This is Where I Break

Chrysalis’ plan was direct and to the point. She knew who the architects of her past failures was and her first goal was to have them removed. That was I plan of action I could respect. If I weren’t the mare’s unwilling pawn in all of this, I’d respect her as well. For her strength of both character and magic, if nothing else.

What many mages don’t understand is that a geas is a constant battle of wills. A geas is a specific type of enchantment that directly links the enchanter’s or enchantress’ will to the enchanted. Evincah Type Invocations, or enthralling spells in layman's is what they were called. For this sort of spell to hold, the one who put it there had to constantly exert mental dominance over the affected party.

And in this case the affected party was me. Actually, I take that back. I do respect Chrysalis. I just don’t like the bitch. With both of us being telepaths, maintaining a Geas was more like a mental cold war than a simple exertion of will and magic over me from her. Our minds picked at each other and shattered the others defenses as fast as they could rebuild their own. This mental battle with Chrysalis was like two hackers engaged in digital battle against each other, each trying to out manuver their foe and expose them systems to their whims. Even here on the peaks of the mountains overlooking Ponyville I could feel her oppressive grasp on my mind, constantly beating back any attempts of mine to prod her for weakness or slip the geas onto another individual.

It was now, as I reflected upon the Queen’s orders, that I found the deep loathing for my situation that had been missing up until now.

With my orders received I was free to leave and see to any preparations I’d need to make. I turned away from the image of Equestria, but before I could take a single step of the changeling’s war room I felt Chrysalis’ presence tugging on my mind. Her mental command was oppressive. Defying the onslaught of her psychic power created mental torpor stronger than even the most potent sedatives. Every movement of my body felt disconnected, as if I were watching myself from afar. I could continue to resist, but what for? It would have been both a petty and foolish waste of energy.

“You find fault in my plan?” Chrysalis ask skeptically, but her tone carried a weight seriousness.

My turn was mechanical; bone ground against bone as I swiveled my neck to meet eyes with the Queen. “Yes. While your solution is fundamentally sound, you are falling into the trap that caused your defeat at Canterlot.”

She hummed. The deep frown she wore was slowly replaced by a mischievous grin. That horrid, predatory gaze of hers sent ice water through my veins and made my skin crawl. “And that trap is?”

“Equestria is a saccharine world; a sugar bowl with a few vile villains staining its idyllic visage. You believe that killing their heroes will seize you a victory. It will for a time. The problem is that every pony is inherently good. Heroes will raise from the stories of their felled precursors. There is no shortage of love and companionship in the hearts of Equestria’s denizens.”

The way Chrysalis rapped her fingers on the tabletop told me more than I needed (or wanted) to know. I could almost hear the gears turning in her skull as she carefully considered my words.

“Hm. Then the plan shall be altered,” she started. “You will still travel to Ponyville and eliminate the Elements of Harmony, but with significant collateral; their deaths will serve as the shock to Equestria’s system. From there, you will return to me. If the ponies must be demoralized completely for victory to be assured, that is the path we will take.”

Sighing, I gave up dwelling on my situation for now. Instead I focused on enjoying myself. Taking a deep breath, I let go of everything for a moment and simply let the chilly mountain enter my lungs. A breeze blew in from the north, rustling my hair and robes. Ah, how i’ve missed this feeling. The sun on my skin was like the embrace of a long lost lover, kind and understanding. There was nothing of interest to see here really, but I still took my time enjoying the clear blue sky and jagged, stoney faces of the neighboring peaks.

Now that my head was on straight, I could focus on the task at hand.

Let’s see what I’ve got to work with. I opened myself up and called to the land around me. It answered with a satisfying rush of power. Rivers, streams, and clouds offered me a steady flow of blue mana (description) while the stalwart mountain beneath my feet hummed with excitable red mana. Then finally, from the vile beneath it all, tucked within the sediment and hidden on the forest floors and from deep within the soil I felt it: black mana. Squirming maggots and rotted flesh, fibrous fungi and decayed plant matter, lost spirits and malevolent spectres all promised an abundance of power should I need it.

I could work with this.

I was no fool. Regardless of how powerful I thought I was, I would not simply walk into town and attempt unplanned, wanton destruction. So first I would watch.

Turning my attention to Ponyville, I cast a Sight Beyond Sight spell; the town would be revealed to me without ever setting a foot within its borders. I thrust my hands forward with my palms facing out towards the open air in front of me as if pushing against an invisible wall. The air between my fingers and hands shimmered, glimpses of Ponyville life flickering into existence then quickly fading out as I crafted the spell. Between my hands an image of the idyllic town formed. I quickly latched onto the feeling of the stabilized spell and moved my hands away from each other, expanding the image.

Thatched roofs, cobblestone roads, and simple dwellings met my scrying eyes. Ponies milled about each going about whatever business they had in the town while wearing a pleasant smile. Things were so similar, yet so much different from how they were long ago. The streets were cleaner and the ponies themselves… they were... it was hard to look at, really.

A sharp whistle snapped me out of my session of brooding. A train? I panned the view of my scrying window around until I caught sight of white puffs closing in on the town quickly. Hm. I sensed three massive concentrations of mana moving in tandem with the train. Pulling my view back to get a bird’s eye view of the region, I quickly spotted the train. With a thought, my spell locked onto the mana signatures, washing away my aerial view and replacing it with one of the interior of one of the train’s cars.

Fifty-seven passengers in total. The closer I got to forming a plan the worse the knots in my stomach became. I felt a frown forming across my face as I assessed the car’s occupants. If the physical descriptions in the books I’d read were accurate, I was currently looking at Princess Twilight Sparkle. She was one of two ponies who’d ascended to the form of alicorn recently, so I trusted my sources. That would make the cyan pegasus mare in the booth across from her Rainbow Dash and the young dragon sleeping at her side Spike.

The princess leaned back against her seat. A quick study of her body language told me that despite having slept, she was not rested. “I can’t thank you enough for coming with me, Dash. I know just having Spike there would have probably been enough to keep the entire thing civil, but a little extra company never hurts.”

“Psh! Don’t worry about it Twi! I was alright with the Buffalo as well. Plus, it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten to practice some place with as many open fields and free airways as Appaloosa,” she answered, stretching her wings for emphasis.

A mare, one of Celestia’s royal guards if I wasn’t mistaken, entered the car and took to guarding the door. Other than the previously seen occupants, there was no one else. A quick scanning spell returned to me telemetry on the number of lives on board. It would be easy enough to simply snuff out the lives both Elements of Harmony right here and now. No muss, no fuss. Nopony else needed to die.

No! Chrysalis’s voice pounded in my skull, her words feeling like hammer blows from Hephaestus. Use them all as fuel for the fires of terror. Equestria will know the true horrors the changelings are capable of. They will know better than to stand against me when next I come to claim the throne. Her mental intrusion was almost enough to cause my viewing spells to collapse.

I’d been trying to keep my mind on business and away from what I was going to do. That was no longer possible. I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to kill the ponies on this train.

My focus wavered and the spell I’d been using to survey the train and its occupants shattered like a flimsy pane of glass. I just couldn’t focus anymore. What had happened all those years ago was between me, Celestia, and Luna. The people never got involved. I never even considered taking my failure out on the nation… or even the princesses for that matter. Yet, here I was being wielded as an angry changeling queen’s sword.

She was even worse than her predecessors.

My arm quivered as I raised it, its muscles just as uncertain as the heart and mind guiding the action. I couldn't do this.

But I had to.

If they were to die, if it had to be my magic that killed them, I would do it and I would accept responsibility. I could do this quickly, and in a manner unique to myself that would prove effective to the Queen’s goals. The alternative was to let Chrysalis’ geas puppet my body in order to fulfill her orders. That thought was somehow more frightening and infuriating than the act of blatant terrorism I was tasked with.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

My mind needed to be clear for this. Tensions, thoughts, and emotions could all seep into and affect my magic, ruining any spell I attempted. I exhaled, releasing my magic as easily as the breath I’d held. Remembering the positions of every pony on the train, I picked out the crew manning the engine car and wove a web of magical wickedness that would mark the true beginning of Equestria’s current nightmare.

Bright Future raised her foreleg, wiping the beading sweat off of her brow. The heat inside the engine cabin was suffocating, and, at times, downright depressing, but there was no place the mare would rather be. This would be her first full tour of Equestria after finishing her primary training to be a part of Equestria’s train crews. Soon they’d be stopping in Ponyville and after that, Canterlot. Once the crew took a moment to recuperate in the capital, they’d be off to Vanhoover and the Crystal Empire before wrapping everything up back in Manehattan.

“Alright, you two! We’re coming up on Ponyville Station, you know the drill. Prepare to snuff out the burner and slow her down,” The conductor commanded with a prideful smile. That confident look never left his eyes and he always greeted the crew and passengers with enthusiasm. Centennial was a dark orange stallion with a jet black mane that was greying in a perfectly stylish manner. Even in his advancing age, the stallion was fit and handsome, his smile being the cherry on top that allowed him win over anypony’s heart. The badge on his white and green pinstripe overalls indicated his position as leader of the train’s crew. Bright had her eyes set on some day becoming a conductor as great as the stallion overseeing her; she was only an engineer for now, but she was happy in her current role.

“Yes sir!” Both engine workers, Bright and a stoic grey coated, white maned unicorn stallion named Lightning Slinger shouted back over the blaze of the engine. Bright, Lightning, and Centennial all moved into position around the engine car. The engineer stepped up to the controls, placing a single hoof on the throttle in preparation for commands; the conductor raised his hoof, preparing to give out directions as needed; and the stallion leaned his coal-stained shovel into its caddy before heading over to the intercom speaker and pressing the button to initiate the device.

“You’re clear, Lightning.”

“Sir,” the stallion answered before clearing his throat. “Good evening passengers this is Lightning Slinger,” the stallion started. His calm, smooth voice relayed the information of their arrival with practiced ease. “Thank you for your time everypony and-- ” the pause in his speech was miniscule, undetectable to the average onlooker, but in the infinitesimally small window of time everything had changed. “-- I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I’m about to do and for those of you that I’m about to steal away from their family. I’m sorry that you will die for the petty revenge and dreams of grandeur of a greedy conqueror. I’m sorry that I could not stop this.”

It all happened so fast after that: a hoof meant to ease the throttle down to a gentle stop instead forced the little lever to full speed before snapping it off. The retired coal shovel was once against hefted up by a magical aura then filled. And the eyes supervising it all simply rolled to the back of their owners skull, shutting out the world.

The world sped by and scenery blurred into featureless greens and browns, yet the engine crew simply held their position. They were upon it now, Ponyville Station. Then, with practiced fluidity, Lightning hefted the shovel up and tossed its payload into the flames. Both Lightning and Bright saw, in that instant, the hooffull of black and red gems hidden among the briquettes of coal as the flames reach out to lick at its fresh fuel. Both ponies heard the ominous hiss. Neither had time to close their eyes and brace for the explosion.

And what an explosion it was.

Author's Note

I'd like to apologize for how long it's taken me to write this. This chapter was difficult to create. I just couldn't put words down, not to mention what happens within it. The second reason is because it is difficult to organize this. I have a vague idea of where this story is going, but it is primarily a personal exercise in creating coherent plots with whatever pops up in my head.