Of Men and Insects

by VeganSpyro97

Chapter 34: The Deep Breath Before The Plunge

She was standing in the doorway of the school building, staring in horror at the twisted abominations inside, the ones she knew had once been the sweet innocent little foals she had been helping to teach. Their bodies were twisted and warped by chaos magic, and she could feel that insidious sense of wrongness reaching out to her, trying to claim her too. She wretched, and backed away, until she was standing with her back to the building across the street, her eyes still fixed on the doorway, tears spilling from her eyes and her lip quivering as she continued to watch the door.

“Miiiiiiiiisssssssss CChhhrrrrrryyyyysssssaaaantttttthinnnnnuuuummmmmm…………..” She knew that voice! Poor little Water Wisp, who couldn’t fly no matter how hard she tried. Now her wings were stretched all the way to touch the walls, like giant spider legs, and her cute face was now home to a million fangs, and more eyes than she could count.

Shrieking, Chrysanthemum fled. She stumbled and staggered through the wild streets, trying not to look at the madness that spiralled around her, sometimes literally. She tried to ignore the Alicorn calmly peeling off his skin, and the one made entirely of balloons. She tried to ignore when the ground turned to paper beneath her hooves, and tried to ignore the Alicorn’s who had been transformed into wicked abominations that looked like a child had smashed a scorpion and a pony together, just to see what it would look like. She tried to ignore when her own head was pulled off by a group of Alicorn’s playing a game of dodgeball with their own skulls. She managed to find her head, and stick it back where it belonged, before she charged away, a tiny piece of Chaos magic slinking into her very soul.

She shrieked, feeling it start to play with her emotions, and wailed in agony as a thousand different images flashed through her brain.

“CHRYSANTHEMUM!!!” A moment of sanity. Her Bronze. She whipped her head up, and stared into those eyes, so full of devotion and determination. The chaos in her head seemed to fade, and she stopped screaming.

“B-bronze?” Her voice was ragged, her throat torn. “I-.....they…..the foals…..they…..they…” Fresh tears streamed down her face, her hooves clapping over her eyes.

“Not all of them.”

She stopped crying. She slowly looked up, into those wonderful blue eyes again, before she looked past him, at the two young fledgelings behind him...The King and Queen’s young son and daughter. Her world seemed to converge on them. Her head snapped back to Bronze. “We have to get them out of here!!”

“I know. But I had to come get you first.”

Chrysanthemum smiled, gratefully. “Thank you. Now come on. We have to go!”

“Right behind you. Come one young ones! This way!”

They galloped like wild things, dodging horrors and insanities that left their minds dizzy and their blood chilled, but they kept running, determined that this would not be the end for them. They were so close. She could see the city gates, growing closer, bigger, with every pounding step. More than once, she stopped to encourage the children on, to usher them to freedom, and give them hope. They were just meters away. Her muscles ached from running so far and so fast. She was no athlete, nor even a warrior, so she had no defense against the weariness in her muscles as they carried her to the open gates. They were just two meters away. She could feel the hope in her heart rise to a crescendo…..

And then hope died.

The Draconequus appeared from nowhere, his sick grin and manic eyes stopping them all in place, abject horror appearing on each and every muzzle.

“Oh, look! The last four left! The last four Alicorn’s in the entire city! All for little old me! It must be my unbirthday!” The mad creature cackled, a twisted, resonant thing that tried to seep through their magical defenses. “All mine! All for Havoc!! Now, just what should I do with the four of you, hmm?”

Chrysanthemum wrenched her gaze away from the mismatched beast to look at the foals. They had to live. They had to survive. She felt her horn burn with power, more than she had ever used before.

“What’s this, going to spare them my wrath? Blow them to cinders just to keep them from discovering the joys of chaos? Be my guest! I love a good show!!” Havoc crowed, his bright, neon eyes spinning madly in their sockets.

Her horn cracked. The magic exploded out of her, and left her drained and tired. But it had worked. They were gone. A simple flash of light carried them far, far away, way beyond the purview of this loathsome beast. They were alive. Unharmed. Her job was done.

“Do your worst.” She stated, calmly.

Havoc realized what she had done. “Teleportation?! But only the most powerful Alicorns can- ARGH!!! WHY MUST YOU STEAL MY FUN?!?!” He snapped his fingers, and both remaining Alicorn’s were lifted up into the air. “You’ll pay for this, mare! You’ll pay dearly!! And I know just where to start!” He span about, and prodded Bronze on the nose.

At first, it seemed like nothing had happened, but then, Bronze’s eyes widened, and he turned his head to her, and spoke three words. Just three.

“I love you.”

And then he started to laugh. It was a forced, ugly thing, the sound actually hurting her ears, but that was the point of it. She stared at him in horror, as horrid creases and lesions started to appear in his skin. He rose up higher into the air, his laugh growing louder, drowning out everything as she was forced to watch.

Tears flowed from his eyes, before the laugh devolved into a garbled mess, and….a shower of blood rained down, bits and pieces of the stallion she loved flying everywhere, many of them splattering all over her body in a mess of gore and guts that left her wanting to wretch, scream and cry all at once. But it wasn’t over. Far from it. The mess pulled itself back together, Bronze’s pulverized corpse stumbling and shambling, each step creating horrid squishing noises and leaving bloody hoofprints behind.

“Kiss me.” The ragged remains croaked, before they lunged for her, blood and pulp smearing all over her pale, wide eyed face as she tried not to let it get inside her mouth. Her breath was coming in short, ragged gasps, and she felt like she was burning inside, her mind and emotions flaring wildly as Bronze’s mashed up face tried to force itself on her.

Something snapped. She didn’t know what, but it was as if she had taken everything happy and good, and simply rolled it into a ball, and then thrown it into the deepest recesses of her mind, and left it there.

Her horn glowed. Bronze exploded again, and this time, he stayed in pieces, his eyeball hanging from a strand of her mane. Tears seeped down her cheeks, running in rivers until they fell like waterfalls to the red ground below.

“Kill me. I don’t care.” She mumbled, unable to speak properly.

“Kill you?!” Havoc shrieked. “Why would I kill you?! You’re going to be too much fun if I don’t! No. I think I’ll leave you for someone to find!”

He snapped his talons again, and her vision went dark. But she was not unconscious. Far from it. She was trapped. Awake. Alone.

“Oh, and one last thing!” Havoc called from somewhere. “Those foals you love so much? I’m putting a few of them in there with you! You’d better make some great chaos for me!!”

Chrysanthemum was silent then, for a long time. At first, out of shock. Then, out of remorse. Then she began to scream, a pitiful, wailing shriek that reverberated through her dark prison and in the confines of her own head. He was gone. Her best friend. The only stallion she had ever looked at like that. Gone.

Her wailings stopped, and silence reigned for a very long time. She forgot things. At first, they were little, inconsequential things. Names and details, the colours of manes and coats, and eyes, but always, their faces hung in her mind, taunting her with her own memories. And it hurt. It burned, and there was no relief. She spent a long time screaming in anguish then. So long that she forgot those faces. Forgot the names, the details, then even that they had existed. She didn’t care anymore. It was too hard to hold on. But always, despite forgetting so many, her family, and her closest friends stayed with her, calling out to her, trying to help, but always hurting instead.

Over time, something else began to creep into her mind. Anger. Rage. Hatred. A burning, passionate, hatred. Why, for the Draconequi, of course! They had done this! But...why had they done this? Because the Alicorns had provoked them. Why, because a pony had told them to…..They were all to blame. For everything. Hatred.

Pain. Anguish. Sorrow.

Time passed by so slowly, and the memories of even her family and friends began to fade.

For longer than she could remember after that, the darkness was everything, and she forgot everything that came before. The darkness was all she knew. The dark, the cold. The hatred. Always the hatred.

Then…..noise. Thumping. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. CRACK!!!

Was….could she.…..yes. She could move. So she moved. She felt them moving around her too. Her...children. Yes, her children. The one thing she could love. The one thing she needed. She would protect them. She would lead them, guide them…...rule them.

She would need a name. She seemed to recall a….Chrys….alis. Chrysalis. Yes. Chrysalis. She was Chrysalis. She smashed through the fragile shell that had imprisoned her, releasing her blazing fury out onto the world, a tiny spark of…..something, egging her on.
Find them, it said. Find them and feed.

Yes…..she would feed. She would feed…….She would have her revenge. She felt the bark splinter under her hooves. She took her first breath of free air. Yes. She and her children would take what they wanted, and return all the agony they had suffered.

For the first time, Queen Chrysalis threw back her head, and laughed.

*****************************************

Allan slowly opened his eyes, trembling. The dream had been so real. Seeing those poor foals had made him want to vomit, and feeling his head being plucked from his shoulders had made him want to scream aloud. That Chrysalis….no, Chrysanthemum, had done so for him had only barely been a relief, especially when things had continued to get worse. He could still feel pieces of Bronze in his mane.

It didn’t matter that he didn’t actually have a mane, he could still feel it.

He span about, leaning out over the edge of the bed he was lying in, and emptied his stomach, a thick sludge of deep, putrid green thumping into the bowl that was now hovering just above the floor underneath him.

He waited until he was sure he was done before he attempted to look up, and was immensely happy to see a particular mare there.

“Princess Luna.”

Luna smiled, horn still glowing as she gently levitated the bowl away from them.

“Allan. I am glad that you have awakened. Art thou well?”

“I’ve been better. But I could definitely feel worse.” He swept his body with a glance, before returning his eyes to meet hers. “Is Kate-”

“Relax, my student. Your sister is alive, and stable.” The Lunar diarch explained, smiling. “She is currently undergoing a treatment to cleanse her body of magic, using a tincture made by Ponyville’s Zebra friend, Zecora. It uses what we call null stone, powdered with some other herbs, to help quell the magic inside, and force it out of her. She should be awake sometime this afternoon.”

Allan sank back, relieved. “I’m so happy. Oh, I could just die.”

“You nearly did.” Luna griped. “If it weren’t for the timely arrival of our medics, you most certainly would have perished. You had a punctured lung and couldn’t breathe properly.”

Allan blinked in surprise. “I had a punctured….lung?”

“Yes. Your chitin was sticking out of it like a…...sore thumb? I am uncertain if that is the correct phrase….”

“I’ll, uh, pass on that. What about the others? Twilight? Applejack? Rarity? Fluttershy?”

“All fine. Now wilt thou lie back down? Thou art supposed to be resting.”

“Language.”

“Bite me.” Luna returned, snidely.

“.......I shouldn’t have taught you that one.”

“No, you shouldn’t. Now rest. And no Dreamwalking.”

******************************

When Allan was finally healed enough to move around, one day later, the first thing he did was find Kate. Of course he did. She was his sister, after all. And she’d been on death’s door. Thankfully, she was now only on the pavement outside death’s house, and not standing with one foot through the doorway.

Twilight was with her, monitoring the process that was nursing Kate back to health.

“How is she?”

Twilight started at the sound of his voice, and immediately jumped up, yelping in surprise.

“Allan! I didn’t think you were supposed to be up this soon! You look awful!” He didn’t mind admitting that that was true, after all, he only had a very flimsy layer of bandages and newly forming chitin separating his intestines from the open air, and heaven forbid he bump into something too hard. “You should still be in bed!”

“No offense, Twi, but you don’t look much better.”

Again, it was true. She was covered in scorched fur, and it looked like she’d got hit in the head at some point, because there was a nasty red line across her brow that matched up perfectly with where the rim of her helmet would have been sitting.

“We need everyone we can get right now.” She stated, poring over the medical sheet that pertained to his sister. “Being an Alicorn means I can take more punishment than most and keep on going. I guess the same is true with Changelings.”

“Otherwise I’d still be in bed.”

Twilight nodded.

“Tell me, honestly…..how bad are we looking at the moment?”

Twilight tried not to look at him, but she caved within just two minutes of long staring.

“It’s…...pretty bad. We’ve got all our forces through, but we’re never going to be a match for all the humans she has under her control. There’s just too many. And while a great deal of our forces would be able to fly over them, the Earth Ponies and Unicorns would have no choice but to go through them, most likely without the support of the Gryphons, Pegasi and….Thorax’s Changelings.”

“Are we actually fighting right now?”

“No. Everyone’s just waiting. Waiting for her to come to us.”

Allan fell silent, thinking about what he knew of her. “She won’t make the first move. She’ll have an endgame strategy that she’ll use. Something big. She’ll use the threat of that to force us to come to her.”

Twilight nodded. “Luna thinks so too.”

Again, Allan was quiet.

“You should go and report in to Luna.”

“Report in?”

Twilight’s flat stare made him wince.

“It’s war, Allan. And she’s your commanding officer. You are her Knight, remember?”

“Oh….yeah, right. I’ll….go do that.”

*******************************

It took Allan some time to find the command tent that had been set up. The entire Equestrian camp was clustered defensibly around the portal, a shimmering, pink shield covering the entire area. He had to ask a guardspony where the tent was, only to be told he should “follow the shield to its source.”.

So he did, and what he found there was Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Prince Shining Armor, King Thorax, and Prince Pharynx, a Gryphon female with white feathers on her head, a tawny body, and purple highlights in her crest. There were also several other ponies, the only one of which he recognized was Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts, but only because Rainbow had insisted on showing and telling him all about the Wonderbolts whenever they’d had the time. They were all standing in discussion around a large table, which held a map of the area, hastily drawn by scouts, and Twilight.

He started when he realized that his father was stood next to Celestia, pointing out certain places and explaining in more detail what that location was like. He could see Mike and Josh standing behind his Dad, but he had yet to see anyone else from the human resistance in camp. Thinking about it, it was quite likely that the majority of them were in the medical tent, like he had been.

The three of them looked a little worse for wear, and were obviously quite exhausted.

It was Celestia, who took notice of Alan's arrival first.

“Allan.” She stepped away from the table, filigree covered armour clanking with every step she took. “It is good to see you doing….better.” Her eyes swept his frame as she said it, drinking in all the bandages and bloodstains with her magenta eyes. “You are better, I trust?”

“Somewhat. I should be okay soon.”

She frowned slightly. “I know you want to be helpful, but you already have been. Go rest, Allan. You’ve earned it.”

“If my Knight feels he is ready to contribute, then it is my decision whether or not he be allowed to stay, sister.” Luna stated, firmly.

Allan distinctly heard Mike whispering something about “did you know he was a knight?” to Josh.

“Do you feel ready?” Luna asked, her voice sounding grave.

“I do. I may not be able to fight just yet, but you could use my knowledge, right?”

“Every little does help.” His teacher agreed. She turned to look pointedly at Celestia. “He stays.”

The white Alicorn clearly disapproved, but she simply nodded and motioned for Allan to step up to the table. He very deliberately chose to stand next to his father and friends.

“From what Twilight was able to tell me, we’re not looking so good. Care to elaborate?”

Luna nodded, picking up a short, metal rod with her magic, to use as a pointing stick. “The biggest and most glaring problem is this.” Her stick encircled a large, dark mass hastily scrawled into Vancouver Harbour. “Chrysalis has constructed a fortress in the middle of the bay, accessible from land by a single entry and exit point, a narrow bridge that would leave our ground bound troops vulnerable and easy to attack. Thanks Agent Grey’s efforts, and our new friends in your Human Government’s Joint Command, we now have intelligence that indicates the structure is hollow, and appears to have a definite shape.”

Celestia lit up her horn, and a flickering, 3d model of the tower, bridge, and closest shore appeared over the map. “Their data uses “experimental imaging software” to map out the interior. It appears very similar in structure, to a Unicorn’s horn. And the structure itself seems to indicate some kind of purpose, like a channeling device. Whatever Chrysalis is doing, that tower is in the dead center of it.”

“So she built a super weapon?” Allan asked.

“We don’t know. It could simply be an amplifier for her own Hive network, or it could be a dangerous spell that is intended to wipe us all out in one swoop. We just don’t know.” Cadence explained.

“Not that this matters. My fliers can’t get close enough to the tower to confirm any of this. Chrysalis has turned out all her Hive for this one. They’re just everywhere.” Spitfire added. “We might be able to guess what she’s planning, but she has the numbers to keep us from interfering.”

Allan looked critically at the map, looking for details that may be important. Chrysalis had had months to plan this all to the littlest detail, but maybe she’d missed something? Some small detail, like all the times before. Anything that they could use was an asset, and as he looked across the map, he started noticing something. A pattern.

“These smaller towers….do we know much about them?”

“Only that they appear to be arranged in a loose semi-circular fashion, like perimeter towers.”

“Except, according to this, they’re now all abandoned?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“We…..we don’t know.” Celestia admitted. “We were hoping that with your insights, we may be able to understand their significance.”

Allan frowned, before looking at the map. “Celestia, could you conjure models of all the towers?”

“Yes, easily.”

“Do it, please.”

The leaders watched as the other towers shimmered into existence, in a curved line that arced . Allan nodded in satisfaction.

“Now, could you please add in all the towers that would be in a complete circle?”

Celestia arched an eyebrow, but complied with his request. She watched as he grabbed a pencil and quickly sketched in where all the towers would be on the map below.

“Okay, you can stop now.”

The images vanished, and Celestia looked at him, curiously.

“What are you doing?”

“Working on a theory.” Was all he said, as he grabbed a pencil lying on the table and started to connect the towers in a big circle. He then started to sketch out a sprawling mess of tangled lines inside that circle. “If we assume that she linked all of her spires together, using tunnels, then this is what it would look like.” Everyone watched in silence, until the drawing was complete. Allan nodded in satisfaction. “I think I’m onto her. If I may present: her grand plan.”

He indicated the map, now covered in a massive, sprawling swirl of lines.

Celestia stared at it for a moment, before it clicked. “Those tunnels are deliberate! They make a spell matrix!” She breathed.

“A spell matrix that massive!?” Luna exclaimed, eyes wide. “It’s impossible! It cannot be done!”

Richard stepped up. “I’m sorry, but will one of you explain what a spell matrix is?”

Allan turned to his father, and began to recite what he had learned. “Basic magic, cast without any complex formulas, is called Sourcery. Spellcasting, however, is more complicated, and requires the caster to have memorised or precisely calculated the complex patterns and techniques necessary to perform each individual task in a spell. They’re mostly referred to as spell circles, as the shape is most conducive for Unicorn spell casting. Those formulas, when drawn out, become patterns like these. We call them a Spell Matrix. It’s why most Unicorns don’t learn complex magic. It’s simply too difficult for them to remember all those patterns.”

“And that means?” Mike asked.

“This giant spell matrix is full of so many complex formulas, and requires so much power to cast, that Chrysalis herself can’t cast it without assistance. The spires on the outside of the circle are strategic structures, placed on top of the circle to hide what’s going on underneath.” Luna explained, a thoughtful frown creasing her brow. “If she has gathered enough emotional energy from the humans she has enslaved, then she may well be able to cast the spell. However, she herself wouldn’t be able to carry all of that energy. She would require a storage system of some kind.”

“The tower itself could do it.” Everyone turned to see Twilight, as she trotted into the command tent. “It’s made of Changeling resin. Changeling resin can hold and store love energy with minimal net loss. A tower that size, and the ones on the outside ring, could store the energy until it’s needed. Then it’s just matter of casting the spell.”

“So why hasn’t she cast it yet?” Richard asked.

“Simple. She said it was too soon.” Allan said, staring at the map. “She hasn’t quite gathered enough to cast the spell.”

“So we still have a chance to beat her!” Richard’s eyes lit up, as did the eyes of many of the others. “If we can destroy the towers-”

“The energy would go critical and explode.” Twilight interjected. “Destroying any of the towers would cause all that energy to become unstable and be released at once. It would destroy the city.”

“Then how do we win? Destroying the towers would be the quickest way to stop her, wouldn’t it?” Josh moved up to the table, and lay his palms against the paper covered surface.

“And kill everything within a dozen kilometers.” Twilight sighed.

“It’s too big a cost. At least, not when we still have a chance.” Celestia said, gently. “If we are forced to, then it would be a last resort only.”

“Then what do we do?”

Allan looked at the Alicorns, and grinned. “We make sure we get our big guns in the same room as Chrysalis, and let them kick her fat ass into the next millennia.”

“The rest of the army will have to deal with the humans and changelings. She will order them to keep fighting until the last, in order to keep anyone from assisting us.” Luna stated. “She has grown very strong indeed. If we are to best her, then all five of us must be there.”

“Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight, and Thorax…..” Pharynx snickered at the idea of his brother fighting. “No offense, but you’d be better off taking me instead of my brother.”

“Hey….” Thorax complained.

“It’s true and you know it.”

“So…..how do we get you into that tower and face to face with Chrysalis? She’ll probably still have a guard force.” Allan asked. “If she can swamp you with enough opponents, she could wear you out before you even get to her.”

“That’s where you and the other elements will come into play. You will spearhead the way into the tower, and then you will find a way to distract Chrysalis while she’s fighting. Any way you can divide her attention will be of use.” Celestia said, grimly. “This will not be easy.”

“Nothing worthwhile ever is, sister.” Luna gave a grim smile. “But, it will be fun. Are we decided then? Any who believe this plan to be flawed, speak now.” No one objected. Not a single voice was raised in protest. “Then let us begin preparations. We will take the fight to Chrysalis, and we shall claim victory!”

The cheers were loud, and long.

**************************

Allan found himself sitting alone on the edge of camp, staring into the darkness, his eyes still rooted on where he knew Chrysalis’s tower to be. He closed his eyes, the familiar pull of Chrysalis’s mind beckoning him on. He turned away. He wanted to see no more of the Queen’s memories, or even hear her jeering voice- not until he was swinging a sword at her, at least.

His mother was safe. His father and sister were still inside the shield. Jeremy…..Jeremy was dead. Josh and Mike were going to fight. His father would too. Kate was still in hospital, but there was no way she was going to let them stop her from helping. Anna…...Anna had vanished during the bus attack. She’d been taken.

The thought of his best friend, wrapped in a cocoon and being drained….he shuddered. There was more than one reason not to take a peek in Chrysalis’s rattled old brain.

It didn’t matter now. Tomorrow they marched. Tomorrow, it would finally come to an end. Eight months of waiting had lead to this moment. Allan closed his eyes. The least he could do was get a little sleep. With one last look towards the tower, Allan headed inside, and quickly found Fluttershy, asleep in the Element’s tent. Yes. One more day, and this would all be over.

**********************************

Author's Note:

We're here at last. The final battle is about to begin.

Comments

[Mix-up]

Interesting, can't wait to see the transformed into Changelling will react seeing it. I wonder if this is part or Steel's and Chrysalis destiny to meet again?

[VeganSpyro97]

9341280
....Steel? Who's steel? You've got me all confused....

[SkullPony99]

So...he’s found out the origin of the changelings and doesn’t bother to share it? The fact the changelings were born from draconequis magic means that discord could probably be of great use in this situation or at least now that they could potentially purify chrysalis