//------------------------------// // Her Princess // Story: My Little Dynamite: Book One // by Fuzzyfurvert //------------------------------// Chapter 16 Artificial mage-light cast deep, stark shadows whenever Twilight stuck her head into one of the many alcoves and cubbies that branched off from the main room inside the Everfree Temple of the Sun. Most were like small rooms, either completely empty or filled with rubble and dead leaves, their purpose unclear. In the sixth or seventh—she had stopped counting already—there was a dark splash of color staining the floor. Twilight paused, kneeling down to examine it closely. It was old, obviously, but it was impossible to tell how old without a more in-depth examination than she had time for at the moment. Was something spilled? Was it the final remains of some ancient carpeting, its color staining the stone long after it had faded to dust? Or had something roughly pony-sized met its end in this tiny space, prey to some Everfree monster? The ruins of the temple were not forthcoming with an immediate answer, so Twilight stood again and moved on. Across the large, central space, more light flashed for a jar hung from Zecora’s belt, in time with her steps. The older zebra scanned the stones and carvings with a keen, practiced eye. She stopped by a larger alcove, her lantern jar illuminating a huge relief carving of bowing and prostrated figures facing a central sphere and flanked by flames. Directly below the sphere was a single pony...or at least that was what the carving seemed to suggest. The figure was now smashed and disfigured, with only a hoof and what might be a bit of flowing mane still attached to the rest of the display. Twilight picked her way carefully across the rubble-strewn floor, reaching Zecora before the mare had moved on in her search. “Zecora...do you...do you think this just fell apart over the years? Or...was this defaced intentionally?” Zecora stopped and considered the carving. “I say it on purpose.” She gestured at the central, broken figure. “W’en Everfree fall, t’ey say it fall hard. Da goddess left t’em and wit’out ‘er, everyt’ing come cras’ing down.” “Why did she leave?” Twilight frowned, lowering her voice to keep it from carrying to where Spike and Cadance were searching. “If Princess Celestia was really this same Sun Priestess, then why did she suddenly abandon her people? That’s not the pony I know. The Princess I know would fight to her last breath and beyond if Canterlot or Equestria was threatened.” “S’e not da same pony.” Zecora shrugged and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Princess Celestia is a different pony t’en da legend. If t’at because s’e is not da same one, or...s’e c’ange over da years...I cannot say. I study Everfree. I learn many t’ings about da past, Twilight. Da Priestess could’a been Celestia, t’ey bot’ good ponies, t’ey bot’ strong, t’ey bot’ care about t’ey people. Da Priestess fell because s’e see w’at power do to ‘er. S’e see t’at s’e going bad. Da Priestess took off da mantle of power and leaders’ip willingly. T’at is da important part, Twilight.” Twilight turned that over in her mind, breathing deeply through her nose as she had been taught years ago to clear her mind and focus. “The Priestess stepped down to prevent herself from becoming something bad?” Thoughts and memories from her last excursion into the Everfree played through her mind. The desperate chase through the forest. Finding the old royal palace and slogging through those ruins until she reached the tower. The flashing lights, arcane power washing over every surface and warping reality to the breaking point. In the middle of the storm, Princess Celestia, bound and gagged, while a dark mockery of Princess Luna stood over her. The fight was a blur of spells and explosions, blasts of fire and lightning charged with plasma. Luna’s mane was the one point of stillness, but it was the black, cold stillness of the grave. Her entire body was twisted by whatever was affecting her, enlarging her and giving the Princess reptilian eyes and teeth. Twilight could remember her eyes the clearest. That and Luna’s laugh. Both were flat, filled with malice and murderous intent. Luna surrounded herself with shields. Magic bounced off her like rain off a roof with all the same damage. Twilight had flung spells until her horn was smoking and her throat was raw, but nothing made it through. All that changed when Luna had put her hoof on Princess Celestia’s neck. Twilight could remember the desperation she had felt and all the rage that boiled up under it. She could remember the precise moment—with a clarity that sometimes kept her up at nights—when Princess Luna shifted her weight and pressed down, Princess Celestia’s eyes widened in fear and her own mind exploded. Spell matrices she had never envisioned before or since welled up in her mind faster than she could have cast them. They layered and intertwined themselves along impossible geometries. In one blinding flash, she unleashed hell. Fire, electricity, ice, acid, ear-shattering sound, and pure arcane force combined into one rainbow binding of elements. The attack broke Luna’s shield, and her spine. Twilight blew air through her nose until her lungs ached to be refilled, driving the memories of that night out of her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder though, if that evil that had festered in Luna’s mind and soul was the same evil the Priestess of the Sun felt would consume her as well? Was that fear what brought her and the City of Everfree down? She shook her head, turning to look to where Spike and Cady had wandered to. They were not far off, but the disfigured and defaced carving left a sour taste in her mouth and she suddenly didn’t want either of them out of her sight. “Just what are we looking for down here, Zecora? Potion ingredients or more information of this Chyrsalis creature? If you had told me about something like a changeling last week, I would have told you to stop drinking your own concoctions.” Zecora stepped up next to the Twilight and put a hoof on the younger mare’s shoulder. “I would ‘ave slapped you, too. I make da best brew for a league in all directions.” The zebra sighed. “But I understand. It hard to swallow. Mebbe we find somet’ing ‘ere I missed. Me eyes not so good now.” “Hey, Twi!” Spike waved at them from across the room. “I found a way down into a lower section!” From where they stood, Twilight could see Cadance carefully picking her way around what looked like any other pile of broken stone and tangled roots. Spike turned back to her and they spoke, too quietly to hear, when Spike grabbed one of the larger stones and started working it loose from the rest of the rubble. A black hoof, its chitinous surface hard and rigid, paused in mid-air above a complex matrix of dark arcane runes and symbols. Grains of obsidian sand ceased to flow from the small satchel it held, the line on the ground that those fine particles were forming halted in place. The line nearly reached another, only a small bit of space remained free of the dark material. That tiny blank area was all that kept the complex circle pattern from being complete. Chrysalis stared at that spot, that small piece of a greater whole that was left to be done. She could complete it in less time than it took to blink. She could be done with the spell. All the seals would be broken. She only need complete the arcane circle and the energy would flow by itself into the nether realm where her father and country was held. I’ll be free then, right? She worked her jaw, listing to the plates that made up her face click together faintly. I can go home then, right? I can be with her, right? All I have to do is open the way. Then...I get what I want...what I deserve. How long has it been? How long have I been down here? Chrysalis blinked slowly, her mind turning to wipe the years away, and she saw the temple as it once was. The walls were white cream, just like her coat. The ceiling had many opening to let in the sunlight, to feed the plethora of flowering plants that hung above. The rainbow of flowers was just like her mane. Enormous amethyst gems, the same shade as her eyes, were set into the walls at either end of the temple to reflect the light that made it past the flowers. The furnishing dripped with gold, in the stitching, on the corners, worked into the sides. Gold was everywhere and the temple wore it well, but not as well as her. The temple had been the first place she had ever laid eyes on the Sun. She, Crystal of the North, daughter of King Sombra, had answered the call to be a Princess, to be the new Priestess of the Night. She would rule side by side with the Priestess of the Day. She would have power and control. She would prove herself more than merely her father’s daughter and step out of his shadow. The temple was the first place she had fallen in love. The lesser priests, eunuchs in service to the Priestess of the Sun, gathered in the temple first. After a long time, they opened the doors and beckoned her to enter. The city they called Everfree vanished, its sounds and smells became something of another world when she entered that sacred place. The temple vanished along with it when she saw the Priestess, resplendent upon her throne. Nothing else was worthy to exist in that moment. Only the Sun. Her Sun. Her love. Her destiny. In that perfect moment, everything was as it should be. Later the shadows would come. The tests. The other false-priestesses. They tried to take away her Sun, but they failed. She made sure of that. She cleared the field. She proved herself and for the briefest of times, she alone was kissed by the Sun. Then the Sun had set. Chrysalis hissed and blinked tears from her eyes. She could remember how soft the Priestess’ touch had been. She could recall the smell of the jasmine perfume the Priestess favored in those days. Even after years and decades—centuries?—she could recall so many small details with the clarity of a recent event. It felt like just yesterday when she had stood before the dais, looking up at the center of her world. Chrysalis lowered her outstretched hoof. The satchel she held shifted in her grip, sighing as the obsidian inside it settled. She breathed deeply, pushing the memory of the past away, lest she be consumed by it. “I will have what I want. I will have my Sun. My Light. My…Celestia.” She tipped the bag, pouring the sand out into the remaining clear space. The circle completed, the magical power that thrummed through the ground in the central Ley Line of the Everfree, was redirected into it. The obsidian grew darker and colder until a light mist started to rise off the arcane circle. Chrysalis took a step back, her eyes locked on the circle and the lights that started to flash inside it until a feeling ran up her back, like the sound of a snapping twig in a silent forest. There was no sound except her own breathing and the crackling of the stone floor as the magic continued to suck heat out of it. She looked up, confusion washing over her face. The chamber seemed no different. Her green candles still burned bright and steady. Her shrine of collected artifacts dedicated to Celestia sat undisturbed, its loose rainbow-colored strands of mane still arranged as she had left them. The sensation came again, stronger this time. “What in the blue Tartarus is...wait.” Chrysalis perked her ears and lit her horn as she scanned the chamber around her. “That was one of my sentry alarms!” She’d set alarms in the early days, laid the spells into the stone tiles of the temple to alert her to any looters or other intruders. They haven’t gone off in hundreds of years! Now two in a row? The alarm sentation sounded again, harder than before. Whatever was coming was getting closer. The changeling smiled viciously. “Good...I needed a distraction.” Sometimes, when she was alone and the moon sailed overhead, the memories would come to her. Visions of her past. Millennia of time would scroll past the back of her eyelids like a projection film played too fast. The oddest points stood out of the wide field of endless days and nights. Bad or good, the memories called to her, pulling her back in time. Princess Luna sighed and flipped the pages of the ledger she was working in, to the empty section for notes at the back. She dipped her quill into the the inkwell. The bills can wait. I need a distraction. Where was I? She caught the frayed end of the pen between her lips. Oh yes, the Captain had just ordered the stowaway brought before her in irons. Luna released the quill and it flew across the blank page, setting the scene of a privateer airship gone rogue in the High Skys, its Captain a stern but fair mistress with a coat the same blue-black of a raven. The crew, a rag-tag band of misfits, but all fine sailors, dragged a buttercream colored pegasus up from below decks. The stowaway, a timid waif of a mare, cowered before the strong Captain, ready to receive her punishment for daring to sneak aboard the Moondarter. She paused her writing to sip from her cup of tea. “I wish Fluttershy was he…” She locked up, the sentence incomplete and frozen on her lips. A sensation, like she had never experienced before, crawled up her spine and down her horn at the same time until the twin lightning bolts met within her mind. She jerked her head back as if struck, her mouth falling open. Arcane power, once her own but long since spent on a spell, returned to her from somewhere, but she couldn’t think where she could have left it. There was no active spell that held such reserves. It was overwhelmingly alien and at the same time, undeniably her own power. It was ragged, the magic’s metaphorical edges torn and shredded. Whatever spell or enchantment it had been powering had been broken, forcibly dispelled. The flow of the returning energy continued for a full two breaths and when it finally subsided, she lurched forward in her chair, starting to pant and sweat. Luna’s heart jackhammered in her chest and unbidden, memories broke the surface of her mind. A thousand years of time and nearly as many miles separated her from this magic. She had cast it in her last action as a goddess and priestess, sealing away an evil. The sounds of her guards deaths, the taste of fear as he got closer, the mixed elation and sorrow as the last of her godhead left her to form the Gibbous Shield. The conversation from a few days earlier with her sister sprang to mind. Something had broken her Gibbous Shield. The Crystal Empire and its dark, Midnight Lord Sombra would once again walk Equus soil. Luna dropped her quill and wiped her forehead with the shaky back of her hoof. She took a deep breath, pushing herself back from her writing desk, and heading for the door of her chambers. Luna threw open the doors and rushed out as fast as her stiff legs and aching back would allow her. She had to speak with Celestia, now. Outside her room, standing at rigid attention, her faithful shieldmaiden, Shining Armor waited with his eyes fixed on the opposite wall while a blonde stallion spoke to him. Luna blinked and stumbled, recognizing her nephew, Prince Blueblood. “Now now, my sweet Maiden,” Blueblood smiled and leaned in as he looked over Shining’s armor, “wouldn’t you be more comfortable out of that? Not that I want you to think it looks heavy or bad. But...it would look so much better on my bedroom floor.” Shining Armor held his place, his face a mask of neutrality even as his neck muscles started to cord and clinch. The black lace that came off his flared battle skirt quivered slightly as he forced himself to maintain composure. Funny as the scene was, Luna couldn’t waste time to savor it. She ignored Shining’s pained glances and turned toward the hall that lead to the castle proper and made it another dozen paces before her back spasmed. Her wings shot out, pushing against the floor to keep herself upright. She knew she wasn’t going to make it far in this condition. When the spasms stopped, she turned back toward her room. Sweat rolled down Shining’s cheek and he grit his teeth audibly. The Prince, either inspite of, or because of this, leaned in closer, his voice dropping an octave as he purred. “Come now, my pretty little Maiden...the Princess has left you all alone.” Blueblood chuckled warmly, his smile turned into a grade-A leer. “Thankfully, there’s a Prince here to tell you what to do. Say...why don’t you put in a transfer to my security detail? I’m sure I can find a slot for you to fill in my harem—er, my staff.” “Shining Armor!” Both stallions jumped at the shout and turned as one to look where Princess Luna was leaning hard against the wall at the entrance to the hall. “Either kiss your boyfriend or slug him, I don’t care. But get my wheels and catch up with me ASAP. I need to speak with Celestia!” She didn’t stick around to see what happened and turned around again, limping down the hall once more. Damn this pain! I should have gotten into my wheels first. I really wish Fluttershy was here tonight. I’m going to be paying for this for a few nights to come. She grunted when she reached the next door, her magic opening it well ahead of her actual arrival. A few of the castle staff were in the hallway intersection, maids and cleaners that all stopped when they saw her and bowed, their eyes full of worry when they saw their Princess all but crawling on the floor. Luna was just about to ask for their assistance when she heard the thunder of heavy hoof-falls coming from behind her. She stopped at the end of the hall and took a calming breath. Shining Armor skidded to a stop next to Luna, his horn glowing as he unfolded the wheel harness. It rattled when he set it down and opened the belts and straps needed to attach it to Princess Luna. She frowned, her face darker than normal with the strain she had placed on herself. The harness took her weight, the familiar device easing the stress on her tired muscles. Once she was seated and could spare thought for more than her discomfort, Luna raised an eyebrow at her shieldmaiden. “There is blood on your vambraces.” “Sorry ma’am. I’ll clean it as soon as I see you to your sister.” “See that you do, Shining Armor. Cobalt stains easily.” Luna sighed gratefully and started off again. Shining kept pace at her side, the two reaching a near gallop as they moved deeper into the castle. “Oh...and Shining?” She smirked, taking a corner at speed as they neared the throne room. “You should wash your face too. I can see some blood around your mouth.” The lower floors of the Sun Temple once held the amassed wealth of the clergy that was not on display above where the Priestess performed services. Gold, gems, objet d’art, and magic inscribed on papyrus scrolls or enchanted into all assortment of items were stacked to the ceiling in vault after vault. Alongside these treasures, the Sacred Brotherhood of Light trained their bodies and souls to perfection for the High Priestess of the Sun. They lived, worked, sweat, and died for Her. She was the Sun and the Sun was Her. She brought life and light and order and they were Her favored children. The treasures, and the eunuchs that guarded them, no longer called these vaults home. Time, lost, famine, and looters had seen to that. Now all that remained was dust and the ghosts of the past, too weak to speak, but forever destined to walk these earthen halls. Not even rats scurried through the darkness now. Nothing in those deserted halls had moved for centuries, until a purple and green, draconic head worked its way inside through a root-choked hole in the ceiling. “Yes! I got through, but there is a drop...maybe twenty something feet. The floor looks solid though.” There was a muffled response from above and then Spike retreated back the way he’d come. There followed a long moment of silence, until it was shattered by a small explosion of stone, dirt, and roots that rained to the tilework below. The detritus was trailed a second later by a flash of pink fur and feathers. Cadance braked hard in mid-dive, the down beats from her wings kicking up even more dust than the cave-in, hovering just a few inches off the floor. She gave herself a half-dozen beats to scan what little she could see in the murky blackness and then gently set hoof on the old temple floor. The tiles she touched down on immediately illuminated in a pale, golden light for just a blink of an eye and then faded back into the darkness. Great...some of the enchantments in these old ruins is still working. Cadance covered her muzzle with her wing and breathed slowly to filter out as much of the dust as she could. She narrowed her eyes and scanned the halls with a critical gaze. After a moment, she looked up. “Ok, Spike, you next. Floor feels safe enough.” She turned back to the dark vaults and frowned. That did something. I need to find out what before we get ourselves in trouble. Cadance slunk into the shadows, her hooves silent against the tiles as she crept carefully over the loose rubble their entry had spread over the area. Behind her, Spike had anchored his tail on the floor above and was carefully transferring Zecora and Twilight down to the lower level. Cadance let the darkness cloak her movements as she prowled into the back of the nearest alcove chamber. It was mostly empty, but she could see the remains of some sort of furniture in the gloom. She spared a quick glance back to make sure no one was looking her way and cast a simple spell that settled into her eyes and let her see as if it were as bright as noon outside. It left little after images in her eyes for a moment right after the casting which she blinked away, slipping deeper into the room. Now, she could see that this area still had a large amount of artifacts left, compared to the surface level. The dark shapes resolved into broken chairs and low tables that were scattered over the floor. Even to her untrained eye for archeology, she could see this was more than simple wear and tear of time. “Something tore through here in a rage.” Cadance whispered to herself, ducking under a fallen pillar. The destruction continued as she went further, becoming thicker. Everything was covered with a layer of dust and grime, so she was reasonably certain that whatever had smashed the furniture, did it years ago. “Cadance?” The princess froze when she heard Twilight call her name from where they had entered. She could hear them spreading out. I should go back and tell Twi about the glow I saw. She might have some insight on what spells might still be in effect down here. She turned to head back when a glint near the floor caught her attention. Cadance lowered herself down to take a closer look, her breath catching when she realized it was a hair-thin trip wire. A quick look around confirmed her suspicion that the wire wasn’t part of the old ruins. The simple trap mechanism was designed to bury whoever tripped the wire under a couple of tons of precariously held collapsed ceiling. There was more than ancient spells down here that they had to be concerned about. “Hey, Twi?” She could hear Spike’s voice coming from the main hall near the entrance of the vault. Spike must have come closer to speak with Twilight, his voice sounded concerned. “Remember that buzzing noise I told you about earlier? It’s getting louder...or closer. I can’t quite tell.” She needed to get back to the other before someone set off a trap. Cadance turned, dropping stealth for speed as she started to trot back the way she’d come. “Huh...the sound just stopped.” Cadance ducked as she ran, skidding under the fallen pillar. She could spy Twilight at the end of the vault, pearing into the darkness. Spike stood next to her, looking back over his shoulder, the frills that functioned as his ears where fully extended as if his was listening to something faint. “I still don’t hear it, Spike.” Twilight’s horn started to glow, the extra light painful to Cadance’s enhanced vision. “But I hear Cadance’s hoofsteps coming this way. When she gets here, we’ll investigate…” She was a couple dozen paces away when the buzzing noise returned, closer and louder than ever. Cadance squinted against the light coming from Twilight’s horn, speeding up to a full on gallup. The buzzing noise, low and rumbling, thrummed through the stones around them until it suddenly changed pitch and became shrill and earsplitting. Twilight’s face brightened as Cadance emerged from the shadows, her arms reaching out to catch the oncoming princess. “Cady! Where did you slip off to?” Cadance slammed into her, knocking them both back a few steps. “Don’t do that again, ok? I don’t want you to get hurt.” “Twilight! Listen, we have to be careful down here,” Cadance panted, “I found some traps back there! A wrong step and this whole place could come crashing down on us.” She turned to point back the way she’d come. “I found a magical one when I came down and a tripwire over…” The buzzing noise stopped suddenly. “Did I leave traps in here?” Cadance felt Twilight go tense. The voice echoed off the walls and ceiling, seeming to come from all directions at once. The voice made a ‘hmmph’ noise. “I wonder if they still work? It’s been a while.” The echos bounced around the room for a second before it spoke again. “I want to thank you, actually, for setting off my old sentry spells. Alerting me to your presence was very...useful...of you.” “Where is it coming from?” Spike growled, low in his throat, his eyes flicking about rapidly. “I can’t pinpoint it.” “Stay close. If something comes at us, first priority is keeping the princess and Zecora safe.” Twilight eased back onto all fours, letting Cadance go, and pulled her staff from under her cloak. “Oh, isn’t that cute?” The voice laughed loudly. “You think you can stop me from doing whatever I want? That you can save anyone from me? You don’t even know what you’re up against.” Twilight’s horn flashed as she charged it with power, grinning fiercely. “Why don’t you step into the light and introduce yourself?” The voice was quiet for a moment. When it did respond, the tone was softer. “You are her student, aren’t you? I can see it in your stance...the look in your eye. I can see the way you shape your magic...just like she used to. You studied under her for years, the little prodigy that she spoke so highly of. Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, what is that like?” “How do you know my name?” The voice continued as if Twilight hadn’t spoken. “Did you have much competition for her attention, hmm? Did you have to fight for it? Did you have to prove yourself as I once did?” There was a long pause, no one moved or breathed. “No...I suppose not. Or else it might have been you I would need to kill, wouldn’t it? It’s nothing personal, you understand? I have to do this. I always liked you, really.” Chrysalis rotated her head around to watch the ponies and dragon group together tightly as she clung to the ceiling. She smirked, watching them look around, trying to zero in on her location. A simple trick of throwing her voice and the natural acoustics of the vaults kept them guessing, on the tips of their hooves. The pink one needs to die, but she’s evaded those cheap knock-offs for this long...she must be more skilled than she appears. Twilight and Spike will be mildly annoying at best. Chrysalis glanced at the zebra and rolled her eyes. The old sage is harmless. Possibly a good target to force the others into defending. She reached out with a hoof, her chitinous plates flexing to grip the stone as she swung soundlessly into position directly above the four. I could just bring the roof down on them. It would be easy. She frowned, shaking her head. No. That would destroy Tia’s temple. She wouldn’t like that. And besides, I’d have to dig that pink thorn in my hoof out of the rubble afterwards. Chrysalis let scenarios play through her mind, methods of attack and defense against what she assumed each of them were capable of. Worse case, they escaped her ambush and a chase ensued, but all that did was delay the inevitable. She breathed in deeply through her nose and let it out slowly. There really was only one way this could go. Chrysalis let go of the ceiling and buzzed her wings, adding boost to what gravity was already doing for her. Her limbs reoriented themselves and she landed with a thunderous crash in the middle of the quartet. “You know,” She couldn’t help but smile as she casually swiped one hoof at Spike, hitting him in the chest and sending the young dragon flying into the nearest wall, “upon consideration, I think formal introductions are in order.” She spun with the push off of Spike and gently caught Twilight under the chin with her other arm, tipping her head back in a smooth motion, redirecting the blast of fire that erupted from the unicorn’s horn harmlessly toward the back of the chamber. “I’m called Chrysalis these days. It’s one of many names, but if you prefer a title, you can just call me ‘Queen.’” In the flash of Twilight’s spell, the false princess flinched, her eyes closing tight. Chrysalis took the opportunity to hook her rear leg around the filly’s throat, and drive her to the ground. Zecora seemed to move in slow motion, pulling some vial from her harness. Chrysalis didn’t think much of it, but why not send a message? It was what the Sun Priestess would have done. Make an example so that the others don’t act stupidly. She shifted her grip on Twilight’s jaw and lifted the battlemage up and over the pinned, pink floozy, flinging the unicorn into the zebra and sending both ponies sprawling. Now that she had some breathing room, Chrysalis stood on just her rear hooves and gazed down at the alicorn under her hoof. “I suppose I really should have done this years ago. But Celestia liked you...she was so happy when you showed up. I liked seeing her like that again. Liked it so much, I let you live.” She smiled sadly. “I’m sorry for that, little imposter. I was selfish...I let my emotions sway me. Let her happiness infect me. If I had just done this sooner, it could have been an easily explainable accident. A carriage crash or something. It would have been quick. Mostly painless.” Chrysalis tilted her head, considering. “Mostly.” Twilight rolled off Zecora, the elder zebra looked dazed from the impact, but none the worse for wear. She spun to face the changeling, the magic in her horn shaping itself into an aimed bolt of electricity. She could see Spike climbing to his claws on the other side of the thing on Cadance, the dragon’s muscles bunched to pounce. Spike winked at her and Twilight unleashed a flash of energy. Chrysalis turned her head and fired up her own horn with a sickly green-black aura, intercepting the lightning with her own blast of arcane energy. She smirked, kicking out the hoof she was pinning the imposter with to counter the dragon coming from behind. “Nice try! But I know she taught you better than…” Chrysalis paused as her hoof connected with empty air. She looked back and down where Spike was crouched low, his claws on Cadance’s harness, pulling her away across the floor. Cadance grinned wolfishly, pulling her Minotauran Hull-Breacher out and leveling up it at the surprised changeling’s face. “She taught us luck favors the bold!” A crack of thunder to match Twilight’s lightning strike sounded in the enclosed space, followed by a dull, wet-sounding squelch, as smoke from the black power obscured everyone’s vision. It cleared a second later to reveal the creature, still standing, one side of her head deformed with a deep indentation around a walnut-sized sphere of lead. “I...actually felt that.” Chrysalis rolled her head, as if working out a kink in her neck, causing the lead shot to fall to the floor with a muffled thump. The plates of chitin creaked, groaning under pressure as her face reshaped itself. She stared at Cadance, her one aligned eye flat with malice. “That just cost you the quick and painless option. Slow and exceedingly painful, it is!” Crystal! Chrysalis. Whichever, it matters not. Stop bothering with the mortal insects and come here. There is much to do and little time to do it in! “Shut up!” Chrysalis snapped at the air, jerking back to dodge around a claw swipe aimed at her chest from Spike. “I will do as I please! I did your bidding already.” She turned and pirouetted in flawless ballerina form, to slip between the trajectories of a thrown vial and a shot of pure arcane force. Her horn glowed, her magic reaching out, and grabbed the battlemage’s tail to send the mare flying. You will do as you are commanded, daughter. The voice in her mind rumbled with a barely contained growl. You are mine to do with as I will. It would be best for you to not forget that. “You...are...dead. You can’t order me around anymore!” Chrysalis snarled and ducked a gleaming blue-silver blade strike. She frowned and rounded on the false princess, the alicorn back on her hooves and now wielding dual, long hiltless daggers. The changeling sucked in a breath when Cadance flashed forward, propelled by a powerful beat of her wings, her blades aimed at the junctures where her natural armor was weakest. She brought up a hoof at the last second and deflected the first strike. Chrysalis stepped back as the pink pony kept up the assault, hitting faster and faster, Chrysalis forced to go on the defensive to keep from taking the steel in an unarmored joint. “You’ve fought my poor knock-offs before. After I kill you, I’ll need to see to it that the next clutch is stronger.” “You won’t get the chance!” Cadance snapped, her hooves blurring in another set of quick blows against Chrysalis’ carapace. “I’m sick and tired of running from your kind! Always hounding me from one place to the next...how many times have you sent your lackeys to end me now? None of them were successful, and neither will you be!” Chrysalis! Come now, or I will come get you myself. This is not a request, child. “I’m busy!” Chrysalis ducked again when one of the blades came close to her eyes. Cadance slowed her jabs, raising an eyebrow at the changeling. “That’s not...the response I was expecting.” “You don’t deserve any response other than a painful mauling, you usurper! No one is allowed to take my place!” Chrysalis growled and switched her stance, rolling to the side. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the dragon frantically building a tall pile of stone and rubble. Some kind of trap? Or a...barricade? Wait...what has the mage been doing this whole time? She took her eyes off Cadance for a moment and spotted Twilight standing, her eyes closed and her battlemage staff touching the ground. She recognized the unicorn’s stance and the taste of the magic that was swirling around her. It was Celestia’s favorite move for quickly pulling on local ley lines to power everything from spells to speed. Tia really does favor this little annoyance to have taught her that. I really don’t want to kill the filly. She’s just doing what Tia told her to do. Chrysalis moved her guard, giving Cadance a clear shot at a spot near where her lungs used to be located. The mare, skilled as she was, took the bait and dived in. She raised her leg, letting the incoming blades slip through the holes in her foreleg. She twisted her leg and yanked the daggers to the side, throwing the alicorn off her center of gravity and disarming her in one fell swoop. She followed up the movement with a roundhouse kick, knocking Cadance back and giving herself a clear shot. I grow tired of waiting. You come to me, now Twilight took a deep breath and pulled hard at the old, stubborn ley lines that ran deep underneath the Sun Temple. These lines ran deeper, slower than Canterlot’s, and something was already drawing on them. She could feel time start to slow and dilate as the thick, sluggish energy started to work its way out of the ground and into her limbs through her hooves. Magic swirled inside her horn as the energy mixed with her own reserves, active mana sources flaring brightly in her vision. The chamber around her was no longer dark, glowing geometric, rune-like lines ran across every surface. Zecora, the zebra crouched behind the hastily-made blockade, was covered in a multitude of pinpricks of light from her many potions. Spike blazed with a bright inner light in the center of his chest. The middle of the room, Cadance flashed like a strobe light with every beat of her wings as she clashed with the changeling, and Chrysalis—Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. Chrysalis shined like the noon day sun. The creature looked like she was made of pure mana forced into a vague pony-like shape. Holy...I am going to need every shred of power I can get from the lines. Twilight sucked in a quick lungful of air. I’m only going to get one shot at this. Twilight pulled harder at the ley lines, glancing down at where she sensed the rest of the power was being diverted to. It was like looking into some sort of hole. Magic from the lines poured in and just vanished. Oh sweet Sisters, tell me this monster isn’t this powerful and it can do dark magic too! As she watched, the edges of the void in the magic field expanded, drawing more power from the lines and forcing her to pull harder just to keep what she had gathered so far. Twilight looked back at fight in the middle of the room and formed the matrices in her mind for fire. She wanted it hot, the matrix adjusting itself to add more thermic conversion in a shorter amount of time, to meet her desire. She didn’t want Cadance it get caught in it, the looping strings of probability tightened around the kernel of the spell, sacrificing the overall area of effect for a tiny spot of hellfire. She was going to have to aim the release to ensure the spell transferred all of it’s power directly into Chrysalis’ core. Please...don’t let me miss. Three things happened at once. Chrysalis swung her arm, launching the daggers at Twilight’s focusing staff. Twilight released her spell, the tiny ball of flame passing the daggers in mid-air. The floor collapsed, the tiles cracking and giving away as the underpinning material, much like the magic in the area, was sucked into a yawning pit of darkness. Twilight leaped, her spell veering off course slightly in the dilated time, she focused herself on the most important thing: Cadance. The princess was teetering on the uneven stone, falling in slow-motion toward the gaping maw that had opened beneath her. The battlemage pushed all of the remaining dregs of the ley lines’ power into her legs, rocketing herself out across the gulf, her arms outstretched to catch the alicorn. There was a flash as her spell contacted something, followed by a vibration that would resolve into a crashing roar when sound caught up to her ears. She was almost there. Cadance was almost completely over the void, her wings flaring for purchase, Cadance’s surprised eyes locking with her own. She could almost feel her princess’ coat safely against her own. Then the room went dark. Celestia sipped from her warmug. The coffee in it starting to grow cold by her standards. She tapped her horn against the rim and the faithful mug warmed it back to a steamier temperature. She set it down on the desk next to her throne, lifting a short stack of papers in her aura and shuffling them about. She had no real reason to do so, other than to silently tease her majordomo, Raven, with the possibility of getting them mixed up. She smiled slightly when she saw the unicorn’s eye twitch. Heheh...I really shouldn’t tease her too much. I’m sure Lulu would scold me for such behavior, but it’s just too funny to watch Raven’s minor coronaries when I so much as restack the paperwork. Celestia let her smirk widen. It’s not like I haven’t been doing this for centuries now. It’s not like I didn’t build this city, this country...the very culture around us. No, I have to get the assistant that thinks I must be going senile. She pondered that for a moment. Could she actually go senile? Could she one day wake up and find she had lost her mind somewhere along the line? Is that what it’s like for Chryssi? The thought, though not a new one, made her frown. The changeling was a curious example of an immortal. She was a crafted being, which meant all bets were off when came to assumptions. Often, Celestia found herself wondering how Chrysalis’ mind had survived so long beyond what it was designed for. It had taken her the better part of a century to figure out how the changeling had escaped the ravages of time. Somehow, Chrysalis had found a way to convert emotions into raw mana. She ran on it, feasted on the emotions of those around her without conscious thought. Her body then converted that mana much in the same way a regular mortal converted food and water into energy. Whatever the filly had done to herself, it added up to perpetual life, so long as there were strong enough emotions to feed her. Even though Chrysalis could feed herself, heal from any wound, change her shape and had magic power that at times seemed to rival an alicorn, her mind fared less well. Sometimes the mare would drift off into her own world. Voices that only she could hear would speak to her, she would become non-communicative for days on end. Sometimes, when she was mimicking a new personality, Chrysalis would slip into a previous one for a moment, picking up a conversation that had been left off decades earlier. Celestia could remember one occasion when Chrysalis’ ‘Monarca’ personality slipped and suddenly she was talking to ‘Silk Spinner’ for a few minutes. It happened infrequently, but when it did, it usually heralded a violent episode of some sort. She didn’t know if that was Chrysalis’ way of resetting herself, or if it was a function of the dark, twisted magics that made her what she was. Celestia could remember the first time she had met the changeling and known that is was Chrysalis. She remembered their first meeting, in the temple so long ago, but meeting Crystal again as the creature she became stuck out in her mind. It was late one night, the middle of summer, when the tall changeling revealed herself in her ‘natural’ form. She had been up finishing some paperwork of some sort with Luna in the throne room, walking alone back to her room afterwards. The shadows moved in one of the halls she passed. Celestia stopped, standing there in a shaft of moonlight coming in from the windows. From the inky darkness, her negative, her opposite, stepped forward. Luna was often compared to her, the sisters ostensibly opposed to each other, but it was Chrysalis that was her mirror. Long legs, trim and strong body, large expressive eyes. All the physical parts matched, but their colors and qualities were flipped. Where Celestia was hale and whole, Chrysalis had holes. Where she had a soft coat and a flowing mane, Chrysalis had a strong exoskeleton and a mane that hung like fine silk. Where she had a dazzling array of colors in her mane and plain feathers in her wings, Chrysalis has a single alluring green-blue color mane and her gossamer wings sparkled with every color under the sun. For a moment, she had stood there, struck mute by the vision in front of her. The moment passed when Chrysalis took another step forward, smiling faintly. She had flinched a little then, seeing the fangs the changeling possessed. Celestia could still remember how she had asked Chrysalis who she was in an honestly fearful whisper. Chrysalis hadn’t answered then. She wouldn’t figure out the mysterious creature’s name for several more years as the changeling left clues here and there. What Chrysalis did do was step up to her, her nose inches away from Celestia’s and asked her if she preferred Coltlumbian or Neightucket coffee. The question was so out of left field that she didn’t react, just standing there and staring into those iridescent jade eyes, and listened to the pounding of her own heart. Chrysalis laughed musically and vanished. Just like that, gone that same way she had come. It had taken Celestia several minutes to unfreeze herself and when she had finally managed to find her way to her bedroom, her very first Warmug sat on her nightstand, topped with a black and green bow and a note that simple stated it was a gift from an admirer. Celestia shook off the memory and looked at the mug that sat next to her filled with hot coffee. It wasn’t her first, but she treated it the same way. She had broken and lost a few of them over the centuries since that meeting, but each time she did, another would appear at her bedside to take its place a day later. She was just about to reach for it when the side door to the throne room opened with a bang. Luna, followed closely by Shining Armor, rushed into the room and made a beeline straight for her. Celestia tossed the papers aside for Raven to reorganize and stood up, stepping down from the dias to meet her sister. “Luna? What has you so worked up this early in the afternoon?” “The Gibbous Shield!” Luna dug her front hooves into the carpet runner and skidded to a halt, well ahead of her attendant. She panted, gasping for breath. “Sis-sister! The shield is down...the one I sealed Sombra in! I felt the remnants of it return to me. Something broke it!” “Is that...is that even possible, Luna?” Celestia’s eyes widened. Her sister nodded dejectedly. “Okay, then we need to move. If this Sombra is as powerful as you say he once was, then we could have a real problem on our hooves.” “What would you propose we do?” Luna took a deep lungful of air, willing her heart to slow. “His kingdom was far to the north, beyond what our airspace currently covers and farther still than the shipway network reaches.” “Then we go there the old fashion way.” Celestia turned. “Raven, court is closed for the foreseeable future. Cancel all of our appointments and issue a statement to the press that a matter of national security has taken our attention.” The unicorn nodded curtly. “Yes, your Majesty! Should I...should I say when you are to return?” “As soon as we can.” Celestia’s horn flared with the warm glow of sunlight and her mug lifted from the table to float obediently at her side. She looked back at Luna. “Come sister, looks like both the Sword and Shield are going to be needed for this. We’ll take the Corona. It has a standalone Line Tracer on it, that should be able to take us close enough.” “We’ll need more than a single airship, Tia.” Luna frowned and bit her lip in thought. “There is no time to launch all of our forces. If the Corona is as fast as the specs say it is, it can get us there in a few days after we leave the network, but that will take over the northern Minotauran Collective boarder. A warship flying over even such a sparsely populated area could spark their aggression.” “Hopefully the work I’ve had our niece do there will stay their hands for now. We have no other choice, you know that, Luna.” “I know.” The dark alicorn sighed and turned back toward the door she’d entered from. “I just don’t like it.” Shining Armor shifted uncomfortably, his eyes following Luna. He cleared his throat. “Um...excuse me, ma’am, but what is going on? It sounds like we’re about to go to war.” “In a way, we are.” Luna smiled fiercely. “Go to my chambers, fetch my armor. Then go to the barracks and bring any top tier Maidens you can find. This is going to be a small, fast operation. I want hooves and steel assembled at the castle launch pad in twenty minutes.” Shining saluted smartly. “Yes, ma’am!” Luna watched him gallop off, turning back to her sister when they were otherwise alone. Celestia looked thoughtful, but made no move to summon her own forces. “What about your Battlemages?” Celestia shrugged. “I don’t have any of my seniors in Canterlot at the moment.” She smirked at Luna’s surprised stare. “I’ve been stretched thin chasing down info on these new changelings that showed up as well as hunting for signs of a different ‘Midnight Lord.’ My two top Battlemages are in the field and completely out of touch.” “Twilight Sparkle, I know, but what about Sunset Shimmer? I thought she was sent out on a mission weeks ago to Seavannah.” Luna raised an eyebrow. “What happened with that?” “I don’t know. I haven’t received a mission report of any sort in this whole time.” Celestia shook her head. “I fear the worst, but I hope she has simply been busy dealing with the siren problem they were having. I haven’t had any new complaints about it come in, just some expense sheets to cover damages in the harbour. I wish Sunset was here, but we’ll just have to handle this with your Shieldmaidens and the two of us.” Celestia didn’t say anything for a few moments as the two cantered through the halls toward the military ward. “I mean, that should be enough, right?” Luna swallowed hard, the wheels of her support harness whispering against the marble tiles. “Goddess Above, I hope so.”