Monsoon looked to his foe, then back to Applejack, then to Chrysalis, whom was fuming from the display. "What are you DOING?!" she screeched, "You're ruining EVERYTHING! It's bad enough that we had to work around this grotesque oaf, but now you can't even act like a proper weapon and-"
"What did you say?" Monsoon interrupted. The air grew quiet as realization dawned on Chrysalis as to what he was referring to. She took a step back unintentionally, and tried to think up a retort.
"I-it's... I didn't mean that. Slip of the tongue, and all that. Please, let's just finish with this-"
"Am I some sort of tool to you, Queen?" Monsoon asked in a menacing tone. He took a step towards her, slowly twirling his sais in agitation. "I may be a gun for hire... but I'm not something that can just be used."
"I am not, I assure you," she said nervously, taking another step back.
"Sounds like a lie to me," Applejack snarked within her confines. The Changeling Queen quickly spun towards Applejack's direction to bark an order of silence, but held her tongue upon seeing the Element's smug face. Chrysalis turned back to Monsoon with another smile in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
"Please, you mustn't listen to this pony. I've already told you how dangerous she is. She's already turning us against each other. Can't you see that?"
"Do ya notice how she's tryin' so hard to convince ya, Monsoon?" Applejack said gently.
"And how do I know that you aren't also lying through your teeth?" Monsoon spat back at the farm pony.
"Ya don't," the farm pony replied simply.
"I beg of you, dear friend. Believe me! I've been nothing but honest and hospitable to you!" Chrysalis pleaded once again, desperately.
The cyborg looked to Chrysalis for a moment in consideration, before his vision drew back to the trapped pony that was completely at his mercy. He could easily tighten the grip the metal had on her and turn her into a mangled rack of gore, but he couldn't help but hesitate.
"Believe what ya want," she said, "That is all ah can say. That is all you should be expected to do."
Monsoon stood there for a moment in silence, before a smile split across his face. "I'm afraid," he started, "That I tolerate lies as much as I tolerate the rules of nature being marred. With that said... I'm afraid I have to terminate our contract, dear queen. For personal reasons, of course." As those words left his mouth, he turned himself towards Chrysalis fully, and began to approach her, Sais at the ready.
From horror to rage, Chrysalis' eyes burned and bored into Monsoon's advancing form as her horn flared and dissipated for a moment. "So be it, monster," she uttered.
Monsoon then suddenly shot forward from his position, aiming to strike down his former benefactor. Shocked, but not deterred, Chrysalis leaped from her position and took flight, narrowly avoiding Monsoon's attack. Soaring higher and higher, she aimed to get as far away as possible in order to summon as much magic as she had remaining in order to try to destroy her insubordinate at a safe distance. Before she could charge an offensive spell, Monsoon sheathed his sais and activated his magnetic powers before he segmented himself and shot his hands up to Chrysalis. The cyborg then gripped her front hooves, and began shooting the rest of his pieces up to reconnect with his wrists.
She gasped in surprise at the sudden assault, and tried to fly higher while charging her spell faster. The distance she made gave her a spot of hope as clouds descended past her, seeing no limb nor fragment coming for her, aside from the disembodied hands that gripped her like manacles. As she completed the charge, she stopped ascending, and scanned the clouds below her for her artificial pursuer. However, her reliance on her eyes failed her as Monsoon's pieces shot through the clouds from her blind spot. Before she could act, the pieces recombined, and the completed body wound around the changeling. She flailed about in fury, as one of Monsoon's hands let go long enough to retrieve a Sai from his side. He then plunged the weapon into Chrysalis' shoulder and snapped the blade from the hilt, forcing a horrid screech from the changeling.
Her agony of the sudden wound was enough to cast a beam of concentrated magical energy at Monsoon's head purely out of reaction. The attack struck him in the face, forcing him off the changeling, all the while clinging to the handle of his broken sai. They both began to go into a free fall, drifting further apart as the ground got closer and closer, until Monsoon finally regained his senses and prepared for a controlled landing. His body sparked with magnetic power again, slamming his feet firmly into the ground below as the rest of his body slowed from the repulsion before each piece attracted back together in quick succession, making satisfying clunks. Chrysalis, however, was not so lucky, as her body hit the ground unceremoniously, bounced a bit, and rolled to a stop.
Monsoon looked at the broken sai in his hand for a moment before he tossed it aside like the useless object it was. He then turned his attention to Chrysalis, whom struggled to get up. He took one step forward, aiming to walk right up to the changeling queen and squash her like a bug, but Applejack called out to him.
"Monsoon! Don't do it."
The cyborg stopped, before turning to the still trapped Element of Honesty and sneered. "And why not? Putting this creature out of its misery would be a mercy, wouldn't it? It would certainly make sure an event like this wouldn't happen again."
"It ain't right! No matter what she's done, we can't just do that to her."
"Are you really willing to risk your backwards, idealistic world just to keep this creature alive?" Monsoon scoffed in a mocking tone.
"We can change a life of takin' to a life of givin', remember? Ah believe that with all mah heart," she said solemnly, "She'll get what's coming to her for all the stunts she pulled, but she still deserves a fightin' chance to turn herself around."
"Yes," Chrysalis said weakly, a fair ways away from them, "I do deserve to live. I have a brood to take care of, after all, and more preparations to make."
Applejack stared at her with a hint of contempt mixed with pity for the pathetic liar. Her feeling was suddenly jostled though, as the piping around her uncoiled themselves and returned below the ground where they belonged, at the behest of Monsoon's command. She looked to the cyborg with awe and appreciation, before it transformed into shock as Monsoon unsheathed his other sai. Then, the sai and the hand that gripped it were pitched directly at Chrysalis.
"MONSOON! STOP!"
Chrysalis' eyes widened as the sharp, obsidian blade sailed towards her. She shut her eyes tightly and coiled away in fear of the impact, expecting the worst pain. However, no pain came, which caused her to hazard a look. And there, mere fractions of an inch away from her head, was the tip of the sai hovering in mid-air. Upon seeing it, the sai was dropped before her, and the hand returned to its master. Chrysalis sat there, scared out of her wits, before she lost consciousness from all of the excess stress.
-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-
It ended up taking a while, but once Twilight and Fluttershy returned from the Everfree, accompanied by Zecora, they managed to get everything under control and back to relative normalcy. The barrier created over Ponyville quickly lifted as the Great and Apologetic Trixie handed over the Alicorn amulet with absolutely no fight. Upon sharing her reasons why, which was her foalhood fear of changelings, and the fact something like Monsoon was able to stop the Queen out of the lot, she reasoned it wasn't worth fighting against this kind of crazy. She however didn't leave without some scathing remarks about Dumah's statue, which depicted a finely detailed likeness of Dumah, triumphantly standing over a detailed, mini-sized statue of Trixie if she were some sort of ant pony. It was later deconstructed and its metal was re-purposed to become the various pots and pans that were taken to make the monument in the first place.
Next to that, upon receiving word, a team of a hundred Royal Guards arrived from Canterlot, bringing with them carriages. Queen Chrysalis would be taken first to be brought forth before Celestia to receive an adequate punishment. The rest of her army, sans the copies, would be taken to the Equestrian customs office in Canterlot, and be processed and granted citizenship in Equestria, provided they no longer pose as friends and loved ones. The Princesses agreed to grant them lodgings and opportunities for employment for a while until they can properly integrate into society. The copies, however, were dispelled back to the mirror pool via the reverse spell, used by Twilight and Trixie together, after the former taught the latter begrudgingly.
As the day wound down, the town swiftly returned to normal, complete with tacky banners violently torn from their bearings. Everything was finally right, but one creature still felt off.
-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-
Upon a hill, overlooking the vast apple orchard of Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack sat to watch the sunset beneath her second favorite tree on their property. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad things were back to how they were supposed to be, and that work could continue properly tomorrow.
Her simple and honest train of thought was interrupted by the heavy footfalls of her new guest at the farm. "Come to join me?" she asked in a playful tone, looking to the approaching maroon colored cyborg. Monsoon stopped beside her, looking far into the distant sunset with his arms crossed. Applejack frowned from the lack of response, and the obvious unfriendly air about him. Her eyes went back to the sunset, returning to her wistful and simple daydreaming. "Sure is a nice sunset."
"I don't belong here," he replied, matter-of-factly.
"Ah know," she said, "But, ya'll might still be stuck here fer a while, at least. Twah's been workin' on this whole thing since that giant frog monster showed up in the Crystal Empire..."
Monsoon scoffed, but otherwise did not deject the idea.
"... but it hasn't been easy gettin' clues, ah guess."
"That isn't what I was talking about, Jack."
"Then, what were you tryin' to say?"
Monsoon stood silently for a moment, before he finally responded with, "I only know a life of death and war. A world where the strong prey upon the weak. I have grown up in the worst conditions physically and mentally, and nearly died for it. With that, I'd then become what I am now. A machine MADE for war."
"That sure is some vicious circle."
"One I embrace, Jack," he replied solemnly, "I don't belong here. I'm not fit for a world of peace and prosperity. Where death is a tragedy of old age, and the weak prosper WITH the strong. Where you can grow without having to experience true horror."
"Monsoon," she said, turning to the cyborg with an irritated look in her eyes, "Git it through that thick metal skull of yers. You can change! Do ya really think yer the only one here that's had a hard, violent life? Why donchya talk to Dumah, or talk to that Elvis feller you fought? Ah'm sure they'd be able to share in yer problems, and tell ya the same I'm tellin' ya now. Ya can fit in with the rest of us just fine. In the meantime, you might as well relax. Enjoy the peace while it lasts" After the outburst, she settled back down and shuffled a little in her spot, getting comfortable, before a particular thought came to mind. "If yer gonna be stayin' for a while, we'll need to set ya up with a place to stay and a job." She paused for a moment, before she continued with, "How're ya with harvestin' apples?"
Monsoon unfurled one of his arms, extended it beside the tree Applejack was under, and gave it a light tap. An apple then fell from the tree, right into Monsoon's outstretched hand. The farm pony whistled in approval as Monsoon took a bite from the fruit, blanching in disgust from the unexpected flavor.
"Hey, Mister! The apples here on the farm are the best in Equestria, bar none!"
"Not this one, Jack." He then tossed the bitten apple to her. Applejack then examined it and bit the other side, before also expressing disgust.
"Alright, alright... I'll have this tree checked tomorrow."
Monsoon then looked down to the little orange pony, before he stared back out to the sunset, which had just finished dipping beyond the horizon, casting colors of violet, blue, orange and maroon across the sky. Within moments, the night began to creep in, slowly approaching black as stars became more and more visible. It was a marvelous sight, one that Monsoon had only dreamed of seeing once upon a time. "It really is a nice night..."
-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-
Celestia face-planted against her bed, her muzzle firmly and deeply in her pillow. She was willing to suffocate herself as long as she could get some rest. Between assisting Discord in summoning the new entity to Equestria, setting up rooms for the new and unexpected citizens, and passing the sentence of one of Equestria's greatest threats, she was properly worn out for the day.
"Really? Worn out for the day? I thought you had more moxy than that. You've been alive for over a thousand years, and you act like you're already reaching a middle age of thirty six million, or something."
"Go away, Discord," she replied to the disembodied voice, "I have not the strength or will to banter with you today."
"Honestly, princess, you should be used to this. I mean, for goodness sake, you should still be at the gym, smacking the old sand sack and bench pressing a stadium."
"I haven't been to the gym in over five and a half centuries. I don't have time."
"Well, you're gonna have to make time soon. After all, you're going to have to tell them why they're here sooner or later, right? You need to be fit as a fiddle and sharp as a tack. Just in case, ya know, there is a bit of a fallout with six crazy, violent, and strange beings that might not be too happy about being ripped from their world."
"I am fully aware of that risk, Discord, and I have prepared to take whatever consequences."
"The only thing you're fully aware of is the fluff in your pillow, and the only thing you seem to be prepared to take is a nap." Celestia groaned as she grabbed another pillow and pressed it against her ears, trying to silence Discord. "But, what do I know," he continued, "I'm not even here right now. This is all in your head. Regardless, I hope you sleep well, dear Sun Butt. We have work to do once again in the near future, and you're gonna need all the strength you can get."
After that, only silence and the ticking of her clock prevailed her room. She sighed and looked out the window and into the night sky. The sea of stars sparkled in the night, wishing her pleasant dreams, which made her smile a little before she finally drifted off to sleep.
Who's going to be the fifth beast? Ridley or something?
6549799 We're left with loyalty and magic. Personally I was hoping one of them to be reserved for Sombra, but that's up to Wrath. Why Ridley in particular, anyway?
6549810 Let's just say..... he's interesting.
6549815 Just checked him out. I'll give him one thing, he certainly is persistent as hell, coming back from the dead over and over.
6549845 There's also his sadistic streak which puts Monsoon to shame.
Knowing this story Rainbow is probably gonna get someone known for betrayal, my guise it's Starscream
You know what? This arc wasn't as good as the other ones. It feels like you had to force Applejack and Monsoon together; the going-on wasn't nearly as organic as Rarity and Dumah, or Pinkie and Elvis. Sparing Chrysalis was also extremely forced.
Damn you, can't wait to discover who's gonna be Monsoon's opponent when every guardian will be ready in Equestria.
Armstrong ?
not sure that Monsoon would stand a chance against him it took Samuel's sword for Jack to kill him
because of the Nanomachines.
No may be someone else like Liquid ?...not really sure cause he would be the one getting kicked by Monsoon easily.
may be Vamp then. he would stand a good chance and he's a pretty good fighter just like him.
6549799 I have unfortunately never played the Metroid games save for Metroid 2 on the gameboy way back when, so no Ridley. I plan to rectify that in the near future by eventually getting Metroid Prime 1 and 2, though...
6549810 There are two reasons why Sombra is not part of the lineup. 1) Bael pretty much super killed him. It'd be pretty hard to come back from the dead after being eaten over a hundred times. 2) The name of the game in this fiction is to have six GAME villains/antagonists to be crossed over and more or less paired with an Element. Because Sombra is a canon character to FiM, he automatically doesn't fit the bill.
6549867 Sorry, but no Starscream either. Besides, i'm going for something a little bit different.
6550021 Damn. Thought you liked the arc previously. Sorry the ending wasn't to you liking though. To be fair, Monsoon and AJ haven't really had as much time to interact with each other compared to the other three. I wanted to try something different and have Monsoon interact with someone that had a similar point of view, but was the opposing element to Applejack's honesty. I intended to have it that the more time he spent with her, the more disgusted he would get that he'd take his policy of truth over the ideal of brutality, and thus eventually give Jack a chance in the end. He's not NEARLY done with his growth, though. None of them are. For Monsoon though, much like Bael, this is just a stepping stone to start his journey.
Let's also consider the fact that if he killed Chrysalis, what then? He'd be trapped AND persecuted. Both Chrysalis and AJ promised to get him home, and seeing as Chrysalis was full of shit, he wouldn't go with her, but what would have happened if he just gored her in front of AJ? Do you honestly think that he would have been let off the hook? Monsoon isn't an idiot, after all. He did what he did to make a point. To basically show Chrysalis that she's powerless against him, that he COULD do it if it benefited him.
Once again, sorry you didn't like this arc, but I do promise this is all to set up for further development, both good and bad.
6550080 No no no, you think too small. You're just considering Metal Gear. There are more IPs at work here than that... and maybe, I might not even be using an IPed character to act as the big bad for the future story...
6550386 Get the whole Trilogy and a Wii. Ridley is..... actually to understand him? Just check Wikitroid The Official Metroid Wiki.
6550400 Don't have money to get a Wii. Just have a Gamecube.
6550440 I see.... still. You might wanna check Wikitroid. It's the one place you can get DEFINITIVE info on Ridley and how to help his character.
6550446 I'd rather play the game. Still, not doing Ridley. I've already picked the characters a few years ago, about five chapters after I started. Besides, I doubt he'd have any real place in the idea I'm going for in my story.
6550486 Eh okay.
6550492 Sorry man. Though, you should maybe make a crossover story about Ridley yourself, seeing as you seem rather keen on the idea.
6550514 Already planning on it.
6550524 Sweet!
6550534 Yep.
6550440 haha if you want i can send you Metroid Prime 2, i still have it on my old Gamecube and never finished it, not sure if you can change the language though.
and so we might get totally original badies to faces them.
they're already in for a fight with Elvis
though i don't why, i just imagined a fight between Wesker and Monsoon, one trying to change nature to his own will and the one fighting to keep them as they must be, plus they're both a pain in the ass to hit
6550541 Nah, that's alright. It might be region locked, anyway.
Also, don't worry. Whatever baddie is presented, I'll make sure they are believably competent on the threat level against our Elements and Dark Hearts.
Also, yeah, that would be a funny fight, wouldn't it?
6550561 a long fight it would be
and seeing as you made a giant toad who was a big joke in DMC 4 likable
i don't think we have to be affraid for the new characters
6550386 And herein lies the problem: unlike Bael, Dumah and especially Elvis, there wasn't nearly enough contact between him and AJ to fully justify his change of mind. On everything I said was forced, it was because of a lack of back-and-forth. He could easily have had a perfectly justified in-story to, say, spare Chrysalis or not go away. Just a few more spoken lines would have been enough, to show instead of telling that she was really getting to Monsoon, even if just the bit that turned the tables.
Hell, you've played Devil May Cry, do you remember Vergil taking up one of Dante's guns in the Arkham fight despite feeling they're dishonorable weapons? It's entirely justified by one thing, one single thing:
That single sentence holds LOADS of weight. It shows that Vergil is willing to not only ally with his contemptuous brother, but that he's also willing to change even if for a single fight. The exact same would have applied for Monsoon.
Overall, yes, I think you have to do a touch-up on this chapter. Nothing to change the plot at all, but to consolidate the narrative and make it more organic.
6551219 Thing is, Monsoon and AJ's interaction extended to only the beginning of the arc, and the last few chapters, where as the majority of interaction laid with him and Chrysalis. This was intentional. As I've mentioned, I was aiming to create an idea where instead of growing to appreciate the one he's with (which is what happened in Bael, Elvis, and Dumah's arc), the opposite effect would happen to him the longer he stuck around Chrysalis, which would drive him to turn on her with a slight nudge from AJ's conviction.
Perhaps I could try to add a little extra dialogue between AJ and Monsoon somewhere in the last chapter (or the chapter prior), but I doubt it would make a significant enough impact for you. I know you've cited DMC3's climax on how it would work, but the problem is that Dante and Vergil are brothers. They KNOW each other. Hell, they even share a very particular trauma that even created their ideals. Furthermore, don't forget, Vergil didn't change his viewpoint or ideals in DMC3. He still aimed to claim his father's power, whatever the cost, even if it meant killing the brother he JUST had a moment with. Not even that very moment caused a real change, as he only sided with Dante so Arkham would loose the power Vergil still wanted. If anything, only Dante really changed, finally accepting his demonic side, beginning to understand what his father stood for, and understanding that he HAS to stop his brother before things get worse. AJ and Monsoon don't have that luxury, with Monsoon being from an entirely different world, and AJ (in the story) either being stuck on the farm due to her duties, or trapped in Ponyville at the time. Hell, this was even brought up in the previous chapter where Applejack laments the fact that she wasn't around for him like Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity were for their "guests", recognizing she chased him away in the beginning of the arc.
I'll certainly try to add to the chapter, but as I've said, I doubt it would be enough.
6551219 ok, did some slight revisions to help it along (as well as had jojo help me with some word changes and very minor punctuation editing i missed). Hope it's better.
I wonder who is next. Heh, is it something I know with feathery wings?
And oh, yes, before any wary eyes that isn't the author of this asks, I saw the post that the author did when this story was obviously born with the six villains to be.
6559105 I guess you'll have to wait and see, my Pinkie loving friend. :D
6560383
Hee hee, alright then. But oh, Pinkie isn't my favorite, but Fluttershy and Discord are.