//------------------------------// // Chapter the Ninth - ...you wreck yo'self. // Story: The Betrayed // by Thadius0 //------------------------------// After ten minutes of wandering through the Whitetail Woods, Abel had finally found the grove he'd been looking for. It was an accident, really, that had led to this grove being unique amongst them all. Oh, on the outside, it looked normal enough. But get a unicorn close enough, and they would tell you that it felt...disconnected. Wrong. As though Equus itself was detached from this spot of earth. This grove was why Abel didn't feed from the ambient energy of the forests too often, and when he did, he made sure that he fed from a spot he hadn't visited previously. Who'da thought my little mistake would turn out to be so useful? As Abel passed into the grove, he felt the slight tingle that signified that he'd passed some kind of magical boundary. He shuddered and shook himself a little, as though suddenly drenched, before recalling why he was here. Walking to the center of the grove, Abel began cutting the lines he'd need for this particular spell. He'd only just managed to get the base down before he was interrupted by a very familiar voice in his head. -Abel? Abel, where are you? There's some sort of magical barrier around town, and I can't identify the type of magic powering it. It was massive enough to jolt me awake when it was set up, there's some serious power running through this construct. I was hoping you'd know more about it or could take a look.- Abel sighed and began working on the symbols and runes he'd need. -Yes, Twi, I know what the barrier around town is. No need to worry. It'll be gone by tomorrow at the latest, but hopefully, the reason behind it needing to be there will be gone by tonight.- -Abel, what are you talking about? Did...Did you put it up?- -Yes.- Damn, that was meant to be an Omega symbol. Better redo it... -Why?- Abel flinched slightly at the shrill tone. -Let me put it to you simply, Twi. She's coming. She's coming for either you or me, but she'll get me, and I'm going to settle this darn conflict, one way or another.- -She? You mean-- -Black Queen threatens White King, Check.- -CHRYS-- And with that, Abel cut the mental connection, blocking himself from his own Hive Mind for the duration. No distractions. No diversions. This. Ends. ----- Not five minutes after Abel had finished inscribing and filling his pattern with the gel he'd brought along, he sensed a presence. He sensed her. Her and her swarm. Abel sighed and faced the nearby Queen. "Come out already, I've been waiting for gods only know how long, I want to get the talking over with." Slowly, Chrysalis made herself known. Nearby, Abel sensed at least a hundred other changelings, all connected to her. Less than we thought, but still enough to cause trouble...of course! Illusion, misdirection! She made us think she had a swarm an order of magnitude larger! Why did I not see it?! She neared the grove, but did not actually come into it, prodding the boundary with one of her hooves. "You've done something to this grove, haven't you?" Abel shrugged. "It's disconnected. Happened on it, nurtured it, take your pick." Chrysalis nodded. "Such a rare anomaly. But why did you choose to be here?" Abel looked at the grove around him and sighed wistfully. "It was the first mistake I made when I came to Ponyville, this grove. And then I kept coming here, using this place as a testing grounds for any spell I was unsure of. Because it's disconnected, if I made a mistake, it wouldn't get too out of hoof. I would just need to leave the grove, sometimes quickly, and wait for the smoke to stop." Abel suddenly focused and snapped his eyes back to Chrysalis. "How did you find me?" Chrysalis grinned. "The magical signature from your curses were...unique. You blended changeling with unicorn magics near perfectly. Once I found your signature, it was a simple enough matter to trace it. Then, once I realized you were near this quaint little town, I decided to send a contingent to it as well. Soon, this little life you've built will fall around you. The fact that those mares live there is a nice plus as well. I'll be able to get revenge on that little unicorn that undid all my hard work." Abel looked down at himself. "Oh." Casting a quick observational spell, he saw that an equal amount of changelings had gathered at the town, and were battering at the shield there. And then he shot a malicious grin at Chrysalis. "Big mistake. You see, us exiled changelings? We've banded together. We've formed a Hive Mind. I knew you were coming weeks ago. The town is protected, I made sure of it." Chrysalis snorted. "A likely story. The knowledge of the Hive Mind spell is forbidden to all other changelings." Abel's grin kept growing. "I was exiled at birth. I used magic, unwittingly, at birth. I stole a copy of your entire Hive Mind at birth. I've had twenty-three years to go through the damn thing. Spells were the first thing I touched on, and something we've been playing with for a while now. Yeah, we have a Hive Mind." Chrysalis tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Exiled at birth...but there are no offenses that would warrant such a thing..." And then Abel peeled his disguise off himself, revealing his Albino form to the tyrant Queen. Instantly, she hissed and screamed. "FILTHY ALBINO!" All the rest of her swarm hissed with her and made themselves known, hovering between Abel and the night sky. The last flickers of his spell that let him see the town showed that the extra contingent had halted their attack and were coming towards him. Abel just chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, hate it up. But ask yourself one question, your highness. What happened to your back-up plan that you started all those years ago?" Chrysalis blinked a few times as the pieces started falling into place. "No..." Abel chuckled and ignited the gelatin in his pattern. The red flames started to spring up in the five-pointed star and the symbols Abel had cut into the earth. "That little changeling you had hatched so you could mold it into a perfect vessel, in case you fell in battle? What happened to your heir apparent, Chrysalis?" "No no no...you can't be..." The crimson flames reached about a foot and a half in height, even though Abel was drawing as much magic as he could stand to hold from them. At this rate...oh, this'll hurt. This'll hurt massively...I can't just leave them burning, though. With this much power behind them, the flames could escape the glade, and then we'd have a magical forest fire to deal with as well. And I'm the only one nearby who can reasonably handle this... "Why did you never scan your own blood, Chrysalis?!" "IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" "WHERE DID YOU THINK YOUR OWN SON WENT, CHRYSALIS?!" "YOU CAN'T BE! I WOULD NEVER GIVE BIRTH TO A FILTHY ALBINO!" Abel slammed a hoof into the ground, causing cracks to appear in the earth. "BELIEVE IT! YOU DID!" The tips of the flames started to lean in towards Abel as they stopped growing. Running a few calculations through his head, Abel realized just how over-prepared he was. "Oh, but don't worry. I can settle this, right here. Right now." The power slowly started to stream in, and Abel winced, feeling the pain starting to build. Must focus, chant the mantra, keep the power on a leash, envision the pattern, hold the meanings in mind... "It's quite simple, really. Parents can disown their children. So I'll do the same, but in reverse. You were never a mother to me. You were never there, and you hated me for merely being who and what I am. Though that's not to say I never did the same to you. But now that we're meeting again, and you know enough about me, I can finally say this. Chrysalis, I disown you. I cut all ties with you. To me, you are now merely my sworn foe. The only reason I am not attempting to strike you down now is because I have a different idea as to what I should do to you." Chrysalis snorted. "Like I'm afraid of you. Once I destroy you, that pesky curse will end. It's the only reason I'm here. I want back into Canterlot, and your curse is preventing it. I can't even get near without feeling ill." Abel shook his head as the rest of him started to shake in pain. "Sorry, but no. I'm not doing anything to prevent you. I already did it. One of those curses I cast on you was a Geas. You'll never be able to go back." Chrysalis shrieked louder than any mortal should be able to do, before gasping and looking at Abel with fury in her eyes. "I will end you." Her swarm moved closer, and Abel fired a few bolts at them with nary a thought. They must be kept back, and I can only use so much to defend myself... Fortunately, the swarm, and Chrysalis by extension, realized that Abel would have to be taken by surprise, so they stopped their frontal assault, and merely started to circle him. And the other half of her swarm nears even now, I'm not certain I'll be able to stand up to all of them for too long... Abel laughed. "Y'know, I once thought along similar lines. About what I would do if you and I ever met, and I had the power to do as I would. And for a long time, I entertained myself with thoughts of your slow demise. But when I came to this little village, all my revenge desires just...melted away. And then we met again, and it rekindled that little fire in my heart. But I finally came across the answer that satisfied me." I think...my chitin is cracking...and there's still so much to take in! "NOTHING will satisfy me, you arrogant little upstart! I will take you apart, piece by piece, relish in your screams, then put you back together, just so I can do it again!" Abel shook his head. "Then clearly, the lesson I have to teach you is well-needed. It is a simple one, really, but far-reaching, and powerful." Chrysalis looked at the diagram and realized that the flames, which had seemed to be extremely magical, had died down to about a half-foot of height from their previous foot-and-a-half. She put two and two together and realized that Abel had been taking all that magic into himself, and her subconscious was screaming at her, telling her to run. The swarm moved off her subconscious, starting to peel away, pull back. It was far too late, however. Abel's spell was ready. He reached out with a forehoof, and all the magic stored in his body rushed to his outstretched hoof, making it glow red. "Here you are, Chryssy dearest, a present from Prince Abel, leader of the exiled. A simple little spell, but one you'll remember for a long, long time. Compos." A flash of red lighting connected the two, going from Abel's hoof and connecting with Chrysalis' horn. Chrysalis started screaming near instantly, writhing on the ground in agony. Though no wounds appeared on her, she kept grasping at parts of herself that ached with pain. Her swarm all fell to the ground as though dead, the occasional twitch the only sign they were not. She's sharing the effects, transmitting them...oh, never before have I been gladder to not be a part of her Hive Mind... Somehow, Chrysalis managed to gasp out words through her screams. "What...did you...do to...meeeee?!" Abel pulled the rest of the power into himself and looked at the queen with sadness in his eyes as the crimson flames died. "I stole the idea from a book I once read. It's quite simple. The spell will make you feel all the pain you directly or indirectly inflicted on anyone. It will make you understand, understand why I hate you. Understand why the ponies can't stand you. Understand why I am ashamed to be part of such a fallen race." Oh yeah, that's internal bleeding, and excessive thaumaturgic poisoning. I'll be lucky to be breathing when I'm done. Sheesh, I think I'm hemorrhaging through the chitin! "And...now...you will...return...home...Eject." The second spell reached into Chrysalis' mind and compelled her to move, through the pain. It put the idea into her head that she should return home, that there she would be safe, that there the pain would and could end. From there it infected her Hive Mind, compelling her swarm to follow her, and like puppets on strings, they all danced to Abel's tune. Over the course of a few minutes, the surrounding woods emptied of Chrysalis' soldiers. At least...that spell...won't wear off...until they get there... Abel, however, had overestimated the amount of power he would need for that first spell, and vastly overestimated the amount he would need for the second, because he'd prepared to compel even more drones at once; namely, all the changelings Chrysalis made him think she had. He also had nowhere to store all his excess magical power. As such, it was tearing him apart internally, and all the pain made it difficult to focus. And without proper focus, he couldn't cast any spells to use all the power up... As he fell to the ground, he restored his connection to the Hive Mind on a whim. -The Queen and her swarm have been dealt with. I'll...take the shields...down now...- Abel directed a flicker of thought towards the shields at Ponyville, and just before darkness claimed him, felt the shields fall. The last thing he heard was Twilight screaming his name in the Hive Mind.