The Hag, the heroes, and a few other things

by Amaranthine Thought

Great Magic 2

Stonebeak was fighting, but something was off. What had happened to the swarm? There were only a few fighting him. Pairs, or small groups.

The rest of the swarm was headed elsewhere, and he wasn’t sure why. Not that he was having a good time. He was hurt, and growing tired.

He kept heading inside and then paused.

Dead changelings. Changelings that looked like they had been ripped apart. He heard the sounds of battle someplace.

Something was very, very bad. He kept going.

---

Something felt wrong. Honest had made it to Canterlot, but something was very, very wrong.

The city felt dark, and he could hear the changelings being called to fight something. But whatever it was was omitted from the information. Not a good sign at all.

It was… worrisum, but it did make this much easier. He slipped inside, heading toward where he knew the bearers were. They were a start, but…

Hag seemed to be missing. That was very strange, and concerning.

Ponies didn’t disappear from the swarm. But Hag had simply… vanished apparently. With any luck, that meant she escaped. On the other hoof, it was also possible that the queen had killed her and no longer cared about her.

He hurried forward, worried that might be the case. He found most of the halls empty, almost all of the swarm called to deal with whatever the trouble was. But as he entered a hall, he stopped in absolute shock.

Dead changelings. A lot of dead changelings. Each one having died a violent death, their corpses strewn everywhere and their blood staining everything. But one thing caught his eye in the carnage.

Hag’s pouch. With most of its contents spilling out.

He hurried to it, and picked it up, noting the lack of its enchantment and the snapped cord that once held it. It looked… burnt and a bit torn.

He looked at the pile, and spotted Loyalty and Happiness, along with the broken elements.

Hag would never leave them behind. The changelings wouldn’t either.

What had happened? What was happening?

He grabbed them, and hooked the bag on his back, tying a new knot and keeping the elements within it. It would do for now.

He had to find Hag, and the bearers, and really quickly.

And avoid whatever was slaughtering everything.

---

Honest skidded around a corner, fleeing as quickly as he could.

Seconds after, Stonebeak thudded on the wall, the crown remaining on his head despite the sudden motion, and chased after him, roaring.

“I’m on your side!” Honest screamed, barely keeping ahead of the old griffon.

“Lies! Give me Hag’s pouch and face me!”

“Really! I’m trying to help Hag!”

Honest ducked and slipped down a set of stairs, Stonebeak carving a part of the top step off trying to get him.

“Lies!”

“Just listen for a…” Honest gaped and then flattened himself, the sword touching his back as it shot overhead and hilted itself in the floor.

“Second!” he finished.

“Face me like a warrior!” Stonebeak yelled, jumping at him. Honest rolled out of the way and Stonebeak effortlessly pulled the blade free and turned on him again.

“I said!”

A horrible sound made them both stop. Above them came the sounds of death. Violent death.

And a laugh that made both of them pale. A hideous, ugly laugh. A laugh not of madness, but of evil. A deep, dark, bloody kind of evil that either had ever even dreamed of.

It was the laugh you heard in a nightmare.

They both looked up, thankful that whatever was laughing was not near them.

“What… is that?” Honest whispered.

“…You do not know?” Stonebeak asked.

“No…”

“The swarm isn’t speaking to you?”

“I can hear them, but the knowledge is hidden.” Honest shuddered as the sound thankfully faded again. “Now will you listen?”

“…Yes. Speak, and explain yourself.”

Honest nodded, keeping ready to run again, just as Stonebeak kept himself ready to fight.

“My name is Honest. I found Hag’s pouch in a hall, and needed something to carry a few special things while I look for her and the bearers.”

“Bearers?”

“The bearers of the elements of harmony. They are in the castle right now, I just need to reach them and give them something, and they can… fix things.”

“How did you meet Hag?”

“It was a while back. She happened to be traveling with… with… somepony else. And I went with them for a while and… things happened.” Honest sighed, and Stonebeak noticed that he was almost forcing himself to recall. His voice grew tighter as he spoke, and he was skipping over large portions of the story.

“One thing led to another and… I was the happiest changeling ever. She gave us a big sendoff, and everything was perfect and…” he trailed off for a moment, looking down.

“And then it broke. And the only thing left for me to do is finding Hag, and fixing this mess.”

“…You are no changeling.”

“…What?” Honest asked, looking back up.

“No changeling would feel sorrow. No changeling would speak with such emotion, or feel anything for a pony. You might wear their skin, but your soul is not that of a changeling. You… changed.”

Stonebeak nodded and relaxed. “There is much to do. Where is Hag?”

“I can’t find her. The swarm doesn’t know where she is anymore.”

“Then she is alive and escaped. Good. Where are the bearers?”

“Nearby, sleeping. We need to hurry too.”

“Why?”

“Whatever is laughing is heading toward them, and I really don’t want it to find them.”

Stonebeak nodded and the pair hurried away, griffon and changeling together.

---

The pair made it to the bearers fairly quickly. They had been placed within a room, rather haphazardly as the changelings responsible for carrying them had been called to fight.

Fight a losing battle.

They could hear the buzz of the swarm, and the sounds of death. Crunching. Ripping, fleshy tearing sounds. Stonebeak was deaf to the changelings’ screams, but Honest was buffeted by them and more jumpy than when Stonebeak had been trying to kill him.

“Here they are. We just need to get them out.”

“Just a moment…”

Stonebeak carefully sliced the cocoons open, and the ooze inside spilled out as the bearers gently tumbled from their dreaming prisons. Before any had awoken, Honest had shifted back into his pony form.

Stonebeak gave him a questioning look, but didn’t comment on it as they stirred.

“Hag?” Pinkie weakly asked as Rainbow groaned.

“…What happened?”

“No time heroes, we have to go.” Honest said, heading over and helping them to their hooves.

“Honest?” Pinkie said, slightly surprised as he helped her up.

“A griffon?” Twilight muttered as she got up. “In Canterlot?”

“A long tale indeed.” Stonebeak said, and then glanced back at the door, listening. “And one we do not have the time for.”

“Why,”

They all tensed. That laugh came again, and they all paled at the sound of it.

“That’s why.” Honest said, growing terrified. “We need to go!”

He hurried away and then looked back. The rest of them hurried after him, Stonebeak taking the rear, watching behind them.

“Where are we going? What is that… laugh?”

“I do not know what that is.” Honest said. “And I have a slight plan.”

“We are going to the queen, you are going to use this,” he tossed the sack at Twilight who managed to catch it, “to fix the elements, and then you are going to do your thing and save us all.”

“The queen!? Using!...”

Twilight stopped and regarded Loyalty and Happiness.

“…Is this…?”

“Long story, but they can fix the elements. Start working; we don’t have much time, and I’ll deal with the queen.”

Twilight kept staring at the glittering objects. She knew that they couldn’t exist. Neither made any sense, but everything about them was telling her that they were real, they were potent, and they could absolutely be used to mend a broken element.

She would have to trust Honest. Whatever was laughing was really, really bad, and they were going to need the elements. She needed to figure it out, and quickly.

She had a rather nasty suspicion that everypony was going to die if she didn’t.

---

Chrysalis had never been afraid. She had bene in danger before, in dark dangerous locations and positions where she had only just survived. She had lived a long life, and fought a lot of enemies to end up where she was. She was well used to death and fighting.

But then?

Then, she was terrified. She could see what that thing was doing. The power it had, the sheer evil of it as it ripped her swarm apart and laughed without end.

And each changeling came the little promise:

You’re next. And I won’t make it quick.

She glanced back at the sleeping forms of Celestia and Luna. She envied the peace they were in for a moment.

But it was only for the moment. There was no escaping what was coming.

She made a choice, and freed the twin alicorns herself. As they recovered, both confused as they saw her and not anypony else, she sighed.

“Get up. I… I need help.”

Luna coughed, and Celestia shook her head in bafflement. “You… ask for our aid?”

“Yes.”

“This is a dream.”

“Does this look like a dream?!” she snapped. “Can’t you sense that?! That evil coming for us?”

“My swarm can only slow it down. Alone, I would be tormented o the end of time. Together, we might offer some resistance. So I propose this:”

“If we survive what is coming, I will find a peaceful way with you. I will find some way to live in harmony.”

“But to do that, I need to be alive, and with all of my limbs attached. And to have that, you need to rally yourselves, and be ready to fight something truly horrible.”

Celestia stared at her, Chrysalis visibly distressed. She could sense the evil that was in the castle. She could tell that Chrysalis was afraid of it.

She was a little afraid of it.

“Where are the bearers?” Celestia asked as she got to her hooves.

“Coming soon. They have their own allies, and will arrive soon.”

“… Then I accept your deal.”

“Tia? Are we sure?”

“We face the nightmare together. And we either stand tall as on, or fall apart. I’m expecting much from you… queen Chrysalis.”

“You’ll have anything, but I do not want to die like that. And if I live as a cripple, I am going to hate you forever.”

“That is acceptable.”

---

When the group arrived in the throne room, they had expected a few things. The bearers had expected to find Chrysalis, ready to fight them. Honest was expecting to find her angry, or upset, and ready to fight as well.

Entering the throne room to have Luna pull them inside and Celestia sealing the door with Chrysalis was entirely unexpected.

“Princesses?!”

“Pardon this.” Luna said, only just now noting that she had grappled an older griffon into the throne room. She glanced at the crown and blinked.

“My apologies your majesty.”

“Luna.”

Luna turned to add her own magic to the seal while Celestia and Chrysalis looked at the group.

Honest stared at the queen, and she stared at him. Then she simply sighed, said “Pardoned.” and completely ignored him.

“Princess what is,”

“No time my student. Do you have the elements?”

“Yes, but,”

“Luna, Chrysalis. Twilight, focus on them. They will be made whole once again.”

Twilight stared for a moment, the other bearers and Honest simply speechless. Then she swallowed, and focused on her spell again, and felt both alicorn’s and the queen give their own strength.

The elements slowly shaped themselves as the others shook off their stun.

“What th hey is happenin?”

“Honest?”

“…She forgave me…”

“…I never did catch your name darling.” Rarity said, looking up at Stonebeak.

“Stonebeak. And you?”

“My name is Rarity.”

Rainbow just kept looking around, and then looked at Pinkie who was confused near Honest as he just kept on muttering ‘she forgave me’ over and over again.

Chrysalis glanced at him and muttered to herself.

“Get up and get ready!” she snapped at him. “If you want to be Honest, you are going to help right now!”

Honest leapt, completely shocked. But… he had to act. She was giving him a chance.

There should never have even been something that even suggested a chance, but she was giving him a chance. Calling him by his chosen name.

“I’m ready!”

“Honest?”

“Pinkie?”

“Where’s Hag?”

Honest passed and Rainbow, finding something she had interest in and could understand, headed over.

“…I don’t know.” he said, sighing.

“Dead.” Chrysalis said abruptly, and all three looked at her.

“The thing showed up right where she was. She is dead, very, very dead.”

“You can’t say that!” Rainbow said, frowning. “Hag is really good at… things!”

“Yeah! She’s alive!” Pinkie added. Honest hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow their example and nodding in agreement.

And so they all prepared in their own ways. Readying themselves for the monster that was coming as Twilight slowly fixed the elements with the two I had found.

They found magic, but how and why, and when it had arrived, not one of them knew. Maybe it just… happened from the concentration of magic. Maybe it just arrived because it was needed.

Maybe something else gave it to them. To give them the chance they needed.

Chrysalis sensed it first. Her swarm was mostly gone, only a bare few remaining. Nothing remained to slow it.

The twin alicorns sensed it next as it arrived just outside of the door. Their work had just completed, and once again, the elements were repaired.

“Quickly.” Celestia said, distributing the elements to the bearers. They gathered them, and the group readied itself.

A few minutes passed without any action, and they all waited. Wondering what the thing on the other side of the door was doing. They waited, and waited some more.

Until Chrysalis stomped in frustration, unable to bear the suspense. As the other glanced at her, the door shifted.

The seal was disrupted. The magic shattered by one well aimed blow. A weakness that neither princess had noticed, and they tensed greatly.

The door remained shut for a moment, and then it slowly opened.

Comments

[Majk]

And the moral of the story so far? Don't piss off your elders, or they will go all Grimm on you.

[Watcher32]

“..if I live as a cripple, I am going to hate you forever.”

“That is acceptable.””