Turmoil Rising

by JFT

Chapter 10: The Queen in Disguise

“Anyone doubtful yet about the previous statements?” the Lord of Chaos asked.

It’s been several minutes now since Starlight left for the bathroom. They made a prideful assumption that she would be able to navigate the castle, despite the obvious issue. Now, however, it’s been so long that the gang started to question it.

“Nah, of course not. Never in doubt. Maybe there’s just a line. Or she accidentally locked herself in. Maybe I should’ve written down the directions instead,” were one of the many comments.

FLASH!

She appeared right then and there before them.

“There you are, Starlight,” Pinkie greeted her, “I thought for a moment we’d have to go and look for- “

“No time to discuss! We got a serious problem, everypony!” she blurted out.

Before they could react, her horn flashed again and they all disappeared.

FLASH!

They materialized in the custodian’s office and the first thing they saw was the scene that Starlight left behind right after discovering them. Both the elder employee and his apprentice were cocooned.

“Sweet Celestia, what’s happened here?!” questioned Applejack.

“A changeling infiltrated the castle!” the headmare explained. “It posed as one of the two cleaners and stole artifacts!”

“Wait, artifacts? Which ones?” Sunburst asked.

“I’m not sure about one of them, but I recognized the other. It was the staff of Sacanas.”

“Isn’t that the staff that can control storms and lightning? What would they want with it?”

Before there could be any further discussion, a snapping sound followed and the two custodians were outside their prisons.

“Look, if this is urgent, we should save the discussion for later and find him,” Discord urged. “Where did the changeling go?”

“He couldn’t have gone far. It wasn’t more than two minutes when all of this happened,” Starlight answered him.

“So that means he’s still nearby. The only question is-“ Trixie couldn’t finish her sentence before a crashing sound came from not far away.

Their attention had been grabbed and they rushed in the direction of the sound, only to find the heavy metal doors busted open, the signs of scorched marks pointing that magic was used. Starlight then picked up the pace and rushed ahead, while the rest lagged behind her. She got out of the castle and into the backyard only to spot a figure disappearing around the corner, just as the rest of the gang caught up to her, she teleported in a flash to the very corner the escapee was a few moments ago. And then she saw her: running towards the maze of the castle’s sculpture garden, was a tall dark figure; there was something off about her appearance, but she would recognize her anywhere.

“CHRYSALIS!” she called out.

The figure stopped just before the maze’s entrance and slowly turned her head, a malevolent grin appearing on her face. She was carrying the staff… and the second artifact, but from the distance, she couldn’t make it out. Just then the Lord of Chaos teleported all of them to the headmare, so they too saw her, and when the Queen of Changelings witnessed the reinforcements, she quickly ran off and disappeared into the maze.

“Does she honestly think she can just hide in the maze?” Discord questioned. “Anypony would easily spot her from above. This will be a cinch.”

A loud buzzing sound followed and Queen Chrysalis rose above the maze. And another… and another… and finally the fourth one. Four Chrysalis’ flew in the air, and each of them seemed to be carrying a staff in their mouth. Before they could properly react, they all zapped off in their own direction.

“Well this just got progressively worse,” Rarity reacted to the situation.

“She’s using other changelings to pose as her!” Trixie pointed out the obvious. “She’s trying to distract us.”

“But which one was the real one?” Fluttershy asked.

“We don’t know. Not until we actually catch her,” Applejack stated.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “Then there’s only one way to handle this. We got to split up in groups and chase down each one individually.”

“Oh, we’re using the buddy system?” draconequus wondered, before pulling the shy pegasus to his side and nestled her on his shoulder. “I got mine.”

The wonderbolt sighed. “Of course you do. Anyway; AJ, you’re with me, Rarity, you go with Pinkie and Starlight, go with Sunburst-“

“No,” she intervened, “Trixie, you go with Sunburst. I’m going into the maze to double-check if she’s not hiding in here.”

“But Starlight, if she’s in there you’ll be facing her on your own!” the illusionist showed concern.

“Don’t worry about me, Trixie. I can handle her alone,” she smirked with confidence.

“Normally I would say you’re being overconfident, darling, especially after what we witnessed yesterday,” the fashionista second-guessed, “but considering the circumstances we don’t have much choice.”

“Nothing to worry about,” Discord preached. “We’ll manage to catch the other four in no time and be back in time to stop the fifth one if you’re still in trouble.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” Starlight smiled. “Now everypony! Go after the other four!”

They all nodded, and not a moment later Discord snapped with his fingers, the first group disappeared, followed by Trixie who teleported, with the other two groups running off on their own. Starlight was all alone now and made her way to the garden maze. Before she entered, her horn began to glow and she cast a spell, a strange line surrounded the outside of the labyrinth.

“There. If anypony without my magical aura tries to leave the boundaries, it will trigger the alarm,” she said and finally entered, unaware of eyes spying on her.

Queen Chrysalis flew to the western side of Canterlot, a staff clenched in her maw, residents below having their attention drawn by the loud buzzing of her wings.

“Thar she blows!” a loud yell echoed across the sky.

The Changeling Queen looked up and got blinded by the sun, only to see a silhouette eclipsing it. A whaleboat sailed in the air, being rowed by a group of Discords dressed as sailors, and at the very helm, one stood dressed in a dark trench coat and a capotain, accompanied by Fluttershy, dressed as a deckhand.

“First Mate!” he announced to the shy pegasus. “The harpoon, if you please.”

She picked up a pole with a metal tip at the end and hesitantly handed it to him. “Discord, please be careful that you don’t hurt her.”

“Oh come now, would I do that?”

And without a delay, he threw the harpoon at his target. Chrysalis’ eyes widened as the pointed weapon was going straight for her, but just before it hit its mark, draconequus snapped his fingers and it split into four, each having a corner of a net attached to it. It hit the target and the Queen of Changeling’s stopped dead in her tracks, as she got pinned to the ground, unable to wriggle herself out of the net. With a snap, Discord and Fluttershy appeared on the ground, the former hoisting the captured prey up like a fish, as a crowd gathered to observe.

“Now this is what I call the catch of the day,” he boasted.

The “fish” thrashed about in the net, hissing loudly as the pegasus tried to remove the staff from her.

“Hey! Play nice,” he scolded her, as he yanked the artifact away from her. “Well, this went easier than I thought.”

“Emmm, Discord, I don’t think we got the right one,” she corrected him.

“What makes you say that?” he asked curiously. “We got the staff…”

Draconequus finally realized that he was just holding a long stick in his hand. This wasn’t the Staff of Sacanas! They both then looked at the Queen of Changelings, who was still acting like an animal and hissing loudly. The Lord of Chaos snapped his fingers and the illusion dropped. Their target was actually one of her drones disguised as her. They looked at each other, realizing they’ve been duped.

“I wonder if others are having better luck…” Fluttershy said before Discord snapped his fingers and all three of them disappeared, leaving the gathering crowd baffled.

Another Queen Chrysalis holding the staff was running through the dark alleys going east, clearly hearing the galloping sound of her pursuers.

“Stop, you darn bug-plant creature!” Applejack called her out.

“I don’t think she’s just gonna stop on command, AJ.” Rainbow Dash kept up to her speed.

“Dash, can’t ya catch up to her?”

The blue pegasus tried to fly, but her condition hardly improved from yesterday. “No good. I can barely fully spread them.”

“Pity we ain’t got no slingshot or somethin’ than.”

As they continued to run, the wonderbolt spotted a ledge on the side of the building. “I got an idea! AJ, gimme a boost!”

The country pony stopped, standing on her front legs, the pegasus jumped over her and the former bucked her up in the air, sending her upwards so she managed to grab onto the ledge and climb up.

“Keep going after her!” she told the pony below and, in the meantime, prepared herself. “Okay, Dashinator. Time for Junior Flight School 101: gliding.”

She opened her wings as much as she could, then charged and leaped over the edge. Applejack watched from below as she saw her in the air for a moment and then nose-dived. Panic came creeping up on her with the thought that her friend was about to splat on the ground, but just before she reached it, a wind current picked her up and she finally flew through the air at a high speed. Queen Chrysalis was already way ahead, but as she looked back, fright came over her as she spotted the rainbow-maned pegasus dashing at high speed at her, and in this narrow alley she couldn’t open her wings properly; her only chance now was to speed up to the open streets in sight. Rainbow Dash was confident again as she felt the familiar rush of speed. She could catch her and in a straight alleyway, there were no obstacles to stop her from reaching the target. But then, just as she was about to reach her, the street opened up before them and the Queen of Changelings made an instant dash to the side, evading the pursuer. The pegasus screamed in panic as she closed her wings, her hooves touching the ground in a futile attempt to reduce her speed, and crashed into a nearby fruit stall, completely demolishing it.

Applejack came running out of the alley a few moments later, quickly coming to her assistance. “Rainbow, you okay?!”

She stuck her head out of a pile of crushed watermelons, her head spinning. “Could’ve been better.”

“Well, I do have to say, you really live up to the name Rainbow Crash.”

They both heard that voice. They spotted Discord lounging on the roof of the stall, eating an apple as if it were a ball of yarn, while Fluttershy flew down to her winged friend. “Rainbow, I’m so sorry we couldn’t get here sooner.”

“Never mind that! We need to catch her quick!” she pointed into the distance, showing the Chrysalis further down the street.

“Okay then,” the Lord of Chaos leaped down, “wanna try catching up to her again?”

“Not without me flying,” Rainbow Dash answered.

“Not a problem.”

Draconequus picked the blue pegasus up, spread her wings, gripped her in his feline arm, pulled it back to gain momentum, except the arm began to stretch, extending to an impossible length. By the time the pony realized what he was about to do it was already too late. The speed picked up as the arm was pulled back in and Rainbow Dash got flung forward. At ludicrous speed she flew right in the direction of her target and finally contacted it, both flying in the direction of a porcelain shop, but before they could crash into it, a giant mattress appeared on their path out of nowhere and crashed into it instead at such a force that it bent and rolled up. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Discord reached it, the latter slipping his arm into the mattress and pulling Rainbow Dash out by the back hoof.

“Don.. ever… do that… ‘gain…” she mumbled.

“Hey, it worked didn’t it?” draconequus answered, before reaching in again to pull out the artifact.

He dragged out the long shaft and the thief still clung to it… in its true form. It was just another changeling posing as its queen with an ordinary stick.

“Dagnabbit!” cursed Applejack.

“Oh well, maybe third time’s the charm,” Discord responded, snapping his fingers and they all disappeared.

“Where is that giant bug?” Starlight was still searching the maze.

It’s been a while since she started and she still couldn’t spot Chrysalis, and had she tried to get out she would’ve noticed. Or maybe she shapeshifted into something and is evading her in plain sight.

And just when she was thinking that she heard her scream. “THIEF! GET BACK HERE!”

Another sound followed; hoof stomps in rapid succession. Starlight quickly hid around the corner and then made a quick peek. Royal Guard Brightmane, holding the staff and another item clenched between his teeth, came charging in her direction, followed by a loud buzzing sound as the Queen of Changelings was trailing him.

“Reeeeeerp!” he screamed for help between his teeth as the monster was in fast pursuit.

The mare quickly slipped to the side of another passage and out of sight, and as the stallion ran past her, he lost the ground under his hooves as he got lifted in the air and got pulled to her, while the giant bug-plant creature flew past, not noticing them. As the buzzing sound slowly disappeared into the distance, Starlight finally put the anxious stallion to the ground, and while peeking out to check if she was nearby, the two artifacts dropped out of his mouth.

“You… you’re Starlight Glimmer, aren’t you?”

She turned back to face him. “Wait, you know me?”

“Sure I do. Her Majesty spoke about how you helped save Equestria three years ago.”

“Really?” his comment took her aback, from the idea that Twilight was praising her after she’s only served as a distraction and then got caught for the majority of the battle. “Oh, come on, I really didn’t do that much.”

“I’m serious, she has great confidence in you, she trusts you to be really capable at anything that’s put in front of you.”

At this point, the guard’s buttering-up had made her blush, before her eyes wandered over to the artifacts. The Staff of Sacanas was there and the other one… she recognized it: it was a bell, carved from green rock and covered in runes.

“Is that… the Bewitching Bell?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t know, miss. I’m not well versed in ancient artifacts,” he answered her.

“How in the world did you manage to get them from her?”

“It wasn’t easy, I can tell you that,” he explained. “Her wings sound as if a bug was the size of a pony, so I was able to predict her movement and ambush her when she least expected. If you hadn’t arrived when you did, I’d have been her lunch.”

Suddenly, the loud buzzing sound came around again and they hid into the side once more, as the changeling flew past.

“Miss Starlight, you need to take the artifacts to safety. I’m going to distract her so you can make a getaway,” he advised her.

“What?! No! I can’t let you do that. If she finds you and you’ve no artifacts on you, she’s going to do unspeakable things to you!”

“But we can’t fight a monster like her.”

“No,” she told him, “you can’t… but I can.”

She grabbed Brightmane with her magic, along with the artifacts, and tossed him over the garden maze, causing him to land face first.

After he finally recovered and shook his head, he turned back to the garden maze and called out to the mare. “Starlight!”

“Go!” she yelled on the other side. “Secure them, while I handle her!”

Without further ado, the guard grabbed the artifacts and ran off.

“Get back here, you pathetic excuse for royalty!” the fashionista yelled.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity chased the Changeling Queen down the most crowded street in Canterlot. The fact that she was flying caused them to lag enough as it was, but the crowds of ponies slowed them down as well. The only thing that was hampering Chrysalis was the fact that she got overconfident and started to pull faces at them from the distance, and it infuriated the unicorn to no end. Finally, however, she noticed the strings of banners stretching across the street and she got an idea. She focused her magic and shot one string, causing it to get untied and it fell right in the way of Changeling Queen, her wings tangling up and causing her to fall into the crowd below. The two ponies managed to finally catch up to her, but she would not wait, as she rose and charged right through the crowd, undeterred.

“Alright then. Close range is a no-go,” Pinkie said as she put on a helmet and brought out her party cannon. “We’re going long!”

BOOM!

The shot was fired and it hit, sadly missing the target and covering a group of ponies in a sticky goop.

“Drat! She’s too fast!” she complained.

“And your cannon has poor accuracy,” Rarity added.

“Then what you need is a homing missile.”

They turned to the voice and it was the Lord of Chaos, along with three other Elements by his side, dressed as a general and soldiers.

“Good idea, Discord. But where do I get one?” the pink pony asked.

He jumped in front of the cannon and stuffed himself inside, one of his eyes sticking out of the hole. “Fire when ready, gunner Pinkie.”

A smile curled on her face and she fired. The draconequus missile flew high into the sky and then faced downward, quickly descending at a rapid speed until it finally hit, scoring a direct bullseye on the target, causing an explosive sound that could be heard across all of Canterlot and beyond.

The dust finally settled, the Elements joined Discord’s side. He stood over a crater on the ground and in it lay a changeling.

“Well, seems like we got duped again,” he sighed, holding another stick in hand.

“Wait, again?” Rarity questioned. “You mean all of yours were fake as well?”

“That just leaves Sunburst and Trixie,” Fluttershy answered. “They’re the last ones left.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath dear,” draconequus said, before snapping his fingers and they all disappeared.

A battle of cat and mouse took place in the maze in the meantime. Starlight shot bursts of magic at Chrysalis, but she managed to dodge all of them. The only upside was that she didn’t take a shot at her once. Perhaps she could use that to her advantage. The Changeling Queen popped around the corner, and lunged herself at the principal, hissing as she did. She instantly teleported behind her and unleashed a powerful beam at her, continuously increasing its intensity, until it sent the monster flying through the maze’s walls and having her crash into the side of the statue outside, collapsing it in the process. There was silence, no signs of movement, or even a voice, so Starlight walked over to the impact point.

Discord and the gang teleported to where they last saw the fourth Queen Chrysalis flee; outside the theater. The doors were broken off their hinges, so they were likely on the right track. They entered and the trail of mess on the way led them directly to the auditorium.

“Alright everypony, no need to fear, Discord is heeeeeeeere…” He struck a pose as he opened the doors wide, only to be silenced by the sight.

The two unicorns were standing on the stage; the blue one holding up a bubble in which a changeling was locked, angrily trying to break out, while the orange one held a stick up.

“Huh…” draconequus made a single noise, before snapping his fingers, conjuring a can of paint and a brush, and handing it to the fashionista. “Rarity, you get to do the honors.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Excuse me, but what am I supposed to do with this?”

He groaned. “Isn’t it obvious? Color me impressed, because I expected I would have to flex again.”

“Discord, you’re “powerful”, but one flaw you have is that you’re not “great”, especially on stage of all places,” Trixie made a smug remark.

“We managed to overpower and catch her… only to discover she was a fake, just like this stick,” Sunburst explained to them, as they walked over to the stage.

“So, that means all of the Chrysalises we hunted down were fakes this whole time,” Applejack compiled the events.

“Which means,” Fluttershy followed up, “the real Queen Chrysalis is still back in the garden.”

“And Starlight’s fighting her on her own!” Rainbow Dash concluded.

“Chrysalis?” the headmare called out to her, but there was no reply.

As the dust settled, the Queen of Changelings lay unmoving on the ground, out cold.

“That’s what you get for underestimating me!” she boasted proudly.

She managed to prevent the theft of artifacts and neutralized her opponent. It was one less threat to worry about, and once Twilight returns they can focus on stopping the darkness she had summoned. She observed her defeated adversary, seeing the creepy ooze flowing out of her open mouth, giving her the shivers… but then she noticed something strange. The trail of ooze was leading into the nearby group of bushes that stood only a few feet away. How did she do that? The attack and impact must’ve knocked her out almost instantly, she wouldn’t even be able to limp off back and forth. She slowly traipsed over to the bushes, carefully keeping her eye on the unconscious monster. She slowly parted the branches and leaves and gasped as she looked inside. A changeling cocoon was stuck inside the bushes. Somebody was trapped inside and he wore the armor of the royal guard. She quickly opened it, releasing the captive inside, and as she dragged the pony out, she instantly recognized him: it was the same guard she helped escape from Queen Chrysalis only a few moments ago. He slowly started to wake up from his coma.

“Hey! Hey you…” Starlight shook him, then realizing she never even got his name when they first met, “I’m sorry what’s your name?”

“B… B… Brightmane…” he answered in a groggy tone.

“Brightmane, tell me what happened! Where are the Staff of Sacanas and the Bewitching Bell?!”

“Staff… bell…? M… Miss what are you talking about?”

“You know! The artifacts that you managed to take from Queen Chrysalis after she stole them!”

“C… Chrysalis…” with those words the stallion finally sobered up, remembering her image haunting his dreams after seeing her so many times at night in the garden. “Wait, we’re under attack?!”

Something was wrong. The guard wasn’t making any sense, as if there’s a giant gap in his memory. Was he suffering from amnesia?

“Brightmane, tell me exactly what’s the last thing you remember,” she asked him.

The stallion spoke. “It was night, sometime before morning, I was doing my nightly rounds through the castle’s sculpture gardens and was preparing to call it a day… and after that, it all goes blank.”

Starlight felt unsettled. According to the royal guard, he had been out cold for several hours, yet she talked with him only a few moments ago. Suddenly, a realization came over her. She turned to the body of the unconscious Changeling Queen and walked over to her, then grimaced. In a green flash of magic, the mirage was dispelled, revealing that one of the changelings was posing as his queen. Suddenly, it all clicked in place: if this Chrysalis was a fake, and Brightmane was “off duty” this whole time, it meant that the real Queen of Changelings was…

Royal Guard Brightmane ran towards the outer wall of Canterlot, rousing the guards. “Changelings! The Queen of Changelings has invaded Canterlot! We need reinforcements!”

Without waiting, the rest of the guards at the wall quickly hurried off. After they had disappeared out of sight, the stallion quickly ran to the corner with a bush and pulled out the staff and bell and then with a gallop leaped over the fortification, landing on his hooves over the moat and then galloped off into the distance.

After several minutes he finally reached the Everfree Forest and stopped, panting. He looked about, realizing nobody was persuing him, before finally dropping the artifacts to the ground. Suddenly a cackle came from his mouth, growing louder, and then with a flash of green magic, Queen Chrysalis revealed herself. She lifted the artifacts, opened her wings, and flew off in the direction of her new hive.

“Oh, Starlight Glimmer…” she bragged in gleeful delight, “I wish I could be there right now just to see the dumbfounded expression on your face after you’ve realized you just handed me the artifacts willingly.”

Starlight Glimmer teleported on top of the balcony outside the castle’s throne room overlooking Canterlot, with the unconscious changeling by her side. She looked into the far distance of Everfree Forest where the darkness rose. Chrysalis was probably nearly there with the staff and the bell she had taken and had she been the wiser, she could’ve stopped there right here. A tear in reality opened and the whole gang came out, with the Lord of Chaos closing it behind.

“No good, Starlight,” Trixie panted, “we tried to catch up to her, only to find out we were bamboozled.”

“All of them were her changelings,” the stallion added.

Discord then proceeded to pull out a snow globe. There were tiny dark creatures angrily hissing inside, and desperately trying to break out, but to no avail.

“I’d say we rounded up all stragglers but one,” draconequus boasted. “And considering you’re alive and well, I’d guess you succeeded.”

“No,” the headmare answered, “Chrysalis is no longer in Canterlot at this point.”

“Wait, didn’t you fight her, Starlight?” her childhood friend asked.

Starlight pointed to the fifth changeling on the ground, which Discord promptly picked up and stuffed in a snow globe.

“But… where’s the real Queen Chrysalis then?” Applejack asked her.

Starlight bit her lower lip. “I… I let her get away.”

“Wait, what?!” blue pegasus exploded.

“She disguised herself as one of the royal guards,” she explained, “and pretended to be chased down by one of her soldiers posing as her. It wasn’t until later when I found the real guard cocooned in one of the bushes in the garden that I realized the one I talked to was an imposter.”

“So, we’ve all been duped then?” Pinkie wondered.

Rarity bristled. “And just when we thought it couldn’t get worse.”

“Well, we have to find a way to fix this,” Trixie said, “because who knows what she’ll do with that artifact.”

“Two,” the headmare corrected her.

“Wait, two?” Sunburst asked. “What was the second one?”

“The Bewitching Bell.”

“Great… just lovely,” the blue unicorn groaned

“I know, Trixie, out of everypony here I’m all too well aware, but what can we even do now, when she’s gone to a place where we can’t follow?” Starlight pointed out the main problem.

She went into deep thought. Something needed to be done, because who knows what unspeakable evils could Chrysalis unleash now, yet they couldn’t enter her lair. There had to be an alternative method. She began traipsing up and down, wondering, looking about for any potential idea.

“I must say, I’ve not seen this much chaos in a long while,” the cocky voice spoke. “It’s a breath of fresh air.”

“Discord, can you just not?” the headmare was running low on patience under the pressure. “The last thing we need now is you trying to make this situation look good.”

“Well, excuse me for trying to be an optimist, Starlight,” he huffed, “but if you’re going to be a case of sour grapes, I’ll just be showing myself out.”

She groaned to herself. Even after all this time, there were moments she found him insufferable, even when he was trying to be helpful. The Lord of Chaos ripped open a hole in reality and was about to walk into it… and then it hit her! There is ONE chance they could still salvage this thing, but it had potential risks.

“Discord wait!” she yelled.

He stopped halfway in, a visible smug cracking on his face as he turned. “Yeeeeeeeees?”

“There is something you can try to do… something the rest of us aren’t capable of.”

“Oh, REALLY now? And pray tell, what exactly did you have in mind?”

She was about to speak, but turned to everybody else; they could tell she figured out something substantial, but likely not good.

“Starlight, we ain’t not gonna like what yer about to say, are we?” Applejack preemptively asked.

“Very likely,“ she responded, “but all things considered it’s one thing we haven’t tried yet and we don’t have other options.”

“Well, lay it on us then!” Rainbow Dash urged in impatience.

Starlight inhaled and exhaled before speaking. “Clearly, we’ve been outplayed. Queen Chrysalis now has in possession two of some of the most powerful artifacts in Equestria. We need to do something before she has any chance of using them, which means we have to strike at the base of her power directly.”

“But Starlight, darling,” Rarity intervened, “we can’t. Even if we manage to somehow enter her lair again, if she summons that… thing again the result won’t change.”

“Yes, that’s true… which is why we should strike her lair at a distance.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Sunburst asked. “From this distance to affect something without facing it directly? You’d need to have incredibly powerful magic, one we don’t wield.”

“You’re right, Sunburst. We don’t…” the mare agreed with her friend, before turning her gaze to the Lord of Chaos, “but he does.”

Everybody’s attention turned on him.

“Besides the magic of friendship that you five and Twilight wield, Discord is the most powerful creature in Equestria,” she exposited. “He was able to draw prisoners out of Tartarus, which should be impossible for anypony else, he brought an umbrum out of the ether, one he could’ve singlehandedly wiped off without breaking a sweat, he can bend the world to his will with a snap of his finger!”

“Oh Starlight, stop it, you’re making me blush,” he covered his face like a bashful little girl.

“You forgot to mention the chocolate rain!” Pinkie added.

“Duly noted,” the headmare nodded, before turning back to draconequus. “But the point is, you’re the one who has the chance of still stopping this before it gets any further. And maybe we can get around the problem that magic of friendship didn’t affect the embodiment of Hate, by using the magic of chaos instead.”

“So, what’s the plan then?” Trixie said, curious where this was going.

“What I’m proposing, is that Discord uses his magic to lift the Everfree Forest itself and… give it a little tumble.”

“HOLD UP!” the country pony called out. “Girl, you’re actually saying that he flat out flips the whole forest upside down!”

“I’m kinda on Applejack side here, Starlight,“ the unicorn stallion joined. “Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?”

“And what about all those poor creatures living in the forest?” Fluttershy expressed an extreme level of concern. “Their homes will be destroyed, or even worse, they could get hurt.”

The pink unicorn sighed. “Everypony, you have every right to be skeptical on this, but please try to understand in what position we’ve just found ourselves in: an old enemy, which you’ve previously defeated, has summoned a creature which you were unable to defeat with the most powerful magic at your disposal, she infiltrated the home of the princess of Equestria and stole an artifact which can control the storms and another which is capable of storing great amounts of magic. Yet despite our best efforts to prevent her from taking them, we’ve failed. Regardless of which way you look, she’s just acquired tools with which to cause even more havoc to an extent we cannot even imagine. Our last chance to stop her is to do something she wouldn’t expect, because when Twilight comes back and learns of what happened, not only will she be very displeased, but with what happened yesterday, do you really want to put even more burden on her consciousness?”

Unease hung in the air. Starlight made a really convincing point. Chrysalis had already become more dangerous as it is, and now it got worse. They couldn’t risk Twilight getting overcome with more doubt and have it possibly manifest like yesterday. The Lord of Chaos glanced at them, reading the expressions on their faces, then looked on the horizon at the gathering darkness. At this point, they were literally begging for his help.

“Well, when you put it like that, principle, I suppose I could give it the old college try.”

As he stepped forward, he felt a sudden tug at his leg. He looked down and noticed the shy pegasus clinging on to him.

“Discord, I beg you, please don’t do this!” she pleaded. “I don’t want Twilight to suffer anymore as well, but I don’t want to see those poor creatures suffer either. There’s got to be a better way!”

He suddenly hesitated. He wanted to help, they were practically begging him at this point and he yearned to flex his powers to a degree he hasn’t done in a while, yet at the same time, he couldn’t go against the wishes of his best friend.

Starlight walked over to her. “Fluttershy, I’m not saying he should just uproot the whole forest just the part that’s close to the location of the darkness. And I understand this isn’t easy, but all the cards are pretty much stacked against us. If there was a better alternative, I would suggest it, but we don’t really have the luxury of time on our side.”

“Ah hate to say it… but she’s got a point,” Applejack suddenly joined it.

“Applejack?! You?! How can you say that so bluntly?!” the timid mare gave her the look of betrayal.

“Fluttershy, I think I speak for all of us present that we’re not proud of this… but I fear that Starlight is right,” Rarity included herself.

The pegasus couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The fashionista as well? She looked at the rest of the group, their gazes refusing to meet hers; they were all of the same thought. She was the only one opposing this? This kind of peer pressure was something she has not faced since vampire fruit bats invaded the Apple orchard. All of those poor creatures in Everfree Forest don’t deserve this and she seems to be the only one who thought this wasn’t worth it; it brought her to the verge of tears.

Suddenly she felt a cat paw reach for her cheek and rubbing her, as Discord bend over to her level, coming face to face. “Fluttershy, I promise, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure nothing happens to them. Okay?”

She relented and nodded in defeat.

The draconequus rose and walked over to the edge of the balcony, Starlight stepping aside.

“Now, everypony,” he made an announcement, “watch the Lord of Chaos do what he does best.”

“Being a total blowhard,” Rainbow Dash whispered to Pinkie Pie, only to turn her head and realize she had Discord’s face in the place of her own.

“I heard that,” the face said before it went poof in smoke and the cotton candy maned pony shook her head, feeling like she spaced out for a brief second.

He snapped his finger, dressing himself up as a conductor and conjuring a music stand in front of him, slicking his head back over his head to create long flowing hair.

Picking up the score from the stand he proceeded to flip through. “Let’s see now… Lightning and Thunder, Bear mountain, Dance of the Deer, New world, Chaos and the Mare...”

“Discord, today!” Starlight urged him.

“Excuse me,” he turned to her, giving a snobbish look, “who’s the master of chaos here? That’s right, me. Let me do my job,” before returning to the score, “… AHA! Perfect!”

He placed the score back on the stand and pulled the claw on his feline paw until it extended in length and then plucking it out, to use it like a baton. He tapped with it and everything around went silent. The Lord of Chaos swung the baton, and thunder began to resonate across the sky, molded into a tune as if there was a grand orchestra playing it. Then he swung it in the direction of the Everfree Forest, and the whole world shook. The ponies then watched with mouths agape, as they saw in the distance the great mass of forestland being uprooted and lifted into the sky. Discord then started to swing the baton about, each time the thunder echoed across the sky, composing a melody, while the landmass was spun and twisted about. And while the song was enticing, the sight reminded everybody how terrifying the Lord of Chaos could be if left completely unrestrained. The crescendo of thunder was approaching the climax and then… Just like that, it came to a complete stop. Discord turned to the audience and gave a bow. Suddenly there was a tapping sound. Tiny black and white rocks started to land on the balcony in numbers.

“Everypony brace for backlash,” he told them, snapped his fingers and a protective bubble enveloped them.

Dirt, rocks, and growth started to fly in their direction, pelting all of Canterlot. Then roars echoed across the sky. This was the part that Fluttershy feared; creatures of all kinds inhabiting the forest, even when the attempt to minimize the effect was made, were flung up in the air and were now fast approaching the impact point. With a snap of his fingers, Discord summoned giant piles of cushions to soften their landing. It took a few moments before the pelting of flora and fauna finally stopped, and at the end Discord finally lowered the protective barrier.

“So, impressed?” he asked, waiting for a compliment, yet all he saw were the looks of confusion and disbelief on their faces looking in his direction. “Speechless, are you? Well, I do not blame you, but compared to my previous work, this was a piece of cake.”

“It looks more like a doughnut,” Pinkie Pie said.

Discord gave her a confused look. “Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that expression…”

“No,” she corrected him and pointed in his direction, “I mean, THAT looks like a doughnut.”

What was she talking about? He turned his head and immediately got what she was on about. The mass of land still levitated in the air turned to the side, and in it was a giant hole in the middle. He glanced down and noticed the piece of land that wasn’t moved, the perpetual darkness still rising from it. Snapping his fingers, the landmass readjusted itself and fell back down on its original position, filling up the hole it left. Then he snapped his fingers again, lifting the landmass again… and the hole was still there.

“And now it looks like an onion ring,” the party pony added as she saw the hole in the land being bigger than before.

Discord kept snapping his fingers, lifting and dropping the mass of land, over and over again, expecting a different outcome, until he finally felt something coiling around his leg.

“Discord, stop! You’re gonna hurt more animals that way!” Fluttershy pleaded.

He finally ceased, then looked back on the horizon. “This doesn’t make any sense. By all accounts, that whole area should’ve been lifted, yet the middle refuses to budge… unless…”

The Lord of Chaos snapped his fingers, summoning a flying pig, grabbing it, and flung it in the direction of the forest, and as the pig approached darkened area it dissipated into thin air.

“Oh dear…” he said in a concerned tone, “that’s not good. It seems something within that area is negating magic, so it’s been left completely unaffected.”

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense. We were there just yesterday and we were still able to use magic in that area,” Rarity argued.

“Well in that case something’s clearly changed in the last few hours because otherwise that place would’ve been razed by now.”

Sunburst readjusted his glasses. “So, what you’re saying that there’s something in that place now that’s completely nullifying magic altogether?”

“Or… maybe just our magic,” a look of concern and realization suddenly appeared on Trixie’s face as everybody looked at her. “Starlight, Discord, doesn’t this situation seem familiar?”

“What do you mean, Trixie?” the pink mare responded.

“You know: you, me, Discord, land in which no magic can be used, Queen Chrysalis… does that ring a bell?”

Starlight thought for a moment, and then visible fear appeared on her face. “But… but that’s not possible! Chrysalis’ throne was destroyed! Its remnants were retrieved and built into Canterlot castle! Thorax said that stone was ancient and one of a kind in Equestria, so how is she doing it now?!”

“You don’t think it’s possible that she just created another one, do you?” the unicorn stallion asked.

“I… I’m not sure. It shouldn’t be possible to replicate that kind of power,” the principal was at a loss of words.

There was silence. It became increasingly obvious now that despite Discord’s gamble, they still failed. And all they did, in turn, was cause distress to woodland creatures and piled up more mess on the areas surrounding the forest, and if it reached Cantelot, she shuddered to think what Ponyville looked like.

Starlight looked over the edge of the balcony, seeing the mess littering the city while the injured guards were being taken care of below. She was just glad that Twilight wasn’t here to see this.

She saw a flash at the main entrance into Canterlot. Four figures dressed in coats and hats appeared out of nowhere, and Starlight immediately recognized them despite their attempt at cover.

She quickly turned, warning everybody. “They’re back!”

The reel stopped turning and the audience was left silent.

“Well, what did you think, Twilight?” Discord asked.

The princess said nothing and just buried her face in her hooves.

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Chrysalis was sure clever there with using changelings as decoys and how she tricked Starlight like that.

As for Discord's magic not working, I can see incredible darkness can disrupt his chaos magic(due to said magic being "unstable").
Though wondering if darkness like Nightmare Moon would have the same effect on Discord's magic there.
Afterall, her threat gets completely ruined by Discord just existing. Hell, he ruined Sombra's threat completely in season 9(and that was before we found out Discord is responsible for Sombra's revival).
So its interesting to see now this new threat can counter Discord's reality-warping crap right there like that.

[JFT]

10804455
The hint is at the end of chapter 7.

[nightshroud96]

10804478
The hint for which exactly?

About who is Chrysalis&co trying to revive?

[JFT]

10804480
What's negating it.

[nightshroud96]

10804487
So that big stone the entities found in chapter 7 is basically converted into the same kind of magic-screwing stone Chrysalis's throne was made out of?

[JFT]

10805529
Bingo.