//------------------------------// // Chapter 4. Memories amidst the Madness // Story: Resuscitatio Artium Magicarum // by Xomniac //------------------------------// Chrysalis stared tiredly out of the window. Playing before her was a unique scene. One she’d imagined time and time again since waking up. ‘Canterlot under siege,’ Chrysalis mused. ‘The sight of my children burning it to the ground is truly a beautiful one...’ Everything had gone perfectly. Standards had dropped so low over the years that not even the royal sisters themselves maintained even the barest of mental shields. It was larva’s play for Chrysalis to shroud herself in a mental barrier that passively influenced anyone that interacted with her. It was a classic tool, one used for long-terms like she was wearing, but it did the job. Normally, it wouldn’t have worked to the extent that it did, but these were special circumstances. Once her comrades had deposited Cadance, they’d managed to fake a letter to Celestia, issuing a threat to Canterlot and the marriage. With Shining Armor concentrating on the barrier and Celestia and Luna on the warpath, Chrysalis's antics were easily overlooked. For the most part, anyways. Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s pet unicorn, was the exception that proved the rule. Only individuals of extreme intelligence could circumvent the barrier and perceive the errors in the disguise. While it spoke wonders of Celestia’s IQ, it was also dangerous. It was only thanks to Chrysalis's quick thinking and some active mental persuasion that she was able to dissuade Celestia and Shining Armor from unveiling her ploy. After that, there was only one viable course of action: dispose of Twilight Sparkle. It had been simplicity incarnate. While passive influence held little sway over her, the lavender unicorn was still wide open to active persuasion. All Chrysalis had to do was direct her to sit where she wanted her to. One unnoticed Rune Array later and she had joined Cadance in the mines. She’d had an especially enjoyable time taunting her. And Iron Will had said the Communications Arrays on the gems were a waste of resources! Still, the damage had been done. Shining Armor had very nearly broken through the mental conditioning she’d been putting him through, forcing Chrysalis to place him in a vegetative state and extend her mental barrier to him so that no one would notice the change. But, instead of panicking, she did what any good changeling would do when presented with unforeseen circumstances. She played it to her advantage. -45 Minutes Earlier- Chrysalis smirked as she stared into Shining Armor’s dull green eyes. ‘Perfect.’ She thought. She quickly sought out and activated her mental link between herself and her comrades. “Gilda, can you hear me?’” “Ow! Yes, damn it! A little warning next time!” The griffon protested. ‘What, what is it?’ “New circumstances have arisen. Activate the runes, we’re stepping the schedule up.” Chrysalis could feel Gilda’s shock through the link. “Wh- hang on, the whole point of this charade was to do this during the invasion! If we start it now, those two will know and eviscerate us!” “You’d be right...” Chrysalis replied. She then smirked as Shining Armor’s eyes flashed brightly. “If I hadn’t taken control of Shining Armor and altered his shield just a smidge.” Gilda was silent for a second before quietly responding. “...what did you do?” Chrysalis's smugness could be felt across the link. “Oh, nothing much, just made it so that magical signals can’t enter the barrier and reach Canterlot. Like, say, the alarms on Tartarus?” Gilda’s exhilaration came through loud and clear. “EPIC! I’ll get right on it! Enjoy the wedding, and save us some cake!” -o- “Will do. I have to go now. This is the last you’ll hear from me until all is said and done. Don’t want to risk Celestia tracing the link, after all. Good luck.” “You too!” Gilda winced slightly as the connection receded but grinned enthusiastically at Trixie and Iron Will. “We’re good to go.” Trixie jumped gleefully. “Huzzah!” Iron Will pumped his fist. “At last!” Gilda nodded. “Alright, one second.” She walked over to a nearby bag and dug out a tablet of stone. She tapped it with her claw, causing the runes inscribed on it to light up. She gestured with her gauntlet, re-arranging the shapes and figures until they were to her liking. She silently raised her head and stared at the entrance to Tartarus. “We’re good to go. Just one tap...and the world changes.” Iron Will nodded solemnly. “Well, friends, are you ready?” The other two froze and slowly turned to look at him. “...friends?” Gilda whispered. Iron Will blinked in surprise. “Well...yeah, Iron Will thought we were friends. After all we’ve been through...aren’t we?” Gilda and Trixie were silent for a moment. When they’d come together, it had been out of a sense of duty. They’d been chosen. The Guide, the Scribe and the Guard, like their ancestors before them, signaled by Scholar himself no less! They were comrades, allies, yes. But friends? At long last, Trixie spoke. “The...Trixie...Trixie supposes that she could do worse than you.” “Y-yeah,” Gilda concurred hesitantly. “I mean, it’s not like you’re total dweebs. For a unicorn and a minotaur...you guys are...actually kinda cool?” Iron Will smiled and nodded decisively. “Friends it is then. Gilda? Do it.” The griffon swallowed. “Right.” She turned back to the cave. “End of the world. Not with a bang, but a whimper.” She tapped the tablet, causing the runes to flash brightly. -o- Deep beneath the earth, Cerberus slumbered before the gates of Tartarus. Unseen behind him, high up on the monolithic doors, a section of runes flashed as they activated. -o- Within Tartarus itself, a series of chains lit up, magic coursing along them until finally... They made contact with Scholar. The Rune Keeper jerked for a second, unused to the level of magic after so long before finally smirking and cackling madly. “HAHAHAHAHA! They did it! THEY DID IT! Finally, at long last! Ready or not, Celestia, cause here!” The runes flashed off his robe and coursed up the chains, multiplying and spreading along the metal links. “I!” Chains began snapping, one after another after another, with increasing frequency. Each louder and more violent than the last. “COME!” -Present- ‘Fifteen more minutes,’ Chrysalis mused. ‘I just need to keep playing around with the Elements for fifteen minutes. After that...who knows. Still...’ She watched as her changelings chased down Canterlot’s citizens. ‘Why does such a beautiful sight leave me feeling so empty?’ “You won’t succeed, you know.” Chrysalis snarled and bared her fangs. ‘Oh yes, now I remember.’ How could she possibly forget? She was in the presence of the royal nag herself. She could clearly remember their little conflict earlier. -Five Minutes Earlier- “Now that you have so foolishly revealed yourself,” Celestia snarled as she and Chrysalis clashed their horns together. “I can protect my subjects,” She reared back flapping into the air before blasting a beam of golden light at Chrysalis. “FROM YOU!” Chrysalis bared her fangs in fury, countering the beam with her own green variety. Magic against magic, abject fury against abject fury. Neither gained ground, neither gave. Though they were silent on the outside, inside their own minds, they were far from quiet. “How!?” Celestia screamed. “How are you awake! How dare you do this!” “How dare I! HOW DARE I!?  After what you did to Concordia, you are the last person I want to hear that manure from!” Chrysalis returned, emphasizing the word. Celestia sent her a bolt of pure rage. “Don’t call me that!” Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly. “What, ‘person’? Oh, what’s wrong, can’t stand to be reminded of the utopia you helped create? The utopia you destroyed!” “That was not my fault, Chrysalis!” Celestia raged. “Yes it was! But that’s neither here nor there. If you don’t like old memories, then you’ll hate this: This isn’t the first time we’ve been in this position, Celestia!” Chrysalis's physical body cracked an eye open and glanced up at Celestia’s shining being. “Remember?” And Celestia did. Her eyes widened as she remembered, her mind flashing back, back through time to where they’d once been. Back to the days of Concordia. ~~~ Chrysalis broke her beam off and teleported, leaving Celestia’s own attack to dig a furrow into the ground. Celestia smirked. She teleported in a second, letting Chrysalis's attack burn through the space she’d once occupied as the Changeling Queen tried to strike at her from behind. The two teleported to the ground, legs spread and bodies at the ready as they stared into each other’s eyes, both challenging the other, daring them to move. “You’re getting slow, bug-breath!” Celestia called out tauntingly. Chrysalis tilted her head back and cackled “I’m still better than you, oh great and radiant nag!” she retorted mockingly. It was at that point that they were reminded that they were being watched. “WOO! GO AUNT CELESTIA!” “INDEED! HAVE AT HER, SISTER!” Celestia turned her head and smiled at the onlookers. Cadance and Luna were waving enthusiastically at Celestia from the sidelines, cheering her on. But that didn’t mean Chrysalis was alone either. “Go Chrysalis!” “You the changeling!” “Beat her down!” Chrysalis smirked at her own supporter. He was a hydra: Twenty-five feet of smooth, serpentine body, from the tip of one of his heads to the end of his tail. He was covered in dark, swampy-green scales. Seven snake-like heads were weaving around on long, agile necks. They all connected back to his large, muscular body, which was supported on trunk-like legs, similar to those of an elephant. Extending out of his rear was a long, serpentine tail. “Kick her flank!” The heads took turns speaking. “No quarter!” “I’ve got a lot of cash riding on this!” “If you lose, I’ll pump you so full of toxins you won’t be able to tell a golem from an ent!” “Oooooh, now that sounds interesting!” Floating next to the hydra was a mis-matched creature that was munching on a bag of popcorn. “Pray tell, where might I be able to get my claws on such a miraculous substance?” The hydra’s heads snorted simultaneously. “Nice try, Discord!” “Do I look like an idiot?” “I wouldn’t sell that stuff to you for all the gold in the world.” “You’re bad enough sober!” The draconequus pouted pitifully. “Hmph! This is discrimination! You’re a cruel hydra, Serpense.” “Bite me.” The heads responded simultaneously. “Hahahaha! Enough, enough already!” All heads turned to the chuckling individual. Scholar was doing his best to keep the smirk off his face, but it was a hard job. “No more  audience participation, otherwise we’ll never get this over with!” Discord huffed childishly while Serpense rolled his eyes and snickered. “Alright then,” He turned back to the two who were poised to fight and raised his hand. “Ready to continue?” Celestia’s smirk widened. “Age before beauty.” She said, gesturing at Chrysalis. The insectoid matriarch grinned in anticipation. “If you want to go first so bad, then by all means.” Scholar brought his hand down in a chopping motion. “FIGHT!” The twin royalties charged at each other, horns alight and ready to go. ~~~ Celestia’s eyes widened in panic as she snapped out of the memory. It had merely been for a second, only an instant. But in this kind of conflict? It was enough. “Check and mate, Celestia!” Chrysalis smirked as she redoubled her blast, taking advantage her opponent’s inattentiveness. Gold succumbed to green, and then all at once... ZAP! “PRINCESS CELESTIA!” -Present- Chrysalis had been left alone with the two princesses and the unicorn’s pet dragon. And quite frankly, the old acquaintances were spoiling her mood. She wheeled around, glaring at the solar diarch. “Oh? Really? I won’t win? Look around you, Celestia! Your precious capital is falling apart at the seams! How could I possibly lose?!” “T-twilight and her friends will-” Spike tried to speak, but he was cut off when she turned her head and pinned him with a glare from a single glowing green eye. The baby dragon shivered in terror as he stared into the glowing orb. “Silence, peon!” She whispered harshly, her voice carrying over to him. “I am Queen Chrysalis, Matriarch of the Changelings, Acentetus Mendacium, and Oligarch of Concordia. I will not be interrupted by the pitiful excuse for a salamander that the people of this time have the gall to call a dragon.” “Leave him alone!” Cadance cried from where she had been glued to the ground. Chrysalis whipped her stare to the would-be bride. “Don’t deny it! Look at him! He’s at least thirteen years old! He should be at least twice as long as me! Yet another wonderful aspect of your ever so glorious perfect world, Celestia!” Celestia growled and struggled, trying to get to her hooves. “Ergh...I...I bear no regrets...for what I did. Equus-” SLAM! “ARGH!” Celestia cried out, trying to move her head. Sadly enough, she was unable to due to it being pinned beneath Chrysalis's hoof. “You can claim whatever you desire,” Chrysalis stated coldly. “But don’t you dare try and claim that. Say it. Say the real name of our world, and not the lie you told your peons.” Celestia grunted, straining against the slowly increasing pressure on her head, before finally. “MUNDUS!” Chrysalis whipped her head over to the sobbing Cadance. “Ch-Chrysalis, please! Look around you, Mundus has never been safer, never been more at peace-!” “And all it took,” Chrysalis interrupted, her voice cold and deadly as she stepped off of Celestia and slowly trotted over to Cadance. “Was sealing away every little last bit that didn’t agree with you.” She leaned in close to the Alicorn, making her tilt back in fear. “All it took was to take absolute control, and destroy what it once was. From the ground, up.” “We had to.” Chrysalis whipped her head back around to Celestia. The mare was glaring at her defiantly, not a trace of fear or remorse in her eyes. Only determination. “That world was dangerous. It was wild, untameable. So many got hurt, so many died.” “That’s nature, you nag.” Chrysalis responded calmly. “Yes, people die. It’s a fact. You get stronger and you move on, that’s how the world works. But you!” Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly. “You didn’t let that happen. You coddled these pathetic fools, let them stagnate. And whenever they faced the world without you to hold their hoof, they suffered for it.” Celestia was breathing heavily as she stared neutrally into Chrysalis's eyes. “I did it for my little ponies.” She said evenly. “BUT NOT FOR CONCORDIA!” Chrysalis screamed, magic blazing around her emphasizing her fury as she teleported in front of Celestia, who remained impassive. “YOUR DUTY WAS NOT SOLELY TO THEM, BUT TO US ALL! WE SHARED THE RESPONSIBILITY, WE PROTECTED EVERYONE! UNTIL YOU BETRAYED US! HOW MANY CURSED YOU AS THEY WERE LOCKED IN THEIR PRISONS!? HOW MANY CURSED YOUR NAME AS YOU SEALED THEM AWAY TILL THE END OF TIME!? HOW MANY HAVE CURSED YOUR VERY EXISTENCE AS THEIR SPECIES DWINDLED AWAY FROM THE PROUD MIGHT IT ONCE HELD, DISAPPEARING INTO THE SHADOWS CAST BY YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS ‘LITTLE PONIES’!? HOW MANY!?” Chrysalis panted, her green aura fading away as she finished her tirade. Cadance was sobbing miserably where she stood, muttering over and over again how sorry she was. Spike, on the other hand, was petrified, staring dead ahead. Celestia, however, remained still, her face devoid of emotions. “You can try as much as you want, Chrysalis, you’ll still fail in the end.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes and scoffed as she turned around and began to walk back to the window. “Clearly. You actually need a soul to feel guilt, and I’m fairly certain that if Solum ever came to collect, he’d come up empty.” “No, I meant your plan to break Scholar out.” Due to their nature as being deceitful and hiding their true selves, changelings were masters at controlling their own emotions. Which was why despite panicking on the inside, Chrysalis was able to casually turn her head and glance back at Celestia out of the corner of her eye. “Hm?” The white Alicorn rolled her eyes. “Oh don’t give me that act you overgrown maggot. I know that this is all a ploy to draw attention. Your hive is nowhere near back to full power, and neither are you. This is a suicide mission, and headstrong as you are, you’d never agree to one without proper recompense. There’s only one goal good enough for you: freeing Scholar from Tartarus.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes and sighed tiredly. “Really now, Celestia, you’re letting your age show, seeing connections where they aren’t. Why can’t this be about simple, good old fashioned revenge, hm? Why does it all have to link back to Scholar, like he’s the main character in some mediocre work of fiction?” “Hmm, let’s see...” Celestia mused as she looked up in mock thought. “You’re undyingly loyal to a long-dead nation that only he can revive, you’re attacking a month after Cerberus was lured away from his post, oh, I know, how about this?” Celestia looked Chrysalis dead in the eyes.   “You’re in love with him.” Chrysalis’s eyes shot wide open as she stared at Celestia in shock. Cadance and Spike were also staring, but while Spike was doing it in surprise of what he’d learnt, Cadance’s reason was different. “Despite,” Celestia continued. “The fact that he didn’t love you back.” Fangs gnashed in pure fury as Chrysalis clenched her jaws. “CELESTIA!” The solar diarch turned in surprise to look at Cadance. Her niece was staring at her, her body shaking in anger. “Too far. Even after all she’s done, that’s too far.” Chrysalis shook in pure anger for a moment more before simply...deflating. Her head bowed and shoulders slumped, she turned around and slowly stepped over to the window, staring out of it wordlessly for a second before finally... “He couldn’t love me.” She whispered. “He couldn’t care less about my species, he never cared about that, not with anyone. But in the end it would be a choice between me and his love for knowledge and science and magic...and in that contest, I couldn’t even begin to compete.” She closed her eyes and rested her head against the glass as tears silently flowed down her cheeks. “It hurts. It hurts so bad, to not be a part of his life in that way...” Slowly, she re-opened her eyes and stared defiantly into the city. “But even if I can’t be with him, I can at least take solace in his happiness. I can still enjoy his smile. I can still support him when he needs somebody to support him, and I know he’ll be there when I need someone in turn.” She turned around and stared Celestia in the eye again. “I can still make him proud, by standing up against the monsters that caused us all so much pain, despite the length of the odds. Win or lose, Celestia, I’ll still have that.” Celestia was silent, her expression tinged by a deep sadness as she stared at her enemy. Her old friend. “Luna has gone to Tartarus to check on his bindings.” She said solemnly. Chrysalis didn’t even flinch. “Let her. In the end it doesn’t matter. I have what I want. I did what I had to do.” She turned around stared out the window. “Detain her.” Celestia didn’t move. She just stared at Chrysalis silently, tears trailing down her cheeks, even as she was struck on the back of the head and thrust into unconsciousness. -15 Minutes Later- Gilda stared in horror at the tablet in her hands. “No...” She breathed, jabbing at it furiously with her talon. “NononononoNO!” “Gilda-!” “STOW IT, IRON WILL!” She screamed at him, tears flowing down her feathers. “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING! NOT AFTER ALL WE’VE DONE! NOT AFTER ALL WE’VE BEEN THROUGH!” “Iron Will knows this is hard,” He said calmly, “But she’s coming, and we need to be quiet! We’re still alive, and we need to keep it that way!” Gilda stared at him for a second before finally collapsing to sit on the ground, her beak firmly clamped between her talons as she was wracked with sobs. Iron Will turned to his equine friend. “Trixie!” She was staring into the mouth of the cave with dead eyes, unresponsive. “TRIXIE!” She jumped, jerkily turning towards him. “Ah-y-yes? W-what is it?” “The illusion, now!” She blinked stupidly for a second before finally responding. “A-ah, r-r-right. O-of course.” Her horn sputtered a few times before the air finally shimmered correctly. Not a moment too soon. Mere seconds after they were hidden, out of the cave came the devil herself. Princess Luna, Lunar diarch of Equestria. She trotted calmly out of the cave, almost an exact opposite to the black and silver blur she’d been mere minutes ago when entering. Without a care in the world, she spread her wings and took off, flying casually back to Canterlot. About ten minutes after she left, Iron Will tapped Trixie on the shoulder, drawing her attention. Wordlessly, he gestured across his neck. Trixie silently nodded, dropping the illusion. For countless minutes, they were silent, dead to the world, before finally, Iron Will breathed heavily and rubbed his snout. “We...we need to re-evaluate our position. We need to make a plan. Gilda, what’s the status on the gates?” “I don’t know.” The griffon replied, not looking up. “Can you check?” “No, Iron Will, I can’t check!” Gilda hissed, her voice rising as she spoke. “I can’t check at all or even a bit because I’m not getting anything from those damn Gates! Do you realize what that means!?” “Tell us.” Iron Will asked, silently dreading the answer. Gilda whipped around, her eyes full of tears. “They’re gone. Every rune, every inscription, every symbol, array or device, they’re all, just, gone! Years of work! Centuries of sacrifice and dedication, erased in minutes! Completely and utterly!” She clutched her head in her talons and shook it miserably. “We don’t have a position, we don’t have a place to stand, we don’t have anything left. She wiped it all away. The gates are back at full strength, Scholar is trapped within.” Her voice dropped to a mere whisper. “It’s over. The Academia failed. The Guards failed, the Scribes failed, even the Guides failed.” Her eyes screwed shut in pure misery. “We failed...” Once anew, they were silent. They wallowed in their misery and despair, succumbing completely and utterly. Finally... “What do we do now?” Trixie whispered. “Now? Allow me to tell you.” The three screamed in shock. Or at least, they tried to. They were impeded by the green auras of magic restricting their throats and lifting them into the air. “Now you’re going to pay.” They were slowly turned around, brought face-to-face with their captor. Iron Will’s eyes bulged in shock. “C-Chrysalis!” He managed to choke out. The once mighty Queen had fallen low. Her chitin was cracked, green ichor flowing out of her from all over. One of her fangs was chipped off and her wings appeared to have been all but shredded. She was limping, due to her front hoof being thoroughly mangled. Even her mane looked like it had lost a fight with a push-mower. “What the h-hell are y-ACK!” Gilda was cut off as the pressure on her throat tightened. “You failed.” Chrysalis growled, her voice inundated with magic. “And because of your failure, Scholar will never be free. My hive will never be free. Concordia will never be free! Revenge will never be had, Equestria’s crimes will go forever unpunished! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!” “I-it wasn’t our fault!” Trixie protested faintly. “I. Don’t. Care.” She snarled. “It still happened. We still lost. And right now, the only thing on my mind is bloody vengeance. So here’s what’s going to happen. I am going to drain all three of you of every last drop of life you have. Then, I am going to break into Canterlot, and rip out the throats of every Alicorn present, with my fangs if I have to. I will die. I know this. And honestly? At this point?” The magic around her died away. With the aura gone, it was plain to see what she was. Not an all-powerful being, unbeatable in every form. Not a god or a deity. Not even a queen. Just a poor, broken mother. “I don’t care.” She whispered, tears dripping from her cheeks. “Hmm, stop me if I’m wrong here, but I believe the appropriate phrase at this time would be something along the lines of 'you have so much left to live for'?” Chrysalis froze, eyes wide in shock. Her magic cut out, dropping the trio to the ground. They choked and gagged, trying to regain their breath. When they raised their heads, Chrysalis had turned around, and was staring dumbstruck at an alien being. Tall and clad in a strange robe. Runes flowed across it like water, shifting and changing, making for a surreal sight. They even lifted off of him and floated around him in a halo of ancient letters. His illuminated glasses hid the majority of his face in the shadows of his hood, but a cocky, self-assured grin was still visible. Tears continued to flow from Chrysalis’s eyes as she stared at him. “Scholar...” She breathed reverently. Hearing her, the trio gave him a look of awe before quickly kneeling, heads bowed in respect. Scholar’s grin turned ever more confident. “I believe that there’s a second phrase I should say at this moment.” His glasses glinted eagerly in the moonlight. “Did ya miss me?” To Be Continued...