Power of Love!

by Inactive Pone

Chapter 7: Show of Strength

"And then they all got blasted out into oblivion!"

Everyone burst into laughter. After the victory, Arle, Carby, and Fluttershy made sure the village was kept in good hooves (Or hands), accepted their thanks for the defense and moved along with their plan. They brought Harpy along onto the train as they make the trip back to Ponyville.

"I'd say, though," Lemres said, "I wouldn't expect Harpy to be with us out of all people."

"Heeeeey! What do you mean?"

"But you've been proven very useful, it seems," Ringo commented, "Our team will be much stronger by the time we face the Queen."

"How many more of you all are we rescuing?" Fluttershy asked.

"Three more. But we might as well take a break and return to Ponyville," Ringo continued.

"Yeah, things might get kinda hectic from here on out," Applejack cautioned.

"Don't worry about it!" Amitie reassured. "We've been on many adventures and they have saved a nation several times, is there anything we can't do?"

Pinkie giggled. "Can't argue about that!"

---

**SLAM**

Around half an hour later, it was like they jinxed themselves. A loud bang on the train woke up the group, who were all taking a nap. Arle let out a groan as she woke up.

“Ughh... What in the-“

**CRASH**

“KYAAAAAH! CHANGELINGS!” Amitie screamed.

“WHAT!? EVERYONE PANIC!” Ringo yelled.

“WHY IN EQUESTRIA ARE WE YELLING!?” Pinkie joined in.

What happened was that a Changeling broke clean through the window, as more rushed in to attack. The creatures hissed at the group as they threatened them. Ringo and Amitie already lost their minds, Fluttershy dove between the seats in fear, and even Harpy was overwhelmed by their hostility.

The guards on the train were quick to react. When they came, the remaining ones of the group moved out of the way, helping at a small distance as they fend them off with a Puyo Battle.

“Hey, you meanies!” Harpy said, trying to look brave. ”Listen to This!”

She drew a musical note in mid-air, then directed the projectile to hit the incoming force. The other two players took the chance to pounce on the changelings, now frozen in place.

”Parfait!”

”Ice Storm!”

The cream from Lemres’ spell was frozen by Arle’s spell. Applejack dashed to buck the iced up enemies into their own teammates, knocking the rest at the back.

“Hey! Lemres! Gimme a boost!” Pinkie pranced up and down excitedly.

Lemres nodded, quickly setting up a 6-chain.

”Fudge cakes!”

Chocolate fudge shot from a flick of his wand. Pinkie caught every one, and it gave her the sugar rush she needed to put her Pinkie physics in action. She spun in a spiral motion in mid-air, drilling through the horde that the guards were fending off.

“There’s no end to them!” The guards alerted. “You all must disembark, fast!”

“Well, we need a distraction!” Ringo called, finally standing up. “Harpy!”

“On it!”

”Algorithms!”

”Have an Encore!”

Both attacks stunned the changelings attacking from both sides of the carriage, putting them to an unconscious state.

”Cyclone!”

Amitie took the time to push some out of the way so they can reach the door and get off. Once everyone was out, they ran as fast as they could. They were not too far from Ponyville- All they had to do was get there.

“Twilight!” Arle said, whipping out her magic walkie-talkie.

“Yeah?”

“We have a major problem!”

“We have a problem too!”

“What!?”

“Changelings are raiding Ponyville!”

“Ehhhhh!? We just got back!!”

“We’ll meet you all at the center of town. Gaaaaah! *static noises* I’m okay! Changelings attacking!”

Arle stopped responding and ran faster. The rest of the group did the same. When they got into town, changelings were ready to ambush them on the spot. First Harpy and Fluttershy at the back, then as the group turned to look, both of the remaining ponies got caught in the sticky goo, unable to free themselves. As some of the changelings started to get excited, smacking their lips and ready for a treat, they start to suck away their prey's love.

"What are they doing!?" Ringo exclaimed.

"I have no idea, but that does not look good!" Arle replied.

Amitie mustered up her courage for an attack.

"Tempest!"

The winds blew away the enemy temporarily. She did another one for the other side.

"You girls okay?" Lemres asked, freeing Pinkie and Applejack.

"Behind ya!" Applejack shouted, pushing him out of the way and bucking an incoming changeling. It crashed into a dozen more.

Pinkie narrowed her eyes. "Lemres," she called.

"Can do."

A minute later, Pinkie opened fire with the cream pies that Lemres has given her from his spell. It succeeded in distracting much of the front line, giving the allies time to push forward towards the castle. As the confectionery duo bombarded the front, the three ponies rushed in to attack. The remaining were at the back, watching for any surprise flanking techniques.

Right before they enter the final stretch, though, somepony attacked. She ambushed the front and back with magic.

"Twilight!?" Arle exclaimed, seeing the figure attacking.

She shook her head with a laugh. "You're close."

She de-transformed, revealing the tall and mighty changeling ruler. Everypony gasped, and before they have a chance to speak, Chrysalis charged her horn and fired on the group. It sent all of them flying- Three to the back, three to both left and right.

"Where is she?" Chrysalis demanded as she stepped towards Arle, the closest to her.

"Wh-Who!?" Arle yelled.

Whoops! Not yet!

“Princess Twilight. Where is she?”

"Why must I tell you? You're the enemy, after all."

"No matter, I'll just make you do so."

In a flash, all of Arle's friends were encircled. Changelings outnumbered the group, ready to feast on their love. Arle was no exception- Now she is trapped by the eerie larvae from the Queen's subjects. Both her and Carby trembled in utter fear. The Puyo crew could not use their spells, for their hands- The very thing that allows them to pop Puyo is engulfed within the goo.

"Why?" Arle pleaded.

"This, little one," The Queen giggled, "Is the 'art of vengeance'. Your new friends... The ponies of the land... I once sought for your love for my subjects. It is the very essence that keeps them going. But they- Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, and all the others... They ruined absolutely everything."

Arle can hear the distant sounds of ponies screaming as their love slipped away.

"Gugugu!?"

Arle held Carby tighter in her embrace.

"All I wanted was my people to be happy. But you all denied that- You shut us all out of society. Your friends tore the hive apart, my kingdom now lost. And yet... One of you gave me power. Power that is beyond my wildest dreams."

"*gasp* No..."

"She's like you, apprentice Arle," Chrysalis said, taunting the girl by holding up her head. "Someone that walked on two. Oh, she was a present sent from heaven, when we found her. She was cheery, caring, and of course..." She licked her lips. "She's full of delicious love."

"She's... *cries* She's..."

"Capturing her was the best decision we've made. She was the fountain of love... Endless love. She fed my subjects. My new troops all rejoiced in cheer. But you know what? Now with this newfound power, I'll use it- To make all of them pay for their exclusion on us. You will see just how painful it can be, when we take absolutely everything from you, like how you treated us. You'll all be under my grasp, as we hatch a new era of Equestria."

Arle can only watch as her friends were wrapped in cocoons from top to bottom by the changelings, completely unconscious. She was startled at their hostility and viciousness.

"I won't tell you what we're planning. You wouldn't win this fight."

Chrysalis tilted her head. "But I already did."

"You think? Watch it, once we break free, you are going to regret doing all of this. We will protect the righteous changelings- We will bring the overthrown king back!"

"You do not speak of that traitor in front of me!" The Queen huffed. She opened her mouth and was ready to devour Arle's power. Traces of love slipped away, seemingly taking away her powers as well.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Arle screamed.

"Gugugu!!" Carby held onto her tightly.

The changelings next to her sensed friendly love between the two. They took the chance to affect Carby too.

"Surrender!" Chrysalis laughed. "You can't be saved!" Then she noticed something inside the goo she was trapped in. "Wait a minute, what in the world are you holding?"

Arle smiled coldly. "Be careful of your words..."

As if on cue, someone joined the fight.

"Shockwave! Haaaaaaaaaaah!!"

**BOOM**

**CRASH**

The sudden attack shook the area, knocking out every changeling, freeing everyone from the goo in seconds. Even Chrysalis was sent flying off to the side to the forest.

"You are reckless sometimes, Arle."

Arle looked up after finding out she’s fine. Before her, she saw a teenage boy, a sword in his hand, like a majestic knight. He smiled at her.

“Schezo!”

He offered a hand to help her up. “Are you alright?”

“No, I am not!” She yelled jokingly, “But thank you!”

“Heh, you should be.”

From afar, Queen Chrysalis was about to fire on the two.

“Watch out, Arle!”

Twilight zipped over and defended them with a shield.

“Sorry for being late to the party,” Twilight said innocently, “We had our own fight to deal with...”

“Your Highness,” Schezo said, bowing. “Allow me.”

“You must be the one I saw earlier! In the Forest!”

“So that’s what you were talking about on the call,” Arle said.

“The call?” Schezo questioned.

In fact, while Chrysalis was blabbering on and on about her plans and aspirations, Arle had sensed vibration and sounds of the walkie talkie even inside the goo. Twilight had been warning her of the sighting of Schezo nearby. For the whole time, Arle dragged on the Queen’s monologue and delayed her task at hand for him to come and make the comeback.

“What can I say? I’m smart in dire situations,” Arle giggled.

They looked around- With the crew set free, the allies attack full force on the horde, including the rest of the mane seven. From close-range to magic to artillery, they balanced both sides of the fight. This horde proved stronger than the ones the group had faced in the recruit missions, as it was a larger one and they were more vicious. They switched tactics to having the Ponies being the decoy as the Puyo crew have time to land devastating attacks and diversions.

As they started getting excited, Chrysalis drew near.

“*hiss* You dare do such a thing to me!” She roared. “I’ll see if you have the guts to go against me.”

Schezo drew his dark sword. “Try saying that again. Bring it, I don’t lose a single sword fight.”

“I don’t play fair.”

“Oh? Are you giving up, then?”

Chrysalis groaned. Caring less, she opened fire right away. With lightning reflexes, Schezo deflected the shots as he made his advance. He barely missed her as she strafed back. She came into terms and got one of her changelings to temporarily transform into a makeshift sword. As the two sparked off a fight, the rest of the group used this diversion to drive away the rest of the horde.

As the defense became more manageable, the allies switch tactics yet again- Just like they had planned, Ponies at the back providing support and the Puyo members focusing on the combat side. Despite their inexperience, the ponies did succeed in giving them magic for their attacks, as they also fuel their magic themselves as a backup. Changelings were fleeing after the allies started to fight back.

Meanwhile, Schezo was dealing with the vast majority of attackers still left in the battle. With his own wits, he slashed his sword into all that tried to attack him, knocking them all out. He backed up, regaining his magic and taking a breather.

”Shadow Edge!”

The tip of his sword emitted a black orb of magic. Then it shot out, blasting a bunch of Changelings into oblivion.

“*groans* Why must you ponies stand in my way every time!?”

She charged her magic. Before it can hit Schezo, Twilight and Starlight teleported over and backfired the attack, their lasers matching the Queen’s. They pushed on hard, and just when they were about to hit their limit, they successfully broke the stalemate, knocking Chrysalis out temporarily.

The group gathered.

“Is she...?” Arle asked.

Schezo drew his sword, ready to finish her off. However, Chrysalis twitched. Her horn lit up, and she was sucking up magic from a distant source. She then rose back up, as if nothing happened to her. She scratched her eye before letting out a hiss.

“You’ve won this time,” She grunted. “But the games are over.”

She called for her subjects to retreat. The allies have won- Kinda.

“Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash moaned, “That’s it?”

“It’s better than nothing,” Twilight said. “At least she’s fended off for now. But I don’t understand... How could she suddenly feel like nothing thing happened to her?”

Nobody had an answer.

“Well,” Arle looked at Schezo. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

He inserted his sword’s tip to the ground. “Gladly. I came to save everyone, after all.”

“Oh, totally, Dark Mage. You obviously came because of me.”

“I most certainly did not!”

“Magic portal took you here?”

“That I can agree on.”

“Okaaaaaay!” Twilight said, seeing their conversation being tense, “Why don’t you introduce yourself in a minute. We need to regroup and draft out our next move anyway. Everypony okay with that?”

No one seemed to object, so everyone followed Twilight back to the Castle. But, as they walked, Carby was pulling on Arle’s leg.

“Twilight, I’ll catch up in a moment,” Arle said. Twilight gave a nod. “What is it, Carby?”

Her friend pointed in the direction of the woods. The two snuck away from the group. Hiding behind trees and bushes, they hear two voices.

”Do you have any idea what could’ve happened!?”

“You’ve been using me far too much! Stop it!”

They could tell- One of them was Chrysalis. The other was someone familiar- A girl. Arle wanted to peek, but Carby shook his head no.

”You are under my control. Get on with the plan.”

“Why must you take all of the people’s love away? You took mine, and now them, too? When will you be satisfied?”

“When those ponies are defeated under my hooves.”

“You all can never be satisfied no matter how much love you try to take from me. That’s because you all are devoid of love yourself!”

“Silence!”

**Slap**

“*cries* Ahhhh!”

A thud was heard.

“I’ll make sure you won’t escape again. Now, follow. You have disobeyed me long enough.”

The sound of Chrysalis’ hooves echoed. The girl sighed. Meanwhile, Carby was trying hard to tug Arle back so she doesn’t blow her cover. But she couldn’t resist- She knew it must be her, the one who helped Chrysalis do all this. She recognized her voice. The signs were crystal clear.

Finally, she flung Carby off, uttering a “Sorry” quietly. But that caught the girl’s attention. She turned.

They gasp as they saw each other.

Arle was right- The girl was whom she recognized. She had green eyes, orange hair curling in the back, wearing an elaborate mini dress, though it looked more like a long-sleeved shirt, colored with a mix of light and dark green with a yellow pattern. Yellow leggings covered her legs, and she wore green boots with yellow wing patterns. On her neck was a purple pendant.

“Ally...” Arle gasped in disbelief.

Ally’s eyes welled up with tears. She bolted off running, fearing the Queen finding her with Arle.

“W-Wait!”

Arle wanted to chase, but she knew if she did, she’s running straight into the horde. So, in absolute despair and heartbreak, all she could do is look down, and return to the castle.

When Ally caught up, Chrysalis wasn’t that happy. The changelings had her chained, now forced to stay with the troops as they marched back to Canterlot. Her tears fell like raindrops, one by one.

”Arle... I’m sorry... How can you forgive me, though?”

Puyo Legend Schezo has joined the Party

Author's Note:

Oops. I was one day late on this chapter, sorry guys.