//------------------------------// // Battle Royal // Story: Dusk // by Resda //------------------------------// t that's i Silence. Do not interfere. "How dare you? You enter my domain, destroy my hive... you're going to pay for that, sun or no sun!" Attack. Do not let her through! My strongest elites swarm to meet the Sun Princess in combat. Like her sister before her, she will surely be overwhelmed by the sheer number of- Celestia's eyes flash. Her body glows white hot. My drones... nothing but ash. Perhaps more drones - no. No changeling can stand against that. Her gaze turns to my prisoners. With nary a word, the chrysalides go up in flames. Naturally, the victims inside survive, untouched by the cleansing fire. I can only watch, unable to make a move as Celestia asserts her authority. Luna awakens immediately, invigorated by the presence of her sister. It's a lesson in basic astronomy - the moon's brilliance is merely the sun's, reflected; the same seems to be true here. I poise myself, dreading a battle between myself and the Royal Sisters, but Celestia surprises me by landing in front of me. I watch her gaze flick over to you before returning to me. "Luna. Do what you must." Behind Celestia, Luna nods once and vanishes into a cerulean haze that settles over the five Bearers. She seeks to undo the magic I have done - an acceptable loss, if it gives me time to face Celestia mare to mare. "Yield," Celestia urges. "Return Twilight Sparkle to me and allow us to leave peacefully, or I will stop you myself." "You can try," I reply. It's a partial bluff, and we both know it. Celestia held back during our last encounter. If she so willed it, she could level the whole of Equestria. It is foolhardy to challenge the Unconquerable Sun and expect to win. But I'm not fighting Celestia, the Sun. I'm fighting Celestia, the mare, with very real weaknesses. I smile and beckon you forward. You march to my side stoically, not flinching even as I rest a wing across your back. Celestia's mask of equipoise is not perfect. I can see and feel the pain and sorrow behind her hard glare. "Twilight is mine," I say. "If you want her... alive... then it is you that will surrender to me." "I... I will not," says Celestia, unable to hide the tremor in her voice. "I will do what I must... for Equestria." A flare of righteous anger. "I will defeat you." "Like I said..." I take a confident step towards her, noticing her take an automatic step back to maintain her distance. "You can try." Celestia grits her teeth. Her wings flare open, and with a single beat, she closes the distance between us, ready to strike with her hooves. I dodge the initial assault, just barely, before attempting a slash across her chest with my horn. Celestia's large barrel stops me from getting the proper movement in, and with a single shove, she places a fair amount of space between us once again. Her horn lights up, and I quickly prepare my counterspell. In unison, the beams fire, throwing up sparks in the center of the room that... She... she's distracted... I... I can... ...I hear her wingbeats closing in and twist my body, avoiding Celestia's charge by mere inches. She twirls gracefully in the air to face me, but I am nimble enough to draw myself in close and strike at her with my hooves before she can counterattack. She tumbles downward before steadying herself and firing off a salvo of blasts from her horn. But she did leave an opening... all I need to do is... I can think again... oh thank Chrysalis... I can... I watch carefully as my Queen takes on the intruder that dared to invade our hive. Surely the great Queen Chrysalis would not be defeated so easily! But they seem almost as equals in power. Queen, if only you would allow me to rush to your aid... but I do not move, not without your orders... W-wait... this is wrong. This isn't me! Why am I... ...Celestia deflects my blast with a shield of force, which causes her to stumble backward for a moment. I charge headlong into her... but the Princess is a warrior in her own right. Her solar beam is aimed perfectly and precisely to send me to my knees. That would have been exactly the case... if I didn't have an army by my side. As a drone zips mindlessly in front of me, taking the blow and exploding into dust like a moth in a flame, Celestia's glare hardens. "Sacrificing your subjects?" the mare criticizes. "Have you no heart?" I growl. "Do not speak to me of hearts, Celestia. Mine was broken centuries ago, there is nothing left for me now." Celestia gives a start at that statement; it was worth the minor revelation to catch her off guard. "And do not speak of sacrifice, either," I continue, "when you are so eager to send your beloved student out to fight your battles. Do you realize what you've brought upon her?" As her face pales, I can't help but grimace in return. My attack was surgical in its precision, attacking the Princess at her weakest point with devastating effect. I light my horn and she clutches at her chest as I begin to siphon off her love for Twilight. A passioned moan escapes my lips before being quickly stifled - of course, one could hardly expect the love of a Princess to be anything but pure and unconditional. She quickly realizes what I'm up to and casts a spell to close off her heart and defend herself. But the damage is already done. She hesitates ever so slightly, and it's enough for me to rally with a quick combination of blows. She blocks them all with her outstretched wing before leaping backward. I press in, unwilling to give up this gained momentum... I wrench my gaze away from the fight. My sisters... the other drones... mill about, stirred up by the activity like a swarm of bees. But Chrysalis does not give the order, unable or perhaps unwilling to allow them to interfere. But... what about... I turn slowly, straining against the force of Chrysalis's will, towards her victims- no, I mean... my friends... The others are struggling to their hooves, visibly shaken by whatever Chrysalis had shown them. Luna appears out of a cloud of swirling mist just as Applejack's eyes snap open. Rarity opens her mouth to speak... but I'm too far away to hear it. I'm in no state to find out for myself, either. She may not have direct control right now, but my body is still standing rigidly at attention. Pinkie cries out as she sees Celestia fall from the sky, landing right next to me. She looks up at me pitifully as I watch, unable to express any sign of sympathy for her. ...I left my right flank exposed, and had a new burn wound to show for it, but I had landed several hoof strikes and gored her twice with my horn in the exchange. Celestia is no longer the pristine, perfect goddess she claims to be; she is bruised and bleeding. She is mortal. She is vulnerable. Celestia's fatigued and injured and the Queen has been empowered by her spell; the power difference is practically zero at this point. She... she might she will lose. And she knows it. Celestia's knees tremble as she attempts to return to her hooves come on, Princess, you can do it, I know you can, I march towards her, slowly and menacingly no this isn't how this is supposed to end, I have to stop her... come on, body, please move step by step until I finally cast my shadow upon her. My horn lights up as I prepare to cast the blow that will take down the mighty CELESTIA NO PLEASE A beam of force fires off with the sound of a cannon blast. Chrysalis is lifted off of her feet and catapulted against the far wall. I flick my gaze to my left, only to see Luna floating high above us, her entire body wrapped in a magical aura. "Do not touch her," she bellows. Chrysalis recovers surprisingly quickly, fluttering up to meet the Lunar Princess eye to eye. "Ah, yes. The lesser sister." She chuckles. "The one who couldn't handle a horde of drones, let alone put up any kind of a fight." Luna's face betrays a flicker of embarrassment before returning to an expression of righteous fury. "Merely a fluke," she says. "My sister and I have been and always shall be equals, balanced on the razor's edge-" Chrysalis scoffs. "A likely story." Before anypony can blink, a flash of magic cuts a deep, bloody gash into Chrysalis's cheek. The changeling queen yelps in pain, clutching a holed hoof to her face. "If you'll allow me to finish..." Luna starts. No one dares to breathe a word. "Celestia and I are equals, but she lived for one thousand years without ever having to raise a sword, and it has dulled her senses." She smiles wryly. "No offense, sister dear." "N-none taken," Celestia manages. My gaze flickers back to Celestia. She is back on her feet, supported by Pinkie and Applejack on either side. Luna's grin fades and her eyes darken. A swirling miasma of midnight blue and black surrounds her body. "Unfortunately, being banished in the moon, I have not had that luxury." The cloud of dark magic grows denser and denser. Chrysalis, in a panic, fires a searing green beam at the mass, only to have to dodge when it ricochets wildly away. As the magic fades, Luna is nowhere in sight. In her place is a sleek black alicorn, bedecked with blue steel plate, her helmet framing green, slitted eyes. "I AM Deimos Selene, the Nightmare Moon. Fight me or prostrate thyself before me. I shall grant thee the opportunity to choose which." Chrysalis rears back, unsure what to do. For a moment, she hesitates before No. I will not allow it. I have come too far. I won't be defeated now! With a defiant yell, she charges at Nightmare Moon, closing the distance faster than anypony could have anticipated. She is met by an outstretched wing, and the battle begins anew. Fluttershy chirps, hiding behind Celestia's massive frame as the rest of us watch in awe. "Do not worry, my little pony," Celestia says, "That's still Luna up there. There is no danger." She looks up wistfully at the figure before looking back at herself. "She will have no trouble holding her off." My view of the action is suddenly interrupted by a white hoof waving about my face. Rarity's face drifts into view, and I can do little but focus my gaze upon her. "Are-are you still in there, darling?" "She's still under Chrysalis's thrall, it seems," Celestia answers clinically, an unreadable expression on her face. "Leave her be," she continues with some hesitation, "and gather around. We're going to finish this." Celestia's horn glows a brilliant gold, and I can sense the fabric of space-time fold in upon itself for a brief second - a summoning spell. Given the current situation, there's only one thing she could possibly be looking for, and as the spell resolves, my suspicions are proven correct. The flash of light is enough to give everyone pause. But as the spots fade, five glittering gold necklaces have appeared around the necks of each of their owners. "The Elements of Harmony!" I cry out. If they were to successfully bring that to bear... who knows what would happen? I can't allow this... fortunately, I know exactly how to turn this all around- "We aren't through, Chrysalis!" A strong hoof drives itself into my side. Well... first things first, I suppose. If I can distract her long enough by... Applejack looks with awe and pride upon the jeweled necklace covering her breast, but her face falters. "That's only five," she realizes. "We still need the Element of Magic!" Rainbow Dash raises her hooves in exasperation. "You're right! How are we gonna do this without-" "Whoa." Pinkie Pie's outburst causes the others to look around in confusion. Eventually, their gazes lock onto Princess Celestia. She looks altogether the same as she always did, with one minor exception. Her tiara is gone, cast aside to make room for a new, entirely different piece of headgear. "You were saying, girls?" Celestia says, the Element of Magic settling naturally atop her head. At the Bearers' hesitation, she smiles self-assuredly. "It may not be mine now, but I was once Magic's Bearer." Pinkie's gaze flicks over to me, and I struggle futilely to give her some sort of response. Celestia catches her unease and sighs. "I understand your concern," she presses on, "but I need you all to trust me..." Pinkie flushes. "O-of course, Your Highness-" "No titles," Celestia corrects gently, "If this is going to work, I need you all to look to me, not as your Princess... but as your friend." At this, Pinkie grins. "I can do that." The others respond similarly, some with furtive nods, others with confident smiles as they begin to stand in a familiar formation. Their eyes close, and an aura slowly begins to build around the group as a whole, lifting them a few centimeters off the ground. But it's not going to be that easy. All of this activity was guaranteed to stir something up. Chrysalis's drones, bereft of a command from the Queen, were simply roving about aimlessly. But an explosion of light and power like that is akin to a flame, drawing in the surrounding changelings like moths. All but me, of course. Chrysalis took extra care to make things difficult for me. As the instinct to feed begins to resonate in the hivemind, a few of the drones bare their sharp fangs. Celestia and the girls don't notice, occupied as they are with trying to get the Elements working. I stare intently at Fluttershy, the nearest of the six, and try to... well, try to do anything. Please, you've gotta hear me. The changelings are right there! Fluttershy! FLUTTERSHY! "ffuh" The pegasus's ears perk up, as do mine. Did I just... "FFUH" Great, I can talk! ...Sort of. I test my limbs, which unfortunately still seem to be locked in place. But I'll take what I can get. They're behind you, Fluttershy! They're gonna pounce any second now! "buh" Fluttershy finally turns. "Dusk? Is that-" She gasps as the horde all around them finally snaps into focus. "Girls!" she yells, getting the others' attention. As the aura of magic slowly dissipates, the other Bearers look with alarm on the growing crowd. Celestia frowns, her eyes still screwed shut, all her focus on maintaining her connection with her Element. "I... I can't... girls, if you wouldn't mind..." "You got it, Princess," Applejack says, tipping her hat and turning to face the gathering crowd. Pinkie Pie nods her head and drops into a crouch nearby. "A quick break never hurt anyone," Rarity says calmly, lighting her horn in anticipation. "The only breaking I plan on doing is with some changeling skulls." Next to Rarity, Rainbow Dash pantomimes rolling up her sleeves. "I've got some frustrations that I've been dying to work out." The changelings surge forward, crashing into the girls like a wave upon the rocks. Applejack plants her hooves and leaps forward, tackling one changeling and pressing it into the floor while bucking two more behind her. Rarity grunts, deploying a small force shield and manipulating it carefully around her to deflect the attacks coming from all angles. "This isn't going to work," she mutters to herself. Pinkie leaps into the fray mere moments before a changeling would have raked through Rarity's side. "I've gotcha covered. Do your locator spell thingy!" she says, bounding from drone to drone and smashing them into the ground. Rarity smiles and focuses her energy for a brief second. Her eyes widen. "Oh... oh yes." With a fierce glint in her eye, she raises her horn as a shower of sparkling crystal erupts from the ground. "Now this will do nicely." Pinkie waves a hoof and smiles, even as she boots a changeling skyward. Rainbow Dash is nearly untraceable, save for the swirl of color left behind in her wake, as she repeatedly dive-bombs the swarm. Suddenly, she stops. "Hey Applejack!" When the farm pony acknowledges her with a holler, Rainbow smirks. "Pull!" Applejack launches a pair of changelings skyward with two quick kicks, and Rainbow barrels into them full speed, launching all the way across the room and out of sight. Fluttershy, unfortunately, is surrounded, her calls unheeded by her friends, distracted as they were with their own battles. She whimpers quietly as a few of the drones begin to circle her. I struggle with all of my might to leap to her aid, but... One changeling leaps into the air, ready to pounce on the poor yellow pegasus. That same poor yellow pegasus proceeds to grab her assailant out of the air and send it crashing into the floor with a single, graceful sweep of her arms. Behind her, another drone charges forward, but Fluttershy ducks underneath its blind tackle and strikes it with a flap of her wings. She reaches forward, taking the legs out from under another drone and sending it crashing into yet another. I'm sure that my jaw would have dropped to the floor if it were capable of doing so. Well, enough of that. Back to struggling for my freedom. ...sending me tumbling through the air. Never before have I faced an enemy with this kind of ferocity - her movements are less those of a princess and more a force of nature. Each time I score a glancing blow, I'm half convinced that she is letting me get away with it just to toy with me. But the most intimidating thing about her is her heart. I tried to cast my spell and prey off of her weaknesses, only to find her heart surrounded by darkness, albeit restrained and controlled by sheer willpower. The moniker of Nightmare is a worthy one. We are locked in a bit of a stalemate at the moment, staring each other down. She has summoned forth a great blade of shining steel, the same shade as her armor, and holds it poised above her head, daring me to make a move. My horn glimmers, ready to fire a blast of changeling fire. In the back of my mind, I listen for my swarm - only to find them engaged in combat. As for her... Get out of my head! I look down for a brief second - only to realize my mistake. The Nightmare's blade cuts a wide swath, I try to avoid it only to Chrysalis screams and clutches at her head, causing the entire battle to come to a halt. I look upward - gosh, I can turn my head - and catch the end of Luna's swing. I look to Chrysalis, who is barely maintaining her altitude in the face of what must be excruciating pain. Directly below her, I can follow the path of a small, twisted mass of keratin plummeting towards the ground. "You!" Chrysalis roars in equal parts pain and anger. "I'll kill you!" Luna chuckles darkly. "No, Chrysalis. You won't be hurting anyone. Ever." Luna's blade sings, severing nerves and integumentary tissue, and the hornless, wingless changeling queen plummets towards the ground. Her terrified screech rings in our ears. No one makes a move or utters a sound as she collides with the hard stone floor. And then, silence. "Sh-she did it..." Applejack mutters, hardly able to believe it. "Yeah! Go Luna!" Rainbow Dash hollers, even as the Lunar Princess descends, shedding the raiment of the Nightmare and returning to her true, smaller form. "She's... is she dead?" Five sets of eyes turn towards me, mouths agape. "But why would they look this way? Is there something behind me? Hmm... and I could swear that I could hear myself- oh." Pinkie is the first to run towards me. "Dusk! You're okay!" "I... guess I am..." I lift a hoof off of the ground, unable to believe it myself. "I'm alive..." As the others slowly approach, I greet them with a tired smile. Celestia's voice freezes us in our tracks. "Wait. This isn't over." Sure enough, I hear a faint moan issue from Chrysalis's crumpled form. Luna stands over her, casting a dark shadow upon the fallen queen. "So... so strong..." she groans. Luna sighs. "Now you see, Chrysalis. You never stood any chance of winning - not as long as we stand together." "Ah, yes," Chrysalis says. "The power of love." Luna's brow furrows. "Do not presume to understand-" "Oh, I understand it," Chrysalis cuts her off, her voice growing more defiant. "I understand it better than you think. Because I had somepony around to show me just how powerful love truly is." No. No. She couldn't mean... "Isn't that right, my dear?" The ground rumbles, and Luna, Celestia, and the girls look about in confusion. I instinctively know to look towards the center of the room as the floor begins to give way. A tall, green, crystalline spire rises slowly from the hole in the floor. It's cut and polished like a gemstone, but it isn't long until we realize that it's not mineral... it's organic. And there is something inside. Something purple. The sight renders us speechless. Her body is shriveled, almost completely wasted away, her coat is matted and stained, and her mane and tail are wildly disheveled to the point that she is practically unrecognizable. But there is no mistaking the cutie mark decorating her flank. Chrysalis grins. "Time to get up, dearest." She stirs. Her eyes crack open slowly, cringing at the sensation of light. Even when open, they still look glazed over as she stares dumbly in Chrysalis's direction. "Look who's come to rescue you." Twilight gasps. Her gaze flits about the room wildly - but her expression only betrays fear and despair before she screws her eyes shut again and curls into a ball, clutching her head to her chest. "We're here, Twilight!" Rarity suddenly cries out. "We're going to get you out of here. We're taking you home!" Twilight lets out a primal yell. Her eyes open again - except this time, they're glowing a bright white. Chrysalis cackles. "That's it, darling. Show us all how much you love them!" "No... NO!" I cry out. "Everypony, get away before-" Twilight lets out an ear-piercing scream as her magic explodes outward from her. Celestia is the first to act, deploying a golden barrier to shield us from the stray blasts as they radiate out, caroming around the room and reducing it to rubble, clearing out swaths of changeling drones as if they were dust. And then, as quickly as it started, it stops, petering out in a few weak sparks as the lavender unicorn crumples to the floor of her prison. Suddenly, Luna cries out. We look in her direction - only to find that she and the Queen have changed positions. Luna holds a hoof against her chest, feebly trying to stop the blood from pouring out of a new wound dangerously close to her heart. Chrysalis, meanwhile, stands proudly, her horn and wings glittering like new, mended by Twilight's love and magical power. She cackles madly, staring down at the wounded Princess. "Now it's your turn to see, Luna. With Twilight's love, I have power enough to rival a goddess!" Luna opens her mouth to speak, only to be picked up by the throat in a green telekinetic aura. She flails about wildly, gasping for air, each movement inadvertently causing her chest wound to bleed out further. "Girls, now!" Celestia booms. I turn to look at the others, finding them already standing in formation, magic swirling about them like a great wind. But it's taking far too long. Celestia grinds her teeth. "Wait... I... I can't..." Chrysalis looks at them idly with a smirk. "Oh, dear... having some trouble, Celestia?" She tosses Luna aside like a rag doll and turns to face them head on. "Take your time. I'll wait." Celestia plants her hooves. "I... I must do this... for Twilight!" She opens her eyes, burning with righteous fury, and releases the built up energy in a swirling, rainbow colored blast. Chrysalis laughs as she fires her own searing green beam of energy in the opposite direction. The magic collides with a flash and a crack of lightning. "These are the legendary Elements of Harmony?" she says in wonder, as the earth trembles all around us. "This is nothing to me!" With only a thought, she puts more power into her beam, pushing the Element Bearers back. With horror, I watch as the Element of Magic begins to crack and crumble atop Celestia's head. The rainbow bends. It curves back and around, streaking past the Bearers towards me. I don't even remember covering my head.