The river of gold stretched through the Everfree Forest. It flowed through the dense undergrowth and left a broad path in its wake that a modest supply train was pulled along. Closer inspection revealed a living river of ponies in golden barding. Unicorns with spears, bows, and crossbows. Pegasi with curved blades along the leading edges of their wings. Earth ponies with hammers and flails in their mouths and others with lances couched into their armor.
The scouts were terrified of Celestia’s guard’s revenge coming from the west. Chrysalis was more afraid of the forest to the east. No scout had returned. No ‘all clear’, nothing. The best hidden look out points in the east had been taken out without a sound while the river of golden armor flowed in from the west. In the middle Chrysalis and her Changelings were trapped. As the sun set a battle line began forming to the west.
The sun’s orange rays glinted off the polished armor making the west look like a blazing inferno about to descend and destroy. And yet the east sat unnaturally still as if frozen. A cold breath of wind chased a chill through Chrysalis.
Fire in the west, Ice to the east. The Changelings could try to run but they would either be cut down while they fled or hunted doggedly until they died from exhaustion. They had to stand and fight. No matter how slim, it was their only chance.
As the sun descended grand speeches were made in the west. The army roared their battle cries and thrust their weapons into the air, adding sparks to the fire.
The east sat frozen.
The hive buzzed in response. The few hundreds that had returned outnumbered the ponies but Chrysalis still feared Canterlot’s revenge. The Changelings she had were less than half of what she came with. She had expected a few losses and perhaps a few to be discovered. It was only after a dozen flew back from Manehattan and told her of ponies like bats who carried death with them that she recalled her swarm. Less than half returned.
It was supposed to be easy, fool the Sun Princess, blinded by her own brightness, and feed off of the love of Equestria for centuries. That damned Luna and those things she called guards had ruined everything and killed countless changelings.
The fire in the west came to embers as the sun fell below the horizon, still battle cries thundered from the massed formation. The moon exploded into the sky with a cruel brilliance.
Fire and ice fought to meet.
☾ ☾ ☾
The night guard had nothing that could match the power of a charge by earth pony lancers. While the night guard to the east struggled to gain leverage over their enemies the day guard ripped through the changeling lines. Arrows and bolts rained in from both sides breaking on the Changelings’ hard chitin or piercing through gaps in the natural armor.
Within an hour lines on the west had completely dissolved into a furious melee while lines on the east strained to the breaking point before the weight and skill of the night guard. In the skies changelings fared no better. They were more stable in a hover but that only served to make them easier targets for the raking attacks of Pegasi and Night Ponies.
On the eastern lines Chrysalis saw Luna. Chrysalis went to her changelings to rally a group of them them against a weak point in the night guard lines but as they charged Luna's magic took hold of half of them. They died midstep. Luna summoned swords to her side and the rest were cut down soon after.
Chrysalis scrambled back into her lines to call a retreat while the weak point rallied behind Luna and became the center for the night guard's advance. again and again Chrysalis tried to rally her troops against the night guard only to have the advance cut to pieces by Luna. Every time she watched Chrysalis fall back into the mass of changelings with the same even gaze.
As the night drew on the changelings fell back again and again, redrawing their defensive line tighter around the cave where they hid. By the end of the first watch the skies belonged entirely to ponies. By the end of the second archers had to cease fire for fear of hitting their own while aiming at the thinned changeling line.
As the third watch drew in Chrysalis looked around in panic. The battle was not going well at all. The skies had ceased raining changelings who’s wings had been ripped apart for there were none left, the ground was covered in dead and dying. Her own power was nearly completely drained already, she was yet a formidable opponent but she could do little to turn the slaughter back to a battle.
She called another retreat. Less than twenty changelings responded while the rest remained trapped in losing skirmishes. This was all that was left of a swarm of thousands. All because of that monster. At first she was nothing more than an oddity, so guarded was Luna’s mind that Chrysalis could sense no emotion yet her face betrayed her feelings much more readily than her sister’s. She was supposed to be nothing more than a reformed villain, weak and powerless before the mighty Celestia.
That was before Chrysalis had seen Luna wade through her swarm and kill with impunity. Now she waited, holed up in a cave like vermin, for her exterminator to arrive. The Night Princess would not come alone; she would bring the whole of her army if she could fit them. Chrysalis had gleaned at least that much from the short battle.
Luna was brilliant, she did not take risks and she did not relent. She would not ease up or scale back her attack until Chrysalis was completely crushed and she would not show mercy. The sound of hoofsteps marked her approaching demise and Chrysalis only had time to hope that some of her children had escaped this fate before the battle was met again.
Dark armored ponies tore into the last of the changelings and the dark princess met the queen. There was no trading of words, no exchange of monologues, there was only pain. Blades and beams of pure magic ripped apart the air between them. Some were blocked, dodged, or deflected with magic, leaving deep gouges in the stone, while others were not.
Chrysalis saw Luna walk forward calmly. Her draconic eyes swept over the cavern again and again looking for a counterattack that would never come. With each gap in Chrysalis’s defense Luna made her pay in flesh. A wing, her tail, another hole in her leg. Chrysalis felt herself being cut apart piece by piece. With a last desperate cry Chrysalis poured the last of her magic into a beam.
It struck uselessly against the ground as Luna dodged. Chrysalis’s legs could no longer hold her. Her body trembled on the ground as she gave great heaving breaths. The dark shadow of Luna’s form fell over her. A sneer from the Night Princess revealed a row of pointed fangs.
In a last desperate attempt Chrysalis cried out, “Just because we are not like your precious ponies you would exterminate us rather than let us be. What did we do to you? We did not kill or maim, we only sought to live. We were trying to run awaAH-”
Chrysalis’ speech cut off to a strangled yelp as Luna’s hoof shut off her windpipe.
“I once tried to destroy the world because I was jealous of my older sister. Do not think that the pittance of guilt you may dredge up is enough to sway me,” Luna said as she leaned into Chrysalis’ insect like neck.
Her world faded to black.
☼ ☼ ☼
Chrysalis’ eyes reluctantly opened. She was surrounded by ponies in golden and black armor. Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies stood side by side with those monsters to peer curiously at her. Chrysalis could only peer back at them as they seemed to levitate by. The pressure on her leg increased and the world spun around her.
Pain lanced through her body as she came to a stop. Shining Armor glared down at her in the predawn light.
“You wanted revenge on this wretched creature. I give her to you so that you may take it. Consider this a belated wedding gift,” Luna’s voice said.
Chrysalis weakly craned her neck. Luna was a few steps off giving Shining Armor a calculating look. Gone were her fangs, leathery wings, and slitted pupils. It seemed that particular look was reserved only for her enemies.
Shining closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. The sun crested the trees behind him and he arched his back slightly as if to absorb its warmth.
“Celestia’s sun rises on friend and enemy alike,” he intoned. “It offers no accommodation for friend nor judgment for enemy. Only it’s merciful light for all.” His eyes opened into a burning glare. “As captain of her royal guard it is my duty to see to it that only those who would live as a friends of Equestria live to see it set. If you will not finish her off then I will but do not pretend that killing something half dead will satisfy my honor.”
Chrysalis could almost feel the cruel smile that played on Luna’s lips. “If it is a fight you want then you shall have it.”
Luna’s power poured into Chrysalis. It did not heal her wounds. It only offered strength enough for a desperate fight before she met her end. Chrysalis rose weakly. If this was to be her end she would meet it standing up.
Her first attack met Shining’s shield. She deflected his counter but it set her well off balance and she did not see his follow up coming. Armored hooves crashed into her chest staggering her and robbing her of breath. She desperately deflected an attack from her left only to be blindsided by a wall of force coming from the right.
Her head spun and she struggled to stay upright. She sent off a desperate attack only for it to strike ineffectually against Shining’s shield. His counter crashed down unimpeded, crushing her into the ground. She tried to rise but another attack slammed into her. A third took her legs out from under her. Shining’s magic pinned her to the ground and she could only watch as he approached her with a spear hovering beside him. He rested it over her heart.
“Cadence wouldn’t want this,” he said. “The only reason you live is because Cadence wouldn’t want me to kill you.”
“Peace, forgiveness, mercy,” Luna said as she put a hoof on Shining’s shoulder. “They are the marks of my sister’s throne and they are the banners she would have you raise. You and Cadenza have learned them well. Leave death for those born of darkness.”
The last thing Chrysalis saw was the purple aura of Shining’s magic on the spear being overtaken by the blue of Luna’s and the spear plunging downward.
So this is your vision of Equestria? Genocidalists? Led by a merciless, bloodthirsty Luna and her softheaded, incompetent sister--- and you consider her softheaded because she would have been merciful?
Thumbs down and unfavorited.
5032223 To be fair, i doubt that Chrysalis is the only changeling hive..I do not believe it was stated either way. If an army were to burn France, would they have destroyed the entire human race? The Changelings have existed for FAR too long to have been under one banner. Whilst this doesn't lessen Luna's actions, it is not as extreme as you think. And it is fairly clear that Luna suffers from severe mental problems..Combining the ruthlessness of 1000 years ago and replacing the time between with complete and total isolation? I suspect the future chapters will be exploring attempts to heal her (extemely) damaged mind. Doesn't help that she took on the mantle of "Necessary Evil"...Which may send her back down the path of Nightmares... I would suggest to keep reading..But i do not make your decisions. Do what you will.
5032223
I dunno I take a much different view from this. For one we don't know what happened to the changelings after Crysalis was taken by Luna. With their queen taken out, and lines destroyed they very well might have surrendered, and found mercy from the ponies. If the changelings stooped fighting back I could easily see the Day and Night Guard simply stopping. I commented on a previous chapter that War is ugly, it's a ugly hideous beast that destroys and consumes, and it's depicted as such here. Also I do not I think Celestia is depicted as soft headed or incompetent. Not wanting to start war isn't weakness, imperfection and making mistakes doesn't make you incompetent, repeatedly making the same mistake over and over is. Celestia showed she doesn't do that. Tia knew exactly what giving Luna full command of the army meant, she knew her sister would be ruthless in crushing the enemies of Equestria, in short she knew it would be ugly but she had no "good" choice to make, she made the best bad choice she could. Luna wants Celestia's methods to work, want peace and mercy to be the rules of the day, but chooses to do the "dirty work".
Hmmm, personally, I think this was the logical solution. Mind you, if changelings could exit independently or at least away from the Hive of Chrisy, then maybe this was a tad much. I mean, the stories of the lone changeling trying to live in peace are nice, but this world's chagelings likely balk the mold for that possibility. On top of that, well...not gunna lie, in my mind, no world, not even Equestria, can be free of conflict. Much less the kind you can't throw Rainbows at, no matter how powerful said Rainbow is. In the end, there are some threats you have to take down, no matter how much that may change you. Celestia did well solo for 1,000 years, but there is a reason all of these threats are coming out at once. Equestria was on borrowed time, and now it must pay it's price for Harmony.
Besides, when ya get right down to it, I don't think any of us are the best ones to judge.
Great chapter, and looking forward to more.
5032353
The chapters have constantly referred to Celestia as Incompetent, even the Celestia chapter referred to herself as "Not a true Alicorn but Luna is"
5032854
Well I am looking at the whole situation, perhaps using a bit of my own head cannon to fill in the blanks as it where. Feeling incompetent, feeling someone else is incompetent, these are things the characters can feel with out them being factual. A outside observer can see how a decision was the "best bad choice" or the difference between a mistake and being stupid.
I can concede that an increase in the focus on how the events changed the perceptions of the characters would have illustrated this. Like the turn around of the Royal Guard after their humiliating defeat. Like Luna coming to realize the difference between what she said and what she truly felt. or Celestia realizing that she too needs to remember she IS fallible, and the perfect image she cultivates isn't the real truth.
This is almost exactly what I expected from Luna, but her ruthlessness was still slightly disterbing. I expected more of à fight from Chrysalis too.
But other than that the new chapter was once again very interesting and engaging. It was neat to see the contrast between the solar and lunar guards too :) Very good job with that.
I can't wait to see what comes next in Luna's diary. :)
I'll say this much: Luna's attitude shown here is precisely what is said to have led to her alienation and fall a millennium previously.
I really don't know if I've liked the way that this story has been going for a while. Depending on the way the next few chapters run, I might stop following it.
Never thought I'd be agreeing with RealityCheck, of all people.
5032223 All is fair in love and war. Rulers/leaders of armies must do whatever it takes to survive and thrive. Sometimes, showing mercy is the worst option, because of traitors.
5034358
5032223
Yeah, ditto. I just...really have issues with seeing an Equestria that would fully endorse genocide like this. Especially after recently reading the Pony POV series' version of things which was also pretty dark, but still managed to have a happy ending for most everyone, pony and changeling. This however, would be like if the Aliies had killed everyone in Germany after WWII because of what the Nazis did.
Why don't the changelings try to surrender? You completely ignore the possibility of Chrysalis sending a couple messengers saying they surrender and waving the white flag. There isn't even a mention of them considering surrendering, only to dismiss it due to Luna never accepting, or honor, or something. Everyone else in the comments who doesn't like it doesn't like it because Luna's commiting genocide, but if your enemies fighting you to the death that's the only option. And Luna might have accepted, as there had to have been at least a few pony deaths in that battle, and she would have preferred for that not to happen.
Now that everything’s simmered down in the comment section(part of me actually was hoping for a flame war so I could watch and work on my cackling, I always wanted to be able to do a good mad cackle) I’m going to give my response.
Everyone freaked, and it took me a bit to understand why. This chapter had some stuff that was questionable at best yet to me it was nothing near the scale most people saw it as. Perhaps I've just become an apathetic asshole but you'll forgive me if I don't leap on that train of thought. Apathy, I've found, brings much more pain than a sword ever did.
Perhaps I got ahead of myself and skipped to the end. There is some truth to that, taking some time to build up this arc would have made it better but that is not the core of this disconnect. Perhaps I heard one too many complaints about the day guard and threw them into this battle at the last minute. Once again there is some truth to that but it is not the root of this.
The main concern is with the Royal Guard and so their motivations are the ones I will address(if you didn’t expect this from Luna you clearly skipped ahead to this chapter). There are two points which I think will cut to the quick.
Pride, with good reason, is referred to as the great sin. The greatest of sins. Canterlot is a city of pride. Housing the most opulent palace of the sole ruler of the greatest nation of the world for a thousand years, arrogance seems a more fitting word. A city that shaped the world around it, the very elements to its will. Forgive me for finding a thesaurus. A city to whom the Lord of Chaos is nothing but a garden statue. Conceit, self-importance, vanity, imperiousness, hubris, pretension, pomposity, haughtiness. A city who's patron directs the sun and the heavens through their course, words fail me.
If you'll forgive the crassness Shining Armor didn't know shit. He saw the supply trains abruptly converge and assumed that he was being left out of yet another battle. There were no thoughts of genocide, only of wounded pride, of a cutie mark that told him he was the defender of Canterlot while someone else cleaned up his mess. "NO MORE!" he said and he went to his comrades. The proud golden defenders of the City of Pride were all too easy to whip into a bloodthirsty frenzy. They had been bloodied by nothing more than vermin! They would have their revenge, their pride would be sated.
Faced with their towering rage Luna had no choice but to let them fight. There were no thoughts of genocide, only of battle and pride.
Anyone else a little scared at how easily I took apart and identified with the motivations of someone who did end up killing a lot more people than was strictly necessary?
5032223 No Celestia is not soft headed nor is she particularly merciful in this situation
After all she unleashed a self proclaimed monster. Inexperienced and unsure in battle, sure. But she is still a brilliant and effective ruler.
5032854 do you have older siblings? I am the youngest of 4 siblings, all brothers. They are all brilliant and talented in their own way but even as an adult I can go through and name the ways I am better than them off the top of my head. Not in general but just specific little things. Even after I have completed math courses higher than they've ever taken, after I've graduated with the highest GPA in the family, after I've established myself as a man in my own right I carry this mental checklist around in my head to prove to myself that I am the equal of the people I grew up under. Maybe Luna didn't get called the wrong name in school by a teacher who already had a sibling in class as often, but I can imagine that Celestia's shadow still leaves Luna with a lot to prove.
5038270
Re-watch the Canterlot Wedding, with focus on Chrysalis' character. She isn't "doing what is necessary, reluctantly, to provide for her nation". She is proud, vain, manipulative and arrogant. She would rather sacrifice last of her "children" than submit. And even in the end she's not really submitting; she's trying to game Luna for mercy. Instead of humility, she shows indignity. Instead of begging for mercy she tries to guilt trip Luna into it. Self-confident and manipulative to the sorry end. Yes, it might have ended differently if she sued for peace, if she truly showed good will. But - truly in character - she preferred to still think herself more powerful than the ponies and try to exploit their weaknesses.
Sure bruised pride of Canterlot played a major role. Sure Luna appeared merciless. But I like to think that if Chrysalis put her pride aside, this would have ended differently. But she did not. Two characters of extreme pride clashed - and the stronger one won.
I'm surprised the changelings fell so easily. I thought much more highly of Chrysalis' leadership abilities. Still, this was a much more interesting conflict that what happened in the last book.
Comma after set
comma after enemies
commas after lines and charged
Capital
Comma after second
Comma after will
Ending;
Yeah Shiny; what about the thousands of changeling drones you just insisted to help kill. Fine to kill the minions, but when you get the person whose actually responsible, you let her go?
So, I'm re-reading the story, and I still think that Chrysalis is an idiot (well her plan, anyways). Apparently, she invaded Equestria because it's full of love. Yet, she and her changelings took over by force. Do changelings only feed on love, or just strong emotions in general? The show tells us love, but it shows us that they should feed on fear and hatred as well (considering the looks they got from the citizens and guards). How could they feed on love when the two main emotions that the ponies will be feeling are fear of and anger towards the changelings??