Ch. 39 - Royal Pain
Chapter 39
– Royal Pain –
“AAAAHHHH!” Ocellus screamed as the magic bore into her skull.
“Now my dear Ocellus, it brings me no joy to do this to my subject. Just tell me where the Tree of Harmony is.” Queen Chrysalis said with a sinister motherly tone.
“Leave her alone!” Comet shouted, struggling against the gooey restraints that held her down.
Chrysalis turned to her and stopped her treatment of Ocellus, stepping over to the unicorn filly.
“Then would you like to tell me what I want to know, pony?” Chrysalis said, that sinister tone still there.
“I don’t know where the tree is. Only the Princess and the other elements know.” Comet said.
Chrysalis pushed the filly with her magic, “Lies!”
Comet grunted as she landed against Ocellus, who looked at her with worry. As Chrysalis approached them, Ocellus’ body shook violently. She was terrified.
“I want that tree. And you are going to lead me to it whether you like it or not.” Chrysalis sneered.
Both fillies were picked up in a green magical glow, screaming as they were taken away by the Queen. They tried to scream loud enough to be heard but they were too far into the forest at this point. No pony in town could hear them.
“Why are you doing this?” Comet demanded.
“It’s revenge for the humiliation that those ponies have brought upon me. I was a Queen! I had a hive! And you ponies took it away from me.” Chrysalis said.
“No! Th.. Thorax showed us a better way.” Ocellus tried to say confidently, but her voice was still shaky.
Chrysalis glared at the filly, “Never speak that traitor's name in my presence again. I will deal with him once I have the power of the elements.”
“You really think you can use the elements of harmony? Not a chance.” Comet laughed.
“Oh I know I certainly can’t. But they can.” Chrysalis said as they entered a clearing.
Comet and Ocellus soon saw a group of ponies in the clearing. All of them looked exactly like their teachers, and her dad. Getting a better look at them as they got closer, their colors were slightly dull.
“Did you get any information out of them, your Highness?” Fake Twilight asked.
“Not quite, but a little stroll through the Everfree might just jog their memory. Plus we can’t have them running off to find the originals.” Chrysalis said.
“But the fact they are here means that somepony will notice their disappearance eventually. We have to find the tree before they find us.” Fake Twilight said.
“Oh I wouldn’t worry so much about that. Thanks to our little stunt with Starlight, I doubt they will be looking for a couple of missing fillies.” Chrysalis cackled.
Comet eyes widened, memories of Starlight running away crying, seeing her Dad and Trixie walk away flooded into her mind.
“What did you do to Starlight!?” Comet yelled at the Queen.
Chrysalis looked at the filly with a wicked grin, “I broke her heart.”
Comet’s horn glowed brightly, she was so mad. She tried firing a bolt of magic at the Queen, but the glow around her and Ocellus blocked the blast. She didn’t care, she fired again, and again. Eventually, a crack started to appear. Chrysalis looked shocked as her magical field continued to crack against the filly’s fury. The barrier then shattered like glass, dropping Ocellus and Comet on the ground.
“How did you do that?” Chrysalis asked.
Comet tried to fire another blast at the Queen, but a purple shield deflected her attack. Fake Twilight came up next to the Queen with a disinterested look.
“Letting your guard down, Your Highness?” Fake Twilight said with a grin.
“Silence! We are continuing the search for the tree. It has to be deeper in the Everfree. The fliers can make themselves useful and search from the air.” Chrysalis snapped at her servant.
The Queen turned to the Fake Trail, “You! Carry them and make sure they stay quiet!”
He shook his head in fear and picked up the two fillies in his magic. The fliers took off in the air while the ground ponies continued on the path. Comet tried to break out again, but that outburst of magic made her horn sting a little. She overdid it, and she knew if she pushed it, her magic could burn out entirely.
Comet looked at the Fake Trail, he certainly looked a lot like her Dad but his colors were faded and looked almost sickly. Whatever spell Chrysalis did to make these things must have been some powerful dark magic. But maybe him being a copy of her Dad could be used to her advantage.
“Sooo, you’re kinda like my Dad right?” Comet asked.
He looked at Comet and glared, “Keep quiet.”
“Ok ok. I just wanted to say that my Dad wouldn’t ever be scared of some Bug Queen.” Comet said, looking away playfully.
“I’m not scared of her!” Fake Trail said.
“Oh no, of course not. I definitely didn’t see you shaking like a leaf when she snapped at you to carry us. Guess it pays pretty good to be a pack mule.” Comet joked.
“Hey! I’m no pack mule and I am not afraid! So shut your mouth!” Fake Trail shouted.
Fake Pinkie walked by the stallion, “You are so lame.”
“No one asked you!” Fake Trail shouted at her.
Out of nowhere, Fake Fluttershy pushed Fake Trail’s hat over his eyes and laughed.
“You are a loser. Now get moving pack mule.” Fake Fluttershy laughed and flew off again.
“Wow, that Fluttershy is a jerk. Queenie can’t even make good copies of you guys huh?” Comet asked.
“I can make better copies of us for you, 15 bits upfront.” Fake Applejack said, coming up right next to the fillies.
“Yeah, why are they all like this?” Ocellus asked.
“The dark magic probably twisted the original personalities. If they still have the same personalities, they wouldn’t help her.” Comet explained.
“Ooooh. That makes sense.” Ocellus said in realization.
“Besides, if this was a real copy of my Dad, he wouldn’t have hurt Starlight!” Comet shouted at the Fake Trail.
The stallion grumbled, “Wasn’t my idea. Besides, she tastes like rotten pickles.”
Then, Fake Rarity came running behind Fake Trail and stole his hat yelling, “Mine!”
Fake Trail groaned and just continued on the path.
Princess Twilight led the group into the Everfree Forest, the main path of the forest stretched out before them.
“Alright, let’s split up and cover more ground. Rainbow, you take Fluttershy and Tala and search from the air. I’ll take Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack and cover the left side along the path. Trail, you Starlight and Zala take the right side.” Twilight explained.
“Gotcha! Come on you two, let’s fly!” Rainbow said, dashing off into the sky.
Fluttershy and Tala followed suit and the group of fliers went on ahead. Twilight’s group started to move down their path as well. This left Trail with Starlight and Zala. Starlight still looked apprehensive about being with Trail, but she was too worried about Comet to let it stop her.
Trail tried to reach out to Starlight to comfort her, but she still inched away from his touch. It hurt him seeing her this way. He needed to figure out what was going on around here. The group made its way into the brush of the forest, searching for their filly.
Chrysalis snarled in frustration as more of the foliage of the forest clung to her mane and even a stick got stuck in one of her leg holes.
“I hate this forest, I’ll be sure to burn it when I take over Equestria.” Chrysalis sneered.
“Yeah, I’m sure the Princesses haven’t thought of that in over 1000 years of their rule.” Fake Twilight said.
“Those nature loving pampered brats don’t have the backbone to do what they want. I will rule this land with an iron hoof and none will defy my commands. A new hive that will dwarf my old one.” Chrysalis said.
Fake Twilight rolled her eyes, “I better go check on the others. Knowing them they got lost or found something shiny.”
Fake Twilight leapt into the air and flew back down the path, finding most of her group still carrying the captive fillies. She then grew a nasty grin on her face as an sinister idea came to her mind.
The Fake Twilight landed next to the bubble that held the two captives and tried to give them a sincere smile.
“I’m sorry about how you’re being treated girls. But we can’t say no to the Queen. She’s too strong for us.” Fake Twilight said.
“You can cut the nice talk. I don’t know what spell made you, but I know you’re not being forced to be jerks.” Comet said, giving her a sideways glance.
Fake Twilight glared at her and took the bubble away from Fake Trail, “Look, sooner or later we are going to find the Elements of Harmony. And if me and others can take them first, we can destroy the Queen. Doesn’t that sound better than her having the power?”
“And what would you do with them?” Ocellus asked.
“Make ourselves real and leave this stupid place. I don’t want to be stuck in the real Twilight’s shadow. Help us find the Elements and we’ll leave and never return.” Fake Twilight promised.
Comet thought about it for just a moment. There’s no way these Fake ponies could use the Elements. She could use them to escape. She could lead them in a random direction and when they inevitably start fighting, she and Ocellus could escape in the chaos.
Comet gave a wide eyed look, “You promise not to hurt us?”
Fake Twilight reached through the bubble and pet Comet’s mane, “Of course sweetie. Now tell us where the Elements are.”
Comet winced a little from the contact but stood her ground, “I think I remember Princess Twilight talking about the Tree of Harmony.”
Ocellus’ eyes went wide, “Comet, what are you-”
Comet put her tail against Ocellus’ face to stop her from talking. She gave Ocellus a “trust me” look.
Fake Twilight grinned widely, “Excellent. Tell me everything.”
“Starlight, please slow down.” Trail begged.
“No. Just, give me some space Trail. I need to think.” Starlight said.
“Please Starlight, I’d never cheat on you with Trixie. You know I wouldn’t.” Trail said, trying to reach out for her.
“I know! Please, just give me some space!” Starlight said, pushing him away with a barrier.
Trail didn’t push the matter any further, simply walking back to his sister. He looked to her with pleading eyes.
“What should I do, Zala?” Trail pleaded.
“Give her some time to cool off and clear her head brother. The day has obviously been stressful and confusing. She needs time to sort this all out. Someone has sown a great deal of deceit into this mess, and I will personally see to it they pay.” Zala said darkly.
“I agree. Whoever is behind this, I won’t let them get away with it.” Trail said.
He looked to the sky and saw Rainbow Dash flying high, but strangely she didn’t have Tala or Fluttershy with her.
“Rainbow, did you find anything?” Trail shouted up to her.
She stopped and looked down, “Whatever, like I care.”
Before Trail could respond, she took off in another direction. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. Rainbow would never act like that. She was fired up to find Comet before, why was she so disinterested in it now?
“Brother, something is not right with her.” Zala said.
“Yeah, what was that about?” Starlight asked.
Trail hummed to himself and while he looked at the direction that she flew off in, it didn’t make any sense. The rest of the groups were spreading out by the main pathways, but Rainbow was currently heading deeper into the forest.
“Where is she going?” Trail asked.
“There’s nothing in that direction except the Castle of the Two Sisters.” Starlight said.
Trail had never gone to the Castle of the Two Sisters, by Princess Twilight’s request. She said that something very precious to Equestria was located near there and she didn’t want tourists to learn its whereabouts in his books. But if that was the case, why would Rainbow be flying in that direction? Comet wouldn’t know where the Castle was, so why search there?
“Let’s follow Rainbow Dash. Something stinks around here and I think she can lead us to those answers, and maybe Comet.” Trail said.
Zala and Starlight nodded and moved with Trail through the trees and towards the old castle.
Fake Rainbow eventually flew down to meet with the rest of the Fake Elements who had been heading in a new direction pointed out by Comet. They had been walking for almost an hour. And they hadn’t found the elements. Fake Twilight growled in frustration and looked at the filly.
“You said we’d find something in this direction. I don’t see anything but this stupid forest.” She complained.
“Hey, I wasn’t given explicit detail on their location. No one but the real Elements know exactly where they are. Dad never explored this part of the forest, so it's bound to be hiding something.” Comet said.
“Ugh, for your sake it had better. Rainbow, you see anything up there?” Fake Twilight asked.
“Nah, as if I cared.” Rainbow said, hovering a few feet off the ground.
“UGH! You all are useless!” Fake Twilight screamed as she blasted the trees along their path.
The trees fell over and revealed a new clearing. In the clearing was a great ravine, with only a rope bridge connecting the two sides of the gap. Beyond the bridge was a ruined castle, covered in moss and crumbled to almost nothing. Two towers stood on each side of the castle, mostly standing and intact.
“No way, The Castle of the Two Sisters.” Ocellus said.
“The what?” Comet asked.
“The castle where Princess Celestia and Luna lived before Canterlot was made. It was where Princess Twilight and her friends found the Elements and defeated Nightmare Moon.” Ocellus explained.
“Perfect! This must be where the Elements of Harmony are hidden.” Fake Twilight said with a wicked grin.
“I certainly hope so.” Queen Chrysalis said as she emerged from the forest with the rest of the Fake Elements.
She turned to Comet, “Thank you little filly. You have just doomed Equestria. Now, come my servants, we shall claim my prize.”
Comet’s ear flattened, she didn’t actually mean for them to find the Elements. She took them in this direction because her Dad hadn’t told her what was in this part of the forest. She figured there was nothing out here and eventually they would slip up and Comet and Ocellus could get away and find help.
As the group of fakes moved toward the bridge to the castle, more rustling from the forest came from behind them. And out of the forest came Trail, Starlight and Zala. They saw the group and immediately were confused.
“Princess Twilight, how did you all get so ahead of-” Trail asked before he saw something weird.
He saw a mirror image of himself, holding Comet and Ocellus in a magical bubble. Comet saw her Dad from inside the bubble and looked so relieved.
“What in the world is going on here?” Trail demanded.
“It seems we’ve been discovered my servants.” Queen Chrysalis said, coming up to the front of the group.
When Starlight saw the Queen of the Changelings, her heart grew cold. Why was she here? Last time she saw her was when Thorax overthrew her and she refused to change her ways and flew away. Now here she is with Twilight and her friends and… another Trail Blazer.
And as the realization finally hit her, all the memories of the day had flooded to the front of her mind. Trixie had left for her next trip to Baltimare. Starlight running into Twilight after she left the school, seeing Trail and Trixie and watching them… kiss.
Starlight’s eyes flashed with rage as she looked at the Queen, “You.”
Trail and Zala could feel the air grow hot with rage, making them back up a bit. Starlight’s horn glowed bright.
“It was you.” Starlight said darkly.
Queen Chrysalis simply grinned, “Whatever could you be referring to?”
“You’re the cause of all of this!” Starlight roared.
Chrysalis flashed with green fire and turned into Trixie, “You know, watching your heart break into itty bitty little pieces was the most sublime entertainment I’ve had in centuries.”
She pulled the Fake Trail close to her, “Love is a powerful weapon, and you ponies greatest weakness.”
Then her form changed again, to the photographer that had talked to Starlight and Trail at the coffee shop, “I could taste your love at the coffee shop. It was delicious, it was almost a shame to ruin it for you… almost.”
Starlight’s eye grew wider and then immediately went back to the hate filled glare that had been building since she saw the Queen. Her horn glowed brighter and she fired a blast of light blue magic at the Queen.
The Queen responded with a shield, but the force of Starlight’s attack pushed her back, knocking the Fake Elements aside. She stopped right at the edge of the ravine.
“Well, it seems you ponies do have some hate in you.” Chrysalis chuckled.
Starlight roared and ran forward, firing again.
The real Twilight Sparkle emerged from the forest along with the rest of her group, and the real Rainbow Dash descended from the sky with her group including Tala.
Tala immediately saw Comet and Ocellus in a magic bubble, being held by her brother? What was going on?
“What is going on here?” Twilight said, seeing Starlight running ahead.
She and the other elements gasped as they saw Queen Chrysalis flying towards Starlight, both mares clashing magical beams as they reached the center of the clearing. The fake Elements took this opportunity to regroup and face their counterparts.
“Wait, why are there two of all of us?” Applejack asked.
“I could tell you all the story, for five bits.” Fake Applejack said.
Applejack looked appalled at herself, or what looked like herself.
“Oooo are they new friends?” Pinkie asked.
“Pfft, as if. Everyone knows the originals are losers.” Fake Pinkie said.
Pinkie gasped, “That’s mean. They are meanies.”
She gasped again, “I know! They’re the Mean Six!”
“Pinkie, is now the time to give them a group name?” Rainbow asked.
“Not like we care. You guys suck.” Fake Rainbow muttered.
“What was that!?” Rainbow shouted.
“Oh dear. What are you then?” Fluttershy asked.
Fake Fluttershy flew over and hit her counterpart on the nose, making the shy mare wince, “I’ll tell you. We’re better than you. In every way.”
“What a brute. I hardly see what makes you all better.” Rarity scoffed.
Fake Rarity got in her face, “When I’m done with you, I’ll get everything in that boutique of yours. Everything will be mine!”
Rarity backed up, “You will never set a hoof in my establishment.”
“Like you have the power to stop us. Once we have the Elements at our command, we’ll be unstoppable.” Fake Twilight said.
“You can never use the Elements. They are the light of hope in Equestria. You fakes are made from dark magic. You may look like us, but you will never be us.” Twilight said, standing her ground.
“We’ll see about that after you’re long gone!” Fake Twilight shouted, firing a purple beam at her counterpart.
Princess Twilight dodged, taking to the air and firing her own magic at her fake. The other Elements began to fight off their own fakes as the Alicorns battled in the air.
Back to Trail and his sisters, they faced his fake, still holding Comet and Ocellus in his magic.
“If you’ve got any of my brother’s brains in there, then you know you can’t take all three of us. Put the girls down and I’ll only break one of your legs.” Tala said commandingly.
“And lose my only leverage? Yeah, not a chance. Once the Queen finishes off Starlight, we’ll take the Elements and rule this land.” Fake Trail said.
“Do you truly believe a being like Chrysalis cares about you?” Zala asked.
“I helped her, she created me. I’ll rule by her side and no pony will ever call me a joke again.” Fake Trail said.
“You’re a stupid pawn in her game.” Trail said.
“Yeah, a game that broke that little marefriend of yours. And man was it fun to just play the part and watch her poor little heart just grow cold. I don’t know the real Trixie but if the Queen’s disguise was anything to go off of, I’d have chosen that one.” Fake Trail said.
That comment sent Trail over the edge, charging at the stallion and surprising him enough to make him lose concentration and drop the girls. Tala immediately flew over and grabbed the girls, taking them back to Zala. Comet buried her face in her aunt’s feathers while Ocellus clung to Zala.
Trail may not have had his bow with him, but he wouldn’t need it to break this poor excuse of a fake.
Starlight traded blast after blast with the Queen, neither side giving an inch. Starlight didn’t even notice the fighting going on behind her. She had pushed the Queen across the bridge and both mares now stood at the front gates of the Castle.
“I knew you were despicable Chrysalis but this was low even for you!” Starlight shouted.
“You took my hive from me! And now I’m going to take everything from you. Your coltfriend, that little filly you care for so much, and all of your friends. Then Equestria will be mine!” Chrysalis cackled.
Starlight’s rage grew at the threats to Trail and Comet. She would make sure this Changeling wouldn’t hurt anypony. No offer of friendship or help this time.
This time, it was personal.
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I wonder what the evil form of starlight could be like, in name of course. Moonlit Gleam? my mind thinks a name like Cosmic Eclipse would sound best. main reason for that is because the word Starlight sounds like it has something to do with space and the cosmos. Cosmic references that, Glimmer means stuff like a flash, a glitter, or like another name, a sparkle, an Eclipse in this form would mean the lights source being gone, sorta referencing Nightmare Moon.
Oh, and yes, great chapter, i love fight scenes, hope to see it soon! sorry if i went off topic, but i just love the idea of rage tipping people off the edge. this is just a random thought i wanted to share in response to said rage.
Kick her ass Starlight, you don’t mess with an emotionally empowered Glim Glam