//------------------------------// // Chrysalis' Chapter 24: Of Bedlam and Porn // Story: Emblem of Harmony: The Blazing Sword // by icebraker //------------------------------// “That was a close one,” Twilight said, her heart still racing from yet another near-death experience. She hated to admit it—really hated to admit—but she owed Chrysalis. Had the Queen not teleported them all into a nearby building, they’d be a pile of burning ashes along with the Hindentanic. “Is he gonna be alright?” Rainbow asked, pointing behind her to where Mark was throwing a tantrum and screaming profanities out a nearby window. Luckily, Applejack had covered Fluttershy’s ears right before he started. In his rage, he also threw the speaker tome out the window as well. “He’ll be fine, but he needs to get his head back in the game,” Sperze said in his usual jovial manner though his eyes alert and scanning the entrances for any potential trouble. Rarity stepped forward towards Mark, dressed in her ‘fashionable leather battle attire’, her mane tied into a curled ponytail, and a bow and quiver strapped to her side. “Indeed. Mark, stop being so dreadfully vulgar and start acting like the gentlecolt I know you can be.” Mark immediately stopped his screaming. Slowly, he turned his head towards the group with an insane smile reminiscent of Pinkie Pie and Twilight the days they had mentally broken down. “You—you beautiful mare are absolutely right. This is no time to be acting like a kid. This is the time to carry out our plan. Fight back.” “Exactly-” “And get sweet revenge!” His final declaration was met with silence as ponies and changelings alike stared at him with a strange mixture of exasperation and pity. Twilight and Chrysalis smacked Mark on the back of the head in unison with rolled up magazines they found in the room. “Priorities, Mark,” both said, unintentionally synced. Mark grumbled something under his breath, likely a final profanity, before taking a deep breath and focusing. “Alright. As we saw, Chrissy was right and there are four changelings maintaining that shield and that they’re separated into two groups. Twilight, Applejack, you two buddy up and cut through the square and take out two of them. Twilight focus on the ones with armor, Applejack, focus on the ones without. Rarity, Rainbow, the other two seem to be in the upper district with those mansions and lots of open aerial space, take them out.” The four ponies nodded before leaving the room at a gallop. “Fluttershy, Mimzy, you two stick close to Edge and go from house to house where you think any civilians are. Get them to evacuate and do your best to stay away from any fighting. If they do go after you, hide and let Edge take care of it. Razor, get to that north tower, at the top there should be a big red button. Push the small blue button next to it and that’ll activate the ballista. Provide ranged support and prioritize flying units or those that get too close to Edge and the others. Aurora, you’ll take care of any guys that get too close to Razor. Capiche?” Edge and Razor saluted before leaping out the window with Aurora clicking her tongue before she followed. Fluttershy, gulped and was about to ask if she could stay behind but instead gasped in surprise when Mimzy picked her up and flew after the other three. “Sperze-” The griffin let out a loud burp that was close enough and had enough force to actually blow back Mark’s mane. “Ugh, did you eat fish or something?” The mercenary sported a huge grin. “Caught a trout when we passed over that lake earlier.” “Just...Just go crazy. Try to keep as many soldiers off my friends as you can.” Mark said, turning a little green as he held back from puking. “Trixie, you back him up and try to stay safe.” “No need to worry, the Great and Powerful Trixie can take—HEY!” Trixie was interrupted as Sperze unceremoniously picked her up and threw her onto his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. “The Great and Powerful Trixie demands you put me down! I said put me down!” Mark and the other two remaining snorted in amusement as Sperze, ignored Trixie’s protests and flew out the window to wherever seemed to be the most fun. AKA, where the majority of changeling troops were. Clearing his throat, Mark continued with the final set of instructions. “Chrysalis, Pinkie, we’re going to go take the fight to Morphos until reinforcements arrive whether it’s the Royal Guard or our friends.” “They’re not my friends,” Chrysalis mumbled with a roll of her eyes. She suddenly found her cheeks squished together and an annoying pink face in front of her own. “Oh don’t be such a sour puss Chrissy-Wissy!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully. Chrysalis glared at the pink pony and pushed Pinkie out of her personal space. “Call me that again. I dare you.” “You’re a big meany,” Pinkie pouted before blowing a raspberry at the Queen. Shaking her head, Chrysalis turned to Mark whose horn was aglow. “Mark, can you explain-” There was a popping sound and brief but bright flash of yellow before the surroundings immediately changed to somewhere else. Somewhere that had an odd but familiar stink to it. “Where did you just teleport us?” “My room,” Mark answered, his breathing a little heavy after using a teleportation spell. Pinkie gasped in surprise. “All the way back in Ponyville?!” Though Mark understood that Pinkie hadn’t seen his apartment room back in town, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of annoyance. “No Pinkie. I used to live here in Canterlot Castle like Twilight, remember?” “Nope!” “Ugh.” Mark facehoofed and used his magic to flip the switch to the lights. What was immediately revealed was piles of different objects littering the room like a junkyard. “Mark, your room’s an absolute mess,” Chrysalis said distastefully. “I’d like to think of it as organized chaos.” “There’s nothing organized about this.” “More like disorganized fun!” Pinkie shouted, popping out of a nearby pile and sending it’s contents flying in different directions. “Except for the fact I know where everything I own is,” Mark huffed, trying to remember where exactly the objects had landed. He was immediately distracted however when he noticed a cardboard box that wasn’t his, right next to his bed but almost as if someone was trying to hide it behind one of the piles. “Except for that box over there. I have no idea where that came from” “OH! A mystery! Let me see! Let me see!” In an instant, Pinkie was at the box and had flipped all the flaps up before picking up one of it’s contents. It was a magazine of some kind. Mark couldn’t see the cover because of the way Pinkie had it angled, but he did notice a subtle red tinge appear on Pinkie’s face. Sighing in disappointment, Pinkie tossed the magazine aside and right into Mark’s face. “Mystery solved. It’s just super special wrestling.” “Special-?” Mark’s new view of the magazine showed him exactly what it was and in an instant, his face turned tomato red. Chrysalis sensed the sudden output of lust from Mark and figured out exactly what the contents were. “Did we just find your porn collection?” She asked with a wicked grin and mischievous look in her eye.” “N-No! I’ve never seen this before I swear-” “Oh my! I didn’t know you liked mares like that,” Chrysalis said, lifting out some of the other contents from the box for closer inspection. As she did so, a centerfold for one of the magazines flipped out, causing the Queen’s eyes to widen in genuine surprise. “I didn’t know anyone could bend that way either. How does she even…?” Chrysalis shook her head and tossed that particular magazine aside after deciding she’d rather not know the answer. Adult magazines weren’t the only ‘reading material’, there also seemed to be carefully labeled works of writing. Some marked, ‘Fanfiction’ and ‘Novel Drafts’ with various titles such as ‘Princest’, ‘The Princess’ Guard’, and ‘The Taboo Teacher’. They even came with rough doodles that looked very similar to real life ponies they knew. The only constant on each one was the “For Audiences 18+” and a label on the front saying “Property of M.O. Lestia”. “NOPE! None of this is mine. Absolutely none I tell you!” Mark exclaimed quickly grabbing the magazines and writings before throwing them back into the box. “And to prove it I’m gonna do this.” Setting the box in the middle of the floor, Mark pulled out a basic fire tome he’d bought from Anna and cast the spell. The fire blazed but stayed contained on the spot burning the box and it’s contents to ash. Celestia perked up. The situation was dire, but for some reason, she had felt as if she’d lost something important to her. As if hundreds of little things she she held dear had screamed out and then were suddenly silenced. “Oh, don’t forget this one,” Pinkie said, pulling out a magazine from underneath the mattress on Mark’s bed. “No wait Pinkie that one’s-” It was too late as the pink pony tossed the magazine into the flaming pile. ‘Wow. The only one you actually owned and painstakingly acquired without anypony knowing. Goodbye Naughty Nurse Mares, you shall be missed.’ “Thanks Pinkie, I appreciate it,” Mark said through his teeth, swallowing his pride and frustration. “There are alternative ways to...relieve tension,” Chrysalis teased, her tone both sultry and mocking. The tactician sighed but nodded in agreement. “You’re right,” he said, sweeping around some objects from one of the piles. Eventually he found what he was looking for, a bag with some kind of blue powder, and several small bags of dirt. “Such as being the ‘Prank-King’.” “The what-now?” Chrysalis asked with trepidation. Creative was probably the nicest way to refer to Mark’s pranks though other adjectives that could describe them ranged from stupid, outrageous, cruel, to over-the-top. Mark briefly peered into the blue powder bag to be sure of the amount of it’s contents. “Just a little something I cooked up to keep track of Prince Blueballs. One of the most deadly weapons a person can have is information as they say.” Shaking her head, Chrysalis decided—against her better judgment—to roll with whatever Mark had planned. “And what are you planning now? On the ship, you said that Aurora and Trixie were coming with us, but instead you sent them off with the others.” “It’s just a standard change of plans,” Mark answered nonchalantly. “After all, if what that prick said is true, then he’s pretty powerful with the Orb of Snorlax-” “Thorax.” “And so, while Pinkie and I raise chaos, bedlam, and all hell, you enter the throne room and do something about that orb. Destroy it, use it, whatever gets it away from him. Once that’s taken care of, I’m sure your brother will be a more manageable threat. ‘And if not, then you’re totally fucked.’ Chrysalis sighed. Mark was right. “Just...Just be careful, Morphos always had an inferiority complex, but seeing him now just shows how unstable he’s become. I don’t know exactly what he’ll do anymore.” “Well, he reminds me of a certain annoying prince I know, so I have a general idea,” Mark said, a malicious smile plastered on his face. “And knowing that means that it’s time to show him why the Castle’s North Wing was condemned from something as silly as ‘Booby-Traps’.” “S-Sir! Our soldiers are scattered and one of the changelings maintaining the shield have just fallen.” “Then do a better job or else examples will be made!” “But sir, the morale-” Before he finished, Morphos touched a holed hoof onto the artifact which he’d placed on his new throne and watched as the soldier’s face contorted in sudden pain and surprise until reverting into a blank expression. Almost zombie-like. He then drained several other soldiers that were unfortunate enough to be in the throne room, turning them into ‘Lost’ changelings while also increasing his own power. “Now go, kill them, drain them, I don’t care, just take care of those ponies NOW!.” There was no nod or any expressions left on the ‘Lost’ changelings. The only affirmative given was the buzzing of their wings and bared fangs as they launched out the balcony and towards the battle. Morphos turned to his side, where his two lieutenants awaited their instructions. By now they were used to their liege’s cruelty and knew that they’d receive none of it as long as they continued to achieve results. “Skel, Mewta, go and ensure that you finish what you’ve started. I don’t want to hear that my sister’s guard aren’t completely destroyed again. Understood?” The two gulped then nodded before following the other changelings towards the battlefield. Orders made and being carried out, Morphos now only had to wait as he sat on Celestia’s throne. “You think something like this can stop me, sister? You’re sorely mistaken-” The changeling king didn’t finish as his head was suddenly engulfed inside a blue dust cloud. Unable to see or breathe properly, Morphos moved out of the cloud, only to see a tattered bag dangling on his horn with the blue substance trickling out of the hole his horn had made and onto his muzzle. Though his eyes watered and burned from whatever it was, he was able to perceive that the six remaining soldiers in the room faced a similar situation except with what appeared to be regular dirt instead of the blue powder. Hearing someone clear their throat, Morphos and the remaining guards turned their attention to the newcomer. “And now that I’ve got your attention...Fuck you, you lazy piece of shit! This is for sitting on something that doesn’t belong to you!” Mark shouted before running out of the room like a bat out of hell. Where he had stood moments before lay two objects, one of them something very familiar and personal to the king and the other, a simple pair of scissors. Morphos’ eyes widened in disbelief and he looked behind him and confirmed that his elegant, majestic, hole-y, tail was mostly cut off. Disbelief almost instantly turned to pure rage as Morphos let out an animalistic roar, “When I catch you I’m going to skin you alive, pony!” “Okay, I think that’s all of the ones here,” Rainbow said, taking a deep breath as she landed next to Rarity. “Yes, and one of the changelings who were maintaining that shield,” Rarity responded, looking away from the dead changelings Her breathing had begun to increase, until it was almost hyperventilating. “You okay, Rares?” Rainbow placed a comforting hoof on her friend’s back, but was pushed off as Rarity suddenly let her feelings explode. “Of course I’m not okay. All this violence is awful and just...just dreadful. I would much rather be making dresses than war!” The pegasus nodded in understanding as Rarity closed her eyes and forced herself to take deep breaths. “I’ll take care of the rest, you go hide and-” Rarity’s hoof suddenly shot out, covering Rainbow’s mouth as the unicorn continued her breathing exercise. When she had calmed down sufficiently, Rarity removed her hoof and shook her head. “I’m not going to leave you Rainbow Dash. Several of those changelings almost had you and if I wasn’t here, you’d be injured or even dead.” “But you just said-” “As much as I hate all this,” Rarity interrupted, her voice now resolute. “It’s also where I’m needed most.” Rarity then pressed forward down the street at a cautious trot, “Now come, the sooner we get this dowdy shield down, the better.” For a moment Rainbow stood dumbfounded at her friend before being replaced by an expression of newfound respect. “That pony’s tougher than I thought,” Rainbow mumbled to herself before catching up to the seamstress. The two had several more blocks to go before they reached the location of the next ‘shield changeling’ who were relatively easy to find since they basically broadcast their position while maintaining the shield. “I don’t like this,” Rainbow said quietly. They were now only two blocks away from their next target, and no one had attacked them yet despite the occasional buzzing from somewhere, some strange mechanical noises, and the sounds of battle elsewhere in the city. The current silence reminded the pegasus too much of getting ambushed back in the Manehatten hive. “I’m going to scout ahead, something seems really off.” Rarity had a moment’s look of distress that she’d be left alone, but nodded in agreement before Rainbow took off into the air at half her top speed to conserve energy. Carefully, Rainbow ascended until she was barely over the rooftops but was startled when a large piece of iron and wood embedded itself into the roof right next to her. Looking upwards, her pupils dilated as she stared at one of the ballistas that Mark had mentioned. Only, instead of Razor behind the sights, it was one of the enemy changelings. Hearing the snap as it fired again, Rainbow broke out of her stupor and did an immediate drop, feeling the rush of air as the bolt nearly hit her again. Hitting the ground harder than she meant to, she rolled like she always did when one of her stunts went wrong to help ease the impact. “Rainbow are you alright?!” Rarity asked, panicking as she ran to catch up to her friend. She gasped and began to put on the brakes as a bolt hit the edge of one of the roofs and went into the wall of a building in front of her. “KYAAH! Why is there a ballista there?” A little earlier.... “Aurora, Mark said NOT to press that big red button!” Razor exclaimed, watching as the top of the tower folded in and a ballista platform rose out. Elsewhere in the city, two identical towers did the same. “But..But, look at it! It’s basically begging to be pressed!” The bat pony defended herself, pointing at the button which had a sticky note attached that said, ‘Press in case of changelings or other enemies’. “Maybe, but I don’t think they expected the city to already be occupied and now every ballista tower in the city has been activated!” Razor commented, checking the ballista ammunition and prepping it for action. Offhandedly, she pointed to one of the other ballista towers. “They’ve already taken advantage of the one over there where Rainbow Dash and Rarity are supposed to be.” Aurora sighed, crestfallen. “Sorry…” Razor rotated the ballista towards the area Edge was evacuating civilians. She also noted the mass of soldiers that were advancing towards that location. Narrowing her eyes in focus, Razor readied the first bolt. “Then make up for it, we’ve got a battle to win.” “Hey, over here. Quickly!” Following the voice, Rainbow and Rarity saw a brown mare at the front door of one of the residential buildings, urgently beckoning them to enter. Another bolt landed near the two. Needing no further incentive, Rainbow and Rarity headed towards the mare as fast as they could and almost crashed into each other as they entered. The moment the two were inside, the mare quickly slammed the door and locked it in several places. “Oh my!” Rarity gasped, out of breath and fanning herself. “Thank you so much for your assistance, we were sitting ducks out there.” “Don’t worry about it. Though it may be too early for you to thank me,” The mare stated with a smile as changelings quickly flew out of the nearby rooms and surrounded the two ponies. The mare then transformed back into her changeling form and pointed her sword at them. “You have two options pony. Live and feed the hive, or die. You have five seconds starting now.” “Five’s all I need!” Rainbow said, her adrenaline still up. Quickly, she grabbed Rarity and flew as fast as she could, bowling over the changelings that got in her way. Since the front door was locked and the first floor windows were on the other side of the room. Rainbow instead opted to fly up the stairs until she reached the top floor where there’d be a window to escape from. The moment she reached the top floor she realized her mistake. All the exits were blocked by changeling resin and several green, glowing cocoons hung ominously around. “Thanks for coming up here. You wouldn’t believe how hard these cocoons can get be to carry, especially when it’s occupants squirm around so much. Like for example…” The changeling looked around at the cocoons, looking for a specific one before shrugging and giving up after not finding it. “Anyways, my offer still stands, give up or die.” The changeling’s eyes widened and she ducked as Rarity immediately fired an arrow at her. Unfortunately, her avoidance caused the arrow to hit the soldier behind her in the face. “NO! I won’t let you ruin my mane with your awful cocoon goo!” “Seriously? That’s what you’re worried about?” Rainbow asked in disbelief. “Hmph! Unlike you Rainbow Dash, I spend a lot of time and effort to keep my mane healthy and beautiful.” Rainbow couldn’t help but facehoof until a cocoon next to her wiggled and squirmed, causing her to jump in surprise. Looking closer, she quickly recognized its occupant and gasped in disbelief. “Kill the unicorn,” The changeling mare deadpanned as the soldiers behind her charged with swords drawn.” Reacting, Rainbow bolted forward, dropkicking one and impaling another on her lance before getting dog-piled by the sheer number of them. “Rarity, get that cocoon open. Hurry! Rarity was shocked at the order but knew there was no time to argue or ask why as she tried to figure out a way to open it. It was no use though, there wasn’t any obvious way to open it even when she tried stabbing it with an arrow. “I can’t do it Rainbow. I don’t know how and there’s no time to cast a- KYA!” Rarity screamed as the changeling that was kicked earlier, recovered and stabbed at Rarity, his sword missing her neck by an inch and entering the cocoon. Smiling at the pony’s panic, the changeling tried to pull out his sword but couldn’t. Trying to grip it with both his mouth and hooves this time, he tried again and still failed. Then, slowly, the sword began to move upwards on it’s own, cutting a hole which a clawed talon reached out of and gripped the changeling by the throat. “Oh no…” The changeling mare whispered. It had taken almost a whole squadron to get that individual inside a cocoon. Normally they would have killed someone that troublesome, but with the mysterious disappearance of most Canterlot’s citizens, they couldn’t afford to be picky. “Oh no is right,” Gilda hissed as she finished cutting her way out of the cocoon and crushed the changeling’s neck. The griffin then took the dead changeling’s sword by the handle and cracked her neck in preparation. “I am SO pissed right now.”