Episode 7: Generosity's Capture Part 1 – A Hostile Takeover
The sky was dark. The sun had turned black, and the moon was looming far closer to the surface of Equestria than it should have been. The states of the two celestial bodies left the sky a dark red color, casting long shadows over the land. The acrid stench of smoke hung in the air, causing Scootaloo to cough involuntarily. She found that she was standing all by herself in the valley between Ponyville and Canterlot. Ponyville itself was nowhere in sight; neither was the ever-present Palace of Winds. As she looked over her shoulder for her missing home, she suddenly felt the uncomfortable sensation of being watched.
And then the laughing started.
It started quietly at first, low and threatening, but quickly began to build up in volume and intensity. The sound of it made Scootaloo's blood freeze as she slowly began to turn her head towards the insane cackle. Her eyes fell upon it just as the mad bout of laughter reached a terrifying crescendo.
The first thing she saw was the eyes. Those horrifyingly familiar eyes.
That were staring right at her.
The rest of the abomination's twisted body was indecipherable from the surrounding gloom, but the glow emitting from its eyes revealed the head as vaguely heart-shaped. Two massive horns grew from the top of its head like great, needle-like spires, with eight smaller horns protruding from the lower half of its face. Countless tendrils extended from its body, curling towards the sky seemingly in an attempt to claw at it. It sat upon the smoldering ruins of Canterlot as though the whole city were little more than a throne to it. It was even bigger than an Ursa Major!
As its hideous eyes bore into her, Scootaloo let out a gasp of horrified realization as she finally knew what it was that loomed over the entirety of Equestria, using its crowning jewel of a capital city as its twisted throne.
In that same instant, she also knew she was about to die.
"H-HELP ME! SOMEPONY HELP ME!"
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"H-HELP ME! SOMEPONY HELP ME!"
As Luna immersed herself in her world of dreams, the scream of a filly immediately caught her attention. The second she zeroed in on the filly's dream, Luna realized several things at once; this was Scootaloo's dream, and that this was not a mere dream.
Luna immediately tore through the threshold of Scootaloo's dream like a rocket, impacting the ground between Scootaloo and the colossal abomination that stared her down. Scootaloo blinked with shock as she recognized her father's favorite princess putting herself between the young filly and the horror that plagued her. Luna threw her head up, her horn flaring with intense dream magic as she bellowed, "BEGONE FROM THIS REALM, THING OF EVIL! THIS IS OUR DOMAIN! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!"
To her surprise, and mounting dread, the massive being merely stared at her as though she were a mere fly buzzing over its head.
And then it spoke, with a voice so thoroughly chilling it assaulted the soul as much as the ears. Luna's magic petered out with a pathetic hiss as its voice echoed in her mind.
"Your time will come soon, Princess of the Night. For now, I permit thee to continue to indulge in your people's ignorance."
Luna managed to bristle indignantly, but any attempt at a retort died in her throat as the thing continued.
"Rest assured; I will shatter the pedestals you and your sister have been placed upon soon enough. Equestria will see through their self-appointed idols as I bring about the end of mortal zealotry."
The demon raised its massive hands shoulder-high, each of them large enough for an adult dragon to sit comfortably in the palm. "Equestria has lived in blind ignorance wrapped in emotional sensation long enough! I will free them of their pathetic delusions! No more idols! The pedestals shall fall!"
Luna finally managed to recover from her paralyzing fear enough to charge her magic back through her horn. "Begone! I command it!" she yelled, unleashing a burst of energy meant to dissolve this twisted vision.
"No more idols! The pedestals shall fall!" the thing roared back at her defiantly, resisting the push.
Luna retaliated with another wave of magic, and this time, the fringes of the dreamscape began to crack and waver. "Begone! I command it!" Luna bellowed.
"NO MORE IDOLS! THE PEDESTALS SHALL FALL!"
"BEGONE! I COMMAND IT!"
And with one last, mighty bellow, Luna unleashed a massive explosion of dream energy, shattering the dream and forcing its occupants back into consciousness.
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Scootaloo catapulted awake, breathing heavily from confusion and terror. The memories of what she had witnessed pounded against her skull, and she could feel a headache coming on from what had transpired. At the very least, she was thankful that Princess Luna had heard her cry for help. Just being in the presence of that unholy terror, even if in a dream, was more terrifying than anything else she had ever been through. Those piercing eyes remained at the forefront of her thoughts, boring into her soul long after their owner had been expelled from her dreamscape.
Deep in the back of Scootaloo's mind, she knew that had not been a normal dream. It had seemed too real, and the fact that Luna had had to forcibly push back the nightmare, as well as the dark one's ominous warnings, only confirmed it in her mind.
The implications were unnerving, to say the least.
For Scootaloo alone now knew the truth.
Majora had infiltrated Equestria.
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Luna's bedroom, Crystal Palace…
Luna involuntarily released a shuddering breath as she was forced awake by her own spell. That dream…that had been something else. Luna pictured the nameless horror that had menaced young Scootaloo in her mind, and felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She was not certain what to think. This being had been using dream magic, but to Luna's mounting dread, it still did not match the magical signature of the force that was targeting Vaati's traveling companions. Which could only mean one thing.
There was more than one dream weaver working against her.
If that was the case, then her worst fears were confirmed. Ganon was not the true enemy here.
Her thoughts ventured back to this new assailant. What truly bothered Luna was the manner in which she was forced to dispel the nightmare. Very rarely did she have to forcibly wake herself and the dreamer, but that thing, for Luna did not know its name, or if it had one, had pushed back, and a prolonged fight in someone's specific dreamscape could have disastrous consequences for the dreamer. And Luna did not want one of her subjects, Vaati's surrogate daughter, no less, to come to any harm while under her care.
Still, her spell had significantly rattled her, and thus it would be a while before Luna's nerves calmed enough that she could return to sleep and resume her watch over the night. Celestia and Cadance were both currently asleep as well, and Luna knew how stressful the recent events had been for all of them. The Crystal Empire was full of refugees, and more were pouring in with each passing day. Celestia and Cadance had been hard at work ensuring everypony found a place to stay and keeping their spirits up. Since Luna wasn't nearly as much of a people pony, a fact she lamented as that had originally been one of the factors that had isolated her before the Nightmare Moon incident, she had coordinated with Shining Armor and the military to fortify the Empire's defenses. Shining Armor had reluctantly overseen the installment of King Sombra's old crystal stake hurlers, while Luna had worked with the Crystal Heart's caretakers to use its power to erect a wall of crystals around the perimeter of the city. The walls had afterwards been carved and trimmed so that troops could man them. Roosting all over the spires of the palace and in every possible nook and cranny were the Kargorocs, with the Helmaroc King himself nesting in the tower that Sombra had once used to house the Crystal Heart. The great bird had said little upon his arrival, but Luna was certain the gigantic masked hawk was intelligent. The Wizzrobes, Darknuts, and other monsters that Vaati had placed under the Princesses' employ turned their hands towards whatever was needed, patrolling the city when their tasks were done. Everypony knew that Ganon would eventually attack the Crystal Empire, and they wanted to make sure that they were ready.
With all this in mind, Luna chose to wait until morning to deliver this distressing bit of news to her sister and niece. The lunar alicorn stepped over to her balcony and observed her beautiful night. But the serenity of the quiet evening did not ease her thoughts. For she knew that beyond the Empire's boundaries, evil forces stirred, and she feared that Equestria would not be prepared to face them when the time came.
The words of the nameless horror resurfaced unbidden in her mind. "No more idols…" she whispered to herself, pondering their meaning.
Unbeknownst to Luna, however, her confrontation with Majora had been little more than a distraction, for at this very moment, somewhere out there in the Equestrian wilderness, another nightmare was taking place.
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"You are pathetic."
Ignoring the ominous voice, Fluttershy ran desperately through the dark forest, her heart pounding furiously against her ribcage. Everywhere she looked, she saw a large, luminous green eye glaring at her from the shadows.
"You think you can run from us? There is no escape."
"SOMEPONY HELP ME!" Fluttershy screamed, her chest burning from exertion.
"Fluttershy!"
Fluttershy gasped. That voice sounded like Twilight!
"Twilight! Where are you?!" Fluttershy cried.
"Here! Over here!"
Fluttershy followed the sound of Twilight's voice and found her friend all alone in a clearing. "Twilight, what's going on?! Where are we?!" Fluttershy whimpered as she approached.
Before Twilight could answer, however, multiple dark shapes sprang from the darkness all around them, their eyes aglow with malicious intent. Fluttershy skidded to a halt at the sight of the creatures, for she recognized them instantly as the winged wolves that King Sombra had commanded during his attempted conquest of the Crystal Empire. They were just as terrifying now as they had been when she had first laid eyes on them. Twilight gasped as she saw them, but as her horn glowed in an attempt to defend herself, the monstrous hound directly behind her pounced forward, crashing into her back with enough force to knock her down. Twilight yelped as she collapsed, her magic fizzling out in her shock.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy cried.
However, before she could even think about trying to help, one of the hounds turned its attention towards her, snarling as it got between her and her endangered friend. Fluttershy stared into its hellish pupils, and all she could see was purest evil. Her Stare would do no good against such a wicked beast.
"Fluttershy! Help me!" Twilight cried in fear, unable to get up as the hound that had attacked her had her pinned to the ground by a strong paw.
The hound directly facing Fluttershy growled again, as if daring her to try. Fluttershy felt her whole body freeze up at the threat and her own uncertainty and terror. Her hesitation was all they needed.
"Fluttershy…?" Twilight whimpered, realizing her friend was too terrified to help her.
And before Fluttershy's eyes, the whole pack fell upon Twilight and ripped her apart with bloodthirsty zeal. And all the while, Twilight screamed, curdling Fluttershy's blood. But her fear had pinned her in place; all she could do was watch as her friend was murdered before her very eyes.
"You are weak. Helpless."
Fluttershy whimpered in terror as the hideous voice returned.
"Your friends don't see it now. But your cowardice…will destroy them."
Fluttershy suddenly felt something wet splash across her face. Some of it entered her mouth, leaving a metallic taste.
"They will all die. And it will all be YOUR FAULT."
Fluttershy wiped at her face and saw that her hoof was stained dark red.
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Unknown part of Equestria…
Fluttershy was still screaming as she catapulted awake, overcome by terror. Everyone else was roused alongside her, each of them looking around wildly, expecting an attack. Rover covered his ears and gritted his teeth, whining in distress. Twilight was the first to recover, realizing her friend was recovering from the throes of a nightmare, and hurried over to her. "Fluttershy? Fluttershy!" Twilight cried, shaking Fluttershy's shoulder.
That seemed to snap Fluttershy out of her hysteria, and she gazed at Twilight with panic-stricken eyes. The moment she saw her friend alive and well, though, Fluttershy enveloped Twilight in a tight hug as she began sobbing profusely.
"Oh Twilight! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"F-Fluttershy!" Twilight stammered in concern. "What's the matter? What are you saying sorry for?"
"I'm sorry I'm so weak and helpless! I'm sorry I get scared all the time! I'm sorry I'm such a coward!"
That certainly got everyone's attention. The rest of the Mane Six instantly crowded around Fluttershy, offering her words of comfort as Vaati, Zecora, and Rover looked on with expressions varying from concern to irritation. "Fluttershy, you are not weak," Twilight stressed. "You are not helpless. You are not a coward. You may not know it, but you are a very, very brave pony. You were the one who had the courage to stay true to your beliefs in kindness and still find a way to recover your Element. You're the only pony who has tamed dragons. You are just as strong as any one of us, maybe not so much in body, but definitely in spirit."
Fluttershy's sobs eventually died down, allowing the Mane Six to break their group hug. "I'm sorry I woke all of you," Fluttershy sniffed. "I-I just…had a really bad dream."
"You too, huh?" Applejack worriedly spoke up.
Everyone glanced at her, curious and concerned. Applejack nervously scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, maybe I should'a said somethin' before, but…Ah had a pretty bad nightmare m'self not too long ago."
Vaati narrowed his eyes. "Was it, by chance, on the night we recovered the Element of Honesty?" he asked.
Applejack blinked in realization. "Yeah…it was."
Seeing what Vaati was getting at, Rarity said, "And we just recovered Kindness…"
"What's going on with the Elements?!" Rainbow demanded. "Are we all gonna get nightmares when we get our Elements back?!"
"Just remember, sillies!" Pinkie declared cheerfully. "Giggle at the ghosties! Laugh away your fears and they can't hurt you!"
"And how exactly do ya laugh off seein' yer little sister hang herself?" Applejack shot back a little harsher than she had intended.
Everyone went deathly silent the moment that escaped her lips. Pinkie just stared at her in open-mouthed, horrified shock, her hair slowly beginning to deflate at the implications.
"How could I laugh, after I watched someone I cared about…" Fluttershy whimpered as the traumatizing vision returned, and she struggled to continue. "… g-get t-t-torn apart b-by monsters a-a-and b-b-being too s-scared t-to stop it?!"
After several moments of dreadful silence, Vaati finally murmured, "My Goddesses…"
"I-I'm so sorry," Pinkie finally managed to say.
Even Rover appeared disturbed by this, if his uncomfortable expression was any indication.
"Where in the Dark World was Luna during all this?" Vaati demanded, pacing back and forth irritably. "She's supposed to be making sure things like this don't happen!"
Nobody had any answer to his rhetorical question.
"Let's just get some more rest," Twilight advised. "We need to be ready for when we reach Appleloosa."
There were mumbled words of agreement as everyone returned to their respective slumbers.
"The yellow one…" Rover muttered, catching Rarity's attention. "She is worse than the marshmallow!"
"Don't tempt me," Rarity ominously warned, glaring daggers into Rover's back.
The Diamond Dog involuntarily whimpered in response and wisely did not reply.
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Dethl laughed to itself as it withdrew from the yellow pony's dreamscape. The King of Nightmares had not been able to flex its powers in such a manner in such a long time, and the pleasure it gained from the Equestrians' fear made its black heart glad. With each new nightmare, it learned more about the Elements and their bearers, and the more it knew, the better prepared Majora would be to strike them all down in the final battle.
And, as if in confirmation of the old saying about speaking of the devil…
Dethl.
The Nightmare snapped out of its reverie as it felt the presence of its lord and master join it in the dream world. "What is your will, Great One?"
I have enacted the next stage of my plan for this world. The time for recruitment of this realm's natives is now, while our enemies remain blind to the true scope of their peril.
The dream world shifted and coalesced into an overhead, realistic map of Equestria. Dethl watched as the map zoomed in on the jungles of the southeast, specifically on a ruined temple of some kind.
Here lies a primitive tribe of Equestrians under the rule of a local warlord by the name of Ahuizotl. His tribe is isolated from the rest of Equestrian society; they will be the easiest to convert. I have assigned this task to Ghirahim, as he has reported to me that King Sombra has been fully revived, but is still recovering. Ghirahim will approach this warlord and gain his trust. I will accompany him through my Mask and demonstrate my power to these Equestrians. Ahuizotl is fond of magical artifacts; he will not resist me. But the warlord is a useless fool; I have no personal interest in him. Once his tribe is under my total control, Ghirahim will assassinate the wretch and convert the temple they are using as a base of operations into the Equestrian branch of the Church.
Dethl chuckled darkly. "A truly masterful plan, Lord."
Tell me what progress you have made with the Elements.
"Two have been recovered. We have looked into their minds, and we have seen their strengths and weaknesses. Truly, they cannot hope to stand against your greatness. The peasant is honest to a fault and obsessed with the trivial concept of family, while the animal lover is afraid of her own shadow. The latter was particularly amusing to toy with. We may yet come back for her."
Do not succumb to overconfidence. The Princess of the Night must not be allowed to confront you directly. Not yet. I have kept her attention diverted from you for the time being, but I will not permit you to hinder my plans for the sake of your own petty amusement. Are we understood?
Dethl glowered. "Yes, Lord."
And then a thought occurred to the Demon King. "What of the child?"
I will break her in due time. Such a matter must be handled delicately. Once I have utterly shattered any semblance of sanity in her mind, I can pick up the pieces and mold her into an ideal weapon against the Wind Mage. He will PAY for abandoning his purpose.
Dethl bowed its head in reverence. "Is there still the chance that he may rejoin us?" the Nightmare finally asked. "Perhaps he can still be turned…"
Any man will keep fighting so long as he has something to lose; something he thinks is worth protecting. We must take everything from him first. In that moment, he will join us or die.
Dethl bowed once more. "As you will it, master."
Begone. And be certain to monitor Ganon's activities as well.
And with that, the king and the god vanished from the dreamscape.
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The next day…
Queen Chrysalis half-dragged herself onward through the scorching sands of the Badlands, too exhausted and badly wounded to attempt flight. The harsh sun beat down relentlessly on her, further sapping away what little energy she had left. Gods, she was thirsty. She gritted her teeth as she once again reminded herself why she needed to keep going, no matter what. Bordering the Badlands and the stomping grounds of the nomadic buffalo tribes was a small Equestrian frontier town. She couldn't have been bothered to remember the name of the village on her best days, but she knew it was there. And as much as she hated to admit it, she needed their help.
Chrysalis alone had managed to escape the Gohma takeover of her hive. She had attempted to fight the being that called himself Ganon, but her efforts had proven to be fruitless, and she had been soundly beaten and left for dead at the mouth of her lair. Ganon had left soon afterwards, though, and the Gohma had been pushing deeper into the Changeling Hive, leaving Chrysalis with the perfect opportunity to escape, an act that had haunted her since. Yet it gave her a sense of purpose; she vowed to return with the Equestrians beside her and free her children from the Gohma scourge.
She could still hear the thoughts of her children, though only if she focused on them, and she knew that most of them were, thankfully, still alive. However, she knew that would not be true for very long; the Gohma had already repurposed the Changeling Hive's biological infrastructure to suit their own preferences, and all the surviving Changelings were imprisoned in much cruder cocoons than what had been developed by her people. Once the Gohma were fully established, they would begin a process that Chrysalis feared with every fiber of her being; the attempted assimilation of the Changelings. No doubt they would attempt to incorporate the Changelings' ability to shapeshift into their own genetic structure. If they were to succeed, the consequences would certainly be dire for all of Equestria. Of course, Chrysalis didn't care very much about that; she was more concerned with saving her hive from the agonizing fate of being eaten alive by these relentless predators.
So deep into these thoughts was she that she at first didn't notice as she hobbled into the main street of Appleloosa. Eventually, though, the change in scenery snapped her out of her thoughts as she looked around. She was expecting gasps, or even screams.
What she got instead was absolute silence.
Appleloosa was utterly deserted.
Of course it was deserted, she realized. Ganon must have passed through it on his way to her hive, hadn't he?
The town was completely devoid of life. There was nopony around to help her.
She had come all this way, pushed herself to the brink of death, for nothing.
Chrysalis let out a strangled cry that sounded like a cross between a wail of despair and a groan of exhaustion as her legs finally gave out on her. It was over. There was nothing she could do. Her people were all going to die. And worse yet, she was going to die too, all alone in an abandoned Equestrian town.
She released a shuddering breath, closed her eyes, and simply gave up. She laid there, alone and forgotten in an empty street, and waited to die.
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Vaati soared through the skies in his demon form. Clutched protectively in his talons were Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie. On either side of him flew Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, while directly beneath them, Rover and Applejack ran, keeping pace with Vaati's shadow. This, they had collectively decided, was the quickest method of travel they could manage, as they wanted to reach Appleloosa and the Badlands as quickly as possible. Thankfully, as most of them were physically fit, they did not need to take many breaks, and what would otherwise have been a three-day trek to Appleloosa passed in just little over half a day.
Once the town was in sight, Vaati descended and released his charges as they reached the ground, returning to his Hylian form and flexing his stiffened muscles. "Mm, so this is Appleloosa?" Vaati asked, making a face as his joints popped.
"Yup," Applejack answered as she caught her breath. "And…it looks like everypony's already evacuated."
Even as she said that, though, Rover caught a scent on the wind. "No…not everybody," the Diamond Dog muttered as he followed the unknown scent out into the main part of town.
Confused, everybody followed him to see what had caught Rover's interest, and the whole group caught sight of somepony lying motionless in the middle of the street. With the black carapace, long hole-ridden legs, and teal mane, there was no mistaking who it was.
"Queen Chrysalis," Vaati confirmed what had passed through the Mane Six's minds.
"And she looks like she might be hurt! Come on!" Twilight bade, rushing towards the fallen Changeling Queen.
"Twilight!" Vaati barked, suspicious of the whole thing.
Twilight paid the sorcerer no heed as she skidded to a halt by Chrysalis's prone form and looked the Changeling over. Her carapace was cracked in several places, and she was bleeding in many places. "Chrysalis…?" Twilight said, barely above a whisper. "Queen Chrysalis?"
When there was no response, Twilight gingerly nudged the Changeling's shoulder. The moment she did so, Chrysalis abruptly sucked in a wheezing breath, her eyes fluttering half-way open, delirious and unseeing. But it confirmed that Chrysalis was indeed still alive, but just barely. Wasting no time, Twilight undid the medicinal flap of her satchel and telekinetically levitated a bottle of Red Potion out of it as the others cautiously approached. Using her magic, Twilight undid the cork while simultaneously lifting up Chrysalis's head. "Drink this," Twilight spoke calmly. "It'll heal your injuries and recover your strength."
Chrysalis was in no state to object, involuntarily swallowing as the potion was gently poured down her throat. "That's it, slowly," Twilight coaxed. "Slowly."
When the bottle was half-empty, she closed it back up and put it away while still keeping an eye on the queen. Before her eyes, all the blood was absorbed back inside the body before the cracks closed up and sealed themselves, not even leaving any scars. Chrysalis's eyes opened a little wider in surprise as she looked up at Twilight's smiling face. "You're gonna be okay, Chrysalis."
That voice, that face, both felt so far away. All Chrysalis wanted to do was rest. And rest she did, as she fell into the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness.
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Muffled, distant voices slowly began to rouse Chrysalis from her dreamless sleep. Odd; she could have sworn she was all alone. And something about those voices sounded awfully familiar. She blearily opened her eyes, and the blurry, yet unmistakable outlines of multiple ponies met her vision.
"…waking…!"
"How…feeling…?"
Chrysalis groaned as she felt a headache coming on, and willed her vision to come into focus. She appeared to be inside a house, lying on an admittedly-comfortable bed. Sitting around her were three ponies, one of whom Chrysalis recognized instantly.
"You!" Chrysalis growled angrily at Twilight Sparkle, forcing herself into a sitting position. "What are you doing here?!"
"We just saved you from the brink of death and all you got to say is, 'what are you doing here'?!" Rainbow Dash indignantly retorted. "You could at least show us a little gratitude!"
"Calm down, Rainbow," Twilight chided her friend. "I wasn't exactly expecting her to be happy to see us." She looked back at the person that had nearly ruined her life and taken over Canterlot. "To answer your question, we're here to help you."
Despite the fact that help was exactly what she had come here looking for, she had not expected it to come from her, and her pride just could not accept such a possibility. "What makes you think I even need your help?" she snapped.
"Ya mean, other than the fact we found ya out in the middle'a the street, half-dead?" Applejack tersely pointed out.
Chrysalis fell silent, knowing that the farmpony had a point.
"Look, Chrysalis," Twilight spoke up. "We know what's happened to the Changelings, and we're here to help you put a stop to the monsters that have imprisoned them."
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes. "How do you know of the Gohma?"
"Whichever one is their leader, a queen, I'm guessing, is holding one of the Elements of Harmony. The one who unleashed the Gohma on your people, Ganon, took the Elements from us and has been scattering them all over Equestria to keep us from using them against him."
"What about that Wind Mage of yours?" Chrysalis sneered, the memory of their brutal showdown still fresh on her mind. "Surely he could have dealt with Ganon for you."
Twilight uncomfortably looked away. "He…Vaati's no match for him. Ganon's beaten him twice, and we were around to see it the second time."
Something about that sounded off to the queen. "What do you mean?"
Twilight sighed. "Ganon…comes from the same world Vaati does. We don't know how he got here, and apparently even Ganon himself doesn't know how either, but he's quickly proved himself to be the most powerful and dangerous foe we've ever faced."
"Even we Changelings are aware of the power of the Elements of Harmony," Chrysalis said. "How could you not have used them against him when you had the chance?"
"That's just it. We did."
Chrysalis had not been expecting that answer, and her mouth fell open in shock. "He…overcame the Elements of Harmony?! Those things are supposed to be the ultimate power in this world! How could this dimension-hopping interloper overcome them?!"
"The Triforce of Power."
Chrysalis would have recognized that youthful, condescending drawl anywhere. Her eyes shot up towards the door to see Vaati the Wind Mage leaning against the door frame.
"Vaati," Chrysalis growled.
"Chrysalis," Vaati sneered back. "I would say it's nice to see you again, but we both know that would be a lie."
Twilight looked over her shoulder and glared at him. "I thought I said to wait downstairs."
Vaati shrugged nonchalantly. "I got bored. Now, to elaborate upon what I was saying, Ganon happens to possess a magical artifact of his own called the Triforce of Power. It's one of three parts, and it basically serves as my world's counterpart of sorts to the Elements of Harmony. However, unlike the Elements, the Triforce is of divine origin, and that's why he managed to beat the Elements."
"If that's the case, why even try and recover them?" Chrysalis challenged. "Since Ganon's proven to be beyond anything Equestria can throw at him, why bother recovering the Elements at all if he's stronger than they are?"
"Look, I know it seems like we don't have much hope," Twilight said. "But there's always a way to win, even if we can't see it right off the bat. When we have all the Elements back, Vaati's going to do everything that he can to wear Ganon down, and then we'll use the Elements again while he's too fatigued to put up a fight."
"And what if Ganon can't even feel tired?" Chrysalis pointed out.
Vaati scoffed. "The Triforce of Power doesn't grant limitless stamina, though the Triforce of Courage comes pretty damned close. There's a reason he's been trying to complete the set all this time, you know. I can't beat him; I'm not going to deny that. But I have enough fighting ability that I might be able to tire him out enough that the Elements can finish him off."
"And you think you can keep up with him long enough to do so?" Chrysalis asked. "Just by looks, I can tell Ganon has a lot more stamina than you."
Vaati blinked at the audacity of that statement. "…care to run that by me again?"
"If you insist," Chrysalis smirked, pleased that she had managed to strike a nerve in the mage. "Ganon was bursting at the seams with muscle. You, on the other hand, are essentially a walking stick. Even without magic, I say Ganon could punch your head right off your shoulders."
Even Rainbow Dash could not suppress the ugly snort of laughter that escaped her nostrils. Twilight looked away from Vaati to make sure he couldn't see her fight back a grin. Applejack awkwardly excused herself from the room, but Vaati could still clearly hear her collapse into a fit of hysterics as soon as she closed the door. The Wind Mage blushed in embarrassment and anger. "I have magic!" he yelled in an effort to defend himself. "I don't need muscles when I have all the magical power in the world!"
Twilight cleared her throat to will away the chuckle that was working its way up and said, "She actually has a point, Vaati. There has to be a balance between body and mind in order to maximize one's own magical capabilities."
Vaati's eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at?"
"Even if you have a lot of magical power, if your body isn't at its physical peak as well, you won't be able to maintain your magical strength for long. You'll tire out fast. And haven't you noticed that that is your primary weakness?"
Vaati folded his arms. "You're about to tell me I need to work out, aren't you?"
Twilight instantly perked up as the idea came to her. "Work out! Vaati, that's a great idea!"
"What?" Vaati uttered.
"If you're going to fight Ganon again, you need to be at your physical peak just like he is! We need to improve your strength, speed, stamina, reaction time, combat and magical skills so that they're up to par when we face Ganon again!"
As she said this, she levitated a pen and notepad out of her satchel and began excitedly writing in it, no doubt drawing up some sort of workout regimen for Vaati to follow. Vaati promptly spun on his heel and made for the door. "I regret everything. I regret everything I've ever done."
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Downstairs, twenty minutes later…
"You're going to make Vaati work out?" Rarity incredulously asked, throwing a glance towards the sorcerer as he sourly huddled in a back corner. "What in Equestria brought this on?"
"Well, duh!" Pinkie Pie spoke up obnoxiously, gesturing towards Vaati. "He doesn't have any muscles like a stallion should! I say he should've started working out a long time ago! Imagine all the things he could do with some big, strong muscles!"
Vaati pointedly turned his back towards them, and thus was not privy to the wistful sigh that escaped Pinkie's lips. "W-whoa, Equestria to Pinkie Pie! You okay there, dude?" Rainbow nervously asked.
"Wow," Applejack muttered. "Didn't know she was into that."
"How are we going to put aside any time for this?" Rarity asked.
"Don't worry," Twilight replied, indicating the piece of paper she had. "I've drawn up a carefully thought-out training regimen that will take our travel times into account. Vaati, you want to take a look?"
Vaati glared over his shoulder at her and thrust his hand out. "Just so you know," Twilight added with a cheerful smile. "I've got this whole schedule committed to memory, so burning it up won't do you any good."
Vaati groaned and went back to sulking.
"What about the Changeling?" Rover finally spoke up from where he sat at one of the abandoned saloon's card tables, glancing at the stairway that led up to the second floor.
"She'll be coming with us," Twilight answered. "She's taking some time to rest, though. We all might want to do that; it's a long way through the desert up to the mountain where the Changeling Hive is. This would also be the perfect opportunity to restock on our supplies, especially water. In the meantime, I want to go over the various parts of the training regimen I want each of you to help out with."
Zecora was the first to look at Twilight's proposed schedule. "Hm, your organization skills make my heart glad. But perhaps there's something I think you could add."
"What do you have in mind, Zecora?" Twilight asked.
"I myself follow my own training ritual, one that makes concentration a trait most habitual. It will help a great deal, you'll find, for it exercises patience, balance, and peace of mind."
"Does it have anything to do with your asinine rhyming habits?" Vaati snidely asked from where he stewed.
Brushing off the rude remark, Zecora replied, "No, that is merely a tradition of my tribe. To speak in rhyme makes us think before we describe."
"Alright, I'll leave that part up to you, Zecora," Twilight said, jotting down more notes. "Now, onward to our last order of business. Vaati, please stop sulking and join us over here."
Vaati grumbled incoherently as he reluctantly joined them at their table. "We need to figure out our plan of attack for the Hive. What can we expect from the Gohma?"
Vaati cleared his throat and delved into his memories. "Well, like the Changelings, the Gohma function as a hive mind, but there is absolutely no individuality amongst them. The Queen is the one that organizes the collective consciousness of her individual hive, as well as serving as a link to other Gohma Queens and hives for their creator, a gigantic demon that called himself Iemanis. Since Iemanis hasn't been seen or heard from since the great war against Majora, I somewhat doubt we'll have to worry about him."
"What are their weaknesses?" Twilight asked.
"The eye," Vaati replied. "Always the eye, no matter what caste they are. And their most crippling weakness is, if the queen dies, the entire hive loses control of itself and all its members rip each other and themselves apart."
Several moments of shocked silence followed.
"Well, in that case, the queen is mine."
Everyone abruptly glanced towards the voice's origin to see Queen Chrysalis coming down the stairs, looking well-rested and ready to blast aside whatever Gohma dared cross her path. "I thought you were resting," Vaati said.
"Seems I did not need as much as I thought," Chrysalis replied, joining them. "Whatever medicine you gave me did more than heal my wounds; it's filled me with enough love energy to feed my entire hive for two full days!"
Vaati blinked in realization. "…Damn, how did that not occur to me?!"
"Vaati, you didn't tell me Red Potion has love energy in it!" Twilight remarked with surprise.
"Truthfully, I did not even remember that," Vaati admitted. "But it makes sense. Do you remember what I told you Red Potion is made with?"
"Uh…I think so…wasn't it, uh…a life-giver plant?" Twilight slowly asked.
Vaati nodded, ushering her to continue.
"Uh…oh! Fairy spring water! That's the other ingredient!" she finally recalled.
"The fruit of the life-giver plant, interestingly enough, is shaped like a red heart," Vaati explained. "Eating one will save you even if you are on the brink of death, but only by eating a lot can you fully recover, which can be time consuming, as the fruit takes three days to regenerate. It's easy to grow, as it doesn't require sunlight, just positive magical energy running through the soil, and the plant itself can live quite a long time, around ten years or so. But when it's mixed with water from a fairy fountain, the fairies' healing magic that runs in the water increases the effect many times over. And since fairy magic is also powered by positive emotions such as love…"
Vaati trailed off, letting the implications sink in.
"Where do you find this plant?" Chrysalis finally demanded. "I must have it! To be able to grow crops of this 'life-giver plant' in our own hive…we could feed ourselves without having to leech off the positive emotions of others!"
Vaati considered the idea. "Perhaps, once this is over, I might be inclined to grant your people some seeds for your own use. Anything to get you out of our hair."
Twilight sighed at Vaati's persistent unfriendly attitude towards Changelings. "Anyways, back to the subject at hoof. You mentioned the Gohma having castes?"
"Yes," Vaati confirmed, returning to the matter of importance. "There's the Queen, who honestly isn't the strongest fighter in the hive. Then there are Armogohmas, huge spider-like Gohma that can spit lasers out of the giant eye on their backs." This got a number of unsettled looks out of the listeners. "Then there are the soldiers, or Pincer Gohma, which resemble large, human-sized crabs in appearance."
Rarity glowered. "I don't like crabs."
"Why?" Vaati asked.
"Long story. Please continue."
"Well, anyways, lastly there are the larvae. They're the newly-born infants that serve as cannon fodder when the Gohma choose to attack an enemy settlement. Some of these Gohma Larvae eventually get morphed into other members of the castes I just mentioned. But there is only ever one queen. And as I said, all of them share a single characteristic that also functions as their weak point; a giant eye."
"We're going to be dealing with many enemies down there," Chrysalis warned. "We must free my captive Changelings before we can proceed into the heart of their den."
"The Gohma already defeated you and your Changelings," Vaati reminded her. "How could they possibly help?"
"I already told you, I now have enough love energy to empower my hive for two whole days!" Chrysalis shot back. "Free them, and I shall feed them. And then we will drive these Gohma wretches from our homeland once and for all!"
To Be Continued…