"No!"

Discord shoved Chrysalis off him and was instantly at Fluttershy's side. He took her limp body in his arms.

She felt so lifeless.

"No, no, no, no, no!" he uttered, desperately stroking her mane. "Fluttershy, speak to me! Please!"

He held his paw over her chest and closed his eyes. No matter how hard he concentrated, nothing happened.

"Come on!" he grunted. "Work, you stupid magic! Save her! Come on!"

After a while, he sighed in defeat. It was no use. He did not have enough power to heal her. His ears perked up when he heard a soft moan.

"Discord?"

He glanced down at her. Her eyes were open, but weary. Discord smiled and gently lifted her head.

"Yes, Fluttershy! I'm here!"

"I feel so..." she said in a dry voice, "so..."

His happiness faded. "No, Fluttershy! Please! Don't leave me! We'll find some pony to heal you! You'll make it! I can keep trying!"

''…sleepy.''

Discord paused. ''Oh.''

''Please, do me a favor, Discord.''

''Anything, Fluttershy! Anything!''

She rose up and whispered in his ear. ''kick her butt for me please.''

Fluttershy slowly closed her eyes and Discord Kissed her on the forehead.

''Sleep well, my dear.'' He whispered.

Discord looked at Chrysalis and rose up to her level. He created a fireball and looked at her angrily.

''You're lucky that was only a sleeping spell!''

He blasted a few fireballs at her, but Chrysalis managed to dodge them.

''is that the best you got, animal accident?''

Discord growled and blasted more fireball at Chrysalis. Screwball noticed changelings were charging at him.

''Dad! Look out!''

Discord spun around to see Changelings charging at him. He managed to punch them in time.

Chrysalis took advantage of his distraction and shot Discord with a powerful beam. The blast made him lose consciousness, causing him to fall. Every pony gasped in fright. Pinkie and the Tri-Pies rushed into their house and came back with a mattress.

"To the left!" Pinkie commanded.

"My left or yours?" Blueberry asked.

"Right!"

"So, we go right?" Cherry inquired.

"No, left!"

"Which way is left?!" Raspberry exclaimed.

Lightning Dash smacked herself in the forehead. "Oh, give us that!"

She and Thunder swooped down and grabbed the mattress. They positioned themselves under the falling draconequus and flew straight up. Every pony sighed in relief as he landed on the feathered bed.

The twins lowered him to the ground. Screwball raced to his side and shook him while Twilight checked his pulse.

"He's still alive," she confirmed.

"But not for long," Chrysalis said, landing in front of them with a thud. "If at first you don't succeed..."

Cherry Blossom stood on her hind legs and gripped her hooves into fists. This mare had kept Screwdriver away from her, kidnapped her brother, stolen her power and now practically murdered her aunt and uncle!

She had had it!

Chrysalis grew quiet as pink clouds covered the sky and thunder sounded. She looked at the young mare. Lightning struck behind her, her Light blue eyes glowing between flashes.

"Uh oh," Lightning Dash uttered, pulling her siblings behind a barrel.

The other teenagers and foals ducked for cover, knowing what was to come.

"You," Cherry Blossom breathed, "have messed...WITH THE WRONG MARE!"

Cherry Blossom rose up, stretched out her hooves and clapped. In a loud boom Chrysalis was sent flying into a tree.

''Oopsie.'' Cherry Blossom said sarcastically. ''Hope that hurt too badly!'''

As Chrysalis aimed her horn at Cherry Blossom, Twilight and her friends quickly moved the unconscious Discord and Fluttershy out of the way. The Changeling Queen shot a beam at her, but Cherry Blossom avoided it with a tilt of her head.

"Don't waste your breath, brat!" Chrysalis snapped. "I have your power and your uncle's! You cannot defeat me!"

"You may have the Power of Chaos," Screwball said, "but We've been using it much longer!"

A shadow cast over the queen. She looked up and saw a piano falling towards her. She gasped and blast it with her horn, turning it to bubbles.

She smirked. "Silly, but effective. I could get used to this."

"Well, you're not going to get a lot of time!" Cherry Blossom declared. "By the way, meat sauce or alfredo?"

Chrysalis blinked. "What?"

She yelped as acres of spaghetti dropped on her head, followed by a flood of meatballs. She growled at the filly.

"So, it's a duel you want, eh? Well, a duel you shall have!"

''Make That trial!''

Chrysalis looked down and saw Screwball flying next to Cherry Blossom.

''Very well then.''

She used her magic to get rid of the pasta and scraped her hoof in the ground. Screwball got down on all fours and mimicked the queen's movement. The changelings stood loyally behind their ruler, but she motioned for them to back away. The ponies watched with worry and anticipation.

"Draw!"

Chrysalis fired her horn and a flock of buzzards appeared. They charged towards Screwball, but she smirked and turned them into winged oranges. Then Cherry Blossom summoned a giant mallet, but Chrysalis saw it in time to move out of the way. Cherry Blossom continued to try to wack her with the hammer, but the queen turned it into rubber.

"Is that all you got?" the changeling taunted. "A bunch of childish tricks?"

"Okay," Screwball said with a shrug. "You asked for it!"

The water in the Ponyville fountain suddenly turned brown and burst upward. The water-spout spun in a spiral, eventually forming a hurricane. The cyclone blew towards Chrysalis. She jumped in the air to escape it, but it caught her by the tail and whirred her around. When it dropped her, the hurricane fell apart and soaked the queen in the brown liquid.

"Had enough, Queenie?" Screwball ridiculed.

Chrysalis groaned and slowly returned to her hooves. "How did you get your power back so quickly?! It should have at least taken a week to..."

"We're stronger than you took us for!"

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Rarity had her head on Fluttershy's chest, checking her heartbeat.

"Fluttershy's breathing too deeply!" she said with terror.

"Thunder, Lightning!" Rainbow Dash commanded, putting her hooves under Fluttershy's forelegs. "Help me get Fluttershy inside!"

"But we want to watch the fight!" Lightning complained.

"Now!"

The twins each took one of Fluttershy's hind legs and helped their mother carry her into Derpy's house. Rarity followed behind, levitating a first aid kit she had summoned from home. Screwball saw her mother being carried inside and was not paying attention when a giant red boxing glove punched her in the face.

She was knocked backward into a pile of hay.

''Screwy!'' Cherry Blossom cried as she jumped into the haystack to search for her cousin.

"This is between me and the halfling!" she bellowed. "There will be no interference!"

She advanced toward Screwball as she sat up to rub her head. Cherry blossom rubbing it for her.

"Give up, brats! You may have had time to recover, but you're still weak!"

The young mares glared up at her. "We're strong enough to defeat you!"

The queen smirked. "You have spunk, children. No one said we had to fight. Join me, Screwball and Cherry Blossom! Together, we could rule Equestria! I will gain power, you will gain your own chaotic playground! You can even have my sons and inherit my throne!"

She knelt down to meet her eye level. "No longer will you be outcasts. No longer will you be mocked. You will be respected, worshipped! You can take revenge on those who have shunned you! And no pony, no one, will ever spoil your fun again!"

Screwball's eyes widened at the queen's words. Then they narrowed.

"What you're offering me," she said, "I've already gotten. And frankly," she rose to her hooves, "I don't want that kind of life!"

''Yeah, those things Are useless anyway!'' Cherry Blossom Screamed. ''Just. Like. You!''

Cherry Blossom shot a beam at her. Chrysalis dodged it.

Chrysalis did not show a glimmer of surprise. "Then you must die."

As she powered her horn, something appeared between the two.

"Screwy! Finally!"

"Mothball?" Screwball gasped.

''Screwdriver?!'' Cherry Blossom choked.

Chrysalis had not seen her sons and cast her spell without hesitation. Screwball hastily pushed Mothball out of the way, landing on top of him. His eyes were wide with shock.

"Are we late?"

Screwball panted. "Where have you...?"

She trailed off as she saw what he held in his hooves. Zany opened his mouth in a smile at the sight of his sister. Screwball looked at her brother and then at Mothball, who was wearing a nervous grin.

"Surprise?"

Chrysalis finally noticed Mothball and Screwdriver and dropped her jaw.

"How...how did you get past the guards? And how did you get the boy?!"

The princes recalled how they and Zany were cornered back at the hive. they were sure they were goners, until Zany had a magical surge and teleported them out of there. Unfortunately, they reappeared in the frozen tundra and since changelings were cold-blooded, it was not a pleasant experience for them. It took several teleportation spells from Zany before they finally arrived at the battle.

"Well, doesn't matter!" Chrysalis shouted. "You have disobeyed me for the last time!"

Screwball took Zany and teleported him to the other side of the flames onto Twilight's back. Then she stood firmly in front of Mothball and Screwdriver. The queen paused at this action and felt the love pass between the Four. She could sense its power and that instead of it transferring to Mothball and Screwdriver, it was bouncing back to the fillies and growing stronger each second.

This frightened the queen, but she covered her fear with a smirk.

"Oh, my sons," she said, shaking her head. "Have I taught you nothing? Love is weakness! Besides, you have no heart to feel it!"

Mothball and Screwdriver stomped their hoof. "You're wrong!"

Chrysalis jumped at Their assertive tone. "What?"

"You're wrong! I do have a heart! I've felt it! You've known all along, haven't you?"

"Mothball...Screwdriver…"

"Haven't you?!"

His mother stared at them for a moment and then grunted. "Alright. I suppose since I'm going to destroy you anyway, you might as well know."

The couples tightened their grip on each other as the queen circled them.

"You are right," she began. "You are more different from your siblings than you appear. You see, my dears, making a common changeling is simple. Making a royal changeling is a... two-creature job. Unlike your half-siblings, you have a father."

Mothball stiffened. "W-what?"

Screwdriver's eyes widened. ''What did you say?''

"It was a one-night stand with some random fool who thought I was his wife."

Screwball gagged. "That's just sick, lady."

Cherry Blossom gagged too. ''Yeah, even for you!''

"I was shocked to discover a prince had come out of it. At first, I was thrilled at the idea of having an heir or two, until I realized just how much of two ponies you really were. Seems your father, along with giving your life, gave you hearts.

"So, I tricked you into believing you didn't have one. I intended to shape you into cold, cruel changelings so you would become the evil tyrants you were born to be! I almost succeeded too, until these meddling halflings captured your interests!"

"So, it's true then!" Mothball exclaimed. "You've lied to me all these years!"

''That's not what mothers are supposed to do!'' Screwdriver pointed.

"Oh, Mothball, Screwdriver. I lie to everyone! But don't worry, my dears. I will put you out of your misery."

She fired her horn at him.

"No!" Screwball cried.

''NOOO!'' Cherry Blossom cried.

As they moved in front of them, a half golden, half dark blue bubble formed around the pairs that caused the green beam to bounce off.

"What?" Chrysalis uttered.

The four looked around the magic they were encased in. It reminded Mothball and Screwdriver of something and Screwball and Cherry Blossom were thinking back to their mothers' story.

"What is this?" the princes wondered.

"I don't know," Screwball and Cherry blossom said. "We... We were just thinking about saving you and..."

Mothball then recalled the image of the four ponies in Zecora's cauldron and the zebra's words:

That is what happens when two become one, when they possess a magic more powerful than the sun. What you think as a weakness is not so. Strength is what comes with the glow.

"Love is strength."

"What?" Screwball said.

Their forcefield did not last long and Chrysalis took her chance. Screwball quickly used her magic to seal her and Mothball in a steel box, hoping to buy them time. Cherry Blossom and Screwdriver teleported in side.

''What do you mean: 'Love is strength''?!'' Cherry Blossom exclaimed. ''That doesn't make any sense!''

"Zecora!" Screwdriver exclaimed. "When she was talking about balancing powers and strength, she was trying to tell us that our love is creating some sort of magic that could possibly defeat our mother!"

"But that makes no sense!" Screwball insisted. "She gains power from love! How can it be used to defeat her?"

Then she remembered who had defeated Chrysalis in the first place: Cadence and Shining Armor. Those two were in love. Cadence was the Princess of Love. Maybe...

Screwball gasped suddenly. "Chocolate milk!"

Mothball blinked. "Screwy, this is hardly the time for a snack!"

"No! Hear her out! You've said so yourself that chocolate milk is like love, right?" Cherry Blossom asked.

" We said it tasted like love, but..."

"Well, chocolate milk is the best thing ever and it makes you feel great, but if you drink too much of it, you get a belly ache. If chocolate milk is anything like love..." Screwball asked.

"...excess of it can make you sick!" The princes gasped and gripped her shoulders. "Screwy, you're a genius!"

She batted her eyes and flipped her hair. "Yeah, I know."

Their moment was interrupted when Chrysalis' horn burned a hole in the steel wall. The queen was growling in frustration.

"Enough is enough!"

The couples glanced at each other and stepped out of the box defiantly.

"We agree, Mother!" Mothball exclaimed. "This has to end now!"

They stood on their hind legs and squeezed each other's hoof. Mothball whispered to her.

"How are we going to do this?"

Screwball spun him around to face her. Cherry Blossom did the same with Screwdriver.

"Kiss us."

"WHAT?!"

Queen Chrysalis panicked for a moment but quickly reverted her expression to one of anger.

"Quit stalling and meet your fate!"

"Kiss us," Screwball repeated, pulling her love closer.

Mothball flinched away. "I... I can't."

"You have to."

"I don't want to hurt you!" Screwdriver said.

They tried to pry out of their grasp, but they held them firmly. They looked at Them sincerely with those purple swirls and Light blue eyes that enchanted them so.

"You won't," Cherry Blossom whispered.

Screwball did not savor the moment. There was no time for that. Instead, she was straightforward. Their lips met before he could protest. Screwdriver absent-mindedly dipped Cherry Blossom and kissed her passionately.

They expected Them to feel pain. They expected Them to slip away. They expected them power to transfer to them permanently.

Instead, they felt warmth, not just from them, but deep within themselves.

They found themselves liking the kiss. Their soft lips tasted of chocolate. Their gentle hooves caressed their face. They closed their eyes.

Their manes blew in the wind. They rose into the air as Pink beams in the shape of hearts burst from them. Chrysalis looked up in terror.

"No," she said. "NO!"

On the other side of the flames, Discord was recovering from his concussion. He rubbed his head as his vision came into focus. He squinted above the green fire and made out the figures of four ponies within a ball of golden light. His eyes popped open once he realized who the ponies were.

"He's kissing my daughter and niece."

He scowled.

"HE'S KISSING MY DAUGHTER AND NIECE!"

The others nodded dumbly, watching with their mouths agape.

"WELL, DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE IDIOTS!" Discord bellowed. "DO SOMETHING! GET THOSE CREEPS AWAY FROM MY..."

He trailed off when Zany jumped onto his stomach, gurgling happily.

"Dada!"

"Zany?" Discord said, taking the infant in his hands. "Is it really you?"

A tiny pink cloud appeared above the boy and dripped chocolate milk. The draconequus smiled.

"It's you, alright! But...how did...?"

The baby pointed up at the floating couples.
He gasped as Fluttershy taped his shoulder.
''Discord?''
''Fluttershy!'' Discord exclaimed as he picked her up and kissed her multiple times on the cheek. ''I thought I lost you!''

The light around them grew brighter as they rose higher. Then the four opened their glowing white eyes. The hearts burst and expanded towards Chrysalis. The queen cried out as the magic pushed her back. The other changelings attempted to flee, but the force field was too fast for them.

The army screamed as it was sent hurdling to the Changeling Forest, not to be seen again for a long, long time.

Author's Note

Hehe! I know, I'm evil, but last chapter's comin' up next!