Episode 87: Break The Mind (Season Finale END)
ThePonySpartan’s Comment
BrownDog’s Comment
In the TARDIS
POV: Nightshade
You stare at the monitor with wide sparkling eyes.
Sombra did it! You think in happiness as you stare at dad’s new cloak. And it is badass.
“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Look at those wings! Look at those tails, those claws! His eyes!” you fan out as Grandbuggy places a hoof on your head, ruffling your mane and chuckles.
“You did good kiddo. You did good.”
You smile widely at the praise the old bug gives you and happily accept the head pat.
“Quick Fix, what is it? What’s happened?” The Doctor’s voice comes from a speaker.
“My boy’s gone beyond. You could say he’s reached his final form.”
“…Fix…this wasn’t supposed to happen this early. We don’t know how this will effe-“
“I don’t give a damn if it was early or not Doc, the boy needed all the help he could get.” He then looks over the occupants in the TARDIS. The injured Knights sit together with the towns folks. All of them watch the monitors in awe.
“But…*Sigh*" The Doctor relents, "I suppose you’re right, but at the same time-“
“Grandbuggy’s right Doctor,” you interrupt, “So find a spot and watch the show because Daddy’s going to do what he does best. Bring the Pain.”
POV CHANGE: Bugze (You)
Sin, Mongo, Vicky, Biff and Tannen all wearily study your new form, and each and every one of them gets into a battle stance.
"Now then..." You crack your neck a couple of times by tilting it side to side. "Shall we get started?"
No one answers your question, but Mongo rushes you and tries to punch your face.
*Swosh!*
It goes right by you as you simply tilt your head to the left to dodge.
Mongo flies past you while Biff and Tannen try to hit you with their respective elements. But as you did with Mongo, you lean your head back to dodge as Ice and Fire miss you.
Damn! We're so much faster now! You think giddily.
Our power is more fluid, more attainable, Selena observes.
That is because I don’t resist lending my powers you worthless whorse Sombra chides.
Oi! Cut it with the name calling! If you’re helping, you’ll treat her with respect.
Just because I lend you my aid, doesn’t mean I respect either of you, you filthy insect. If I did, I wouldn’t have overwhelmed your psyche last week.
You miserable little- Selena begins to growl, as you dodge yet another punch aimed by Mongo.
Yes, I know. And we’ll all talk about this later. But this is my body, and MY Rules. You will be Civil to Selena, you order
Whatever, finish these cretins so that my little overlord won’t cry anymore…
She isn’t yours snake. And thank you Bugze. On Your Left!
Vicky tries to catch you off guard and throws more debris at you, but you duck and dodge easily.
And about what you sputtered about earlier, you're not any faster. In fact, you may be slower than before to compensate the massive amount of magic. But, you're able to evade easier thanks to your senses being elevated!
Then Sin tries to shoot lightning at you. You know you can't move faster than light, but with your heightened vision, you predict her shot and jump to your left to evade it and it strikes Mongo.
“Mongo!” Vicky cries out as she grits her teeth and throws more debris at you, which you dodge like Keanhoof Reeves.
Our senses have increased in strength! I can't believe I'm saying this, but this feels amazing! Sombra laughs in enjoyment. Even more so when I... took the crystal heart.
What was that? You ask, not paying much attention to him.
Nothing! Don't worry about it.
“What are all you doing? Just hit him already!” Chrysallis’s voice rages out of Sin’s mouth.
You chuckle out loud.
"Come on! Weren't we going out together Chrysalis?" You taunt before making your dark aura expand threateningly, before turning you're smirking smile into an angry glare. "I swear to Luna Chrysalis, the next time we meet, it won't be pretty. For what you did to me!" You get into a fighting stance making Sin, or rather Chrysalis, take a step back. "And what you did to them! Hah!" You jump out towards Mongo, your claws extending a tad with a screeching sound.
The big boosted Changeling tries to kick you, but you quickly dodge and lash out with a crystal tail.
"This is going to be fun!"
You declare as you whip him back towards his comrades. But before they have a chance to recover, you…
Puzzling Frost’s Comment
Kersey’s Comment
Begin to grab debris with your tails and fling them towards the Hive Five. They dodge and blast their way through your onslaught. Mongo grabbing your attention tries to charge through you only to be swatted away by a tail. Biff and Tannen begin blasting you with balls of fire and ice from both sides only for you to block them with your metallic wings.
Wow, these things are awesome!
And durable, Selena adds.
Sin blasts a bolt of lightning at you only for you to catch it in your Power Glove claw and redirect back towards her, with a cry of
“Would You Kindly Shock Rebound?!”
She is blasted back through another building. Vicky uses this to her advantage as she lifts the debris you were standing on to fling you high into the air towards the blue barrier.
“Looks Like I’m blasting off again…” you cry out mockingly before catching yourself on the dome with your tails. “NOT!!!”
You then use your tails as a spring to bounce you back towards them.
They then start taking pot shots at you as you speed towards them.
“I’m gonna superhero land all of you into the-HRK!!!”
Mongo then appears below you and sucker punches you in the stomach causing the wind to be knocked out of you.
OK, that one hurt.
We may be tougher, but we are not invincible Bugze. Don’t get cocky.
Or do, that was humorous.
As you gasp air back into your lungs, you see that you are sprawled across the big changeling, seeing as how he was under you when he punched. Using your increased size to pin him down you then begin to slap him with your claw.
"STOP BEING EVIL! *smack* QUIT TRYING TO KILL ME! *slap* YOU'VE ALREADY LOST! *bonk* I HATE MONDAYS! * smash* I SMELL TACOS! WHERE ARE THE TACOS! *smack numero cinco* I LIKE CAKE! DO YOU HAVE CAKE?! THE CAKE IS NOT A LIE! *slap times 3* THIS IS BECAUSE I HATE YOU! *boink* THIS IS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU! *bang* STOP MOCKING ME! *sla..oh you get it at this point* WHY AREN'T YOU TALKIN... oh righ"*blast* You’re knocked off Mongo (who is seeing stars at the moment) by an angry Vicky.
"GET OFF HIM!"
After landing a good 50 ft away, you shake off the sensation of being sucker punched by someling’s mind.
What did I just say? Selena chides.
Sorry, Sorry. I’ll get serious, you apologize as the dark king chuckles.
As Mongo shakes the stars from his eyes you see the twins dart forth.
"PHANTOM FOG!!!" Biff and Tannen shout as they combine an ice and fire blast to create a smokescreen for them.
“Grr where'd they go!?" you yell in annoyance.
I don't know this fog was created with plasmids. It's blocking my senses Selena clarifies.
Really? Huh, guess they can be used for more than attacks, You mutter as you look for them.
There you Fools, around the miniature prison, Sombra barks and you see movement around the jailhouse.
That’s called a jail, you snark.
Move! Selena and Sombra order. You then run towards the jail house and jumped over it. Only to see Vicky, Biff, Tannen, and Sin powering up a combined blast.
Oh Buck Me!
ELEMENTAL PULSE!!! yell all four them at once, as a ball of fire, ice, and lighting is telekineticly launched towards you.
“CRYSTAL WAVE!!!” You shout as you shove your crystal claw into the ground and send forth a wave of sharp crystals through the ground, that take the blast and continue towards the five.
“Watch Out! It’s coming towar-“ Biff and Tannen’s warning comes too late as the crystals shoot out from underneath them, launching them skyward.
“Don’t Worry Guys! I’ve got you!” Vicky declares as she stops them all midair with her powers.
With them all floating, Sin declares.
“Everlying, stay in the air! He can’t fly!” They all nod at this, as Vicky lets everyone besides herself out of her hold, and they begin hovering high above you.
They then start reigning down Elemental attacks from above, and though you jump to strike at them, they avoid you and hit you as you fall back to the ground.
After the third time of being struck by lightening as you miss your attack, you land and place your metal wings in front of your face.
Dang it! I can’t reach them! What good is having all this power and not being able to take out flyers?! You groan as you start throwing debris with your tails into the air, which they avoid.
You need something less concentrated, more scattered and encompassing.
My crystals are at your disposal, but you’d need to launch many at once.
Alright, that sounds good but how…Hmmm… you trail off as you study the crystalline wings protecting your face.
Just as Sin sends another bolt of lightning into them, you spin with the hit, and expand them out with a shout of,
"EMERALD STORM BARRAGE!"
“Incoming!!!” Sin warns.
Your wings unleash a barrage of green crystal feathers that they can’t all dodge. The feathers shatter on impact with the super-changelings releasing small bursts of midnight smoke that obstruct their vision and send them into coughing fits.
Awesome! I didn’t even think that would work.
Your arsenal is woefully lacking in anti-air techniques, but my crystals help even the odds.
I don't think I'll ever get used to your aid, Selena exposits.
And nor should you. I'm only doing this for the sake of the young overlord.
Yeah, yeah. It’s not like you actually want to help or anything, bakka and all that, you mock with a roll of your eyes as you send out another barrages of feathers.
“Vicky! Shields!” Sin orders. Following orders, she puts all of them behind a bubble which blocks your attack.
Gah! If only I could bucking fly! you think in exasperation.
But these wings are too dense, Selena points out in equal frustration.
Actually I have an idea; Spread your wings out.
Okay, but what is that supposed to- WHOA!
Suddenly dark smoke forcibly bursts out of your hoof claws, shakily hovering you into the air.
Bugze! You're flying! Selena exclaims.
"BUCK YEA- WHOA!" you declare only to accidentally veer to the side and hit the side of a building.
Note to self; Limit SMOKE THRUSTERS to short bursts until the fool learns better control.
I’ve got it, I’ve got it! You declare as you coordinate your hooves, look up at the changelings, and burst the smoke out, using your wings to steer you.
You slam into Vicky’s barrier, and she winces, which gives you the chance to snake your tails around each of them.
You smirk at the befuddled looks on their faces as close your wings, and shoot your jets off to one side, spinning you and them around and around.
"SHADOW SLAM!" You then let each of them go, tossing them down to the ground at very fast speeds. The resulting blow smashes them into the ground.
You superhero land right in front of them just as they all shakily get back up.
“Rush him all at once!" Sin declares as the intensity of her glow shudders. The rest adhere to their commander, and group up tightly.
A nice night for a game of [/i]Skittles. Sombra smirks.
Not a good time for a candy break.
I believe he's referring to the predecessor of what ponies these days call "bowling".
"OOOOOOHH..." you smirk in realization as you spread your wings out while all 5 super-changelings rush at you. Suddenly smoke bursts out of your rear hooves as you jet forward and clothesline all 5 of them with your wings.
"STRIKE!"
Turning around you watch as Mongo dazedly gets up and comes at you, you ready a Shadow Shoryuken by crouching and delivering a disorienting blow to Mongo's gut with one hoof but as your right hoof rears back your right wing suddenly folds itself around your hoof and a nightmare tail wraps it in place. Time seems to slow down as you think,
What the-
It seems you can crystal-bend your wings into various shapes, such as a gauntlet in this case.
Focus! The attack is about to land.
Yeah, but I can't call this "Shadow Shoryuken" now! It needs a new name! Uh- Um-
"BARGAIN DAY AT THE SUPERMARKET!!!" you roar as your crystal-wing-covered hoof violently smashes into Mongo's jaw in a vicious rising uppercut with enough force to cause a shockwave followed by midnight-colored afterimages that launches the changeling into the sky at high speed, striking the top of the dome in the process, before falling back down to the ground on top of the others.
...Really? Bargain Day? Selena asks in bemusement.
What? It worked for One Punch Mare!
And we met the real one. I don’t recall her saying such a silly thing.
I bet Maude would if she thought about it.
Stifle your banter, the enemy is rising, Sombra interrupts.
Seriously? You groan and look to the Chosen Five.
Falx_of_Lume’s Comment
Groaning, they try to stand back up, leaning against one another for support.
“Stay Down! It’s For Your Own Good!” you order as the glow around them intensifies.
You pant from all the exertions of fighting all five of the changeling generals by yourself, but you're in much better shape than they are.
Then you realize something.
Wait a tic... we're actually winning?! You think in surprise.
Are you truly that surprised?
Well I mean, I knew we're stronger now that we've got control of phase 4, I just didn't expect this fight to be this.... easy from just that. I'm barely winded and they look like they're almost down for the count. You comment, pointing out the roughed-up and bedraggled changelings across from you.
He's right, this is too easy. Usually by now Lady Luck would have reared her ugly hea-
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!”
And there it is, Selena harrumphs.
DWC’s Comment
The laugh coming from Sin’s mouth is not her own, and there is something off about it.
“Hahahahahahahaha….Ahahahahaha!!!” Chrysalli’s laugh sounds a few fries short of a happy meal, and your hair stands up in unease.
"Oh this power...this power is WONDERFUL!" Sin’s mouth cheers as she turns to look at you.
You’re slightly taken aback by her random shout, but she continues.
"With your power #%#@, we could rule this entire puny world together!"
Your eyes widen at this as you think,
She isn't....
"You want me to relinquish these puppets? Fine! But only if you led me your power, your body, and fully accept to do my bidding at my side. Just like you always wanted"
I do believe she is...
Sin stands back up and her eyes blaze.
"Just think of the possibilities! You and me, side by side, ruling with an iron hoof! All the love we could ever imagine, with thousands a of slaves contributing to our supply for years!"
All sense of sanity vanishes from the mad queens eyes as she exclaims,
"Join me #%@#! Join me and we can rule this world as lo-*Smash*"
The mad queen’s rant is ended with a flamed encased hoof slamming into Sin, and your tails grabbing and throwing the others causing them to roll and tumble back to the ground.
"What is with you crazies asking me to join your side? Seriously this is like the fifth time it's happened!"
Maybe you just have the aura of a bad guy?
Maybe, but I honestly preferred when she was trying to kill me
“Heh, heh. You play hard to get don’t you?” she chuckles.
“I’m not going to join you Chryalis. You lost that right a long time ago. Especially after what you’ve done to them! The only way to save them is to keep them from YOU!” you point to the others.
“I will take you back. I’ll rescind all my old orders. We’ll be together again, just like we were when we were young!”
“Then let them go now, if you mean what you say!” you order.
“No. Not now, I need them to ensure you’ll come.”
“They won’t last that long!!!” you yell as you attempt to clothesline them again, only for Mongo to stand up, grip one of your wings, and use your momentum to throw you down the road.
“You’ll come to me, oh yes, you’ll still come. Take him!” Chrysallis madly orders as they grow brighter and rush forth, despite any injuries.
“If I can’t have you, Then NOLING CAN!!!”
Great, she’s completely lost it. Why won’t they stay down?!
Erised the Ink-Moth’s Comment
Bugze! Selena calls out urgently while you fend off another round of blows and prepare to counterattack.
Little busy here Selly! you yell before punching into the ground, causing massive onyx spikes to erupt in a giant AoE.
"Geode Graveyard!"
Each of the Chosen get slammed in the gut by the blunt edges of the onyx columns and sent flying. But they recover just as quickly, and begin zigzaging through the newly formed pillars to reach you.
I can see that, but I don't think simply pummeling them senseless will be enough to break that strumpet queen's hold on them, especially now that she’s lost it. If I may, I'd like to try something. Get me close to the blonde one!
Um, alright! But I’m gonna be exposed if I single one out for too long.
Trust in the crystals, they are more than for offense.
You spot Vicky about to reach you first, hovering over the network of columns in her telekinetic sphere.
“Come here!" you yell as four of your tails stretch out to grab her. You drag her close to you as liquid gemstones start dripping from your chest wound and begin to coat her.
“Let Me Go! Mongo!” she shouts for help.
"Crystal Crypt!"
Now that the telemancer is encased in solid Crystal up to her muzzle, you tell Selena,
Okay, whatever you're going to do, do it fast. Meanwhile you erect a barrier to keep the other four out for a few moments.
Time for a classic. Selena chirps, Assuming Direct Control!
Wait, What? No don’t do that you’ll- You try to warn until.
GUAAAAAAHHHH!!!
"Selena!" you yell aloud in concern.
I…I can't get in. Selena gasps, and your vision gets fuzzy for a moment. That whorse’s hold on them is too tight, and the link is far too deep. It felt like I was going to drown in there.
Feh, never take a yandere so lightly, Sombra mutters.
No, it’s not that. Selena, you just tried to wrestle the entire Hive Mind. That’s thousands of Changelings willingly giving her this power, not just the ones here, you shudder at all that power.
I…I did not know. Forgive me my failure.
It’s alright, I’m just glad you’re safe. But give a heads up exactly what you’re planning next time.[/color
Just then Vicky breaks free from your prison with a giant telekinetic pulse that showers you with your own crystals, before releasing another, even bigger one that ruptures your defensive bubble and sends you flying, just as the rest of the Chosen descend.
Back to punching then. This has got to end!
On the TARDIS
POV CHANGE: Nightshade
You sit with all the rest watching as daddy pummels the changelings, but they keep getting up.
Come on daddy, you can do it, you think with bated breath.
You then hear a crunching chewing noise, and you look over and see one of the Knight Changelings eating some popcorn.
“Oi! Where’d you get that?” you ask.
Kichi’s Comment
Kersey’s Comment
GreyRebl’s Comment
“One of the pink ponies is handing it out,” Kichi answers. He then holds the bucket out and you wince at his smile.
“Want some little filly?”
“Don’t go near him kid, he’s not allowed within 300 feet of a school,” warns the timberwolf.
“Oh go buck yourself!” the changeling mutters and continues offering.
“Um, yeah no thanks,” you deny causing him to roll his eyes.
“Oh Buck Yeah! Dish you sees dat?!” shouts the Diamond Dog enthusiastically.
“Suplex them! Suplex them!” his pony buddy cheers.
“It’s not much getting so hyped over,” Kichi mutters. “We all know he’s going to win.”
“Yes, but it’s how he wins. If they die though, he won’t consider it a victory,” Rutherford points out.
“Oh come on. We all had those same dreams that you made that movie off of. That monster was crazier than him and destroyed the world. Compared to that, this should be a cake walk for him.”
You look to them in confusion.
“Wait, dreams? That movie was based on dreams you all had?”
“Yeah. And we would have made lots of money from them too,” Solarkness groans.
“But that isn’t being released in the foreseeable future. Stupid Beigh and Shamalamadingdong,” Rutherford grumbles.
While they eat popcorn and watch as your Dad beats one of the twins with another, you hear one of the unicorn guards from the train mutter as he takes a sip from a flask.
"Celestia, this has been one crazy day.”
"You're telling me," the pegasus guard replies taking a sip out of a bottle.
"I mean this was supposed to be some easy transport assignment; Just babysit the prisoners till we get to the prison, but suddenly we have town-sized forcefields, Changelings attacking us out of the blue, Blue Booths that are bigger on the inside, and the fate of the town resting on a bunch of terrorists being led by the most wanted fugitive in Equestria. And I only brought vodka instead of whiskey, none of this makes any dang sense!" he rants before taking a long pull out of his flask.
“Well it ain’t gonna become clearer with booze,” you snark at them and point to Brown Dog and Snap Drake. “Just look at those idiots.”
“Ohhhhh!!!” they cry out as your dad uppercuts Mongo into the air and juggles him with his tails.
They look down at their bottles and to the drunks, then to you.
“Well, they seem happy. And if we can’t beat’em, join’em,” the guard then downs his flask, the other following suit.
Rolling your eyes, you turn back towards the screen.
“Ain’t nothing wrong with a little fire water kiddo,” Grandbuggy instructs from next to you. “Just don’t overdue it till your 14.”
“But I thought the drinking age was 18?”
“Well it is if you want to be a neighzi about it,” Grandbuggy harrumphs.
Before you can question this line of logic, the pale changeling Knight hums in thought.
Grey Rebl’s Comment
“Again...” Erised mutters with a scowl as he watches Sin’s body glow fluxuating. “It’s happening again.”
Grey frowns in kind, nodding.
“I see it. This time, it’s up to eleven.”
“What are you two talking about?” Changer asks. “What’s happening again?”
The grey-brown pony tightens his grip on a broom, treated as a walking stick, glaring at the epic battle occurring before him.
“The same fight we were beaten in. Puppet versus puppet…”
“Master versus master,” Erised finishes grimly. “It seems the Queens have taken a page out of my book…”
Processing this, Changer blinks in understanding.
“Nightmare Moon and the Hooded Offender, and Chrysalis and her Chosen…”
“Talk about a fitting scenario,” Silver adds.
“A match made in Heaven, or in Tartarus,” Candy nods.
“I still doubt they’ll be saved though. It’s just too unlikely,” The blooded changeling sneers. “Save them by beating them to submission? Even that’s farfetched.”
“I don’t shnow about thash~” A voice interjects across them.
Grey gives a sidelong glance in a poor practice of acknowledgement before looking back at the fight.
“Brown Dog.” Even Erised frowns at the new company.
Unfortunately for the two, the drunken moron pulls the two together in a tight group hug, of which the sociopaths wince from their aggravated injuries. The accursed dog is too drunk to care. The alcohol and blood loss is getting to him.
“Y’knowsh~ If it weren’t him beaaating sha puppiesh out of ya, we’d all be bug foo foosh~! But whash are we noows!?”
“Wesh are a big happfshy Shamaly!” Snap Drake bellows, and everyone winces.
“Shut up, you two! You’re not making any sense anymore,” Solarkness growls, of which Brown Dog responds with a playful squeeze of his captives.
“Urf! And I’m wounded!” Grey snarls at him, but too weak to resist.
Erised scoffs.
“We’re wounded.”
“Bish Sappy Famine Leaves!” he squeezes them.
“AAaaargh!” Erised yells.
“Lesh Hasa seat on thish cushy couch.”
“Get off me you idiot! I have a broken leg!” Kersey shouts as Brown Dog sits the Ink Moth and the janitor on top of the flabby pony.
You look from the struggling Knights, to the guards getting drunk and back to Grandbuggy.
“I’m starting to get the impression that every single enemy we have in the world is a dumbass.”
“They usually are,” Grandbuggy nods before a smirk comes across his face. “Oh, now he’s got that determined look.”
You look back to the monitors and see as your dad is going harder and faster.
“It’s nearing the end…”
POV CHANGE: Bugze (You)
Kersey’s Comment
Biff and Tannen continue pelting you with fire and ice attacks only for you to block them with your wings.
They're weaker when they're apart! Selena points out.
Then let's make some distance then.
With a teleport you quickly appear in front of Tannen and hit him in the throat with your wing to disorient him. As he coughs for breath, you whip out a trio of Nightmare Tails at Biff. He tries to dodge them, but eventually he gets caught.
"GET OVER HERE!" you roar as you yank Biff towards you and catch his throat in your hoof.
Sombra! Flight!
You presume to command m- Sombra indignantly scoffs before being interrupted.
JUST DO IT PEST!
With that you fly forward and roughly drag Biff's head along the ground creating a tiny trench in your wake.After a few moments of flight you get hit in the wing with a ball of fire causing you to drop Biff as you veer off course and crash into another building,
At this rate, Appleloosa will have to be rebuilt from scratch. you think as you stumble out of the building and see Biff and Tannen flying back to each other.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" you declare as you teleport between the two brothers and declare,
"EMERALD STORM BARRAGE!" as you flail your wings out pelting both brothers in a barrage of green crystal feathers that shatter on impact engulfing them in clouds of midnight smoke.
You teleport into the smoke cloud where Biff is and strike him across the face before teleporting into Biff's cloud and sweeping him in the gut with your wing. You continue this pattern of teleporting between the two brothers, keeping them apart as you spam physical blows between the two until it culminates in you teleporting behind Tannen and lining him up with Biff then declaring
"PSYCHO BREAK CRUSHER" causing you to launch yourself spinning forward while in a large streak of midnight flames.
Biff instinctively conjures of a wall of solid dense ice, but you effortlessly smash Tannen through it without slowing down as you continue spinning forward now taking Biff along for the ride as well, smashing through buildings until your attack stops and you throw the twins ahead of you to the edge of town.
As the two twins groggily struggle to get up, you rear back, and smash your Nightmare Tails firmly into the ground as you rear a hoof back and fold your wing around it, wrap it in a pair of nightmare tails before you activate Smoke Thrusters to rocket smoke out of your 3 non-punching hooves as the nightmare tails anchor you in place.
Tannen notices you charging up your attack, and tries to drag Biff away, only to his horror realize that both of their hooves are anchored to the ground by orange crystals.
When you have built up enough force, you un-anchor your Nightmare Tails from the ground and rocket towards the twins at high speed.
"Oh Buck!” they exclaim as they form barriers of flame and ice.
"FALCON ROCKET!" you declare sending your flaming, crystal-wing-covered hoof smashing into Biff and Tannen's barriers with enough force to generate a sonic boom and send both twins dragging and bouncing along the ground across the town until they crash into a barn which falls apart.
Before you can pursue them, you suddenly find yourself suspended in mid air.
“You Hybrid Monster!!!” Vicky growls. While you flail, you anchor yourself to the ground using your nightmare tails and slam a hoof into the ground causing a crystal rock to just out of the ground and smash into Vicky's groin causing her to fall back in pain.
Wait, how did that even work? She doesn't have nards…or does sh-
Idiot, Groin attacks can still hurt mares. It just needs more force.
They can?! I wish I’d known that a long time ago! With that thought, you teleport in front of Vicky.
"Alright, you like to send things flying? Then let's go for a ride."
You swing your wing upwards and hit Vicky with it sending her into the air.
You quickly raise your nightmare tails in the air before smashing them to the ground with earth-shaking force launching yourself high into the air with your head hitting Vicky in the stomach and taking her along for the ride.
As you reach the height of your ascent, you grab Vicky's mane, and throw her downwards as she flails in the air trying to reorient herself.
You fold your wings in front of you and cast a midnight forcefield around yourself as you launch yourself at the changeling, tackling her at high speeds as you both descend to the ground crying out,
"METEOR IMPACT!!!"
Before both of you smash into a shack in an explosive shockwave that blows out windows and knocks down the structure. When the dust clears, you find yourself in a crater in the floor standing over her gasping form.
You bring your hoof up to finally send her into unconsciousness, when you are tackled hard by what feels like a train.
“GGGRRAAAAGGGHHHH!!!” Mongo roars as he stands protectively in front of Vicky.
Holding your side, you stand up.
“For those that are on a suicide mission, you seem very concerned about each other!” you point out. A look of confusion crosses Mongo’s face momentarily, and in that instant you slam your claw to the ground, and a crystal launches him into the air. You teleport to him midair and give him a frenzied barrage of hits from every direction using your tails, claws, and wings, you then use 4 tails to hold Mongo in place before raising the 5th and 6th tails and slamming them into his face to launch yourself away from him. When the 4 tails are at maximum stretch, you wrap the remaining two around your rear limbs and slingshots into Mongo declaring,
“LUNATIC FRENZY!!!
You smash into Mongo's back with a massively powerful double-stomp that causes blood to spurt out of his mouth as the Jugger-changeling is sent smashing down into the ground.
Having been on the receiving end of that attack, I almost pity him... Not really.
And yet still, even after that, Mongo gets to his hooves.
This isn’t right. I’ve injured them badly. I know I have. But the Hive Mind is keeping them going despite their injuries.
They’re being used as puppets, just like in the asylum…
A bolt of lightning nearly hits you, but you deflect it with your wing as you see Sin charging at you, followed by the others.
They just won’t stay down…
To emphasize this, Mongo attempts to uppercut you, but you jump backwards.
I’ve got to cut their strings…
GreyRebl’s Comment
Chrysallis’s strings need to be cut, and you have to be the one to cut them.
A sense of Déjà vu comes to you. After numerous battles to reach up to this point, there is a serenity to this dance, as though you’ve done it before. Even as the Chosen surround you, even as they glow with magic, even as they shoot you with a torrent of elements...you smile, and your body blurs to the sky.
The streets erupt in a salad of ash, lightning, and ice. It bubbles, twists, and expands right before your eyes as you seemingly float along its explosive wind, wings and tails outward like an archangel enchanted by the sun.
“Raaaaaaugh!” A chilling roar, and the tip of the bubble pops as Mongo catapults towards you aglow by Vicky’s telekinesis as his wings roar like a chainsaw.
Air bends around you, tails stroke forward and then behind, and your floating turns into a piledrive! Mongo collapses as you impact his belly.
“Would you kindly buuuuuuurn?!” The rushing wind feeds the grey aura around you as you glow hot, tails grabbing Mongo by all four hooves. You both have nowhere to go but down as you plummet into your ascended Meteor Impact.
“High Noon Meteorite!”
Chitin meets sand, which turns to ash, and a tidal wave of flame swarms out in a fiery earthquake. The buildings tremble, the sky screams, and the Chosen fly trying to avoid the flames.
The groan in the pool of ash is all the warning you have before Mongo bursts out from it with a head butt across your chest!
Ash flies everywhere, but you latch on fast with you wings and swing out...and then back in with a buck to the giant’s face and let go at the last minute! The shock wave scatters the ash even further, and Mongo flies, joining his comrades in the burning remains of the nearby buildings.
A brief buzz licks your ears, and instinct has you flipping backwards, just in time for a glowing bolt of ice to phase by. It finishes off a broken house with a rupture of ice of the same size. You whip a crystal-enforced tail to catch a fire bolt to the side. They get lucky. A mound of ash collapses beneath your hooves, and you miss.
“Aaargh!”
The intense heat bombs your side, and you find yourself careening about, bouncing, but then hopping, and then skipping until you stride into a run as your tails foxily flutter behind. You arc around where the magic came from, and screech.
A horrific sound resonates across the charred landscape as a wave of eldritch darkness shoots towards the twins.
They’re forced to erect walls of ice and fire, which crumbles and flickers upon contact. They scatter just before their defense collapses, and buzz into the air as your Nightmare Screech chases after. They respond with shots of their own as they fly over you. But then they stop, and glow in the fading daylight, like early stars.
Your eyes widen. A scene flickers in your mind: You and a shadow. A Nightmare. A Ship in Space. A rain of fire.
You immediately erect a crystal barrier around yourself as you wrap yourself in tails and your crystal wings. Despite all the defensive preparation though, the heat and cold bite your chitin as everything around you is completely and utterly annihilated.
There is a flash of light. And, like the drilling of a ceramic jar, your crystal barrier gives way to an immense force.
Bugze!
Impossible!
“Aaaarrgg—haaa!” Beyond the agonizing torrent of pain and the smell of burning flesh, there’s an inane chirping of birds in sync with both.
“Hak—grr….!”
For the split second when you peer past your tail, cold steel meets burning iron. Sin’s eyes of a loyal soldier and a dying queen, and yours of two darknesses seething with resolve. Her battered hoof supports the other, which is bright with light, chirping with electrical energy intensely and insanely confined into a single point—a Chidori.
And with it, before crystal bending stops her short, she barely scratches your chest. At the exact place where you cut off the piece of the Changeling Throne, over your heart.
The very heart that Chrysalis saved you with, at the Canterlot Wedding over three years ago.
Healing and burning, healing and burning, healing and burning, you clap your tails forward, but Sin wretches her Chidori out, and your tails falter as she leaps out, electricity trailing her hooves as she shoots out a roaring cannon of yellow. Heaving a breath, you retaliate...
By pointing your Nightmare Power Glove to the ground!
“Would you kindly freeze?!”
A massive rose of pure ice curls up and ruthlessly spikes just in time for Mongo to crash into it like a bellowing hornet. You grapple him, and the electric cannon ball hits your new meat shield.
Throwing him away, your tail whips out the Second Law and Staff and you jump up before an entire house is thrown your way courtesy of Vicky. Landing, you hop yet again to the sound of great balls of fire and ice from above.
Sin doesn’t play, though. She strikes like lightning itself. Coated in a thick miasma of electricity, as if in one step, actually multiple in an instant, she appears right above your head, her Chidori poised high to slice through your neck.
Your purple misted eyes shine, and shadow crystals explosively expand from beneath your hooves and springs you toward her. Your crystal wings slam into her belly, interrupting her deadly blow. A whack of your darkness infused staff sends her rocketing to the ground, digging an ashy trench. The shockwave cracks the crystal beneath your hooves.
From your crystal tower. You point Second Law towards her struggling form. Shadows seep from the tail, along the barrel, and then into the tip. When the gun is fully encased in darkness, you pull the trigger. A sickly ball of pressurized force shoots out. Your aim isn’t true. It doesn't need to. Instead, it pulses and then explodes, decimating the landscape.
Mongo flies at you, before he falls withering towards the ground. Vicky is next, and she barely pulls up an amazingly thick barrier or broken wood before violently tumbling back from the shock. At the Twins you stop.
In one of their hooves, a ball of swirling ice lights up like a dim star, making a mad dive towards you. You can sense the immense energy welled up inside, using similar principles as Sin’s Chidori. Without a doubt, it’s an ice variant of a Rasengan. Shooting and interrupting isn’t a good idea if it’ll kill them.
I’ve got no choice.
You leap off your makeshift platform, but your distraction costs you as a shot of lightning unexpectedly strikes you from below. The sudden force has you flailing about uselessly in the air, which is enough for the ice Twin to meet you dead on.
The air goes absolute zero and your entire body stops moving suddenly.
Cold, bitter, hollow, and lonesome is the most eloquent way you can describe it after feeling a sense of weightlessness and then a thud. You hit the ground, frozen solid. You wreath and struggle, your hooves, wings and tails jerking to and fro as their immense strength causes fissures along the glacier art you’ve become.
The Chosen are having none of it. The fire twin casts fire along the cracks, melting the ice only for the water to refreeze itself from its own coldness and heal the cracks as the other twin continues to reinforce the glacier’s shell with more ice. The ice glows. You understand why the moment you feel an unbearable pressure against your entire body as Vicky makes the ball thinner yet immensely denser.
Sin steps up, yet, she’s not herself at the same time.
“You should’ve taken account Sin’s speed.” The Changeling Queen’s voice somehow reaches you through the ice as she speaks through Sin’s body. “While the other Chosen are well bred for their abilities, Sin was a special project of mine. Out of them all, she’s the fastest and bears the greatest instakill potential. Sudden like lightning, a true changeling assassin! She is perfect.”
“Then why are you sacrificing her? Huh? Why are you wasting that perfection?!” you roar through the ice.
“Because, though she is perfect, you are beyond. And if I can’t have you in life, then in death, we can all be together…”
The most you can do is wiggle around the ice, with a few more seconds, you can easily break free!
Unfortunately, you don’t have seconds.
She brings something out.
In Sin’s hoof, is a bright metal piece that you can’t help but feel the chills from. That familiar killing intent...the scar in your chest itches. You can sense it: there’s Orichalcum tempered inside the alloy.
“I never thought I needed to use my trump card on you,” Chrysalis says mournfully. “Be honored, for you are the first to test a power that is said can kill an alicorn!”
For a moment, you can see Sin’s eyes flicker in hesitation. But that’s all you see as Chrysalis assumes absolute control, replacing them with maniacal determination. That, too, is familiar. Nightmare Bugze shared those same eyes.
Daintily, she lines up the metal piece to her eye. She crackles with energy for a moment, a second, a third...and surges.
A flash and a crack of thunder occur almost simultaneously. Like a shooting star across a hazy evening, the bullet parts away the ash and closes the distance instantly, piercing through the ice as if it is paper. The inside of the glacier blurs from the sudden intake of heat. And all falls silent.
“It’s…it’s done my queen,” Sin says breathlessly.
“Well done Shell Marshal. Now in death, the changelings become one. Your service is-“
“GOD RA MU!!!” a borrowed Shout from a frightful past, and possible future erupts and the chosen go blind from immense light as a thunderbolt cracks across the skies!
Booooom!
The bulge of hyper-condensed ice pops like a bubble. The Chosen cover their eyes with their hooves from the resulting explosion of water vapor.
The ice cracks along your hide as you stand up, twirling vapors escape your beastly maw as you exhale…and something drops out and lands in your hooves. The fierce glow of your eyes affixes the changelings with a glare… and you can taste their emotions.
They look upon you in fear. It’s not your eyes, it’s not the chest symbol glowing along with your scars, and it’s not your undamaged form.
No, they are afraid of what you hold in your clawed hooves. Snorting, you let it fall to the ground.
Sin’s trump card pathetically hits the ash.
“I-impossible...Impossible!” Chrysalis’s voice pierces through the battlefield. “He actually bit the bullet?!”
It’s only when she says those words that they know they don’t stand a chance.
“No more,” you say. “I’m through running away. You’re done here.”
“...Done? Me? Don’t make me laugh!” Chrysalis snarls. “Don’t you dare make decisions when you just betray yourself and your own kind!”
“Yeah? Well I’m done being the subservient puppet. And so are they.” You nod your head at the Chosen, worn and battered, yet their eyes are glazed all over as though they’re not standing of their own free will. “Don’t you get it? It’s just you throwing the punches now. You’re the only one who’s willing to fight anymore. Get off your high horse. It’s over.”
As one, the Chosen sneer, a reflection of Chrysalis’s feelings.
“You’re right. It is. Here at the end, you stand alone before oblivion.”
You sigh and shake your head.
“You’re wrong. I’m not alone.” Suddenly, you disappear by a flash of your horn. Chrysalis can only gasp as you teleport right in front of her. You rear back a hoof, and you swear, in the reflection of Sin’s eyes, there’s a King and a Goddess right behind you.
ThePonySpartan’s Comment
"I think it's time to finally end this." Your left eye glows red as dark flames appear on your hoof. You launch yourself upwards with your tails and go high in the sky. You reel your hoof back...And then let it fly.
"Fearful Nightmare Punch!"
A light, both bright and dark erupts from the point of impact and the wind whips your cloak sporadically in the wind.
ACROSS EQUESTRIA
In Canterlot
A fork drops upon a dinner table as two Alicorns sit in silence.
Celestia looks down at her fork. Some of the cake she was about to put in her mouth is still on it.
"What was that?" She asks aloud.
Luna felt the same thing her sister did, but for her, it was almost tripled. She shivers.
They don’t know exactly what, but they feel that something big has happened.
They look at each other with confused looks.
"Did you feel something?" Luna asks and her sister nods.
Celestia gets up from her chair and peers at the soon to be setting sun, the sporadic weather and general unrest in Ponyville appears to be at an end.
“It must be because it’s nearly time…” Celestia says in anxiousness.
"That must be it then,” Luna nods. “Do you really think she's ready? I'm not one to doubt her skills but... it is a hard role to play."
"Then it will be another challenge she will overcome. There's no need to worry my dear sister. I have faith that this change in the world will be beneficial to us all…" Celestia replies.
In The Everfree
Zecora steps out of her hut. She looks up to the skies and wonders to herself.
“Something is different, I can feel it even now. Something has changed, and this feeling it’s…wow…”
At Sweet Apple Acres
Sweetie Belle practicing with her magic in front of the CMC clubhouse, while the other two members of the CMC relax after the craziness in town.
Suddenly Sweetie Belle's horn sparks with magic and she drops a rock she was levitating.
“Yowch! Did you guys feel that?” she asks.
“Yeah, something…different right?” Scootaloo answers as her wings fidget.
“Not bad right? Just different yeah. Though anything’s gotta be better than Pinkie Pie trying to run the farm,” Applebloom points out.
“Or Rarity taking care of the weather,” Sweetie nods.
“Or Rainbow making dresses,” Scootaloo gags.
Across the field in the Farm House, Granny Smith and Big Mac look around them.
"I feel like somepony I know did something great," Granny mutters.
"Eyup," Big Mac agrees.
At Ponyville Spa
Aloe stares intently at the water in one of the mineral baths.
“Sister? Is everything alright?” asks Lotus.
"I... don't know. Doesn't the water seem off to you? Like something’s different?"
At Vinyl and Octavia's Studio
The two music mares, along with Bon Bon and Lyra and Crackle all feel as though something empowering has occurred for their cause.
“Today is a turning point for the Horde, I can feel it,” Octavia says with conviction.
“It’d better after Jack told me to stay put and watch the Elements,” Bon Bon grumbles.
“Huh? What was that Bonny?” asks Lyra.
“Nothing. Just grumbling about the Elements of Harmony shenanigans.”
“Oh, so that wasn’t a drunken hallucination?” asks Vinyl.
“Honk Honk!” Crackle barks.
At Ponyville Elementary
Cheerilee is grading papers when she looks up in thought, before a dour expression graces her face.
“Why do I feel so annoyed right now?”
In Griffonstone.
Gretta has a sudden feeling of happiness as she puts her Samus suit at the bottom of a chest.
In Dodge City
In the Jail House, King Longhorn and his Bulls all get a feeling of dread and unease and huddle together in a corner.
In the Crystal Empire
Shining and Cadence stared wide-eyed at the Crystal Hear which spins rapidly and shines brightly.
"What does this mean?" Shining asks Cadence.
“I don’t know Shining…but something makes me feel hopeful, even in these dark times.
Beside them, Flash Sentry feels an unplaced sense of pride…and dread for the future.
That’s an odd combo, he thinks to himself.
In Manehattan
In a deep dark alley a creature with four legs and two red arms in a cloak stirs from his rest.
He looks up to the sky and smiles deviously Unlike the ponies, he can actually taste the sensation within the air. With this sense, he knows his powers are slowly returning, and that soon it would be time to enact his plans.
On the other side of town, Coco Pommel jitters and drops the coffee she was bringing for her new boss. Ever since the incident, she has tried to be less forceful, and independent as penance for her sins, even with such a horrible boss like Suri Polomare. But the feeling that made her drop the coffee…
“You know what, she can drink the cheap stuff in the kitchen, because I am not going out again.”
At Rainbow Falls
In at the base of the falls, Garble the Dragon hides under his bed like a foal hiding from the boogeymare, and he didn’t even know why.
In Fillydelphia
Sapphire Shores drops her quill onto the unfinished song in front of her. No matter what, she can’t bring herself to write another line. Something just... stops her from doing so.
"Maybe I should stop writing revenge songs against The Offender so late into the night. Yeah, the lack of sleep is killing me," she says groggily as she rubs her eyes.
On A Rock Farm.
Maude Pie, with her short still regrowing mane looks up.
"Did you feel that boulder? A mighty punch. Takes me back to the good old days," she remembers wistfully with a small smile.
In a Hospital in Canterlot
A blue Unicorn lies unconscious upon her bed. Alone and unheard, she whispers a single word in her sleep.
"...Hoody.” A tear falls down her cheek and onto the bed.
In Ponyville
Six Happy Mares, and one young dragon sing song their way down the street towards Golden Oaks Library, when they all come to a stop as they feel what many across Equestria and the world felt.
“What in the world was that?” asks Rarity.
“I felt that in my bones, but my bones are right here,” Pinkie says while wiggling he arm.
“For some reason I feel excited, hopeful, and angry at the same time,” Fluttershy says in confusion.
“You too sugarcube?” Applejack asks.
“Oh, glad I wasn’t the only one,” Rainbow says with a blush.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I feel…vindicated? Is that the right word?” asks Spike.
“Strange, I feel conflicted…” Twilight trails off before shaking her head. “I guess we’re all still so caught up after the Cutie Mark situation. To the Library girls. Let’s finish this.”
And so the group gallops off to complete their destiny, as the world keeps turning for everyone on it.
Erised the Ink-Moth’s Comment
BrownDog’s Comment
With You
You stand over the Five Changelings sprawled out on the ash covered street. You’ve beaten them, but it’s not over yet. Though their eyes are shut, their bodies still emit a glow.
"Enough... is... enough." you pant. You don't have much time.
Now that they're unconscious, you can see how much pain they're in. Their breathing in coarse, glowing green cracks are spreading throughout their chitin, and even knocked out their bodies are wracked with pain filled convulsions.
"Selena, Sombra. I need your help to wrestle control of these five away from Chrysalis."
Bugze, are you certain this will work? Selena asks hesitantly. I nearly drowned earlier. Even if their bodies are weakened, their fanatic devotion is still intact, and with it, all of the Hive.
I used to be a part of the Hive Mind for most of my life. I know the way back, and with all of us working towards it, I know I can find them. We have to try. We have to.
It’s your funeral you suicidal fool, Sombra mutters.
Very well then. Don’t you dare lose your way...please... She orders you protectively.
“I won’t” you say with a smile as you snake five of your tails around their horns. You then close your eyes and give her the go ahead.
Assuming Direct Control!
As soon as she says this, you lose feeling of your physical body as you enter the unconscious minds of the Chosen.
In the Mindscape
Opening your eyes, you find yourself in a network of caves, not unlike the cave systems you grew up in at the Hive. But this is definitely the dream realm, but it is also the Hive Mind, you can feel it. You’ve never felt the Link on this level before, but it is familiar enough to walk back into it, even if you feel no compulsion to become one with it again.
You're no longer in your Nightmare form. You aren't even in your Nobody cloak. You're just Bugze. And you’re alone.
"Selena?! Hello? Sombra? Anyling?!" you call out as you start galloping down the tunnels. You pass silhouettes of changelings, thousands of changelings faded and blurry, yet still standing at attention along the corridors.
“The Rest of the Hive…” you shiver as you pass by them, even though you can feel them watching you.
Soon enough you spill out into a nearly shot for shot remake of the Queen's chamber from your old Hive, only now it's a giant floating platform suspended above a yawning void of pure darkness, accessible only by a narrow walkway of floating stones. Leading up to it, are a the three hundred from Appleloosa, not as faded as the rest, but not solid either. At the center of the chamber you spot the figures of the 5 Chosen, each adorned in full ceremonial battle gear, kneeling before the throne. And the Queen...
Chrysalis sits above them on her throne, casually slouched over, eyeing them each like a child would look over their favorite set of toys. A mad glint in her eyes.
Bugze! you hear Selena call out to you, though she seems far away. The conviction of these Chosen is too strong, I can’t enter with you and neither can the dictator. We can't even get close! Try to push through on your side; we will keep trying on ours!
Normally you'd stutter, trying to think of what to do. But Sin and the others don't have much time left. You need to do something, and fast.
With determination, you ascend the steps and stand before the throne.
"Who dares to approach the Queen?!" Sin shouts as you march towards the throne, she and the other chosen taking combat stances.
"At ease." Chrysalis says, waving her hoof slowly before turning to you. "Well well, @#$%&... have you finally decided to stop playing traitor and join me, as you always should have? As I always wanted?"
"No." you say blankly, "I'm not here to follow you and I never will. And neither should any of you!" you turn to your former hivemates. "Sin, Biff, Tannen, Vicky, Mongo, you don't have to follow her! I've tried beating this fact into your heads every which way I can think of. For Buck's sake, why do you still listen to her?! After everything she's done?! You are literally dying right now because of her!"
"Because they understand they are a part of something greater than themselves," Chrysalis says as she gives you a hungry look, "and because of this they are loyal to me."
"You are not greater than them," you snarl.
"The Queen does all in her power to ensure the survival of our race," Sin says like she's reading it off a well-learned script. "The Queen is our only salvation; there is nothing else."
"Stop it!" you yell, grabbing Sin by the straps of her armor. "If that were true then she would have tried diplomacy over invasion at Canterlot. If that were true she wouldn't have risked everything to get revenge on Twilight and her friends! If that were true she wouldn't be sacrificing you to get revenge or whatever this is on me! She doesn't care about you- She doesn't even care about the Hive! We're just tools and toys to her. Buck me, I feel like a broken record right now. I've said this over and over and some part of you must realize it's true!"
For a moment you see Sin's expression falter.
"I..."
Bugze... Selena's voice reaches you. I'm starting to see some cracks in their link, keep doing whatever it is you're doing!
You see Chrysallis snarl as she looks up, no doubt sensing Selena, but you ignore her as you turn to the twins.
“Biff, Tannen. I was an only child. I have no idea what it means to have a brother. But I do know this. Family is everything. Your bonds are much closer than some, and because of that, that need for protection and unity is even higher. After what I did, you both hated what I had done to the other. I know you two don’t want to condemn the other to die. They say brothers are to the end, but this doesn’t have to be your end.”
“Don’t want…” Biff shakes.
“My brother to…” Tannen sputters.
Another Crack! Selena shouts.
You turn to Vicky.
“Vicky. We all know that looks aren’t everything, it’s what inside that counts. You’ve been told you were rotten to the core for so long, that you’ve believed it yourself. But I know you care about Mongo and the rest more than you let on. All of your anger you’ve directed, it’s been about how much I’ve hurt them, and your own pain…your own handicaps are secondary,” you say as you look at her scarred back. “You aren’t rotten to the core Vicky, there’s still love and care inside you, and you don’t want that to die. Let your true beauty shine.”
“I…I don’t want them to go…” she sputters.
You don’t even wait for Selena’s confirmation, you move on to your next target.
“Mongo…” you stand before your former bully. He still towers over with anger in his eye, and now you must save him.
“You’ve used your size for so long, you don’t know any other way. You are strong, so you’ve used that strength in the only way you knew how. But strength doesn’t just mean putting down those weaker than you or how hard you can punch something. True strength comes from knowing when to call it quits, when to run, and when to call for help. I know that thanks to me you can no longer speak, but your actions speak louder than words ever could. I know you’re scared, I know that you want to survive, so that you can protect what you care for,” you point to Vicky and the rest and he turns his head towards them.
“Show true strength Mongo, and live.”
He looks back to you with determination.
“…Yeah…that sounds good…” he speaks, for the Mindscape is not as limited as the physical world. Chrysallis frowns at this but you give a smile.
You then go towards the final Chosen Officer. The one who came to you for help over a year ago. Her stoic face is already cracked from what you’ve said to the others.
“Sin. You were always the lackey, always the one trying to prove herself with Chrysalis, even before she became queen. You wore the mask for so long, you became the mask. When it was all taken away, you sought out anything or anyling that could bring you comfort. You found me. You shadowed me, and yet you never came out, because you were afraid. Because you knew you had done wrong in the past. You felt your sins crawling on your back, and you faced them, despite what everyling else said. You still want to make amends Sin. To cast aside the stabbing heat of the cinnamon, and be the sweet sugar in your name. You don’t have to end it here Sin. We know your true face, and you don’t have to prove anything. So please, let the mask go…”
Tears start to flow out of her eyes.
“B…Bugze…” she whimpers. You then look to them all as a group.
“All of you, listen to my words. The past was terrible for me. I was alone, and you all never let me forget that. It wasn’t just you, it was others,” you declare looking to the shadows around the throne room. “The pain and torment I faced, I can never forget… but I can forgive it. Hatred breeds more hatred. One event, begets the next. I know this better than anyling.”
Their eyes are no longer monotonous, they show pensiveness. You see the will to live.
"All of you, maybe you can't imagine a life without Chrysalis leading you. But all I'm asking is that you try! It has to be better than what she's asking of you now! Anything has to be better than dying in vain!" you shout, emotion gripping you like you're holding onto each of them now.
“And not just for yourselves, but for them!” you point to the thousands of blurred changelings. “For all of our species that didn’t know any other way, who won’t be given a choice. But you can make that choice all of you! You wanted to save the Changeling race! So please, JUST CHOOSE!!!”
The 300 all turn their heads towards you and their colors become more solidified, thoughtful expressions upon their faces. The five see this, then they all look to each other and nod in silent agreement, before turning towards their Queen.
“Yes, that’s it…” you murmur hopefully.
“My Queen…Chrysallis,” Sin hesitates, “He’s right…we don’t have to die. Please, stop this.”
Chryallis looks down upon Sin and the rest, confusion and shock all over her face.
Suddenly a wave of sickly green magic washes over them, filling their eyes with its glow and causing cracks to form on their mental selves.
"NO!" you cry as they struggle in her gasp.
“Bugze!!!” Selena’s shout echoes as the entire area glows hot with green.
"Stop?! STOP?!!! It’s too late to stop Cinnamon! The ponies have killed us! We’re all dead! We’ll all reach Valhalla soon! And it’s all HIS fault!” Chrysallis snarls.
“LET THEM GO!!!” you shout as your eyes glow, and she meets your gaze.
“What could be better than dying to serve your Queen? That’s what Mother said. She was right all along!" Chrysalis declares, syrupy venom dripping from every word.
"Let. Them. Go." you seethe back as she approaches.
Chrysalis just smiles wider, apparently not having heard you.
"I always admired you @#$%&. I could see that you weren't like the other nymphs... you were special. I wanted you more than anything," she stands up and begins walking toward you. "You were so timid around me when I first approached you, but now, after all that I've done to reclaim you, why will you not come back to me... to serve your Queen, @#$%&? To be with your lover?"
You feel your shell crawl at that word. Years ago, you dreamt about being just that with her. Your childhood friend…your only friend. The most beautiful female in the Hive. But that’s all changed now. The insane mare in front of you is not the Hive Princess you used to love. She hasn’t been for a long time. Why won’t you go back to her?
"Because I'm not that changeling anymore. You killed him in Canterlot because he showed mercy to a poor captive mare who'd just had everything taken from her on her wedding day," you reply as you stare into her twitching eyes.
"I brought you back to life." Chrysalis grits her teeth.
"No. You brought ME to life,” you emphasize. “The changeling drone that saw any kind of goodness in you is gone forever, and you only have yourself to blame!" You jab a hoof into Chrysalis' chest, feeling the whole dreamscape ripple as you do. "You're evil, manipulative, cruel, petty, ruthless, selfish, and a terrible ruler! You have become your mother…"
That last declaration hits her most of all as she gasps and shuffles away from you.
"But most of all... I feel sorry for you."
Chrysalis stops shaking in rage and just stares for a moment.
"Excuse you?"
"I feel sorry for you," you repeat, "Because when you look at someling else, all you see is something to exploit for your own gain. Someling to step upon to reach the top.
She becomes more and more confused the longer you speak.
"I hate you for everything you've done. And yet... I feel sorry for you, because you'll never know love, or friendship. But as bad as I feel for you. I feel worse for anyling that has to be your slave.”
You look at the Chosen Five as they continue to glow, even the shadow changelings, still connected, still bound, glow and fade.
You then raise your hoof into the air, and the Power Glove adorns it.
“And that’s why I’m giving them the choice…”
Iamjustarandompony’s Comment
“Choice? What choice? There is no choice. We are Hive Mind! We are one consciousness in unison!” Chryallis snaps at you.
“Yeah, when it’s forced on them,” you counter. “But I know different. I also know that I can break it.”
“WHAT?!” she declares.
You look to the Chosen Five, all of them looking to you for help.
“Back at that cave, I had beaten you all up, and yet you all spouted out your hateful words as if you hadn’t a care in the world. Now I know why,” you say with a glance to your glove.
“I had just taken over your link in that very same fight and made you docile. When I remembered about you all, my hatred infected you as well. I did that to you. Because of my anger, I led you to this river of hatred.”
You then look to Chryallis.
“But someling’s gotta stop the flow…”
“You have no true power here! That filthy mare in your head isn’t here!” Chrysallis snarls.
“You’re wrong there Chrysallis. She’s always in my head. And unlike you, I’m still conscious in the real world. I’m still connected to my body, and all it’s modifications which she's giving me access to.”
And with that, a blue ball of light appears radiating out of your hooves as tendrils snake out of it and into the the Hive Mind. They attach to all the thousands of shadows, the three hundred, the five and Chrysallis herself.
“Wh-What is this?!!!” She shouts.
“Insect Swarm,” you answer plainly.
“WHAT?!!” she screeches.
“They’re called Plasmids Sweetheart. They let you take the fight to the Magically Overpowered.”
You tilt your head back and roar,
“WOULD YOU KINDLY BREAK THE HIVE MIND?!!!”
The midnight blue energy courses out to each and every one of the Changelings as they all fade out, and the surroundings start to crumble.
“AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” Chrysallis hisses as all the connections are lost and everything goes white.
IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD
Your glove is still outstretched to the sky, just like it was in the Mindscape. There is no blue energy, but your glove is smoking like it just did a massive attack.
You lower it and blow away the smoke.
The Five are still below you, they no longer glow. In their slumber, they actually look peaceful and content.
Bugze You Did It! Selena cheers in excitement that could rival Pinkie Pie’s.
You…You actually won. No one died, just like you wanted…Sombra observes in shock.
No. WE won…Together. You then look upon the countless destroyed buildings in the town you love so much as your Awakened form flutters in the breeze. The Awakened cloak begins to burn off of you, as if it was smoke. The claws, wings and tusks retract with no pain.
Unlike the Otherworld, you’ve actually made a difference.
“Why…?” comes a whimper from below you. Looking down, you see Sin with her eyes slightly open, the barest hint of a green glow in them.
DarkInfinity666’s Comment
Oh No…
Seriously?
Don’t worry. She has no power now.
And she doesn't, the Hive Mind is broken. Whatever little fragments she's holding onto won't be there for long.
“Why? Why did you take them from me?” Chryallis asks in complete sorrow.
Sighing you crouch down closer to her face.
“They never belonged to you Chryallis. They’re free now. Individuals. Unique. And it’s time for you to let go.”
Tears come out of Sin’s eyes, but they aren't hers.
“%$@#...why do you hate me so much? Why? I tried to make up for you. I brought you to life...but you still hate me...”
You look upon the fading green light in Sin’s eyes with pity.
“Chrysallis. I forgive you.”
“Wh-What? You...forgive me?”
You nod with all sincerity. You hate what she's done, you hate what she's turned into. But you choose to forgive her. And because of that choice, the confusion and sorrow doubles on Sin’s face.
“How? After…I don’t understand. I just don’t understand…” she sobs as the light finally winks out, and Sin’s controlled rhythmic breathing returns.
“And that’s why you fail…” you whisper as you stand back up and look to the sky past the dome.
The sun is setting, and a peaceful night is coming to welcome the land.
Roker12’s Comment
Letting out a sigh, you look to the sound of movement. The townsfolk and your allies walk towards you. Nightshade and Grandbuggy in the lead.
Sombra sighs in what you know to be relief.
She is satisfied then… you then feel his presence start to lessen.
And where are you going? Selena asks.
Back to my cell, seeing as I’m not needed anymore.
Wait Sombra, you call out and he stops over you using his proper name. I uh. Well, I just wanted to say thanks for your help. If it weren’t for you-
Do not thank me, he says matter of factly. It is not by my will that you achieved victory. The two of you owe your thanks to your daughter.
Even so, you gave aid to us. My bug is right. We owe you-
No. You don’t. Thank Nightshade…
And with that he enters back into the subconscious.
Jeeze. Tsundere much? You mutter.
Indeed. Whether he admits it or not, he did take a huge step…It seems your plan with Nightshade did have merit after all.
Yeah. Though he still has a ways to go…You then look upon the damaged town and wince. We all got a long ways to go.
But we will not do it alone Bugze. I can promise you that. Besides, you are quite the handyman, Selena says in comfort with a smile.
You chuckle softly as the group gets closer.
You see Nightshade's beaming smile, the wonder in her eyes and you feel better than you have in weeks.
I'm...I'm her hero again...
You never stopped being her hero Bugze. She and I will never give up on you. Never. Don't forget that.
...Thanks Selly…
You look at the changelings at your hooves. They and the three hundred, and every single one of the ones in the prison are freed. You have to figure out what to do with them.
The destroyed town will need to be rebuilt, and the townsfolk and guards need to be spoken to.
The Knights are injured and still technically prisoners…but you did promise them for their help.
Nightshade, Grandbuggy, Aqua, Mia, Jack, your family and allies, smile within the crowd. You still have quite a few things to sort out this night.
Over the hills and through the woods to the North, you momentarily witness a bright flash of white and purple light as something shifts in the world. But you ignore it for now. You have enough things to worry about right at this moment.
Letting out a sigh, you stand up straighter and face the crowd.
“Well, let’s get to it then.”
TO BE CONCLUDED IN THE EPILOGUE
Hey Hive Mind,
This is the Brown Dog.
You read it right, this is the end of the Season Finale. No comments needed this time, so look forward to the epilogue which will wrap up any lingering plot threads next Monday on the Two Year Anniversary of Season 3.
Until that time, I’d like to thank you from Both DWC and Myself for giving such awesome comments that ended this season on a bang.
The future of the Series will be discussed when the Epilogue is released, so stay tuned.
Throughout the week I will be PMing those that had a Knight OC some response questions and scenarios for the epilogue, so check your Inbox 
Last Week’s Answer: As you can see above, the new theme for Awakened Bugze is “Bipolar Nightmare” from the Nier: Automata Soundtrack. DWC and I loved both the tone and name, and it fits perfectly. Thanks to DWC for suggesting it.
See You In A Week
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey all, this is DWC here. I just wanted to give huge thanks to all of you for continuing to support LOAWC. I may have only wrote the middle part of it, everything else was thanks to my wonderful editor BrownDog.
But still, thank you all. This series has been going for a solid 4 years and you all have made it what it is today. I feel so proud that such a simple story has expanded to the size it is now.
And even through we've lost people due to disinterest, and even through we've had some rough patches with scheduling you all still decided to stick around and comment. I can't thank you all enough for that.
I may no longer be the writer, but I still say that this story is only possible by you guys giving BrownDog ideas. You guys created this story, it was just me and BrownDog who weaved it together.
Just...thank you all so much. You guys are just the greatest, and I look forward to the future of this series with BrownDog and you all.
Thanks again, you guys are all awesome.
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I love this story and the creators, just wish i could have commented more, and been over all more involved in this story, this story has changed my life and i will never forget that, i'm being real when i say this, this story has a better plot line than most of the tv shows and movies i watch, and only 2 other stories have ever made me cry on this site, from the bottom of my heart, thank you DWC for making this, you beautiful bastard
*clap....clap.... clap..... clap* Bravo dude. Can't wait to see what happens next
It's finally the end of Season 3! How ironic. Season 3 was the shortest season of the show, and yet the longest for this comment-driven story.
And damn! The continuity has been killer this chapter! The way the Hivemnd was saved was a big surprise. I knew the thing about choice was in reference to the, well, bioshock reference at the Asylum, but that's just cranking it beyond eleven! Epic!
Wooo! Feels good to be commenting normally like this. So much to say, but'll save it for the Epilogue. It's essentially tradition for me to write an essay-esque thing for every season at this point. Cheers, team!
Two year anniversary?! Wow it really has been awhile. I had always read stories on this site for awhile. Just little bit after season 4 I think. But when I found the first season of Life of a Wanted Changeling ... it.. it blew me away! I have to say this is the best story I have ever read. I wish this could be a physical novel!! Just like another story. *cough* Fallout Equestria *cough* DWC, Brown Dog, everyone who contributed to this story. Thank you. Thank you so much. Its because of this story I even got the courage to even start an account on this website. I debated with myself for MONTHS for that choice and I'm glad I did. I got to contribute to a fandom of show I love! Which inspired other people to come out their shells too! The artists, reviewers, musicians, comic creators, and least of all the fanfic writers. We all came together over a show just for little girls! Ironic ain't it. Maybe some day in the future I'll have the courage to write my own stories (and mlp fanfics duh). But for now I'm happy enough to just help an amazing story become even better! Thank you, all of you for creating such a great story, and such a wonderful story. Aw gosh you guys made me all sentimental.
Can't wait for the epilogue! Welp, until next time... ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!
Whew, that was something.
Still remember the time I first put this on my Read later bookshelf and started to read it years ago.
I couldn't stop reading the first season, the constant action kept me reading and surprisingly the short chapters aswell.
In the second season it was more story then action, but the action that took place was top notch! The Nightmare Arc is still my favourite because of the tension and dark themes.
And now Season 3.... the first season I decided to comment in and it was worth it. I had great fun and I hope everyone else who commented chapterly had fun aswell!
And now we head towards Season 4, which I'm sure everyone is excited for.
DWC and Brown Dog, thanks so much for sticking through. Even if there were times where less people commented you still continued the story, and I respect that.
I'm looking forward to the future of Bugze, Nightshade, Selena, and now Sombra!
I remember when I first saw this story when season 3 just started. I would not let myself be intimidated by the amount of chapters in the other season.
I marathoned/sprinted may way to where I am now. And I'm so glad that I did.
And after all that time, when I could FINALLY put a comment down to be used...
Well...
Let's just say manly tears fell that day
Brown Dog, DWC thank you guys so much for putting this together and everyone else for keeping this story going.
this is my favorite book series on this website, mostly because it has changelings and is decided on how the story goes by the comments, so i hope the next book will be released soon
This story is truly something else. Most comment-driven stories I've come across never make it past three chapters for whatever reason. Meanwhile, Life of a wanted Changeling is sitting on its throne with 3 MORTAR-FRACKING SEASONS, and nearly 1.3 MILLION words in total! (Holy cow...)
I am constantly impressed by all the work done by DWC, his amazing crew of editors, and everyone in the comments.
I can only imagine where Bugzy and Co. will go from here.
Quick question, Brown Dog what did you use to create the title card of this story? (its not like i want to make a title card for the next season, nope not at all
)
8323351
The ever faithful Photoshop
And next season there will be a contest for it, and hopefully people enter it unlike the anniversary one
8323379
Thanks! Hopefully IF I can get an on time notification....
8323587
Yay got photoshop now comes the process of figuring out how to work it heh heh *sigh*
8325619
I do not envy animators. 
UGH why is it so hard to give one changeling hair???!!!!
8325789
even worse is that you gotta match line thickness and stuff. Plus, MLP is vector graphics, so if you REALLY wanna keep that you'd need to work in Adobe Illustrator or Flash, then export that to your Photoshop document as a smart object.
So I've finally caught up. Started reading back in season one from the beginning but never contributed out of fear of my ideas not being good enough. took some time off from reading fanfiction to focus on school, and only really came back to fimfiction and other fanfiction sites in the middle of my last semester at college, so only a couple of months ago. Jesus Christ, binge reading this to catch up has probably been the most interesting part of this year bar the giant water balloon fight I managed to start on my campus' quad a couple days before graduation. DWC and BrownDog, you guys are freaking brilliant as usual. I know for a fact that I'll be contributing through the comments next season, if this doesn't somehow manage to be the last season due to strange events outside of our control.
8331013
I made a pinkie promise to do this why did I do that?! Maybe it'll be alright if I back out now after all Pinkie isn't real *crash, angry horse noises*...right? 
Oh Faust when will it end?!
Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise!!! Not even you Frost!
Oh Faust no!!! Running now!! AAAHHH!!!!!
You're memes won't stop me! Yahhh!!!
*cue chase followed by vicious beating*
Don't think you other fimfic commenters aren't on my radar! Me and my other dimensional mes are all watching you! Always watching!
8331121
Well I'm glad I haven't made any Pinkie Promises involving things that are really hard to do.
Sure you have silly! You Pinkie Promised to complete a computer science assignment in one night!
Oh no, Faust save us all...
But you didn't break that promise!
Wait, so I DID manage to finish that thing? Jeeze, I must had an entire pot of coffee to do that.
The Cakes made me Pinkie Promise not to drink anything with caffeine, something about the end of times or whatever.
But in all seriousness, if you need some help with the composition you can send the PSD file my way and I can give you suggestions or help directly. Just don't ask me to do hair. Like Discord doesn't do windows, I don't do hair.
8331251
*moans* Yeah well I'm nearly done it's just my computer does not take well to photoshop
My computer is now very slow but right now I need to make sure it's perfect. You know last minute touches. (I'm also hiding from Pinkie right now)
*axe cuts through door*
Here's Pinkie!
Ahhhh!!!! *Jumps through window*
8332296
Welp, he's dead.
Okay but really, if you aren't quite sure if it feels "right" send it to me for a final pass.
8332296
Well now I'm hyped to see the final product! I mean if your willing to work on it with a crazed Pinkie going after you, then I'm looking forward to it!
The season was good, but I do have a part-time hobby as a movie critic so...
If I have to be honest this season doesn't have the tight and smooth flow of the previous seasons. The grammer and flow seem more clunky which is especially apparent in the LONG chapters (I wish this chapter did what Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and even Twilight did and broke it up into 2 more digestible chapters). Plus the previous 2 seasons kept the tech level and references close to cannon while this season tended to skip all over the place. That and the final finishing move was SO lame. Seriously, just a bucking punch? No anime/movie-influenced supermove, what the hell?!
That or I'm just still being a sourpuss over not being editor anymore. What do I know... 🤷 Plus the bounty hunter arc was my idea so the lack of episode-structured flow is my fault anyway. I guess the overall point I'm trying to make is that trilogies rarely stick the landing (Dark Knight Rises, Return of the Jedi, etc.).
Here's hoping Equestria Girls and/or Season 4 will be better now that we have episode structures to fall back on for narrative stability. Although personally I think The Life of a Wanted Changeling saga should end at Season 4 since that's when the show peaked for me.
8332820
Oh Faust if this goes equestria girls I'm all in! Sirens were the best!
Also 8bitmadness thank you for the offer! But I think I will be fine.
*Vault door closing* I'm in my bunker. Come get me now Pie!
Okie dokie! We're coming for ya!
Ha! I like to see you tr... wait we?
*Massive amounts of marching*
Yeah my 100 thousand sisters of me! I took a dip in this cool pool you had and they started bouncing out!
FUN! FUN!
*Jaw drop* How wah when duh?!?!
Even the other world me from season 2 is here! She gave them party cannons and led us here! Ain't that right sis?
Yep this guy still owes me ten bits and I intend to get it!
*chainsaw noise*
Mother.
[ /i ] that should probably be removed
...with thousands of slaves... (remove the 'a')
the mad queen's
Chrysalis (one 'l')
since you didn't end the command, it made the next part orange.
add a space after 'wake.'
Crystal Heart
I think you meant to put a period here. "...deviously. Unlike..."
no more edits to be found. I loved this final chapter. on to the epilogue!!!
The fact that Bugze said "you felt your sins crawling on your back", I can't help but picture Bugze as Sans while Megalovania is playing in my head.