Facing our Fears (again)
The six friends continued to look in surprise at who was stuck in the closet amongst the brooms.
"Cozy Glow?" ventured Gallus.
"Thank Celestia somepony found me!" the pink filly replied. "I thought I was going to be stuck in there forever!"
She wobbled forward on her legs, clearly not used to walking, and looked around the corrider.
Gallus spoke up again. "So, Cozy Glow is here, but we also saw her buzzing off in that direction. So how can she be in two places at once?"
"Well," Cozy continued, "I was minding my own business when suddenly BAM! This giant creature that looked like a cheese grater bundled me in here and began imper- impersona-"
"Impersonating," Smoulder finished.
"Impersonating me!" Cozy added. "I have no idea how long I've been in that cupboard, but that thing did bring me food and drink every now and then. Clearly they needed me alive for some reason."
Sandbar began issuing instructions. "Cozy, return to your dorm and barricade yourself in. If whatever that thing is is still around, it may pop up again. The rest of you, with me."
As the two parties set off in separate directions, Ocellus began to look concerned. There was a sense of dread building in the pit of her stomach. She certainly had a vague idea of who 'Cozy Glow' might be.
The Young Six entered the library and found the access hatch that had taken them on their adventure a few weeks ago. The access ramp that had enabled them to get out was still there, so they simply slid down that to get inside, before wandering along some corridors and finding the viewing grate for a large chamber. Inside, six artefacts were arranged around in a hexagon shape, with six beams shooting forth (or one beam per artefact). Each of these beams fed into a blue ball of energy, which had Starlight Glimmer inside it, looking helpless and very trapped. Below them was a giant drain, into which energy was spilling like water from a bucket.
'Cozy' was down below, and speaking to nopony in particular. "Enjoying yourself in there, Starlight? I'm sorry I had to push you in. But what else could I do? You were going to ruin all my plans." She paused, and looked around before continuing, somehow failing to see the Young Six huddled against a grate. "You might get some company soon, if the puppet gets me what I want. All this magic needs time to drain from Equestria before my vortex sucks it to another realm, after all. Three days sure is a long time, yes? I imagine you'd know all about that from your time travel shenanigans. But, by all means, stay in there and get warm. The last thing I need is you screwing everything up for a third time."
The Young Six moved down to a lower level and entered the chamber, as 'Cozy Glow' continued. "With Twilight and her lackeys out of my way, all of Equestria will bow to me! The sole ruler of Equestria!"
"That's quite enough, Cozy, or whoever you are!" Gallus shouted. "This has gone far enough!"
'Cozy' turned around. "Well, I guess you found her," she said, her face moving into a nasty sneer.
Ocellus began to back up. She knew that face all too well. "Guys, we need to get out of here!" she said, before turning suddenly.
"Nuh uh, you didn't say the magic word." Metal gates slammed shut into place to prevent their escape. "I suppose the game is up. I suppose we should talk 'ling to 'ling."
Green fire washed over her, and her figure began to stretch and elongate. Black, hole filled chitin replaced pink fur, a black horn erupted from her head as her eyes turned green. A dark blue mane emerged from her head, pushing out the old curls, followed by a dark blue tail, both filled with holes. A light green carapace appeared on her back, joined by a shiny blue plate running around her waist. A strange crown appeared on her head, as dark blue wings emerged from her back, before the shell closed over them and kept them in place.
Queen Chrysalis laughed. "That is so much better. Seriously, when you choose an annoying filly to disguise yourself as, it's such a relief to get your normal voice back."
"So, the Queen of the Changelings-"
"Oh dear, nocreature calls me that anymore. Especially after what Thorax did!"
Suddenly, the figure of Neighsay appeared from one of the other vents, striding towards Chrysalis. "My lady," he said, "all you asked me to do, I have done."
"Excellent," Chrysalis smiled, and lit her horn. Neighsay vanished into nothingness, and blue energy flowed into Chrysalis' horn. Seconds later, she turned back to the Young Six and fired a beam, pinning them in place.
Sandbar squirmed and struggled as he tried to break free. The irony wasn't lost on him. Neighsay had been complaining about the other creatures being a threat to Equestria. And he had been in active cahoots with a wanted terrorist! "Traitor," he growled.
Chrysalis overheard him. "Oh, so you think your beloved Chancellor a traitor, do you? Here's the truth of the matter; Chancellor Neighsay has been dead for years. What you saw was merely a construct created by me to allow me to infiltrate your very society. In the process, he created an environment so chaotic, and so much distrust and diversion, that it allowed me to sneak in and achieve my plans."
"What are those?" Silverstream gasped, trying to get air into her lungs.
"Seeing as I intend to kill you anyway, I might as well tell you. Dead creatures tell no tales, after all." Chrysalis laughed at her own bad joke, and then continued. "All the other times I have tried to take control of the country, magic has always been the thing that stops me. You have always harnessed it to defeat my forces. So why not pull the rug out from underneath you? All the magic in Equestria is being fed into a chamber, where it shall activate and fuel an unstoppable army of Changelings, bred to be the perfect warriors, with no weaknesses or faults. Without magic, my forces shall sweep across Equestria in a tidal wave, and none will be able to stop me!"
"That's insane!" Ocellus cried. "Without magic, the world will cease to function properly and plant life will die!"
"I never said I wanted to destroy the world, little grub," Chrysalis replied, "only take it over. Of course I would move the sun and moon. I do need subjects to rule over to be a Queen, don't I?"
"You won't get away with this," Smoulder growled.
"Oh, but I already have." Chrysalis abruptly released the bonds on Ocellus. "And I'm about to make my victory so much easier. I have no interest in fighting you."
Her horn lit up again, and a blue beam shot across the room and into Ocellus. "Come to mommy, my child. After all, the one I had raised as my successor should be a challenge to fight, after all?"
Ocellus screamed as the spell began to take effect. "No! I won't fight my- GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
"Is that really how a child should speak to their mother?" Chrysalis smiled. "That's right. Ocellus was bred from the purest of genetic stock I had as a backup should I ever be pushed into a corner. She is no normal nymph- she is a Princeps class of Changeling."
"She's a dormant queen," Gallus realised. "No wonder her magic is so strong!"
Ocellus continued to struggle, but eventually it was too much. Her eyes turned a sickly red as the hidden programming took effect.
"This should be fun," Chrysalis smiled. "Time to sit back and watch, methinks."
The locks on the other members of the Young Six disengaged, and they scarpered as Ocellus began to open fire on them, bolts of blue energy flying everywhere and making quite the mess.
"Yona not like this!" the yak cried, as she ran for cover as bolts flew all over the place.
"Keep dodging the fire!" Sandbar called. "I'll think of something!"
Ocellus laughed. "You think running around will save you? Dodge this!" Her carapace opened, and she took to the air, her magic restored.
"Bucking great!" shouted Gallus. "She can fly now?"
Smoulder rolled out from behind a boulder and blasted a jet of fire at Ocellus. The flames connected, but the Changeling blocked it with a shield. "This is the problem of having no magic with which to fight the only magic user in the group!"
"And we can't knock her out of the sky, either!" Silverstream shouted, as she ran past the artefacts. She knocked into one, and a blast of energy shot out from it. It happened to catch Ocellus, who stopped for a moment as her eyes turned blue again.
"Huh? What- where am-"
Her eyes switched back to red.
Sandbar noticed this with interest. "It seems the artefacts' energy pulse disables the brainwashing temporarily." He looked over to the others. "Get behind the artefacts and start firing on Ocellus! I have a plan!"
The others nodded and ran as Ocellus continued to shoot at them, blowing holes in the floor and walls, which left the place in a bit of a mess. "I only hope this works!" Smoulder shouted. "I don't want to be a barbeque!"
"You make a very good barbeque!" Gallus joked.
"This is hardly the time to be cracking jokes, Gallus!" Silverstream called. They had all gotten behind an element, and began pulling on them, firing a beam in the direction of their former friend.
Ocellus dodged round most of them. "Want to play it that way? Very well." She continued firing indiscriminately.
"Of course, being underdeveloped makes her magic weaker than desired," Chrysalis noted.
Sandbar was about to reach his artefact, when suddenly a loud buzzing alerted him to something being wrong. He looked back- just in time for Ocellus to smash into him and pin him down. He looked up into her face as she looked back, snarling, her eyes glowing bright red and her horn charging for the killing blow.
"Ocellus, please!" Sandbar begged as he looked up at her. "Don't do this! I'm your friend!"
No response.
Sandbar knew he had to try a different track. "Remember all the fun we've had together! The time we spent in each other's company! Even our first kiss!"
That got a reaction out of her. Something had worked.
"Please, Ocellus... I love you."
Ocellus stopped. She seemed to blink underneath the eye covers. "Sandbar," she whispered. She could feel and sense his love for her, pure and whole. As she absorbed some of it, her eyes returned to normal, and she staggered backwards, looking over towards Chrysalis.
"What?" Chrysalis exclaimed, surprised. "What is this? Destroy him!"
"No," Ocellus flatly replied.
Chrysalis blinked. Had this grub really just said no to her? "I am your Queen! You will obey me!"
"Those who move for you, move only in Command, not out of Love!" Ocellus replied, turning to face the being who had the audacity to call herself a 'mother'. "You believe yourself a Queen, but are nothing more than a coward who uses those around you to do your bidding!"
"She's quoting Shirespear!" Gallus noted. "What? I paid attention in that literature class!"
"You may consume love, but don't understand it." Ocellus was now in full flow. "This is where I found my place in the world. This is where I found love, and who I truly am. I am not Ocellus, the daughter of Chrysalis. I am not Ocellus, the Princeps. I am my own being. I decide my own destiny. I am Ocellus the Changeling, and I say to Tartarus with you!"
In that moment, each member of the Young Six suddenly began to glow, and a spectral voice began to speak.
"These six have succeeded where you have failed, Chrysalis. The elements of harmony are a force you will never be able to wield or understand, for you lack any of their traits. They are the new Bearers of the Elements."
Each of the Young Six lit up in turn as the voice spoke.
"Silverstream, the Element of Laughter.
Smoulder, the Element of Loyalty.
Sandbar, the Element of Generosity.
Gallus, the Element of Honesty.
Yona, the Element of Kindness.
And last, but not least, Ocellus, the Element of Magic. This is a power you can never triumph against, for those with evil design will never triumph over the pure of heart."
Each of them floated in front of the artefacts, and with a single motion pulled them clear. This produced a shockwave that spread outwards and across Equestria repairing the damage and restoring the magic to the land.
Suddenly, the Young Six were warped outside and landed in the courtyard. "That was one crazy acid trip," Gallus said. "Sandbar, those plants round the back of your house were amazing."
"I think that was real. Otherwise, why is Chrysalis over there?"
Chrysalis suddenly surged to her feet, and her horn lit up. "You blithering idiots!" she shouted. "Now my new breed of Changelings cannot get the energy they need to awaken! My plan will never work now!"
Suddenly, the Mane Six warped in from Tartarus, with Starlight Glimmer appearing a second later.
"Stay right where you are, Chrysalis," Twilight Sparkle warned her. "You're wanted for a list of crimes too lengthy to list here."
"I may be a monarch, but I'm no idiot," Chrysalis replied. "Your existence is meaningless! Honesty, loyalty, generosity, it is all a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing!" When Twilight looked astonished, she continued. "See? I know Shirespeare too." Seconds later, she teleported out.
"Is Chrysalis getting away a running joke nowadays?" Starlight asked.
"So, let me check I've understood this correctly," Celestia said. "Chrysalis, at some point, bumped Neighsay off, resurrected him as a spirit of sorts to spread chaos and undermine the school to distract attention away from her moving resources around. Then, at some point, she disguised herself as Cozy Glow and used that as a cover to ensure the students didn't suspect anything. But when she inadvertently used her magic, it aroused the suspicions of these six, who then confronted her and defeated her. Is that correct?"
"With a bit of help from the Tree of Harmony," Gallus added.
"Well," Twilight smiled, "I think this calls for a celebration. All exams are cancelled, and we shall have a great banquet to celebrate the actions of these six brave creatures, who have saved the land!"
Most of the students cheered- except Ocellus, who simply mouthed 'oh no'.
Suddenly, Cozy Glow barrelled out of the crowd and slammed into Sandbar. "Yay!" she cried. "You were awesome, Sandy!"
"Well, I kinda had to clear your name after Chrysalis impersonated you," Sandbar smiled.
"Are you and Cozy related?" asked Smoulder.
"She's my little sister," Sandbar replied. "And I love her to bits."
"He's the bestest big brother ever!" Cozy squealed, her face still embedded in his chest.
Celestia laughed at this scene of mirth. "If I may, I would like to assist with this banquet. There shall be the best cake, the finest musicians, and the most splendid of decorations."
"Of course!" Twilight smiled.
And all was well and happy, in Equestria at least. Far away, Chrysalis sat in a wooded grove and snarled.
"This isn't the last you'll see of me," she snarled, looking at wooden carvings of her enemies. "I shall defeat Starlight Glimmer and take control of this cursed land. Though I may need some help."
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Wow, that was surprising. Not only was Cozy good the whole time, but Neighsay was actually dead all along. That’s a pretty big twist. Plus that will definitely change the roster for the Legion of Doom. Plus, since Tirek apparently had no involvement in magic vanishing this time like he was in canon, I can only imagine his confusion when the Mane 6 and Spike show up to ask him questions.
I thought Ocellus being a potential successor to Chrysalis is an interesting idea, one that I haven’t seen very often. Also, it seems like you changed some of the Elements each of the students represents a bit, which was an interesting decision.
Ah my old theory. I mean after all though.... it was something that made me went balmy. XD
Oh yeah I know who it is too queen chrysalis 😡
When I first watched School Raze, it infuriated me how they missed the obvious; Chrysalis being the one draining all the magic. As a plan, it just screams Chrysalis! I honestly thought they'd take this route, given how suddenly Cozy's behaviour changes in Season 8. I thought putting this right would fit nicely, not to mention having Ocellus being Chrysalis' successor, something they hinted at in What Lies Beneath but never followed up on (which was annoying).
You're right there some miss opportunities to follow up from that episode what lies beneath and it would make sense why cozy acts like that because that's not the real one and although they will not go for death because you know Hasbro has their own standard you kids show and I really wish they'd have gone more Explorer of these kids because they are very interesting characters but hasbro once again they always keep forgetting about the characters and we are so close to the ending of the show they didn't have time and that kind of annoys me as well now mind you I do not hate the show or the ending I just wish they could have done more with it
"Are you and Cozy related?" asked Smoulder.
"She's my little sister," Sandbar replied. "And I love her to bits."
"He's the bestest big brother ever!" Cozy squealed, her face still embedded in his chest.
Oh so sandbar has 2 sisters ok cool
Wow now that is a twist so cozy was trap in the closet and she was not involved of the magic draining but I never thought that Neighsay was dead which wow dang so cozy aka queen chrysalis was pulling the strings of stealing the magic she even tried to brainwash ocellus to attack her friends but thanks to sandbar to bring ocellus back thanks to the power of love so ocellus and her friends stop queen chrysalis bit she got away of course but the magic is back thanks to the young six so whats she is up too and it looks like she going to got some help hmm I wonder who could be i guess we will found out next time
I disagree about Ocellus turning into Chrysalis hinting at her being her successor. It most likely happened because Chrysalis is basically an embodiment of what Changelings used to be and as such can be seen as the very thing Ocellus is afraid of becoming. But that’s just the conclusion I came to just now.
Gallus, what did you do?
I like this, do more with it.
10460937
It is an AU after all. Besides, I like to pull the rug out from underneath my readers every now and then.
10460939
Dost thou mean 'barmy'?
10460944
Yes.
10461006
Hasbro almost seemed to forget they existed at one point, which was qiuite annoying.
10461007
Sadly, no. The other one doesn't exist in this timeline.
10461072
Yes.
10461126
1. I'll watch What Lies Beneath again.
2. That's a nod to a story called The Fertility Flower, where we learn that Sandbar has something of a reputation for eating wierd plants.
3. I will.
10461342
Hasbro almost seemed to forget they existed at one point, which was qiuite annoying.
Yeah it's been a running gag for a long time with that annoys me so much
Sadly, no. The other one doesn't exist in this timeline.
Oh really ok I guess I mean it would have been cool to see sandbar 2 sisters together
10461344
1. Like I said it’s just my thoughts so you don’t really have to do anything.
2. Never heard of it.
3. Yay.
10461348
Fair enough.
10461386
2. It's ultra weird.
3. Ezxcellent.
10461516
Perry and Croft? You, sir, have taste.
The reference is actually to Captain Square's catchphrase in Dad's Army; when his plans unravel (usually because of his own incompetence), he has a habit of calling others 'blithering idiots'.
10461339
True, that's what makes it fun.
Oh, one other thing from the chapter I thought was great was Oceelus's speech to Chrysalis when she broke free from her control. It kinda reminded me of one Hordak gave to Horde Prime, especially the ending with "I am Ocellus the Changeling, and I say to Tartarus with you!", almost to where I could imagine her saying "I am Ocellus the Changeling, and I defy your will!"
10461609
Cheers. I really wanted to make that moment hammer home, to which end I redrafted it once or twice.
Full disclosure: I was quite enjoying this story before you pulled the whole "Cozy was really Chrysalis" copout. It just seemed so cheap.
10461950
Frankly, Cozy being the villain in the original episode was pretty dumb.
10461974
Not as dumb as you think. Cozy is much better at faking being nice.
10462051
I think that was more just bad writing. Cozy nearly succeeds- not because she's clever, but because the writers kneecapped the other characters.
Besides, the plan to drain all the magic out of Equestria is crazy and poorly thought out. It screams Chrysalis!
10462068
Considering her statement in "Frenemies" that friendship is like a disease, it's highly unlikely she would get as far as Cozy. Even disguised as Cadance, she couldn't hide her true unpleasant nature.
10462125
Method acting has never been Chryssy's strong suit, admittedly. But as I said, more often than not the protagonists are idiots.
I was going to say that the tension for this arc was kinda pointless, since we already knew the story.
And then you threw me for a complete loop.
I am flabbergasted. More than that, I am impressed. Good job coming up with an original idea!
10462273
Thanks. As you rightly point out, there would be no point typing out the episode.
This is a Harry Potter reference isn’t it? I just realized that.
10498585
Yep. Put that in there for Jimmy.
Okay there is one video that world say this for me about this chapter
okay so let me see if I get the straight cozy glow was not behind this whole thing it was chrysalis and you're telling me that the chancellor was dead a long time ago and it was just a dummy whatever the heck that was and then the top of all of that cozy as related to Sandbar
good Lord that was just freaking mind-blowing and yes I do like how the young six they represent the Elements of Harmony which I like that but damn this chapter was something else man
11067509
The Chancellor was a magic construct.
11067584
I got it but damn that's just crazy man
How was she able to breed with no subjects an army? Is she capable of reproducing asexually?