//------------------------------// // Chapter Eleven: A Bad Memory, Part IV (Final) // Story: The Greatest Show of Kindness // by Sonik //------------------------------// The Greatest Show of Kindness Chapter Eleven: A Bad Memory, Part IV (Final) For the next two days, all that Bumble and Flutter did was sleep and eat when they needed to. This gave them a chance to restock up on the vital energy they would need to go back out and function normally again. One day, there was a fierce knock on the door. It was loud, almost to the point where the door was knocked off of its hinges. Instantly, Flutter sighed and rolled out of her bed, shaking her head to wake her up a little. “(I’m coming! Please, wait a moment!)” she screeched out, tiredly walking over to her door. She opened it with a tug. Standing there were two heavily armored elite guards, each bearing a large, dark-blue exoskeleton-like shell. They glared into Flutter’s eyes, and she felt that her soul was being pierced deeply. The scowls they had on their faces caused her to flinch backwards. The deep, guttural growls they pushed out from their throats caused her to lock up with fear. She knew upon sight of these two guards that there was something very, very wrong – these were the Queen’s personal guards, of which never had business with the citizens. “(You. Gather your children and anybody else that is inside and step out. Now,)” one of them ordered. “(W-What’s happening?)” Flutter asked, unable to change her stance from fear. “(The Queen demands that you go to meet her,)” the other stated. “(What for?”) she questioned, cocking her head. “(Get everybody out of the house. Now!)” they ordered, ignoring her question. “(But-)” she started. Suddenly, a hoof was slammed across her left cheek, leaving a bright-green mark. She cried out and fell to the ground, grasping her face from shock and pain. She couldn’t do anything for a minute, unable to comprehend what had just happened to her/ “(You just… you…)” she exasperated. “(Everybody out. Now!”) one of them shouted, picking her up and throwing her back inside. Flutter went into their bedroom and hesitantly lifted Bumble onto her back. He had no idea of what was going on. “(Mama, what’s happening?)” he shyly asked Flutter placed him on her back. “(I don’t know, sweetie. A couple of the Queen’s guards just came up to our door and told me to get us outside.)” Within a minute, Flutter came out, carrying Bumble on her back. “(Now, come with us. Do not resist.)” Complying with her orders, she followed them intently through the streets. Over the past two days, many changelings somehow managed to return to the hive. The streets were slowly refilling, but Flutter could feel a difference in the atmosphere. The normal busy feeling she got by walking through the hive seemed to be replaced with a horrible sensation of overwhelming despair. All of the changelings held their heads down, and there wasn’t any chitter-chatter that normally occurred at all times of the day. The only sound that was heard was the sound of sadly clicking hoofsteps. On top of this, she didn’t feel very much love energy radiating from the black crystal material. It made her feel tired and worn as she slowly trotted through the streets with her escorts. There were stares on her from all angles as she approached the huge, extravagant castle. Eventually, they arrived at the castle, immediately heading inside. Inside the castle, there was a huge domed ceiling, and on the walls were oddly enough, changeling runes. They were written in beautifully written cursive-style writing, and they spiraled up into the dome. At the epicenter of the dome was a gigantic character, of which meant “bravery,” or “honour.” Inscribed on each of the doors was a changeling proverb, ranging from things such as “a rock tumbling down may be lifted once more,” or “with a strong inside, a rich outside is born.” As they walked up to a large, magnificent door, of which had the character for “court” inscribed on it, the two guards opened it using their furious, green magic and pushed the two inside. Waiting thereupon a beautiful jade and emerald throne was the Queen herself. Sitting in a smaller seat to her right side was Chryssy, who was shocked to see Bumble and Flutter entering the throne room. On the sides of the room sitting in tables were court officials, of which were chattering with each other. Queen Chrysalis and Chryssy were both in conversation with each other as well. Upon Flutter’s entrance of the room, all talk ended and all eyes in the room were focused on the Queen and Princess. Across the other side of the room on the floor was a shackled up changeling, whose head was looking toward the floor. Standing up in front of the stairs leading up to the dual thrones were three familiar faces to Flutter. Three faces of which the moment she saw, she knew that something horrible was about to take place. The two were wearing silky, light-green and blue dresses. Chrysalis’ had a crest on the chest that had the rune for “queen,” and likewise with Chryssy’s, except hers had “princess” woven it. The dresses both flowed over their chairs, casting royal veils over the ground. “(Court shall begin!)” Chrysalis firmly stated. “(To begin, I would like to thank you three, Sniper, Strider and Ambrosia, for making light of these three traitors,)” she directed towards the three, nodding at them in utmost approval. They all nodded back. ‘Traitors!?’ Flutter frantically thought as she quickly tensed up. “(Traitors!?)” Chryssy whispered to her mother, who looked at her with a confirming nod. “(As you know, there is only one good place for a traitor to be in any situation. That place is a graveyard with nameless graves, which is exactly where you three are headed,)” she threatened. Flutter took a chance at this moment. “(Have you anything to say in your defenses?)” “(We’re not traitors!)” Flutter tried, standing in a fighting position. “(Do you have any proof to support your statement? Because right here, I have three witnesses that tell me that you were conducting treasonous acts with ponies during our invasion.)” “(But, we didn’t-)” “(Enough! I know from experience that denial is the first sign of a liar. Your mouth is to remain sealed.) “(B-But-) “(Silence!)” Flutter knew that it was a lost cause to try and defend her case at this point. Therefore, she closed her mouth. She looked Chryssy in the eyes, and the message she conveyed with her face was “please, help me!” Chryssy, seeing this, decided to speak up. “(Mother…)” she started, but received a deep glare from Chrysalis. “(Chryssy, no. You are not to interfere. This is business that only I may deal with,)” she replied. “(When you become Queen, you may deal with these things yourself, but for now, just observe.)” At the moment, she saw that all eyes were on her, which caused her anxiety to rise greatly. Despite this, she once again tried to interject. “(Mother! This is not the best way to handle this! You don’t need to kill them to get your point across! Put them in a dungeon for a while! Find something else to do!)” she ordered. “(Chryssy, it is my decision on what to do with these traitors. You should understand that death is the only suitable punishment for their acts against us. You will sit back down on that chair and you will let me deal with this. No further comments from you, young lady!)” she demanded, stomping a hoof on the ground. “(No! I won’t let you!)” she screamed, jumping down in front of Flutter and Bumble. She stood in front of them, scowling at her mother. Bumble, during this entire process, said nothing, and did nothing but tremble on his mother’s back. His head was tucked into her neck. He understood everything that was going on at this moment – often, public executions were held for traitors to the hive, in front of children, even. He’d seen it, and this same process happened every single time. He felt so lucky right then that he had Chryssy to try and help him and his mother out. “(Chryssy, enough from you!)” Chrysalis yelled, lifting her up with her magic. She lowered her to the guards to the sides of the thrones. “(You two, hold her back for me while I pass on punishment,)” she ordered. “(No!)” she screamed as the two guards gathered to her sides. They each pulled their magic over her legs, forcing her into one position, unable to move. “(Let… me… go!)” she resisted, trying her absolute hardest to move. She couldn’t do anything at this point, except watch the events unfold before her eyes. “(Okay… Now that that little… interruption has been solved, I pass sentence to you three. You are sentenced to death for your actions against the hive, and myself,)” she punished, stepping down from the throne. With her magic, she put the three in order, from the unknown changeling on the left (in Chrysalis’ perspective), Flutter in the middle, and Bumble on the right. Bumble could barely stand, so she forced him to a standing position with a spell. In one instant, she lowered her horn to the unknown changeling’s chest, firing a beam straight into it. When her spell finished, it was laying on the ground with a dark-green mark in its chest. Flutter’s and Chryssy’s eyes both widened at this sight. “(No!)” Chryssy hissed, trying even harder now to be released from her magical grasp. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. Next, she took aim at Flutter, whose face had a miserable, teary-eyed look. She took one last look at Bumble and gave him one final kiss on the head before she turned back towards her queen. Tears flowed from her eyes at this point, and she gave one final prayer. ‘Please, allow me and my baby to find peace in the afterlife, where we can re-unite for all of eternity. May we both find our heavens in the same realm so that we may come back together,’ she thought. In a moment, her prayer was sent to the realm of the gods. She couldn’t hold her eyes open any longer, closing them to allow the warm tears to fall down her face in excess. With a deep blast of energy into her chest, Flutter gasped. The pain in her chest was too great; she fell to the ground, hitting the ground with a thump. Chryssy couldn’t take it anymore. A scream welled up in her lungs. “(Flutter! No!)” she howled. It was so loud that it made the guards holding her recoil, their magical grips being released. Their ears rang with her words. Everybody in the room fell backwards into their seats. Quickly, she shot her own bright, light-blue beams into their chest cavities, making them drop. She flew out of her dress, which fell to the floor like a decaying leaf, and landed in front of Flutter. She lifted her up into her fore hooves, shaking her vigorously. “(Flutter! Answer me! Please! Flutter!)” she yelled, begging her friend to come back to life in her legs. Her eyes looked down whilst solitude walked in disguise. Tears flowed from her eyes as she stared back up at her mother in disbelief that she could be so cruel. “(M-Mother… how could you do this?)” she seeked, looking away. She couldn’t stand to look at her mother after what she had just witnessed. She boiled inside. “(Chryssy, I told you-)” Chrysalis started, but… “(I don’t care what you told me!)” she interrupted loudly, catching even her mother off guard. “(You just killed one of my only friends! You just… You’re nothing more than a monster! How can you possibly feel good about yourself!?)” “(Chryssy! Enou-)” “(Shut up! I’m done with you! All that you’ve done to me is made me do all of these things that I never wanted to do, and all it does to me is put me in misery! Can’t you tell that what you’re doing to others is causing them pain!? That what you're making me watch and do is causing me pain!? Can’t you see that you’re a monster!?)” Chrysalis could just stand there, speechless, as she couldn’t believe the words coming out of her daughter’s mouth. “(Chryssy, you have acted out enough for one day. I order you to leave the room and go calm yourself down somewhere else. You will take time to think about your actions.)” “(No! I am going to stand here right where I am and protect the one I truly love! You won’t make me move or do anything else!)” Having enough, Chrysalis used her magic and raised Bumble off the ground with her magic. She levitated him over her shoulder and looked at Chryssy. “(Well, if you won’t let me do this execution, I suppose I’ll find another way of exhaling this cretin from our hive!)” she threatened, making Bumble squeak. She flew out of the courtroom, carrying Bumble with her. “(I don’t think so this time, mother!)” Chryssy retaliated, flying out after her. Chrysalis quickly flew out of the castle through the main door, with Chryssy following in immediate pursuit. “(Mother! Let him go this instant!)” she demanded. Chrysalis stopped in midair in the space above the living districts and turned back to Chryssy. “(Chryssy! If you are going to become the Queen of this hive when my time is over, you are going to need to understand that there are some things that are absolutely unacceptable! Treason, of which this worm has committed, is the absolute worst of them! You need to learn that the only correct manner of dealing with this is to send the offender as far away as possible from the hive so that they may never repeat the offense and hurt the hive again! Whether it be permanent banishment or death, they must be dealt with!)” Chrysalis yelled at her daughter. “(That might be the way that you operate this hive, but I have no intentions of following this practice when I become Queen! You are so unforgiving to others that you look directly into their flaws and you offer no room for them to show any worth! I vow that I will never, ever have a death sentence when I rule! I will be forgiving, and I will give others second chances!)” she argued, her eyes twitching in raw fury at her mother. “(You’ll understand as you grow older that what I’m doing is truly the right thing, Chryssy. Right now, this issue needs to be dealt with so that I can get back to court,)” Chrysalis impatiently stated, reeling Bumble back with her magic. “(And as for you,)” she started, directing her voice towards Bumble, “(You are not to trust any ponies in this life! They are vile, disgusting creatures who live only to deceive! They live only to breathe hate into you! Shall you place your trust in them, you will only find betrayal and pain! Those are the only words I have towards you. Let them be your last!)” “(What? No!)” Chryssy yelled, lunging forward at her mother. It was too late, however, as the Queen threw Bumble with mighty force out of the hive, in the direction of Equestria. Chryssy’s face drooped as she saw her last friend fly off into the distance. “(Bumble…)” she trailed, unable to do anything. The last thing she remembered was shooting a beam of energy at her mother and screaming before blacking out. Bumble had flown through the air for a few minutes by this point. His eyes were clenched from fear and he couldn’t help but shriek constantly. The feeling in his stomach was terrible, like the feeling you get when you get when you are forced to go up in front of a crowd against your will. Eventually, he felt his lower back slam against something hard, splintering his back end. He felt splinters of wood in his leg, telling him it was a tree. He fell down, slamming his mouth against multiple branches, causing his left fang to crack and split in half. When he finally hit the ground, he landed awkwardly on one of his forelegs and hindlegs, forcing them to bend in positions that they never should’ve. The pain was too great, and he couldn’t maintain consciousness.