Survival is Key: Ch.19

>Another one of these damn things screams as it's goopified by your magic blasts.

>Scream

>Blork

>Scream

>Blork

>Scream

>Blork

>And so the cycle went on for what seemed like an hour.

>All the while, Discord hovers above in his semi-transparent state, whooping and hollering at your antics, and-- Wait a sec, was he eating popcorn?!

>You shake your head. Focus on killing the bugs for now, THEN you can wonder how the fuck he does what he does.

>You're distracted from your distraction by the OVERWHELMING PAIN of one of those horse bug things biting into your shoulder.

>Specifically, your left shoulder, which was where a majority of your magical energies were flowing through.

>Frowning, you “flex” your magical energies, which causes the Changeling to vibrate wildly before its fangs pop free, and it is sent careening into the cave ceiling, where it does its best impression of a fly on a windshield.

>Neat. You'll have to file that trick away for later use.

>The mark that thing left? Not so neat. There were two circular glowing blue spots, along with some glowing cracks that spiderwebbed out from the affected area. It hurt like hell!

>Unfortunately, there were more pressing matters to attend to, such as squashing the rest of these bugs.

>And squish them you did. You were so busy squishing, squashing, and generally maiming the horde of Changelings, that you didn't notice either the semi transparent form of Discord or Starswirl above you, Discord wearing an expression of absolute glee, while Starswirl keeps focusing on your injury, his expression a polar opposite of Discord's.

 

>Before long, the number of Changelings has dwindled down from somewhere in the hundreds to a mere handful.

>Before you can blast the rest of them into inky black skidmarks on the cave walls, you hear a voice on par with Luna in her “Royal Capslock” voice.

>”ENOUGH! I cannot stand by while you slaughter my precious subjects!”

“If they were so precious to you, why didn't you stop me from annihilating practically all of them in the first damn place?”

>”I... What?”

“You heard me.”

>That certainly set the big one off; she was positively FUMING now.

>”You... How DARE an errant meal such as yourself disrespect the QUEEN OF THE CHANGELINGS!”

“Oh, so YOU'RE the Queen, huh? I'll bet that if I squish you, everyone you've captured will be set free, am I right?”

>”I, er... I will neither confirm nor deny that.”

“Good enough. Bye bye, Bugsy!”

>Just as you're about to release the biggest burst of magical energy you can muster, one of those pod things is pulled down by the big bug horse's sickly green looking magic.

>Your eyes widen at just who the occupant of said pod IS.

“T-Twilight?!”

>That fucking grin on her face... You REALLY wanted to wipe that expression off of that Changeling's face in the worst way possible, but with Twilight acting as a human-er, P0NY shield, that made things much more difficult.

>”Yes, 'Twilight'. The mare who cost me my victory so long ago, leaving me and my kin to starve... Imagine my surprise when the second biggest concentration of love my subjects have ever come across just so happened to be where she and her cohorts resided... It was too perfect!”

 

>She bends down, stroking the pod like a mother would a sleeping child.

>”And little Miss Sparkle here has just been BRIMMING with the purest, more delicious love I've ever had... And it's all thanks to you, 'Anon'!”

>You could FEEL a blood vessel in your temple threatening to burst, you were that fucking angry. She was feeding off of Twilight's love! Treating her like... Like a snack!

>Hell, for all you knew, that's how they treated ANYTHING that was capable of loving another.

>You sneer at her, your left arm bathed once more in a bluish glow. There's a sickening CRACK as the injury continues to snake its way across your body, still thankfully hidden by your clothes, though your face broadcasts your pain, clear as day.

>The Changeling Queen raises what you assume to be an eyebrow at your expression.

>Working past the pain, you choke out the most cliché line you've said yet.

“Celestia should have hunted you and your ilk down the moment you were flung from Canterlot. Die, monster! You don't belong in this world!”

>”That's funny, coming from a creature that shouldn't even EXIST anymore.”

“What are you...”

>”Oh, your precious Princess Sunbutt never told you? About why there were no more humans in Equestria?”

“No, but that's because she--”

>”Didn't know? Please... She knew exactly how it happened.”

>You take a few steps backward. What was she...?

>”Just as the legends say, Humans once inhabited this world, and gave ponies everywhere their gifts. Their magic was just that powerful. But you know what they say about power...”

>Of course you knew what they say about power. And you did not like the implications it was carrying right now.

“Get on with it, bug. I'm not in the mood!”

 

>”That's QUEEN CHRYSALIS to you, human... Anyway, you know WHY the humans did such things? It was because they HAD to. Their bodies couldn't contain the magic that they absorbed at a constant rate. It's a slow, painful process, really. Their skin starts breaking, like a pane of glass that had a rock thrown at it. Pure magic leaks out through those cracks, trying to escape. But it can't. And eventually, it finds a way. The results weren't pretty... They were downright, oh what's the word? Chaotic.”

>You say nothing. You don't let anything past your poker face. None of your anger, disgust, curiosity... Nothing.

>Your narrow your eyes as she continues.

>”Yes, it was quite chaotic... Some humans simply EXPLODED in a massive outpouring of magical power. Some went insane, and killed themselves. Some went insane, and turned into monstrous creatures in order to expel the magic from their bodies, or to contain it within themselves, or even became creatures made of magic itself... Perhaps you've heard of them? Timberwolves, Ursa Majors, Windigoes, Diamond Dogs... Draconequuses?”

>Your eyes go wide at the last one.

>If what she was saying was true, then Discord was human once, just like you...

>And for all you knew, you were going to end up like him, if that stabbing sensation in your shoulder was of any indication.

>Struggling to keep yourself from shaking, you look at her, your eyes meeting her oddly draconic ones. What was with villians having eyes like a dragon? Not all dragons are evil; Spike was a perfect example of that. Well, okay, maybe not a PERFECT example, but a good one nonetheless.

 

>You still had one question that weight on your mind, however.

“... Why bring all of this up, bug?”

>She narrows her eyes at your “bug” comment, but rather than correct you, she just frowns.

>“Because... What my children see... I see. What they feel, I feel. I felt their hearts stop each time you killed one of my children, Anonymous. I saw you incinerating them with your magic...”

>She's stopped frowning now, instead, she's starting to smile, revealing her pointed fangs.

>”I even saw one of my children inflict that wound on your shoulder, accelerating the same process that Discord and the other humans went through.”

>The glow around your hand falters.

“You... What?”

>She smirks at you, and begins to stroke the pod containing Twilight.

>”See, if there's one pony I hate more than Celestia, I hate her little teacher's pet, Twilight Sparkle. So, while my people struggled to find their next meal, I planned, and I plotted. I knew that some day, she would find someone she loved. Oh, I considered going the traditional route and seducing them with her form, but, well, after learning what you were... Well, I decided to play things a bit more... slowly. Of course, in the meantime, I'd replace certain members of Ponyville, allowing my children to feed off of the love of their unwitting victims, and keep an eye on you and Sparkle. Imagine the look on her face when she wakes up one day to find herself trapped in a changeling hive, her friends captured, and her beloved exploded due to a massive case of magical buildup, or turned into another Discord... Her tears would be DELICIOUS.”

 

>She tilts her head back and begins laughing. It starts off as nothing more than a giggle, then it turns into chortling, then finally, full on belly laughter that echoed throughout the cavern.

>She stops laughing, and she looks down at you, a hoof still on Twilight's pod.

>”So, now that you know, what will you do, human?”

“This.”

>Faster than you can say “Sweet merciful Faust”, you launch yourself at Chrysalis by feeding magic through your legs, allowing you to jump like an Olympic athelete, and you connect your fist to her jaw, making a meaty THWACK on impact.

>She staggers backward a few steps before righting herself, and rubbing at her jaw... Only for her face to twist in absolute rage when she finds that your magic-propelled punch managed to crack her exoskeleton.

>”You... You filthy MONKEY!”

>With a hiss, she fires a sickly green bolt of magic at you, only for it to be deflected by a hastily constructed shield spell.

>That only served to piss her off even more, because her next blast of magic shatters your shield, sending you rocketing backwards, right through a pillar of stone.

>Fuck, that hurt.

>You work past the pain, and manage to conjure up a retaliatory blast of magic, which is easily deflected by the insectoid equine, and you swear you could see the lip quiver on the changeling that just so happened to be in the path of the magical projectile.

>Chrysalis visibly recoils upon seeing the blast vaporize the drone, only to turn towards you, and fire a beam of sickly green energy at you, her face twisted in rage.

>You respond by firing off your “Kamehameha Wave”, wincing as you feel your injury getting progressively worse as you feed more magic into the beam.

 

>Eventually, the two of you reached a stalemate in your beam-o-war, your pain, and the fact that there are other captured ponies that could get caught in the beam preventing you from completely incinerating Chrysalis.

>Chrysalis herself is showing signs of fatigue, but her beam remained at a constant strength, neither one overtaking the other.

>However, a certain semi-corporeal draconequus watched all of this unfold, not content with a stalemate.

>With a wiggle of his brow, and a snap of his fingers, the beams visibly shook, and turned upwards, boring a hole in the cave's ceiling, sunlight streaming in.

>Thankfully, there were no ponies caught in the beam's path.

>When the dust settled, you found that exerting so much energy had sped along your affliction's progress, and now your entire left side was covered in the glowing blue cracks, and it was slowly creeping across the rest of your body.

>Chrysalis was in a similar position;  her wings had been torn to shreds, and her body was littered with cracks and scratches, exposing her greenish insides. She tried again and again to get up, but could only stand for a few seconds before collapsing.

>Slowly, you drag your body to hers, and you grasp her by the throat.

>Seconds pass, and neither one of you says anything.

>Finally, Chrysalis is the first to speak.

>”What are you waiting for? Finish me.”

>Oh how desperately you wanted to oblige her. But no, if you did that, the chances were, that everyone that was captured would remain in a comatose state. You couldn't have that, no sir.

>Finally, you look at her, right in those draconic eyes of her, your face twisted in a rictus of anger and hate.

“No.”

 

>”Wh-what?! Why... After everything that I've done... You're letting me live?”

>You narrow your eyes, and once again, you speak.

“Yes, I am. Despite every single fiber of me screaming to kill you, I won't. Because right now, you're the only one that can free everyp0ny here from their stasis. That, and I know Twilight would never forgive me for killing someone, no matter how much they might deserve to die.”

>She's quiet for about a minute, before she speaks again, managing to sound smug, despite her esophagus being held in a deathgrip.

>”And if I refuse?”

“Then I kill you anyway, and the Princesses will work to find another way to free them.”

>She attempts to swallow the lump that formed in her throat, but your hold on her neck worked to prevent that.

>”Fine... I'll do it.”

“Good answer.”

>You release your grip on her neck, and watch as her crooked horn lights up, and the pods descend from the ceiling, dissolving away, each one leaving behind a goo-covered pony.

>Seconds pass before you hear the sound of p0nies gasping for breath, murmurs of confusion echoing throughout the cave as every one of them wondered where they had been taken.

>Out of the entire crowd, you spot Twilight and her friends, along with Spike holding each other tightly in a much needed group hug.

“Twilight!”

>The crowd falls silent as they turn towards you, seeing you in your current state.

>Twilight sees you as well, and instead of breaking out into a gallop to tackle-hug you like she would have done, she slowly trots forward, her voice shaky.

>”A-Anonymous? What happened to you?”

>Crap. You were afraid of this...

 

>You give her a halfhearted chuckle, and place a glowing palm on her cheek.

>Thankfully, instead of jerking away like she was burnt, Twilight's gaze never left yours, her eyes full of confusion and worry.

“I don't really know, Twilight... I really wish I did, but I don't...”

>”How did this happen, Anon? Does it hurt? What can I do? Please... tell me...”

>You sigh, pulling her close, resting a cheek on her head.

“It's hard to explain, really, but... My body... It's breaking down. All the magic my body's absorbed... It can't take it. I won't lie, and say I'm fine, because it hurts like hell. I wish there was something you could do, believe me, I do, but Twilight... I don't know... I just don't know.”

>Slowly, she reaches out, and touches your cheek, only to snap it back when she heard a loud CRACK, and a series of cracks appeared where she had touched you.

>You tried your damnedest to hold back the tears. The ones on the face REALLY hurt.

>”Oh Anon...”

>In between sobs, she says things like “It's not fair...” or “I don't want to lose you...”

>All you can say in return is “I know.” and hold her just a little bit tighter.

>Behind you, you can hear the sound of flapping wings, and whinnying p0nies.

>You turn around, and you lock eyes with the one pony you both want to see the most, and the least at the same time.

>Wriggling free of your grasp, Twilight gallops over to Celestia.

>”Oh Princess, it's terrible! Anonymous.... He... He's...”

>She can't even finish her sentence, and has begun crying again. Celestia lifts her head, and looks at you, an expression of what you can only assume to be recognition and horror upon her face.

>”Oh, Anonymous... I'm so sorry...”