The Equestrian Double Gamble

~Summer~

Once lunch was finished, Twilight excused herself, explaining she wanted to tell Celestia and Luna about us. With Fluttershy now awake, I could talk to her about things like animals… well, as soon as I explained why we killed the Geist Lord. I basically told her that we were sparing it from the pain tainted magic had it suffering. FC meanwhile was having a friendly chat with Spike, just hanging out. I didn’t much pay attention to the two, but I did overhear some bits. It sounded like they were talking about dragon stuff.  It sounded like Spike was glad to have another male around, and another dragon to talk to. Seeing Spike reminded me of another fic in which Samus re-raised him, and I had to laugh a bit. I still remembered the series of “woof.” Best laugh of my life.

“What’s so funny?” Pinkie asked, suddenly by my side.

“Stuff and things involving Spike being a badass.” I replied. It was loud enough for Spike and FC to hear, because I wanted to see how they reacted. Of course, that meant everypony else could hear it too.

FC just had a curious look, wondering what I could be referencing.  He had stopped using the Mind Speak spell, so he probably didn’t know.

“What are you talking about? Spike hasn’t done anything… spectacularly badass like the two of you just did.” Rainbow asked.

“A story I read had Spike written out as an intergalactic bounty hunter right alongside the greatest of such I know of. Samus Aran, the Chozo Warrior… Heh… if I find a way to share the story without dumping my memory into you, you girls are gonna be in for a treat.” I said.

“Oh, you were talking about that story.  Maybe we could show them some of the others in the same series once we get the chance to.”  FC said, now knowing what I was talking about.

“Maybe, but I haven’t read all of the others. A lot of them are sitting in my Favorites shelf, making the Unread chapters count continuously raise because I lost the drive to keep up with them.” I said, now regretting it.

“Eh, it’s okay, I actually read most of them, except I haven’t finished a few of them that are incomplete because of me having work to do. I definitely read the ones involving Trixie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Chrysalis, and Princess Cadance.” FC replied.

“I skipped Pinkies. Her being raised by a God of War just doesn’t really appeal to me.” I said flippantly. I found it funny how the Mane 6 just kept looking between us in confusion. “I did enjoy Octavia and Vinyl’s though.”

“I’m reading those ones too, but I only mentioned the ones that have been completely written.  Those two aren’t finished yet, but I still like them.  Haven’t gotten to Rarity’s yet, because I am not a big fan of Batman.” FC replied, just ignoring the confusion.

“I read some of it. She goes Nightmare Rarity again in it, but for some insane reason the author somehow made sense of, she didn’t go evil. Oh, and she played hero without the costume too.” I replied, getting extreme looks of confusion and shock from Rarity. At this point, it was basically a whole land of What the Fuck.

“Okay, what in tarnation are y’all talking about?” Applejack asked.

“We are talking about fanfictions.  Remember, we said in our world, your world was a show.  Well, one thing about having fans is they will write their own stories for it. Like how Rainbow Dash has probably written some Daring Do fanfics.” FC said while Rainbow just looked indignant.

“You can’t deny it, Rainbow… Every fan has at the least thought of it.” I teased. I would have rocked my hips with that statement, but I didn’t want to push it too far. “Oh yeah, that reminds me, I wonder how they’d react to the Elements of Insanity?” I said, once more returning my focus to FC.

“TheInvertedShadow has already done Rainbow, Fluttershy, and even Pinkie reacting to their respective versions, but hopefully we don’t have them being on opposite sides when they come.  Remember, I did come up with ideas involving me.”  FC replied.

“Huh. Must have missed them. I’ve got some serious catchup to do if I ever get Internet again.” I said, thinking it over.

“Well, I could make us both laptops with Universal Internet once I get a chance to make them. Probably would do that after I make us somewhere to live, as it would require a workshop to build those.” He said, and considering what he said about the Minecraft stuff before, I could probably believe him.

“Um… alright. You’re the Crafter Master.” I said. Before Pinkie could suddenly start up on a tangent about rhymes though, I quickly jumped like a predator at another topic. “Anyway, I should probably get some practice in with my powers. Can’t exactly fight at max power without good experience.” And then the jaws were dropped. I just got up and made my way out, leaving them to figure out the implications of my statement.

“Welp, looks like I might go practice too, but probably somewhere else.” I heard FC say before he went a different direction than me.

I managed to find my way out the front door of the castle, the guards thankfully leaving me be on my way. Thinking carefully, I decided I might as well train in the Everfree. I needed to learn how to maneuver in there, and deal with whatever freaky horrors there were there. No sense in putting it off, I’m eventually going to have to go back eventually. And when I do, I need to be ready. I made sure to let FC know through our mental connection before I went in.

<Okay then, I’m going to see what I need to work on.> FC replied.

 I requested.

<The only thing would be the shades, but they can’t fly.  Also, a bit of advice, don’t use trees as target practice, or you will have to deal with nature elementals.> FC replied.

 I replied.

<Okay then, just be safe.> he said, before I took off into the forest. As I ran, I stripped myself down to an Earth Pony disguise, just for the sake of making it difficult.It’s no fun if it’s easy. I spotted a bit of the Everfree wildlife as I ran, leaping over logs and swinging on branches. I think I even passed an Ent or something when I managed to swing my way through trees to get over a large pond, but I was moving too fast to really be sure.

<Summer, I just realized something.  You might need targets to practice on, so I am giving you spell that makes clones out of crystallized magic.> FC said as he transferred the knowledge of the spell. From what I could tell, it was a really simple spell.  It looked to be simpler than the magic of the Mirror Pool, in the fact that the clones wouldn’t have any form of sentience.

 I promised, but still I continued on. However, at one point, I had to stop for pure shock. Ahead, I spotted Queen Chrysalis surrounded by drones forming a defensive circle, fending off five Shades. Shades were another creature FC had made.  They were creatures of shadows, looking something like a deathclaw, but with different proportions and were black with red horns and claws.  They could run extremely quick, were very deadly, and they were capable of piercing a victim’s mind with a howl that caused uncontrollable fear. A deadly thing for changelings, considering how emotion sensitive they are. And seeing how malnourished Chrysalis and her drones were, they wouldn’t last long against the horde that surrounded them.

http://i.imgur.com/oUsWMyF.jpg

I hesitated, split with indecision about what to do. I could just leave them here to die, and hope Karma doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass, or I could save her and hope she could listen to reason. Either way, there was a risk, but… which one was I willing to take? I wasn’t given much time to think, as one of the Shades managed to clear through the protective circle, shrieking as it lashed out at Chrysalis. I decided in that moment, despite the fear I was struck with, that it was best that I helped. So I whipped out Crescent Rose and loaded a gravity round, launching myself at the beast faster than I could blink.

“DYNAMIC ENTRY!” I shouted just for kicks as I hit it dead in the chest, knocking the wind from it and straight into a tree, its back spikes embedded into the tree.  That was one down, and four to go.

“What the…?!” Chrysalis was shocked at my entrance. I hefted my weapon, ready to slice out again.

“Who’s next?!” I shouted with a bloodthirsty smile at the rest of the shades. One of them charged at me, it was somewhat bigger than the others and had several scars on its face and chest, probably an older, more experienced shade.  It slashed at me, and I sidestepped it, immediately punishing it for attacking first. Then I felt claws rake across my back. Apparently the elder had acted as a distraction for another one to strike, so these things were somewhat smart. Which meant I needed to be faster. Putting away my Crescent Rose, I shifted into wolf form and started darting around. I kept weaving between and around them, biting and clawing in short, quick attacks to keep them from retaliating or catching me by surprise. I even augmented my attacks with ice, and enhanced my speed with a certain crystal one version of my character was bound to. A wind crystal that infused me with its element.

 It seemed that the shades were starting to have enough, so the elder roared and moved away, apparently signaling a retreat. The others followed, one of them stopping to pull its comrade out of the tree before leaving. I chuckled as I released my wolf form.

“Another victory for the books. I am on a roll.” I praised myself.  However, the sound of several horns charging up behind me cut off my moment of victory.

“Who are you?” Chrysalis demanded. I just turned around with a smirk.

“Oh now that’s cute… is this how you treat the one that just saved your ass?” I said. Chrysalis grit her teeth as I dodged the question.

“WHO ARE YOU!” she demanded again, her drones charging their horns more.

“My name is Summer Dash. And I am quite possibly the only way to save your hive. If you want to live, let alone thrive… you will listen to exactly everything I have to say.” I demanded coldly. Chrysalis hesitated at just how deeply I had made that threat.

“And what if I don’t?” she asked, sounding like she was having a hard time controlling her fear.

“Well… let’s just say you’re really not gonna like what happens next.” I said with a clear smile of bloodthirst. “So what’s it gonna be, Chryssie? Listen? Or die?” The drones fired their spells right then, and I felt the very distinct burn of it as I was thrown back. However, I just got back up after I landed, taking out my crescent Rose and exchanging the Gravity rounds for Ice rounds.

“Oh, man was I hoping for this! You ‘bout to have a real bad day…” I said as I slowly drew closer. The drones started firing at me again, but I just kept cutting their bolts away as they got close. When I found a chance, I fired at one of them, freezing him and two adjacent changelings solid. The remaining ones panicked and scattered, leaving me with the chance to strike. All ten lost their heads not even 2 minutes later. I faced Chrysalis with that same psychotic grin.

“So… are you ready to listen?” I asked, pointing my blade at her. She was scared shitless, and simply nodded. “Good. Because if not, I would have introduced you to my good friend Overkill.” I tapped my scythe blade to let her know what I meant. I started cleaning my scythe as I spoke.

“What do you want then?” She asked.

“What I want is to make this world a better place. Now, whether or not that means saving or erasing your hive, that remains to be seen.” I explained. She gulped in fear as I went on. “You haven’t exactly been a good Queen, Chryssie. You’ve lead your people into war against a city that you just as easily could have made peace with. But you chose not to show any mercy… why is that?”

“They mangled my daughter, burned her with cursed fire!  She’s permanently crippled now just because she tried to be a diplomat! Those ponies have no remorse for us.” Chrysalis shouted, enraged.

“...Did you ever stop to consider the fact that maybe you shouldn’t blame a collective? The Equestrian Guards don’t have a hive mind, and some of them could be treacherous scum bent on preserving their idea of Harmony. Some can even be clever enough to get away with doing something like that without alerting a higher authority.” I told her.

“If so, then who gave the order? My daughter told me the ones who attacked claimed it was the order they were given.” Chrysalis seethed.

“Obviously, a rogue terrorist cell among the guards. They have to have gotten deep into the Royal Guard to have gotten away with giving an order like that.” I explained. I then sighed a bit. “Fear and anger are terrible motivators… but surely you must see that the Princess is only afraid of that which she doesn’t understand. And I’m certain she understands changelings fairly well.” I added.

“How do you even know what you’re saying is true?” Chrysalis asked, still angry. I shrugged.

“I have no idea. However, I can easily enough find out. I am rather overpowered, wouldn’t you agree?” I said with a cheeky smile. Chrysalis facehoofed.

“Whatever… as long as I get payback for my daughter, I’ll be happy to do whatever.” she said with a tired sigh.

“Good. I’ll head on up to Canterlot then, and hope to whatever deity dares to listen that Celestia’s not in a jumpy mood today.” I said before beginning to head off. Tripping over her drones on my way, I was reminded she might still be upset about them. “Oh yeah, and sorry about the drones. But, I’ve got rules. No mercy for those who don’t offer it. And three chances for anyone I know.”

“Just go.” Chrysalis hissed. I shrugged and left.  I alerted FC as I made a return. I immediately felt a rise in anger.  It felt like an intense burning, like it was a combination of the center of the Earth, the burning of the sun, and the fires of hell.

<They did what?! Okay, when I get my hands on them, I am going to show them a bad time.  They will wish that I killed them instead of what I have planned for them!> FC said, and I could feel some rather dark intentions for said jerks, and personally, it was terrifying because they were rather well hidden.

 I said. Suddenly though, I felt another mind connecting with mine, far more fluidly than when I’d connected to FC or other ponies.

 Chrysalis’s voice said sadly to me. Soon after, I got a picture in my mind.

http://img09.deviantart.net/add3/i/2013/075/f/3/daughter_chrysalis_by_jasmine_werecat-d5y7fxt.png

Then I felt FC’s anger being replaced with sympathy. <I am sorry such a thing happened to your daughter, Chrysalis.  I must know one thing though.  How long ago did this incident happen?>

 Chrysalis replied. I could see a few memories of her rage, and how her daughter had convinced her not to go on a mindless massacre. I don’t think she meant for those to slip through.

<I thank you for this information. I just wish we had that one law from my favorite comic, ‘Dominic Deagan, Oracle for Hire’. That law was that the survivor of such events had the right to one retaliatory hit.  Personally, if we had that and we found the culprits, I would suggest hitting the guys in the nuts.> It felt like FC really had no mercy for ponies like that. Which was good because neither did I.

 I claimed. Chrysalis seemed to like that idea.

<I only mentioned the law because they can’t do anything bloody or murdery for the crimes. Normally I would agree with you about what you said, but it reminds me too much of how I got my Darkling form.  I prefer destroying them psychologically, even if it involves a lot of pain.  Now, we got some royals to meet.> FC said.

 I said as Chrysalis abandoned the link. As I reached the edge of the forest, I felt the hateful gaze of the Shades I’d defeated earlier following me. I guess they hoped for revenge… too bad I was too fast for them. With that out of the way, I headed to Twilight’s castle.