Chapters Queen Hysteria: The Fallen Star
The Love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege. -Charles Kuralt
Have you ever looked up at the night sky when the beautiful stars come out showing their glory? Have you ever wondered about the star's history that lies before you? Well, there is one star in the night sky that shines brighter than any other star known to exist. Many call it Sirius A, others call it the "Dog Star", but to those who live in Equestria it is know as the Fallen Star; a beautiful speck of light with such a sad history. Oh, have you never heard of Queen Hysteria? Well then, I must tell you the tragic story of Queen Hysteria: The Fallen Star. And our story begins...in Ponyville.
It was a beautiful day today, the sun shone across the wondrous land that is Equestria. Equestria was a magnificent land filled with many different species of pony. There were the Pegasi; fast and slick fliers that ruled the sky with their mighty wings. The Unicorns with their powerful magic and intelligence, and let's not forget the Earth Ponies: strong and fast on the land. And of course the Alicorns: a combination of the three, except with power beyond anything you could even imagine! It was a peaceful land. But there was a little village in Equestria that stood out the most: Ponyville. Why you ask? Because it was the home for Equestria's Queen: Hysteria.
"What's going on, Flash?"
An orange Pegasus turned to one of the guards. Flash Sentry and the thousands of guards in Queen Hysteria's kingdom protected her from any danger that lurked.
"I'm not sure, but all I know is that the queen wants to meet with all of the guards. I suggest that you go with the army, I'm just here waiting for Twi-Hysteria,"Flash said quickly correcting himself.
"I'm just asking because this is very unusual. The queen has not been so social ever since-"
"What is going on here?"
The two guards turned to see their ruler: Queen Hysteria. Her fur was lavender and she wore a gold brace around her neck with a star on it. Her crown was also gold and had a star on it and she wore a dress of beautiful purple silk.
"I'm sorry your Highness. I was just wondering-"
"Silence!" The Queen interrupted him, "There is NO wondering! Only doing. Now go with the rest of the army and await orders."
The shaken guard bowed respectively and quickly left the hall. The queen walked towards Flash and sighed. Flash saw sadness in her eyes,"Your Highness, permission to speak?"
"You may."
"Your Highness, I see that something is bothering you. If you don't mind me asking, is it something you want to share?"
The queen smiled and put a hoof on his shoulder, "I appreciate you looking out for me, Flash; just like a captain's supposed to. But I am fine and capable of solving my own problems. Now come, we must meet with the army immediately. Wait. Where is-"
"I'm here!"
The two turned to see a teenage dragon with lavender skin walking towards them. He was the same height as the queen now and had a deep but young voice.
"Sorry I'm late," the dragon said, "but I'm here."
"That is alright, Spike. Now, we must go."
The two followed the queen to a podium and saw the army at the bottom. At once they all bowed before the queen. The queen cleared her throat and began to speak, "Rise my army, for I have a decree. As of today . . . I am opening the gates to my castle again."
The army looked at her with complete shock. They all whispered to each other with confused looks and the queen raised her hoof for silence, "But, no pony will enter . . . except the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. They will be allowed to bring one pony of their choice as well."
They all gasped, even Spike was surprised. He hadn't seen his friends in ten whole years. He remembered what happened ten years ago, it was a sad day for Equestria. The queen continued, "I see you are all in a state of shock, I understand. Ten years really is a long time. But I want to see the Elements of Harmony once again. So I need this entire army to put up my decree all over Equestria. Thank you. Flash, I want you to help spread the word and Spike, I'll need you to go and prepare for when they come."
The two nodded and left Hysteria on her own. She trotted to her room, closed the door behind her, took her crown off and placed it on a podium that had a pillow on it. She walked towards her mirror and let out a deep breath of exasperation. Her head ached as she rubbed it slowly. Slowly her head rose and she saw herself on the mirror; a small grin was seen on her face as she quietly sung to herself a short poem:
"No more rhythm, no more rhyme
Out of step and out of time
The planets in their orbits falter
Our destiny we fail to alter
Moving on towards the end
Still we do not comprehend
That through the earth's contamination
We'll set our own extermination
No more hope and no more light
Through the darkness of the night
The sun in all her glory waning
The stars as burnt-out beacons fading
On and further on we go
Dark and darker yet to grow
The pathway to obliteration
And then complete annihilation"
Ponyville
It was a nice hot day at Ponyville and a very busy day for the ponies at the market. They were selling many things and gaining lots of bits from the sells they made. There was a pony who was selling apples with a smile across her face. A pony then came up to her booth and greeted the young teenaged-earth pony.
"Why hello there, Apple Bloom. How are you?"
"I'm good, how are you, Bon Bon?"
"Well. I'm here to pick up some Apples for Lyra. She insists that we make a hand out of apples."
Apple Bloom was confused, "Hand?"
Bon Bon shook her head, "I'm just as confused as you are. But you know, that's Lyra."
Apple Bloom chuckled and gave her friend a bag of apples.
"Thank you, Apple Bloom. How much?"
"Four bits please. I'll give you a discount because you made me laugh."
Bon Bon chuckled and gave her the bits, "Thank you, Apple Bloom. Hey, what's going on over there?"
Apple Bloom looked at where she was staring and saw a guard putting up a poster on a pole. A bunch of ponies gathered around as the guard left to hang more posters. Apple Bloom and Bon Bon went to have a look and slowly eased through the crowd of ponies. Apple Bloom looked at the poster and read what it said.
Dear Ponies of Equestria,
It is my great honor to invite Starlight Glimmer and the Elements of Harmony to my castle tomorrow morning. In addition they get to bring one guest with them. After ten years my gates will open again, but, if anypony gets into my castle without being invited will be punished. Until then, Queen Hysteria
Apple Bloom was shocked, they were finally going to see their friend again! Apple Bloom ran from the crowd to go see her friends. She ran into Sugar Cube Corner and saw the New Five Six sitting and eating sweets. They were laughing and having a good time. Apple Bloom also saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders as well.
"Guys!"
The ponies turned to her direction and greeted her as she walked towards them.
"I have great news! Twilight is inviting you five to her castle! And she also asks that you bring a guest!"
Pinkie Pie spat out her drink and shook her head.
"Really?! We haven't seen Twilight since . . ."
Everypony fell silent and Starlight Glimmer sighed, "Rainbow Dash. Look, I know we haven't seen Twilight since, you know, but why would she just invite us now?"
"Maybe she just misses us, darling," Rarity said with a small smile on her face.
Starlight nodded, "I don't know. It just doesn't feel right."
"Well I know who I'm takin'," Applejack said, breaking the silence. "I'll take Apple Bloom."
Apple Bloom jumped up and down for joy. Rarity walked over to Sweetie Belle and hugged her, "I'll be taking Sweetie Belle. She also misses Twilight right?" Sweetie Belle nodded as Scootaloo looked a little worried. Starlight smiled and walked over to her,"Don't worry Scootaloo, you can come with me."
Scootaloo hugged the unicorn as Pinkie Pie took her wallet from her mane. She opened it to reveal many pictures of her friends. "I'll take Cheese Sandwich! That way we can throw a big surprise party for Twilight!"
"And I'll bring Discord," Fluttershy said as the rest of the ponies looked at her with a "really?" look. Applejack got up from her seat and put her hat back on. "Well then, we should probably get ready for tomorrow."
Rarity nodded, "I agree, I can't wait to see all the beautiful decorations, the magnificent food, what should I wear?!"
Pinkie Pie laughed, "You get excited over the silliest things."
They all left except Starlight who stayed in her seat. Rarity noticed this and walked over to her.
"What is wrong, darling?"
"I don't know, Rarity. It's just the memories. The memories of back then, you know, when we used to all be together as friends. I just miss it deeply."
Rarity nodded and sighed, "I know, Starlight. I miss those days too. But I do know that Rainbow Dash would have wanted us to be happy about this moment."
Starlight smiled and gave her friend a hug, "Thank you, Rarity. Thank you."
"Now come along. We must prepare for tomorrow."
Starlight followed Rarity out the door, but she still had a feeling that Twilight was up to something. But she didn't know what. Could she really have missed them after ten years? Or does she need help with something? Or is something wrong? She didn't know. All she knew was that tomorrow was going to be a big day.
Queen Hysteria: The Fallen Star
The Long Awaited Reunion
To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved. -George MacDonald
The sun washed the land in sunshine as many ponies gathered around Hysteria's gates to her home. Over the years Hysteria's castle had grown so much to the point where it totally overthrew Canterlot! News ponies from all over Equestria came to write in the newspaper about this amazing day. After ten years Hysteria's castle gates would open. But among the crowd were nine ponies and a draconequus. They were the lucky few that were chosen to meet Hysteria after ten years.
"Mommy, why did Queen Hysteria close the gates to her castle?" Asked a little fillie next to her mother. Starlight Glimmer noticed this and walked over to them, "Hi there, what's your name?" The little fillie looked at her mom and she nodded, saying it was ok to talk to Starlight.
"Yellowstar, my name is Yellowstar. Are you Starlight Glimmer?"
"Yes I am, and I overheard you saying something about the gates closing?"
"Yes, I did. Do you know why?"
Starlight nodded, "Well, at that time, Changelings were invading Canterlot again; the princesses had to fight for their kingdom, but very few survived. Celestia and Luna were lost in the battle, fortunately Princess Cadance was able to make it out alive. But Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor and queen's parents weren't the only one lost. Our dear friend, Rainbow Dash, was in the battle as well. She fought proud and will always be remembered." Starlight started having tears in her eyes but continued the story, "After the war was over, and the Changelings just...disappeared and Hysteria held a funeral for the three. After Rainbow Dash passed away, Hysteria just suddenly announced that she was closing the gates to her castle, forever. That is until today, and Canterlot is now a long-lost abandoned city."
The little fillie was in awe, "That's a sad story. I'm sorry about Rainbow Dash, I wish I could've met her. But what was the reason for Hysteria to close the gates?"
Starlight shrugged, "That's just it, no pony knows why."
Suddenly, the gates started to open. All the ponies watched in awe as the rusted crystal gates opened slowly. When the gates were finally opened all the way, many soldiers came from Hysteria's castle. They marched and chanted as they got to their positions. Then, after the soldiers got in place, the queen walked into the outside world for the first time since long ago. They all stared in awe at her beauty, she even got taller. The queen then stopped in front of her friends. All of the sudden she ran towards them and gave them a big hug. The five were surprised by this and the queen started laughing.
"Oh how I've missed you all!"
The five started laughing as well and hugging her back.
"We've missed you, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said as the queen let go of her friends with a shocked look on her face. The others were really confused now.
"What's wrong?" Asked Applejack. The queen apologized, "I'm sorry. It's just that I've never been addressed as Twilight since, you know. But do not worry, you deserve to call me by my old name. You're my best friends, you do deserve this."
She smiled and looked at the guests they brought. She had a surprised look on her face when she saw the Cutie-Mark Crusaders.
"Oh mother of me! You three have grown so much!"
The three laughed and hugged their old friend.
"We've missed you so much, Twilight!" Exclaimed Sweetie Belle.
Tears came from the queen's eyes as she realized how long it had been for the three to grow up. Twilight turned and saw Cheese Sandwich.
"Why hello there, Cheese Sandwhich. I should've know that Pinkie would bring you."
The crazy-maned pony brought out his accordion, "Of course! I even have a special song for this moment."
Before the pony could sing the queen covered his mouth with her hoof and chuckled, "Maybe later."
The queen then walked up to her final guest, Discord.
"Hello there, your highness."
Discord said as he bowed and gave her flowers.
"Why thank you, Discord. Are you still up to your crazy schemes?"
Discord chuckled, "I've missed you too, Twilight. Ponyville isn't the same without you."
Twilight smiled and tears came from her eyes again.
"Come along my friends. There is so much to see!"
Her friends followed as the gates closed once more. The ponies watched as Twilight and her friends left.
"My dear friends," Twilight said as they approached her castle, "It is my great pleasure to welcome you to my humble home."
Starlight looked up at her friend's home and got an uneasy feeling. Something wasn't right. The ponies then went inside the castle, before them was a huge hallway; decorated in many precious gems. Pinkie Pie sniffed the air and licked her lips, "Something smells good!"
Twilight turned and laughed, "Well of course Pinkie! That is the delicious food that awaits us! I hope you have room for dessert! Follow me, the only way to the dining room is through this door here."
The ponies followed her to the beautifully decorated door.
"This castle is absolutely marvelous, Twilight!" Rarity said looking around.
The queen smiled at her friend's amusement, "You haven't seen anything yet."
Twilight then stopped at the door and faced her friends.
"Now, over the past ten years I've kept myself busy. This room, for example, will show you why my castle is so huge."
The queen ordered for her guards to open the door as her friends awaited what was next. The guards obeyed and slowly opened the door; a bright light shone from the room and dimmed. Twilight's friends gasped at the amazing sight before them.
The room was an entire paradise! There was grass on the ground, tress and plants of all kinds grew, there was a river and even a waterfall, and the roof before them was as blue as the sky. The only difference was that everything but the grass and water was crystal. The queen lead them inside and she smelled the air, "Just smell that fresh indoor air. I told you I kept myself busy. Now, don't get too excited, hehe."
Starlight was dumbfounded by the magnificent wonderland that stood before her, "It's beautiful."
Twilight smiled at her friend, "Yeah, it is beautiful. Now we mustn't dilly-dally.
"I think I need my couch for this one," Rarity said walking a little funny. Twilight started laughing at her friend's behavior. Discord was even surprised by how well kept he place looked, "I'm amazed Twilight. How did you manage to do all this?"
"I have my ways. The reason I made this room was to keep my mind off Ponyville. So I made my own lovely world. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, there are still more marvelous things that I can do. For example, I can show you all your future."
Scootaloo had a great big smile across her face, "You can?! Can you show us?"
Twilight laughed, "Of course! Let me just concentrate for a second here."
The ponies waited for a few seconds until Twilight opened her eyes, they were white and the room suddenly went dark. They then each saw their own future. Applejack saw herself settling down with a colt, owning a huge apple farm. Fluttershy saw her future with her animals, she owned a shelter to keep animals safe. Starlight Glimmer saw her future with Sunburst. She smiled at the image before her and then, it went fast. Suddenly, their future started going faster and faster.
Applejack started getting worried, "Twilight, what's goin' on?"
Twilight simply smiled, "Faster! Faster! Faster!"
Their future went even faster then before. They all started getting worried. The images before them changed to images of them becoming older and older until their fur and skin started disintegrating before them. They started screaming in horror as Twilight started singing.
There's no earthly way of knowing,
Which direction we are going.
There's no knowing where we're running,
Or which way the future's flowing.
Is it ending, is it starting?
Is there still something missing?
Not a speck of light is showing,
So the danger must be growing.
Are the fires of Tartarus a-glowing?
Is the grim reaper moaning?
Yes, the danger must be growing,
For the future keeps on showing!
And it's certainly not showing,
Any signs that it is slowing!!!!!
Twilight started screaming as her friends were now freaked out by what they were witnessing. Discord had had enough, "Twilight! This joke has gone on long enough!"
Twilight nodded, "You're quite right! Stop!!!!!"
The ponies opened their eyes slowly, before them was a large table. They were each seated and were absolutely dumbfounded. Starlight looked at Twilight with a little concern, "Where are we?"
"We're here. The dining room."
"But how did we get here-"
Before she could finish her sentence, several ponies came from the doors behind her holding silver dishes of food. When all the food was given, Twilight laughed, "Well aren't you all going to eat?"
Several Hours Later...
Twilight lead her friends to another room and she opened it.
"Here you go. A bed for each of you!"
They all looked at the room with astonishment. Each bed was perfect in its own way. Pinkie Pie jumped into a bed and screamed, "This is so exciting!!! It'll be like a sleepover, only in a castle! I don't know if I'll be able to-"
Pinkie then fell asleep in an instant. Twilight chuckled and turned to her friends, "Well, I'm going to be conducting something important. If you need anything just wring this bell right here and one of my guards will help you. Try it."
Starlight was the first to try it and a guard came, he was an orange pegasus.
"I'm here," he said quickly. Twilight smiled at her guard, "Don't worry, Flash. This was just an experiment. You can go back to your post."
The guard nodded and left Twilight and her friends alone.
"You also have your own bodyguard. But I think you know him already."
"What do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked.
Twilight stepped aside as a teenage dragon stepped forward. Rarity gasped and ran towards the dragon.
"It's my Spikey-Wikey!"
Spike blushed and hugged her back, "I've missed you too Rarity."
Twilight started walking away, "Now get some rest, there is still so much more to see!" She then closed the door behind her. Twilight walked to her room and closes the door behind her. She sighed and turned to her right to see a cyan pony with a rainbow mane sitting.
"So how did it go, Hysteria?"
"It went great, Rainbow Dash! My friends were absolutely amazed by the place. I just can't wait for them to meet you again!"
Rainbow Dash smiled at her best friend, "Me too! And are they going to-"
The queen cut in, "Yes! Yes they are! Finally, after many years we will all be together again!"
Queen Hysteria: The Fallen Star
Paranoia
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding. -Mahatma Gandhi
The sun rose from the peak of the mountains with its beautiful glow. The rays of light reached inside the castle as the invited guests woke up from their sleep. Starlight stretched and gave an exhausted yawn.
"Is it morning already?" Starlight said with a weary voice.
But Pinkie Pie was wide awake for she smelled a delicious scent.
"Pancakes!!!"
Pinkie then headed for the door and ran as fast as she could to the dining table, knocking Flash over in the process. Apple Jack put her hat on and laughed, "That's Pinkie."
Pinkie Pie opened the door where the dining table was and saw her friend sitting on her chair. Twilight was reading a book while she waited for her friends to come in for breakfast.
"Good morning, Twilight!"
The queen was startled and dropped the book she was reading. Pinkie Pie laughed and jumped over to Twilight, "Sorry, Twilight! Hey, whatchya reading?"
The queen quickly picked up the book with her magic and hid it in her robe, "N-nothing, Pinkie! Just a normal book. Yeah, you know, science stuff."
The queen seemed nervous and Pinkie noticed it, "Are you okay, Twilight?"
"Oh look! Chocolate covered pancakes!" The queen exclaimed pointing at the pancake masterpiece. Pinkie gasped and ran towards the pancakes while the queen sighed and whispered to herself, "That was close."
The queen turned to the door behind her and saw her friends coming in along with Spike and Flash.
"Good morning. I took the liberty to make pancakes for you all."
Applejack raised an eyebrow, "Don't you mean your serva-"
Before Applejack could finish, Fluttershy came in with a worried look on her face.
"What's wrong, sugarcube?"
Fluttershy stopped in front of Applejack and responded, "Discord. I can't find him. He just disappeared!"
Twilight turned to Spike and nodded. Spike nodded back and walked over to Fluttershy.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. How about I come with you to look for him?"
Fluttershy smiled, "Oh, that would be wonderful! Thank you, Spike."
The two left while the others sat down at the table. They all ate slow, enjoying their food, while Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich ate and ate and ate. Scootaloo chewed on her food and thought about how amazing this place was. Twilight really had everything. Scootaloo faced Twilight and said, "Wow, Twilight! This place is amazing! The room, the food, you even have the entire series of Daring Do books!"
Twilight laughed, "I thought you might like them. Wow, you remind me so much of. . . so much of. . ."
The others looked at her with worried looks as she slowly was lost in her own mind.
"Remind of . . . Rainbow Dash? Are you there, Rainbow?"
Twilight looked up and saw her friends who were even more worried. Twilight simply smiled and shook it off, "Anyways, how was your night?" Pinkie Pie was the first to answer and talked as she ate her food, "Well I had a dream that I was on a mountain full of candy and there were cotton candy clouds and candy ponies-"
As Pinkie Pie rambled on about her dream, Starlight thought about what just happened. So Twilight invites them to her castle after ten years, she has enough power to create a new earth or foretell the future, she's taking the credit for what other ponies do, and she's been acting very strange. Something was up with Twilight but Starlight couldn't just put her hoof on it. This wasn't the same Twilight they new before. She then asked her a question, "Twilight, don't mind me asking this, but do you remember what happened at the end of the Changeling War. I'm asking because no pony really knows how it ended."
The others turned to Twilight, awaiting her answer. The queen simply looked off into space again but responded to her former student's question. "Well, I remember it very well. The air was cold and the clouds above me thundered, rain pouring on my fur. I had to do it, she took them all away from me."
Ten Years Ago...
The sky roared with thunder and lightning as it rained upon Twilight and her army. The queen wore her armor which was gold and had her symbol on it. The queen sat still, staring off into space until the captain of the army came to her.
"Your Highness, we have news about the Changelings."
The queen turned to him, "What's the news, Flash?"
"Your Highness, the Changelings and their queen, Chrysalis, are planning an attack soon. They're planning on ambushing us. I have a letter from Princess Cadance saying we should retreat immediately!"
The queen simply took the letter and ripped it, "Retreating is for cowards! I will not be told by some Goddess of Love to retreat and not fight for what we stand for! Those Changelings took my family away, so I will return the favor! Do you understand?!"
The pegasus kneeled before her, "Yes your Highness."
"Besides," the queen continued, "We have a secret weapon that will end Chrysalis' reign of terror for good! Gather the army, we fight today!"
Flash bowed once more and ran off to gather the army to battle. The queen turned to her right and saw Cadance standing their with a look of disappointment on her face. Twilight simply looked at her with a serious face, "Don't look at me like I'm the enemy here, Cadance. I'm doing the right thing."
The princess nodded, "No Twilight. The princesses wouldn't have wanted this revenge"
"Well they're not here to tell me otherwise."
"Look Twilight! I know you his war must end and that the Canterlot incident has scarred us all! But Shining Armor, the princesses, and Rainbow Dash wouldn't have wanted th-"
"Shut up!!!" The queen kicked the princess over and looked at her with hate, "You have no right to talk about them! I am going to save this world from destruction! Even if it means getting rid of you!"
Cadance was angry as well, "Listen to yourself! Something has corrupted you! It's caused you to be filled with hysteria!"
The queen simply smiled, "Then that's what you will call me from now on."
The queen left to join her army and left Cadance on the ground. She joined Flash at the front of the line where she could see her enemy. Chrysalis. Princess Cadance watched from afar to see the battle. She couldn't do anything to change her friend's mind. When the queen of the Changelings saw Twilight, she laughed, "Well, well. If it isn't the Princess of Friendship. Come here to die like Celestia and Luna?!"
Twilight was so full of rage, she wanted to completely eradicate the creature that killed her family. Twilight looked up at Chrysalis and smiled, "How about a wager?"
Chrysalis was surprised by this as well as everypony who was there. The queen nodded, "Go on."
Twilight continued, "How about we do this: queen against queen? If you win, you get to kill me and takeover Equestria. But if I win, you will surrender and the Changelings as well."
The queen laughed at Twilight as well as her army, "I agree to your challenge Twilight. Now then, what are you waiting for? Let's fight!"
Twilight smiled with a grin of evil and said, "Go ahead. Make my day."
Chrysalis laughed and turned into Twilight using her power. Twilight simply walked towards her while Chrysalis charged. Twilight's army started to worry, we're they going to lose everything? Chrysalis took out her sword, preparing to kill Twilight. The alicorn chrysalis chuckled and her horn started glowing bright, "Night night, Chrysi."
Twilight then shot the beam of magic towards the Changeling queen and Chrysalis turned back to a Changeling. She couldn't move at all! "What's the meaning of this?! How did you-"
Twilight kicked the queen to the ground; Chrysalis slowly felt her powers draining. The army of both sides were absolutely stunned, even Cadance. Chrysalis panted and looked up to Twilight, "Alright! I surrender!"
Twilight simply laughed, "Oh, I'm not done. I still have to return the favor for that Canterlot incident."
The queen opened her eyes with shock as Twilight took out her sword and raised high in the air. The queen tried to escape from Twilight's grasp but it was too late. With all her anger, Twilight forced the sword through Chrysalis' neck, decapitating her. The Changeling's body then fell to the ground. There was silence everywhere, the Changeling and Equestrian army were shocked; more than that they were terrified. Twilight stood up straight and looked at the Changelings.
"Kneel before me!"
The Changelings looked at each other, they couldn't believe what she just said.
"I said kneel!!!!!"
They quickly obeyed and kneeled before Twilight. Twilight then looked around her and announced, "From this day forth, I will no longer be called Princess Twilight or even Queen Twilight. You will call me, Queen Hysteria! Any pony who dares to challenge me will be put to death and I will have order!"
The queen walked away to her army and saw Flash with a scared look on his face. The queen then spoke to Flash, "Kill them."
Flash looked up with disbelief, "What?"
"I said kill them! Kill every Changeling you see! Now!"
Flash walked ahead of the army and yelled, "You heard the queen. Attack!"
The Changelings quickly ran and flew away, but to no avail were caught and killed. Not one Changeling survived. Twilight turned behind her and saw Cadance with an expression of disbelief and shock. Twilight simply smiled and said, "Now that's how you govern a world. Making them fear you."
Present Day...
"Twilight? Twilight?!"
The queen quickly turned to her friend and saw all the ponies looking at her with worried expressions.
"What happened, Twilight? You just sat there for ten minutes silently."
The queen shook her head and said, "Sorry ,Starlight. I was just having a flashback. We should get going though, I want to show you all something."
When they had all finished with their meal, Twilight told her servants to clean up the table. The were then off to see more of Twilight's home. The queen smiled and turned to her friends and said, "Hey! I know someplace that Rarity will enjoy!" They all followed her into a room and were stunned. Covering the entire room was thousands of clothes hanging everywhere. Rarity gasped and screamed, "This place is absolutely marvelous!!! Twilight, is it alright if I take a look?"
The queen only laughed and nodded. Rarity ran towards the clothes wonderland as the others laughed.
"In fact," Twilight said turning to the others, "There are many rooms that I made for each of you specifically!"
The others were shocked to hear this as Twilight continued, "Yep! I have a room for the Cutie-Mark Crusaders to enjoy! There is a room full of apples for Applejack, a room to party all day long for the party duo, a room for Fluttershy were I have my pets, and a library for you, Starlight. And don't worry, I'll have my guards take you to them."
The guards then came and told the ponies to follow them. Everypony except Starlight left, "Starlight, I'll take you to the library myself. I have something to show you."
Starlight nodded and followed her former teacher. The queen led her to a door with the symbol of a book on it and opened it. Starlight was amazed, "Woah! There must be thousands, if not, millions of books here!"
The queen laughed, "Actually, there are 1,900,800,700 books in this room. Technically there are 1,900,800,701 books."
Twilight then took out the book she was reading. Starlight noticed it and was even more amazed. The book had a painting of a red crystal on it with gold surrounding it, the cover was reddish-brown and the pages were old but with a beautiful gold color.
"Where did you find this book, Twilight?"
The queen walked towards the fireplace she had in the library and responded, "I found it before the Canterlot incident. It's a book that holds many spells and power. It's so powerful that it even surpasses Starswirl's magic. He could have never imagined how powerful he could've been if he had this."
Twilight turned to Starlight with a look of excitement, "This is how I was able to defeat the Changelings! This is how I built that amazing room, this is how I will be able to bring Rainbow Dash back!"
Starlight was shocked to hear this, "Bring her back? But that's impossible!"
"Not when you have this." Twilight took her brace that she had around her neck to reveal another one. The brace had a red crystal on it and it glowed a supernatural glow.
"Is that the Alicorn Amulet?" Starlight asked, still looking at the supernatural jewel.
"Even better, it's the Crystal of Chaos and Dark Magic."
"Dark magic?!" Starlight exclaimed as Twilight shushed her, "Yes dark magic. But it was all worth it when I defeated Chrysalis. I knew that after I defeated Chrysalis ponies from all over the world would fear me. I became so lost for awhile after the war that I soon realized that my family was gone. My mom, dad, Shining Armor, Celestia, Luna, and Rainbow Dash. I mean, Princess Celestia and Luna were immortal, but still vulnerable. But with this beautiful gem I was now 100% immortal. Indestructible. A god if you would."
Starlight was stunned from what Twilight had said so far. Though she was a little terrified she let her friend continue.
"I soon realized that I was really immortal and that none of you were. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you guys too, so I closed the gates to my castle so that I would never see you again. I didn't want to feel sad anymore. But I then found a spell that would bring back Rainbow Dash and the others too! The only catch was that it took ten years to perfect it. What the spell needs now is the elements of harmony, but those are long gone, so the next best thing was-"
"The Bearers," Starlight said finishing Twilight's sentence. Twilight nodded, "I now need your help to bring them back. Will you help me."
Starlight shook her head, "This is insane, Twilight! Bringing back the dead? Creating worlds? We're not gods!"
Twilight's happy expression quickly turned to an angry one.
"Maybe you aren't. But I am."
"This is dark magic we are talking about! It's not something to mess around with! I'm sorry, Twilight but my answer is no!"
Twilight simply nodded, "Alright then."
Twilight suddenly hit Starlight across the face knocking her to the ground. Starlight's vision started to become blurred as she stared at Twiloght. The queen smiled and said, "I will have order."
Then it was dark.
Queen Hysteria: The Fallen Star
Hysteria Rules and Equestria drools!
The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.
-Edmund Burke
The sky was painted with clouds as a cyan pegasus walked along a grassy hill. The pegasus breathed the cold air and was getting ready to fly off when she heard somepony calling her name.
"Rainbow Dash! Wait!"
The pegasus turned to see her friend Starlight running towards her.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going to Canterlot to meet Twilight. I just thought it be nice to visit her since she's been through a lot of stress," responded Rainbow Dash.
"Sorry, Rainbow. I'm just worried about what's going on lately. You know, because of the Changelings."
"Yeah, but I know Twilight will be happy to see me. Plus I want to see if there is a new Daring Do book over there."
Starlight simply laughed, "Okay. Just be safe. And when you come back, tell us how Twilight is doing."
Rainbow saluted and started hovering above the air with her wings, "Will do! See ya later!"
Rainbow then bolted towards Canterlot with amazing speed.
"Starlight. Starlight?! Starlight!"
Present Day...
"Starlight!"
The unicorn awoke from her dream, startled. She looked around and saw Applejack and the rest of her friends each tied up to the ground with chains.
"What's going on, Applejack?!" Starlight asked trying to get the chains off of her using her magic.
"You tell me!" Applejack said as she tried to wiggle herself out as well.
Discord tried using his chaotic powers to get out but he couldn't even use them!
"This is insane! I can't use my chaos to get out, either!"
Starlight noticed that each of the chains glowed a supernatural red.
"They must be enchanted," Starlight said finally realizing the situation. "What happened to you guys? How did you get here?"
On the far left Fluttershy was in a river tears as she tried to explain her situation, "I was with Spike trying to find Discord when my mouth was suddenly covered by Spike. He told me that he was sorry and knocked me unconscious!"
The others gasped at this as Cheese Sandwich explained Pinkie and his situation, "We were being led by the guards when we were ambushed and captured. They knocked us out as well!"
Rarity sighed, "It seems that we've all faced the same fate. But what I don't understand is why Twilight could do something like this."
To their surprise the door opened, shedding light into the dark-cold room. The terrified ponies watched in horror as their closest friend stepped into the room along with Spike and Flash. The queen hummed to herself as she turned on the few lights in the room. Starlight then knew where she was bound to, a dungeon.
"Hello, glad to see your all awake. I want to get started as soon as possible."
Starlight was filled with rage and fury and yelled at her former friend, "Twilight! What's going on?! Why are we in this cell?!"
The queen's smile faded, "Listen, Starlight! I didn't want to do this! Believe me! But you didn't want to help me! So the next option was by force! Power! Fear!"
"Please, Twilight!" Fluttershy cried out in tears, "Let us go! Please! Why are you doing this?!"
Twilight sighed as she stared at her friends, one at a time.
"That's right, you don't know. Well you see, ten years ago the Canterlot Incident had left a scar in all of us. We lost many loved ones, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, and...Rainbow Dash. Chrysalis took them all away from me...so I took her life."
The others all gasped and cried out, "What?!"
"You heard me!" Twilight said with tears in her eyes. She started breathing heavily as she continued her dark story. "I killed her and the rest of her Changelings! What other reason is for their disappearance?! Huh?! I had the power to do it, I merely saved all of Equestria! Ever since then, I have realized what I've done, I know what to do because of this jewel of beautiful power!"
The queen pointed at the crimson-red crystal on her chest. The frightened friends stared at the dark-supernatural crystal as it shone brighter than the light illuminating the room.
"With this crystal I will be able to change Equestria back to the way it should've been! Dictatorship! And not only that, I will be able to bring her back. Soon Rainbow Dash will be with us! But I need your help."
"What do you possibly want with us?!" Applejack said as Twilight took a deep breath.
"I need you, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, to help me gain the power to bring Rainbow Dash back! In addition I will gain total domination over Equestria! Isn't it marvelous?!" The queen said now smiling.
Starlight had an angry look on her face and yelled, "You're insane!"
"Well of course! What else is new?" The queen simply responded, still smiling.
Starlight was not to happy with Twilight's response, "Do you really think we're going to help you?! Look at the situation we're in! Besides, you're using dark magic! Evil magic! And you're planning to rule over Equestria by giving fear into the hearts of ponies?!"
"It is the perfect way to rule! You know what they say, ponies will obey when they don't have a say."
Applejack shook her head, "Who in the hay says that?!"
Twilight shrugged, "I don't know, but I guess I'm the first! Hehe. But enough dilly dallying, I must prepare the final component of my spell before I release you! I wouldn't want to waste time, poneys Adieu et bonjour de Rainbow Dash!"
Twilight left laughing her head off while her friends tried to escape the grasp of the mighty chains that bound them to the ground. Before Twilight closed the door she turned to Starlight and smiled evily, "By the way, it's Hysteria. Queen Hysteria."
The queen then closed the door as Spike stood by it, guarding, not letting anypony get through. Starlight's eyes started watering as she fell to the floor, what were they to do now?
Queen Hysteria: The Fallen Star
Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.
-Ronald Reagan
Starlight was asleep along with her friends who were still trapped and locked away. The unicorn had cried herself to sleep feeling helpless. Her closest friend had turned on them in order to bring back the deceased Rainbow. Starlight knew it was impossible to bring back the dead, and even if it was possible it could have dangerous consequences.
As Starlight dreamed of being free and being with all her friends in Ponyville again, a mysterious shadow came over her. The mysterious being took a hold of the lock and opened it slowly. Starlight woke up to the sound of the lock falling on the floor and saw the mysterious tall figure opening the locks on the rest of her friends. On closer inspection the unicorn soon realized who it was. It was Spike.
"Spike? What are you-"
The teenage dragon covered her mouth and shushed her.
"Shh. We have to hurry before she comes back."
When Spike finished opening the last lock the ponies looked at him with confusion. Out of anger, Discord grabbed the dragon by the throat.
"Why did you lock us up?!"
"Quiet!" Spike said trying to break free. "We don't want to get any unwanted attention. Please, let go of me so that I can explain!"
Discord let go of him and Spike coughed trying to catch his breath again.
"Twilight has gone mad. She is not he same anymore and you must save her from that crystal. With that power she will bring Equestria to ruin! And all she needs is you, all of you."
Starlight walked up to Spike and put her hoof on his shoulder, "What do you mean?"
"She's not trying to bring back Rainbow Dash. When Twilight found that crystal and the book that was with it she started seeing and hearing things. When I went to check up on her she said for me to get out because she was having a private conversation with Rainbow Dash. Her best friend. She's crazy and you have to stop her by getting away as far as you can from her! She wants your souls so that she can gain enough power to completely change Equestria into her image! Please! You have to run away!"
Starlight saw tears pouring out of his eyes and her eyes started to water as well.
"But, Spike. We can't leave you! You have to come with us!"
"No, if I go then I'll put you all in more danger. You have to all go by yourselfs! I know Discord will protect you."
"But, where will we go?"
Spike sighed, "You have to split up. Go different directions so that you can confuse Twilight. She will never find you if your disorganized. And you know how she is..."
Spike started pouring out tears and sobbing as quietly as he could, "I just want my Twilight back."
Starlight hugged Spike as long as she could and Spike hugged her back.
"We're going to come back for you, Spike. One way or the other."
Spike smiled and remembered something. He whispered to Starlight so that no one else would hear, "Starlight. You have to promise to keep this to yourself only."
The unicorn nodded and Spike continued, "Go to the Crystal Empire! There you will meet Cadance along with secret allies that are part of the Resistance in stopping Twilight. You must go there only. You could danger the others if Twilight goes there. Please promise me that you will head there by yourself?"
Starlight slowly nodded and Spike got up, wiping the tears from his eyes.
The dragon closed his eyes and smiled, "I know that we will all be free one day, enjoying the nice summer days, having good laughs. But today, we must separate. Discord, do you think you have enough strength to teleport all of them away from this place?"
Discord nodded, "I believe I have enough for just one teleport. And I apologize for my behavior."
Spike couldn't help but chuckle, "No apology is needed. I should've guessed that you would have done that anyway."
Spike slowly turned around and walked away when Starlight stopped him, "Spike?"
The young dragon turned to his friend who smiled at him. "Please take care of yourself."
Spike smiled back, "Don't worry about me. I'll try and stall Twilight as long as I can. Goodbye my friends."
Spike then left the room.
"Discord?" Starlight said, "Are you ready?"
The draconequus nodded and snapped his fingers and teleported away. They just so happened to teleport right in the Everfree Forest. When they all calmed down Starlight suggested that they be separated with the pony the came with. Pinkie Pie went with Cheese Sandwich, Rarity with Sweetie Belle, Applejack with Apple Bloom, and Fluttershy with Discord. Starlight then told Scootaloo to go with Fluttershy and Discord.
"Why?" She asked and Starlight simply responded, "Because I have to go somewhere alone. Please stay with them, you'll be safer."
Scootaloo nodded and walked over to Fluttershy. Applejack sighed, "Well, I guess this means goodbye."
Pinkie Pie nodded and let out a smile, "No. This isn't goodbye. Let's just say, see you later."
They all then gathered around and hugged each other as if it was their last. After a few minutes they departed, each going a different way. Starlight looked behind her to see her friends leaving and gave them a small smile, "Yeah, see you later." Starlight then started heading to the Crystal Empire. It was going to be a long walk.
***
After two hours of walking, Starlight felt lost. She was still in the Everfree Forest and very tired from walking. Those chains that kept her didn't help at all, they drained her of her power to teleport and she didn't know when her magic would come back. She started feeling dizzy and her vision was getting blurred. Out of exhaustion, Starlight fainted and fell to the ground, breathing heavily. Before she blacked out she saw a figure of a pony walking towards her. The pony seemed to be wearing something on their head and a cape? The pony seemed...familiar. Before she could figure out who it was she completely passed out.
***
Starlight slowly opened her eyes and groaned feeling pain all over her body. Though in pain she felt warm, she looked down and saw a blanket over her. But, it wasn't a blanket. It's was a purple cape with blue and yellow stars on it. Starlight looked around and found that she was inside a small home. Starlight looked to her right and saw a hat that had the same design as the cape.
"Wait a minute," Starlight said finally realizing what was going on.
"Oh you're awake! I'm glad my great and powerful friend is alright."
Starlight looked up and saw the familiar face of Trixie Lulamoon.
"Trixie?"
The magician ran up to Starlight and hugged her best friend. Starlight couldn't help but laugh, "How long has it been?"
Trixie let go of her and Starlight saw her eyes water a little bit.
"It's been years, Starlight. I'm just glad I found you when I did! You would've perished without your Great and Powerful friend."
Starlight couldn't help but laugh and hugged her best friend.
"What are you doing here in the Everfree?"
"Well what were you doing alone?"
"Good point. I was going to the Crystal Empire because Spike told me there were secret allies and spies there. They could probably help me stop Twilight. What were you doing?"
Trixie had a surprised look on her face and she started laughing. Starlight was dumbfounded and asked, "What are you laughing about? What's so funny?"
Trixie stopped and smiled at her best friend.
"Oh, Starlight! I'm one of those secret spies! I came here because one of our spies told us that there was a plan on rescuing some ponies that were being held hostage in Hysteria's dungeon. When I heard that one of the ponies was you I volunteered to go and here I am!"
Starlight started laughing too, "Now isn't that something? To be honest I didn't expect you to be a spy. Not judging but you had some ups and downs when you and I first met."
"Yeah, but over the past years I've been learning more about friendship and a few magic tricks. Wanna see?"
"Sure!" Starlight said, anticipated about what her trick would be. Trixie circled her hoofs and after a few seconds pulled out a piece of paper out of nowhere. Starlight clapped her hooves together, amazed.
"You're right! You have improved both ways! But if you don't mind me asking, what is on that paper?"
Trixie gave her the paper and Starlight read the title of the spell out loud.
"Magic Regenaration Spell?"
"Well yeah, I saw that you didn't use your magic to teleport to the Crystal Empire so I figured you simply were drained of them. If you don't mind I'll do the spell for you."
Trixie took the paper and followed the spell correctly and after a few seconds Starlight felt stronger. She got up from where she sat and checked to see if her magic was back by levitating her friend.
"Hey, I guess you're right! You have improved!"
"Hey! Put me down!"
Starlight put the magician down and couldn't help but laugh. Trixie also let out a smile and started laughing too. After a minute of laughing their flanks off Starlight asked her best friend a rather important question.
"So, are we going to teleport to the Crystal Empire or walk on hoof?"
"We could teleport there easily and I'd like to save my energy. But why rush? Let's get some rest, I'm exhausted from all the traveling."
"Sure thing!" Starlight said giving Trixie her cape and hat back. "Here, you'll probably need this for tomorrow."
Trixie smiled as she took her costume back, "Thanks, the cape does really fit with your fur though."
***
Meanwhile, a very upset queen paced back and forth as Spike watched her ponder. She was just told that her friends had escaped somehow and that Spike was knocked out when it happened. Twilight, or Hysteria, kept on trotting back and forth in her beautiful purple royal robe.
"I just don't know what happened, your highness, " Spike managed to say while in fear of what the queen might do. "They just escaped without a trace! We don't have any witnesses of them escaping. And we don't know how they-"
"Silence." The queen said sharply and the teenage dragon stopped and waited for what Hysteria would say next.
"There's no need to be so hard on yourself. You were knocked out, you couldn't have possibly seen anything. But, I do know how they could've escaped. It must have been Discord or even Starlight, they've both been better at magic than I was. Perhaps I made the wrong spell for those chains? I was pretty sure that they were strong enough to hold even an alicorn, I guess I was wrong. No matter, what we need to worry about is this small-tiny issue. HOW THE TARTARUS ARE WE GOING TO FIND THEM?!" The queen turned and yelled at her second-in-command with fury in her eyes.
Spike backed up, afraid of what she could do to him.
"I don't know, your highness. But I think we're taking this too far. Do we really need souls for whatever kind of crazy plan you have?"
The queen grabbed Spike by the throat with her magic and clenched her teeth. The queen pulled him towards her so that his eyes were meeting hers, all he could see in his friend now was anger.
"Don't insult my plans again, Spike! You wouldn't want anything to happen to you now would you?"
Spike nodded and Hysteria let him go. Spike dropped to the floor holding his neck and trying to catch his breath. The queen then stopped for a moment and smiled, "Lightbulb!"
"W-what?" Spike turned to her and the queen just laughed, "I'll just form alliances all over Equestria so that I can have more ground covered in finding those idiots! Flash!"
Hearing his name being called, the orange pegasus quickly trotted towards her queen and saluted her.
"Yes your highness?"
"Flash, I need you and a couple of guards to go to the different kingdoms of and give them this decree."
Twilight a piece of paper and wrote in nice hoofwriting her order. She gave it to Flash to read and he turned to her, "What if they refuse?"
The queen simply smiled, "If they don't obey, any citizen, they'll be killed and shown no mercy!"
Flash saluted and started heading for the door when he stopped in his tracks. He turned to the queen and asked one more question, "Is there any special place you want me to go?"
The queen used her magic to create another piece of paper and wrote on it. She gave it to her trustworthy Captain and said, "Yes, the Crystal Empire. I want you to go there only and pay our dear Goddess of Love a visit. Be sure to give her the note I've given you, just say it's from Hysteria. She'll know who it's from."
Flash Sentry saluted once more and left the room. The queen turned towards her window where she could see all of Ponyville and sighed.
"Throughout my entire life I have faced many great enemies, but I never would have imagined that my greatest enemies were my closest friends. I mean, I invite them to my kingdom after ten years for what?! So they could bring me down?! No! It's them. It's their fault. It's their fault she's d...What am I supposed to do, Spike? We lost our closest friend because of those stupid ponies! They're all idiots! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna thought they knew how to rule their kingdom, well they forgot one very important thing: power! I need more."
Spike couldn't help hearing this anymore, "Listen to yourself, Twili-"
"Be still! It's Hysteria. Queen Hysteria. Princess Twilight was weak. With this power I will renew Equestria! Yes. I will build a better world!!!"
The Queen then started singing to herself, "Feel that donation. Annihilation. The power of my words, kills any nation. Sweet degradation. Politics invasion. Give me the power, to save generation!"
Queen Hysteria: The Fallen Star
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