//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: The Reception // by sister_mike //------------------------------// Chapter 13 Twilight Sparkle "H-How could Princess Luna be in a cocoon!? She said Chrysalis's magic didn't work on her!" Twilight sputtered. "She's not unconscious though! She's tryin' to get out," Applejack said. Chrysalis laughed. "My magic has grown even stronger than I had thought! My dark powers can now overpower Luna's!" Luna yelled something from within her cocoon, her voice inaudible. She banged hard on the cocoon, but it would not break. "Do not worry sister; I shall free you, as you freed me," Celestia said firmly. Her horn glowed and she shot a beam of magic at the cocoon—but it did not work. The small hole the magic had created quickly regenerated and fixed itself. Chrysalis cackled louder. She shot a ray of green magic at the cocoon and it thickened, Luna becoming barely visible. Celestia growled in anger and took a step towards Chrysalis. "It is foolish to think you can change her as you changed me Chrysalis," Celestia said, "You know that it will not work. Discord told you as much." "But it is already beginning to work! The firssst sstep is imprisoning her, and I have achieved that! With a little bit more power, I can and I will transform Luna. I will transform you back and I will eventually get Cadance as well! You three will be my puppeteers as I eventually take over the whole world! Finally, me and my changelings will have the land we deserve, and we will no longer be second class citizens to ponies and other creaturess!" Chrysalis said. She charged at Celestia and they locked horns. Twilight turned to her friends. "We need to get Princess Luna out of there, pronto," Twilight said. "On it," Rainbow Dash said. She flew in the air and went up to the cocoon. She began punching, pulling and poking at it. She even tried tearing it apart with her teeth. "It's different than the ones we were in," Rainbow Dash said. "Is it like the crystal Cadance was in?" Twilight asked. "No; it's different from that too," Rainbow Dash said. "What are we going to do? If Celestia's magic didn't work, there's no way my magic is going to," Twilight said, as she began to pace frantically. Rainbow Dash continued to try and tear the cocoon apart by hoof, but to no avail. "What if we try the Elements of Harmony on it?" Applejack asked. "That might just work! Rainbow Dash, come back down here and get in formation," Twilight said, "Don't worry Princess Luna, we'll get you out!" Twilight wasn't sure if she could hear her. The ponies got in formation again and began to channel their energy. Suddenly, something blistering hot and sharp struck Twilight. She flew across the room, a scream escaping from her lips. Chrysalis cackled, her horn steaming from the blast. "Twilight! Are you alright?" Rarity asked, as she rushed towards you. Twilight didn't give a proper answer. She was pretty sure the exact words that left her mouth were "aassshdfhhhaaaaahhh!", but she couldn't be 100% certain. She slowly opened her eyes, glossy from tears, and saw that there was a blistering welt on her shoulder where she had been struck. "W-what happ-ppened?" Twilight asked, unable to stop her voice from cracking. She was in so much pain. "She's grown so powerful," Pinkie Pie said, kneeling on Twilight's other side, "Chrysalis hit you without even breaking contact with Celestia." "She did it almost instanteously, like she didn't even need to think about it," Fluttershy said. "Watch out!" Rainbow Dash suddenly dove to the ground and tackled Pinkie to the ground, a beam of magic hitting the wall. A hole appeared in the wall, melting it away. Chrysalis laughed again. "W-we need to try to use the E-Elements of Harmony to free Luna," Twilight winced, as she stood. It hurt to stand. The leg connected to her shoulder was in tremendous pain if she tried to put any weight on it. Pinkie Pie held her up for support. Chrysalis shot a strong beam of magic at Celestia. It hit Celestia hard and she flew across the room. She hit the wall with a hard thud, but stood up immediately, despite the loud crack and now odd angle that her left wing was at. Chrysalis cackled and flew in the air, standing in front Luna's cocoon. "You cannot beat me! I am too powerful for the likes of you pathetic poniess!" she screeched. She shot a few more rays towards the mane 6, all of them diving out of the way, one of them singeing Rarity's tail. "We need to try!" Twilight shouted. "But we're not in formation!" Applejack yelled back. "Doesn't matter! Just concentrate on your Element!" Twilight said. She didn't dare close her eyes. She focused on the cocoon behind Chrysalis, and tried to concentrate as the energy slowly began to flow through her. She began to rise off the ground, the others in their various spots doing the same. Chrysalis growled at them and readied another blow, but Celestia jumped out of nowhere and tackled the changeling queen to the ground. Twilight was impressed, though not surprised, that the princess could jump that high, despite her broken wing. The energy flowed through Twilight and she could feel the power of the other Elements in the room. She gathered the energy, aimed it and shot it at the cocoon. The cocoon was enveloped with a rainbow glow, and then burst into flames, disintegrating. Luna gracefully landed on the ground, as did the Element bearers. She nodded her head in thanks and turned her attention to Chrysalis. Chrysalis knocked Celestia off of her, her face twisted in rage. Celestia stumbled over to the ponies, Luna catching her before she could fall. "Thank you, sister," Celestia said. "Anything for you," Luna said in response. The two shared a look, and then both of them turned to Chrysalis. Chrysalis continued to snarl in rage. Luna took a step towards her, her face stern, her mouth opening to say something, when Celestia quickly shot out her foreleg and held her sister back. Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing. Chrysalis's face continued to twist and snarl, though it looked like it was more than just the rage. Smoke began to surround her body and created a cocoon around her. Small shocks of lightning came out of the mini-cloud cocoon, but then the black cloud began to encompass the whole room. The lightning became stronger and the cocoon began to grow bigger. A maniacal, dark laugh filled the room. When the cloud cocoon dissipated, Twilight's jaw fell open. Fluttershy screamed behind her, and Rarity nearly fainted. Standing in front of them, at least ten feet tall was Chrysalis. Her eyes were bright red, her body somehow blacker than before. Her wings seemed to expand the entire room's length, and they were sickly and scaly. Her tail no longer matched her sick green mane; instead, it was the same, tick scales that covered her wings, and there was a sharp spade point at the end. Her tongue seemed longer and more snakelike. Her horn looked as though it could penetrate the hardest shell, and her teeth were sharper and more jagged. "W-What just happened?" Rainbow Dash whispered. "She's transformed," Luna whispered, her eyes wide. "Into what?" Twilight asked. "A monster."