finally, should my...umm, death occur before the threat is defeated or otherwise incapacitated, then this document should provide sufficient evidence that it was through my own choice that I continued, unless evidence is found that you violated any of the other conditions listed."
Twilight rolled the scroll back up, banishing it back to where ever it was that she originally hid it. In the back of her mind, there was a voice screaming at her that this was a bad idea. Maybe it wasn't too late, there was still a chance she could get out of this. But if she jumped down that final hole, that was it. No turning back. No leaving Chrysalis to solve her own problems. She really hoped that this was the right choice.
Chrysalis shuffled closer. "You know, I don't have to agree to this. We just went over this. I'm the queen here, that means you bark when I say bark."
Twilight nodded. "I was aware of that. This is simply a chance to absolve yourself of responsibility in the event that something goes wrong. I want to make it clear that I'm not doing this because you're forcing me, I'm doing it to help those in danger. You've done nothing to convince me that you're worth saving. All you've done is 'hive' this and 'the hive' that."
"The notion that you have any ability to decide that is laughable. You are doing this because you can't leave, there is no argument or second worded statement to be made. And I still don't think you get where I'm coming from. I don't care how you see me, I'm not trying to be your friend. You are not part of the hive, why should I bother? All that matters in the end is that the hive continues. Who or what is used to ensure that is irrelevant."
"Then you deny the agreement?"
Chrysalis chuckled to herself. "I'm not stupid, Twilight. If you're telling the truth, then this 'agreement' will basically guarantee safety from any backlash. Of course I say yes."
Stepping forward, Twilight nodded again. "Very well. Lets go and finish this than. Come on, the Slax isn't going to wait much longer."
And with that, Twilight leapt into the hole, disappearing from view. Chrysalis stood solemnly, wondering if she'd made the right choice. Of course she did, she had to. What was the danger in letting Twilight delude herself?
Shrugging, Chrysalis started the pursuit, leaping into the ground after Twilight.
Twilight landed with a thud, blinding pain shooting up her legs as hit the ground. Carefully, she jogged on the spot, trying to encourage blood to run back into her feet.
Chrysalis was still coming, the familiar buzzing of her wings was a dead give away.
It was impossible to see anything this far underground. The darkness clawed out any light that Twilight tried to create, smothering it into oblivion before it got a chance to reveal anything useful. She could only wonder what was preying just out of her line of sight.
Dust was kicked into her face as Chrysalis landed next to her. She took one glance at the darkness in front of her, before glancing briefly at Twilight. "Really? You were just going to sit here in the dark until I got here? At least turn the lights on for yourself."
Chrysalis sighed sadly and fired a bolt of magic into the empty air. The air crackled as the light travelled through the cave, eventually colliding with the ceiling. A miniature explosion rocked the cave as the bolt exploded, showering everything in bright green sparkles. Tendrils of light raced through the cavern as clutches of moss lit up, criss crossing the room like a spider web.
And there, sitting alone in the centre of the room, cowering on the seat of a gigantic throne, sat the Slax.
Twilight would be lying if she said it looked the same as she remembered. It seemed smaller, less threatening. Occasionally, it would shiver, sending a shock wave through its translucent body. Bits and pieces of the Slax would fall off every couple of seconds, only for the main 'body' to quickly snatch them back up. The Slax was falling apart.
There was once a time when Fluttershy had asked Twilight to help her take care of an injured rabbit. The two of them combined hadn't been able to figure out what happened to it, only that it was covered in severe burns. Fluttershy had cried for a week after it passed. There was nothing she could have done. She'd even been standing there when it finally passed.
Twilight remembered asking her how it felt to have to watch that.
She thought she knew now.
A rough tap against her shoulder snapped her back to reality, as Chrysalis loomed next to her. "Thank the Mother that we're alone. I think the others were smart enough to get out in time. Just a heads up, if you meet any strange ponies when you get back, please remember to send them back this way."
"Lets just get this over with."
Twilight stepped forward anxiously, only to be pulled back harshly by her partner. "Remember what happened the last time you rushed in? Just prepare the spell and let the professional handle this." Chrysalis said, stepping forward.
Before she continued, Chrysalis stopped for a brief second to lift a small white rock of the ground, tracing a circle into her arm. Twilight considered asking why, but Chrysalis blocked her by beginning the assault.
As soon as she stepped out of the shadows, the Slax flinched upwards, focusing on Chrysalis as best it could. While it was obvious the thing was trying its best to stay upright, the strength it needed seemed non existent. Chrysalis grinned as she trotted closer.
"Why must it always end this way between us?" She asked, seemingly addressing the gasping Slax on the throne. "Why do you insist on continually doing this to me? Is it your nature that makes you hurt and burn; because I assure you that something like that is only a simple lie. The nature of a being can change, such an excuse won't save you now. You can change, it doesn't have to be like this. Just listen for once, stop this nonsense. I can find you a place in the hive, you can still be useful to me. You don't need to run and hurt and just plain destroy any more. Just please, stop. Stop for a brief second and listen to me. I can help you, there is a place for you here. But, I know you won't listen to this. We've walked this path, Slax, and we both know where it ends."
Chrysalis finally reached the creature, lording over it proudly. "Sometimes, I wonder whether you can even comprehend what I'm saying. Wonder why I bother to give you this speech every single time you rear your ugly face. And after all this time, I still have no answer. Maybe it's regret. Maybe I actually feel something for you; think for even a second that you're comparable to a real changeling. Just once, I wish you could give me an answer. But that's enough talk. Lets get this over with."
The Slax simply stood still, barely moving. Time seemed heavy, and Twilight blinked for a moment, missing the first attack. It wasn't a long battle, by any definition of the word, but when it unfolds in front of you, seconds take longer to pass.
Chrysalis was already reeling backwards as the Slax lunged at her face, hoping for a quick victory. Prepared for this though, Chrysalis swatted downward, catching the Slax in her hoof. Instead of flinching as the Slax burned into her skin though, Chrysalis pushed harder at it, pinning it against her arm. The smell of burning filled the air as Chrysalis spun around, fighting desperately against the pain melting her hand.
"I've got it! Cast...cast the spell!"
Twilight didn't even think, didn't even have time to do anything over than what she was prepared to do. She was caught completely off guard by how everything was moving so quickly. The sound of her horn powering up, the sound of Chrysalis wincing, the sound of the Slax trying its hardest to escape, all these combined together into a song of agony, until a beam of purple light silently shot out, covering Chrysalis in its glow.
The Slax didn't even scream as the light dissolved its body upon itself.
And then it was over. Only Chrysalis shaking her hoof through the air marked that the Slax existed at all.
"I can't believe I missed my mark again." She commented.
"Wha..."
Chrysalis thrust her arm forward, bringing it into the light of Twilight's horn. The white circle of the chalk had been cut into a semi-circle by the sudden appearance of a new hole drilled through Chrysalis' leg. "I accidentally burned myself a new hole. Didn't even get the place I wanted." She stopped for a moment, gauging Twilight's disgusted reaction, before continuing. "Ah well, we still have next time. Come on."
Chrysalis rushed forward, disappearing behind the thrown and leaving Twilight gasping the dust. The moss on the walls was already going out; it was all Twilight could do to keep Chrysalis in her sights. "Hang on," She shouted, "what are you talking about? What next time? Take me home."
Not bothering to slow her pace, Chrysalis shouted back. "Stupid questions again. Why do you keep asking them?"
"Why do you?"
Chrysalis ignored her. "Do you really think I would be this worried if the only threat was a hoof sized ball of muck? No, Twilight, it's in what that muck can do that the real problem lies. Oh, how to explain the intricacy and science behind two thousand years of research in a couple of seconds...it works like this, Slax, or at least, the Slax we're fighting, is made when Blue Slax and Green Slax mix. However, this doesn't mean they combine. Rather, each one takes on a property of the other. It's actually really useful, except for when it goes wrong, but I digress. Green Slax makes Blue Slax aware, which causes the small ball we just fought, and Blue Slax makes Green Slax...different."
"And you never thought to tell me this before? This seems very important. So what about other Slax, what do they do?" Twilight asked, turning corners just fast enough to see where Chrysalis was heading next.
"Is now really the time? If you survive, I'll tell you all two thousand years of it, now shut up."
Twilight decided to sate her curiosity later, instead focusing on the important. "So what happens to Green Slax? Different how? And why would combining Slax make it change? And even if there was a reason, why would combining Slax give it near superpowers? None of this makes sense."
Chrysalis shrugged. "What fun is there in making sen...oh wait, that's not me. Stupid questions again, Twilight, I'll explain later, now hurry up!"
"Fine, Green Slax, what happens?"
Chrysalis stopped, with Twilight nearly smacking into her from behind.
The two of them sat on the edge of a gigantic chasm. Judging by the rough edges of the walls, Twilight guessed it wasn't made by Changeling hands; instead simply being re-purposed to suit their needs. The darkness swallowed any attempt to see the bottom, not that Twilight was focused on such a thing at the moment.
In front of them sat a thing. Something that shouldn't exist, something that went against the laws of nature themselves.
Twilight couldn't even begin to explain what she was seeing. It was huge, easily several hundred times bigger than herself. Two bulbous sacks, connected by thin lines of oozing goo sat stacked on top of each other. The top sack was transparent, nearly invisible in the dank dark. And it pulsed, slowly and methodically; veins of goo occasionally growing out of its sides. And worst of all, hanging on its underside were hundreds and hundreds of cocoons, each showing the vague outline of something contained within.
The second bulge was more solid, and thick. A dark green compared to the transparent balloon above it. Poking out evenly along the sides, almost as if someone had stuck them on recently, were lines and lines of...well, Twilight couldn't draw a comparison. Trees seemed closest, but trees didn't have giant holes drilled into the middle of them from the top down. Along the 'top' of the bulge were hundreds of small wires of goo, almost like a hand rail, leading towards...nothing. The thing ended at that point.
"It mutates." Chrysalis said simply.
"What...what is this?"
Chrysalis didn't even justify that with a response, directing her attention at the thing instead. "Well? Are you just going to sit here all day and gather dust? Bugger off, already, I don't have time for this."
The thing shuddered, growing in size.
"Come on, up, up and away and all that. Don't leave a beautiful lady waiting."
The green Slax rippled, like a wave rushing over an ocean. The cavern shook and dirt fell from the ceiling as a low pitched humming filled the air. The lower bulb in front of Twilight shifted, compressing in upon itself. Slowly, painfully slowly, three holes drilled into the 'front' of the Slax. If Twilight was an idiot, which she wasn't, she might have compared it to a face.
Of course, the comparison would be weak indeed. It was more like a young colt simply mashed a face into a pile of dough. And then the screaming became louder, shaking the foundation of the hive.
"What do I do? Do I shoot it?" Twilight shouted, not daring to take her eyes off the thing.
"Why would you do an utterly moronic thing like that? We need to handle this one...differently."
"Different how?"
Chrysalis pushed Twilight back, standing between her and the abomination. "First, we get it into the air."
Grinning as the magic pooled in her horn, Chrysalis thrust her head upwards, shooting a beam of magic clear through the roof. There was a moment of silence, where even the humming didn't hum, until a mighty crack flew through the room like a flash of thunder. Bright tendrils of sunlight reached down into the cave as the roof itself peeled apart, revealing the blinding sun onto the Green Slax.
Twilight breathed in deeply as a cool breeze flowed over her, bringing back memories of the surface. While it sounded crazy, she swore she could taste the freshness in the air.
Unfortunately, not everyone shared her sentiment. Chrysalis collapsed to her knees in exhaustion while the Green Slax writhed. It twisted and screamed as the sun stabbed into its body, burning giant holes into its flesh. With a final scream, the Green Slax pulsed, rising into the air.
Twilight didn't waste time to rush to Chrysalis' aid, finally putting everything together. "It's a moon damned airship! How is it an airship? Why is it an airship? That doesn't...I don't even see how..."
Chrysalis shushed her. "Twilight, just stop. I'll explain when we get the chance, for the moment just shut up and roll with it!"
"But...but where's it going? What do we do?"
Looking up at the hole in the ceiling, Chrysalis shrugged. "I think it's following the audiences suspension of disbelief. I mean, twenty bits says it's going to rampage for, about a week before crashing and burning."
"What? Can't you do something? We can't let that...that thing just destroy whatever it wants!"
"Why not? Hives safe, all's good in the world again."
"What about the changelings on the Slax-ship?"
Chrysalis shook her head. "Not changelings, lunch. There's a difference. We can still live without lunch."
"Those are ponies in there?"
Chrysalis shrugged. "There are always more ponies to go around. Changelings are limited."
Twilight couldn't have stopped herself if she'd tried. A purple hoof, driven by anger and rage and hopelessness and heartbreak and pure unfiltered disgust, shot forward, aimed cleanly at Chrysalis' head. She couldn't believe how stupid she'd been; how she'd believed a creature like Chrysalis could actually be good. Chrysalis wasn't good, she wasn't doing this to save anyone, or to redeem herself or anything. She only cared about her damn hive. Only cared about her damn changelings. And here she was, about to sacrifice the life of hundreds to save her utopia. She didn't deserve redemption. She didn't deserve friendship.
And Twilight didn't even know why she'd thought differently. Didn't know why she'd given her the benefit of the doubt. Given her the chance to redeem herself, or change herself.
It's a common saying that a pony can change its body all it wants, but it'll never change its cutie mark. Twilight felt it was rather appropriate to the situation.
Twilight wanted to scream when she felt her hoof stop in mid air. A green glow surrounded it, suspending it mere inches above Chrysalis. This monster was going to kill them all, and she didn't even care. Twilight wasn't going to let that pass without judgement.
The air around Twilight deepened to a dark purple as she focused her magic, letting the aura linger on her horn for a second before firing it randomly at Chrysalis.
Striking Chrysalis square in the face, the magic exploded into sparks, wiping the grin clean off Chrysalis. "Alright, it's not funny anymore, stop that."
Hot tears welled up in Twilight was she fired again. She didn't even know the ponies trapped on the ship, but that didn't lessen the sheer disgust she was feeling for Chrysalis at the moment. How could she just abandon them?
"No seriously, stop."
The cave floor shimmered in her eyes as the tears blinded her. A smart unicorn would have stopped at this point. A passionate one would simply shoot harder. "How!"
"Twilight, stop please."
A faint smell of burning returned and for a moment Twilight thought the Slax had returned, until the smoke rising from her horn told her the truth. Despite this, Twilight didn't stop. The bitch would pay. "Could!"
"Open your eyes, Twilight, for just a second."
It was getting harder to focus now. The air no longer gathered around her horn, choosing to dissipate into the air instead. Even with all this against her, Twilight refused to cease. Even if she could only fire sparks, she'd make sure those sparks set a blaze that took both of them down. Chrysalis didn't deserve to live. "You!"
The ground rushed forward to kiss Twilight as she lost the energy to stand. Even the energy to look up evaded her; forcing her to bury her tears in the dirt. "I trusted you. For one stupid moment, I actually believed you'd learned something from Canterlot. I thought maybe you had a single redeemable feature in your stupid hide. I trusted you."
From seemingly everywhere, Chrysalis replied, "Well, that was stupid of you, wasn't it? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, yet you've made some horrendously bad decisions tonight. And while I may not want your friendship, or agree to your twisted sense of morality, I did learn something from Canterlot that day."
"What was it?" Twilight asked, bracing herself. She frankly didn't care what Chrysalis learnt, she was still a deplorable piece of worthless Slax.
"Always bet on 21 and 24 to do something crazy."
Twilight pulled her head back up, though it was entirely unnecessary, since the sound of bickering reached her ears long before the actual ship did.
"No, I'm...I'msh the driver caush...caush...shut up, I'm the driver cause I found it firsht."
"You're too drunk to even stand up straight! How do you expect to drive something that needs as much precision as an airship? Besides, you didn't find it, you stole it."
"Yesh, but it'sh mine now, and that's all that mattersh. Now gimme the...gimme the wheel."
"No, please let go the wheel."
"Make me, you white toothed devil mare."
"At least this devil has white teeth."
Slowly, from the depths of the chasm in front of Twilight, something rose. A huge bundle of cloth, stretched taut with the amount of hot air funnelled into it, greeted Twilight's eyes, filling her entire vision. Patterns of silver and purple aligned the balloon; patterns that seemed strangely familiar. The only thing that stood out from the balloon was the thick ropes thrown over the entire thing, chaining it to the construct beneath.
Lifting into view, pulled by the gigantic blimp above it, a stout wooden boat flew into Twilight's view. It was adorned with the same markings as its other half, save for a section of giant golden words engraved into the side. From behind its necessary handrails, two ponies argued, oblivious both to the fact that the ship was still rising, and that their queen was still waiting impatiently.
And then the ship passed them by, leaving the pair staring stupidly at the wall across the ravine.
Chrysalis sighed, and Twilight could finally get a good look at the damage she'd done. While Twilight had no doubt that Chrysalis would deny any and all attempts to help her, anyone with half a brain could see she was hurting really bad.
Purple welts built up around her chest and neck; perfect circles where Twilight's blasts had the most impact. Thin lines of green ran down her body from tiny cuts and burns, marring her usually black body. Chrysalis kept one eye closed as she turned to face Twilight. "Excuse me a moment," was all she before rocketing upwards, powered by the constant humming of her wings.
She vanished from sight momentarily as she boarded the ship. Twilight could only guess at what happened, though the two loud claps and the sudden return of the airship left very little to the imagination.
The ship settled a few steps in front of Twilight, hovering through unseen sources. Chrysalis easily leaned over the rails, stretching her hoof for Twilight. "Come on, jump already. Like hay I'm leaving you alone in the hive unattended. You might break something. Or we might eat you, hell if I know."
Glancing around the cave, Twilight couldn't see any other option. It's not like she could shimmy her way back up the walls to escape. Besides, if she could get out of the hive in the first place, she could just teleport back to Ponyville herself. Taking care not to slip and fall into the darkness below, Twilight leapt forward, landing roughly next to Chrysalis.
All Twilight could do now was gave around in wonderment and confusion. "Where did you...how did...what?"
Chrysalis chuckled to herself. "Welcome to Princess Celestia's Filly Fondling Friday, flagship of Princess Luna's night guard royal navy."
Twilight blushed heavily. "I...I will not stand for that. This is the line, Chrysalis, I've had enough. I could handle the passive aggressiveness, the mental scaring, the physical trauma and anything else you throw at me, but I will not let you disgrace Celestia's name with such a cheap joke."
Chrysalis backed off, waving her hands around to try and regain control. "Wow wow wow, calm down. I didn't name this ship. We just stole it from whoever did. They had the damn thing engraved on the side, how are we supposed to change that?" Lifting a hoof to her bruised neck, Chrysalis pondered, "Now that I think about, Luna is probably the only pony who would do something like this. Considering this is her ship."
"Are you implying that Luna named this ship? Despite the vast evidence that this is something she would never once consider doing something like this?"
Chrysalis shrugged.
"Fine, tell me why you have the flagship for the night guard then. This doesn't seem like something you should have."
"I told you, we stole it during the Canterlot wedding. Well, these two idiots stole it, actually. I can't figure out why they tried to run away though, we were winning until the end."
At the mention of their names, Berry Punch and Colgate turned around, abandoning their fight over the wheel. "We already explained this. We won't go over it again."
"Quiet, you two don't get an opinion."
Twilight cradled her head. "And all this is leading up to the big question, what are you doing?"
"What do you mean? We can't just let the Slax fly around recklessly. We do this thing monthly. Granted, it's never been this bad and one of the ponies on the Slax ship has never owed me a favour before, but it's all essentially the same."
"But...but I don't understand..."
Chrysalis responded with a wink. "I'm not entirely heartless. Plus, it's really hard to keep rounding up ponies."
Twilight struggled to form words, giving Chrysalis enough time to spin around. "21! 24! Bring us u--"
"Berry Punch and Colgate."
"21! 24! Bring us up!"
The two sighed, and Colgate flashed the magic in her horn. With a creak that betrayed the true age of the vessel, the ship rose into the air. Visible layers of earth and dirt passed them by as they rose out of the hive, basking in the glow of the sun. Twilight swore she could see panicked animals flee as they rose yet higher into the air, desperately trying to catch up to the Slax.
While Colgate toiled, focusing entirely on controlling the ship vertically, her companion grabbed the wheel, fully prepared to control things horizontally. Singing to herself quietly while Chrysalis and Twilight watched, Berry brought the ship around to face the Slax-ship. A sliver of green magic rocked across the balloon, like a shadow racing over a rock, before the entire contraption stopped moving.
"My shiny teeth that sparkle~
Just like a hearthwarming tree~
My shiny teeth and me~"
Chrysalis walked across the boat carefully, creaking the wooden ground beneath her weight. "Stop singing. Now, Twilight, come here and I'll tell you plan, I don't like repeating myself."
Still caught up in the sheer confusion of what was happening, Twilight drudged forward, only half aware of her surroundings.
Chrysalis was less than helpful with her explanation. "We have what appears to be standard mutation. Inflation to give it wings and springs to give it teeth. Keep us above the firing range, at balloon level should be enough. Don't engage it from the side and for the love of the all father, don't ram it again. Twilight and I will be force it down, from there it's basically over. Just don't take us under fire for any reason, understand?"
"Ah think I...think I know how to fight an abomination against nature, thank...thank you very much." Berry replied, leaning heavily on the steering wheel.
Chrysalis stared at the driver for a minute, slight rage building in her. "Just don't crash the brand new ship. Think you can handle that?"
"As long as the ground staysh on its shide of the line, I think I can handle it."
"Right. Twilight, are you ready for this? We just need you to give the word before we begin."
"I don't...I just want to go home. I don't want to fight this thing. You didn't mention flying, or mutations, or creepy cosplaying changelings,"
"Hey!"
"You didn't mention any of this. You said you'd take me back to Ponyville when we were done. Why aren't I back in Ponyville?" Twilight asked, feeling her grasp on reality slip.
"Because we're not done yet, obviously. Look, I'm sure you have many questions, and are currently debating the ethical and moral standpoints behind doing this, but trust me, there's no other way. If we don't stop that thing, it's going to destroy absolutely everything it can get its hooves on. We have to stop it."
Twilight grabbed her head, "What are ethics? No, no, that can wait, I just don't...understand. Why are you trying to stop it? What's the real reason behind this?"
"Do I need a reason for saving the lives of hundreds of ponies?"
Twilight slammed her hoof against the ground, causing the whole structure to shake dangerously. "Everything you've said and done up to this point has been centred around saving your stupid hive. Now the hive is safe, and you're still going. I think you do need a reason for that, yes."
Breathing in deeply, Chrysalis answered as honestly as she could, "If ponies die, our food source dies with them. If I have to destroy an airship made of Slax to protect our only food source, I will destroy that Slax ship. If I have to kill a pony to ensure a changeling survives, I'll kill that pony. If I have to hand out lollipops to orphans on street corners to make sure that everyone survives another day, I'll greet those orphans with a smile."
Chrysalis stomped her hoof back at Twilight. "The problem, Twilight, is that you're not thinking like this. There are two moralities; helps the hive, or hurts the hive. Good and Evil are pony constructs, and I am not bound by them. Stop trying to fit me into your crummy belief system and just accept that I'm trying to help you. Now buckle down and lets kick some Slax in its metaphorical ass, since Slax does not actually possess any digestive system."
Twilight simply stood silently, contemplating what she was just told. There was so much she wanted to say, so much more she needed to learn. Until now, she'd never even considered something like that.
Such questions though, would have to wait. Firing off a quick test burst, Twilight nodded hastily. "Let's do this."
"Ay ay, captain!" Berry shouted, spinning the wheel randomly. The ship turned dangerously, swinging up onto its side at the sheer speed of its turning. Twilight was forced to dig her hooves into the wood to avoid slipping into gravity's grasp. Wind whipped past them as they turned until Berry stopped the wheel; the Slax ship hovering just a few miles ahead of them.
"Hang on, did we just spin aroun--"
"Three shixty airship rotation bitchesh, coming at ya!"
And with that, the Filly Fondling Friday accelerated; it's occupants eager to end this once and for all.
The Slax ship saw them coming from a mile away, through eyes that burned in the sun. It couldn't understand what was happening, why it was being hunted, why it had even come into existence in the first place; but no creature, whether the smartest man or the stupidest ant, would sit idly by and let death welcome it with open arms.
The air cracked and wavered under the force of the explosions happening beneath the Slax's surface. Bubbles of pressure formed on the surface of the ship, until no more could be given and a large chunk of Slax launched out the side, heading directly for the Friday.
Twilight bite the floor as she was pushed to the ground, and the melting pile of Slax soured over her head, vanishing over the other side of the ship. Carefully, she pulled her head up, feeling something drop inside her as the Slax ship fired again. And again. And again.
It was nearly surreal the way no one else but her was reacting to this. It was like sitting just outside the eye of the storm, watching the trees and the wind and the rain rip everything to shreds, yet just a few steps from you, the peace of the eye proved a refuge from the storm. And in the eye was, I dunno, an old guy playing chess or something, make up your own mind, I'm not here to entertain you.
Chrysalis didn't bother to tear her eyes from the target, breaking her stare only to deflect an oncoming projectile away from herself. Colgate had her eyes closed, almost in a dream like state, save for the green magic swirling around her horn. Berry was oblivious to the danger and drunkenly singing again; a sailors ditty about how seaponies were the biggest bastards on land yet surprisingly chill in the sea.
And Twilight was cowering on the ground, afraid that a single shot would knock her off the ship.
"Cover me, Twilight." Chrysalis suddenly blurted, losing her staring competition against the Slax ship. "And actually cover me this time, unlike back at the hive entrance."
"What are you do--"
Twilight was cut off again as Chrysalis leapt over the rails locking her into the ship. Fear hastily settled into Twilight's heart; dispersing quickly when the familiar sound of Chrysalis' wings flew through the wind. Chrysalis returned quickly, hovering just outside the boundary of the ship. Insectoid eyes locked on the the Slax-ship, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Twilight poked her head over the railing and could actually feel the blood drain from her head as she realised just how high up they were. Deep green trees, trees Twilight knew for a fact to be hundreds of feet tall, seemed like tiny blotches on a canvas of earth. There wasn't time to stare at the ground though, as larger issues reared their heads.
Chrysalis licked her lips, ducking slightly as a ball of Slax flew past her head, burying itself in the balloon. "Now." She said, so silently that it was nearly certain that no one heard her.
The Slax ship finally reached came within reasonable firing distance, and Chrysalis zipped off to battle it. Twilight lowered her horn. 'Cover me;' should be fairly easy right? Best to leave the monster fighting to the professionals, rather than risk herself on a useless endeavour.
Twilight glanced upwards, the enemy a mere couple of feet below her. The plan, vague though it was, ringed in her head as she looked back down. Ground the Slax ship, don't hurt anyone on board, do not get hit by the pony sized balls of Slax flying around. Should be easy. Or so she kept telling herself.
And then Chrysalis fired the first shot, an emerald beam that shattered on the surface of the Slax, showering the wind in glimmers, and the whole plan fell apart.
A shiver ran through the Slax as it changed, mutated further. Its fleshed rocked, reshaped itself into the air, grasping in futility at its attacker. An ear-piercing scream split that air as the Slax screamed. Tentacles, large and heavy, grew out of every available space on the Slax each acting in one mind and with one purpose. Stop the pain.
Chrysalis stared on in shock. "Well, that's new."
A wave of hot air blasted her in the face, and tiny bits of molten Slax clung to her coat as one of the tentacles next to her exploded in a brilliant purple light. This was enough to snap her back to reality, and send her flying in closer to the Slax.
Twilight watched as Chrysalis grit her teeth and dove forward, narrowly avoiding a hand reaching out to grab her. Barely a second passed before she twisted sideways, the sudden change throwing her off balance, in time to avoid another attack at her.
A simple twist of her head sent another one flying, severed in half by her horn. Twilight provided that cover she needed as more Slax exploded in her peripheral vision, giving her time to blast one of her own.
She was closer to the Slax now, nearly close enough to land. She just needed an opening, a small clearing to break through the mass of snake like creatures in front of her. Almost on instinct, one lashed out at her, forcing her to duck to avoid losing her eyes.
The game continued for much longer than necessary, with Chrysalis always inching closer to her target, only to be roughly pushed away to avoid injury. It was getting tedious, nearly. Dodge, attack, fly, dodge, fly, attack.
Chrysalis lit her horn up. Well, if there was no easy way in, then she would have to this the hard way.
For a brief second, an explosion of green light raged through the air, shaking both the airships dangerously. Berry lost her hand at the wheel as the entire ship rocked dangerously, threatening to fall apart.
The effect worked though, as the humming of wings stopped and Chrysalis simply fell towards the Slax, a cocoon of focused green magic surrounding her. It was pointed, nearly honed to a razor's edge at the tip, and the latent power of the spell became apparent when changeling met Slax.
Another explosion, smaller than the last, raced through the air again. Despite the danger of falling, Twilight pulled herself off the ground and looked over the railing. The Slax was already filling in the hole Chrysalis had punched. Twilight could only hope she knew what she was doing.
Time to wish though was time she didn't have, as more tentacles rose into the air.
It was at that moment that Twilight realised just how much of a distraction Chrysalis had been. Without her presence around to draw the fire of the Slax ship, nothing stood in the way of the hundreds of tentacles that now reached up to destroy the Friday.
And Twilight fought, oh, did she fight. The air around her was physically hot from the constant presence of lasers, and Slax rained from the sky as Twilight rained hell down upon them. She really hoped that Chrysalis knew what she was doing.
The ship shook as a tentacle slammed into it, inches away from Twilight. Adrenaline shot into her chest and her legs springed backwards on instinct. A single burst of magic was already flying through the air by the time she landed, ripping the thing in half. By the time she got back into position, two more tentacles had already taken the place of their fallen comrade.
It was useless, pointless. No matter how many she stopped, no matter how many she managed to take down, another rose to take its place. It didn't make sense, why wasn't the Slax losing mass for every tentacle destroyed? How was it even remaining airborn?
The attacks came faster, and faster. Striking upwards with more ferocity, tearing the boards of the ship in half to reach their target.
Twilight fought harder in response, anything to stop the constant assault. Her knees buckled once they couldn't hold her weight any more. Ragged breaths came out in pants and a cold sweat ran down her coat. For a brief second, it seemed like it was finally working, with the tentacles coming in less and less frequency.
Twilight slowed down, taking more time to pick them off as opposed to before, where she was firing blindly into a mass.
And then, she missed.
It was a brief glance, barely even hitting the tentacle. A split second later, the Slax took advantage of the fault, launching upwards. It curled upwards, like a great snake, simply staring down at the pony that had caused it such harm. Why did it hurt the way it did, to cause such burns and cuts and injurys? What did the Slax ever do to that pony? And it would never stop, not unless the Slax did something about it.
So it did.
Twilight had barely gotten her shield out before the Slax stabbed downward, intending to crush her. It had been so long since she needed to cast a shield, it was so hard to remember the right words and phrases.
Twilight saw what she could only describe as surprise when the Slax noticed she was still there. It regained its composure quickly, sweeping across the ship instead of downwards.
While the shield was effective at stopping any injury caused by the initial attack, that didn't change the fact that Twilight was still a pony. And ponies have a tendency to fly when hit with enough force.
The snapping of the rail cracked through the air as Twilight flew clean off the ship.
Air whipped past her, throwing her mane into disarray as she fell.
It took Twilight precious seconds to realize what was happening. Even longer for her to come to grips with the realisation that she was falling.
Adrenaline immediately pumped back into her system, buying her back the time she'd lost. From the corners of her eyes, the Slax ship continued to impale the Friday as Chrysalis did absolutely nothing.
Maybe if she called Chrysalis, there would still be time for her to sweep in and save the day? She had to, right? Chrysalis wouldn't just sit idly by and let someone like Twilight fall to her death, that would be downright evil.
But again, Chrysalis wasn't here, was she? And evil or not, someone who isn't there can't have much effect on any outcome.
The ground rushed closer and Twilight tried again. Surely she had a spell somewhere for this situation. She was the princesses student, she was suppose to be ready for anything. Apple picking, gravity reversal, transformation, teleportion, invisibility, levitation, fireworks, time travel, she was suppose to be ready for anything. She was suppose to have a spell for this, why didn't she have a spell for this? There had to be something!
Tears sprung into Twilight's eyes. This was it. She'd never imagined that she'd actually die, much less to such insane circumstances. Death wasn't a thing you thought about in Equestria, it happened and that was it.
It was so much more real when it was happening to you.
She'd never get to eat Pinkie's candies again, or help Rarity to make a beautiful dress, or share Daring Do books with Rainbow, or care for animals with Fluttershy or whatever it was that Applejack did. This was it. There was still so much she wanted to do, so much she had to do. She didn't want to die. She wanted to spend another day in Ponyville, laughing and playing with her friends. Why couldn't she be doing that instead?
This was it.
Twilight breathed in deeply, choking slightly as the air caught in the back of her throat. She tried to stop her tears as the top of the trees rose to meet her. If she was going to die, better to die with dignity.
Why was that so hard?
"I'm sorry I couldn't be...a better friend to everypony." She said, mostly to soothe her nerves.
Even if nobody heard it, it was something that needed to be said.
Something rose above the sound of the rushing wind; a high pitched screaming. Was it hers? Twilight couldn't tell, she could hardly even feel anything for some reason.
"Twilight!"
That's what was being screamed, her name. How odd, why would she scream her own name?
Something rammed into her side painfully, forcing all the air out of her lungs. A familiar rainbow mane wavered in her face as she was pushed along sideways. Her sides hurt so much, it was nearly certain something was broken.
Despite this though, she felt happy. She felt overjoyed.
Rainbow summed up the situation better than she ever could, "Flying is usually only done by pegasi, though I suppose if anypony was the exception, it would be you."
Twilight was beaming with joy. "Rainbow! You're...I'm not...we're...Slax ship!"
Rainbow slowed down, taking the weight of Twilight onto her front legs. The steady beating of her wings was almost calming. "Relax, Twilight. I can barely understand what you're saying. Sit still, I'll get us out of here."
Twilight fumbled to calm herself, to make the words that she couldn't form. "But...but how are you here?"
Turning around, Rainbow picked up her pace again, flying away from the battle zone. Twilight twisted herself to keep an eye on the two ships. This was wrong, she needed to go back. "I'll explain when we're safe, just sit still."
"No no, there's no time. Rainbow, there are ponies in there. We need to save them."
"Will you just be quiet and let me fly? We'll get this all sorted out on the ship."
Twilight twisted back around. "No, we don't have time to sort this out. The Slax is going to get away, and Chrysalis is no where to be seen," Waiting a minute, Dash's sentence finally settled properly, "Hang on, ship?"
"What the hay is Slax?" Rainbow asked, butchering the word horribly.
"Wait, you said ship, what do you mean?"
Dash grinned, spinning herself in the air slightly so that Twilight could get a good view of where they were going.
Another airship, painted in brilliant gold and white. Everything about it just screamed perfection. Try as she might, Twilight couldn't pick out a single flaw in it; not even a single nail was out of place.
It was an airship fit for a queen.
Or, perhaps, a princess.
Rainbow brought the two of them close, skirting the underside of the craft with ease. Rising from the bottom, Twilight managed to grab a small glance at its name before Rainbow carried her the rest of the way. The railing passed under her as she was brought upon the craft proper, carefully picking herself out of Rainbow's hooves.
Usually, at such a moment, Twilight would be over joyed at seeing her friends again. The night had been long, and full of danger, and she wanted nothing more than to relax in the company of others. All five of her friends had managed to come here just for her, and Spike was there too.
But try as she might, a single thought blocked her responses, making it impossible to show just how happy she was.
Who names an airship 'Princess Loner's Empty Gaming Room?'
Suddenly the barrier stopping her was torn away, ripped to shreds by the unexpected appearance of Pinkie Pie, who launched herself at Twilight with all the force she could muster. The only thing that felt better than the hug was the constant chatter.
"Oh, you're alive. I knew you would all right, we knew you would be all right. I said to myself, 'Pinkie, Twilight is going to all right, and we're going to have a party, and everypony's going to come, and it'll be the best party ever.' And then I said, 'Really, Pinkie?' And I said, 'Yes.' And that made me all happy again, because before I was sad that you might not make it, but then you did and everything sunshine again."
A stabbing pain in her side constantly shocked Twilight back to reality, but she could handle anything right now. She just felt like the luckiest pony in Equestria.
"Come now, Pinkie, let her breathe. Does no pony any good to have her die of cheeriness." Applejack said, stepping forward.
Nodding sadly, Pinkie backed off, stopping her motor mouth for a second. Given sweet release from the grip of Pinkie, Twilight could finally ask the questions building on her mind; questions that threatened to burst dangerously if not answered. "Did I...did I actually die back there? That's it, isn't it? I fell off the Friday and died, and now this is heaven."
"You're among the living yet, my student."
Twilight instantly snapped her attention to the one directing the airship; the one standing behind the wheel and driving them, slowly but surely, back to Canterlot.
"Oh my, Princess Celestia is here. Why is Princess Celestia here, why are you girls here, why is Spike here? What happened?"
Pinkie shrugged. "None of us know why Spike is here."
"But...why are you here to begin with? Chrysalis didn't...no one saw..."
"When Spike came downstairs and saw Chrysalis leaving with you on her back, he immediately sent an emergency scroll to the Princess herself telling what he saw." Rarity said.
"Then, tha Princess replied by telling him to gather us up, so we could go rescue you." Applejack picked up.
"So each of us gathered together in the middle of town, when Celestia sweeps in with the giant contraption you're in now. She knew where Chrysalis was most likely to take you, and marked a course there as fast as she could."
"But then, we get here, and you're falling out of the sky. How'd did you even get in the sky in the first place? No, not important, what is important is, I totally flew in and saved the day."
"And that's...um...everything."
Celestia chirped in at that moment, giving her two cents. "I failed to stop Chrysalis once, I won't make the same mistake again.
Twilight shook to try and clear her head. That explanation...made sense?
Despite this though, Twilight knew they needed to turn around. "Princess, we need to go back. Chrysalis needs our help, the ponies need our help."
Celestia showed no change in her position, but a subtle eyebrow raise showed her curiosity was piqued. Rainbow however, stole her thunder. "You want to help Chrysalis? After what happened at the wedding? After what's happening right now? Why? What did they do to you, if they did anything, I swear I'l..."
"It's not that, Rainbow. I'm fine. But there are ponies back there, we can't just leave them! And the Slax, it'll destroy everything!"
"Twilight, I am well aware that there are ponies stuck in Chrysalis' influence. We have tried many times to save them. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do back there."
Rainbow cut in again, pushing herself into Twilight's face. "And what is Slax? Why do you keep talking about it?" Something seemed to click in Rainbow's mind. "Are you really Twilight? How do I know you're not a changeling in disguise?"
Twilight ground her teeth in frustration. "I am Twilight! We don't have time to waste. Princess, I know you probably don't believe me, but right now, at this moment, is the perfect time to save everypony. There's this thing, it's called Slax. It's hard to explain, but it's taken all the ponies out of the hive. If we can help Chrysalis ground it, we can get everypony out of here."
"Ground it? Slow down, possible Twilight, what is Slax? Is it alive?" Rainbow asked.
"It's an airship. Or, it is now. Before it was a small ball, I don't know how everything escalated quickly. I doubt it's actually alive, I assume it would be closer to a plant, but that's not important. Chrysalis and her changelings are fighting to stop this thing from destroying Equestria right now, and we can't just leave them!" Twilight argued.
"We can easily leave them. We will send the royal guard out to counter this threat when we return to Canterlot. If what you say is true, they will save the ponies themselves. Chrysalis is the enemy, Twilight. She wishes nothing more than to destroy the royal family and take anything she wants from our kingdom. She actively traps and enslaves ponies for a food source. We are not helping a creature like her with anything, for any reason. She's evil, Twilight." Celestia replied, cementing her opinion.
Twilight felt like pulling her mane out. "But she's not evil! She just see's the world differently. There is no good and evil to her, she operates on a whole nother level."
"That doesn't change the fact that what she does is evil, whether she realises or not. Give me one good reason to turn around and save the largest threat my kingdom has ever seen."
Twilight stopped for a moment to think. It came to light what exactly she was doing; arguing with the one pony she looked up to in life and one of the most powerful creatures in existence to change her mind. Glancing around, the support she was looking for was completely absent. Her friends expressions ranged from vague curiosity, to waiting expectation, to just plain confusion. Would it really hurt to have just one of her friends agree with her?
But all the support in the world would be at waste if she couldn't think of an appropriate answer to Celestia's question. Why did she want to help Chrysalis?
She'd done nothing but berate her, kidnap her, injure her. She'd shown no signs of being sympathetic to Twilight's blight, no emotions other than vague disappoint and thinly veiled anger. The entire expedition had been a complete tragedy, with one party chaining the other along until they were needed. She was nothing more than another tool to Chrysalis.
But that wasn't Chrysalis' fault, right? She wasn't raised to respect others, or let her emotions get in the way. That would be dangerous to the goals of the hive. It would endanger her entire race. Could she really fault a pony for acting the way they were born to act; to act in their nature?
But wasn't it Chrysalis herself that said no creature acts in its nature, that all beings have the ability to change?
Breathing deeply, Twilight replied honestly. "There is no reason. I can not think of a single thing to say to you to make you turn around and help her. Chrysalis is something; something really bad. She's probably the most unpleasant creature I've ever had the fortune to meet. But...in the brief time I was with her, she showed the ability to change that. Maybe I'm just making things up, maybe she'll never change, but we need to at least give her the chance. I believe that Chrysalis can change, and if we don't go back to help her, that will never happen. She'll just keep going on the way she does, because she has nopony there to help her realise how bad she really is. We need to go back because Chrysalis can change, and I'm not letting someone like her stay the way she is. Please, Celestia."
A silence swept through the ship as everyone digested Twilight's response. Tension hung in the air like streamers from a party, just waiting for something to snap them in half. The only sound was the slight rushing of the wind and eventually, Celestia's weary sigh. "If anypony wishes to return to Canterlot, I would suggest you speak up now. The spell will only take a moment, and nopony here will think less of you for leaving. If all are in agreement, I shall turn the ship around."
"Wait, we're really going back for that succubus? Really?" Rainbow asked.
"If Twilight says we 'ave to, then ah believe her. You can fly off, Rainbow, but tha rest of us are staying."
"Like I could just leave all the fun to you girls. Besides, you'd all be lost without me."
Celestia breathed in deeply again, "So, there are no complaints?"
Pinkie raised her hoof slowly, capturing the attention of everyone gathered on the ship. "So does this mean I have to postpone the party?"
"I promise it shall be made up to you twicefold, now, let us not waste any more time."
And when there was nothing more to be said, Celestia pushed down hard on the right half of the wheel, sending the ship careening back the way it came.
"Sweet mother ah apples, that's Slax?"
"It's absolutely dreadful!"
"Wow, it's certainly...bigger than I thought it would be."
"Is that my sisters airship?"
"...eep"
"You know, this reminds me of a certain advertisement..."
"Alright girls, listen closely."
Twilight raised her voice over the din, hoping to recapture the attention of her friends. Such an action though, was nearly impossible. There was not a single person on the ship who's attention wasn't focused wholly and truly on the mass of sheer wrongness that floated in the air in front of them.
If asked how long Twilight thought she was gone, she'd say barely a few minutes; surely not enough time for the Slax to change again, growing what could only be described as thin crusty scales along its body. Not even enough time for the Slax ship to reach the Friday, much less latch onto it.
And yet, it had somehow managed to do both those feats; crushing the changeling's airship between its now hundreds, of tentacles.
Twilight stamped her hoof the ground; a loud thunk echoing through the air as she did. "Girls!"
The sudden shout managed to pull the ponies attention away from the Slax, if only long enough to formulate a plan.
"Now, first things first, did anypony think to bring the elements?"
"I'm sorry, but, why would we? They would be useless without you and...well, none of us expected something like this."
Twilight nodded silently, expecting that response. "Plan B then. Rainbow, Fluttershy, the last time I saw Chrysalis, she'd practically divebombed the Slax. I'd like you two to try and find out if she'd managed to get out yet. Search the forest from above, chat with Berry and Colgate; anything to find out if she's alright."
"Berry and Colgate?" Rainbow asked, before Twilight's ranting stifled any chance of a response.
"Rarity, when we get close enough, that things going to lash out at us with everything its got and try to drag us down, do whatever you can to prevent that from happening. I'll do my best to help you. Applejack and Pinkie, I need you two to go an--"
Twilight was suddenly cut off by a scaled claw pressing against her mouth. Beneath her, Spike smiled devilishly, a hidden air of confidence behind his actions.
"Relax Twilight, I brought the elements."
The sound of six ponies mouths colliding with a wooden floor was truly a sound to be cherished. "W..what?"
"I brought the elements. It was mostly Pinkie's idea, but I did help. Pinkie wanted to make sure that we were prepared for anything when we went out on this rescue mission, which is why she chose to fill the entire lower deck with vinegar and baking soda, but I figured that since everypony was packing what they wanted, I'd go ahead and pack what everypony needed. The elements."
A brief moment of silence fell over the ship as every pony gathered pulled their teeth back into their mouths. "But...but why?"
"We're going on a journey to the centre of the changeling empire, did all of you really think that the elements wouldn't be useful?"
"Brilliant then, we don't need plan B." Twilight said, changing the subject. "Plan A then, Celestia, umm...if you wouldn't mine, could you bring us closer to the Slax ship? We could hit the ship from here, but there's no guarantee that the ponies on it would be safe. We need to get closer so I can avoid hitting the hostages."
Celestia nodded, motioning towards the elements. "I understand. Hang on, ponies."
The ship creaked as it was forced upwards, slowly growing closer to its target. The Slax rippled again, pulling itself off the Friday. There was a brief moment where it flailed in the air, like a giant swatting at a fly, before it's efforts refocused on the new prey. It didn't know who it was or where it had come from, but anything that resembled its attacker was clearly its enemy. And it would not let them win.
A single tentacle shot out, slicing through the air, directed at the driver of the Loner. An attack that didn't even land, as the tentacle disintegrated in the air around Celestia, burning away into nothing.
"Nasty piece of work." She commented, pulling in closer.
Rainbow leapt off the side of the ship, hovering just over the edge. "How much closer do we need to be?"
"Just a little bit mo...oh for the love of honey badgers."
Thinly contained explosions rocked beneath the surface of the Slax, tearing and ripping it into pieces that launched into the air from the force buried beneath them; Sending them flying towards both of the airships.
Twilight gripped the floor with all the strength she still had as wave after wave of pony sized Slax slammed into the ship. A splitting pain broke her stomach again as Applejack kicked her in the ribs, sending her flying across the surface of the airship. A second later, the place she was standing was a smouldering pile of goo.
Mustering her courage into a usable form, Twilight poked her head over the railings; blood oozing into her mouth from a wound on her tongue. "Nearly there. Just a little closer, Celestia."
"Look out, Twilight!"
Fluttershy's shout reached Twilight a second too late; as a wayward shot, one of the largest by far, hit Twilight like a punch to the face.
No matter how often Twilight was punched in the face, it always remained something she never quite remembered. The first thing that always catches her attention is the pain spreading across her face; and that's where her attention usually stayed. She never noticed the world spinning out from under her, or her friends panicked shouts as she flew towards the edge. A distinct crack exploded through the air as Twilight slammed into the railing. She could feel the splinters and breaks dig into her back, before the force rebounded and expelled her back onto the ship.
The relieved faces of her friends told her everything she needed to know. Well, most of what she needed to know.
Two pairs of hooves wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her out from beneath whatever had been launched at her. The shock was nearly painful when she realised that she recognized it.
"Should we just leave 'er here, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
Twilight shook her head. "She just fell, like, a hundred feet, we need to at least make sure she's okay."
Walking over to the unconscious bundle, Twilight gave it a slight tap on the neck.
Chrysalis flinched at the hoof, but remained asleep. Her lips moved wordlessly to themselves, the only indication of the healthy state of the changeling. That and the burns, of course.
Chrysalis had deep burns running across her midsection, some occasionally stretching up to her neck. Despite this, Twilight pressed on, attempting to wake the queen.
"Chrysalis? You need to wake up for us now. Come on, umm, wake up. Please?"
With a yawn, Chrysalis opened her eyes; lids still heavy from her nap. "Come on, Ma, surely this can wait?"
"Wake up already, you poor excuse for a platter of swiss cheese." Celestia shouted from the front of the ship.
Slowly, Chrysalis' eyes pulled open, snapping to the top of her eyes when she saw who was waking her up. Her pupils contracted immediately and Twilight had to leap backwards again to avoid a sudden burst of green fire that exploded out of Chrysalis.
When Twilight lowered her hoof, Chrysalis was gone, with Princess Celestia taking her place.
The two ponies stared at each other for a second, before the sleep was jolted out of Chrysalis' system and she remembered what they were doing. The disguise vanished a minute later, fading into the air.
"Sorry, reactions."
Chrysalis scanned the ship with her eyes, barely taking anything in before turning back to Twilight. "What part of cover me was so hard to understand? I nearly died in there, Twilight, was that what you wanted? For mother's sake, all you had to do was shoot the building sized barge of gelatinous goo, and you couldn't even manage that. Why do you have to be so stupid?"
Twilight shot a glance at the other people on the ship. This wasn't making a good argument for her case, was it? Even Celestia had stopped driving for a moment, observing the feud while simultaneously protecting the ship with her magic. Despite the gathering though, Twilight could only think about one thing.
No one called her stupid.
"Now listen here, Chrysalis. I may not be the most social pony around, and I may not know much about changeling culture, but that does not mean that I am an idiot. I tried to cover you, but you had to go flying in like a bleeding mule, no offence and get yourself burned to--"
A thin film of magic clamped around Twilight's mouth as Chrysalis looked around again. "Hang on, where are we? What happened to the changelings that were on here before? Where did these new ones come from?"
Chrysalis released Twilight as she focused her efforts on the next nearest pony, namely Applejack. "I must say, this magic is truly top notch. I'm proud of you kiddo, keep it up and I may just have another lover."
"I ain't no changeling. Put me down before I buck your kneecaps out."
Twilight was already nodding when Chrysalis turned to her for confirmation on what she'd been told. Slowly, carefully, she turned back to the pony in her hands; raising an eyebrow. Chrysalis leaned in close, pulling Applejack closer to her. Her tongue flickered on Applejacks ear briefly as she whispered sweet words of seduction into it, 'The offer still stands.'
"Chrysalis!"
The queen jumped into the air as the loud shout destroyed her whisper. The sudden movement caused Applejack to slip from her hooves; crashing her into the ground painfully. She shuddered as she pulled herself away from Chrysalis, sure to keep a safe distance from now on.
Twilight watched as Chrysalis turned to face Celestia, a sly smile growing on her face. "Celestia, pal, is this the Loner? You know, I kept saying 'if you're going to steal a ship, get the Loner, it's much better.' You should take that as a compliment."
"What have you done? What is that thing?"
"I haven't done anything! I'm trying to stop that thing, same as you."
"Well, you're doing a terrible job at it, aren't you? What's wrong, can't disguise your way past it? Just sit down and let a real alicorn fix this for you."
Celestia turned to leave, barely restrained anger flowing off her like an aura of power. She had a cool head though, centuries of time will do that to a person. She knew when to leave before her anger got the best of her.
"This is about the wedding isn't it?" Chrysalis called out.
Celestia stopped, a quiet scream rang out across the ship as the magic holding the Slax at bay faltered, giving them a split second to move forward before it came back, twice as strong. Slowly, Celestia turned around, a perfectly blank look on her face. "No, it isn't."
"But it is though."
"No, it is not."
Chrysalis grinned. "You're still mad I beat you."
Celestia's demeanour changed, a brief flash of emotion before she could regain control. "I had a cold that day! It made it hard to concentrate."
"You keep telling yourself that."
"You want proof? Is that what you want, you sick sewer guzzling insect? Come on then, I have all the proof you need!"
Chrysalis popped herself into the air, stretching herself to her full height. "This will be too easy."
Two horns lit up quickly, a stark contrast of green and yellow. An electrical crackling rose over the din as power surged into the alicorn's horns, preparing themselves for a fight.
Celestia took a step forward, lowering her head. Chrysalis did the same, until a purple aura wrapped around her body. Celestia gave a shout as a pale blue aura did the same to her. The wind cracked under the speed that the two alicorns were ripped apart. The entire ship rocked backwards as Chrysalis slammed into the back, only to be pulled forward again as Celestia did the same at the other end.
And in the middle, Twilight stomped her hoof, rage contorting her face. "Enough! I'm surprised at both of you. Chrysalis, this is your one chance to make a good impression to the princess, and you do this? Why? Are you crazy?" Twilight turned around, "And you! You're not supposed to do this sort of thing, you're the princess! I expected you to act better than this, you're barely better than a foal at the moment. And that makes me feel...sad? Yes, sad, because I expected you to at least give her a chance. What happened to you?"
"Tw...twilight, I apologise but, she--"
"I don't care what she's done. At the moment, she's trying to help you and you go and try to blast her off to the moon. I'm disappointed in you."
Celestia pushed herself back to her feet, trying to move closer despite a purple forcefield intended to stop that. "I'm sorry, Twilight, I am, but I need to protect all of you. Chrysalis is dangerous, and I won't let someone like her stand unopposed."
Twilight shook her head. "No, no, that's not how this is going to work. Celestia, Chrysalis, we need to get closer to the Slax before we can safely use the elements. One of you is going to control how high we go, and the other is going to steer us towards the Slax. The two of you are going to work together, like ponies should, and through this, everypony is going to become good friends, and we'll save the ponies, and we'll defeat the Slax and we'll all return home for delicious hay fries. Do I make myself clear?"
Chrysalis stood back up, raising her hoof. "I don't have to listen to somepony like you."
Twilight faced her, spinning around on the back of her hooves. "Do I. Make myself. Clear, Chrysalis?"
The grin on Chrysalis' face was immediately knocked off when she saw Twilight's face. It was like a bear, tired and angry and bruised and just plain annoyed by the fact that someone would dare to deny or stop it. Chrysalis swallowed nervously, breaking eye contact. "Not..not at all. Not at all."
Then suddenly, Twilight cheered up, regaining a spring in her step. "Good then. Get to it."
The two alicorns; the queen and the princess, sat in silence for a moment, before Chrysalis smacked herself in the nose violently, shouting 'shotgun,' before trotting to the front of the ship.
Celestia simply sighed, and walked away from the wheel, a silent curse dying on her lips.
"Take us higher, you failed interracial experiment!"
"I'm taking us as high as I can, wind chime, why don't you try steering us closer instead of relying on me to solve everything?"
Twilight rubbed her temples slowly. She wasn't sure whether she enjoyed them more when they were actively fighting. The name calling hadn't stopped since the two had taken control, with each one being more creative than the last. Until today, she'd never considered her mentor to be a 'waste of glue and ivory,' nor a 'stink maned packmule.' That wasn't to say that she could see Chrysalis the same way either; 'sexually depraved bedbug' was simply too much for her to ignore.
If it wasn't for the fact that they were the only things stopping the Slax from overrunning the ship, Twilight would have kicked them both off my now.
Oh, and there was the whole mentor, student thing, of course.
Luckily, her agony was nearly at an end. Looking over the edge and ducking occasionally to dodge the one of the tentacles that escaped the sight of the alicorns, Twilight decided she was nearly close enough to safely use the elements.
Turning around, Twilight gave a slight nod to her friends. She couldn't help but be glad that she had friends who would stand by her at a time like this. Friends who would risk their lives simply because she assured them that everything would be all right.
They would be fine, right?
"Spike, bring us the elements. Girls, I hope you're ready for this. I know we've used the elements before, but...there was never the chance we could hit the wrong pony before. We need to be careful this time."
"Don't worry, Twilight, everything will be fine."
A second later, Spike emerged from below deck, frothy bubbles and the smell of vinegar dripping off him. Tucked under his arm and glittering in the sun light was a small chest, engraved with the image of the sun.
With a quiet click, the lid swung open, revealing its contents.
Five necklaces, made of the finest gold and fitted with a shining gem unique to their owners, and a single tiara, similarly decorated.
Spike pulled them out of the box with all the delicacy and care usually reserved for serving cold fish to an angry badger, balancing each of them on the tips of his fingers as he looked over the ponies gathered.
"Fluttershy." He said, throwing a butterfly shaped necklace at the cowering pegasus. It clattered to the ground next to her, and she grasped it quickly to avoid losing it before it was needed.
"Pinkie Pie." He said, doing the same for Pinkie.
"Rarity~"
"Rainbow Dash."
"Applejack."
Before throwing the last jewellery of the set, Spike clasped it in both his hands. Rearing backwards, Spike stretched his hand back in the same way that a footballer would, but instead of a football, it was a priceless artifact from before the dawn of ponykind.
Fortunately, Twilight realised that fact. "Spike! If you throw the element of magic at me, I will forbid you from talking to Rarity for a week. Now come over here and pass it to me a like a reasonable pony."
Sighing, Spike let his arm sag, before swinging it back into his chest. Defeated, he trundled across the ship, until he was standing a mere two steps in front of his friend.
With a grin, Twilight took the tiara in her magic, placing it carefully on her head.
All her friends, whether shy or brave, precise or brutish, level headed or head strong, fast or slow, optimistic or pessimistic, did the same, clasping the magical gems across their necks. A harmonious humming filled the air, almost as if in preparation for what was going to come.
Opposing the blessed sound of harmony rose another sound; a tortured scream that waned and waved through the sky, reaching all points of space in the kingdom simultaneously. The Slax knew what was coming next.
What right did they have to end its life? It wouldn't let them decide for it, it would live if they all had to die for that to happen.
The Slax ship doubled its efforts to stop the elements, attacking faster and with more ferocity. Celestia was forced to drop the magic keeping the ship in the air; focusing instead on stopping her opponent from hurting her subjects.
It wasn't enough though, she wasn't powerful enough. She tried her best, countering each strike expertly, but they just kept coming. Again and again and again, faster and faster until she couldn't focus. It was long past the point where her magic use was starting to affect her health, with a splitting head ache and a burning horn from the constant use.
And then her enemy was next to her, grinning evilly. A variety of emotions crossed her face; surprise, anger, panic, confirmation, but all sunk away when Chrysalis opened her mouth. "Let a professional handle this."
For a second, nothing happened as Chrysalis prepared herself and then, with a single spark, a wave of magic blasted through the ship. It was dark green, and moved like fire in the wind. And it spread, out past the royals, out past the elements, out past the railings, forming a barrier against their enemy, if only for a brief moment.
"Now, Twilight!"
Grinning with glee and powered to the ears with magic, Twilight began the spell of centuries.
To anyone listening who wasn't Twilight, the humming was still just a meaningless drone; white noise amongst a backdrop of magic and talent.
To the bearer of the element of magic though, it was much more. It was more than simple noise, more than just a spell. It was the sound of friendship, of hardship and teamwork and honesty and trust and loyalty and happy days and hopeful tomorrows and so, so much more than the sum of all its parts. It was a song of pure bliss, echoing forward through an ocean of time; standing like a rock facing an oncoming storm.
All Twilight had to do was remove the rock.
The Slax redoubled its efforts, physically pushing itself against the barrier in an attempt to break through. The smell of burning pastry became apparent, but the Slax didn't stop. It could sense, somewhere in its tortured mind, what was going to happen. And it couldn't allow it.
A white light surrounded Twilight and her friends, filling the air in its brilliance. Hooves left the ground and the blessed hum vanished as the elements rose into the air. Twilight didn't dare open her eyes yet though, not until all was perfect. She needed to focus. She needed to feel in tune with all her friends. Unless she could feel Fluttershy's kindness, or Rarity's generosity, the spell would be useless.
And then, it all fell into place, and Twilight opened her eyes, a blinding white light shining forth from within.
Just in time for Chrysalis to falter and for the Slax to break through.
It knew it couldn't waste time, it barely had enough to begin with. A single tentacle, carrying the desperate hopes of the Slax on its back lashed out towards Twilight; pointed like a spear and hardened to steel.
It needed to destroy the leader, the one in charge.
She barely had time to react before it hit her, tearing right through her purple coat and coming out the other side. Her knees buckled out from under her, and Twilight collapsed to the ground, a gaping wound ripped through her stomach.
The Slax wailed in victory, though it was barely indistinguishable from its regular screaming. It had won. It didn't know what it had stopped and its opponent was still in front of it, but the Slax could sense that it wouldn't be a challenge any more.
It was all over.
And then Chrysalis lost the energy to keep up her disguise, fading back from the small frame of Twilight to her usual form as behind her, Twilight finished the spell, spelling the doom of the monster in front of her.
The resulting explosion of energy was enough to completely reduce the Slax to nothingness. Twilight could already cast a spell to destroy Slax normally, powering that up with the elements was an easy feat, the magic that made it all complete. The Slax screamed one last time as the rainbow tore it apart, splitting and breaking its body over and over into smaller pieces. Why did this have to happen to it? What did it do to deserve this?
And with a final shout, the Slax vanished, leaving empty air in its place.
There was no cheering when Twilight lowered her friends back to the deck though, careful to avoid the splotches of green blood marking the ground. Applejack immediately went about comforting Fluttershy, who'd shut her eyes as tight as she could and whimpered herself into a ball. While Twilight wished she could be there with her, there was someone else who needed her help more.
Not caring about the muck building up around her hooves, Twilight moved over to Chrysalis. A pale yellow glow surrounded her, the only evidence that Celestia was doing more than looking on mournfully.
For someone who had a giant hole through their body, Chrysalis was handling it exceptionally well. Maybe she was used to it.
Chrysalis coughed painfully and Twilight waited until she was done to talk. "But...but I don't understand...the books said...why did you do it?"
Through a ragged breath, Chrysalis replied, "If the Slax...killed you, then no one...would be around to stop...the Slax. I had to do it...for the hive. For the ponies. For my lunch. FOR KING ARTHUR!"
For a split second, Twilight forgot all about Chrysalis. The ponies! They were still on the Slax when it exploded! Oh no, where were they, where were they?
Chrysalis gave a pained chuckle. "Don't worry...Twilight. The hive will keep them...safe."
Twilight was already at the railing, staring down at the ground below. The ground, and the horde of changelings flying up to meet her, each one with a stunned pony in their hands.
A sigh of relief went out from every pony on the ship, and Twilight went back to the injured. Her hooves stuck to the ground as she walked back and every step coated her deeper in the Queen's blood, but she couldn't bring herself to care about something so trivial.
There was nothing Twilight could say, no matter how much she racked her brain. Sure, she wanted to say thank you, and sorry, and so many other words, but she couldn't bring herself to say any of those. So instead, she did what she did in times of stress. Fall back to the Princess.
"Can't you do something, Celestia? You're the most powerful unicorn in Canterlot, in Equestria, can't you save her?"
"We all have to go some time, Twilight, even queens. All I can do for her now is make sure she passes painlessly."
"But...but you're the princess! Isn't there a spell, or an artifact or something? We can't...she isn't going to..die, is she?"
Something pushed down on Twilight's back and she turned to look into the eyes of Rainbow. A cyan hoof stretched across her back as she was pulled away. "Come on, Twilight, I don't think we should be watching this."
A quick twist, and Twilight threw her hoof off, rushing back to Chrysalis' side. "No! I can't...we have to do something!"
Another hoof grabbed her, this time from Pinkie Pie. "Twilight, lets go home. We'll have a great party and we'll forget all about this."
Twilight threw her off too. "No, I don't want to forget. There's still so much I don't know, Chrysalis can't die."
"Cake Hips is right, Twilight. Even queens must die. I just have...a couple of requests." Chrysalis said.
"What...what is it?"
"Give me back to the changelings. There's this whole complicated procedure they need to do if they want a new queen, and they need me to start it."
The ship rocked as two changelings flew up from beneath the ship, landing roughly on either side of their queen. It was almost as if they could sense the injuries of their queen. Twilight took a step back as they stood at attention, simply waiting for orders.
"And next, don't believe for a second that this is your fault. If anything, all the blame falls to me, and I'm sorry you had to be dragged into this. I made the Slax and I took you here and I'm the one who should bear the consequences. Just...don't even bother blaming yourself."
Before her workers carry Chrysalis back to the ground though, Celestia felt the need to speak from her heart. "Chrysalis, I don't know what to say. All this time, I thought you were some kind of monster that only cared for yourself. As time went on, and battles raged and ponies vanished and of course, the whole wedding attack, I felt that this was all there was to you. But today, you've made me realise, even if you are a selfish changeling, my student was right in trusting you. Somewhere deep inside you, there is a redeemable element still left."
Chrysalis coughed, "Geeze, you're really bad at this. That's going to be your last words to me? Now I don't regret filling your mattress with wet fish during the wedding."
"So that's what that smell is."
A pile of blood hit the deck as Chrysalis coughed again. "I better get...going...now. I'd rather die...in the hive...than in...the air...surrounded by ponies!" She said, gasping for air.
Twilight was forced to duck as the rest of the swarm caught up to the Loner, carrying their precious cargo with them. Ponies, of every colour and shape were dropped rudely on the ship as the changelings hurried to help their queen. She could barely stand as she threw her weight upon her subjects, trusting them completely to carry her to safety. The buzzing of hundreds of wings flew through the air, so powerful you could feel the vibrations, as Chrysalis was carried over the railing into the sky.
Heavy footsteps clopped next to Twilight as Celestia moved closer, throwing a wing over her apprentice. "When you're ready, Twilight, we can return to Ponyville."
"It's just...I don't understand. Why did she do it? I thought she hated us. Why would she sacrifice herself?"
"I don't think we'll ever know, Twilight."
"But, that answer doesn't explain anything. Did she have a heart? Was everything before that an act? I just don't know, I have so many questions."
Twilight could feel heavy tears growing behind her eyes and fought uselessly to keep them at bay. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I was suppose to change her!"
Celestia gave a weary smile. "I think, maybe you did, Twilight."
A motherly hoof forced itself to Twilight's chin, forcing her to look upwards into the eyes of her mentor. "Let us leave, Twilight. You can mourn better in Ponyville than you ever could here."
"Chapter 9: Changelings. Previously, in chapter six, I mentioned a race of creatures known as changelings living in the western lands. Now, from a distance, the civilisation of the changelings wouldn't look much different from the one found in lands were ponies are the majority. Each one has a central ruler, represented by the presence of both a horn and a pair of wings, each one relies heavily on magic to sustain itself, despite drawing from different sources and both contain different 'classes' that hold the civilisation together. However, in this chapter we shall go into more in depth to the changeling way, to explore what truly makes this race unique from all others in the world."
Hundreds of pages of words smashed together heavily as Twilight flicked the old book closed again. The sound rang through the room in pale contrast to the ticking clock, which continued on its duty of showing the correct time long after Twilight had thrown it against the wall in a fit of rage. Time Turner really did know a thing or to about making clocks to last, Twilight couldn't deny that.
Something terrible wormed its way up her throat, but never actually exited as Twilight stood back up. It wasn't fair. She kept playing that day over in her head, again and again and again.
Every time she closed her eyes, there she was, standing proud on the deck of the ship as the Slax screamed, focusing with all her might. If she'd been a second faster she could have saved her, none of this would have happened.
Perhaps then she would be able to get some sleep.
The cover of the tome flickered in the candlelight and Twilight couldn't bare to look at it. She'd hoped that learning a little bit more about changelings would help her come to grips with everything better, but all that did was bring everything back, stronger than ever.
Her purple aura surrounded the book and Twilight threw it across the room, loose papers fluttering out as it collided with the wall. It wasn't fair! She was suppose to be able to do something, she should have done something. Anything was better than just sitting there blathering while Chrysalis died.
Twilight sighed sadly as she focused again, sweeping all the papers into a neat folder. Spike could pick it up in the morning, Twilight didn't feel like cleaning the house.
She didn't feel like anything, now that it was brought to mind. Surely by now she should have felt hungry, or tired or something to show that two weeks had passed, and yet, here she was, fresh as a fiddle. Or at least, she hoped she was. Did fiddles usually feel numb?
It was a question she usually would have researched; running many different fiddles through hundreds of different tests to find out for sure whether or not fiddles felt anything, but Twilight just couldn't find the energy.
Glancing out the window, Twilight gasped as she recognized the time. Was it really that late already? She was suppose to be asleep hours ago.
Not that she could sleep anyway. There were too many tears on her pillow.
Seconds before Twilight could place a hoof on the stairs though, a low buzzing greeted her ears. It was a familiar sound, but Twilight couldn't figure out what was causing it. She didn't have time to reflect either, as a swift tapping at her door overtook any other sound in the room.
"Must be...be somepony...at..." Twilight froze for a second, struggling to find the simple words. When they did though, it was like a tidal wave of knowledge. "At the door! Oh, oh, somepony is outside, please wait, I'm coming."
The tapping stopped just before Twilight thrust the door open, eager to chat with a friend. It didn't even cross her mind that someone knocking on the door at ten o clock at night was suspicious.
Two pairs of eyes locked on her as the door swung open. Well, one and a half pairs. One of the ponies eyes was currently drifting somewhere up along the ceiling, instead of focusing on the mare in the doorway like it should.
Twilight gave an exhausted yawn, making the first move. "Oh, hello Derpy. What are you doing here? And who's the other pony, I don't think I've met him yet."
The light grey pegasus shuffled her wings into her side, a look that could only be described as determined etched into her face. "Package for miss Twilight Sparkle, residence Ponyville Library, student of Princess Celestia and bearer of the element--"
A chestnut hoof wrapped itself around Derpy's face, stopping her from ranting. "Now now, we don't have time for the full delivery speech. Lets just give her the package and be gone." Lowering his hoof back to the ground, the stallion turned around. "I'm Time Turner, remember? I built you a clock just last winter. At least, I think it was winter, maybe it was spring? Bah, it doesn't matter."
Twilight rubbed her head. Slowly the memories came back; that's right, she had met the Doctor...Time Turner before. Why was it so hard to remember? Without removing her hoof, Twilight extended her greetings. "Do you two want to come in? I could brew up some tea, maybe cook a muffin or two."
Derpy started to nod, before hastily whipping her head from side to side. "No no, no food until all packages are delivered."
Twilight shrugged. "Well, at least I offered." Finally lowering her hoof from her head, the reason she was at the door finally sunk in. "A package? For me? Is it Wednesday already?"
Derpy shook her head, "Nope, quills don't come in till tomorrow."
"A new book then? I ordered one from the Canterlot archives a week ago."
"It doesn't feel like a book, it's too heavy for that."
Twilight combed her brain, trying to figure out what it could be. "So what is it then?"
Jumping to attention, Derpy realised she still hadn't actually delivered the package. With a twist of her wings, she carefully threw it down in front of her, illuminating it in the dark. Twilight's curiosity was only strengthen by the strange package. It was a perfectly square box, wrapped in a tight film of wrapping paper. A single bow made of green lace was wrapped around the lid, keeping its contents safely protected from wandering eyes.
Twilight gave it a small poke, causing it to rock slightly from the force. She estimated it must be nearly full of something, but her best guesses kept coming up with nothing. "Is this it?" She asked.
Derpy shook her head again, "Nope, there was a letter with it."
Twilight waited patiently for Derpy to hand her the letter, twisting her head when she realised Derpy didn't have any plans to. "Uhh, Derpy? The letter? Can I have it?"
"Huh? OH, of course you can, you shouldn't need to ask, that's very unprofessional of me."
Derpy launched a small search of her body to try to find the note. Slowly, her actions sped up, covering more ground in less time as she searched harder. A small whine broke the silence of the night as Derpy searched harder, throwing the bags at her sides open in an attempt to find the letter.
Eventually, she stopped, panting. Water was gathering in her eyes. "I...I can't find...it. I must have...dropped it somewhere. Don't...don't worry though, Twilight. I'm going...going to retrace my steps, and...and I'll find the...the letter again, just wait here."
Twilight raised her hoof to stop Derpy, but she was already flying away by the time she shouted. The steady beat of wings flapping was a reminder to just how slow she was getting in the past few weeks.
A sharp cough to her left caught her attention, and she turned to see Time Turner standing there, a dumb founded grin on his face. He glanced at the pegasus flying away, before waving a sliver of paper through the air.
"I was just about to tell her I had the letter right here..."
Twilight chuckled, god, why couldn't she remember the last time she'd laughed? "I'm sure she'll be fine. If what I've been told is true, this is hardly a rare accident."
Time Turner shared in her laugh. "Well, I wouldn't say that. My Derpy is a bit smarter than most ponies give her credit for."
"If you say so. Letter?"
Time fumbled for a second at the sudden remark, before placing the letter in Twilight's hoof. "I should go and stop her now before she cries herself to death. She does hate it when she screws up like this."
Twilight gave a happy smile, "Don't we all though? You better go. Remember to tell her I said goodbye."
Time Turner nodded, and turned away from Twilight. She didn't even notice, as the letter had grabbed her attention fully. It wasn't made of paper, it felt too brittle for that. Like it would shatter at the smallest jostle. And the wax seal keeping it closed was like none she'd seen before; it seemed to shiver and wave under the light of the moon.
A low buzzing filled the street, and Time Turner sped away into the sky, chasing after his love.
Wait a minute, into the sky?
Twilight looked up quickly, but the duo was already gone. They couldn't have been...changelings, could they? No, her tired mind was just playing tricks on her, she was done with changelings. Why would a changeling even visit her?
Looking back down at the note, Twilight felt strangely scared at its contents.
Swallowing nervously, Twilight broke the wax seal, sending the bottom of the note spiralling towards her legs. Taking a deep breath, Twilight began to read.
"To, the annoying purple one.
Don't look at me like that, you two know which one I'm talking about. Yes, I know you read the letters I send out, that's why I rigged this one to shot Slax out at you when it was opened for the first time. Now stop reading and get delivering, we don't have all day.
I'm sure at this point of the letter you have many questions, Twilight. Well, I'm the queen, I don't need to explain myself to the likes of you. If I choose to keep you in the dark, then that is where you will stay. Maybe you can research yourself an answer. I do sincerely hope that the burns have worn off at this point, I'm told that Equestrian healthcare is a bit higher than my own, but that's beside the point.
I've left you a small gift as thanks for your efforts in protecting my hive. I know this pales in comparison to the hundreds of ponies that are no doubt flooding the market at the moment, but I feel this is more personal. Not to mention, you will enjoy this gift more.
I expect you to be finished by the end of the week. If any more time is needed, simply send a note to 21 and 24.
Expecting your love,
Queen Chrysalis, the undying heart of the swarm the sixth.
P.S. For all it's worth, I would also like to thank you personally, from my own heart. You did a great deed for me, Twilight.
Twilight gave the empty street one last sweep before pulling herself back into the library, the package trailing behind her in a cloud of purple smoke.
The desk in the middle of the room was swept clean as Twilight placed the gift down, throwing everything she had gathered previously into a pile on the floor. Spike could clean that up later anyway.
She would be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit suspicious of the box. Even if Chrysalis had changed, she basically came from an entirely different world. What if it was a severed ponies head, or some kind of perverted plushie, probably depicting a resident of Ponyville who most likely plays a musical instrument and has a strange obsession with previously mentioned bald monkeys?
Twilight's hoof was heavy as she pulled it into the air, laying it to rest on the ribbon tying the box together.
If this was a trap, the smart thing to do would be to call Celestia. She needed to know that Chrysalis was still alive, needed to be prepared.
Twilight lowered her hoof, letting it thump on the ground. Yes, that was the smart thing to do, call Celestia. No time to waste, she needed to know.
It's not like Twilight wanted to open the gift. It was probably dangerous anyway, I mean, it's not like Chrysalis had access to never before seen knowledge. Or an entire kingdom of gifts to choose from. Or several ancient artifacts just laying around.
Actually, Twilight wasn't sure on that last one, but that was beside the point. She needed to see what was inside.
Throwing herself at the box, Twilight ripped the top off like a child on Christmas morning.
The box didn't explode, so that was a good sign. Peering into the box, Twilight lifted its contents out one by one.
The first was a pile of dusty books. The edges of the pages were fraying from age and the ink inside was staining down the paper. Each was written in a language Twilight couldn't decode, probably some kind of changeling language, but that didn't matter, since each was marked in the order from one to ten, with Equestrian footnotes inserted into the margins of each page, explaining the contents within. From a brief glance, it seemed to be some form of instruction manual, or perhaps a brief exploration of recent changeling history?
The next thing was even stranger. Vines, maybe? Or perhaps tubes? Tubes and containers, both coloured a dark green and glowing slightly in the dark. Occasionally, one of the containers would make a strange noise and shoot out a liquid Twilight could only describe as 'soupy.' Despite this though, more Equestrian writing was carved into the side of the 'main' container, simply saying 'Dummy's First Slax Kit.'
Finally, Twilight lifted out something that seemed out of place.
It was a small, hoof sized tube. Not like the tubes for the Slax set, but an actual manufactured tube. A large lid was screwed onto the top, though that did little to stop the whole thing from shaking every couple of seconds.
A tiny amount of magic went into the capsule as Twilight lifted it in front of her face. The plastic tube did very little to revealing its contents. There was only one way to find out.
Holding the capsule out in front of her, Twilight instinctively leaned back, well out of range should anything explode or go wrong.
Despite how desperately she wanted to open the container and find out what was inside, a basic sense of danger and intelligence held her back. She was a smart pony, she shouldn't be doing this.
The thing was shaking for crying out loud. If it didn't explode, then something was going to jump out of it and claw her face off. She'd probably get severely injured, or worse. Only an idiot would open something like that without the proper precautions in place.
Twilight clicked her head to the side. Huh, guess Chrysalis was right about her.
The top of the tube blasted off with nothing but a small popping noise in its path. Twilight slowly removed her arms from around her head, glad it hadn't exploded. Chrysalis wasn't as bad as she claimed to be.
Floating the device over to her, time seemed to slow down as Twilight gazed inside. The sheer horror of what she was seeing rivalled anything she'd fought before. She could stare down Nightmare Moon, could fight Discord on his own ground, could even gaze upon the Queens jiving rear without going mad, but nothing could have prepared her for this.
She could feel her mind fraying at the edges, trying their best not to comprehend what she was seeing. The container slammed into the ground as Twilight convulsed, trying to keep control of her body.
"Its..." She choked out.
"Its..."
"Its..."
"Nothing."
"Twilight? Twilight, wake up! Wake up, Twilight!"
Twilight groaned loudly as she forced her eyes open. A large burn mark had created a permanent circle on her roof, she'd have to make sure Spike fixed that when he got the chance.
Speaking of Spike, he was directly on top of Twilight. Really, she should have noticed that first.
"Spike?"
"Twilight! You're awake. I was beginning to worry."
"What...happened?"
Spike rubbed the back of his head. "I was hoping you could tell me. I came downstairs and found you passed out on the floor. Are you alright?"
Rubbing her eyes, Twilight stood back up. Looking around at her messed up library, Twilight could only relate her experience in a single form.
"Spike, do you remember when we bought a gyrobowl?"
And so ends Chapter 10, a deeper inspection on the first real diplomatic involvement with the changeling race, which ended the way all diplomatic relations do, with neither side coming to understand each other and an entirely unnecessary amount of dangerous magic being thrown around no tangible reason.
We hope that you have enjoyed this observation on the nation of Equestria, and for those looking to further their knowledge, advise that they pick up the next series, aptly titled 'oh shit, mate, what are you doing? (and other wonderful tales.)'
And with that said, I wish you all; fair readers, a good night.