Ending (Phyric)

This is shit. Don't read it. Probably.

>You stare into the horizon, desperately trying to ignore the knot in your throat
>This was it, then
>You and Chrysalis could both sense that today would be the day of the invasion
>What time, you didn't know
>The armies had set up early in the morning
>Your hive had followed soon afterwards
>An uncountable mass of mega-drones surrounded you
>Your mega-drones
>Your children
>You had no idea how many were going to make it through, but you doubted that the number would be high
>But you couldn't think of that now
>Any weakness could be the line between a great victory and a disastrous defeat
>And, to be honest, you had enough weaknesses without thinking of how many dead kids you were about to have
>Especially with that cloud in front of you
>It first showed up at around noon
>At first, a faint haze on the horizon
>Then a slightly darker patch of sky
>It didn't take you long to figure out what it was
>The other hives' armies
>Flying into battle
>Of course, that was going to take them a few hours
>Your Changeling vision had a ridiculous range, and swarms didn't move very fast
>Still, watching it advance was terrifying
>This is it, isn't it?
>Your last stand...
>You're interupted from your thoughts by Celestia's voice
>"Anonymous."
>You turn to face her, armor creaking slightly
"Yes?"
>"I was reviewing our final battle plans, and I realize I left one thing out."
"Go on."
>She pulls out a scroll
>"We have the positions of every national army, a good deal of elaboration on how your drones will fight, and some idea of how you'll use your magic. But, well..."
>She looks at you over the paper
>"It doesn't mention what me or the other Alicorns should do."
>You mull it over
>And, in that moment, you make the most important decision of your entire life
"Split up. Take the four points of a compass. Spread the fire power around."
>"Okay."
>She turns around and spreads her wings
>Just before she takes off, however, she looks back at you
>She opens her mouth, as if to speak
>But, at the last moment, she closes it
>With a great rush of air she takes off
>You continue to look onwards, still deep in thought
>The next two hours pass all too quickly
>Chrysalis stands at your side, silent next to you
>The swarm's close now
>Your changeling vision can make out individuals in it
>Wings
>Chitin
>Some of the long-range weaponry that the dragons provided starts firing behind you
>You see some of the shells hit
>At least twenty changelings drop to the ground, but more fill their place immediately
>You see ponies working on canons and other artillery next to you, getting ready to fire
>The swarm is soon in range of those weapons
>But, again, each volley barely makes a dent
>You swallow
>"Hey."
>Chrysalis, for the first time in a while, speaks
>"I... I'm not sure we're going to make it through. But, uh..."
>A canon fires next to you
>You barely even notice, you're so focused on her
>"I just wanted to... Thank you."
"Thank me?"
>"Yeah. For... For the last few days."
>You nod, turning back to the swarm
"Don't mention it."
>"No, really, I-"
"Chrysalis. I know."
>The swarm's close enough that, even without your enhanced hearing, you can hear the roar of their wings
"Well."
>You draw your weapon as your wings get to work, lifting you slightly off the ground
"Hope to fucking god this works."
>You think a single word
>A word which resonates throughout the hivemind
"Charge."
>Instantly, the swarm behind you roars to life as your children take off
>They're faster than their opposing counterparts
>Probably something to do with the hosts
>They meet the oncoming horde in a confusing collection of falling objects and writing bodies
>You pull as much magic as you can into your hands
>Now was the time to see what you can really do...
>The magic is surprisingly silent
>Maybe none of the energy is wasted as sound
>Even so, the results are awe-inspiring
>Green light explodes from your hands and hits the swarm, taking a stadium-sized chunk out of it
>You're relieved, but only for a second
>Because the next moment the swarm has patched the hole
>You arch an eyebrow as you charge another, letting it go
>Another huge chunk
>You're causing serious damage, but none of the changelings seem to be going for you
>You see another flash to the side of you, and another chunk of the swarm is gone
>Chrysalis
>Right
>But...
>The swarm's just ignoring you
>Skirmishing with your own troops, but they seem oddly reserved
>And the other rulers are nowhere to be found
>It's al-
>FUCK
>The realization hits you, but so does the horrible feeling that it's too little, too late
>If their attention isn't here, it has to be elsewhere
>And-
>And they can drain people
>Gain their magical abilities
>Which means the obvious candidates were-
"Take care of this!"
>Your voice is wild and uncontrolled as panic sets in
>With a flash of light, you teleport yourself several miles south
>God, you're a fucking moron
>They're being a hundred times more aggressive here
>Through the flurry of bodies, you make out much larger Changelings
>Royal changelings
>Four of them, gathered in a circle...
>Your heart sinks as you make your way towards them, firing off as many blasts as you can while you do so
>You aim one at the group, but it has no effect
>They blocked it
>And...
>The only way they could do that is if-
>"You've failed!"
>You clench your teeth, ignoring their words as you barrel towards them
>They simply step aside
>You skid right into the middle of the circle and look downwards
>Celestia
>Pale
>Cutie Mark gone
>Flesh hanging loosely off her body
>You've seen this
>A hundred times in dreams
>Nightmares, become reality
>You look up, catching the eye of the king in front of you
>The smoke is still retreating into his mouth
>He's smug
>Arrogant
>You want to rip him limb from fucking limb
>Rip off his horn and feed it to him
>But you can't do that now
>Celestia's gone, but maybe--
>You teleport again, only to see another circle of royalty
>You use magic to get their quicker
>Luna
>Gone
>But-
>You teleport again
>You don't even bother checking when you see the circle
>Twilight's down, but maybe Cadence...
>Another circle
>You want to throw up, but god dammit, you can't let them win...
>And then, impossibly, your heart sinks lower in your chest
>You just spent five minutes away from your post
>You left Chrysalis alone
>And...
>In front of you, the other royal changelings disappear in a flash of green lightning
>You do the same, as quickly as you can
>But not quickly enough
>The royal council you saw in your dreams stands in front of you, Chrysalis in the middle of them
>She's in some kind of green chains
>They look organic
>The same King that addressed you in the royal meeting takes a triumphant step forward.
>"Divide and conquer, Anonymous. You lost to the oldest trick in the book."
>You stare at him, trying to contain your rage
>"With their love in us, there's no way for us to lose. It's finished."
>The battle rages around you, but you can barely hear it
>You're too intently focused on him
>His fucking smile
>His fucking upright posture
>Everything about him is...
>And you're going to lose to him
>That's inevitable
>But...
>Something nags at the back of your mind
>You had started this whole mess by screwing Chrysalis
>But you had no choice in the matter
>You were compelled against your will
>By obviously magical means
>Magic doesn't hurt you
>If there's one thing that's stayed constant, it's that
>Even when Chrysalis ripped your body apart and warped it into something else, you weren't hurt
>Just enhanced
>So, if that's the case, why were you compelled to lay with Chrysalis?
>Why would you start this whole mess?
>That had to be a negative effect
>The fucking feeling of despair that seems to drain you sure is negative
>Then again, so was the pain in Chrysalis' belly
>But your immunity let it slide, since the end result was good for you
>Since the end result gave you more power...
>But how can this give you power?
>How can this fucking scenario end in anything but disaster?
>The Alicorns were drained. The world would be next. There was no way you could fight against that kind of power-
>Oh
>You continue to stare at the king in front of you as your lips slowly part into a smile
>You can see the uncertainty in his eyes as you flash your fangs at him
"No... I don't think you've actually won."
>You step forward towards him
>You can detect that you're going through a magical shield, but it has no effect
>"We have!"
>He snarls and hits you square in the chest with a huge burst of energy
>Celestia's lifeforce was powerful
>But, as usual, the magic doesn't hurt you
>"We-"
>Another blast, equally ineffective
>"That- How are you-"
"I don't play by the rules."
>You pounce forward, knocking him onto his back
>The other Changelings try to react, but you cast a shield of your own
>It's just you and him now
>They were for later
"I don't play by the rules. I never have."
>You tighten your grip, and you can feel him gag
"I'm not effected by harmful magic. I used to think that was the extent of my innate abilities, that Chrysalis gave me everything else. But now..."
>You use your other hand to stroke the side of the king's face
"I think that I can ignore any limits magic imposes on me. But, for now, I think I'll ignore one in particular."
>You feel green smoke come out of your mouth
>An act you'd unknowingly rehearsed nightly since you'd become a Human-ling
>"That's- Impossi-"
>You savor the shock on his face as smoke exist his own mouth
>He stops speaking
>He tries to mouth the word "no," to scream it, but he can't
>It's already begun
>You inhale, deeply, draining the king
>His face shrivels
>His chitin loses its shine
>You consume his very being, his very essence
>And, with it, you inadvertently consume a bit of his recent meal
>Of Celestia
>But that doesn't matter now
>The process only takes a few seconds, and you drop his corpse, feeling rejuvenated
>The other Changeling royalty are trying to flee
>You freeze them in their tracks
>Nothing can compete with your magic right now
>And you weren't even finished
>You consume the other Royalty in mere seconds, feeling their essences -- and the essences of your deceased friends -- flow into you
>They drop to the ground like dead flies
>Fitting
>With that taken care of, you look up
>The leaders are down, but the army survives
>The fighting still rages
>Not that it will for long
>You raise yourself higher into the air, high above the war raging on below you
>You exhale, savoring the feeling of power
>Time to see just how much energy a mega-drone had...
>You aim your arms downwards and the battle stops, the full power of all of Equestria's immortals contained in your hands
>You inhale, deeply
>A vast cloud of smoke runs directly into your nostrils
>You can feel it supercharging your very being
>You let go of the remains
>The corpses of billions of mega-drones drop like dead flies, leaving only your horde in return
>It's over
>You ended it
>You look down at your carnage
>You've just taken... Billions of lives
>Destroyed them
>Consumed their very souls
>You probably should feel bad, but, god dammit, it's impossible to feel anything but powerful right now
>You realize with some surprise that it's going to be impossible to feel anything but power ever again
>You don't know how, you just... know
>Know that you've broken several fundimental laws of reality
>And, in doing so, ceased to belong in that reality
>And you can't figure out if this is a transcendence or an exile
>Well, either way, you had some business to take care of
>You swoop downwards, back to Chrysalis
>She looks up at you, eyes full of wonder
>"What did..."
>You break her chains and speak
>Your voice seeming to come from all directions
"I drained them."
>She stares up at you
"There... There wasn't another way. I would have..."
>She's silent
>You can see why
>You hang your head
"I know it wasn't ideal. And I also know that... I'm not supposed to be here."
>"Supposed to be where?"
"Here. In... In this world. I--"
>You look up at her
"Look. All the other rulers are dead, and-- I don't know how much damage that battle caused. They need a leader."
>"You're not honestly suggesting-"
"I am. You can do it. I know you can."
>"And-"
>Chrysalis' voice is strained as she looks up at you, eyes wide
"What of-- our child? Not the drone, but the royal offspring?"
>"Take-- Take care of him."
>She nods
>"And you? Where will you go?"
"I-- I don't know. Just... Not here."
>She nods
>"Anonymous. I-- I love you."
"I don't think I'm Anonymous anymore, Chrysalis."
>She looks as if struck
>You want to comfort her, but--
>But you can't, can you?
>You turn away and take a deep breath
>Then, with a crack of green lightning, you're gone