A Twist of Fate

by lemmingluv

Four

Chrysalis was trotting briskly down one of the many halls of the royal palace. Ever since the moment Twilight Sparkle had taken off with Spike from the throne room without so much as a goodbye, the Changeling Queen had been deep in thought about their conversation.

Where did I go wrong? she wondered to herself. Did I sound too forceful? Maybe I should talk to her some more, try to help her get past her fear of Equestria. Afterall…it’s mostly my fault…

At that moment, a young changeling came barrelling in at the other end of the hall. “My Queen!” he was shouting. “My Queen! Something terrible is happening in the city! I think we’re under attack!”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened while her pupils shrank to mere slivers. Thoughts exploded through her mind in mere seconds as she froze stalk still in her place. Has Celestia finally launched the attack she’s been threatening for years? Did she figure out that Twilight is here? Or is there something worse, something more menacing out there?!

As the changeling continued to race toward the only heir, she began to recognize him. The first hint was that there was a purple baby dragon on his back, and the second was the bizarre emerald colored eyes that were staring intensely at his queen. It was Kolvin, the apprentice alchemist and good friend of Twilight Sparkle.

“Kolvin! What’s going on?” Chrysalis cried as the boy skidded to a halt in front of her. “Why do you have Spike, where is Twilight?” The queens voice went shrill at the last question.

“We were all out in the garden when we heard some shouting and then a monstrous roar!” Kolvin explained quickly. “I think one of the monsters of the Everfree are here! I told Twilight I would look after Spike and that the city needed her help!”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes, her leadership sense taking over. “Kolvin, I need you to notify the Mage at once and any guards you see along the way. Then you must take Spike to his and Twilights room. Under the bed is a secret door, I need you to move the bed out of the way and take Spike down through the door, it leads to a bunker in case of attack on the palace. Go!”

Kolvin jumped and quickly buzzed down the hall, obeying the queen’s orders. Chrysalis herself smashed open one of the windows in the hall, then proceeded to jump out and take flight. The changeling ruler took flight as fast as her insect-like wings could carry her. As she curved around the side of the palace and began her descent on the city, all she could do was worry about Twilight Sparkle and her changeling subjects.

Soon enough, she saw what the commotion was all about. A bright blue Ursa Minor was attacking the city gates, which were groaning under the force of the celestial bears antics. Guards were up on the city wall and hovering in the air, blasting shots of green magic at the creature. Sadly, it seemed that these little flares weren’t doing much to the beast other than agitate it. Some of the guards had even begun to dive bomb at the young ursa, hoping to scare it off. Chrysalis watched in terror as the ursa suddenly spun around and batted one of the diving guards away like a pesky wasp. The guard went crashing into a house in the city, screaming in terror as he was going too fast to fly.

Grinding her teeth, Chrysalis managed to pick up her speed. She shot forward like an arrow, willing to push on through anything to strike its target. In a split second, the changeling queen whizzed over the city gate and crashed into the ursas forehead, blasting a spell as she did so. The ursa reeled back, surprised and hurt from Chrysalis’ attack. The bear snarled, then rose up on its hind legs as the queen swooped back up in the air. She summoned a simple electrocution spell, and blasted it straight between the Minors eyes.

The ursa took the hit, stumbling backwards and letting out a shriek-like sound. Furious now, the Ursa Minor rose to its hind legs once more and forced it’s body down upon the city gate. The old, frail wood was too weak to hold up any longer and it split into large pieces, raining down onto the few guards who had been trying to hold the door shut with their magic. They were crushed instantly, and the proud ursa stomped over the rubble and straight into the city.

“No!” Chrysalis cried, her eyes bulging. She snarled and swooped down at the creature once more, desperate to keep it from getting any further into the city. The guards took note of this, and quickly took flight, taking a formation of which they would be swooping in to attack shortly after their queen’s initial blow.

The leader struck the bear in the back of the head, thrusting both front hooves into his skull at full force, then veered up. The ursa growled and looked up at her in anger, only to be surprised with the same attack repeatedly pounding into his ribs. It howled in pain and fury, then it’s legs began to falter.

“Aim for the beasts knees!” cried one of the commanders. While the guards complied and began beating away at the bears legs, Chrysalis continued to swoop at the creatures head, kicking it at every opportunity she got. The Ursa Minor grew more and more angry at the constant attacks and his lack of being able to do anything about it. He tried stomping his paws down on the guards, but missed most of them. The only one he’d managed to nail was only caught between his toes and the ground, so he managed to wiggle free. Infuriated, the monster rose up on its hind legs once more, ready to crush a house into dust.

Suddenly, a bright blast of crackling purple energy shot past the guards and struck the ursa directly in the center of its chest. The celestial bear toppled over onto its back and cried out in pain as it landed on the sturdy stone walls around the city. A loud and audible crack could be heard, and it was obvious that the creature had injured its back on the wall. Chrysalis spun around to see none other than Twilight Sparkle standing in the middle of the empty street, horn bright and blazing!

While Chrysalis was glad that Twilight had subdued the beast where her guards had been failing, she also feared for the unicorns life. “Twilight! Get back to the palace, now!” she cried. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied the ursa stirring, and she knew he would not be happy at all.

Twilight’s slightly ragged mane swished as she shook her head firmly. “Absolutely not, Lis! I’m going to help get this Ursa Minor out of our home!”

A few of the guards murmured amongst each other at Twilights statement. While they were impressed with the purple unicorn, they still had some doubts about her.

Chrysalis swooped down and quickly landed next to Twilight. “Go back to the palace, that’s an order.” she said firmly.

The unicorn frowned up at her mentor. “Lis,” she argued in a low tone. “The guards think I’m an untrustworthy pest. I need to prove to them and myself that I’m worth your time.”

The queen stared at young mare in surprise. “What are you talking about, Twilight?” she asked her voice and expression softening. “How long have you been feeling like this? This isn’t because of what I said about you going back to Equestria, is it?”

Twilight shook her head firmly once more. “No, Lis. I just need to do this okay? Let me help you, please.”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by the ear shattering sound of the ursas roar. The two focused upon the bear once more, seeing that it had now risen yet again, to its hind legs. It was clearly in pain, but was just as rage fueled as ever. It raised its paws up, glowering at the unicorn and changeling queen. In a split second, Chrysalis had levitated Twilight onto her back and just managed to fly out of the way of the creature that wished to pound them into dust.

Twilight gasped. Chrysalis had taken her on rides on her back before, but never outside of the safety of the palace, and never this fast. Not to mention that she’d been only a filly at the time. Add to the fact that they were trying to protect the city from an ursa; Twilight was feeling a bit uneasy.

Another wave of attacks came from the guards, half aiming for the monsters front knees and the other half striking his ribs and back. The blue coated ursa cried out in pain as the guards were hitting its injuries, and its knees were beginning to buckle.

Twilight gasped, realizing what to do. “Lis! Tell the guards to stop attacking his weak spots and focus on his one shoulder, they’ve got to try and get him to turn around!” she called as they soared through the air.

Chrysalis didn’t even bother shouting out to the guards in Equestrian, she simply repeated Twilights orders to them the changeling way, to which they quickly complied and reassembled. As Twilight predicted, the guards pounding themselves against the ursas shoulder caused him to turn to the side, and finally into a 180 facing away from the city.

Twilight charged up her horn, the glow slowly growing brighter and more intense. In a few seconds, she started shooting off sparks, and was generating a breeze that caused her mane to swish slightly from the power. Her face was screwed up in concentration. “L-Lis!” she muttered through clenched teeth. “After I cast…ugh, my spell, throw yourself into the b-back of that ursa! Give him a shove!”

Chrysalis gave a short nod in response, gaining altitude and getting ready to swoop down. With a cry, Twilight released her spell, then fell limp against the queens back, draping her hooves weakly around Chrysalis’ neck. The swirling ball of purple magic went rushing down and hit…the dirt road in front of the ursa.

“Twilight, you missed!” the changeling queen cried with frustration.

“Watch…” Twilight said weakly.

Suddenly, the entire road lit up with purple light. With a flash, the road had suddenly become a long stretch of a soapy mess. Chrysalis tilted her head, confused, but with a nudge from Twilight, she remembered what she was supposed to do next. Without another second of hesitation, she swooped down and shoved the ursa forward the best she could.

Apparently, her best was just enough. The Ursa Minor stumbled forward and couldn’t find any proper footing on the soapy road. It cried out in confusion shortly before the guards swooped in and gave him another shove. Then the poor bear was sliding down the slippery road back into the Everfree.

A few moments after the ursa disappeared, cheering and clacking hooves could be heard behind them. Chrysalis turned around midair to see the citizens of her city had come out of hiding and begun cheering for the departure of the overgrown pest. The queen smiled down on her people, then over her shoulder at the exhausted Equestrian. Twilight smiled weakly back, and waved to the crowd.

Chrysalis began a gentle flight to the palace. “C’mon, you deserve some rest.”

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