29 - Reflections II
Sunset Shimmer sailed through the space as fast as her willpower would go. But her foes, who had all been moving faster beforehand, slowly caught up. One tried to grab her hindleg and she kicked him away, sending him sailing into the crowd behind him. The crowd, however, parted around him and continued the chase.
And two more came to grab her this time, and while she succeeded to stave the first one off, the second managed to wrap her hand around Sunset’s hoof. Sunset yelped as the girl pulled her in, and she had no recourse but to flail and try placing hooves into her opponent’s face. Her opponent retaliated in kind with a few fists of her own.
More foes caught up and started pounding on her and Sunset lifted a hoof to her neck. Her world shrunk down to a point and back out and she landed on the metallic sphere again. The foes from before were gone, now far removed from where she had led them.
And new foes turned to meet her. Sunset dashed into them before they could wholly react, throwing many off balance. Those untouched came right for her and those disoriented regained their bearings and then came right for her.
Just keep them busy, just keep them busy… she thought.
She willed her body into a nearby debris field full of rocks and metallic rods and other larger bits. Sunset lit her horn to grab one of the metal rods with her magic but, again, no magic came out. She snorted and instead scooped it up as she flew by it.
No sooner than that did she whirl around to smack a human male, who had caught up to her, in the chest, sending him tumbling backward. More possessions closed in, and so she soared around a rock that had to be at least a few kilometers wide.
Just keep them busy…
* * *
A unicorn mare shot a magic beam at Starlight Glimmer which, given the other foes immediately around her, she had no choice but to take. It thankfully lacked any power, so it was discomforting at most. There were so many other sensations to sort through, including a pulling in what was probably one of her ribs, that she couldn’t bother herself with it.
Starlight groaned and glanced around, spotting many more foes pounding against the metal sphere. She tried to reach for her neck, but then a human male came and grabbed her from behind. She cried out and flailed about in his grasp.
And then another human slammed into the both of them, specifically the foe, while yelling out, “Get off her!”
The foe couldn’t keep his hold on Starlight and she reeled back. There, both she and her rescuer unleashed a series of punches and kicks that left the possession unconscious.
Starlight let out a long sigh and looked over at her rescuer. She noted his clean-cut hairdo and camouflage-patterned suit that covered him from head to toe.
Starlight nodded. “Thanks.”
He nodded. “You got whatever that was out of me, so I owe you one.”
Another foe, a pegasus mare, jumped on them at that moment and the two turned and drove fists and hooves into her face, knocking her over backward.
He frowned. “Weren’t all of you shooting with magic like you did with me?”
Starlight frowned. “We have no more magic. We’re all out. Sorry.”
The two heard a rapid series of loud bangs in the distance and whirled around. The bangs continued and a few more even joined in. Starlight simply raised an eyebrow; these sounds were new. Her friend, on the other hoof, frowned.
“It sounds like my friends are starting to fight without me,” he said as he grabbed an object that looked like a long and thin metal barrel attached to a handle out of a holster on his belt. “I should go back.”
Starlight nodded. “Go get them. I’ll be fine.”
The human smiled and nodded, willed his body away, and soon enough, he disappeared behind one of the towers.
She saw a white flash out of the corner of her eye and spotted Sunset reappearing on the supercomputer below her. Sunset dashed across its surface, sending several foes flying with the metal bar in her hooves.
Starlight tried to light her horn again, and little bits came out but not enough for a blast.
The pegasus mare from before came flying up at that moment and tackled her from behind. She couldn’t move her forelegs and her flailing did nothing. She had little recourse but to scream as the two barreled toward the metal surface.
And then they collided, and Starlight’s world turned back.
* * *
Chrysalis let herself fall into the sand. Several unconscious bodies around her, all of whom looked faded, lay strewn about nearby. Chrysalis herself looked wholesome and felt just the same.
And she was out of breath. There were no more foes to deal with; she had expelled Miasmus from them. She could feel her joints creaking and her muscles aching. She reached up to her neck and then paused, thought over it, and put her hoof back down. She needed a rest.
She rolled onto her back and watched the seagulls draw idle circles in the sky. Her ears picked up the mixture of caws and watery crashes. She lay too far up the shore for the waves to reach her and that was fine by her.
She looked at the unconscious bodies around her. None of them presently moved. And there were no foes appearing out of thin air for her to fight.
I could just remain here for a while if I wanted, Chrysalis thought. Ah, what a nice long rest this would make. No foes to worry about. I could regain my strength here.
She frowned. She could imagine Starlight and Sunset against multiple foes. She could imagine those foes overwhelming them.
If they aren’t already out of magic, they will be soon, she thought. And they won’t last long then. There are just too many.
Chrysalis cracked a joint in her neck and closed her eyes. Nope. They won’t last long at all.
She lay there in silence for several moments, content to listen to the to and fro of crashing waves. She listened to their rhythm as her body regained its bearings.
After a while, she could hear little voices in her head. Those voices sounded like the others. They echoed so much that she couldn’t readily tell what they were saying, but it sounded like they were calling her name.
Memories stirred of a moment in her former life of the changeling that had bested her. She thought of the ponies that had supported him.
A sudden thought struck her and her eyes popped open. I could… maybe give them some of my magic. I have some to spare. That would get them going again. I am sure they would appreciate that.
Chrysalis let that thought simmer and then she snickered. She chortled and laughed with all her breath. She wiped some tears from her eyes and thought aloud, “I can’t believe I’m even considering it! That’s rich!”
But the little voices in her head didn’t go away. They persisted.
Her laughter died away and so too did her smile. “Go back? Help them? That’s… ridiculous.”
The thought, nonetheless, persisted still.
And Chrysalis frowned and squirmed uncomfortably in the sand.
* * *
Starlight’s vision slowly came to and she realized a lack of ponies or humans or anything else pummeling her. Her whole body still hurt but at least it wasn’t, for the moment, getting more hurt.
And then she looked up to see Sunset standing over her with a metal bar in her hooves. Sunset swung it through thin air a couple of times and then growled.
Their foes leered at them from a distance. They made no moves to attack just yet.
Starlight could see various bruises on Sunset’s body, bruises she was sure were present on her own body. From the way Sunset panted and from the slight wobble in her stance, Sunset wouldn’t last long either.
And then it would be game over.
She thought about double tapping her neck to go to the Crystal Heart—to safety. But then she glanced at the various dents in the supercomputer’s surface. She wasn’t even sure if it had taken too much damage already.
If I don’t defend it… they will give it too much damage. But if I do… I will take too much damage. Starlight cringed. And I’m running out of options!
Oh stars… what do I do!?
And then, in an airy pop, Chrysalis appeared directly above them. Chrysalis surveyed her foes and then let off a volley of shots that blasted them away, garnering particles in the process.
Sunset teetered and collapsed.
“Chrysalis!” Starlight cried. “You’re okay!”
Chrysalis, after taking a moment to confirm that there were no immediate foes, turned toward them. She stared at them, even.
Sunset gasped. “We’re all out. You’re all that’s left….”
After a moment, Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and turned to fully face them. “Then hold still. I’ll make this quick.”
Starlight frowned. “What are you—?”
Chrysalis curled up. A heart-shaped glow appeared in her chest and grew brighter and brighter with every passing instant. And then Chrysalis exploded, sending waves of energy barreling into Starlight and Sunset.
Sunset, for her part, flinched. Starlight, however, had seen this before. But was it really happening?
The energy hit them but it didn’t hurt at all. In fact, Starlight could feel the energy streaming into and coursing through every part of her body like a river. The pain in her sides petered out (although she could still feel some traces). She found the strength to climb to her hooves.
Sunset similarly stood up. She examined herself and nodded in approval.
They both looked up as a white light enveloped Chrysalis. It grew to such intensity that they had to shield their eyes. When the light died down, Starlight and Sunset looked again and gasped.
Chrysalis was still there, but she looked different in several ways. She had the same black body from before but it had a noticeable sheen to it. Her mane and tail, once with uneven strands and several holes, was now smooth, sleek, and whole. Her wings now resembled those of a butterfly in shape but retained the clear greenish color from before. Her horn was now nice and pointed and finely curved.
And Starlight couldn’t help but punch the air. “Yes!”
Sunset also grinned from ear to ear.
Chrysalis looked her now-wholesome body up and down and then held one of her hooves in front of her face—said hoof was also whole with no traces that there had even been any holes in it. And she snorted. “It would seem that buffoon Thorax was onto something.”
Starlight spotted an earth stallion flying in for a tackle and then gasped and pointed, “Look out!”
Sunset, however, simply lit her horn and shot a blast at the stallion. He went tumbling away as many particles sprayed everywhere.
Sunset made a cooing sound and reached up to touch her horn.
Chrysalis smirked and then traced the stallion’s path back to where she found some more foes. At that, she whirled around. “Get up!” she commanded. “We still have work to do!”
Sunset nodded and willed her body to move upward to meet Chrysalis with Starlight close behind. “We’re right here with you!”
The three of them exchanged nods and turned to face the oncoming possessions.
Come on Crystal, Twilight, Starlight thought. We got a second wind, but it’s not going to last forever! Please hurry!
* * *
Twilight Sparkle started fidgeting and could not keep her thoughts inside any longer. She raced up to Crystal Faire and put a hoof on her withers. “Crystal, we have to get Miasmus.”
Crystal swallowed and turned to face her.
“I’m sure the others are still fighting his possessions right now,” Twilight continued. “They’re counting on us. We need to get him and take him back.”
After a moment, Crystal’s expression tightened up and she turned to face Cadance. “Where is Miasmus, Mother?”
Cadance shook her head. “Crystal, you need to stay here. You can’t go back to the miserable life you’ve been living.”
Twilight stamped her hooves. “Cadance! The multiverse! We need Miasmus to save it!”
Cadance stared Twilight down and said, through her teeth, “I know that.”
A long moment of silence passed. Crystal hung her head and sighed and paced in place for a few moments.
And then she nodded to herself and her expression turned into a determined frown. She approached Cadance and took a seat in front of her. Crystal took one of Cadance’s hooves in her own and looked her in the eyes. “Mother…” she began.
Cadance tilted her head and frowned.
Crystal sighed. “If… If I promise to do what I must to live a happy, fulfilling life… will you return Miasmus to us?”
Twilight’s heart sank and she sprang forward. “What?”
Cadance’s muzzle twitched and then she too took a seat and took Crystal’s hooves in kind. “Promise me. I want you to promise me. Right now!”
Crystal sucked in a breath and nodded. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she said, performing all the motions as she went.
No… No! Twilight wobbled in place. She wanted to get in between them and push them apart. She wanted to do something. For the moment, she held her breath and looked at them, trying to gauge their faces.
Cadance stared at Crystal for a few moments more, flashed a quick glance at Twilight, and then nodded. “Miasmus is in your room, Crystal.”
Crystal nodded and looked over at Twilight. “The nursery, Twilight. Go get him.”
“Crystal!” Twilight exclaimed, stamping her hoof. “You can’t do this!”
Crystal whirled to face Twilight. “Go get Miasmus right now, Twilight!” she barked.
Twilight backpedaled. Her eyes darted between Crystal and Cadance, but when she garnered nothing more from them, she turned and ran. She ran out the door and into the hall.
She could see her own grimace in the crystalline pillars that lined the halls. She could feel sweat running down her face and she could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. She rounded a few corners and then arrived at a pair of double doors, each of which had a heart symbol on their fronts.
She hesitated. Darnit, Crystal!
She threw the doors open. The room hosted a gold-knobbed bed and a lacquered dresser and desk set. The walls were a plain cerise color, broken only by the occasional crystal pillar. It was the room she expected it to be.
And her blood ran cold when she saw the entity sitting on top of the bed. Miasmus’ blob-like form practically sunk into the mattress. He didn’t so much as stir at her entrance. Yet Twilight couldn’t compel herself to approach.
* * *
The faded Crystal Heart still sat in the center of the Cutie Map. The room still lay relatively quiet. The Heart was nearly gone now. Whether it was a matter of hours, minutes, or even seconds was a guess at most.
The energies inside still swirled about like before and still pulsated at frequent intervals. It held on.
* * *
Starlight fired off a few more shots, staving off would-be attackers. Their attackers went sailing across the expanse, spraying particles as they went. Sunset and Chrysalis floated right beside her, launching attacks of their own.
The foes kept coming without end. The supercomputer floated in place behind them with its rear floating right next to one of the towers.
She spotted a couple more foes trying to flank from her left, and she willed her body to move in their direction, making sure to keep as close to the sphere as she could. She lined up her shots and then let off a volley which hit all her targets but one.
The last, an earth pony stallion, closed in on her too quickly and slammed into the side of the supercomputer. He bounced off it, with the force of the impact knocking him unconscious. As he floated away, Starlight took the opportunity to shoot him as well, garnering particles for her effort.
She checked the spot where he had hit and shuddered. She could see a depression in its surface. The stallion had left another dent in it.
She could hear Sunset and Chrysalis taking more shots from past the sphere’s horizon and she looked up to see blasts hitting targets above. And there were yet more on the way.
Starlight swore under her breath and arced back to them in order to help stave off the incoming onslaught.
* * *
Crystal continued cradling her mother’s hooves. She continued staring into her mother’s eyes. And Cadance did the same in kind.
The two of them turned when Twilight stumbled into the room, levitating Miasmus’ limp form behind her. She slung the blob onto the floor and he jiggled as he landed. Twilight then fell to her haunches. “I have him. I have him right here…”
Cadance narrowed her eyes. “Then, Twilight, you should take him and go. Go save reality.”
Crystal said nothing. She only watched in silence.
Twilight turned her attention to Crystal and frowned. “I’m not leaving you here.”
Crystal sighed and turned away from the both of them.
Cadance shook her head. “It looks like you’ll just have to. You have to return Miasmus to your spell somehow, don’t you?”
“Y-yes, but…” Twilight sighed exasperatedly. “I-I don’t… I can’t! I don’t even know the way back. I’d get lost!”
“Or worse, ambushed,” Crystal added.
“I can have an escort arranged for you, Twilight. They’ll know the way,” Cadance said with a firm tone. “I promise that they’ll keep you safe.”
Crystal turned and held up a hoof to them. “That won’t be necessary. I can just tap into the teleportation network that I set up between us, the Heart, and the spell. I can send Miasmus straight to our supercomputer where the others can pick him up, put him inside, and activate it. It’ll be quick, and it’ll be safe.”
Cadance’s eyes went wide and she nodded. “Oh! That’s convenient. You’re as smart as a whip.”
Crystal turned to Twilight. “So don’t worry about getting back. You have the spell for that.”
Twilight stomped her feet. Her eyes were full of tears. “Crystal, listen! If you stay here… What about the timelines out there that still need help? What about… our friends?” She pointed to herself and added, “What about me?”
“Twilight…”
Twilight zoomed up to Crystal, coming nearly muzzle-to-muzzle at that. She pointed at Crystal and croaked, “You can’t stay here.”
“I know.”
“I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you after everything we’ve been through, and—” Twilight blinked as her next words died in her throat. “Wait… what?”
“I know, Twilight.”
Cadance looked red in the face as her frown grew deeper. “Crystal… you just said…”
Crystal stood to her full height, even unfurling her large wings. “My words were very exact… I will have a happy and fulfilling life, but that life is not one that I will ever find staying here.”
Now it was Cadance’s turn to fall to her haunches. Every fiber of her body trembled, and with the way she gasped, it looked like she was trying to find some semblance of breath again. “I… don’t understand…”
Crystal sighed and leaned forward. “Mother… I’ve wrestled with this so much, and no matter how I look at it… leaving anything out here is… it’s a liability. I don’t know how many timelines have collapsed because they’ve been shredded by debris… by what is out here… and I can’t.”
Cadance frowned.
“And I have to clean my messes,” Crystal continued. “I know I could oversee it myself if I was out here, but if I am here… then I could no longer do service to the countless realities out there that still need help.” She bent down in front of Cadance and continued, at a lower tone, “It’s my duty, Mother. I was born a princess; I was born to serve.”
Twilight frowned and then bent over Miasmus, checking for any signs of movement. She kept the two in the corner of her eye.
“Crystal…” Cadance wheezed. “You’ve never been happy with this life. Never truly.”
Crystal shook her head. “No. I learned to stop feeling, and I kept my distance from everypony. I know I’ve mastered the power since then, but in doing so, I forgot how to live.”
She hung her head and thought for several long moments. There were so many words she wanted to say. There were so many versions of the same things.
Cadance shifted in place and leaned toward Crystal. “Then let me help you. Please… This is what you’ve wanted.”
Crystal folded her hooves together. “Don’t get me wrong; it has been good to be here again. I’ve found… reconciliation. But, after everything that’s happened to me in these past few weeks… to me, to Twilight, to the others… After what we’ve experienced together…” She took a moment to glance out the window where she could see the endless expanse of towers beyond the city. She imagined the others out there.
She met Twilight’s eyes, and Twilight nodded affirmatively.
And Crystal sucked in a breath and looked Cadance in the eyes. “I’m changed. I’m changed, Mother. And I’ve realized that I can’t keep living in the past as I have. I can’t keep living hoping to go back to where I once was. I have to look forward. I have to make a new future, and that future… isn’t here.”
Cadance’s eyes went wide.
“I think I just have to accept a simple truth…” Crystal said in a near whisper. “That being here… with you… it’s not what I want anymore.”
Cadance shot to her hooves, and after a moment of staring at Crystal with dropped-jaw shock, she wrapped her magic around Miasmus and tried to yank him away.
And Twilight managed to catch him in her own magic and she pulled back. Miasmus hung in the middle as they each tried to wrest him from the other’s magical grasp.
“Ack! Let go, Twilight!” Cadance cried.
“No!” Twilight shouted back.
Crystal gasped and then sprang forward, simultaneously lighting her horn. She dove at Miasmus and sent the energy in her horn into his body and, in a flash of light, Miasmus disappeared. She then tumbled to the floor and eventually stuck the landing.
Twilight and Cadance both gasped and reeled in surprise.
“Crystal!” Twilight exclaimed.
Cadance regained her balance and examined the air where Miasmus had once been. Her features darkened and she gave Crystal a hardened glare. “What… what did you just do?”
“I just sent Miasmus to the supercomputer just like I said I would,” Crystal said.
Cadance opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and then opened it again. Her face grew increasingly red and her whole body shuddered more and more. “How… how dare…”
Crystal climbed back to her hooves and intently watched Cadance’s every move.
“How dare you! Crystal! How… how could you!?”
Crystal shook her head. “I’ve made my decision.”
Cadance stamped her hoof and lit her horn. “I will not stand for this. I will not! Guards!”
A collection of hoofsteps scrambled closer and then a half-dozen crystal guards dashed in. They took up rank right behind Cadance and joined her in staring them down.
Twilight lit her horn in response and pointed it at Cadance. “It’s done! It’s over! She’s made her choice!”
“No! I can still stop you!” Cadance screamed. “I have my ways of getting around. I could have him back here in seconds.”
“I would be very unhappy if you tried to stop us now,” Crystal countered.
Cadance flinched. She then ground her teeth together and tried to form words with her mouth but only managed to incoherently groan.
Crystal stood at her full height, spreading her large wings again. Energy coursed through her horn and, for a moment, she glowed. “It is done. It is over. I have chosen to save the multiverse and I have chosen to remain in it with them. You will respect it.”
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Cadance....it's been millenia. Let it go.
Oh yeah, this did not disappoint.
Merciful emperor....
You made Chrysalis transform. :V
Your own preference, I know, but it's still something that bothers me greatly.
8660940
I do like my consistency with the source material, after all (warts and all)~ That said, I've done my best to strike a good middle ground for people such as yourself who weren't so keen on the in-show transformation!
Well, that's a flustercuck of emotions.
Well, you actually kept Chryssie from looking ridiculous, so I'm mostly fine with this. I liked drawings of her with butterfly wings before the whole thing, I am a fan of the headcanon that changelings are transformed flutter ponies and this made sense for that. At least she's not a skittle moose. :B
Jeez, Cadance, let it go.
Fun fact, I have somehow never heard that song, not even once.
I remember a fan art..
orig00.deviantart.net/e151/f/2017/006/d/8/hay_no_by_underpable-daug59e.png
More character development for Chrysalis? How lovely.
8666977
Honestly, the way Chrysalis is changing, she's looking more like her mirror self from the Reflections IDW comic arc (minus the glasses)
I'm beginning to wonder who's the true villain here, Miasmus or Cadance?
And there it is!
derpicdn.net/img/2019/6/10/2062316/large.png (The closest thing I can find.)