The sounds of screaming woke her from a pitiful sleep as she lifted her head and looked around in the cell. Crystal was with Celestia and Luna, bound in chains and locked in the cell without anything but the armor they wore from when they had been attacked. They were all dirty and slightly sweaty since the temperature inside the cell was very in comfortable. Around them, more cells like this that was filled with Warrior ponies and villager ponies from Shilvan. As another scream howled from somewhere to her left, she began to silently weep at the losses, especially the fact she had lost IronBlood. Of all the Warrior ponies she had both met and talked to, IronBlood had probably been the most humble but still selfless Warrior she had met. He had also been the most devoted, like his brother, but he had been also the one to save her who knows how long ago.
It almost made her regret giving him her necklace in the letter she had written to him. As the tears she wept began to stain the floor, Luna came over and put a hoof around Crystal and she rocked her back and forth as she said quietly," It’s okay... It's okay...."
Celestia sat in a nearby corner as she leaned her head against the wall as she slowly thought. Her mind kept trying to switch back to Steeltrix but no matter what she tried, it still happened to come back to that pony.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over the cell and the three mares turned to see a twisted figure before them.
"What's with the long faces, hmm? Aren't you happy that your last moments will be thinking about your friends?" Said Discord as he gave a small cackle.
None of the princesses said a word as Discord continued," Oh how I loved the way you tried to unite the kingdoms under your banner and have your little armies try and defeat SoulStorm... But all of it now will go down the drain since your armies will be slowly hunted down and taken here to have the same fate."
"You’re a wretched, twisted soul. I hope someone throws you back to your prison because if I ever get my hands on you, I'll-" said Luna when Discord went," Tut, tut! Your fate has been sealed ever since you were brought here... And for good reason, I must say."
"Where is here, though? You never tell us what this place is..." Said Celestia.
"I kept telling you that you’re in a rainbow factory but you still believe you’re in some dungeon... Eventually, someone will come along and finally show you that what I have been saying is the truth."
And with that, Discord slowly walked away and out of sight. The three princesses hung their heads down as a shout came from off to their right and they heard a loud groan as something of metal was slowly forced open.
They managed to stand up and walk over to the cells bars and they looked around to see, down to their below right, a precession of hooded figures slowly being led up towards the cells. The figures were cloaked and had their head hanging low as several Shadow Warriors led them up the stairs, in the general direction of the princess’s cells. As the ponies were thrown into the cells around the princesses, Celestia noticed something strange about the guards. They looked so very familiar...
One guard came by their cell and he looked around, saw no one watching him, then deposited three weapons into the cell as he said in a low whisper," Did you miss us?"
Crystal took the weapons of hers, Luna's, and. Celestia's as she hid them under the bench they had for a bed as she quickly ran to the cells bars and flung both front legs around IronBlood as she quietly wept and slowly squeezed the life from him. IronBlood gasped for air as Crystal finally let go and said," How did you find us? And what's going on?"
"It took us some time but we finally followed the rainbows this place is spewing... Still, making sure out weapons was hidden was extremely difficult but we managed... Steeltrix, LightningBolt, BloodHoof, and I managed to get the Eastern Providence with us. Now all we have to do is break out and rally everyone to defeat SoulStorm."
"But Discord is here!" Said Luna.
IronBlood stopped and paused before he said," Okay... Didn't see that coming but I promise you that we will get you out of here."
And just as he leaved, Crystal managed a small peck to his cheek which made his whole face burn bright red as he continued on.
As Crystal slowly walked towards the back of the cell; she sat down and rocked herself as she fiddled with her hair a little.
"Well, at least we know that Steeltrix has a plan... But will he manage to pull it off?" Asked Luna.
"It’s more like he has to pull this off... Otherwise, everything we are and have done will be for absolutely nothing..." Said Celestia.
Steeltrix slowly crept along in his 'borrowed' Shadow Warrior armor as he tried to locate the one thing this place needed: a power source and with it comes a power switch. He also looked around for the main warden of the place, knowing he would have the keys to the cells that held the prisoners, many which were currently being given weapons so that when he time came, they would break free and run from this place.
He turned a corner and nearly had a heart attack when he came face to face with the warden. Before the Shadow Warrior could utter a syllable, Steeltrix's scythe swept a red smile along the Warriors neck and Steeltrix took the Wardens keys as he managed to his body behind some barrels. He continued on as he looked around for some sort of power source that he knew had to be around here somewhere. Then, having come to a dead end, he turned around and went back the way he came when he saw something past the corridor, leading from the cells. He ran down the corridor but then went back to a walking pace as he walked into the main area of the cells. He took a look around before he went left towards the other passageway when he came upon a gruesome sight.
Several tables had been set up with saws towards the ends of the table. A few had the gruesome remains of previous occupants while all had been bloodstained. Blood drains were along the floor and Steeltrix knew that they led to the rainbow making machines below, the ones that take the lifeblood of ponies and turn it into the beautiful rainbows that are seen in the sky. He walked along when suddenly a crane began to move way above and he ducked behind some crates as he watched it enter the cell block. Someone went psst! Nearby and he looked to see BloodHoof nod at him. Steeltrix walked over to BloodHoof as he passed along the cell keys before moving on. BloodHoof took the keys as he walked to the cell block but then, Steeltrix heard the crane coming back and he turned around to see its graspers holding a cell.
With the princesses inside of it.
He wanted to shout to BloodHoof but that pony was already running to the cells and Steeltrix began to hurriedly run along the wall as he searched for some form of a power switch. The cell was lowered as several Shadow Warriors came to open the door to the cell and Steeltrix managed to hear some ponies running towards the room and all he could hope was that it was the Rebellion ponies that had been freed. He kept running along the wall when a voice stopped him in his tracks," Well, well, well. It looks like your time here is finally up... It’s a real shame; considering we would have had much more fun as we watched your friends die...”
Discord appeared from nearby and Steeltrix felt his wound burn as his eyes slowly narrowed. He began to move forward as Discord said," But, then again, I would prefer you die now so that we may send your severed heads to your friends in the Rebellion..."
And then, the Shadow Warriors took the princesses as they strapped them to the tables nearby and Steeltrix found himself slowly walking out of the shadows. The princesses struggled against the restraint on their front and back legs and as they were spread-eagle on the tables, the Shadow Warriors began to take up what looked like hoses and connect them to the bottom of the tables.
Steeltrix kept marching towards the group as he began to twirl his scythe a little and as one Shadow Warrior saw him walking forward, he didn't even hear the words the pony said to him as he kept his eyes on Discord. He manages to see in the corners of his eyes the movement of Rebellion ponies, led by his brother and friends, but he kept marching along. Just as Discord began to manically laugh, he caught sight of Steeltrix and he turned as Steeltrix kept moving forward.
"Who are you?" Asked Discord as he faced Steeltrix when Steeltrix stopped.
"I am Steeltrix, son of Irontrix.... And I'm here to put a stop to these wretched creations of yours..." Steeltrix said as a Shadow Warrior began to move towards him.
Suddenly, a flurry of crossbow bolts were fired at the Shadow Warrior and Steeltrix recognized the action coming from repeating crossbows. As the blood splattered the floor, the other Shadow Warriors turned to face the freed Rebellion Warriors as Discord suddenly melted into thin air. A whistle was blown and alarms blared as guards began to flood the space and Steeltrix cut down one Shadow Warrior as fighting began to rein the area. One of the bolts had punctured a barrel filled with some liquid and now as the fighting continued, the liquid began to spread slowly around.
Steeltrix heard something began to hum and he quickly knocked the buzz saw blade from Luna's table as he managed to also do so for Crystals. As Celestia's table saw began to roar, he flicked his sickle and managed to cause the blades rotating bit to stop with its blade. He quickly began to cut the restraints of Luna as fighting all around him made him slow down.
But then, just as he finished freeing Luna, Celestia's table saw managed to break the sickles blade and Steeltrix ran over quickly as he slashed his surge at the saw blade. He managed to hit the blade with enough force to break it off the table and it went careening away as he swiftly cut off Celestia's restraints.
And that's when the blade hit the ground and sent sparks flying into the liquid that had been pouring out of the barrel. And the oil burst into open flames as the barrel and the surrounding barrels exploded into flames, throwing liquid fire in all directions. Steeltrix got Celestia and began to run as he shouted out," RUN!!" And BloodHoof quickly grabbed Luna as every pony, Rebellion and Shadow Warrior, ran for the only exit which was past the cell block. IronBlood ran to Crystal as he cut off her restraints and he grabbed her hoof and began to lead her from the place. Bodies of the dead littered the floor, several more bodies than before, as IronBlood and Crystal ran after the other retreating ponies but then, a shape grabbed Crystal and IronBlood lost his grip as the Changeling ran off with her.
She screamed as a chunk of the fueling crashed in between her and IronBlood and IronBlood was slowly dragged away by Rebellion Warrior as he tried to fight and go after the Changeling. But all he could was scream out for her name," Crystal! Crystal!! CRYSTAAALL!!!!!!"
Crystal struggled in the grip of the Changeling as it ran down several corridors leading to somewhere. She beat her hoofs against the Changeling but it kept going without pause as it came to a door. It crashed through the door as its insect-like wings began to glide it on the air. The factory was in flames and she saw the rebel army slowly running along what looked to be a pony-made bridge leading to the ground. She fought harder to free herself but the changeling was strong and it ignored her struggles as it began to glide slowly into a dark looking forest. As the duo slowly entered its depths, it finally let her go and she crashed to the ground as something opened a gash in her front-left leg. She gritted her teeth against the pain as she slowly got up and faced the Changeling who looked at her with pure blue-green eyes.
"What do you want with me?" She asked it, knowing she didn't have her weapons.
It cocked its head at her when it said," Hashk-mallfo...."
She didn't recognize the language so she looked around her. The forest was a dark and old forest, the tree cover blotting out the light of the sun. As she looked around, she saw movement in the corner of her eyes and she spun around to see the Changeling slowly walking over to her, still having that quizzical look on its face.
"Get away from me!" She spat as she slowly drove herself into a tree, making it so that she was cornered with nowhere to really go. The Changeling paused and repeated," Hashk-mallfo..." And then continued to move towards her.
Finally, it got close enough to her and it looked at her wound as it prodded it with its crooked horn. She winced when it suddenly lunged forward and bit into the wound. She screeched as something green began to slowly seep into the wound and then the Changeling let go and backed off. Tears streamed down her face as she wailed and she managed, through tear-streaked eyes, to look at her wound. It was beginning to take on a greenish tone from whatever the Changeling had put in her system and her skin was beginning to become black. The only good thing was that it no longer hurt and she slowly noticed herself getting bigger. And then, she stopped growing and the wound closed and she ran to the nearest water source and looked at her reflection. She had become a Changeling and as she looked at herself, a voice behind her said," Chrysalis..."
She looked back at the Changeling and saw it bowing to her." What did you say?"
"Chrysalis...” It said as it bowed.
And slowly, the old Crystal faded into the back of her mind as the new Chrysalis began to become in charge. And as Chrysalis looked around, several more Changelings began to appear. And she smiled a cruel smile as she said," Equestria will one day... Be ours..."
And her cackle echoed through the forest.