The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

End Of An Era

"What. Have. We. Here…?"

The skies around the Grandbell pit were heavily fortified, unicorns manning ammunition weapons on every tower while armored pegasi and griffons patrolled the air. Clouds were but a distant shadow on the horizon, the heavens where they had once been now blisteringly blue, a gift from the visiting Princess of the Sun. It was much harder for enemies to attack when their cloud cover was gone.

Celestia herself stood in a plaza, her royal airship parked behind her and two figures in her aura: Meltdown, making use of the heat-draining spell, and Gazelle, still bound in his ring-shaped prison. Across from her stood a welcoming party: Lord Stormhoof, considerably gaunter than he had been months before, clad fully in battle armor and backed by a contingent of elite soldiers. It wasn't a private venue. Citizens were hiding on the edges, and some venturing into plain sight, watching and staring. Celestia had chosen this on purpose.

"I am returning these two," she replied, answering the battle-scarred sphinx's challenge. "Your wayward prince has assaulted my nation, trapping and bringing deliberate injury to five students on a college campus. Meltdown, as a representative of the Empire, has demanded your nation assume responsibility for both his actions and punishment."

Stormhoof's eyes hardened, quickly reading the situation. "No we don't," he firmly replied, addressing Meltdown and Gazelle more than Celestia. "Go back across the border and resolve this in Equestria. No royal of the Griffon Empire makes an attack on a peaceful neighbor during times of national crisis. If that's what you did, you're no prince of ours, and you're not our responsibility."

Celestia looked to Meltdown, silently requesting her response.

"I am Garsheeva's judge," Meltdown replied coolly, though her mane looked like it was about to ignite. "She put bringing heretics to justice into my hooves. This is my decision."

Lord Stormhoof's paw slammed out, and when he drew it back, a golden, gem-encrusted card was left on the cobblestones where it had landed. "Golden Regents," he rumbled. "Garsheeva always believed in allowing all of us to judge each other for ourselves. Now that she's gone, there's no divine authority to tell us otherwise even if it wasn't originally up to us. And after you've been gone during the months the Empire needed power, authority and leadership the most, you want me to put aside my judgement for yours?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Then you should have thought twice about extorting my island for energy when you were still in power. You have no authority here anymore, and I'm not about to accept responsibility for an attack against Equestria just because you wish it." He locked eyes with Celestia, and gave the tiniest of bows. "They have no affiliation with us, Princess. The Griffon Empire are your allies."

"…So be it." Celestia looked between the two hovering ponies again, Meltdown just as much held captive as being enabled by her aura. "Unless Garsheeva herself wishes to intervene, it seems this will be settled within my courts after all."

"Garsheeva is gone," Lord Stormhoof interrupted, taking a step forward before either of the pair could speak. "Witnesses remember her there when the sarosians became monsters and attacked. No one has seen her since, beyond rumors that lack credit. This is a continent without gods now, Princess. There is no rule here besides mortal law."

Gazelle's eyes gleamed dully in his prison. "False. You're just as much a god as Garsheeva, and I am too. Merely ones who haven't grown so strong…"

Lord Stormhoof shook his head and started to walk away. "That isn't a practical thing to say when there's a real goddess holding you captive, boy. But you'll have to learn that on your own. Lord Everlaste and I have a continent to rebuild and a war to fight. I'm done here. By your leave, Princess."

Celestia pursed her lips, turning to Meltdown. "I did warn you I wouldn't be pleased if you flew me out here for nothing. Now I don't know what to do with you, either. It sounds as though you've been disowned already by the new government…" She shook her head. "I wish you well, Garland Stormhoof. May Equestria and the Griffon Empire remain allies for many years to come."

Meltdown folded her ears and gritted her teeth. But Gazelle started laughing, effortlessly taking attention off her.

"Funny you should talk about practicality," he chortled, "when there isn't a practical move in the first place. By that logic, I can do whatever I want!"

"Indeed you can," Stormhoof rumbled. "But you'll get yourself killed."

Gazelle shrugged. "You can't be only half alive, Stormpaw. Either you're dead, or you're not dead yet, and I'm the former. And until that changes, we are gods. Care to know the secret to Garsheeva's immortality? Because I have it…" His eyes drifted eagerly to Celestia, watching her reaction.

"No," Stormhoof said. "The age of sphinxes is ending. With our history of bloodlust and folly, there's no need to cling to it, either. I'll put those traits to use on the battlefield, defending this land, and have no desire to cling to them beyond that."

"Then I could spill it anyway…" Gazelle threatened, grinning from ear to ear.

Celestia's aura clamped down on his muzzle. "I believe my counterpart would appreciate it if you didn't. There is nothing left to be said that will change this fate. Come. We are departing."

"It's the sacrifices," a voice said from the crowd. "Sphinxes eat brands. Take one, it sustains you for a while and cancels the effects of age. Take more than you need, and you get a stockpile that lasts until you need them. Stockpile enough, and powers come with it. Size, regeneration… That was the reason for the heresy."

It wasn't Gazelle who had spoken. Everyone froze.

A hooded, robed pony stepped forward from between several others. She shrugged off the hood, revealing slitted eyes and rounded ears and a wide array of triangular fangs. Her face carried the unmistakable coloration of Garsheeva.

"You…!" Lord Stormhoof gasped, his formidable stature putting him at nearly twice the goddess's height. "Now you return to us?"

Garsheeva shook her head. "I'm just passing through. Because you're completely right. The age of sphinxes is at an end. Within a generation, all of you will be gone. Take my secrets and become the next immortal and cling to power if you want. I couldn't care less. I quit."

The whole crowd gaped, most of them bowing in reverence but some standing in confusion and others looking on in anger. Lord Stormhoof looked vaguely chagrinned. Meltdown was hopeful. Gazelle was unreadable. Celestia looked sad.

"Two thousand years, and you have decided it is over," she said, her eyes only on Garsheeva. "Where will you go from here?"

Garsheeva looked back at her with barely a muscle twitch. "Away. I'll find something mundane to do with myself. Maybe I'll start up a souvenir shop in Varsidel and sell model replicas of the Lovebringer. Everyone else can do what they want with the Empire. Right now, I'm just here to give you all a little push."

"So you abandon us consciously," Lord Stormhoof whispered.

Garsheeva flipped her mane. "I ruled by being the biggest, not the best. If you're mad, take it out on each other for following me. The truth is, I haven't cared about the Empire for around a thousand years, and before that I did it for the pampering and the clergy. You've been running yourselves already, just with me as a figurehead. Build yourselves a statue and worship that; it'll be just as effective. And choose the first kid who walks in through your door to call all the shots. It kept this country together for centuries."

Stormhoof's brow creased in anger. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"I'm shredding my legacy like an old couch so I have less temptation to return," Garsheeva drawled, flexing her claws. "You know who I've been doing it for this whole time? The sarosians. Remember when I sided with them during the single-day crusade? How I never dealt with their navies? An old friend asked me once to take care of them. Now they're gone, and that's where my caring runs out."

Lord Stormhoof trembled. "But they killed your own emperor…"

Garsheeva shrugged. "I've lost count of how many emperors and empresses I've had over the years. A hundred? More or less. I controlled how many sphinxes were in the world. If I needed more, I could make more. Losing one or two is barely a setback when I let you go about your own ways in the first place."

"Then you are just as much a sphinx as the rest of us," Lord Stormhoof sighed. "Finish your piece."

"I was getting around to it." Garsheeva licked a paw, using it to clean behind her ears in a clear public show of not caring. "Sphinx procreation? It only works because of old machines in my temple left over from when I came into being. Machines that allow souls to bind to our unnatural bodies. Machines that are history after a power surge. As funny as it was imagining you all desperately trying for children when I was the one calling the shots, that's all over now. No more sphinxes will ever be conceived. So sad. You're through."

"Garsheeva," Celestia interrupted. "Do you have need of me? If I am a bystander to your self-impeachment against your former citizens, I would rather be elsewhere. I do not appreciate seeing history torn down like this. It is too reminiscent of… her."

Garsheeva huffed. "Fine. But leave those two to me. They're mine. Let your nation feel robbed of justice on the behalf of a missing kitty. After all, the Empire itself has declared it doesn't care."

Celestia narrowed her eyes. "And what do you intend to do with them?"

Garsheeva shrugged, glancing to Meltdown. "Are you my loyal servant?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Meltdown nodded solemnly. "I act only with your authority."

"And would you give anything in my service?" Garsheeva's gaze intensified.

Meltdown kept her head down. "You shouldn't even need to ask."

"Release her to me," Garsheeva commanded.

Celestia frowned, hovering Meltdown closer. "She requires my support to regulate her-"

"I'll take care of it." Garsheeva waved a careless paw.

Meltdown swallowed, the wisps of fiery energy trailing from her lessening as she let herself grow cool. "Save Gazelle too," she requested, legs shaking as she touched down. "Give him another chance, and he will recant and serve you too…"

Garsheeva snorted. "Of course I will. I said I wanted him, didn't I? But first…" She opened her mouth in a big yawn.

"We are in your debt." Meltdown bowed…

And a thin line of green energy flew at her from Garsheeva's mouth, colliding and erupting into an aura around her. The aura brightened, especially around her cutie mark. Meltdown screamed… and her mark vanished, retracting along the line and into Garsheeva's maw. The sphinx swallowed and licked her lips. Meltdown collapsed against the ground and curled up, looking terrified and very small.

Celestia's eyes widened slightly. "I see this is your method of dispensing judgement."

"I'm not large on leaving your ponies unsatisfied," Garsheeva smoothly replied, looking proud of herself as every other bystander stared in shock. "But I wanted a demonstration for all of them. Sphinxes eat brands. And just because I quit doesn't mean I'm keen on dying. And I gave her that brand in the first place, so it was mine all along. And she did just say she would give anything in my service. And for her loyalty to me, she even keeps her life. One too many good reasons to do things this way, I'm afraid… Now give me Gazelle."

Celestia wryly flashed her horn, the ring restraining Gazelle flickering and coming undone. She dropped the prince in a heap, and he immediately scurried to the fallen Meltdown, grabbing her. "And what do you have in store for him, if I may ask?"

Garsheeva shrugged, almost ignoring him. "The age of sphinxes is ending, and he doesn't look like he'd enjoy the rest of his life anyway. I'll help him find a fitting end that he can be happy with."

Celestia frowned. "…Take care. I do this only in deference to you. My ponies will be well aware that you hold responsibility for his judgement." She glanced to the others. "And not the Empire. The Empire is absolved. It is past time for me to take my leave, now. Farewell."

She made a retreat that could almost be described as hasty, an obvious stiffness in her stride. But Garsheeva was faster, grabbing Gazelle and Meltdown and rocketing away on powerful wings.

The flying guards couldn't have caught her, not that they tried. Garsheeva soared west, deep into the desert, holding Gazelle and Meltdown tightly and not stopping until Grandbell and all traces of its silhouette had long vanished from the horizon. Then and only then did she set them down and rest.

Gazelle immediately snapped to his paws and whirled on her. "You only did that to her to disgust Celestia into leaving. You can bring Meltdown back."

"Of course I can," Garsheeva smoothly replied. "But you care about someone else far more, don't you?"

"Gwendolyn," Gazelle growled. "But she isn't here. She's half a world away."

"Oh, I'm well aware." Garsheeva turned into a lazy circle, like she was getting ready to lay down. "Last I was aware, her soul is being held inside an obsidian sword along with myriad others by a filly called Starlight. Do you see where this is going?"

Gazelle's eyes burned.

"That stockpile is mine," Garsheeva hissed. "And the sarosians'. I don't want it down there, I want it in here." She punched a paw against her chest. "And you want your sister. It would be easy for us to capture one of Chrysalis's empty sarosians and use that as a new body for her, as well. You win, I win… I'll even let you keep some of my stockpile if this all works out. Do you follow?"

"You're more ruthless than I remembered," Gazelle chuckled. "Whatever. I need an airship, sized for one."

"Figure it out yourself. And try not to get in legal trouble again." Garsheeva fluffed herself up. "Here's my cloak if you need a disguise. I'll watch your Meltdown for you. Now work quickly, I'm hungry."

Gazelle needed no second bidding. He was already gone.

Against the wall of the Aldenfold, Garsheeva leaned back, stared at Meltdown and sighed. "Too bad I won't get to watch, isn't it? One of them is going to destroy the other now, and whichever one it is, that's one more pony I hate gone from the face of the world forever. Urgh." Her slitted eyes flickered briefly green. "It never ends…"

Comments

[KMCA]

Her slitted eyes flickered briefly green

Oh.

[Boopers]

There's your Lerris. Right next to that giant mountain range. So close you can already hear the thunder. As it should be.

[Phoenix Kitten]

Well well well... You survived, Chryssie, stole the body of a goddess.
It seems Lerris is looming, and Gazelle.. well it's no coincidence that his name rhymes with shell, is it?

[Oberth Effect]

Chrysalis seems to know an awful lot if she were just pretending to be Garsheeva. Was she making things up, or did she get her knowledge from somewhere?

ake one, it sustains you for a while and cancels the effects of age.

Seems the cutie mark itself isn't consumed, which answers my question from earlier, but I still wonder whether it's something else that's consumed.

Maybe I'll start up a souvenir shop in Varsidel and sell model replicas of the Lovebringer

Lovebringer? The only thing I can think of is that is what they're calling Chrysalis, but that also doesn't make a ton of sense.

An old friend asked me once to take care of them.

Is this referring to Luna? From a quick search through the text, Chauncey didn't have access to the Nightmare Module with Luna/Garsheeva, and I didn't see anything resembling a request to take care of sarosians in that memory in any case.

"Sphinx procreation? It only works because of old machines in my temple left over from when I came into being. Machines that allow souls to bind to our unnatural bodies. Machines that are history after a power surge.

This sounds plausible, but I wouldn't be surprised if Chrysalis was just making this up. If she weren't, though, how would she know this?

And a thin line of green energy flew at her from Garsheeva's mouth

I guess this could have been a clue that something's up, but I'd imagine very few ponies would know what sphinxes consuming cutie marks was supposed to look like, and even then the color might have been written off as something that varied per sphinx.

It would be easy for us to capture one of Chrysalis's empty sarosians and use that as a new body for her, as well.

I'm still not sure Gazelle would want this, since that Lyn would still have no memories. His Lyn is gone.

Curious what Meltdown is going to do. She's probably feeling betrayed at least; wonder if it would be enough impetus to try to escape and warn Starlight and/or the Academy.

The Academy is probably going to be a bloodbath. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot they could do against a sphinx, especially if Gazelle manages to steal some cutie marks from the border guards along the way, or from other Empire citizens beofre leaving.

[ZanyZapper]

10058119
Yeah, and I thought Chrysalis' soul (or whatever) was trapped in the sword. And sarosians are left as shells when that happens. Tho I guess Chrysalis isn't exactly a normal sarosian. The cutie mark absorbtion isn't something a changling can do, at least from canon. So this feels more like Garsheeva with Chrysalis' mind. I had been expecting her to escape the sword and take over someone's body.

And I wonder if Gazelle knows our group is headed to Ironridge? I don't think it was discussed in his presence, but maybe Meltdown heard and he got it from her at some point "off camera"? Mainly wondering if he might be headed there instead of the academy.

I'm not good at picking up clues and making predictions, so I'm most likely completely off base!

[Czar_Yoshi]

10058928

"What a pointless question," Chrysalis growled into the floor, covering her head with her wings. "Do you even realize where or what I am?"

"Tell me," Starlight insisted. "I need to know better than I do."

"Urrgh..." Chrysalis pressed her face into the ground, voice muffled by the boards. "You've split me in half. My soul is tied to the me in my body, and to me of my brand that you're talking to. The other me probably isn't even aware I exist. I'm even more of an abomination than I already was. And now I'm stuck here for eternity, with tormenting the specters of my past as my only solace or pastime. And now you're here, getting in my face and being nice just to prove a point! You don't care. You're just taunting me. Stop-"

Chrysalis's mark is in in the sword, but her consciousness and personality are intact outside of it as an effectively separate entity. It's exactly the same thing that happened to Shinespark when she had her cutie mark removed, in moon glass and powering Braen. Two distinct bodies, consciousnesses, sets of memories etc that are effectively unaware of each other, but the same underlying will and personality driving both of them. How? Doesn't matter a huge amount, it was explained earlier but it's complicated and not the most relevant thing. The Chrysalis in the real world and the Chrysalis in the sword are effectively parallel Chryssies.

[Oberth Effect]

10058928

Now that you bring it up, I'm not really sure what part of Chrysalis was sucked into the sword. I would assume it was Chrysalis's cutie mark, and sarosian souls generally move with their cutie marks, but as you said Chrysalis probably doesn't follow the same rules as other sarosians. Edit: Ninja’d by Czar_Yoshi

I guess one could explain the cutie mark absorption stuff because emotions are intimately tied to cutie marks in this universe, so changlings feeding on emotions could be tied to taking cutie marks. However, since Cadence's wedding appears to have gone more or less to canon, it seems the ability to take cutie marks was either removed at some point or Chrysalis chose not to use it.

I think it's more likely that Chrysalis figured out the shapeshifting abilities of changelings than her and Garsheeva merging. Chrysalis was able to absorb cutie marks when she first transformed from Crystal fought against Garsheeva, so being able to absorb Meltdown's cutie mark doesn't really indicate one way or the other. Chrysalis's knowledge feels a bit off, though.

As for whether Gazelle knows whether they are returning to Ironridge? If he doesn't know now, I'd imagine he could figure that out easily enough. They obviously won't be at the university, and I'm pretty sure he was around when they discussed what happened in Ironridge with whatever council they met with when they first got to the Empire, so Ironridge might be a good second guess.

[Alchemik]

Oh fun. Things are actually better than I'd hoped in the Empire. Hopefully they can keep from becoming another Varsidel.

On a smaller scale though, our heroes have trouble headed their way. What else is new though, right?

[Venlinelle]

Well, I’m always happy to see Chrysalis thriving. Already honing her acting skills, I see!