xjuggerscrapsx

by xjuggernaughtx


A Periodic Tale of Elements: Generosity - Chapter Eleven (Dark, Adventure)

The Ritual Within – Queen Chrystal

  
We were meant to be together, and… I… I don’t want to die alone!  I don’t want to be without you!
 
Sombra’s thoughts tore at Chrystal, piercing her heart in a thousand places.  Below, the ground was creeping slowly toward her, and she found herself drawn to the idea of slamming into it.  Then it would be over! she thought, her mind whirling as emotions whipsawed through her.  Moments ago, the sly, sneering voice of the beast had egged her on, hinting at vile deeds that Sombra had been hiding from her, and when she’d looked for herself, she’d seen the truth.  Sombra had the answers all along and sent her people to die anyway.
 
Chrystal recoiled from her husband’s mind, feeling a vast emptiness as their consciousnesses separated, but also relief.  Their mental connection had been almost too much to bear.  His will had been confining, smothering her.  Rather than feeling strengthen by his love and concern, she’d found herself weighed down by it.  The sheer power of his emotions was stifling!
 
Sombra had always been strong, and was part of why Chrystal had found herself so drawn to him.   He’d had a core of integrity and honor that few others had been able to see.  He’d stood up to the nobles that sought to use her when she was young.  He’d kept her secrets and been her best friend.
 
He’d even protected her when she’d insisted that they sneak out of the castle to see the city.  She’d secreted away some fur dye and tried her best to make herself unrecognizable, but just as Sombra had warned, the city’s residents had still recognized her.
 
At first, she’d thought it was a lark.  Many of them grinned at her, winking as she trotted by.  They’d come alongside to quickly whisper that they too remembered what it was like to be young.  With the blessing of her people, and Sombra hovering close by, she’d felt loved and protected.
 
The calm had been shattered when they’d accidentally gotten lost.  Chrystal had rarely left the castle’s grounds, and Sombra had lived on his family’s estate well away from Crystal City, so neither had known that the left turn they were making would bring them to the city’s seedy warehouse district.  Deep in conversation, it had been too late when they noticed that the street was suddenly full of brutish stallions.
 
“Lost?” one had whispered in Chrystal’s ear, and she’d jumped.  Around her, the circle of stallions had grinned the way a cat might when it’s pinned the mouse’s tail beneath its paw.  “You’re pretty lucky, you know,” he’d continued, allowing his eyes to move slowly along her body.  “This is a pretty rough part of town.”  The stallion had swung his hoof in a wide arc, motioning toward his friends.  “The colts and I don’t like seeing pretty young things like you walking around unprotected.”  He’d leaned in, leering.  “Something could happen, you know?”
 
“She’s not unprotected!” Sombra had growled, stepping in between Chrystal and the stallion.  “And you’d—”
 
“Shut your mouth, junior,” the stallion had said almost lazily as he cuffed Sombra with a brutally fast hoof to the side of the head.  Sombra had half stumbled, half fallen into the waiting hooves of two of the stallion’s cronies.  “Is that your coltfriend, sweetheart?” the stallion had said, running a hoof down her mane.  He’d laughed as she swatted it nervously away.  “Ooh, feisty!  Well, I like that in a mare!  Well, here’s the deal.  You deserve better than whatever that milksop is given to you,” he’d continued, waving a hoof in Sombra’s direction.  “Me and the colts, we’re gonna give you an escort out of this part of town.  It’s dangerous here.”  A smile stretched across his scarred face, but the gleam in his eye turned Chrystal’s blood cold.  “But, first, you’ve got to pay the fare.”
 
“If anything happens to us,” she’d said as she’d trembled, “you’ll regret it.  My father will—”
 
The stallion had reached out and clamped down on her mouth as his hoof.  His grip had been like iron and her teeth had ground together painfully.  “I liked it better when you weren’t talking.  Let’s keep it that way.”  He’d pulled her head up to look directly into her eyes.  “And, yeah, we know exactly who you are and who your father is.  It don’t change anything.  In fact,” he’d said, running his free hoof down her chest, “it kinda makes things more interesting.  We’ll show you how to make a stallion happy, and then we’ll let you go.  By the time you’re back to the castle, we could be anywhere.”  The stallion ran his hoof down her back and toward her tail.  “Who knows, you’ll probably even like it.  You might come back for—”
 
Chrystal’s head had been yanked brutally to the ground as Sombra had fallen on the stallion like a landslide, dragging the lead stallion’s surprised cronies behind him.  The stallion’s grip had only tightened as her enraged friend had kicked at him.  Beside Sombra, one of the stallions finally let go of his leg and began raining blows down on him, yelling for his friend to help.  His cries were cut short when Sombra had pistoned out a hoof, catching the stallion flush on the jaw.  Chrystal had watched as several teeth arced through the air and landed in a filthy doorway.
 
Chrystal had torn at the stunned stallion’s hoof, finally prying it off of her muzzle, when Sombra had enveloped the leader with his magic.  Usually a soft, pale yellow, the magic flowing from his horn had taken become jagged and dark, and Chrystal had thought it looked like the leader was caught in the jaws of some terrible monster.
 
“Sombra, look—” was all that she’d managed before her friend had lifted the lead stallion and slammed him with bone-rattling force into the lackeys that had been trying to sneak up on the enraged unicorn.  Crystal had shied away, nervously checking her friend’s eyes.
I-it’s like he’s a whole other stallion! she’d thought, unsure what as to what that meant for the two of them.
 
Sombra had wheeled suddenly and kicked both of his rear hooves into the stallion who’d been holding him, and the cretin collapsed, blood streaming from his nostrils.  With a snarl, Sombra had brought his hoof down repeated on the crony’s muzzle, and Chrystal had turned away as each stomp changed the landscape of the stallion’s face.
 
The remaining stallions had turned to run, but Sombra had lashed out with his magic again, grabbing the leader by a hind leg.  Jerking the stallion off the ground, he’d sent him flying high overhead and then pulled him to the ground again with all of his might.  Chrystal had gasped as she heard several bones snap.  Grimly, Sombra had lifted the unconscious stallion overhead again.
 
“No, Sombra!” she’d screamed, running to him.  Her tears had been flowing freely as she’d wrapped her legs around him.  “Please, don’t!  I’m okay!”  She hugged him tightly, praying that she could reach him.  “Please, Sombra!  Don’t!  We’re safe now!  Don’t do something that will make them take you away from me!”
 
She held Sombra as he trembled.  They usually weren’t allowed to be this close, and she could hear the way his heart was racing as it hammered in his chest.  She’d reached a hoof out to turn his head away from the floating form of the battered stallion.  His eyes had been so wild and she’d been able to feel his skin twitching beneath her hoof.
 
“He—they… they t-tried—” he’d said, his voice shaking so badly that she’d barely been able to make it out.
 
“Shhhh,” she’d said, stroking his face.  “We’re okay,” she’d smiled as the tension began to leave him.  “You saved us!” she’d whispered.
 
Suddenly, he’d begun to tremble again, his chest hitching.  He’d gently lowered the stallion’s broken body back to the street while his eyes began to brim.  “I-I didn’t want to!” he’d said, “but he wanted to… I’m so sorry, Chrystal!”
 
“No, it’s my fault, Sombra, not yours,” she’d said, still holding him close.  “It was my idea in the first place.  Without you, who knows what would have happened?”  Taking Sombra’s head in both of her hooves, she’d forced him to look at her.  “You’re my hero, Sombra!”
 
After all the waiting, it had been natural; almost unconscious.  They’d moved in, and their lips had met, tentatively at first, but her heart leapt as he pressed in eagerly.  Years of aching passion drove them, and for a moment, they were alone in the world.  They broke apart with a gasp as the battered stallion on the road before them woke and began to scream in pain.
 
“We can’t be caught here!” Chrystal had said, pulling Sombra back the way they’d come.  “Run!”  And they had.
 
It had been the first, but certainly not the last time that they’d kissed.  Though, she’d burned for him more strongly than she’d ever imagined was possible, she asked him to be respectful of her situation, and to her relief and disappointment, he hadn’t pressed the issue.  He’d been content to just be with her.
 
How can that sweet, wonderful stallion be the same pony who’s been slaughtering our people? she thought as the palace’s polished marble floor crept closer.  How could he do something so awful?
 
Because love isn’t about right or wrong, or good or evil a gentle, lilting voice whispered into her mind.  Love knows no boundaries.
 
Who’s there?! Chrystal thought, panicking.  Are you the beast that’s been destroying the Crystal Empire?!
 
The voice chuckled, then sighed.  In a way, yes.  But I’m not Discord, it said.  He’s my… well, perhaps brother would suffice.  What we are is complicated, but you may call me Love.  It’s as close as we can get to the truth in this short time.
 
 Love? Chrystal thought, bewildered.  Are you trying to get me to believe that you’re the actual ponification of love?
 
I don’t really care if you believe it one way or the other, so long as you listen and act, the voice said.  Belief won’t change the fundamental nature of the thing.  But the balance is shifting, and you have the power to maintain it.
 
What are you talking about?! Chrystal screamed at the voice, wishing she could move her body properly.  For some reason, she seemed to be disconnected from it.  It wouldn’t respond to any of her commands.  She was finding it hard to concentrate as the floor grew closer, and she dearly wished she could shut her eyes.  What do you mean ‘You’re behind this?’
 
Sighing again, the voice seemed to start and stop several times before settling on what to say.  It all starts with the heart, Love finally said.  You see, Sombra’s heart has belonged to you since the moment that he saw you.  His decisions were driven by love and the fear of its loss.  He’s done everything out of the fear that he would lose you.
 
But that’s madness! Chrystal thought.  How could he believe that this would do anything besides drive me away?!
 
If Sombra had fallen into a ravine, would you not have tried to reach down and help him out? Love asked.
 
Of course I would! the queen thought, agitated.  I don’t see—
 
What of the insects you mindlessly crushed as you threw yourself onto the ground? the voice returned.  What of the grass your scrambling hooves severed in your struggle to reach him?  What of the carrion birds that would go hungry?
 
That’s totally different! Chrystal thought.  I wouldn’t kill anything on purpose, but one pony life is worth more than a few insects and blades of grass!  That’s an unfair standard!  You can’t expect ponies to not save each other because they might step on a bug!
 
Then you understand your husband well, Love said, her voice cooling.  To him, you are all that matters.  The rest are like insects.  He would gladly sacrifice every pony in the world, even himself, if it meant your safety and happiness.  The voice sighed, and Chrystal felt a tremor of deep sorrow in Love’s consciousness.  In a way, Sombra’s love is the most pure that has ever existed.  It is singular and all-encompassing.  He is dedicated to you in a way that has never been seen before.
 
But why would he do this, then?! Chrystal shouted.  I never wanted this horror visited on my people!
 
Just because his love is pure, doesn’t mean that it’s healthy, Love intoned.  His love has made him unwell.  Year after year, he’s slipped further into desperation, until he was ready to try anything to be with you.  When my brother offered him a deal, Sombra grabbed at it like a drowning pony.  When the water is rising, even a rotten log is better than nothing.
 
But what can we do? the queen wailed.  Below her, Clover seemed to be screaming something at her, but she couldn’t make out his words.  It all came out as a long, low drone.  I supposed I’ve failed him she thought as she continued to slowly drift back to the floor.  I’ve failed everypony.
 
Not necessary, Love said, her musical voice taking on a certain air of urgency.  Though time is short, we still have options.  Chrystal’s felt the voice in her mind darken somehow, becoming serious.  However, it is important that you understand many things, before we can begin to fix what your husband and my brother have set in motion.  These are choices that cannot be taken lightly.
 
I will do whatever it takes to save my people! Chrystal shot back fiercely.
 
Anything? Love asked, and Chrystal felt the word close around her heart, squeezing it.  Have you seen a creature without love before?  Are you familiar with the ramifications?
 
I don’t know what you’re talking about! Chrystal thought, growing more agitated with Love’s hints and riddles.  What is my life compared to the thousands of ponies I could save?
 
Yes, Love sighed.  You could save them, but at what cost?  No, no, she thought as Chrystal’s irritation began to boil over, I will explain, but it is difficult.  We have little time and none of this is simple.  First, you will need to focus on your memories of Sombra, and of the Crystal Empire.  You will need to love again, as fully and as strongly as a foal would.  You’ll need to reconnect the emotional conduit that you severed moments ago and pour yourself into it until there is nothing left.  You must empty yourself into Sombra!
 
Yes, Star Swirl’s already told me all of this! she thought.  I-I’ll just try to reconnect—
 
NO! Love roared, and Chrystal’s mind cringed.  The power of the word rolled over her consciousness like a tsunami.  You must listen and act only when you fully understand.  Anything else is playing into Discord’s hands!
 
O-okay, Chrystal thought, trying to maintain control of flood of emotions that threatened to drown her.
 
The situation has changed since Star Swirl began his clumsy ritual, Love said with a hint of disapproval.  Always ready to use the stick, rather than the carrot, that one.  He has no idea that Discord has inserted himself into his spell, and the results will be disastrous if we don’t counter my brother!  I can give you the power to do that, but it will come at a price.  Believe me when I say that I wish there were another way.
 
W-what price? Chrystal thought, her heart racing.
 
I will change you, Love said, and Chrystal felt the voice’s warm sorrow fill her.  I’ll turn you into a condenser of love, pulling in stray bits of emotion from the ponies nearby, anypony who is experience some sort of joy, contentment, fellowship.  They will feel their moods dim somewhat, but not enough to be harmful; just a shadow passing over their hearts.  With this power, you’ll be able to overcome Discord’s interference and fully power the Crystal Heart.  It will drain you past your limits, I’m afraid.  Every last drop of love will be taken from you, along with that which we steal from your subjects.
 
And what does that mean, exactly? Chrystal thought.  Star Swirl said that I would die!  How could this be worse?!
 
You’ll likely wish that you had, Love said sadly, After the ritual, you’ll be empty, and nature abhors a vacuum.  Many things will rush in to fill the void, and with nothing to counter it, the darker parts of your personality will latch onto the influx of unnatural power and transform it.  It will transform you, in return!  But your kind cannot survive on negativity.  You will search for love and happiness within you, and you will find none.  You’ll begin taking it from those around you.
 
I don’t understand the queen said, suddenly feeling very tired.  Focusing on the floor again, she was dimly surprised to see that she’d only fallen a foot or so.  Nearby, Clover was still in mid-gesticulation, droning his never-ending word.  Chrystal wondered if it would feel like anything at all when she crashed onto the floor.  Ponies give me their love and support every day.
 
They give you their love and support in a figurative sense! Love said a little impatiently.  They don’t actually transfer their emotions to you.  They act on them.  But if you do this, you will find yourself preying on the happiness of others.  You will take it from them because your body demands it!
 
Like a vampire?! Chrystal thought, her mind recoiling.
 
Yes, something like that! Love said.  But instead of blood, you will take love, and hope, and happiness.  You will be a scourge to any living thing that feels.
 
But how is this going to save my people?! the queen wailed.  We’d be trading one monster for another!
 
But not in equal quantity! Love said, filling Chrystal up with urgency.  Yes, you would be a monster to the people.  A thing to be feared and hunted, but Discord threatens to disrupt the very fabric of power that keeps your world from spinning into total chaos!  The very existence of your planet is at stake!
 
So, in order to save everypony, I must become an evil thing? the queen thought despondently.
 
Love’s sorrow filled her again, and felt the voice’s primal power encircle her consciousness like an embrace.  ’Evil’ is not the right word.  Rabbits believe that the wolf is evil, but it is merely trying to survive.  You will be as the wolf is.  Powerful and ravenous, but not necessarily evil.  Chrystal felt a chill as Love pulled away from her.  However, you will be viewed that way.  Nothing likes to be hunted, and they will despise you.  You will be a slave to your urges, after all, and you will fall on ponies when you find them.  If you are strong, you might be able to find a way to temper your hunger, and choose when to—
 
Wait, are you saying that I’ll still be me? Chrystal asked, panicking.  I’ll be me in there, but unable to control myself?!
 
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying Love said.  That’s why you had to know.  This is not a decision to be taken lightly.  It’s a fate that’s immeasurably worse than death.

But, why can’t you stop him? Chrystal thought.  Why does it have to be me?

The presence in Chrystal’s mind seemed to shift, fretting.  She could feel regret flooding through her.  Because of a foolish choice I made long ago, Love finally replied.  When we returned from our exiles, none of us could agree as to how to influence the world that had grown in our absence.  I argued that we should split ourselves, dividing our power evenly amongst all living things.  Discord preferred to keep his power and act independently.  Order wanted to give his power to the strong, so that they might guide the rest, while Hate wished for the utter annihilation of all creation.  I wanted to demonstrate that my idea was the correct one, and so I led by example.  However, I failed to realize that I would be trapped.  Your kind can now no long exist without love.  If I was to call enough of myself back to have a hope of stopping my brother, it would mean the deaths of thousands.  I live within all of you, and that his how I’m able to speak with you now.  I’ve hidden inside your heart, watching you grow and doing what I can to guide you to love, as I have in all living things.  I’m able to draw upon the power of life for short burst, but my decision has left me unable to counter my devious sibling.  That is why it must be your choice.  I merely have the power to facilitate.
 
Chrystal watched the floor draw ever closer and thought back to the time when the throne room had once been lively and cheerful.  Ponies would come with their requests and she’d sit by her parents and watch as they did their best to make their subjects happy.  I’ll be the opposite, she thought.  I’ll be doing my best to spread pain and misery.  I’ll be taking, rather than giving.  My whole life I tried to make myself into the perfect queen.  I’ve changed over and over to make sure I’d do the best I could for them.  But now, I’ll be changing again, but into their worst nightmare,
 
Not their worst, Love thought.  There are far worse things out there.  Your ponies just don’t know about them.  Pray that then never do.
 
But, you’re sure? Chrystal thought, trying to fight through the rising tide of panic.  You’re sure that this will complete Star Swirl’s ritual?
 
Yes, I’m certain, but the choice is yours.  I’m the only one who will know if you decided not to go through with it.  It is the hardest choice any pony has ever had to make, and I will think no less of you should you refuse.  You’re sacrifice up until this point is already far beyond what anypony should have to pay.
 
Chrystal wept.  She wasn’t sure if her body was responding, but inside her mind, she grieved.  Okay! she thought as part of her mind shrank away from the malignant idea.  If… if it will save them, I’ll do it!
 
Stillness.  Chrystal could feel the weight of Love’s pause hanging in her mind.  It was growing, turning into a powerful force.  From this point on, I will be facilitating the transfer, but you should know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten.  I will ensure it.  This is a gift to ponykind the likes of which has never been seen before! the voice finally said, and warmth and happiness began to fill the queen.  Her heart filled with the hopes and desires of hundreds of ponies, but also churned with the anger and despair at what her life had become.  One by one, she felt their lives touch her, soothing her and showing the queen what she had meant to them.  As the love burst from her, connecting Chrystal to her husband once again, she cried out.  Hovering high in the air once more, she looked into the confused and terrified eyes of her husband.
 
Take it, Sombra she thought, focusing all of her energy on the love he had for him.  She was surprised to find that it still burned within her, a hot, bright flame in her heart that cried out to be with him.  For our people, take it all!
 
I don’t think so! Discord’s voice snapped, and Chrystal shrieked as she felt his power build.  Suddenly, twisting veins of green and black shot through the emotional conduit that connected her with Sombra.  In the blink of an eye, they reached her, worming their way into her heart.  She gasped as the tendrils of energy began ripping the love from her.
 
Heh-heh! Discord chuckled.  Guess they were right after all, love does hurt—argh!
 
She could feel Sombra fighting for her.  Snarling, she reached out and pulled, gasping as emotion flooded into her.  Far below her, Clover choked and fell, writhing on the ground.  From all around, she felt the love of her people flow through her to push back Discord’s cancerous energy.  She smiled grimly as she began to push the evil tendrils away.
 
Wrong move, Discord! Sombra’s voice roared in her mind.  His mind felt like a wild animal, lunging and lashing out at Discord’s oppressive consciousness.  Threatening my wife is the very last thing you’ll EVER do!  Despite her anger with him, Chrystal’s love swelled as her husband fought with everything he had left, buying her the time she needed to save their people.
 
Suddenly, with Discord’s power was gone, the power burst from her like a dam breaking.  Its strength arched her body backward as it shot in crackling, twisting lines across the darkened chamber.  Chrystal was caught somewhere between agony and ecstasy as the emotions of hundreds of ponies flowed through her.
 
I think not! Discord snarled, and Chrystal worried at the tone.  Before, his voice had always seemed playful, like a schoolyard bully.  Now, he sounded truly angry, and she could feel his power swelling in her mind, threatening to drive her mad as it shoved her consciousness away.  You’ve played a fine game here today, but you’re simply not in my league.
 
Chrystal could feel Discord’s energy as it ripped into Sombra’s heart, and she felt something vital come loose.  Desperately, she concentrated on the love flowing through her, pushing more of it through her by force of will.  The toll on her body was tremendous, but she refused to give in.  Just… a little longer… she thought as blackness began to creep in around the edges of her vision.  Almost… done.
 
Something was happening within her husband, be she was too drained to understand it.  Discord was attacking the heart they’d created, but somehow Sombra had protected it.  He’d shielded her love the way he always had, allowing her the last few seconds she had needed to completely empty herself.  There… she thought, rapidly losing consciousness.
 
I will always love you, Chrystal, he thought to her.
 
Inside, she felt dead.  His voice stirred nothing within her heart.  I… can’t she thought, as his mind dropped away.  I’ll never love anything again.
 
No, it’s not right! Love’s voice rang through her mind, bringing her back to full consciousness.  Looking down, she could see Clover running to catch her falling body, but he was too far to help her.  Discord’s attack did something to the Crystal Heart!
 
But you said it would work! Chrystal screamed.
 
It should have worked, but Discord is the master of unpredictability! Love cried.  He somehow managed to—
 
Love was silenced as Chrystal smashed headfirst into the floor.