//------------------------------// // Long Live the Queen // Story: Harmonics // by ezra09 //------------------------------// Nopony moved. Scootaloo’s gaze swung from the stone form of Lirian to the forms of the element bearers with a growing sense of horror. Before anypony could recover, the sound of a single hoof repeatedly hitting the ground echoed from nearby. Somepony was applauding. Ponies stood aside and Rose Thorn strode into view. She stood tall, a confident smile in place. “Quite the exceptional student, Celestia. Even I didn’t think Twilight Sparkle would react so quickly to a perceived threat.” “Rose Thorn,” Celestia said, squaring off against the newcomer. “Surprised? I can only imagine you would be, after Thistleroot cleared my name at the gala.” “I don’t know what you’re hoping to accomplish,” Celestia said. “I can put them right.” “Oh, of course you can. But not immediately,” Rose said. She reached the stone form of Lirian and circled in front of it. “Clever little bit of magic, echo shields,” she said. “Complicated, difficult, but if done right, extremely effective in leveling the field. Between it and everything Discord had discovered about the elements, it was finally possible to get past their defenses. Of course, poor Lirian had falsely believed it would protect her.” Rose shook her head sadly. After a moment of silence, her head came up, horn flaring with pink magic. Lirian shattered. Rose turned back to the shocked princess. “Long live the queen.” “Why?” Celestia asked again. “What are you hoping to accomplish?” Rose simply smiled and stepped closer. Celestia’s horn brightened dangerously. “Oh, put that away. I’m not going to fight you. Maybe in my prime, but that was a long time ago.” “Whatever you’re planning, you can’t win. Not while I’m here.” “Of course. Which is why you’re going to run away.” Celestia kept silent, watching Rose Thorn. After a few moments, a tremor ran through the ground. Rose smirked. “And there it is princess. Time for you to go die.” “What was that?” “The sound of the trail leading out of Canterot beginning to collapse. As you've no doubt realized, the dampening shields aren't working. Hundreds of changelings have been keeping the ponies stalled on the side of the mountain. I give it about ten seconds before ponies start falling to their deaths.” A collective gasp went through the crowd. Celestia’s expression changed from guarded anger to one Scootaloo had rarely seen on her: fear. “You can save them, of course,” Rose said. Teleport each and every one of them to safety. A spell that big would leave you exhausted and defenseless. Might even kill you outright. You can ignore them. Beat me here, save the day, and it would only cost you a few thousand lives.” A moment passed in silence. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go!” Celestia’s horn flared and she was engulfed in a blinding light. The light broke up into half a dozen smaller pieces. One piece charged at Rose, but the unicorn was ready for the attack. She brought up a shield as soon as the princess moved. The light shattered her shield and threw her across the stone road, but not hard enough to kill her. Another small piece of light rushed along the outer wall, toward where Luna was leading more of the guards. The two largest pieces flew further into the city. One struck the top of Canterlot Tower and the other disappeared into the distance. A huge flash of sunlight lit up the skyline. A fifth flew toward Canterlot Castle. The smallest piece of light rushed toward the element bearers. It bounced between the five necklaces, hit the gem set into Twilight’s tiara, and then bounced high into the air and streaked through the sky like a falling star, landing far to the South. Rose picked herself up and shook her mane from her eyes. “Now then. Changelings!” She turned as she addressed one of the shocked armies. “I believe I just killed your queen. Do any of you have a response to that? Ponies?” She turned again. “Your princess may be dead or dying.” The two sides let out earsplitting roars of outrage and as one charged. Rose smiled and said something to herself, too softly to be heard over the shouts. A blinding flash of green light and discordant sound washed over Scootaloo. Her stomach turned and she felt the ground slam into her flank. It ended a moment later, but she needed a few seconds before she could see clearly again. She was in the same place she’d been. Rose and all six of the remaining statues stood together. Everypony else was gone. The nearest was on the ground thirty feet away, stirring in confusion. “And finally,” Rose said to herself before turning to face Scootaloo head on, “The stone tablet.” Scootaloo felt around with her hoof, found it a foot away, and pulled it tightly against her chest. “Unnecessary,” Rose said. “I can’t actually touch it.” “That’s why you needed me?” “Well, yes and no. I could use anypony to carry it for me. What I really needed you for was getting it from that ghost of Discord.” Scootaloo shook her head and tried to stand. “You understand, don’t you Scootaloo? You see just how much work went into this?” Rose thorn gave a proud smile. “I’ve chided Star Shine for bragging about his own cleverness, but sometimes it’s hard not to. Ever since I found out you were in Canterlot. Not only here, but interested in the Crusaders. Guessing what everypony would do. It was a gamble I admit, letting Lirean take you. She might have just killed you. Ersatz might have failed in getting you free and leading you to the Mad Lands. A bit of luck there, you meeting Mimic. He was able to strike up a conversation with her about them and watch it all work out on its own. And now here we are, and all of my gambles have paid off.” “No they haven’t,” Scootaloo said. “You just said you can’t touch it. I’m not going—” Rose’s horn flashed and the stone form of Rainbow Dash shot a hundred feet into the air. Scootaloo’s words died off as she watched her adopted sister make a long arc and begin falling back to Earth. “No! Wait!” Scootaloo shouted, words running together in panic. Rose’s horn glowed again and the statue slowed, but didn’t stop its fall. “You’ll do what I tell you?” Scootaloo swallowed, gazed locked on the falling statue. “Yes.” The statue disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared undamaged next to the others. After a few seconds, long enough for Scootaloo to see it was undamaged, all six of them vanished. “I’ll just hold on to them,” Rose said. “Now, if you would follow me.” Between one moment and the next, Rose Thorn changed from unicorn to pegasus. There was no flash of light or fire, she simply stopped being one and became the other. Scootaloo blinked. Rose Thorn took to the air like it was the most natural thing in the world to her, pausing a few feet off the ground to be sure Scootaloo was following. With a deep breath, Scootaloo took off after her. They flew up to the cave in Canterlot mountain. Rose, a unicorn once again, led the way with a glowing horn. Scootaloo remembered the message she’d seen earlier. The one that Luna had said appeared as whatever the reader needed to hear. Earlier it had read ‘don’t believe the changeling queen’s lies’ for both her and Mimic. “You’re a changeling,” Scootaloo said. “Or something like it.” “Indeed.” “But, you don’t glow when you change, and your magic is pink.” “I’ve had a lot of free time, which isn't something many changelings get. I had a chance to get a better understanding of how things work, and with it the ability to do things that can't be accomplished through brute force. Color is simple really, when you know how light travels. We’re here.” Before them stood the simple stone room. Glowing lines covered the stone table, and the tablet had begun to glow under Scootaloo’s wing. The message on the far wall was blank. “It’s already started then,” Rose said, staring at the far wall too. “They thought that part was so clever. Just set it down here.” She pointed a hoof at the bare spot on the table. “What happens if I do?” “I’ll tell you what happens if you don’t,” Rose said. “Rainbow Dash dies instantly, followed by the rest of the element bearers. I’ll then hunt down everypony else you care about. Your childhood friends, your new friends. I won’t stop until everypony who has ever shown you any kindness is gone.” Scootaloo shivered. Rose’s voice was cold. Even Lirean had shown some emotion when she made her threats, granted the emotions were more along the lines of excitement. Rose’s voice was empty. She wouldn’t kill them because she enjoyed it. She’d kill them because they didn’t matter to her. She couldn’t let them die. She put the tablet onto the table. The lines on the table matched up with those on the stone. They all began to shift, like a massive web untangling. As each line worked its way free of the rest it lifted off the table and onto the back wall to form a different pattern. One of order and symmetry. When the last line joined the rest, the room began to shake. The trembles started slowly, but grew in ferocity until Scootaloo could barely stand. Everything jerked around Scootaloo and they were falling. The noise grew to such a furious roar that Scootaloo couldn’t even hear it anymore. She felt it shaking through her bones. The mountain started tearing itself to pieces beneath them. Scootaloo felt her entire body become gripped in a cocoon of magic, and she was tossed free of the falling stone. She caught herself in the air, high above Canterlot and flew in place, watching in horror as enormous chunks of the mountain crushed entire neighborhoods. Nobody was down there, Scootaloo reminded herself over and over. “Are you proud of yourself?” Rose asked, flying beside Scootaloo, voice barely audible above the cataclysm unfolding below. “I knew I could count on you serving your own interests first. That’s something Lirean actually liked about you.” “Shut up!” Scootaloo shouted. She dashed toward Rose, aiming a kick at her head, but magic froze her before she could make contact. “Not me though,” Rose continued as though Scootaloo hadn't spoken. “I actually find that kind of behavior disgusting. You put your friends before everypony else. A few dozen deaths to ensure the happiness of everypony else, and you couldn't make that sacrifice.” “You tried to kill thousands of ponies!” Scootaloo shouted back. “There was never a chance that Celestia wouldn’t save them,” Rose said. “Even with her student vulnerable, she refused to let thousands die for the lives of a few. Even so, it wasn't a selfish act. I didn't try to kill them for my own gain. I serve a higher purpose.” The last of the falling crashing rocks settled and the echo’s faded away. The front half of the mountain had been carved away. The stone table jutted out near the top, completely exposed. Near the bottom, dozens of holes pockmarked the base. The old crystal mines, Scootaloo guessed. At the center of the mountain was a massive ring of thousands upon thousands of gemstones, tightly woven together to form twisting shapes, tied together by bands of gold and silver. “I serve a higher power,” Rose continued. Dark liquid began to seep through the spaces between the gems. The crystals grew dark and the gold and silver grew tarnished. The liquid ran together toward the center. “My queen. The true queen, before my sisters usurped her and took the title for themselves.” The dark liquid stopped pouring from the mountain side. The last of it joined the puddle near the middle and it grew still. A perfect circle stood, not so much as trembling. It was pitch black and had a sense of depth, as though something more than the mountain waited on the other side. “The most powerful of the ancient beings, so great and terrible that even Discord came together to seal her perfection away.” A form burst through from the dark circle. It was like a pony, but much larger. It was taller than Celestia by at least two feet. It rose quickly, and as it drew closer, Scootaloo could see more details. The first thing she could see was that it was beautiful. It had a jet black coat, long legs, deep, sapphire eyes, and a mane of flowing green, the same shade as Lirean’s, but looking more like Celestia’s or Luna’s. She had a horn, jagged and twisted like the changeling queen’s. And she had an air of power about her. Shadow and air twisted together in a haze of blacks and dark blues and icy greens. Her wings weren’t insect like. Instead, they were ethereal, made of the same shadow and wind that cloaked her, but reflected a deeper range of arctic colors. The colors reflected off of them and into the air around her, as though she wore the northern lights as a gown. She met Scootaloo’s eyes, and the pony felt the sheer power in the creature threaten to crush her into nothingness. She felt every dream and nightmare she’d ever had all threaten to drown her in emotion. She felt the force behind the creatures muscles and the depth of its experience. The creature’s eyes left hers as she passed from the creature's interest, and the intense feeling vanished, leaving her suspended in the air, gasping for breath, limbs trembling. “My lady,” Rose said in greeting. “Nocturne.”