Devoran Chronicles: Fire of the Phoenix

I watched Celestia’s eyes as she stared at me, a tear running down her face, and it was unbearable.  All these years she had lived with the weight of her error, allowing it to eat at her.  Her mouth cracked slightly and a small, unrecognizable sound emerged.  I leaned in closer.

“.......I’m........s-sorry.......” she said before allowing her eyes to close and rest and her head slumping against the cold, marble floor.

She was sorry?  I’m the one that should be sorry!  I thought to myself.

My mind began to race and things seemed to move more slowly around me.  Looking around the room, I saw Chrysalis still tormenting Princess Luna, holding her down with chains and prodding her with magical spells.  Her continued resistance had taken its toll and she appeared very weak and was showing signs of faltering.  Standing there and looking at all of the damage we had done together, I no longer felt hatred and satisfaction for the culmination of my plan, but sadness.

It was time to make things right.  I only hoped that I was not too late.  Without thinking, my body reacted, casting a healing spell on Celestia to help with her most likely soon to be fatal wounds.  Her cuts and scrapes became less severe looking and the bruising and swelling subsided a bit.  When I was satisfied, I turned to Chrysalis, still binding the helpless Princess Luna, and with all of my strength, I lunged straight at her, striking her in the side and knocking her down.

“WAHH!  Dev, what in the world are you doing?!?!”

“What must be done”.

Without hesitation, I began to free the chains of Princess Luna, who was panting heavily.  I snapped two strands of chain before I heard Chrysalis come from behind me.

“I WON’T LET YOU RUIN THIS FOR ME, YOU LITTLE IDIOT!” she exclaimed as she charged toward me.  Artfully, I lept into the air, avoiding her charge and struck her with a repelling spell.  She ungracefully lost her balance and tumbled into the pillar that was directly in front of her.  After spinning around and coming to a rest on the floor, I cast an ice spell at her feet before she could regroup to retaliate again.  Her hooves stuck to the ground as ice blocks formed at her feet, freezing her into position.

“Release me, you fool!  Have you lost your mind?!?!  You’re ruining all of our plans!” She yelled as she struggled to break her legs free.

“No.  From what I’ve learned, I’m afraid I’ve made a terrible mistake in helping with this endeavour.  One that I cannot continue.”

“Oh yeah?  And what’s that?”

“Celestia never meant for my family to come to harm.  She simply made a mistake.  Not unlike myself”.

Chrysalis stood there with a look on her face so sour it was if she’d eaten a whole lime and bit into the center not knowing what it would be like.

“I should have known better than to have spent all this time training you.  You’re a pony and I should have never thought you could be anything else”.

“And what is that supposed to mean, exactly?”  I asked because I truly had no idea what she was talking about.

“You ponies and your harmony, honesty, love, and everything.  You make me sick.  You must all be born this way or something.  You sobbing to me about your parents to me when you were young and talking about how much you felt guilty.  I thought I could turn you into something better than these weak, pathetic creatures.  I mean, just look!  I’ve managed to almost beat Celestia twice!  Only to have some sudden change circumstance ruin it all again.  I hate you ponies.  I’ve always hated you all!”

She sat scowling at me for a moment and I reeled in her directed anger.  She had always protected me and now it seemed it wasn’t for anything except to use me.

“You’re weak.  You’ll always be weak.  Just like your parents.  They were saps too and they deserved what happened to them”.

At that moment my skin flushed red hot with unadulterated rage at the insult at my parent’s expense.  Looking straight into her eyes, I charged with all the force I could muster.  She was expecting this and after finally breaking her feet free, dodged quickly.  However, her movement was a touch too slow, allowing me to slam my shoulder into her flank with full force. She spun around violently.  Before recovering, I smashed my front left hoof directly into her face, knocking her to the ground.  Her body gave a shudder before falling to her side.  I put my right hoof on her chest and looked her straight in the face.  She struggled slightly, but I gave a quick jab to force her to stop in the stomach.  Now frozen in fear, she looked straight into my eyes, her expression a mixture of panic and bewilderment.  I raised my left hoof slowly into the air above her head, preparing to end it all for her.  It was then that I allowed my eyes to focus on Celestia’s body, still laying still a few dozen feet away.  I looked back at Chrysalis, still watching in fear, knowing her end could come at any moment.  And then I let her go.

I stepped back a few inches from her before saying “Go” rather anticlimactically.

Her expression changed to confusion almost immediately when she realized what was happening.

“What do you mean, go?”

“I mean GO!  Get out of here!”.

“.......but, why?”

“If this experience has taught me anything, its that revenge doesn’t get you anywhere.  It only leads to more pain.  Not to mention you raised me and have kept me safe for all of these years.  For that I owe you at least your life, even if it was for self serving purposes.  Just don’t ever show yourself in Canterlot again, C, because if you do and Celestia hasn’t executed me, I won’t let you leave again”.

My warning rang cold and menacing, even to my own ears.  Chrysalis’ simply nodded and leapt silently from her spot out the window, disappearing into the night’s shadowy viel.  Quickly, I proceeded to destroy the restraints holding Princess Luna down still.  Now that Chrysalis was out of range, their protective spell to prevent removal was weakening, and the chains broke easily and without effort.  Luna was seemingly unconscious throughout the entire process.  However, as the last chain link broke and the tension on her restraints fell, her eyes suddenly shot open and focused on me.  Before I could react, she sprang up from her spot and pinned me to the ground, my back-side facing the ground and her above me.

“You!  I’ll kill you for your crimes, you treacherous foal!” she sat as she spat from rage directly at me.

“Princess, wait!” I pleaded, trying to struggle free.  The thought of using magic to repel her crossed my mind, but I didn’t want to hurt her any further.

“What’s the matter?  Don’t like being on the other side of.........wait..........where did Chrysalis go?”

“I let her go,” I said.

“But….I don’t understand….”

“I broke her spells holding you down and let her go,” I said, seemingly repeating the same thing.

“Wait......you STOPPED her?  Why would you do that?”

“Celestia showed me the truth of what happened.  I.........couldn’t keep letting this happen.  So, I freed you and did my best to heal her wounds a bit.”

I could feel the princess’ grip soften a bit, but still stand firm, ready to stop me if I continued to resist.

“Please, Princess.  We need to get your sister to medical care.  She’s not well”.

It was at the mention of this that she noticed her sister laying still on the floor.

“Sister!”

She released me suddenly, darting toward Celestia, wrapping her legs around her.  I rolled over and got to my feet, approaching her cautiously.

“We need to get her to a doctor.  She’s still alive, but she’s in bad shape,” I said calmly and she sobbed into her sister’s neck.

“Princess!” I said as I lightly shook her front right shoulder.  She turned sharply and glared at me, tears running from her face.

“You did this to her……..you monster!” Luna said with a growling sound.

“I know.  Words cannot express my regret for what has happened, but she’s dying!  We need to get her to a doctor.  Now!”

My words sparked a jolt of directional motivation as her expression subsided and she began to hoist her sister onto her back.  However, her injured and weakened body wouldn’t have it and she quickly collapsed under the weight.  I quickly grabbed Celestia and hoisted her onto my own back and began to cast my same healing spell from before.  Celestia was heavy, but I was far more capable of bear the load than Luna.

“Help me by also casting a healing aura around her.  I will carry her.  Where can we take her?”

Luna stood back up and thought for a minute on this.  “There is a doctor in the castle that tends to the needs of royalty.  He is in one of the buildings in the center courtyard”.

“Good.  Lead the way,” I commanded reverently.

Luna cast her spell as well, combined with a weak levitation spell that helped to lighten Celestia.  As we exited the doorway, three guards that had been trying to open the door throughout the entire struggle abruptly stopped us.

“Stand aside!” Princess Luna commanded.  The concerned guards acknowledged and followed behind.  It wasn’t long before we reached the courtyard and rapped on the doctor’s door.  As it opened, the grogginess from his apparently recent slumbering state was quickly overcome with immediate concern.

“Bring her inside, quickly!” he stated with earnest.

The doctor lead us into a guest bedroom where I laid Princess Celestia on a soft and plush bed with deep purple and gold cloth covering it.

“Please wait outside.  I’ll take care of the rest,” the doctor stated firmly as he shuffled us out of the room.  Princess Luna and I walked into the living room, where the doctor’s wife directed, now awake as well.  I sat down on the floor, allowing my body a reprieve from the constant abuse.

“Guards, arrest that stallion,” Princess Luna command, directing them at me.

I looked up, surprised for a moment at her abruptness, but I suppose there was no other way this was going to play out.  I might have helped carry the Princess to the doctor, but there was no guarantee she was going to make it and I was the one that inflicted the damage she received in the first place.  This was likely going to be my last moment of freedom before death.

The guards approached cautiously with a magical dampening clamp and cuffing links for my legs.  I lowered my head obediently as they clamped the object on my horn and placed the cuffs and chains around my legs.  Princess Luna looked unsure of herself and she directed them out of the house, most likely due to the fact she didn’t have any idea of my motives or whether my sudden change of heart was genuine.  Neither of which she could deal with at the moment with her sister in mortal coil.

The guards lead me into an underground passageway near the outer walls.  The passageway descended into a cold and damp underground system.  After several confusing and seemingly random turns around various areas, we arrived at a section that was lined with metal-barred cells.  The guards lead me to the first caged cell, removed my leg restraints, and lead me inside, closing the door behind me and magically charging the bars with protection spells.  I looked around at my new, likely permanent home before curling up on the hard bed to take time for some much needed sleep.