Rising Star

by Argonaut44

Chapter Nine: Something To Live For

The sun was beginning to waver behind the shuddering canopy of the jungle, thin beams of yellow peeking through the leaves. Below, on ground level, Chrysalis and Violet were still on the move, heading in a new direction. Neither of them had any idea at all where they were heading. Landmarks all looked the same, and soon it felt like forward was backward.

Chrysalis contemplated shedding her Starlight disguise and just flying out of this wretched jungle. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to, considering how much of an effort she had already made in search of this accursed treasure.

“Hey, Glimmer, what’s that?” said Violet, wiping sweat from her forehead. She was pointing past the brush, over a steep ridge that dropped an eighth of a mile down, to the treeline below. Violet had caught a glimpse of something shiny, almost like the light of a star, flickering through the trees. Chrysalis hadn’t seen it, but, considering they had nothing else to go off of, she followed Violet to the ridge to get a closer look.

Stepping past the trees to the small grassy bed that reached the edge of the cliff, they gazed down below, both of their jaws dropping. There was a waterfall nearby that ran down below into a green-colored river, containing a variety of plants and small insects. And built atop that river, were the glorious ruins of an ancient temple, built with tremendous stone that had worn with age, adorned with rusted metal and once-shiny crystals. The temple, which was the size of a castle, seemed completely abandoned, except for the abundance of plant life. The forest had conquered it, weeds and ferns growing on every column and rock and between every crevice and crack.

“I assume that’s our destination?” Violet asked, taken aback by the immense scale of the temple below. It was the first instance of civilization she had seen in nearly a week, and would have found it to be a comforting sight, except for the fear-inducing mystery that surrounded it. Violet, after all, was more or less unaware of all the ancient significance that Chrysalis’ quest involved.

Chrysalis hadn’t even answered Violet, as she had immediately begun her descent down the cliff, climbing down a nearby steep downwards path that ran along the sharp drop beneath the ridge. Violet followed suit, hurrying down the cliff, hoping they wouldn’t find any trouble below.

When they were both all the way down, Chrysalis took the lead, approaching the temple cautiously. Her horn was at the ready, unsure what perils awaited them inside.

“What’s with the look on your face? What’s waiting for us there?” Violet asked, concerned. Abandoned ancient temples rarely brought good tidings.

“Probably nothing good,” Chrysalis muttered.

“Great. Just where I wanted to kick the bucket. A smelly, disgusting jungle.”

Chrysalis ignored her companion’s complaints as they arrived at the entrance. Cobwebs and hanging dark green plants were what welcomed them, effortlessly evaporated by Chrysalis.

Inside, the duo found themselves in a large courtyard, with some sort of deteriorated statue of some unrecognizable pony from a bygone age stuck in the center. There were pillars lining the walls, some having been knocked down and replaced by the forest overgrowth. The temple was in a treeless clearing and the courtyard had no roof, so the sun was able to beat down directly on the ponies below.

Both ponies nervously made their way deeper into the courtyard, trying to ignore the dead animal carcasses, skeletons, and twisted brown vines that were littered across the floor.

“Starlight Glimmer.”

Chrysalis straightened up as soon as she recognized the eerie voice. It came from nowhere, surrounding the ponies from every direction. Violet shrieked in surprise, her horn glowing bright magenta, defensively.

“Who’s there?!” she yelled, terrified.

“Calm down,” Chrysalis said.

“You have made it to your second trial, Starlight Glimmer. With help, it seems.”

Chrysalis had been worried that bringing Violet along would complicate things, though judging by the voice’s calm tone, she was relieved to think it wasn’t a problem after all.

“Go on then! What do I have to do!”

The voice giggled, as if it was mocking Chrysalis. Chrysalis frowned in response, not having time for the voice’s games.

“Your impatience will get you nowhere. You ought to know, you are not alone in your search for the artifact.”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened in shock.

“What?! Who!?”

“I’m afraid they never told me their names. There were many of them. Two of them, I believe, were alicorns.”

Chrysalis felt her stomach wrench at this ghastly revelation. All this time, she had believed Twilight Sparkle and her cult of friendship-loving morons were off searching for the real Starlight. She wondered how they had managed to locate her, and then she recalled that wretched dragon Sawtooth, who she was highly suspicious of since their first meeting.

I knew I couldn’t trust him.

“Most curiously, one of them, an alicorn, purple in color, she called you by another name, Chrysalis.” the voice continued.

Chrysalis wasn’t sure whether she wanted to hear anymore. She was about to come up with some sort of excuse, both to a confused Violet and a clearly suspicious disembodied spirit voice, until the voice continued.

“Though, her companions seemed to doubt this. Tell me who you really are, Starlight Glimmer. Deceiving me will not help you gain the artifact.”

Chrysalis had already reasoned out the most practical course of action. Despite Twilight having assumed the truth, she still had no actual proof, which meant Chrysalis would just have to keep up the act a little bit longer.

“Twilight Sparkle is in denial. She can’t accept that I’ve changed, that I’m not her obedient little pupil anymore,” said Chrysalis, doing her best Starlight impression.

Chrysalis waited for an answer, as it was impossible to judge the reaction of the bodiless voice.

“Very well, Starlight Glimmer. Then I have no reason to keep you from your next trial….a test of courage. Few ponies have passed the first trial. None have ever passed the second. Though, nopony has ever come with help before. Perhaps together you will fare better than those poor souls of the past. To win this trial, you must defeat a beast of prehistoric monstrousness, brought back from the pit of darkness it was cast into to serve one purpose, destroy all those who dare to take the greatest power ponykind has ever sought. It will not stop until either you or it is killed. Its hunger is insatiable, as is its love for brutality. Starlight Glimmer, I present to you...The Behemoth.” As it went on about the beast, the voice became dark, and prophetic, and terrible, as if the whole world was crumbling down around them.

Violet was now severely questioning what exactly she had gotten herself into, while Chrysalis was preparing herself for whatever this beast was that they would have to kill.

The ground beneath them suddenly began to rupture, and tear itself apart, beneath it rising a form, burly and primal, hairy, with powerful, defined muscles that stretched beneath its leathery skin. It had the proportions of a bat, with large, arm-like forelegs, and smaller hind legs. It was covered in wiry brown hair, and had horrible claws, that were like a handful of sharpened knives. It’s head resembled that of a wolf or a dog, with yellow and red eyes, pointed ears, razor sharp teeth, and a thick snout. It stood almost the size of a school bus, towering over the ponies.

It slobbered and roared as it climbed out from the wreckage beneath the floor. The ponies back away, staring at the monster in terror. Violet immediately got up and rushed to the door, but found it was no longer there, somehow replaced by solid stone. She fired a beam of magic at the wall, which had no effect. Dread set in, as the monster gained its footing, growling.

“Violet…”

Violet slowly trotted back to where Chrysalis was.

“There’s no way out.”

“Not until we kill that thing, or it kills us…”

Violet took a deep breath as she accepted the likelihood of death.

“Fuck it.”

Violet stepped towards the Behemoth first, blasting it in the face with all the magic she could muster. The monster howled in pain, though seemed barely affected, a small black mark on its cheek being the only lasting damage. Violet felt her confidence drop to a state of nonexistence, hope for victory disappearing in an instant.

“Glimmer, ideas?”

“It’s impervious to magic,” Chrysalis replied.

“How the hell do you know that?”

“I’ve studied this beast in books. I knew we’d have to face it.”

Violet stared at her blankly.

“And you neglected to tell me?! That we’d be fighting a giant magic-proof monster to the death?!”

“There’s a way to kill it,” Chrysalis said.

“I think I made it angry,” said Violet, as the monster finally began preparing its attack.

“Listen to me, there’s a magic dagger, hidden somewhere around here. It’s the only thing that can kill it! You have to find it,” Chrysalis commanded.

“Why do I have to find it?”

“Would you rather be the one to distract that thing? Because that’s what I’m doing!”

Violet nodded, deciding she had the better job after all. She rushed off, turning over every stone, rock, and bush in search of this dagger.

Chrysalis meanwhile, stared down the beast. Her magic had no effect, and as a result, she was relatively helpless. The beast bared its fangs at her as it approached, its tremendous legs carving craters into the ground as it stomped towards her.

The beast took its first swing, Chrysalis barely managing to jump out of the way. The beast’s claw carved right through the stone wall behind her like butter, sending shards of broken rock flying out in every direction. Chrysalis wasted no time sprinting to the other side of the court yard, as the Behemoth screamed a blood-curdling cry of fury, turning and pursuing her at full speed. Again, she managed to dodge the beast’s swing, this time successfully causing it to crash into a column. She didn’t wait around for it to recover, heading for the other side again.

Violet, meanwhile, was turning the place upside down, yet there was no sign of any kind of dagger. Just dirt, rocks, and plants.

“Glimmer! There’s nothing here!”

“Look harder!!!” Chrysalis screamed, narrowly avoiding another slash, that sliced a nearby column in half. Violet panicked and continued looking around, until she slowly looked back up at the beast, having noticed something.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Hanging around the beast’s neck was the dagger, though, to a pony, it was large enough to be considered a sword. It dangled from the beast’s neck by a loose rope-collar. The blade occasionally chipped some flesh off of the beast’s neck as it flew back and forth, but never deep enough to cause any real damage.

Violet inhaled, and ran straight towards the beast as it was chasing Chrysalis. She ran up a small staircase that led nowhere, and flung herself right onto the back of the beast. The beast, enraged, stopped chasing Chrysalis and began shaking itself violently, trying to pull Violet off of itself.

“What are you doing?!”

“Neck!” was all Violet could manage to get out, as she struggled with all her might to hang on to the ferocious beast.

Chrysalis picked up on the hint and discovered the dagger swinging from around the beast’s neck.

Great.
Chrysalis tried to pick up the dagger with her magic, yet, just like the beast itself, the weapon was impervious.

Chrysalis ran at the beast, high on the thrill of battle, running straight for the dagger. However, the beast realized what they were trying to do, and managed to whack Chrysalis hard into a wall with one of its claws, tearing flesh off of her back. She shrieked and collapsed to the floor, struggling to tolerate the pain. She slowly picked herself up, invigorated by the screams of Violet behind her, who was now on the ground, holding a fallen pillar above her to prevent the beast’s jaws from slamming shut around her head.

“Glimmer!” she shrieked, as the beast began chomping away at the column, slowly whittling it down. Chrysalis, pumped with adrenaline, stood up and ran for the dagger once more. She made it much closer, managing to grab a hold of the hilt before the beast grabbed a hold of her with its claw. It pulled her away, unintentionally breaking the dagger off from the rope in the process. Chrysalis was unable to stop herself from letting go, as the beast threw her across the courtyard into another wall. Violet saw the dagger was free, and dove for it, knocking the beast in the face with what remained of the column. She grabbed it, just as the beast grabbed her by one leg with its mouth, its teeth tearing right through her flesh and muscles. She screamed as it dragged her along the floor. Violet, through teary eyes, shrieked as she let go of the dagger. The beast dropped her to the floor, her leg now mangled and bloody. Violet lay motionless on the ground, moaning in pain, devoid of energy or strength.

The beast approached the defeated Violet, drooling from its mouth, savoring the taste of her blood in its mouth. It grinned as it crept closer, eager to satisfy its eternally endless appetite. Until, it heard Chrysalis return from behind. Right as it spun around, it froze, feeling the blade of the magic dagger pierce its flesh from beneath its head. The beast groaned and howled, screaming in agony as it flailed and raged about, before it began coughing and hacking, disintegrating into dust before the ponies’ very eyes. They glanced over at each other, both bloody and beaten up.

Chrysalis collapsed to the ground, exhausted, as she watched the dusty remnants of the beast blow away into the wind. Violet groaned with her leg, which Chrysalis healed with a simple spell, fixing herself right after. Still, the pain lingered.

“That was the most insane thing...I’ve ever done.”

“Still think I’m an amateur?”

“No, now I think you’re suicidal.”

The ponies stood up, just as the familiar cold presence of the disembodied voice returned.

“I am most impressed with you, Starlight Glimmer. And your friend as well. You have successfully passed the second trial.”

Chrysalis was in no mood congratulation. She was drained of strength, and desperately needed the confirmation that this highly-demanding quest would all be over with soon.

“Your third trial is in the mountains, just north from here. On the tallest peak, there is a cave. There, we will meet for the last time. I bid you luck, Starlight Glimmer.”

With that, the voice disappeared once more.

The ponies turned to where the door they had entered was, and saw the door had returned, except it went in a new direction, as if the whole temple had swiveled around half a rotation. There was a dirt path that led straight out of the jungle, into a grassy field. The ponies were impressed by this magical teleportation, and exited the doorway to the triumphant freedom of the treeless refuge. After stepping into the grass, they turned to see the temple had completely disappeared, nothing but the edge of the jungle behind them.

Violet collapsed again, still exhausted, yet thankful they were free. Chrysalis remained standing, her face warped with a strange sense of conflict.

“I guess that’s it then? The end of our short-lived partnership?”

Chrysalis simply nodded, staring off into the distance, contemplating her next course of action.

“Headed north then? To reunite with your spooky ghost friend?”

Chrysalis snapped out of her thoughts and glanced down at Violet, whose sad eyes were gazing up at her, beckoning her to answer.

“That’s right. The mountains. But I can’t go yet.”

“Why’s that?”

“I…” Chrysalis began, then cut herself off. What she meant to say, was that Violet had to die, yet, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. After Sawtooth’s apparent betrayal, Chrysalis knew it would be foolish to leave another pony alive who knew of her plans. Yet, she found herself consciously opposed to doing so, almost as if she understood it was a wrong thing to do.

Violet suspected Chrysalis was planning to kill her, in fact she had suspected that since they first met. She found Chrysalis to be intriguing, as if the pony was desperate to prove herself to be evil. She wondered whether Chrysalis would try it, if the pony was capable of showing any sign of morality at all.

Despite knowing it was the safer course of action, Chrysalis never landed a killing blow. She found herself unwilling to, though she couldn’t explain why. All she knew was that she didn’t want to go through with killing Violet, and she didn’t want to think about it anymore. She just wanted to move on.

“Nothing...I’ll be off, to finish this all...Goodbye,” Chrysalis said, wondering why in Equestria she felt inclined to spare Violet.

“Good luck then, try not to get yourself killed, maniac,” Violet replied, smirking.

Chrysalis nodded and started trotting off, alone once more, heading into the wilderness.

---

Jackpot was chewing on some strange-tasting gum he had recently bought from a trader pony, as he took a seat on the ground, leaning against the wheel of their cart. Starlight was still unconscious inside the cart, draped in bedsheets and smothered with pillows and used furniture. Facing Jackpot was Dust Bunny, who had taken one of the chairs down to sit in, preferring not to sit on the filthy ground. She was chewing on some vegetables and gazing at the dim light of a lantern, all of which she had recently bought from pony merchants in the caravan.

The sun was already down, and the caravan had earlier decided to stop for the day, sleep beneath the stars in a large expanse of rough grassland. She shrunk deeper into the wooden chair she was in, and was using her coat as a blanket, trying to keep herself warm as the temperature dropped.

“I talked to this pony who was selling tea, and he said we’ll make it to the city by tomorrow, before midday,” said Jackpot. He wasn’t even sure if Dust was awake, as the lantern was barely functional.

“Does Vanhoover have customs officials?” Dust asked.

“Of course they do, and without a doubt, they’ve already been alerted that we’re coming,” Jackpot said.

Dust found this troubling, though it seemed as though Jackpot already had a solution.

“So what’s the plan?” Dust asked.

“I told my friend to meet us outside the city, in that letter we sent. There's a place we used to meet ponies for business. If he’s there, he’ll get us inside.”

“What if he’s not?”

Jackpot stared at her, unsure what exactly she was implying.

“He’ll be there. And if he ain’t there, it’s probably because we sent a pigeon to tell him.”

Dust raised her head from the chair, taking Jackpot’s crude tone as an unprovoked jab at Elodea.

“She tried, okay? Why can’t that be enough for you?”

“She also left us, didn’t she...Our lives are at stake, and she thinks now’s a good time to piss off and leave us to fend for ourselves.”

“She didn’t have a choice! They would have got her if she didn’t run away, I just...she’s always been the one to do stuff like that. Get me out of trouble. I really wanted to show her I could take care of myself. I missed her so much, you know? And I wanted her to be proud of me. But I guess nothing’s changed. And now she’s gone, and we’ll probably never see each other again.”

Jackpot saw how upset she was getting, and relaxed his aggressiveness.

“Sorry...you’re right. She helped us. As much as she could, I guess.”

Dust said nothing, though appreciated his effort.

“What if she’s in danger? Elodea, I mean...we can’t leave her after she helped us.”

“Sure we can.”

“How could you say that? We can’t just abandon her!”

“I don’t know if you recall, Dust, but we barely made it out of there alive,” Jackpot said, trying to make her be rational.

“But-”

“We’re not going back, alright? It’s too dangerous.”

“What, are you afraid?”

“No I’m not afraid. I don’t want Starlight or you to be in danger,” Jackpot said, slightly condescendingly .

“Please. Why’s that matter?” Dust stammered.

“Because I have to protect you!”

Dust burst into laughter, making Jackpot feel slightly embarrassed.

“Protect me? It’s you who needs protection, you’re the one who has no idea what he’s doing,” she said, spitefully.

“Oh, that’s rich. The darling princess thinks she knows what it’s like to struggle. You’d never survive in the world I used to live in. They’d tear you apart. You’re just a little girl who got everything she ever wanted in life.”

“You’re one to talk, you can’t keep a steady job for longer than a month! How many times have I had to loan you bits? I might as well be giving you a weekly allowance, you cheating drunk! You and me, we’re not the same! I don’t depend on you for anything! And where would you be without me? Starlight and I helped you out, when nopony else would! Maybe that’s all it was then, right? We were never your friends, we’re your checking accounts.”

“You’re right, you and I are definitely not the same. You know why I get routinely fucked by the universe? Because I deserve it. What comes around goes around, Dust. We each get what we deserve. And look at what I’ve got, absolutely nothing. I’ve got nothing to live for! And forgive me, that when you get pulled into this shitshow, and you could die left and right, I feel like I’ve got to protect you! How’s your goddamn degree gonna save you from an axe to the head, Dust? I’m not a hero, and I sure as hell didn’t ask to be on this Celestia-damned little adventure. I’m just doing what I can, to help some ponies who don’t deserve to end up a hapless bastard such as myself. Your junkie friend had the same mentality, I could see it. I don’t want you to fall down the same path I did.”

Dust calmed herself down, realizing she had poked a major nerve with Jackpot, who was now red in the face.

“I think you’re a hero. You got Starlight out of that city, remember that? I think that you do care about your friends, and families, and all kinds of stuff. You just don’t want to care.”

Jackpot snorted in amusement.

“Of course I care. Everypony cares about something. There’s no act. Not once have I tried to pretend I’m something I’m not. That’s all there is though, just an emptiness. Nopony’s ever given a damn about me. Not my damned father, not any friend I ever held onto, nopony. And what I take from that is, nopony should. That maybe it’s not them, but it’s me. Maybe I’m just not worth a damn. And if that’s the way it is, then so be it. But I’m still gonna do what I can. Numb the pain, exploit the joy. Meet ponies, lose ponies. We all end up in the same dirt in the end anyways.”

“I care about you!” Dust said, a burst of emotions running through her. She shut her mouth right after, embarrassed and afraid of what his reaction would be.

Jackpot glanced up from the ground at Dust, who couldn’t even make eye contact. He opened his mouth to speak, curious over how she really felt about him, until the screams of ponies farther on in the settled-down caravan sent him springing to his hooves.

“What was that?”

Dust got up too, picking up the chair and dumping it back in the cart. She picked up the lantern and backed up beside Jackpot, who was waiting for any developments.

Both ponies were struck by fear at the sound of hooves raging against the dirt over the nearby hill. The trader ponies in the caravan were now screaming in panic, gathering their things and trying to flee in any safe direction.

“Jackpot, what is that?” Dust asked, her voice trembling, as both of them noticed a horde of ponies racing over the nearby hill towards the caravan. The horde was crying out fear-inducing screams, as more and more poured over the hill.

“Looks like a bunch of raider degenerates. They’ll beat you near death and steal everything you own,” Jackpot said, trying to act like he wasn’t afraid.

“Should we run?!” Dust asked, as the horde drew closer.

“There’s only about twenty, I think...we can outrun them, they’ll be stuck on the slow ones first,” Jackpot said, “Here, get in the cart, I’ll pull!” Dust wasted no time climbing aboard, practically sitting on top of Starlight. Jackpot attached the harness to the cart, spat out some phlegm, and began sprinting forward, south, the way the caravan was headed originally.

“Does this happen all the time?!” Dust asked, as the cart bounced along behind Jackpot.

“Every now and then. We just got unlucky, is all,” he said between gasps for breaths, as he ran with all his strength. Ponies in the caravan who were just waking up or still disorganized remained on the ground, collecting their things in a hurry as the horde rapidly drew closer. Jackpot had to gallop over several ponies, boxes, and other junk that was strewn about on the ground, nearly tripping several times. The horde was approaching perpendicular to the path south Jackpot was heading, and they were in a single horizontal row, stretching over as much space as possible. Jackpot grunted as he continued running, having noticed that at the current rate, they wouldn’t make it out. He thought hard about what those raiders could do to Starlight and Dust, and he became invigorated, running even faster along the rough terrain.

The horde clashed with the caravan, raider ponies drawing sharp blades and heavy weapons, forcing the trader ponies to bend to their will. Some ponies managed to run off, but the raiders were faster, and they caught them in no time.

Once the raiders had rounded up everypony in sight, they took to investigating what goods lay waiting for them. However, some of the trader ponies had managed to escape the initial purge, though were still within viewing range.

“More!” yelled one of the raiders.

Ten of the raiders cried out their claims and set out to catch the remaining escapees, who had fled off into the wilderness.

One of those escapees was Jackpot, who, despite believing them to be at a safe distance, was still running for his life. It was Dust who first noticed they were being followed.

“Uh, Jackpot?! They’re gaining on us!”

“How many?!”

“Three! And they don’t look happy!”

Jackpot could barely see what lay ahead in the darkness, though thankfully the terrain they were traversing was relatively flat, reducing the chances of getting tripped up or falling into some unforeseen ditch.

“Get that crossbow out of that bag!”

Dust, without thinking, retrieved the weapon, until she realized what he intended for her to do with it.

“Jackpot, I can’t kill anypony!”

“It’s us or them!”

Dust swiveled around to face their pursuers, who were sprinting after them. Before she could even align the weapon with a target, a harpoon stuck itself into the back wooden plank of the cart. One of the raiders had thrown it, and, pulling it backwards and staking it into the ground, effectively caused the cart to flip over on its side. Dust was thrown out right into the ground, facefirst. Jackpot practically did a flip, landing on his side, hard. He groaned and undid the harness, crawling to where his crossbow had fallen on the ground.

He picked up, and just in time, when the first raider rounded the corner. He fired a bolt straight through the pony’s forehead, killing him. Jackpot gasped in a combination of pain and shock, and began reloading the weapon, however he never got the chance, when another raider jumped on top of him, wrestling the crossbow out of his hooves. Jackpot punched the pony in the face, as another jumped on his back, attempting to stab him with a knife. Jackpot grabbed the pony’s arms, desperately trying to prevent the blade from touching his neck. He tried to shake off the raider, slamming him into the turned over cart, forcing him to drop the knife. Jackpot caught it and stabbed the pony right in the gut. When he turned around, he felt the wooden butt of his crossbow slam into his face. He collapsed to the floor, barely still aware of his surroundings. The pony smirked and turned the crossbow around, intending on shooting Jackpot with his own weapon. Yet, right before he could pull the trigger, the weapon flew out of his hooves, hovering in the air, surrounded by a turquoise aura of magic.

“Back off,” said Starlight Glimmer, weakly, having woken up in light of the crash and the sounds of struggling. She appeared to be only half-alive, and yet the raider pony followed her command without hesitation, terrified. The raider was dark brown, with a messy head of hair. He was covered in filthy rags and holstered weapons, and had a scar along his nose. Despite his hardened demeanor, he seemed absolutely horror-stricken by Starlight.

“D-Don’t kill me, oh Celestia, please!”

Starlight was confused, and immediately suspected the pony was playing some sort of trick. Jackpot eventually came to his senses, and was delighted to see Starlight awake again. He joined her, as did Dust, who thought she had broken a bone from the fall.

“You ponies must be mad, working with that-that monster.”

Jackpot and Dust both glanced at Starlight, who, after having barely survived being blasted by an alicorn princess, was not in the mood for more unfounded accusations.

“What are you talking about?” Dust asked, wanting to know why exactly Starlight was so hated by Equestria.

“I’ve seen what you’ve done! In Irwind, and Hilltop! Just two weeks ago, I seen it!”

“Seen what?” Jackpot asked.

“Seen what?! That’s the Scourge of the South! She’s been off killing hundreds and hundreds of ponies for these past months here! You northern folk must not have heard about this all yet! Well good Celestia, get away from her while you can!”

Starlight stared at him, utterly shocked by this news.

“You’re saying that this pony, right here, has been committing mass murder for the past couple months?”

“Everypony knows it! I hear she’s even got Princess Luna after her! She’s destroyed entire cities!”

Starlight shook her head.

The raider was quaking in his boots, praying that he would be spared.

“Get out of here, and don’t come back,” Starlight said.

The raider nodded quickly and bolted off, wanting to be as far away from that pony as physically possible.

When the three ponies were alone, Starlight took a seat on a nearby rock, her heart heavy with pain.

“Starlight, this isn’t making sense. How could all that have been you?! You’ve been living in town all that time!” Dust said, shocked by the strange news.

Starlight had already come to a conclusion, a conclusion that made her red with anger.

“Because it wasn’t me. It’s Chrysalis, framing me, turning Equestria against me,” she said, though she couldn’t believe her own words. This was like a nightmare had become reality.

The other two took a few seconds to get a grasp on the situation.

“How does that change anything? Look, if Luna was willing to kill you earlier, you really think she’s going to buy what we have to tell her?” Jackpot said.

“But it’s the truth!” Dust exclaimed.

“No, Jackpot’s right…” said Starlight.

Dust’s eyes were wide with disbelief, shocked that Starlight was agreeing with him.

“Starlight, you can’t take the fall for whatever that changeling is doing!” she said.

“I haven’t got anypony in my corner, except you two. And they think you’re just as criminal as me.”

The ponies all stood in silence, all of them not at all pleased with their situation.

“Where are we?” Starlight asked, unable to remember anything from the past 24 hours.

“We’re heading to Vanhoover. Luna nearly killed you,” Jackpot replied.

“Oh…” Starlight said, realizing she was lucky to be alive.

“Alright...well when we get there, we’ve just got to lie low...let things calm down...I mean, eventually they'll find Chrysalis, and then they’ll know I’m innocent,” Starlight said, though she felt like her hopes would be in vain. Chrysalis had evaded capture for as long as Starlight was aware of her.

“And Elodea?”

“Got stuck behind,” Dust said.

Starlight shook her head regretfully. The more ponies on their side, the better.

“Is it safe to sleep here? I’m exhausted,” Dust said.

“Well, since they now think we’ve got a murderous supervillain over here, yeah, I don’t think they’ll come back for us,” Jackpot said.

The ponies lied down on the ground, shivering in the cold night air. Starlight had long been intent on relieving herself of hate, and yet, the fact that Chrysalis was still finding ways to make her life a living hell made that resolution difficult. All she really wanted was for things to be normal again.

---

Twilight’s mane as a mess.

She was covered in dirt and sweat, though so was everypony else, all of them weary from nearly two days of endless wandering through the jungle.

That afternoon, the ponies took a much-needed break in a small grove, wishing they had never entered this forsaken jungle at all.

“We’re heading back,” Savoy, the colt guide of the group, said suddenly. He was the only one still standing while the others all rested their legs, and his facial expression was enough to prove he had no intention of mucking about in this forest any longer. He hadn’t even wanted to take these ponies here in the first place.

“We can’t, not until we find Chrysalis,” said Twilight, firmly.

“That pony is probably dead! She could never have made it out of this jungle alive! And if we spend any more time here, we will end up the same! The jungle has taken care of her!”

Twilight shook her head.

“That’s not good enough. She could still be out there.”

“Twilight, I’m with him on this one. We would’ve found her by now, wouldn’t we?” Rarity said.

“We can’t give up!”

“Twilight, it’s over. You can’t keep dragging us on this chase. She’s dead, or gone, or maybe it’s like Spike said, and she is on the other side of Equestria,” said Rainbow, tired of this fruitless quest.

Twilight saw the desperate exhaustion on her friends’ faces, and, after a brief spout of deliberation, she relented, despite her better judgement.

“Fine,” was all she could say, disappointed with her friends’ refusal to persevere.

“Savoy, you can take us back?”

“Of course. Back to the town we came from. We can make it there by tonight,” he said, eager to get out of this ordeal.

The ponies began recollecting themselves, following Savoy back into the forest. Twilight was the last to leave, staring off into the jungle brush, wondering how close they could have been to finding her.

Comments

[Pete100]

The ground beneath them suddenly began to rupture, and tear itself apart, beneath it rising a form, burly and primal, hairy, with powerful, defined muscles that stretched beneath its leathery skin. It had the proportions of a bat, with large, arm-like forelegs, and smaller hind legs. It was covered in wiry brown hair, and had horrible claws, that were like a handful of sharpened knives. It’s head resembled that of a wolf or a dog, with yellow and red eyes, pointed ears, razor sharp teeth, and a thick snout. It stood almost the size of a school bus, towering over the ponies.

Is that really what a behemoth looks like?

“I’ve studied this beast in books. I knew we’d have to face it.”

When?

Dust, without thinking, retrieved the weapon, until she realized what he intended for her to do with it.

“Jackpot, I can’t kill anypony!”

“It’s us or them!”

Welp, that’s an easy decision.

“Starlight, you can’t take the fall for whatever that changeling is doing!” she said.

How does she know she’s a changeling?

Starlight shook her head regretfully. The more ponies on their side, the better.

Is it?

[the book keeper]

What a chapter I can't believe Twilight's group are giving up. It's for reasons like this that Chrysalis will succeed in her plans. I do wonder when the truth will come out about her identity. I do hope that in the end Starlight becomes a princess after making a massive sacrifice in stoping Chrysalis fingers cross.

Keep up the great work I look forward to the next chapter I hope you will be able to update again soon.

[superfun]

I just hope this ultimately has a happier ending than the first one

[superfun]

I'm also curious how long this one is going to be in comparison to the first one.

I kind of hope it ends up a bit shorter, but that also seems unlikely