//------------------------------//
// Chapter 38 - Elements of Harmony 
// Story: A Changing Perspective 
// by Dragrace 
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	Both Discord and Chrysalis ceased their fighting for a brief moment as they both stared at the glowing changeling. It had already been enough trouble getting him there in the first place for Chrysalis, so she intended to manipulate Discord in whatever way possible to get control of the town. Discord, on the other hand, already knew exactly what Chrysalis planned to do, thus he could care less about her attempts to actually fight him. Discord was also the first of the two to make the connection to the changeling's strange aura, as he recognized the glow from his previous defeat, but worn on a certain lavender mare.

"Isn't that supposed to be Twilight's thing?" He said abruptly, catching everypony's (and changeling's) attention.

Chrysalis paused for a moment. Discord seemed passive about their brief encounter, acting almost as if nothing had happened. He was quite unpredictable, Chrysalis assumed, as an embodiment of chaos is never something to be trusted. For the moment, she wanted to focus her attention on the little changeling that had the potential to actually stop her; be it himself or the help of others. Glancing towards the draconequus, she stared at him in the least menacing way she could, as if asking for peace between them. Discord returned her look with a shrug and leaned back onto a giant blob of cotton candy behind him. He could care less of what happened, he just wanted chaos, so a light drizzle of orange juice followed by growing a few lollipops here and there was enough to satisfy his needs for the moment. With a final snap of his fingers, Discord actually helped Chrysalis' changelings by causing explosions in and around the buildings of Ponyville, destroying windows, a few doors, and even created some holes through the walls themselves. Satisfied with his temporarily agreement to let Chrysalis do her thing for a while he leaned back, plotting of the perfect moment to stab her in the back.


>---<


In the distance a few explosions went off here and there, more than likely just smaller spells massed together to take down door and windows, possibly even entire buildings, just to intrude on the helpless inhabitants. That's what Twilight assumed anyways.Screams filled the air, as well as the sound of general panic; Mass hoof steps, doors and windows still slamming shut every now and then, as well as the feint buzzing of changeling wings. As Twilight held her head down to avoid blinding herself with her mane, her hooves pounded against the ground as she continued sprinting towards the town. The aura surrounding her was quite peculiar, one she would expect to have when casting magic, however she didn't have time to investigate the strange aura as she was desperate to save the town.

'Twilight Sparkle, librarian, personal student of Celestia, Element of Magic,' Twilight thought to herself, ''You've overcome so many obstacles, overcome the most difficult of challenges, defeated the most evil of villains, but all of those were with the help of my friends... Can I really do this by myself? No... Don't think like that. I CAN do this. I WILL do this. I'll just need a plan... But I don't have enough time for a plan! Plans are needed... Plans are good... Follow steps, or a list, of what needs to be done... I'll get something prepared when I get there, I know it!'

The librarian struggled to come up with any ideas of what to do, and as she thought about it more, things seemed to become more difficult to organize. With many doubts now bombarding her, she still managed to press forward towards the town. This was completely unlike her, she was rushing the situation, failing to properly analyze the situation and figure out the most appropriate plan of action from there. She expected somepony like Rainbow Dash to be the first in there, but ever since she had been separated from her friends, it almost seemed like they had disappeared as well. Pausing in her tracks, Twilight stiffened up from the sudden realization. What if they had been captured too? Would she be the only hope for Ponyville, or even all of Equestria? With even more urgency than before, Twilight resumed her trek towards Ponyville, which had suddenly become completely silent. She had no idea what she should expect to happen when she arrives, but she could only pray that her friends were safe.


>---<


Jack was inhaling and exhaling slowly. Stuck in yet another situation where all odds were against him wreaked havoc on his nerves. Like every previous situation he ended up in, he was still determined to stand his ground, at least until he could figure out a plan of some sort. A strange sense that he had felt before, almost like the warmth of another living creature against him, seemed to act up once more. This time, the feeling was much colder, as if the creature was instead draining the warmth from him. The changelings around him seemed to be quite happy with their current situation, and Jack easily figured out exactly why first hand.	

"Ah, but it's never as easy as that, dear boy!" Chrysalis cackled, as she began to march her way towards him. "You seem to forget what we're capable of doing to those who are weak minded..."

For a moment, Jack swore that Chrysalis winked. If she did, it wasn't towards him, and towards somepony (or something) else. The strange thing he noticed was how she kept her posture the same, and the fact that she was no longer acting hostile towards Discord (and vice-versa). She never moved, never flinched, as if she was prepared for something else to occur. Perhaps it was just the way she trailed off at the end, or maybe it was the inflection in her voice. Whatever it was, there was something else the queen was planning, and Jack was susceptible to whatever plans she had coming. There was some sort of shift in her current emotional status which he had somehow picked up on. He had never been able to tune his changeling sense of emotions before, and even now he couldn't understand how he was doing it. The possibility of him coming to terms with his true changeling form actually helped calm his nerves slightly, to a point where he was almost happy. The result was an attempt to laugh (caused mostly by nervousness), not only because he knew he was in a terrible situation, but because he was so tense he felt like he needed to do something. Despite his efforts to laugh, he ended up choking up what sounded like a cough. But instead of a single cough, he broke into a coughing fit, and soon was choking. The fit lasted mere seconds before he regained his focus, but even after his recovery, nopony (or changeling) around him had made a single attempt to make a move. Changelings were either trained extremely well (and judging by his previous experience with them, he doubted it), or maintained extreme loyalty to their queen. Finally, after silence filled the town once more, the queen shifted slightly as she took a single step towards him.

"I've studied you for quite some time now," Chrysalis stated, "And whatever you may be... You haven't always been a changeling, have you? Your behavior, the way you carry yourself, your habits... They're all different than us."

Chrysalis acquired a few quick glances from other changelings and captive ponies. Surprisingly, this also caught Discord's attention, who was floating high above Ponyville enjoying a hot cup of tea. Dropping the tea, with the cup disintegrating in mid air leaving the tea to fall on an unsuspecting changeling below, Discord slowly touched down on the ground beside Jack, resting his left arm on his back. Jack flinched slightly from the draconequus' arm unexpectedly touching his back, but he maintained his position and continued his stare down with Chrysalis.

"And I've been doing the same to you." Jack lied, as he shifted slightly to get Discord's arm into a more comfortable position, "These kind of things go both ways."

"Both ways? You're a fool to think that. You no nothing of me, and I know almost everything about you. You're nothing but a mistake, a mistake I'll have to fix myself..." Chrysalis scowled, "I think we all know that you aren't going to be going anywhere soon. Isn't that right Discord?"

Discord shifted slightly, nodding his head back and forth from left to right, almost as if examining Chrysalis. Without notice, he turned towards Jack, who now sported a carrot in place of his horn.

"Ha! I KNEW there was something more chaotic than usual with this one!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands hands together once in entertainment, "Everything has some form of chaos, but this one here is just screaming disorder at me! As far as our disagreements go, Chrissy, you can have him for now, but be sure to let me have some fun with the little guy when you're done!" Discord laughed, as he popped into a doctor's outfit and a surgeon's mask appeared on his face.

"What?" Jack squeaked, his voice barely escaping his mouth, "You're working... together?"

The arm that was resting on Jack's back quickly turned into a one hand grip on his back, both startling him and terrifying him once he saw Discord's newest outfit. 

"Not really," Discord replied, "We both just want to try out some things, that's all..."

Chrysalis shot an evil grin towards Jack as she gave a slight nod towards Discord, but before either of the two had a chance to actually do anything to Jack, a blurry figure tackled the draconequus. The moment Discord was released from the blur, he  did a barrel roll in midair and landed softly on his feet. Quickly turning to see the newcomer, Jack saw Rainbow Dash, and she looked ready to kill.



>---<


Twilight had finally reached the first building marking her official entry into Ponyville, however the street she occupied was completely empty except for a few destroyed door and window bits scattered across the dirt path. Her pace significantly reduced as she pressed herself up against the second building, hiding in a small alleyway between the two. Peering around the corner, she saw that just about every changeling had gathered in a large group, even those with hostages had taken them along for the ride. What caught her off guard was the distant object flying towards the ground, a familiar cyan blur that she had learned to recognize against the sky's similar color. Rainbow Dash was probably going to be doing something careless again, and with an army against one, Twilight had to act quick. Darting out of the ally and into the streets, she skidded slightly along the dirt as she broke into a sprint instantly upon leaving her alcove. Charging her horn with magic, a breif flash occurred and she was suddenly just inches away from the multicolored mare. Still going at full speed, she tried to come to a halt only to crash into a group of surprised changelings. The contact was enough to set off the mob of changelings; Several of them jumped towards Jack, while more jumped towards Rainbow Dash. 

Twilight was the first captured, as the few that were not caught in her sudden appearance were easily able to sidestep her accidental charge and subdue her. Jack and Rainbow were both prepared for a fight, and apparently they weren't the only ones ready to fight the horde. Pinkie blasted herself from the window of Sugarcube Corner in the distance from her party cannon, and she soared through the air screaming something like "Wheee! So this is how it must feel to fly! It's great, I should try it again, or maybe I could get Twilight to cast that wing spell she used on Rarity a while ago, or maybe another spell which could make me a unicorn! Oooh! Then I could try magic too! That would be so great...", which continued until her sudden landing on a changeling which was midair heading towards Jack. The support continued to gather, as a familiar regal white unicorn appeared out of a nearby building, pulling a shaking yellow figure out behind her. Applejack was right behind, helping to push Fluttershy along.

"Ah yes, the Elements of Harmony. What will we ever do to stop them?" Discord cried sarcastically.

Ignoring that comment, Jack and the other elements easily brought down changeling after changeling. An occasional "Look out!" or "Behind you!" was enough to keep the six up and fighting (with Twilight as the exception). Jack would manage to balance himself enough to buck an incoming changeling heading towards Rainbow Dash, where she would do a similar save to return the favor shortly after. Rarity kept many changelings away with little physical force; she managed to manipulate basic magic spells to help defend herself and Fluttershy, who was still cowering in fear. Applejack was doing the complete opposite, relying on her physical talents to deal with opponents, easily take out one changeling after another with one hoof for each changeling as her bucks were strong enough to take down two opponents at a time. Pinkie Pie had an interesting strategy. She never actually touched a single changeling (with the exception of the one she landed on), she simply bounced around, somehow avoiding each and every incoming changeling. Every once and a while her bounces would shift directions almost instantly, causing the changelings to hit each other instead of Pinkie.

Watching the Elements (plus Jack) battle their way through the changeling mass just made Chrysalis grin more and more. Each changeling that was beaten down was quickly replaced by another, and judging by the expressions of each of the fighters, they were quickly growing tired. Even though her numbers were dwindling, she still had a plan, and she was completely certain it would work. Glancing towards the group of changelings holding down Twilight, she gave them a quick nod before climbing atop a nearby rock.

"Enough of the games!" Chrysalis announced, her voice magically amplified throughout the town, "Bring her up here, NOW!"

Discord was watching the entire ordeal from above, laying back on an old chair enjoying some popcorn. He knew that he could easily manipulate the battle for himself, but the amount of chaos caused was enough to entertain him for the moment. Four changelings dragged Twilight up towards Chrysalis, and while the purple mare's horn continued to glow and fade, she was unable to counter the changeling magic to escape their grasp. As they dropped Twilight in front of the changeling queen, she instantly picked her up in a choke hold.

"This fighting bores me. Surrender now, or you'll lose your precious Twilight." The queen threatened.

Looks of surprise crossed everypony's faces, and then expressions of fear. They all stopped attempting to resist almost instantly, allowing the changelings to drag each and every one of them into a straight line in front of their queen. Chrysalis's magical hold never released, and Twilight was still flailing her hooves around her throat trying to free herself from the spell. As she began to run low on oxygen, the flailing weakened, and the purple mare slowly became encompassed in the changeling embers as she slowly returned to her changeling form.

"What have you done to her!" Dash screamed, as she attempted to break free of her captors, only to have another one join in, helping pin the enraged mare down.

Chrysalis released Twilight, who then collapsed on the ground gasping for air. The glowing aura that encompassed both herself and jack slowly began to pulse, but each pulse was emitted at a lower and lower strength. Jack managed to wriggle himself free of the changelings that held him and quickly rushed towards the collapsed mare, as Chrysalis motioned for the changelings to hold their position. Her breath was faint, but Jack could hear it. Jack knelt down and met eye to eye with Twilight, who appeared ready to pass out, and slowly began to put his hoof towards her own hoof. Slow long blinks in her eyes, which refused to open completely, saddened Jack, but there was a strange feeling from touching hooves that made everything seem like it was going to be alright.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" Chrysalis announced, "We have your so called 'saviors' here!" Chrysalis let out a small laugh before continuing, "Surrender yourselves now, and you will be spared! For the the time being, of course."

Slowly,  the doors (which had not been destroyed) of the various housing began to open, then fall off the hinges, as the ponies began exiting their houses. Shooting a glance towards Discord (who was quietly laughing), Chrysalis resumed her speech.

"I must admit, you put up little fight apart from these six ponies... And those three changelings," She said, gesturing towards Lyra, Bon Bon, and Jack. "I must establish myself as the ruler of this excuse for a town. Anything I say, goes. Any changeling that wants to feed, feeds. Any single pony that challenges me, or another changeling, will never be seen or heard from again. Are we clear?"

There were a few murmurs among the ponies, even with changelings jumping at the opportunity to cease ponies for themselves. Some ponies were already held captive by changelings, and now that the Elements of Harmony were held captive, the feeling of hopelessness began to return to Jack. Resting his head atop Twilight's, the violet glow began to pulse differently. Instead of growing weaker, it began to grow stronger. The changelings that surrounded the two prepared to move in, but some sort of irregular force in each pulse pushed them back more and more. Chrysalis recognized the force behind the pulses, as the same force had defeated her in Canterlot. She had already planned for such an event, so her horn began to glow a sickly green color. Slowly, a green object began to rise from the floor around the two, which slowly grew in height and width, surrounding them and trapping the two in a thick green bubble. Grinning from her success, she looked up to where she assumed Discord would be, but he was nowhere to be found. Ignoring the fact that her temporary ally had disappeared, she began marching towards the remaining Elements.

The elements tried to cower backwards as Chrysalis slowly approached them, simply to be blocked by the changelings that held them. With Fluttershy now in tears, the others were ready to admit defeat. The struggles lessened with each step the queen took, and Chrysalis could only savor the moment. The fear that she caused in the ponies in front of her was overwhelming; Not just the fear they emitted, but the fact that some of the strongest ponies known to ponykind were admitting defeat. This gave her a feeling of satisfaction she had once before, a long time ago even before the Canterlot invasion. She had trapped two of the forces she knew could stop her. Just to get another kick, she slowly wiped her tongue across the protruding fangs. They were nothing but food to her now; and a little snack would satisfy her until she was prepared for a full meal. Before she could prepare her snack, something hit her just below the eye. It was wet and the slightest bit sticky. Somepony spat on her, and after looking up she was unable to determine just who's saliva it was. Infuriated by the spit, she was tempted to annihila	te each and every one of them in front of the entire down, but after a moment's though, she assumed a public torture would convince everypony to behave.

"We have a special place for each and every one of you..." She scowled, "But don't worry, you'll be taken care of in the worst possible way."


>---<


One changeling watched the entire thing happen. Luckily for him, he had managed to hide in a seemingly abandoned building, one that had taken such a beating that each window had been shattered in such a way that glass littered the floor regardless of where one looked. Taking a small step away from the corner of the window, with the sound of glass crackling beneath his hooves, he closed his eyes. What caused him to betray the queen? What had Jack offered him that he couldn't get from the hive? Why was he so reluctant to help his mother? Perhaps it was because of what he had done for him. He had been a friend; Something foreign to changelings. Their were 'relationships' close to acquaintanceship between changelings, but those only occurred due to similar work patterns in which they must interact with one another. Changelings were solitary creatures, relying on their queen for advice, but to have another one be so engaging, to stand up for himself, it was truly inspiring for him. 

Never had he expected to have a 'friend' before, somepony to share in both the good and bad moments. He had never expected to do what he wanted to do, decide what he thought was right and wrong; Not just the queen telling them what was the correct things to do and things to avoid. Somehow, Jack had made him an independent changeling, capable of doing things on his own, and... enjoying what he did. Peering out the shattered window once more, the changeling saw Chrysalis standing victorious near the town center, and he felt something turning within him. The feeling inside him was something that he hadn't felt before, it resembled a strange type of interior warmth. This 'warmth' was something different than he was used to, it felt like his heart rate had increased, and he felt like he wanted to break something, to just yell at something, do some sort of damage, but he remained silent in the abandoned building. An emotional experience he had never had himself; He had siphoned similar things off living creatures, but never experienced it first hoof. He knew when to use certain facial expressions in place of emotions, to convey certain thoughts through physical display, but to exert the emotions himself made his head spin slightly. This friend... His friend... Had taught him something he'd thought he'd never learn. So he was going to do whatever he could to save him.

And he knew just who could help him.