Thread 40: Stories 135-145

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 >Faketania
“PD”
‘Thuntania’
[Titania]
{Crushtania}
~Smahstania~
~~~~~~~

“Where… where… where…!?”

He has seen her go over here, he was sure of it. But despite her size, he couldn’t…

“THERE!”

He found her, still lying in that pile of destroyed toys, still lost in thought.

“OH THANK GOODNESS! Listen, Chitanaia? We, the poor citizens, are in danger! And I need you to..

That’s when he noticed the toys in her hoof, and the fact magic was flickering along her frame. She seemed… unstable. Much, much more unstable.

>I’m… one of them, aren’t I? One of the things attacking this place.

“That’s… unimportant! There are heroic deeds that need… that…”

She smiled bitterly, looking around at all of the chaos. Just like her, the other Crushers were likewise having a hard time maintaining their giant forms… and similarly in bitter states.

“…Yeah, you are. You came to life with the same magic that made any one of them.”

>Huh… so, I’m a toy?

“Well, technically you’re chaos magic in a toy, but essentially, yeah.”

>I’m not really a superhero?

“Not… not in the strictest sense.”

>I didn’t stop the puppy factory from exploding? I never saved those orphans from the side of a cliff?... Never even had the surprise birthday party for Titania?

“Nope. None of that happened. Well, it happened, but not to you. Well, the comic book you, but not… you are a toy based on a toy based VERY loosely on a real thing that got zapped with chaos magic and came to life, you get it?”

>Yeah. I do…

“You, uh, you okay?”

>…

“Right, right… probably a bad time to ask.”

>What’s she like?

“She who?”

>The real Chitania, what’s she like?

“The one from the comic? Pretty much exactly like you, I guess. Heroic, pretty nice, got a good-“

>No no… the ‘real’ Chitania. The one that destroyed that monster… that was pretty impressive. Is she just like the comic?

“Ah… She, uh… she’s not as good, let’s just say.”

>She’s not a hero?

“Not remotely, no. Pretty evil, actually… okay, really evil.”

>I see…

“You… you’re not that one, you know.”

>….No, I suppose I’m not. My skin is plastic, there are wires instead of veins, there is a literal voicebox in my throat, and all of my powers come from a magic I do not understand. I never crashed to earth in a meteor and decided to do good, my mother never taught me the value of justice, and I never got to see evil thwarted. I woke up, and that’s what I am. Everything I’m made of… is evil. Just like the one I came from. And now it’s running out.

“…Yeah, time seems to be running out for all of us.”

>Is it falling? Really?

“You can’t feel it?”

>…No. I’m… I’m made of plastic, I guess. I don’t really feel things. I’m a…m-m…

“Hey, wait now, you’re not a monster, okay? A monster would be angry, want revenge, want to hurt someone. You don’t… you’re not a monster because you’re made like this. You are a hero, you hear me? And we need you to save the day!”

She watched him, thinking to herself.

>...You're right.

She tossed the toy away, rolling shakily to her hooves.

>I may have been born today, I may have spent my whole life fighting, I may not even be real. But there is one thing that is real, inside of me. Even if it came from false memories, even if it came from another’s mind, even if I’m just a giant pile of crazy magic there’s one thing I know for sure!

Heroically, she threw her head back, giving off a winning smile.

>I KNOW WHAT JUSTICE IS! And I know to do what is right! We all do!... CRUSHERS!

They all turned to her, inspired once more.

>IT’S TIME TO GIVE UP THE BRAWL! WE’RE GONNA SAVE THEM ALL!

Afraid no more, Smashtania bounced to her hooves.

~THAAAAT’S RIGHT!~

As one they took off.

And crushed right through the shield.

‘Boss, we’re running out of magic. I don’t know how much longer we can hold out.’

>…Long enough.

With a nod, they all banked around, flying beneath the massive, falling structure. They ducked around the massive jets, and to anyone else would have been hidden from sight. But they were not doing this to be looked upon. They rose their hooves up for one reason.

They all groaned with pain as the falling thing went down, pressing hard against them. Even with their supposed superpowers, they could not stop the descent, only slow it down.

[WE AIN’T GONNA HOLD IT!]

>Then we’ll do what we can, for as long as we can!

{That isn’t going to be much longer.}

~Guys…~

>…Heroes don’t think about how much time they’re given, only how much time they can give to those they protect. If it takes the last breath of our short, tiny lives, then we are going to give it so they may live one more minute! CRUSHERS! HOLD!

And hold they did.

They did not stop it, but it would be enough, they prayed.

It would be enough.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >???
“Chitania”
‘Faketania’
[Thuntainia]
{Crushtania}
-Smashtania-
=Titania=
~~~~~~~
It wouldn’t be any fun to watch them, Chitania realized. When this place finally fell and destroyed itself, it would cause such carnage. Most of them were going to die. She had seen her… ‘toys’ go beneath it, but they had only slowed it down. They could not stop it.

They were all going to die.

And yet, despite all that ponies had done to her, she would feel no joy. No regret either, of course, they could all burn in flames and she would miss not a one, but the thought of seeing that fire did not make her happy. Idly, she wondered about this. She wondered why she didn’t care about them, despite it all. Maybe her battles had reduced these ponies to mere ants in her eyes, always so pitiful, so helpless that she could not even see them as things. Just… ants. Tiny, tiny little ants. As such, she couldn’t even bring a single care as she floated further away.

“As if any of them were worth my concern-“

>H-help.

She froze in the air, mouth wide in a garish gape. It… it had been so long. So very, very long since she felt it. That tingle in her horn, that flicker behind her eyes.

Someone was calling her.

>H-heeellpp…

“Where…”

With all the chaos magic floating around, she could not sense where they were. She could not reach them, even as her instincts and muscle memory begged her to do so.

>P-p-please! Please help! Please! You always helped mama, no matter what she did or how bad she got, you always always helped her! I-I’m sorry I called you names, I’m sorry! I didn’t know you got locked up, mama didn’t either! She kept… she kept calling you. Even after you were gone… She kept calling you because you always came. I… I don’t wanna die like this. I don’t want to die here. P-please… I don’t want… I don’t want to die like this…

“…”

It had been so long…

So…

~~~~~~~

~Little Arana, she’s going to rule the world someday, you know.~

“Mmm…”

~She’s going to be so big and powerful, nothing can stop her!~

“If you say so.”

~She’ll destroy everyone in her path! Melt them, burn them, poison their very souls and take their mind! AHAHAHAH!~

“Oh, of course she will.”

~…Except you.~

“Heh, and they call you crazy.”

~I mean it. She won’t ever turn on you. Ever, I swear it. Because… because you’re going to be there for her after she takes my heart. Just like you were for me.~

“Little early to be thinking such things, is it not?”

~Maybe. But… I can think about them, you know. I can think about the future, and not be so afraid that something will happen to her. Because if you’ll help me…~

Gently, a long, pointed limb brushed across her tiny, newborn face.

~You’ll save someone as precious as her.~
~~~~~~~~

She hovered there, some incoherent sobbing still ringing in her brain. The one somewhere in Partyland still cried out for her, just as they did in the time long past. So many, many times, she answered that call.

…And it was all pointless. She could not save any of them, not really. They all died in the end.

Except for… this one…

She had to arc low to see them, hidden behind the jets that even now were failing and exploding all around them. Her fake, her double, struggling to hold it up. The chaos creation had no real history with the ponies, had no real connection to this world, yet she was determined to save them all. It was pointless, she realized. If the ponies succeeded, they would lose their magic and return to toys. If they failed, the chaos would consume them. There was no winning here, not for them. Yet still, even with their chaos magic fading away, they gave it their all. They tried.

“…They are trying to show me up, is what they’re doing.”

The excuse, and she knew full well it was an excuse, felt weak. But still, perhaps it was just enough to let her keep some of her pride. It was better than the real reason, she supposed.

That in reality, she just thought of someone who had thought of her as, perhaps their only, friend.

It wasn’t a very good excuse.

But it was enough for her to use her fireflight to stealthily get her down there, in the center of those gathered.

[OH BLAST!]

{Listen, I know we’re kind of helpless here, but can you find just a bit of mercy?}

=COME ON! BRING IT! I’ll still kick your flank even holding this up!=

‘Please….’

The fake, plastic her grimaced.

‘You can destroy us later, just please, let us save them. We might not be able to hold it, but we have to try…’

A deep, throaty growl answered her.

And then she started to lift her hooves.

[No good anyway! We’re running out of juice!]

{It can’t end like this!}

=You piece of trash, you stupid villain! COME ON!=

-We have to save them, come on! Just a little longer!-

‘PLEASE!’

And then, Chitania the Titan rose up, and pressed upwards.

The eyes of the five all went wide as the weight lifted off of them. They fell back into steady, unstable flight as the magic that kept them alive wavered, flicking more and more out of existence. But yet, even as they felt that very magic leave them, they all smiled. Most of all, the plastic double of that who flew before them.

Her might was tested as she felt the full weight press down against her back, wings flapping hard and straining with every insect like fluttering beat. The weight of an entire floating park pressed down on her.

But like all the others, Partyland could not break the Titan.

And at last, the descent stopped.

They all looked to her, feeling the weight lift off their weakened and tired shoulders. Both the weight of the island, and the weight of the lives it held.

‘You have this one?’

>>19661209
She did not answer her fake directly, just grunted.

‘Good…’

They all started to shrink before her, the magic that had given them life slowly fading away.

{Thanks for all the help! You made it look good.}

[Heh, guess you really were the real deal.]

=Fine, maybe there was someone stronger than me, but just a little!=

-THANNNNKKKS!-

They shrank, and shrank, and shrank some more, smaller than Celestia, smaller than a pony, then finally smaller even than a filly or colt. Watching them, Chitania couldn’t help but scoff.

“Going out like this...”

‘What do you mean? If I had to go out any single way…’

Her fake smiled, finally back to the size of a normal toy.

‘I’m glad I got to go out like this. No matter how much we love to brawl, the most important part of any fight-‘

‘[{=-Is making sure you save them all!-=}]’

At last, the magic left them, and they fell away. Lifeless toys now, falling to the earth… Still smiling.

“…I should probably get around to smashing whoever makes those things. Or at least sending them a threatening letter… who am I talking to?”

She sighed, readjusting her grip on the massive floating structure.

“…How long do I have to hold this thing?... Can I just drop- nope. Over a canyon, would probably impale the engines and make it explode or something… could probably just have called Arana and told her to, I don’t know, stand out in the open or something… yep… could’ve done this kind of different… yep…”

And so, the titan floated.

Little bitter.

…Just a bit.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Discord
“???”
~~~~~

>Why…

He didn’t know who he was asking, really, just saying it out loud.

>What was I thinking? This… this isn’t the chaos I wanted.

He just sighed again, sitting deeper into his massive arm chair he had summoned. So far away, he could only watch the madness unfolding. The rise, the fall, the near deaths and those still who might be lost. The destruction of the machine, and the containment of any who tried to flee. What happened next, even he was lost on.

And it was his entire fault.

“What were you thinking?”

He suddenly started, whirling around at the figure standing behind him. A small, sad little yellow face greeted him.

“Discord… why? Why did you let it go this far?”

There was such betrayal in her eyes.

>It… it wasn’t supposed to be like this! You just wanted to be useful! I made you useful!

“Did you, really?... Or did you just want to make yourself feel needed?”

He reeled back, literally.

“Take it all away, Discord.”

Regretfully, he turned away.

>I can’t.

“Take it all away.”

>I can’t do that.

“Take it all back!”

Multicolored explosions erupted all around him.

>I said I can’t!

She shied away, and in that instant they all vanished. Ashamed, he looked away.

>I’m sorry…

“…No, I’m sorry.”

>You have nothing to be sorry for-

“No, I do. I gave it to her.”

His neck creaked like a broken piece of door, and he looked upon her.

>…her?

And that’s when the laughing started.

Before his eyes, Partyland changed. As if a shadow had been cast over it in broad daylight, ropes of black trailed along every inch of it. Seeping down, before rocketing to earth like spears, and spreading all along the earth like the darkness of an oil slick. The laughter grew, and grew, until it was booming in his ears. And from the center of this massive island, it grew as well. An aimless shape at first, nothing more than a bubbling spike of inky darkness. It rose, piercing upward into the sky like a sword, before tapering out at the top.

And the laughter only grew louder.

>What have you done…

From the muck, a face began to take shape, a face he would not have recognized had it not been for the twisted horn that protruded from its head. Despondent amidst her laughter, he screamed in horror.

>WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?

“Take it all away from her, Discord.”

>But… but it will…

“You’re the only one who can. It’s not me anymore, you don’t have to be afraid. Do it. Take it from her. Don’t let her turn this on the world.”

He could see it forming now. Legs, long, hole filled legs shooting downward, preparing to touch the ground. At last, he had to act. His hand shaking like a leaf, he lifted his fist, and put his fingers together.

“Do it.”

But he did not.

>I’ll only make it worse!

“Stop lying and do it!”

Even as his breath grew short, he could not move.

“Don’t let her conquer the world.”

It was as if ice had covered his fingers. So cold, so… painful.

But slowly, they started to slip.

“Get rid of your magic!”

And then they stopped.

>…My magic?

The smaller yellow one behind him leaned back as he regarded her, his eyes narrowing in just a bit.

“Yes, your magic! The magic taken from you! You have to get rid of it! Now, quickly! Save us!”

The beast atop Partyland roared, and lunged at them.

“DISCORD PLEASE!”

But he just… smiled. And then he snapped his fingers.

It all fell away, like the waking of a dream. The world shimmered around them, fading out like a blurry picture coming into focus.

And just like that, everything was back to normal. Well, ‘normal’ being a fairly… loose term. Partyland was back to being the chaos it was before, just no giant black monsters anymore.

>That… was extremely impressive. I had no idea you were even there.

The yellow thing let out a distinctly uncharacteristic growl.

"Well..”

She was bathed in flame, her form melting away before him.

“It seems we’ve had quite the revelation here!”

‘What do you mean?’

Discord jumped out of his skin, literally, when he turned around. Right behind him was Celestia, poised with a thoughtful look on her face, and a strange limp in her step, looking extremely drained.

“He can’t stop it. From what I gleamed, he will only make it worse.”

Irritated, he snapped his boney fingers, a bucket of ice water falling from the sky and pouring on top of the Queen. Distractedly, he zipped his skin back up.

>You could have simply asked.

‘No, we couldn’t. So, what is going on?’

He ‘hrumphed’, turning his back on her. Not his whole body, though, just his back.

>I am afraid I am forced by my bonds of friendship to withhold the particulars of this event.

Her eyes narrowed, irritated.

‘Discord, this is no time for games! Lives are at stake!’

>Can’t do it.

‘Discord!’

>Made a promise.

‘DISCORD!’

>ZZIPPP!

‘DISCORD THIS IS YOUR LAST-‘

And that’s when they both stopped.

Abruptly, Chrysalis had broken into a maddening, almost insane cackle.

‘…Chrysalis? Is there something you want to share?’

Her laughter just intensified, hurting her chest with how loud the pitch rose.

‘I… I don’t… what are you doing?’

But the one beside her did not question that. No, something was spinning within his mind, something looking, and prodding and wondering.

And then he found it.

>…no…

Slowly, the laughter died down.

“So… that’s what she did…”

Regally, she rose to her full height, and started to trot around him.

“Oh, that’s rich. You know, I actually tried to figure her little trick out. Thought to myself, wow, what a useful power that would be? What power to hold to end the reign of chaos on a whim. Hm, guess I was a little off, no?”

It was very rare that Discord looked angry.

This was one of those times.

>You read my mind.

“Oh, it took a loooot of power, a lot more than I had used for any other pony, dragon or beast, I’m not even sure I could have pulled it off with just my own. Your mind is like putting together a broken puzzle with pieces missing, never able to get the whole picture, but I got the gist of it. And I now know just what it is I am up against… and I’m going to stop it.”

In an instant, his hand was aimed at her, and he snapped his fingers. The response he got was, to put it mildly, not what he was hoping for.

From within her mane, she pulled forth a wad of bubblegum, and hurled it at him. As expected his chaos magic went out, and connected not with her, but instead that very strange substance. It exploded, expanding outward as if suddenly infused with a burst of helium, and splattering against him. No matter how he snapped, it only grew, unable to make it go away.

“So, even the parts of it can take your magic… useful.”

Stunned, Celestia could only watch as Chrysalis trotted past her.

‘What…’

“This chaos magic absorbs his, that should keep him busy long enough for me to get over there and finish this up. Do keep an eye on him, who knows what might happen if he got any closer.”

Wickedly, she smiled.

“I’ll have this handled in no time.”

His head rocketed forward, and from his lips a gigantic fireball shot forth, aiming right for the back of her head.

But it met only the flames of her own magic, specifically those meant to spirit her away, out of his reach. Futilely, he clawed at the air, finally ripping free of the candy wad.

>CHRYSALIS! NO! DON’T DO IT!

In shock, Celestia turned back to Partyland.

‘What… what is she going to do…’

Reaching out uselessly at the land he could not even hope to approach, he fell down in sadness.

>She’s going after Fluttershy…

Back on Partyland, Chrysalis landed with a smile, her flames changing into a quite striking blue and yellow flame as she did so. She felt an odd tingling start to overtake her, but paid it no mind. No no, much more important things to do, much more important things to see. Funny, she felt taller. Must be a side effect of impending victory.

>…And she’s going to end this…

At last, Partyland was again graced with the sound of sincere, happy laughter.
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 >Twilight
“Spike”
-Pinkie-
~Dash~
[Rarity]
{AJ}
~~~~~~
At last.

At last.

They found it.

Though the rising, the falling, all of the near deaths, all of the threats they had to turn away from, their search had at last come to an end.

The source of the chaos, the center of all of this destruction, the birthplace of the horror they all faced.

~…Of freaking course it’s the gift shop. Why not?~

-Well, why not?-

~…Shut up, Pinkie, let’s just go and-~

[I don’t think it will be that easy, darling!]

As she spoke, hundreds of creatures, ranging from purple spotted elephant-geese to walking unicycles to even a slightly off color pony or two gathered together, right at the entrance, and clustered so tightly there was no possible way to get past.

{OF FREAKIN’ COURSE!}

>We have to get inside of there somehow!

~We can’t with those things bunched in front of it!~

-Can we go around!?-

[How!?]

Even as the others wracked their brains and did their best to think… only one knew exactly what he had to do.

“CANNON BALLLLLLLL!”

>SPIKE!

The dragon balled up and fired right into the mass, sinking right into the center of it. Only there, as he felt those creatures on every side clawing at him, did he uncurl, and hold up what had been clutched to his chest.

In the middle of it all, he fired off his incendiary round.

They burst into flames, consuming every one of them. As they all watched, the monsters burned away.

{HOOEEE! Good job , Spike! That was some fine thinkin’!}

[Brilliant, darling!]

>…Spike?

Twilight fluttered next to him as he lay on the ground, a claw clutching his chest. Dramatically, he dropped Charity, and gripped her chest.

“I… I can see the light, Twilight.”

>Right, that’s probably just an after effect of looking at the fire. The fire to which you are immune. You’re fine.

“I can hear the angels calling.”

>That is Catty Perry, still playing on the loudspeakers despite the speakers coming alive and vomiting, and the fact you are equating this with angels is worrying me.

“I… I want you to know something Twi…”

>That this is all an elaborate prank? It feels like that, actually.

“I’ve always… thought of you as a friend.”

>I practically raised you, would hope that I rated somewhere on that list.

“And I… I want you to be happy when I’m gone.”

>Again, you are aware you are not dying, right? You’re fine

“I want you to… to find another assistant. I don’t want you to be held down by my memory.”

>I… guess? Kind of reasonable. If you weren’t totally fine, I mean.

“I want you to go out into the world, and find that assistant that makes you happiest. One who can fulfill your needs… better than I could.”

>Uh… huh…

“I’m… sorry, that I wasn’t always just your assistant. I’m sorry I couldn’t stick with just you alone. It wasn’t you, I just… I needed to be there, for Applejack. She meant so much, to the both of us. I… I’m sorry… I’m sorry I couldn’t just be yours alone. You deserved better.”

>…

“Even as I am looking up from hell, I want you to remember…”

>Okay, this hell obsession is a problem, do we need to have a talk?

“Remember I… I will always be there for you. Ready to file your forms… in here. Right here.”

>Heart is more to the left, Spike.

“Save… my last… paycheck…”


>…

~…So, he’s fine, right?~

>Totally unharmed, we’re just going to chalk this one up to chaos and pretend it never happened. Spike? Watch our back and make sure nothing else tries to come and get us from behind. Come on, girls! Let’s finally end this!

With that, they all ran off.

…

“…WELL EXCUSE ME FOR HAVING A SENSE OF… dra…ma…”

From nowhere, more monsters had spawned, and now surrounded him.

“…You want to go?”

*CLICK CLICK*

“…Let’s go…”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 “FLUTTERSHY!”

They all cried in horror at what they saw. Right before their eyes, in a sphere of pure, unbridled chaos, their friend hung limp. Magic danced around her, illuminating her otherwise dead, lifeless eyes.

“Did he do this…” Dash snarled, thoughts so dark she dared not voice them filling her mind.

“When Ah’ get a hold of that piece of…” Likewise thoughts filled the orange mares as she approached the sphere. “He ain’t gettin’ put back in a rock, not after this.”

“How could he do this?” Pinkie cried, tears sprinkling in her eyes.

“He didn’t.”

The soft, almost imperceptible voice rocked them out of their thoughts of Discord’s punishment.

“I… I did this…” Tears sprinkled on the ground before her, slowly changing into rivers of chocolate or mint or any other such thing.

“F-fluttershy… what do you mean?” Rarity asked, frightened.

“I thought I could handle it… I thought I could be useful… but I couldn’t hold it in.”

“Hold… what?” Twilight asked. “Why aren’t you countering this?”

“I can’t counter it. I never could, Twilight. It was all a lie. I’ve been lying to you for so long.” She started to choke, sobs coming out of her throat. “I-I just didn’t want you to think he… that I was dangerous. He needed me to be his friend, I couldn’t let you all send him away.”

At once, it dawned on them.

“Those clones… came from you, didn’t they?” Dash asked.

Bitterly, she nodded.

“Because you didn’t get rid of his power… you took it in!” Rarity gasped.

“You’ve been absorbing chaos magic all this time!?” Twilight screamed. “No! Fluttershy, we have to get it out of you, we have to-“

“It’s too late. I have too much. I can’t… I can’t control it anymore… run.”

The walls exploded inwards, claws so sharp aiming right for the five gathered.

“Fluttershy! You have to get a hold of yourself!” Pinkie yelled, kicking one arm away.

“It’s too late…” She cried. “It’s too late…”

“FLUTTERSHY!” Twilight called out, racing forward, only to be stopped hard by the sphere of power that separated herself and her friend.

Sad, tear streaked eyes looked up at her friend. “You have to… to take me to the tree.”

She snapped back at the words, aghast.

“You have to take me to the tree… and bury me there. It… it held the vines, it’ll hold me. It just has to hold… me.”

“N-no! We can’t! There’s another way! Just- just let me think up another way!”

“You can’t.”

“Just wait a bit longer!”

And she did. She waited, she hung there, eyes blank, and she waited.

But nothing came from the other.

“WELL!?” Dash grunted, holding back the floor as it tried to rise up and attack them, “How are we supposed to stop it!?”

She wracked her brain, a billion possibilities, a billion thoughts, all rushing through her at the speed of light. Not a single one of them worth a damn. Even in her mind, supposedly the most brilliant of them all, there was nothing. Nothing that could deal with a magic she could not comprehend. There was nothing.

Nothing… but laughter.

A blast of magic, far too soon and strong for them to see coming, surged into them, rocketing them all away from the sphere where their friend remained. They slammed hard against the wall, but brushed it off quickly enough. Just in time to see… it.

“What… what in tarnation is that!?” She gasped.

From behind the yellow mare, a shape emerged. Long, pointed black limbs wrapped around Fluttershy’s form, drawing her back. From the shadows, green flame emerged.

“Dear, dear little thing, you look so pained…”

Their blood all ran cold as something curled her long neck around, face to face with the smaller creature. Poison dripped from obscenely long fangs, illuminated by burning, glowing red eyes. That hard, black skin on a stretched and thin face rubbed against Fluttershy’s cheek as her smaller form was lifted up, revealing massive, elongated legs connected to a sinewy midsection. An almost serpent like neck curled over her shoulders as she reached her full height, hair fluttering about like living snakes atop her head.

“What a poor little thing.” She cooed. “What a poor, poor little thing. Does it hurt?”

Every word was like the warped song of a siren, painful to hear, something that made them all wish, albeit subconsciously, to flee. The smaller one whimpered, shying away.

“Tell mama where it hurts, she’ll make it all better.”

A shaking, unsteady hoof reached up, and touched her own forehead.

“Right here?”

A foreleg rose up, splitting as it did until it almost resembled a claw. It clacked as it tapped her temple, punctuated by little ‘tsk tsks’

“You’ve gotten yourself into such trouble, little one, and I’m oh so disappointed in you. But no worries, not for you, I’m right here…”

Wickedly, she grinned, acidic poison literally dripping from her maw.

“And I’ll make it allllll better.”

She screamed as a green bolt of lightning struck into her head, convulsing as painful unseen claws reached into every corner.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Pinkie shrieked, panicking as the green fire enclosed around her friends head.

But the creature just laughed, her eyes sharing that same fiery glow as the one that overtook their friends own.

“YOU GET AWAY FROM HER!” Rarity cried, rearing back and splaying her wings.

As one, they charged. They knew not what it was doing, but they knew it had to be stopped.

But it was not the creature who was stopped.

It was time itself.

As if the hands of the clock had been grabbed hold, they all froze, hanging in the air as if dangling by invisible strings. But this world so chaotic was not what graced the burning eyes of a creature so foul looking. Her eyes gazed upon another world altogether. A world so twisted and broken it could scarcely be called something as stable as a place of being at all. A shattered place of floating islands, broken gaps hanging in the air as if it were a massive screen with tears all along its length, and oh so many strange things and wonders. Had she the time, she would likely have stopped just to admire the intricacy of it all, but alas. This was not a world to be gazed upon, oh no.

It was the world of her mind.

The dark creature floated aimlessly through the wasteland, idly dodging this strange thing or that. With limbs like liquid shadow, its tendrils latched around the area, grabbing hold of anything it could find and pulling it along as it searched, and searched.

“Ahhhhhhh... there you are.”

Cuddled in the center, she was. Huddled small and afraid as images danced around her, as crazy things of all shapes and sizes touched her before fleeing like they were mischievous schoolchildren. Creatures of every shape and size played with her. No malice, not overtly, just a desire to see her play.

“I’m sorry…”

But above her, within the broken parts of this world, they remained. Eyes so like the little things own, looking outwardly at her, saying nothing with words, yet everything with just their looks. Parts of her that had broken free, and she had pulled back.

“I’m sorry…”

But they were not as when they left. They had mutated, grown, formed minds she no longer understood. She could no longer reconcile the world as she saw it with the world seen through their eyes. So many minds, all wishing to be her own...

“I’m sorry…”

The power had no rhyme, no reason. It danced through her mind as it pleased. It followed it’s own beat, and nothing else. And as one, they looked upon her, and she shied away.

“Oh, this will not do.”

It shattered like glass, startling the shaking form in the center. Before her, one of the facsimiles in the cracks in her world slumped forward, a dark tendril running though it. Magic dripped away as if it were their very lifeblood, pouring out as the gap in her mind slowly closed, and eventually faded away.

“Oh no.”

They screeched as the black, twisted spires rained, unable to flee as one by one they broke the very shattered portions within the air, leaving nothing behind.

“Chaos magic is something I do not understand, I cannot fight, I cannot kill, I cannot destroy. But this…”

She screamed as more and more and more they fell, gone away as if they had never been.

“This is the plain of the mind. I understand this one well. To cast mind magic is to know that every mind shapes different. To bend them to your will is to know that every will holds stronger in different ways. To change a mind is to change the very nature of a memory itself. These things are merely minds that wield your power. They are no different than any other thought that could cross your head. I do not know your power…”

One by one, they all closed.

“But I know the mind.”

She felt a tendril at last reach her, nothing else in its way to grab hold of. It encircled her, dragging her before the massive monstrosity and dangling her before its horrific, fanged mouth.

“Now don’t you just feel so much better?”

The voices had at last gone quiet, she would admit, but she felt no relief.

“L-let me go…”

The dark thing smiled, almost sadly, idly rolling her around in its grasp.

“Mmmm… I can’t do that, I’m afraid.”

“Let me go…”

“You see, you are dangerous, oh so dangerous, a creature with power beyond, yet no means to hold it in.”

“Let me go…”

“You do not know it, but your mind is what wields this power, not your body. Your body is merely a vassal. The mind is what must be held, don’t you see?”

“Let me go.”

“I will hold you, take you, make you. In my grasp, I shall cow this power. I shall show you just how powerful the mind can truly be.”

“Let. Me. Go.”

“In time, you will see, and you will give thanks to me-“

“LET ME GO!”

From all around, the world answered her call. The floating platforms mashed together, extrusions of striped concoctions protruding from every single corner of it. These macabre faux hands jutted back, shattering the world like glass. From every shard, a whirlwind formed, combining altogether into a massive creature. Three hands reached out, each one grabbing hold of the shadowy, oil like neck.

“YOU FOOL!”

Green fire enveloped her head, and with a scream of pain the golem shattered.

Another tried to form, this time as if by snakes of ribbons growing from the ground akin to trees, but likewise met a similar fate.

“Upon reality, the edge would be yours. But here, within the realm of the mind, I stand supreme! Now stop this struggle, this will only make everything worse!”

She forced her down, flames searing her head once more.

“H-help me…”

“What? Do you not see? Is it not obvious?”

“Help me!”

“How can you be so blind? I-“

“HELP ME!”

As if she had called upon the might of heaven itself, the sky split forth, light pouring in from the rents that had formed above them.

“YOU HEARD THE LADY!”

From those beams of light, they descended. Within their majestic glow, each shape took form, and like a lance from heaven carved into the massive shadow shape.

The creature did not scream in pain, merely grunting in irritation as her some limbs were carved from her by five glowing, white lights, becoming overtaken and fading away just as she had done with the minds of those that had tormented this one. As one they took form, hovering in the air before her. All five forms of the Elements of Harmony, ready and willing to take her on.

“PUT HER DOWN YA’ DANG MONSTER!” Applejack cried, bucking into the air. A ball of light shot out, blowing off one of the tendrils holding her up. She grunted again, feeling her control on the smaller ones mind slip, but nothing she could not instantly rectify, and repair in front of their very eyes.

“You idiot, what are you doing!?” The monster hissed, looking down at the yellow, shaking one she still held.

“Oh, we know exactly what we’re doing!” Pinkie replied, pulling back as if cocking a slingshot, and firing another lance of light. This one hit nothing but a shield of shadow, blocked before it ever reached her.

The dark voice went low, anger overtaking irritation. “How did you call them? None should be able to form as long as I have you.”

“She didn’t need to call us! We’ll always be here for her!” Rarity declared, casting a single needle that shot right into the inky blackness of her chest.

“That’s right!” Twilight roared, casting a spell right at that needle, and erupting with power. The darkness wobbled, but it did not stay broken for long.

“So you just better get ready, because this is about to get painful!” Dash cried, letting the light overtake her and rocketing forward.

“ENOUGH!”

Only to be hung in the air as if a noose had encircled her neck, and stopped in her tracks.

“NO! No, please!” Fluttershy cried as her friend suddenly began clawing at her neck, useless.

“YOU PUT HER DOWN OR ELSE!” Another charge, another held by flame

“NO! WAIT!”

One by one, they all were grabbed hold, and the shadowy face could turn to the tear streaked one before it.

“Stop this madness right now! Do you not see? Conjuring things to face me is only making it worse!”

“T-they just wanted to help me...”

“THEY ARE NOT REAL!”

They all screamed in pain as she twisted them, her magic taking hold.

“You forged them as you did any other concoction out there, any other creature! They are mental defenses made to get control away from me! They are not…”

Slowly, she watched as they wailed.

“They… they’re not…”

But they did not vanish.

“…No…”

And just like that, she released them all.

“NOW YOU’RE GOING TO GET IT!” Twilight snarled, calling magic upon her horn.

“It’s you… The real you… impossible...”

They neared her, aimed right for her very heart. Horrified, the thing moved away, clutching Fluttershy tightly to its chest.

“STOP THIS AT ONCE! LET ME SAVE HER!”

The voice, so thick, so very loud in their minds, pierced through their rage. As one, their charge stopped.

“…C-Chrysalis?” Twilight gasped, eyes going wide as she took it all in.

Snarling, she spat right back at them. “Of course it’s me you idiots! Who did you think I was, Chitania!?”

They all looked to each other, suddenly very unsure.

All except for one.

“PUT HER DOWN AH’ SAID!”

With that, she resumed her charge.

“APPLEJACK, STOP!”

A magical grip, this time not from the shape before her, but from a more familiar power, stopped her.

“TWILIGHT! YOU LET ME GO RIGHT NOW OR AH’LL TAN YER HIDE NEXT!”

She just gave an uncertain look in response to the spitting rage, before turning back.

“What was your plan?”

A scoff.

“Simple, I will take over parts of her mind, and control those parts with my magic. She will be docile, the chaos unable to take hold of her and bring forth it’s magic. She will not be totally, absolutely free, but she will be safe.”

As one they gasped, horrified.

“That’s your solution!?” Pinkie blanched.

She looked almost confused as she tilted her head. “Of course.”

“You… monster!” Dash spat, disgusted.

“MONSTER!?” She snarled back. “I am trying to help her! I am trying to save her life! She doesn’t want to be sealed away, I know it! She wants to spend time with all of you, this is the only way to do that! It’s not like I’m making her a vegetable, she’ll just be a little dulled in the mind, that’s all!”

“There has to be another way!”

“THERE ISN’T!”

“You… you were trying to help?”

The soft, almost wondrous voice was enough to take even her off guard. All of them at last returned their attention to the one who had brought them all here.

“Wha... of course I was! Why do you think I destroyed those things haunting your mind!? Why do you think I destroyed the creations you conjured!? Why else would I do these things!?”

She just stared for a bit, hanging in absolute silence. Tiny, wide eyes staring up at pure befuddled, massive ones.

“You wanted to help me. After…”

She looked around at every one of them, every worried face, and every scared set of eyes.

“I’m… don’t you understand? I can’t control it. I’m just… dangerous.”

Eyes flickered between them, and as one they nodded.

“We know, Fluttershy, and we wish ya’ had told us ‘bout this sooner.”

“But you know what else we know?”

The first one touched her on the shoulder.

“This power is a risk, yeah.”

Then another, and another, and another, until finally she was face to face with a bright, smiling pink one.

“But you’re worth it. If I had to give up every party from now till the end of time just so we could keep being friends, I’d do it. We all would.”

“We may not have been sticking as close as we used to here recently, but if you don’t think we’d still fight every last crazy chaos monster that popped out of your head to keep you around, you’re crazy.” Dash added.

“So we’re gonna be here for ya’. We’re gonna help ya, and yer gonna get a hold of this. It may seem to big ta’ handle right now, but we believe in ya’. We know you can make it work.” AJ joined in.

“We all do. And we’ll be right there, every time you need us, every time you wonder if you’re going to get out of control, every time it looks too hard to make it through, we’re going to be there, right here.” Rarity assured her.

“Because we’re your friends, Fluttershy! No matter what crazy stuff happens, we’re always going to stick together! Always!” Pinkie giggled, nodding in agreement.

“Because this magic, it’s strong, sure. But don’t forget what it was that kept putting this back in its place. What knocked it down every time it reared its crazy head. It wasn’t just the Elements magic, Fluttershy…” Twilight trailed off, looking to all the others.

“It was us, working together!” They all chimed.

“No matter how dire it gets, no matter how sure they are they could handle it, nobody should try to take this on alone.” Twilight sternly nodded, casting a glace up at the still massive shape. “Nobody.”

A growl, and two shadowy eyes looked away, but no response.

“…I’m sorry.” Fluttershy cried.

“Save the sorry’s for another day.” Applejack cut in. “Let’s just all get ta’gether, and kick this crazy back inta’ line!”

“YEAH!” Dash pumped. “Nothing’s going to stop us!”

“Chrysalis,” Twilight asked, up with hopeful, full eyes. “Is there any way you can help us fix what’s going on outside?”

Eyes flickered, unsure for what seemed like a long, long time.

“This power is a mystery. I have never done anything like this, I have no idea if it will work.”

And then they settled.

“If you can help her get a hold of herself, there is a chance. It is slim, but it is a chance. Can you do that?”

A wide, glowing smile split the lavender face. “Yeah, we can do that…”

“So we just gotta make her happy?” Pinkie wondered, tapping the pink mane of her friends head. “Welllllll, I have one way…” She grinned, and they all knew what was coming.

“Go ahead, say it.” Rarity groaned.

“Are you suuuure? It’s so cheesy!” Even Pinkie had to admit.

“Yeah, but could you imagine ending this any other way?” Dash chuckled.

“Hmmm… guess you’re right! Fluttershy, that magic sure is chaotic, yeah. But you know what eeeelse is magic?” She giggled.

“Jus’ say it, Ah’ can already feel the embarrassment.” AJ groaned, dipping her hat over her head.

“You best believe that more than anything in the whole wide world…”

Long, stretchy arms crushed them together in a massive, tight hug.

“FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!”

From within their happy, tight little ball of friendship, the magic began to change. The chaos that had been controlling the world of her mind warped, changed, dispelling away into happy trees and loving forests. All together, the world became stable.

And then it shot outward.

“WAIT NO LET ME DISCONNECT-“

Too late.

The magic surged outward, into the real world. From every corner of Partyland they were bathed in the mirror of the magic that had twisted it so. Order, at last, replaced chaos. Every creature so changed returned to a state so plain. Every ride that had been bent and warped into some unholy abomination reformed into its fun and happy state. Every single mind that had been touched by the magic so foul was set free, cleared again like the very skies themselves cleared as the chocolate milk rain filled clouds washed away. The whirring contraptions that had once kept it afloat resumed, coming back to bright, beautiful life. Partyland again could rise up, into the skies on its own power. Steady, stable As one, those who had walked among its long, happy roads could breathe in comfort, and without fear.

“Thank you all.”

The tearful, smiling yellow mare was only crushed harder in the hug taking place in the real world. They ignored the destroyed ruins of the building they had been inside of, uncaring, all smiling. All of them together again, friends united once more.

Every patron of Partyland, at last, felt safe.

Well… almost every one.

“…Chrysalis? You okay?”

All eyes turned to the twitching, blackened Queen. No more was her body warped by the magic of Chaos, but she was also not quite back to normal, as evidenced by the arcs of electricity that danced upon her, and the hair shot outward in every direction in an almost afro-like look. Her mouth fell open, letting loose a puff of black smoke.

“Just once I want to make it through one of these without this happening.”

And then she fell forward with a comical WHUMP, still twitching in pain.

“…You okay?” Pinkie asked.

She just twitched some more.

“…She’s probably okay…”

They all gave uneasy, uncertain giggles. She was fine, they knew.

But more importantly, Fluttershy realized… they were fine.

They were all fine.

“Whatever you’re going through,… we’ll handle it.” Twilight assured her. “Together.”

“Just like you would for us.” Applejack added.

"And we always will, for each other." Dash said with a smirk.

"We're you're friends, Fluttershy, don't you know that?" Pinkie asked, still giggling.

As one, they nodded. At last, she understood.

Even with the fury of chaos itself inside of her, even with the possibility to bend reality to a halt within every pore, even with as dangerous as she was…

“I know that…”

She had never been safer.

“You’re all my very best friends.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 NC
>SA
"Cadence"
'Chrysalis'
~~~~

>Wow... I was surprisingly uninvolved with this finale.

"Is that weird?"

>That's weird. I'm normally, like, a set part of it.

"Well, you weren't."

'HAH! I still was!'

>I'm happy for you.

'You should be!'

>Even though you got comically injured again.

'...I think that's my lot in life.'

>Probably is, yeah.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 NC trip down memory lane
>56
“???”
~~~~~

He’d been running for what felt like hours, little legs pumping and heart close to bursting. He’d’ve flown but, yeah… that’s what Rainbow Dash was for later.

So running it was.

Running away from Moons. Away from NTL. Away from NTL’s psychotic wife. Away from safety.

But safety wasn’t on his mind, he ‘had’ to get there, he had to see! There was something in his chitinous being that forbade him from missing this, like a deep pulling that drew him close to the battlefield where Titan and Machine were dueling.

Snarls ripped through the air accompanied by the ear-bleeding screech of machinery as the two colossi traded blow after blow.

>…

He didn’t say anything. Hell, what could he say? He could cheer yeah, but that’d go unheard and be a waste of breath.

Not like that’d stop him anyway.

>GO AUNTIE GO! BUMP THAT THING WITH YOUR BUTT! THAT’LL KNOCK ‘EM DOWN FOR-

THAM!

>…sure?

He must’ve bounced five feet in the air when a massive something collided with the ground right next to him, a massive something that had it’s eyes shut, chest still.

>…A-…Auntie…?

He hadn’t even seen the Machine hit her… but it had, a cheap blow no doubt, and she was down on her side, motionless.

>No… no, no, no, no, you… you can’t be….

Her form was nearly limitless but it only took a few panicked steps to reach her head. He swallowed, nearly choking, as he hesitantly pushed against her nose.

She didn’t stir.

>Auntie, get up! This ain’t the right time for a nap, it’s coming! You gotta fight, c’mon!

His pleas were lost to the swirling winds and at first, he looked on the verge of tears as the Machine let loose a metallic cry that sounded almost victorious.

56’s head whipped back to glare at it.

>Oh no… y-you haven’t won…

From around his neck there jingled a whistle, one he grasped and brought to his lips.

>Not by a long shot.

And he blew.

FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

And he blew. And blew. Until his lungs shriveled and burned, until his eyes watered, mouth dried.

It was a whistle that everyone heard. It was a whistle that stilled the Machine.

But most importantly, it was a whistle that caused one of Chitania’s boulder-sized eyes to snap open. Then her maw ripped itself open.

“GRAAAAAAAAAAH!”

And she rose like she’d never fallen, bolts of emerald-green magic encasing her figure.

Standing on wobbly legs, 56 sported a teary-eyed smile.

>GO FOR IT!

2/2

For reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoamwzMk9tU
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 NC
>Chitania
~~~

>...So can I put this thing down now, or what? The things are spinning, but I don't know if that means flying. Can... is it going to drop?... FUCK YOU! I'M GOING TO DROP IT!

....

>...I'm not going to drop it...

.....

>...I miss mister popcorn...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Pinkie
"Dash"
'SA'
~~~~~~

>NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MY ARC IS FINALLY OVER!

"FUCK YOU! It was the longest one, BY A LOT LOT!"

>Well, yeah! But stiiiiillll!

"And you even got to steal the ending with the 'friendship is magic' thing!? WHO DID YOU SLEEP WITH TO PULL THIS OFF!?'"

>Shiny.

"...What?"

>Yeah. Last thread. I slept with Shiny. He pounded me haaarrrrd..

"But... but this is a PG-13 thread."

>Non-canon, and it happened off screen. He got all up in the pink AND the pie, if you get my drift.

"...Huh..."

'My shame will never leave.'

"So, if you sleep with him you get screentime?"

>That's right! And his wife signed a paper, so long as it's not chyrsalis or a changeling it's A-OKAY!

"..."

'...Don't you da-'

~~~~~~

"..."
'...'
"..."
'....'
"..."
'...'
"....I'm not gonna get pregnant, am I?"
'Sorry, I've just always wanted to do that.'
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Non-canon preview

>Pinkie
~~~~~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CoWplXbeUw

>It's been one heck of a crazy 3rd day here at Partyland. Chaos everywhere! Explosions! Ponies in Danger! Friendships reunited! Ooooh, I'm going to miss my screentime so much after this. Applejack and Celestia return to Canterlot and discovers who's been eating their cake. Pennydrop proceeds with the next phase of her plan. Rainbow Dash gets more screentime as the wonderbolts are mobilized to deal with the plushies. Are we really going to leave Partyland? Find out next time in thread 41: The Sweet Taste of Victory...and of course, explosive fan service!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________