//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: A Matter of Perspective // by Vic Fontaine //------------------------------// Chapter 5 Despite not spending much time in Canterlot after Ponyville became her new home, Twilight still knew every shortcut that the expansive city had to offer to anypony who was curious enough to look for them. She used every single one of them as she screamed through streets, darted down back alleys, and slid through seemingly inaccessible walkways, willing every last shred of her energy into her legs. She swung onto the central road that led directly to the castle, the sight of the massive golden front gates in the distance refueling the unicorn's already burning legs, urging her faster still. Her mane and tail streamed behind her as she ran, creating a pink and purple trail that nearly rivaled the one left behind by Rainbow as she flew. Hooves thundered off of the smooth cobblestone streets, each report echoing off of the grand buildings to either side, giving off the aural effect of an entire stampede. With a quick flick of her horn, Twilight threw open the castle gates mere seconds before she would have crashed into them, charging into the main gardens with reckless abandon. Finally skidding to a halt, Twilight's legs nearly collapsed underneath her from the strain. Not willing to sit for even a second, she allowed herself a slight lean into a nearby light pole while she collected her thoughts, and waited for her breath to catch back up. Owing to her many years spent under the tutelage of Princess Celestia, Twilight knew the castle like the back of her hoof. Even so, the castle and its surrounding grounds were huge, and searching all of that area would take far too long for any single pony. Quickly sifting through spells in her head, Twilight settled on one that she thought would work. In effect, it was a sonar spell, designed specifically for locating pegasi. The fact that pegasi had magical energy of their own was well known, but not much had ever been made over it, either. Unicorns used their magic in ways that suited their needs on the ground, and pegasi used their magic to take to the skies, and of course to control the weather. On the occasion that a pegasi veered off course, or suffered an accident, unicorns would use this spell to locate the lost pegasi, following their magical 'signature' to its source. Twilight drew a sharp breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled slowly, lifting a hoof in front of her as she let the air escape her still burning lungs. Relishing the small moment of calm that the action afforded her, she closed her eyes, channeling the sonar spell into the tip of her horn. Instead of sharpening the spell into a defined line of magic, Twilight slowly relaxed her mind's grip on her magical aura, reforming it into a glowing circle, small waves of magenta emanating from the bright spot at the tip of her horn. Satisfied that the spell was stabilized, Twilight sent a surge of magic through her horn, raising the charge in the spell exponentially. For a brief second, the tip of her horn lit the gardens in bright magenta, as a larger wave of magic pulsed out in all directions from the unicorn. Seconds passed as she waited silently for the spell to report back its findings, the only sound in the unicorn's ears the rapid beating of her heart, each one seeming to take an eternity of its own. Ping. The tell-tale report from the spell sounded in her mind, letting Twilight know that a signature had been found. Focusing the spell to focus on the general direction of the signature, she released another tighter wave from her horn, trying to pinpoint the location of the signature. Pin... The report returned faster this time, but seemed significantly weaker than before. So far as Twilight could tell, the signature had not moved much, which could only mean one thing. Snapping the spell with a flick of her horn, Twilight reared up on her hind legs, then shot off through the gardens towards the source of the now fading signature. Rainbow was near the center of the castle. And she was in trouble. Twilight's legs quickly protested the renewed running motion, but she paid it no mind. Darting through rows of flowers and hedges, she kept her aim squarely on the grand entry way at the front of the castle, it's tall alabaster doors gleaming in the growing moonlight, the gold trimming surrounding them as reflective at night as it was during the day. Nearing the edge of the garden, Twilight launched herself into the air, her purple frame just clearing the top of the last hedge wall. Landing on the well-paved walkway mid-stride, she willed more speed into her legs, bounding up the gleaming white staircase that led to the castle doors. Her intimate knowledge of the castle's layout paid off again, as she immediately turned to her left as she passed through the doors, aiming for the grand staircase near the center of the welcoming hall. Twilight raced up the winding staircase, the sound of her hooves temporarily muffled by the plush red carpets that lined the staircase. Reaching the top of the stairs, she again darted to her left, heading for the East wing of the castle, and the only place that Rainbow could be - the Throne Room. Twilight made no attempt at subtlety with her approach, galloping down the marble-tiled hallway like a mare possessed, her hooves nearly putting chips into the tiles as she slammed them down with each lunge forward. Nearing the end of the hall, Twilight skidded to a stop, the polished marble offering her very little in the way of speed reduction. Setting her jaw, she slowly opened the door to the throne room with a flick of her horn, prepared to fight whatever lie on the other side. Stepping through the open door, she found the usually bright room eerily dim, the only source of light emanating from a pedestal in the center of the room, upon which sat a massive orb, it's entire surface covered with tendrils of crackling green energy. Celestia, that is huge, she thought. This must be the magic amplifier - I've never seen a magic orb that could even attempt to hold that much energy. How do you destroy something like this? First though, I need to find Rai-- Her thought was interrupted by her eyes, as they caught the faintest hint of a shadow in the glow of the monstrous orb. Twilight took a few steps forward, her eyes completing their adjustment to the unnaturally lit room. Cutting through the green glow, she caught sight of a set of blue wings, their owner facing away from the unicorn. "Rainbow? Rainbow!", Twilight called out to the pegasus, increasing her speed to close the distance between them quickly. She stopped a few paces behind the still seated pegasus, a look of worry crossing her face at the lack of reaction to her repeated calls to the mare. "Rainbow? Are you ok? Please, say something, anything, if you can hear me!" A cold fear began creeping up from Twilight's hooves, racing through her body like lightning. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her heart in her chest instead of her throat, as she placed a hoof on the mare's shoulder as she stepped around to face the pegasus directly. As if on cue, a pair of eyelids slowly rose, the eyes beneath them rising to match the unicorn's violet gaze. One magenta eye -- and one bright green. Twilight's mind ground to a halt, her veins turning to pure ice faster than even a Windego could hope to accomplish. Her jaw slackened as the color drained from her face, her face locked onto the twisted eyes of the pegasus in front of her, a dull magenta eye nearly overpowered by the ethereal glow of the green iris next to it. Tears welling up in the corner of her eyes as the possibility of failure flooded her still frozen mind, she forced herself to speak. "Rainbow? Are you still there? Can you hear me? Please, say something to let me know you're still in there!" The blue pegasus raised her head, bringing both of her eyes in full view of the slowly crumbling unicorn. Furrowing her brow, Rainbow let out a raw growl, her dull magenta eye increasing in brightness for a split second, the still free part of her mind struggling to hold onto its tenuous grip of reality. Feeling her mental grip quickly receding, Rainbow rushed out the only word she could think of: "Run." Twilight gaped in horror as Rainbow collapsed to the ground, the magenta in her left eye fading even more than before. Her right eye, already consumed in a in a bright green glow, gleamed with renewed intensity. "She doesn't have much time. I need to destroy this thing now!", Twilight said to herself. She turned back towards the pedestal, but before she could take a step, a crackling, evil laugh pierced the silence of the Throne Room. "You'd be wise to heed your friend's parting advice, you stupid foal!", came a distorted, evil voice from the shadows. "Not that running would do you any good, of course." Staring past the glowing pedestal, Twilight saw Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changelings, emerge from the shadows. Her jet black coat framed by a teal mane and tail, all of which were marked with holes and indentations. Flaring her tattered, insect-like wings, the Queen's elongated green pupils stared down at Twilight, a purely evil sneer crossing the fangs that passed for the Queen's teeth. "In fact, I'd much rather you not try to run. Tiring you out now will only delay my plans.", she spat at the unicorn. "I know what you're up to, Chrysalis, and I won't let you get away with it!", replied Twilight, her eyes narrowing to the most imposing angle that she could muster as she stepped towards the Queen. "I won't let you steal the identities of every pony in Equestria!" Laughing derisively, the Queen looked over to the orb, still crackling with unearthly levels of energy. "So, you figured it out, already? It took you less time than I thought. Perhaps I did not give 'Celestia's favorite student' enough credit.", nearly spitting the words onto the ground as she spoke. "It is no matter though. My plan is well underway, and soon, my army of ponies will begin to assemble." Glaring down at the still prone pegasus behind Twilight, the Queen continued. "I knew Celestia would send her protégé to try and stop me, and I knew that the Element of Loyalty would never let you go alone. Trapping the pegasus was all too easy, you see. And now,", raising her voice to a thunderous level, "her transformation is nearly complete, and when it is, I will use her loyalty to me to build my entire army!" Twilight's blood boiled beneath the surface, her mind recognizing the need to act immediately if she had any hope to stop the Queen. But, she needed a distraction to buy time. An idea hit her, and she acted immediately. With a flick of her horn, the massive door to the Throne Room slammed shut behind them. Chrysalis turned to the noise, taking a few steps away to see if anything was actually there. Knowing that she had only seconds to act, Twilight's horn flared to life, her mind willing as much magic as she could into the tip of her horn. Focusing her mind, the glow at the end of her horn intensified, mere seconds away from unleashing itself onto the massive orb. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, foal!", the Queen recovering from the distraction faster than Twilight had hoped. Still, the unicorn maintained her magic, aiming her horn directly at the orb. "Or what, Chrysalis? You'll zap my mind too? You might take me, but not before I blow this orb straight to Tartarus." The Queen cackled at Twilight, the dual echo of her laugh bouncing around the Throne Room. "Did you really think I did not anticipate just such a threat from you? Really, you are too predictable, you impudent child." As she spoke, she levitated a smaller orb from under her teal mane, holding it in a blazing harlequin glow in front of her. "You may be willing to sacrifice yourself, but are you willing to sacrifice your friend too?" Twilight's eyes focused on the small orb. "What do you mean?!" A mocking tone laced the Queen's nearly out of sync voice. "What I mean is, if you destroy that weapon, I will destroy Rainbow Dash!" She spun the orb in the air, levitating it further towards the unicorn, her purple horn still one command away from lashing out at the Queen's weapon. "The mind of one of the Elements - especially the Element of Loyalty - would be a terrible thing to waste. So, before beginning the conversion spell, I collected her entire mind in this orb. Not only will it serve as a perfect template for future leaders of my armies, but it will also stop foals like you from doing something foolish." Twilight's mind raced in circles. She had to destroy that weapon, or the Queen would bring war to Equestria from the inside out. But, she could not - would not - sacrifice a friend. Not for anything. Sweat dripped down her neck and into her mane as she careened from thought to thought, all the while maintaining the pent up magic at the tip of her horn. "Well, foal, which will it be?", said the Queen, clamping down on the small orb with her magic, eliciting a small crunch from the orb as it reacted to the increased pressure. "NO!!", screamed Twilight, bitter tears burning her eyes. "I will never sacrifice Rainbow Dash! She is my friend, and she means the world to me!" Twilight's words echoed through the Throne Room like a rolling peel of thunder from the Everfree. Celestia, forgive me. Twilight relaxed her mind, and the energy at the tip of her horn faded to nothing. Behind her, a blue ear twitched in response, unseen by all present. Letting out a mocking chuckle, the Queen relaxed her grip on the smaller orb, returning it to her tattered mane. Turning back to the exhausted unicorn, she bared her fangs in full as an all-encompassing sneer crossed her face. "As I expected, you possess almost as much loyalty as the Element of Loyalty herself. Which will be to my benefit, as you will soon be joining your friend to build an unstoppable army for me. With unending loyalty, and nearly limitless magical powers, Celestia will have no choice but to bow to Chrysalis!!", an ear splitting cackle punctuating her last words. Lowering her head, the jagged horn atop the Queen's head began to shimmer in flames of green, as she channeled her magic for what Twilight knew would be the final blow. As energy continued to gather on her horn, the Queen issued one final insult to the purple unicorn. "I read the pegasus's mind when I copied it, and you shouldn't be too upset with yourself for failing to save your friend. She wasn't expecting you to anyway. In fact, her last memories were of a pony in a white coat coming to her rescue, not you. Unfortunately for you, you'll never get to ask her about it, because you are at your end!" The labcoat...Rosetta. Despite the situation, a small smile crept across Twilight's sweaty, matted face. Sensing that she had only seconds left before ceasing to exist as Twilight Sparkle, she offered a final retort to the Queen. "You're wrong, Chrysalis. I'm exactly who she was expecting." With a final, thunderous roar, the Queen unleashed a bolt of magic at the purple unicorn. The darkened room erupted in a blaze of light as the blazing green lance ran headlong into a bolt of solid magenta, the two reels of magic crackling against each other like a lightning storm. On either end of the maelstrom stood the Changeling Queen and Twilight Sparkle, both the two magical ponies locked in a battle of wills as much as strength. Twilight braced herself on her hind legs, pouring everything she had into keeping the Queen's killing blow at bay. "Insolent fool!!", yelled the Queen, her off canter voice still booming over the roar of the deadlocked magic streams. "Your resistance will be your undoing, foal! You will submit, or be destroyed!!" In the back of her mind, Rainbow's reminder rang in her head. The Elements are all inside of each of us. That goes for you too, Twi. Twilight opened her mind, allowing memories of each Element at their best to flood the back of her mind. Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Laughter, and Loyalty. All connected, all building on the strength of the others. As if unlocking an unseen door in her mind, Twilight let the memories of her friends flood her core of magical ability. Screaming at the top of her lungs, Twilight sent a massive burst of energy through her horn, driving the competing green bolt of magic nearly back to its source. Gritting her teeth from exertion, Twilight raised her own voice as loud as she could. "Then I gladly meet my end, Chrysalis! You may stop me, and you may even stop the magic of friendship...." Narrowing her eyes to pin points, she bellowed what she expected to be her final words: "But you will never stop the power of love. Not now, not ever!" Letting out a roar that would have shattered every window in the castle had they not been enchanted against it, the Queen's power intensified exponentially, filling the room with a sickening green light as her magic quickly regained its lost progress, bearing down on the purple unicorn. Twilight realized that the Queen must be drawing energy directly from the still glowing orb on the pedestal, but she could not divert a shred of energy to break the connection. Her eyes became flooded with green energy, as the advancing wall of energy closed in on her. fighting with every last bit of strength that she had, she closed her eyes, imagining her friends one last time. In the midst of the titanic struggle, neither pony had noticed the empty space where a blue pegasus had once laid. "TWILIGHT!!!!" The unicorn's eyes shot open in time to see a cyan blur race across the room, aimed directly at Chrysalis. Diving low across the floor, the chromatic streak jerked upwards at the last possible second, slamming into the side of the Queen with a thunderous clap that shook the foundations of the castle itself. For Twilight, time nearly slowed to a halt as she could only watch the scene unfold in front of her. With the Queen lifted off of her hooves, Rainbow drove forward in the air, her forelegs and shoulders firmly planted into the Queen's black coat. With a final yell of pure defiance, the pegasus dove down at breakneck speed, the Queen still firmly planted in her grasp. It took Twilight only a second to realize what was about to happen. Her mind screamed out to the diving pegasus, but the words would not make the journey to her vocal cords. Her black, jagged horn still radiating green flames of energy, the Queen was driven directly into the magical amplifier, her horn lodging itself in the center of the blistering orb. The reaction from the orb was immediate, and it was violent beyond measure. The overloaded orb erupted into a searing ball of green flame, fissures opening like a spider web across its surface as it began to break apart. Chrysalis's final, bitter scream could barely be heard over the roar of the destruction that consumed her, as the fire reached the magical reserves that sat at the heart of every unicorn. That final piece of fuel pushed the fire past the breaking point, as the now molten orb erupted in a final blaze of light that would surely have blinded the Sun itself. An earth shattering clap of thunder erupted from the orb as it flew apart, the shockwave sending debris in every direction - including a blue pegasus.