//------------------------------// // chapter twenty eight // Story: Changeling Heart and the New Moon // by ambion //------------------------------// Changeling Heart and the New Moon chapter twenty eight For all the menace of the magical gale fixed on Luna and her dread portal, both broke and dissipated rather peacefully. The swirling energies quieted to nothing worse than an evening’s breeze. The portal diminished like shadows before a candle and was no more. The twisted, warped claws extending from Luna were the only aberration to remain of her display. Wane saw them for what they were, without obstruction. They began to recede without trace into Luna, but Wane already knew the memory of them was going to be with him for a long time. There was no natural way of describing the misshapen forms, for there was nothing of nature about them. They were like the legs of misbegotten spiders and disjointed bones, tarlike and bilious under a skin of something thick, stretched and glistening. They dissolved back into Luna’s form until there was only her and the jewel held in hoof. He wondered how Luna must have felt. There came a long moment where nopony said anything, nor moved. It felt like courage just to blink. Under the darkening sky, Luna let out a deep breath, finally noticing the prickle of sweat on her brow and the edge of heaviness to her breathing. She stared at the stormy gray jewel, recalling the pegasus as an afterthought. The blood had drained from Wane’s face, giving his already pale coat a ghostly semblance, a look that Luna had to admit rather suited the circumstances. His eyes, the very same as his brother’s, played at the same unfixed suggestions of various tints and hues. The fear in them, however, was a constant. “What?” he managed to say, like a gulp in reverse. What is that jewel? What are you doing? What were those things? What are you? What is all this about? She wondered which question he was asking, if any. Probably all of them to think of it, but then, hadn’t she been doing the very same, and for a great deal longer? Luna wasn’t upset about it. She might have been, if he’d backed away as he said it, if his fear had outweighed his trust. But it didn’t, and Luna was very grateful in the privacy of her heart for that. She looked back to her jewel, or perhaps more aptly, not just a thing that was hers, but was her. Part of her. She touched it, just to feel it was really there. It was both a strange new thing to her and something so exceedingly familiar that the concept of it being apart from her at all was unnerving. Luna understood better than most ponies that magic was by its very nature dramatic - the same way the random formation of snowflakes somehow always made stunningly beautiful geometries, regardless how the individual flakes fell. The stormy gray jewel roiled on, like an actual cloud that had been scrunched down much too tight and was straining at the seams. It was as apt a form as any Luna could think of for the surging, conflicted emotions it represented. Tampering with a pony’s true selves was one of Discord’s oldest, and nastiest, tricks. In Luna’s case particularly so, and it had been all the more cruel for the simplicity of it. All these long years it had lingered with her. The united sisters vanquished him long ago. To spite them, Discord made her love him. Simple as that. Worse still, in the same way someone defends a bloody thorn from anything that might risk the pain of pulling it out, Discord hadn’t even meant the the spell for her. It had been meant for Celestia. Luna sighed and forced her thoughts back to the present. She’d been hoping that just being willing to take back a piece of herself would be enough for it to actually happen. This was not the case, and the jewel stubbornly refused to fall back into her the same way the darkness had. She had a suspicion of what she had to do make it work, not liking it at all. She let it fall to the ground without ceremony. The nightmare just under her consciousness cocked the proverbial eyebrow. The jewel bounced once, then rolled to a stop. There was the slightest suggestion of an unnatural shadow in the twilight as Luna raised her hoof above the little sphere. Chrysalis had accused her, more than once, of being unnecessarily dramatic. But magic did, after all, tend for a bit of flair in its own right. Luna clamped her jaw tight as she could, in the hope she could stifle the coming scream. The jewel filled her gaze. Some primeval capacity within the monster for understanding saw what she was doing - through her own eyes, no less - and set the nightmare railing against her. The strongest surge of dizziness and pain yet welled up within her, but Luna’s focus didn’t sway, even as everything else did. There might have been the tragically beautiful sound of the jewel shattering, but if there was, it was lost to Luna’s unseemly yelp. Wane rushed to her aid. “I’m okay, I’m okay,” she insisted. She looked down, but there was nothing left of it, not even fragments. At least she didn’t have to worry about getting splinters. Only a lingering glow of moonlight remained to suggest anything at all had been. Her chest knotted and tensed as if her heart was physically moving to reaccommodate a lost piece of it. It hurt. A lot. She looked up and gasped. Luna stared at the petrified draconequus for a moment, letting her thoughts and feelings fall into place like so many snowflakes, turning disparity to a pristine, peaceful blanket. Her eyes traced over his body, and yes, there was yearning and loss, loathing and love, but these things did not torment her so severely as they once had. The feeling of resolution settled on her, even if she wasn’t sure who or what had been resolved. She realized the pegasus was staring the same open, shameless stare of awe that the foals had had for her. To Luna’s great surprise, her cheeks went a touch warmer. “What?” she asked. “There was this look about you. Like everything really will be alright, even after all this.” Luna thought about that. She could feel the nightmare within her: confused and threatened. She’d undone a piece of the damage already, patched a hole into that darkness. She could beat this, she realized. There’d always been a chance, she knew in a cold, empty way, for some kind of success. But now there was real hope within her. It was wonderful, and terrifying. Luna hadn’t realized just how draining her magical efforts had been until she turned to leave the solemn gardens. Wane fell in beside her, unspoken questions buzzing around him. She knew where she had to go. Chrysalis was right about that much - Luna did harbour a dramatic soul, and some things just had to be done right. With that in mind, she set off to the city’s heart. Something about castles just drew interesting times to them like magnets. The ruins in the Everfree stood as testament to - not one, but two - colossal defeats. That had been Nightmare Moon’s doing, of course, and Luna found herself smiling at the thought. It’d be night soon, and this time it was her turn. Chrysalis was not a happy changeling. On her way through Canterlot she’d been kicked, punched, shot, tangled up - she sniffed the air, then quickly batted at the smoldering mess of her mane - and had caught fire at some point. Neither was she happy about having to rely on the remaining two jewels for her strength. Not only could they seemingly be torn away at any time, she’d already seen just how heady, even poisonous they could be to a lesser changeling. She was exhausted, stomping her way onwards on sheer prideful, stubborn inertia. On the upside, the ponies that had pursued her were equally exhausted and had been driven off, having been kicked, punched, shot, tangled up... Chrysalis was quite alone when she came down the last street. The smoking, smoldering, scorched, snarling Queen that stormed up to the castle doors could give even the unformed nightmare a run for its bits. Two nervous recruits were all that barred the way, holding crossed spears. They were about to get a lot more nervous. Chrysalis glared. One youth squeaked something at her that might have been a shout to stop. She didn’t. At ten steps away the ponies trembled so much that their spears clattered against one another. One of the guards dropped his and bolted. The other turned to follow, but made the mistake of looking Chrysalis in the eye. His legs failed him and he collapsed, hiding his face in his hooves and whimpering. The Queen of changelings passed him by feeling a little better about herself, though she was still very worn. She trudged her way through the ornate gates, trying to think of something clever to say. Nothing was forthcoming. Snorting her disdain, Chrysalis carried on in silence. The castle was made to show off, and in her time prior to the invasion the Queen of changelings had memorized the basic layout. It wasn’t hard, with big, polished and shiny mementos everywhere. Her black hooves trod the familiar marble but for all the grandeur it was hollow. Empty, and waiting with baited breath on her next move. Chrysalis’ thoughts wandered, much like how the pale colours of the stained glass windows slipped along her slender, dark form. And there was Shining Armour, fixed fast with concentration and sweating, completely vulnerable. He hadn’t noticed her presence. Chrysalis was more worried for her changelings than delighted at her sudden prospects with finding good captain. It was a realization that did not come as some great insight, merely one that made her somewhat sulky, like a foal might be, that she didn’t have time to stay around and torment him so. Without a word she strode up to the entranced unicorn, striking him a blow to the jaw so hard he spun around as he toppled and skidded across the floor. Her hoof actually hurt from the force of it, but that only made her bare her fangs in a smile. She pinned him and waited the better part of a moment for his head to clear. “Hello, lover.” The unicorn’s eyes fumbled and rolled as they struggled to fix on the towering changeling over him. Shining growled something, but winced as he tried to say it. Chrysalis kneeled until her lips were at his ear. “Hurts, doesn’t it? I’m sure I owe you a few more than that though.” She stood back up, making no issue of using his body as a prop for her weight. “The shield,” she commanded, “drop it.” She was very tired, and not in the spirits for their usual fun. She wondered if her people were holding out. If they’d panicked and scattered, if that very instant they were being dragged to the ground, kicking and screaming and afraid. She wondered if she could have lead more guards away, could have disrupted their ranks more than she had. She wondered if Surreal was holding herself together, and the male, Beetle, still kept her safe. Then she wondered why the damn captain wasn’t doing as she said. Chrysalis kicked him in the ribs as reward for his insolence, grunting out her frustration as she did so. He coughed spittle onto the nice shiny floor. “Just lower it, Shining. It’ll go easier for you if you do.” He glared and choked out another viscous few drops. The glow of magic to his horn was persistent; it was getting at Chrysalis’ frayed and already naturally short temper. If he would just break the spell she could be done here. Finished with everything; the whole mess with Luna, all of it. She wouldn’t have to keep beating him to force him. His resistance was making her angry, and she had barely the energy to deal with it. The pink hoof didn’t have the same strength that Chrysalis could manage, but it slapped her with such vicious emotion that it struck right down past physical pain and left the Queen of changelings bewildered and dumbfounded. She turned to look in disbelief at an angry little Cadence, then raised her holey hoof to her cheek. It had been like being suddenly savaged by a downy pillow. She exchanged a stupefied look with Shining Armor, who was equally dazed. She looked back to Cadence. “How dare you?” The little mare - at least, in comparison to the changeling - shouted in her shrill octave. “Do you know what you’ve done? Do you even care?” The princess’ face was not one used to anger and the emotion contorted it in strange, even funny ways. Cadence stormed forwards and, to Chrysalis’ infinite duress, found her hooves baulking away of their own initiative. At the edge of thought, Chrysalis caught the whiff of love oozing deep and rich through the alicorn. She drew in as much of it as she could, quickly as she could, readying herself to give the riled princess a burning blast of changeling counter-argument when something small, dark and screaming latched itself to Chryaslis’ face. It was a pony in that it had four legs, wings, and a cutie mark, somewhere under the battering limbs. To Chrysalis’ changeling senses, it was an abomination. She pushed it away, as fast and hard as her magic allowed. With a sad, wet smack Wax the pegasus crashed into the wall and fell to the floor. He didn’t get up. His chest heaved, and his eyes flared wildly every which way. Cadence flipped from fury to concern in an instant and rushed to his side, bathing him in a gentle light. Chrysalis could see it clearly; trying to close gaping wounds with stickers. Wounds she’d inflicted. Guilt plunged its stinger into the Queen of changelings; she was nauseated with the poison of it. The shadows settled like a thick frost; indeed, the light retreated away from the open spaces and a sudden chill rode the air, snuffing out the little sounds. The colour drained away from the walls, leaving a midnight blue, while the figures of the bright windows took on strange and abstract forms in the dying light. Night began in earnest, at precisely its anointed time. A dark shape flitted across the hall, heading straight for Cadence and Wax. Chrysalis stepped back, trying to keep everypony ahead of her. “Wax!” Wane called, squirming his way past the unresisting alicorn to hold his brother. Wax fixed on him, his trembling stilled, then clutched Wane as if the pegasus were the last anchor in the world and to let go would drag Wax away. Cadence and Shining glared at the changeling, their focused, cold and controlled fury mirrored in one another’s eyes. The unicorn pulled himself painfully to his hooves. Chrysalis ignited her horn with what reserves she’d managed to build up. She bared her fangs, but her eyes betrayed her fear when they flicked to the grandiose entrance. She’d never been of the calculating sort, but even she was starting to realize that driving onwards through half an army to the heart of pony civilization, alone, was something of a reckless overextension. “You know that I’ve always loved you very much, but it is time that you die. Time that I killed you.” The magically bolstered voice of Luna, surging through the castle, blasted through manes and curtains alike. It sounded sad more than anything. Sad and resolved. “No!” Celestia cried from somewhere above. The sharp notes of fear had no chance to escape before an explosion of dark magic pulsed down through the ceiling and walls, knocking the senses from everyone. For the second time in as many hours, Chrysalis felt the vile, unnatural claws of power rooting through her magic. In all of a heartbeat they seized on the black jewel which flared once with the pained, last shriek of a bird caught in a falcon’s grip, then was gone. Chrysalis fell to her knees, feeling curiously detached and unconcerned. Everything seemed to slow down as she watched the last of her strength bleed away; a few emerald embers that spilled into the air like oil before being consumed by the ravenous dark.