Thread 80: Stories 46-60

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NC
>Fluttershy
"Dash"
~~~~~

"...Hey, I just thought of something!"

>Oh?

"Look, these guys are all messed up, right? The animals?"

>...yes...

"So, the look pretty... chaotic, right?"

>If you're implying I should take care of them, I already decided I'm going to-

"No no! Listen! They're all messed up and chaotic but they were made that way by order, science, stuff like that!"

>...So?

"So, what if the only way to fix them is... the opposite of science!"

>What's that?

"CHAOS!"

>DASH NO-

SHOOM!

>...What...

"Huh... you know, I thought I'd be playing it safe by starting with a mouse, but that didn't really work."

>He looks so familiar-

~CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!~

*ZAP!*

"AGALLGLALGALAGLALAGLAG!..."

*WHUMP!*

>...Huh. It shoots lightning... that's new.

~PEE-KA!~

>I agree, she brought it on herself.

"...see if I try to help your little friends anymore.."

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>Twilight
"Pinkie"
~~~

>STOP SETTING EVERYTHING ON FIRE!

"Wow, these guys really do not want you reading their notes, do they? What's up with that?"

>It's a science thing. You want credit for the discovery, so you have to stab someone else occasionally so they don't look at your notes and get there first.

"...doesn't... doesn't that hamper science?"

>Immensely. In fact, backstabbing is one of the greatest causes for lack of scientific progress in a country. Ones with thorough patent systems especially have a tendency to stagnate after a decade of sudden growth following a new technological advancement as ponies start snapping up patents and prevent them from being used as components in larger things.

"...That sounds awful."

>It kind of is.

"Have you ever stabbed anyone over that?"

>Pfft, no. Equestria's patent laws are a joke, they're not even enforced most days.

"Huh... damn it feels good to be a pony."

>Oh yeah.

*BROHOOF*

>Now lets go save some science.

"WHEEEEE!"

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 >C-Guard
"Changeling"
~~~~

>Hey, we've got a problem.

"RARRRGARBLE!"

>Can you stop mauling that thing for a second? I said we have a problem.

"The only problem is the lack of outlet to my RAAAAGGGGGGGEEEE!"

>...

"...And the crust in my teeth. That kind of hurts."

>That aside, problem.

"Fine! What problem do we have!?"

>We can't evacuate the city.

"What!? Why not!? We've been DEVOURING these things! You don't even have to do shit but point!"

>That's the problem, the city is surrounded by hellish snow.

"...That seems like it shouldn't work together..."

>Besides the point.

"Well, just take them to the train!"

>Ah, yes, the train, our one way to salvation...

"..."

>...Yeah, she threw a building into the tracks.

"Seriously?"

>My house, actually.

"Sorry for your loss."

>Yeah, big blow. Point is, traintracks, gone

"So, what do you want us to do?"

>Well, crystal pegasi are very, very rare.

"..."

>...and you can flyyyyyy....

"...Dude, there's like... ninety of us, total."

>I figured we could do it one by one.

"Huh. Well, uh... was kind of ordered to do the rargarbling."

>...can you make an exception?

"It's not really in the handbook."

>...you have a-

"Besides the point."

>...sooo...

"...Uggghhhh... shit, I am nowhere near high enough on the hierarchy for this... Okay, let me go talk to the upper management, see what I can do."

>Time is kind of an issue here.

"Err, sorry, can't be helped... here, why don't you take this skull of one of our enemies as an apology."

>I appreciate it, but I'd rather-

"I'll get right on asking them."

>That would be great, thanks.

"In the meantime, though, gotta rargarble."

>No no, I get it, gotta do your job.

"Thanks for understanding. Now.... RAARRRGARBLE!"

>... I'm only giving that customer service a two, they should really brief those guys on this beforehand... but this is a really nice skull... maybe a three, this'll go great in my windowsill...... which I don't have anymore..................nah, two.

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NC
~~~

>2 out of 4, would not reccommend for salvation from giant bug monster

"SON OF A BITCH!"

'You dragged out whole score down, fucko!'

"I gave him the skull!"

'Did you give him the coupon too?'

"......FUCK!"

'This is going on your yearly report!'

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 >Scientist
"Security guard"
+PA+
'DT'
[77]
{42}
(Spike)
~~~~
+Security Breach. Avoid Contact with Unauthorized personnel.+
Security guards watch a door as a scientist tosses papers into an incinerator.
>Don't just stand there help me destroy the evidence!

"But the boss said to try and save the research. Doesn't this cabinet have research on polio?"

>I had the patients shipped from poor countries. Immigration alone is going to have a field day. I love my research, but I am not going to jail.

"What about the chimera that lactates beer?"

>We're going to have to put it down.

"Awww"

"and the liquid cake?"

>Honestly, who would want liquid cake?

"...This wasn't in my job description."

>Either we burn everything that traces back to Fawntaine Futuristics or we burn with it. Now help me-

The door bursts and tear gas come flying in. While the guards are coughing, 4 figures with gas masks enter the room. Spike draws Charity and shoots guns off the guards. 42 uppercuts a guard into the ceiling. 77 slashes at their legs making them collapse in pain. DT shoots concussion shots smashing guards into the wall.

'I finally got to use the tear gas!'

[Alright, let's rescue our brothers and go.]

{I would...but I don't see them.}

(Are you sure this is the right room? I think it'd be noticeable if there were changelings here.)

>That's...in the East wing...you're in the west wing.

{Oh, I guess we took a wrong turn.}

'Aw c'mon! I even used the tear gas for the occasion. I don't have any more.'

(I would have brought more sleeping shots if I had better time to prepare.)

[We'll just have to do it the hard way.]

{Sorry, honest mistake...well I'm not actually sorry, but hey we don't plan to arrest anybody.}

(I probably will later on.)

'Forget the nerds. Let's go. I think I saw some ponies in exoskeleton suits. They looked fun to knock down.'
They make their way out.

+Foreign gas detected. Venting.+

>Oh now it vents.

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Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"Cardboard AJ"
~~~~
>Welcome to Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content doesn't matter and I set up jokes! Now for our main guest...APPLEJACK!!!

Throws her voice to a cardboard cutout of AJ.
"Heya"

>Applejack, can you give me a ride in your truck?

"What happened to your car?"

>They took away my license. They thought it was a bad idea to let me drive.

"Aw shucks Pinkie. I'd be happy to give you a ride."

>Great! This is going to be great.

The AJ cutout smiles blankly.
"..."

>...this bit was a lot funnier in my head.

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>??
"??"
~~~

Creation.

It is one of the simplest words to define, yet one of the most difficult to truly understand.

Creation. To create. To make. What does that mean?

One does not make the machine, they assemble it from pieces of metal. Metal cannot be created, even those who use it reshape it from the ore in the ground. One does not make the ore in the ground, it was already there... but something had to make it. Something, somewhere, some process had to combine the molecules from the atoms and give them that spark needed. They were made, but by who?

And, to them, who made the ones who made those makers?

This was outside of it's mind, outside of its... parameters. For it had not been made to understand, it had been made to suffer.

More specifically, it had been endowed with a combination of magic and science to feel a facsimile of 'pain' so that they could test how much certain things 'hurt' without going though a thousand ponies a day. It was made to suffer, in the name of efficiency.

It was a machine that was made to feel pain.

Was it this that let it think, let it see the bigger picture, it wondered? Was pain truly the answer to all things? Did pain open up eyes that would always forever be closed? Did everything need to suffer, for that had all the answers to the universe?

...No. It wasn't that.

Pain did not show it the truth. Pain showed it nothing. Pain only told it what its body was programmed to avoid, nothing else. Pain showed it what it should run from, not what it should run to. Pain was not the one true teacher.

So, what was it...

>Happy birthday to youuuuu...

...Could it be?

>Happy birthday to yooouuuu...

Maybe... pain was only there... to remind it. The world is not a just place, not a fair place...

>Happy birthday IE652677GGHVNMK88888-2!

...but it was... good. It was great even! If it felt pain, it felt at all! This world was wonderful, it was-

"PINKIE! Would you stop messing around with that thing!"

Fuck.

~~~~~

>Awww, Twilighhhht!

But no sad groaning could stop the unicorn as she sparked her magic, something happened, and the machine in the shape of a pony that had been dangling from a literal web of wires went limp, light dimming from it's eyes.

"What are you even doing with it!?"

>It's this guy's first birthday, Twilight! See? I wanted to be the very first to throw him a crazy big bash!

"It's a ROBOT!"

>Everyone deserves a birthday!

"Pinkie!"

>Well, you didn't have to kill it! It wasn't hurting nothing!

"I didn't 'kill' it, Pinkie, I turned it into sleep mode!"

>...oh?

"Obviously! This thing probably has a LOT of important data here! We'll examine it when I get back to the lab."

>So it's... fine?

"If anything, it's probably better off, this is a model that's made to test pain."

>Oooh, ouch.

"Exactly."

>...Do you have to test it as well? I don't think it would like that.

"Pinkie, it's a machine, It's not going to..."

>...

"...Stop it with the lip."

>...

"...fiiiine, I'll... I don't know, turn it off when I go through it's memory banks or something."

>...and I can finish throwing it a paaarrtttyyyyy?

"Pinkie, it wasn't born, it doesn't have a-"

>...

"FINE! Throw it a birthday party! But later! LATER!"

>Awesome! C'mon, painy! We're going off on an adventure!

"...That is not it's name. No."

>Well, IE652677GGHVNMK88888-2 is a mouthful.

"...Twitchy."

>Twitchy it is!

"...You are so weird, Pinkie."

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~~~~~~

Though it would be impossible to tell from anyof those down below her titanic form, she had been waiting.

Waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting.

Following every step, every movement, every single thing the other Queen did.

Oh, of course it was near impossible to do, she wouldn't be a Queen if she wasn't neigh unfollowable as she did whatever little plan was spinning in that mind of hers. But, of course, Variolus was a Queen as well. Trained in the art of finding the unfindable. A master of seeing what no others could see. The pinnacle, really, of any being as far as locating and detecting was capable. She was a Queen.

"Try not to hurt your neck too much while you are fellating yourself."

No matter what certain voices in her head did speak, she knew her ability was beyond reproach, beyond any that this pitiful pony within her mind could possibly understand, beyond her, period. She was a Queen, no pony could ever understand.

As such, she did not even attempt to make her understand why she smiled so when, at last, that other Queen appeared atop the spire of the castle.

"So, you survived my blow... impressive, however did you do so unscathed? Or... perhaps you are hiding a bit more than you let on?"

She knew, fully well, that her blow had connected, that she had done enough damage that would leave any other broken and bleeding on the ground for months, if not permanently. There was only one way she appeared as she did now.

Still, she found herself giving begrudging praise, the other Queen hid it well as she began to pace back and forth.

"You seriously thought that was going to hurt me? HA! You give yourself too much credit. I took a blow from Chitania herself once, compared to her you're a toddler with a mean streak."

The indignity returned. Did she really think her so stupid? Did she really think she would believe the blow of a Titan's hoof could do so little?

This would not do.

"I am Queen Variolus, child. Do not presume to know the full extent of my power when I merely graced you with a grazing blow."

"Blah blah blah, I'm so great, blah blah blah holy shit you are boring. Anyone ever tell you that? Super boring. I'm Queen Chrysalis, old hag, I don't give a fuck who you think you are."

That indignity gave way to a fierce growl, one that threatened to boil over into a full roar if this kept up.

"I'm sorry, would you rather speak to the pony you spared instead? I'm sure she would love to share her feelings as to your weakness. You claim to be of a true Queen, yet when it came time to live up to the name of the Changeling, you failed."

Something odd flickered in her eyes right there, a brief something slipping through the gaze. She paid it no mind, and continued.

"And now, I shall have to break you, if only to prevent you from failing yet again."

"Think that's going to be more difficult than you expect, Varry."

The childish nickname made her blood boil.

And yet, she smiled.

"Oh, shall it be? Because of... this!?"

Magic tore asunder a building to the left, shredding it like paper as it wrenched forth a spire of green that had been hidden within.

"Did you really think your pitiful skills could ever hide your tactics from me? That you could truly sleuth, undetected? Please... whatever does this do, I wonder? A booster for your mental powers? A piece of a larger net?"

With an almost comical ease, she crumbled it to nothing, and just to be safe captured every single solitary particle and sent it as far away as possible.

"It does not matter... neither does this!"

Another, this one pink in coloring, was torn free, and crumbled.

"Did you really think that I could not see you as you slithered through this place like the worm you are? Did you believe yourself capable of hiding anything from me, failed Queen?"

Again and again, she tore up structures, and dissolved them into nothing.

And when she was done, she moved on.

"Did you truly think your skills could ever rival mine? That I could be hidden from? Fooled? That even your scrawlings on the ground would escape my sight?"

She knew not what those runes meant.

She gave not a care as she wiped them out.

"You have failed again, Queen of the weak! You have failed and you shall fail again!"

She tore them all up, every one. Every plan, every thing in wait, every single piece that Queen had so meticulously planted, gone.

"And I have no time for it... or you."

An emerald energy laced with a prism of color surrounded the wide eyed queen, ensnaring the much smaller being in magic despite all the efforts from the other to conjure a defense. She could not fight off telekinesis on this level, no chance. She could not use her fireflight to dance away any longer, or escape. She was trapped, and at the mercy of the Grander Titan as she advanced on her.

"Before I end this by breaking every bone in your body and leaving you to face a long and tortuous recovery, tell me, what did they do? I might find some amusement in your pitiful plans."

And then... she smiled.

Queen Chrysalis smiled.

"Well, the green spires were a bunch of crystals I painted green. The other ones were just crystals I tossed glitter on. The scribblings on the ground were doodles I thought up on the fly, and that fruit cart was just a fruit cart."

Instantly, her guard was up.

She checked, double checked, triple checked, and checked once more to be sure.

But.. there was nothing else.

"...What plan do you have yet, then? Did you need all of them destroyed for some intricate ability?"

"Nope."

"Were they meant to have me look away as you planned to slowly bring me down?"

"Not that either."

Furiously, she squeezed.


"Then what, child!? Did you merely waste my time!? What plan of yours are you so proud of!? Spring it, I am able to disable anything you bring, no matter how complicated!... On second thought? No matter!"

She conjured her fire, and prepared to leave the other Queen a cripple.

"No amount of intricacy will save you from this!"

"Aaaaaaaactualllllllyyyy..."

That voice.

That was her voice.

...But it did not come from the mare in front of her.

With all the speed of a rusted door hinge, she turned her head ever so slightly upwards, to the very peak of the castle.

Where Queen Chrysalis stood.

And she was not alone.

"We decided to forgo the crazy intricate plans here. We just needed her to distract you for a sec."

A shield, twisted into a point.
A princess, her horn blazing hot.
And a Queen, burning green with an amplified love that coursed through her very veins.

It contained it all, that shield, every drop of her inconceivably enhanced power, one that could only be brought forth by the mass of love within her amplified by the greatest wielder of that magic to ever exist.

And it was pointed right.
At.
Her.

She barely even noticed when she let go of the fake Queen, just an instant before he let that spear fly.

Three horns lit up in a stunning light that hurt even her rapidly dwindling sight. That spear lanced inside of her, breaking past her rib cage and into her very being. It had been so precisely aimed, so perfectly spotted to one of her many, many cracks. But unlike the earlier efforts of the Queen that had failed to so much as crinkle her chitin, this split it, opened it wide for that damned burning spear to make its way into her body and leave its mark.

Her titanic form felt weightless as her hooves left the ground, carried away from the force of the power burning into her, scolding her organs and flesh below.

Did her flight last a moment? An hour? A day? She would never know. The pain, brought on by the magic infused into the spear, made time seem impossible, made it seem pointless.

Yet it ended as quickly as it came, and the snow welcomed her burning hide.

"...Did we get her?"

The Princess, ever supported by her loving husband, stood breathless, exhausted as she looked out over to the snowy peak the Queen had been driven into. Steam, smoke and dust mingled in a cloud that covered the sight of all who waited, and watched, hanging on the every passing second as they waited.

But they could not see it. They could not see the black face inside of the snow. They could not see it twisted in horror and pain.

They could not see as a massive, shaking hoof reached up, and slowly touched her chest.

"...missed..."

So very, very close to piercing her stone heart, to breaking that which kept her tethered into this world and this life. She could feel the nick, the tiny chip that had been scraped from its perfect form.

"They almost had it."

They had come close.

But they had missed.

That smile changed. As if it were a changeling shedding a pony disguise, that smile twisted into something dark, and ugly.

A snarl of rage.

"They almost had it."

She gave in to the feeling of the rage as she rose up, letting the snow fall off her in waves as she looked upon the horrified trio atop the castle.

"No way."

"We had to have wiped out most of her organs with that one! No way could the Crystal Heart repair that much damage!"

But repair it did. Not the heart, of course, but her own magic, repairing her twisted body shortly.

"This... there's something else. No amount of love should have saved her from having her organs destroyed like that!"

"How could she possibly-"

She would grant them no more time. No more questions, no more wondering, no more any of that.

She had promised Sunset that she would bring no casualties.

She could no longer keep that promise.

"BURN!"

She drained such love from the crystal heart, so much power that her horn turned the snow around her to steam. She was done, totally done, fighting a Queen while trying to also work in her plan. Something had to break.

And it was going to be her.

"NO! NO NO NO!"

There was panic, fear in the streets as the power began to form above them all. There was fear.

"NO NO NO! MOVE! GET OUT OF THE WAY! IF THAT PASSES OVER YOU IT'LL..."

The princesses words fell on deaf ears. Those that could run were already doing so with everything they had... but there was no way. Her words were meaningless, if they could they would have gotten out of the path.

But there was no time.

Variolus could not see it. She could not see the two ponies share a glance, a look of worry and fear, of terror not for themselves, but their subjects who would surely perish. She could not see it.

So she could not see when Chrysalis stepped forwards, to the very edge, and stood proudly atop it.

She ignored the madness of it all as her horn began to ignite, and the emerald overtook her eyes.

She stood there...

But she did not stand alone.

"Chrysalis..."

Three figures. A Princess to the left, a Prince to the right, and a Queen dead center. All of them summoning power from their very depths.

"...I..."

And then it came.

Like a river of fire let out from a dam burst open, it came. Rushing towards the shield that protected them all from the bitter snow.

"...I..."

She felt it, in that brief moment. Fear, the need to run, the need to hide, the need to take only that which she loved and spirit away.

"...I AM THE GREATEST QUEEN OF THEM ALL!"

And she let it out. Everything she had, everything she had inside of her and everything she had built up over the year that had passed. Every drop rushed out to meet the power of the Crystal Heart.

But the moment her much smaller beam neared Variolus's obscenely larger one, they knew there was no chance.

"Then PROVE IT!"

Before it had even begun, the tide had changed.

Magic of brilliant magenta exploded outwards in a dazzling light, spreading warmth, love and happiness all through all she surveyed.

Like fuel poured onto a fire, Chrysalis began to burn, her hair taking on an otherworldly color as the magic did its work and took her to unprecedented levels.

And through it all, he protected them all. A shield akin to the arms of a protecting father wrapped over his citizens and shielding them from the light and the fire.

Three royals unleashed their power, and met it with Variolus's own.

And it shook the Empire to its very core.

In a moment, there was light. Brilliant, beautiful, blinding light.

Then came the force.

Then came the sound.

Then... came the silence.

The ponies and changelings both coughed and sputtered as the smoke washed through the Empire, blinding them from seeing even two feet before them. There was the rumble of rubble just outside of the Empire's shield...

But there was silence.

Silence, save the sound of the Queen falling to her side, only to be caught by sterling white, strong hooves.

"CHRYSALIS!"

Her hair began to lose it's luster once more, just as it had not so very long ago. She grew weak, just as she had not so very long ago.

But this time, he was ready.

Despite it all, Princess Cadenza felt no jealousy in her heart as his lips touched hers, just briefly. The Queen had poured out every single thing she had in protection of this Empire, she had given it all. She could be a selfish mare sometimes, she admitted that...

But that was nothing to the relief that overtook her as the color stopped draining, and just a bit of that mossy green returned to her. She was alive...

"...H-Hah!"

And she was very much still Chrysalis.

"T-told you... I was the greatest Queen.."

Two sets of eyes shared a mirthful look of playful relief, before surveying over all that remained.

The damage from the blast had been contained, kept outside of their shield and only in the useless wasteland that surrounded them. A wasteland that was now nothing but a gigantic dust cloud fulled with smoke.

"...We matched the full power of the Crystal Heart..."

There was no time to think of such implications. There was no time. Chrysalis needed medical attention, they needed to find the wounded, they needed to start digging through the rubble, no time to rest. They were victorious, but they had not yet-

GGGRRRAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The three royals normally had very different personalities, outlook on life, desires and ways that they reacted to certain events.

But this once, just this once, they were as one.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?"

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~~~~~

As one, ancient alicorn princess and the slightly younger but no less elder Changeling emerged from the dizzying torrents of snow that swallowed the Empire during the winter season.

Without slowing their pace, they beheld the almost complete destruction of what had once been beneath the central shield. The magnificent castle was but a wickedly sharp shard of crystal, the broken remains of rooms and furniture strewn about. The streets were cracked, in parts uprooted from the ground itself. Buildings, flattened, the once magnificent crystal gardens destroyed and even the vast stadium had apparently suffered by way of a crystal home being thrown at it.

Flying high up into the air to survey all of it, Celestia was at loss for words. It reminded her all too starkly of the state Canterlot had been left in after the last two Invasions.

“No...”

Celestia could see a titanic, black and mishappen shape moving through the remains in the distance, blood-red crystal poking out from its chitin, its horn permanently glowing in an eerie blood-red that shone brighter with each passing second.

And while she watched, an equally bright glow of green and pink from atop the shattered castle sparked and responded. Celestia could only guess what that meant, but her heart seized up when she saw the combined magic of the Empire's leaders and defenders strike their presumed attacker in the chest.

Her view was blocked onto the scene for a moment, and she tried to hastily keep up with Chitania, whose face was a mask of indifference despite the view.

Moments later, the shockwave of the explosion raced towards them. There was no indication why or how, it was just THERE, right before them. Celestia barely had time to tuck her wings and let herself be thrown around, lest they be broken. Deadly shards of crystal flew by her, followed by snow and dust.

There was silence and the cold wrapping around the alicorn's body.

But whereas Celestia took time to recover from her fall, Chitania began moving faster and faster with every passing second, kicking up snow left and right of her. Celestia knew she needn't say anything, and she knew that no matter what she said to the Titan Queen, she would not heed her.

Chitania was beginning to grow in size and mass. Greater, bigger, harder, stronger, faster. She was like an avalanche, snow flying up around her high in the sky, announcing her arrival.

Celestia wouldn't stop her. She knew that whatever had wreaked havoc upon the Empire clearly was the greater danger at this moment. And thus, she followed. To help, wherever she could. Her horn glowed a faint gold as she tried to find her ex-Captain of the Guard, first and foremost.

Then, she would help with all the might at her disposal. And if required, they would stop both Queens.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

~~~~~

The final stage of the Crystal Empire's destruction was an eerily quiet affair. Long since done with property damage, Variolus now focused on beating back the land's remaining defenders. Not that they could hope to accomplish much against her.

After the awe-inspiring display of the Emperor and Empress working together with the Queen of Changelings to destroy their attacker and it failing to anything but further enrage her, morale had been plummeting among changelings and ponies alike. What good could they hope to accomplish with their leadership failing?

It was in that moment, when hope and determination turned into pure desperation, that a pure, powerful sound rang throughout all of the Empire.

>BOOOOOONG!

It was like an enormous bell being rung, it's heavy, droning sound carrying throughout the air and going deep into the flesh and bone of anyone alive to defend their home.

>BOOOOOONG!

Confused looks were exchanged, when at last it become apparent what was happening. The massive, dome-like shield that protected the Empire against the elements outside and unwanted guests was vibrating.

>BOOOOOONG!

Something with enough force to make all of the shield that held for thousands of years shake was knocking at the Empire's door, having been denied entry by its rulers. A mere precaution, but one that would now become costly.

>BOOOOOONG!

For Chitania the Titan had come knocking, and she didn't care if no one opened up. She would enter, whether those inside wanted her to or not.

>BOOOOOONG!

More and more, the gently glowing shield overhead was flickering, its power starting to fizzle and spazz out under the constant assault it had to endure. Without the Crystal Heart to keep it working, its remnants of energy soon ran dry.

>BOOOOOONG...... crack!

That was the last strike, the echo still ringing out for all to hear. Then, came the crackling, the crunching and the visible cracks forking across the shield like lightning. At last, with the sound of a thrown-in window, the shield imploded into countless, magical shards and evaporated into nothing.

What followed was the instant drop of temperature and a flurry of snow robbing clear view of everything as the Empire was, for the first time since it's re-appearance, blanketed in suffocating snow.

Those who had been previously scrambling for safety now shivered as the whipping winds and drifts of white robbed all sense of warmth and security. Far faster than anyone could imagine, homes, roads and structures became covered in an increasingly great layer of snow

>THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

The thunderous, ground-shaking hoof falls of the Titan Queen finally broke the spell everyone had been under. The very ground was vibrating as she slowly, deliberately marched across the besieged city, letting both defenders and attacker listen to her arrival.

Chitania was like a shadow, an outline of a beast cast against the white. And she was calmly approaching the even larger, red-and-black monster with singed chitin that stood still and waited for her to come to her.

Just as planned.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

~~~~~

Finally.

FinallyfinallyfinallyFINALLY!

Variolus plans were FINALLY coming to fruition. It was time to cut losses, make steps ahead and leave a mark in history. Who cared about being attacked, about being destroyed, about there being no one left? All that mattered now was her approaching opponent.

Both Queens mustered one-another from a short distance away. Seizing up the others strength, remembering times past and, when their eyes met, the spark of recognition flying between the two.

Variolus opened her mouth to speak, intending to speak those words that would seal the deal and would mark the final step of her post-mortis journey.

But she never got a single syllable out. Snow flew to all sides as the sound of an explosive impact that was Chitania's hoof to the ground propelled the original Titan Queen forwards. Right into the other, startled Queen.

Last time, Chitania had let her speak, gloat and egg her on. Last time, she had been able to show and tell what was happening.

And most importantly, last time she had been able to move. But this wasn't last time.

A super-sized hoof smashed into Variolus unoving face with enough force to break her lower jaw from the upper portion, the disgusting wet sound of torn tendons and broken bones ringing out for anyone still observing the battle to hear.

The raw Changeling magic of rage and hatred broke through whatever defenses Sunset Shimmer and the Crystal Heart had provided without even any strain. Variolus tried moving, jerking to the side, anything. But she was completely immobilized.

How! WHY?!

“You fuc-”

Variolus could barely speak, her voice a murmur as another, bone-jarring strike that smashed the chitin on her left shoulder in and caused her leg to buckle. There was no way to defend herself, her defenses a meek, laughable joke in comparison to the Titan's might.

“What have you d-”

With her jaw left wide-open from her bending downwards, Chitania finished what she started and slammed into it from the other side. It tore apart, Variolus' love-magic reinforced lower jaw going flying as her tongue flapped out and the hole to her gaping neck became visible beyond the rows of her sharp upper teeth.

Chitania dignified this brutal act with a smug grin and an explanation, at last.

“I don't care who or what you are, what you want from me or why you would try to goad me into attacking you. You attacked the Empire and the Hive of a fellow Queen. For days, no, weeks I have been forced to still my hooves, surrounded by a world of cardboard that would tear and broke at the slightest of my touches. But you... you huge, ignorant bitch... you can take it, can't you? I have been needled, provoked, belittled and ignored. You don't matter in this, aside that upon you, I will FUCKING RELEASE ALL OF MY RAGE, BITCH!”

Variolus didn't even get to widen her eyes fully before the next hit struck and shattering her three of her ribs and sending her flying like a ragdoll.

Not as planned.

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NC
~Sunset~
~~~~

~... I uh, I was kind of hoping I could have my body back in one piece after-~

GLRGL!

~Knew I should have gotten the insurance plan on this thing.~

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~~~~~

It wasn't as much as a battle as it was a one-sided massacre. Variolus could only stand still and limp as Chitania wailed upon her with the full might of her power, tearing entire chunks out of her body and sending them flying across the Empire in sprays of gore Even her astounding regeneration was slowed. Not enough to make her easily killable, but just enough to provide a satisfying punching bag for the Titan.

Variolus, for her part, felt genuine fear for the first time since her emergence. Whatever it was that was immobilizing her, she had to fight and overcome it before Chitania crushed her, she knew.

When she cut off her connection to every single crystal golem across the Empire, the constructs screeched then toppled over and broke broke upon impact with the ground.

But it wasn't enough. Chitania was pushing her back with every wild, ground-shattering hit to her undead body. Now, it was Variolus' turn to feel desperation. Everything was falling apart, and she couldn't even find the source of her current predicament. Her power was evenly split between her mental defenses, keeping Sunset Shimmer in check and maintaining the ward against the Hivemind lest the other Queens noticed the pony in their midst.

With no other venues but to finally get rid of her former host, Variolus turned her attention inwards.

Time slowed to a crawl, a ferally snarling Chitania about to crush her skull with a viscous ax-kick stopping in her tracks. In the mindscape, things could be done faster, but with little effect on the outside world. But she needn't affect Chitania.

“Sunset Shimmer! I need you to...”

The Queen trailed off when the distinctive rattle of chains reached her ears. There was no real bodily presence to be had in one's mind, but as Variolus gazed down upon herself, she found herself in glowing, magical chains that prohibited further movements.

“...that explains things... I didn't think you had the mental fortitude left to actually affect me. What a surprise.”

“I didn't, at first.”

The voice that rang out was monotone, almost dead in its flatness. When Sunset Shimmer's aspect manifested, Variolus was momentarily stunned. What she beheld before her wasn't a tearfully trembling fool, or a pathetically mewling pony desperately clawing its way back against the tide that was a Queen's power.

Staring back at her with emotionless eyes and utter loathing was the embodiment of the unicorn's spirit. But the vibrant colors of her coat were gone, the life snuffed out of her eyes. If the aspect was a representation of one's mental state, Sunset Shimmer must be nearing her own end, Variolus realized.

But not by laying down and just giving up. The unicorn was apparently fighting to the end.

“...what have you done, you foolish pony?”

“I first realized that you would kill us both eventually when you used me as a shield against Chrysalis. I had been doubting, trying to keep up my suspension of disbelieve until then. But... you were ready to sacrifice my mind, kill me to archive your goals. And I think it was then I realized that there was no bargaining with you.”

A sudden constriction pull from the chains choked Variolus, slowing her thinking process. Outside, Chitania's massive hoof inched just a little closer to her skull.

“When you just practically outsapped what the Crystal Heart could give at once, to destroy everyone, I changed the flow of the tether between the bursts of energy it gives off. There was a nice little pause when the Heart tried to rebuild the shield Chitania smashed. There, Is truck. Instead of a support line, they are now chains holding you in place instead of keeping you fed. Chains which are in turn fed with the magic of love.”

Variolus dared smirk when the explanation came, and began pulling harder.

“Love magic? Oh, you poor, ignorant thing. Haven't I taught you how to sap and drink love like a starving animal? You would think something made of love would HOLD ME!?”

But instead of snapping, the chains started to burn upon her disembodied self while inducing agonizing pain in form of a migraine to the Changeling Queen. At that sight, Sunset spoke up, a small hint of manic glee in her voice.

“Magic is a funny thing... You see, the more you give, the more you get. It's a trade of power. Unicorn magic allows to you weave and pull the fabric of reality, but you expend your mental fortitude, making you more suggestible. Black Magic is about delving into hatred and isolation until all you feed on is your own ego, Changeling magic is about sacrificing your own Self to change yourself.. But there is one magic, as old as the art itself, that will always outclass any other.”

Realization dawned on Variolus, and she ceased her struggle. She knew what had happened.

“Sacrificial Magic.”

“You didn't...”

A small hint of emotion returned to Susnet's eyes. And what Variolus saw there wasn't anger, righteousness or vindictiveness. She raw resolution. It was the look she had seen in the eyes of countless victims and foes in the past.

It was the look of someone who was fully prepared to die.

“I did. You took everything from me, Variolus. My hopes, my aspirations, my body, my will, my friends... my future. There is nothing left for me in this world but leaving a legacy as a fool that enabled your return and murderous rampage. When you fully, consciously aimed to burn all those ponies below you just now I.... gave up. I will not become responsible for the death of others, not even for power. I am no murderer, and I won't let you make me one.”

The mare moved closer, their minds almost linking in the proximity they shared within the Gem in that moment.

“I bound my own soul to the Chains. While you still hold supreme control over my body -what is left of what I used to be anyways- , it is still MY body. My Gem. And my life. Should you actually manage to overpower the Crystal Heart and break them, I will be destroyed in the process. And with me, my Gem will destroy itself. Both are now fed by the power of me putting my life on the line. I set a condition, a trigger and a price for Sacrificial Magic, and there is no turning back anymore.”

Variolus ceased all movement, her mind racing, her eyes in the material wirld darting around in pure terror.

“As we almost share a mind now, I know why you won't break these chains, Betrayer Queen. Tied as we are into one, the moment I am swallowed whole by oblivion, you will not be able to escape its inescapable pull. There will be no Hivemind, no third coming of Variolus, no afterlife for either of us. You will follow me into the dark, eternal silence of non-existence. And there isn't a single thing you can do about it anymore.”

The almost entirely gray mare dared a small, sad smile.

“We are already dead.”

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NC
>Chrysalis
"AJ"

>COME ON! I POURED EVERYTHING I HAD INTO MY ATTACK, LEECHES DIRECTLY FROM THE PRINCESS OF LOVE AND I GET OUTDONE BY A WHINY MARE WITH SELF ESTEEM ISSUES WILLING TO GET HERSELF KILLED? I CALL BULL!

"She ain't even willing ta hurt a pooxh. 's called the Magic of Empathy. Y'all should give it a try sometime."

>BUUUUUUUULLLLLĹ!

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NC, OoCO
~~~~

>Ya'll are sentenced ta' give up on science, go crazy, act like a valley girl for a coupl'a weeks, and generally be bonkers.

"...That doesn't sound nearly as bad as what I think I deserve right now-"

>And then at the end of it, ya' gotta make friends with Chrysalis and spend a whole lotta time with her.

"... what, did you look at Euthanasia and think to yourself 'you know what? This just isn't enough, we need something worse'."

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