The Curse Of Chrysalis

Chapter 13

The sounds of explosions and the earth splitting rang throughout the snowy landscape. The creature that was once human attacked Umbra with the rage and savagery of a rabid dragon, the golems of stone and crystal offering little protection. The beast held a hand out and fired several orbs of flame that sunk into the golems and then imploded, destroying the constructs from the inside. Umbra was pouring her magic as fast as she could, creating more golems while also working on a way to take this thing down.

Chrysalis and the girls could only watch in concern and fear wondering what they could do.

The former human roared before it breathed a stream of flames out, destroying several golems at once, all the while getting closer to Umbra.

Umbra was getting more worried. This monster was taking out her golems faster than she could make them. It wasn’t by much, but it was enough. She then fired a powerful beam of magic at the beast as it attacked one of her constructs, sending him flying back into the rubble of the former mountain. She then used her magic to reform her remaining golems and just as the monster emerged from its rocky prison, she used her new creation.

The creature was ensnared in bindings made from the golems, stone and crystal wrapped around him like a mass of snakes. The stone did little to stop him, but the black crystals were having the same effect as the chains that held the humans, slowly draining the magical monstrosity.

“STOP IT!” Chrysalis called out and buzzed over to try and fight Umbra herself. She hovered a few feet away and fired a beam of magic at Umbra. “LET HIM GO!”

Umbra leapt back, avoiding the beam before pulling several dozen black crystals from the ground and fired them all at Chrysalis like an artillery strike.

Chrysalis crossed her arms and formed a shield to try and block the attack. The crystals hit like a train, straining the shield to its limits.

Umbra kept the attack going before she was swatted away. She hit the ground several times as she bounced before finally stopping. She looked to see what hit her and saw the tail of the monster still free and that it had extended greatly from where its owner was still restrained. The tail then began to whip at Umbra, forcing her to dodge, barely giving her any time to use her magic.

“That’s enough! You need to snap out of it!” Chrysalis cried out to the creature as she hovered before it. “Please stop this!”

“UMBRA WILL DIE!!!!” The raw amount of hate, rage, and pain in that voice could be felt even by the most heartless of beings. The former human’s eyes glowed a seering white hot while the flames grew.

“If you kill her, then you’re no better than she is!” Chrysalis cried out. “And I know you! You are NOT like that! You are not a monster! So please! Stop this now before it’s too late!” She begged hovering before the creature’s face.

The beast roared. “SHE KILLED MY BROTHER!!!”

Chrysalis flinched hearing this and tears formed. “I….I know. But that doesn’t mean killing her will bring him back! I’m sad about that too, but there’s nothing that can be done about it now! We must try to move on! I don’t want to lose you too!”

Umbra saw this happening and saw it as a chance before making countless crystals rise from the ground around Chrysalis and the human before they were plucked from the ground and hovered around them both in a dome. They then fired at high speed at the two.

Chrysalis looked around in fear at the rocks crystals round her. “No...I won’t let you hurt him!” Chrysalis cried and summoned all the power she could to form a barrier around herself and the beast. The crystals hit harder than the last time, already causing the shield to crack. Within moments, the shield shattered and left the rest of the projectiles free to fly.

However, just before they hit, a burst of white fire shot out and pushed the attack away in a dome like pulse, which also caused Umbra to be knocked back from the backlash, still up, but weakened. The former human stood there, holding Chrysalis while the restraints were destroyed.

Chrysalis was weakened from her feat and laid in his arms like a doll, unable to move. “Please...don’t...let your rage...control you. Don’t….become a monster….like I did.” She said weakly.

He looked at Chrysalis and gently laid her down, holding her head up. “Chrysalis.” The voice, still having that several toned sound, spoke with such love and worry for her. The flames dimmed a bit, not burning as bright as before.

“Your majesty!” Several voices cried as some of the changeling soldiers buzzed over and kneeled before Chrysalis. “Your majesty! Please hang in there!” One soldier cried out.

“We need you my queen!” Another said.

Chrysalis managed a weak smile. “My subjects. Stay strong. I will be fine.”

“We will not stand by anymore!” Another said before all the changelings flew in unison and landed hard line by line. “We will not stand by anymore and let our queen be in danger! As soldiers of the changeling hive, it is our duty to put our lives on the line for our queen! We will stand strong and we will not let Umbra have her way! This is where she will fall!” They all chanted and cheered together. There were literally hundreds of changeling soldiers lined up in full armor with swords ready for action.

Twilight and her friends rushed over to join the front line. “We won’t stand by anymore either!” Twilight exclaimed. “You’ve gone too far Umbra! This has to end here and now!”

“RIGHT!” The girls exclaimed.

Umbra grunted as she stood on shaky legs. Despite having drained the humans a great deal of their magic, that fight took just about everything she had. If that demon of a human hadn’t gotten in the way, she would have had a good chance at victory. Still, she had enough power to leave them with a pyrrhic victory. “You think you have won? Don’t make me laugh. I still have enough magic for one last trick.” She then began channeling all the magic she had left into a single point.

Twilight took notice of what she was doing. “Oh no. SHE’S GOING TO CAUSE AN EXPLOSION!”

Umbra grinned. “Smart one, and the magic is already volatile, try and stop it, and it’ll go off sooner!” She kept going.

However, the beast gently set Chrysalis down and walked past the line of guards and towards Umbra, getting everyone’s attention.

“Wait...no…” Chrysalis weakly said.

“What is he doing?” Rainbow questioned.

He soon stopped before Umbra and grabbed her horn, causing her to lose her concentration. Just as she said, her magic began to react, but before she could explode, the magic was forcibly pulled through her horn and into his hand. Then, it went through the hand and the arm, across the torso and into the other arm, where it was held upward. Just as the magic reached the hand, it was launched as a massive beam, easily able to wipe out a city. The heat from it was like standing outside an inferno, as seen by the snow melting almost instantly, not even leaving steam behind.

The girls and the changelings braced themselves from the force and the heat as it came from the blast while also protecting Chrysalis.

After nearly a full minute, the beam finally died down, leaving the earth under it glowing red while dust covered the center of the massive circle of burnt ground. The glow of flames from the human couldn’t be seen, but as the dust settled, they were able to spot two figures, one carrying the other. Soon, it was clear and they all saw Umbra, out cold, being carried by none other than…..

“KRIS!!!” The group all cried out.

Kris was looking a bit drained as he carried Umbra but managed a small smile. “Hey guys...sorry for worrying you like that. I’m okay.”

“So you were that flaming demon creature?” Pinkie asked.

“Yeah..kind of lost it when I...I…” His voice fell and lowered his head recalling what happened.

Flashback

After the explosion and the dust settled, Kris groaned from pain and coughed as he started to recover. “Well...would you look at that...I lived.” He said looking around and saw while the chains were gone, the room was turned to rubble and they were still trapped. “Jeeze, looks like I made it worse. Hey Cory, so any idea….Cory?” Kris looked around the small space to find his friend. “CORY!”

Kris spotted Cory laying still under some rubble and some blood pooling at his body.

“No….wh...what have I done?” Kris asked as tears started to form in his eyes. “Cory...I….I….” He dropped to his knees crying. That sadness he felt soon turned to rage as he realized this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Umbra. “That bitch….she’s gonna pay for this. SHE GONNA PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!” Power began surging from his body and the ground began to shake violently.

End Flashback

The girls and the changelings frowned. Pinkie actually started to cry as it set in that Cory could very well be dead. “And...it’s all my fault.” Kris said.

“Don’t you dare start blaming yourself for this.” Twilight said. “There’s no way you could have known that was going to happen.”

“BUT I STILL WENT THROUGH WITH IT AND IT GOT MY BEST FRIEND AND SWORN BROTHER KILLED! DON’T YOU GET THAT!?” Kris yelled as tears started to pour from his eyes. “I made the choice! I caused the explosion! I’m responsible!” He dropped to his knees still holding Umbra. “I’m responsible...for him being gone.”

Everyone was silent, unsure of what to say at the moment.

Chrysalis had gotten up and walked past everyone and up to Kris. “Kris.” She said lowering to one knee and used the tips of her fingers to get him to look up at her. “Do not disgrace yourself like this. You are one of my subjects are you not? A proud warrior of my hive?”

Kris just stared with teary eyes.

“It saddens me that he’s gone as well. But nothing can be done about it. All we can do is mourn his loss, look to a better future and move on. Is that not what he would want?”

Kris lowered his head again. “Yeah...I think so.”

“Then hold your head high. Do not lower it. Think of what you can do in his name. What you will accomplish. You’re going to have to work twice as hard to make up for his loss.”

“Yeah...you’re right.” Kris said, lifting his head again and stood up. “But what about her?” He then asked looking at Umbra in his arms.

“We can deal with her.” Twilight said.

“You sure?” Kris asked.

“No problem. We’ve dealt with worse. I’m sure we just need to use the elements of harmony on her and bam! Problem solved.” Rainbow stated.

“Thanks girls, there’s something I need to do.” Kris said before gently setting Umbra down. He then started for the rubble that was once a mountain and began moving rock after rock.

Chrysalis soon joined in to help. Then the whole hive began digging about to try and find Cory’s body.

It took a while, nearly half an hour, but they soon found Cory, just as Kris left him. He was covered in shards of the crystal chains that held Kris while his own chains were still attached to him.

“I FOUND HIM!” One changeling called once he found Cory.

Everyone rushed over with Kris at the front of the group. “Cory.” He approached Cory’s body and began digging him out. Once that was done, he went to lift Cory. “We’re not leaving him behind.”

Before Kris could touch him, a hand grabbed his arm. “No, you’re not.” A deep voice said before Cory opened his eyes and grunted as he pulled himself up.

Everyone gasped at this. “C….Cory? You...you’re alive?!” Kris exclaimed. “But...I...I thought you were dead!”

“Out cold. Got….knocked out from….rubble. Now….can we talk later….before I REALLY die?” Cory grunted out as blood still poured from his wounds.

“CORY!” Kris cried out and hugged Cory tightly like a bear trap. “I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEHEHEHEAD! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH AND WAS SO WORRIEEEED!”

“GGHHHHAAAAA!!!!” Cory cried out in pain as the shrapnel was pushed in more.

‘AH! SORRY SORRY!” Kris quickly released Cory and apologized profusely.

Cory heaved. “M….Medic!”

The girls couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the interaction. Pinkie was first to come up to Cory with Fluttershy and pulled out an emergency medical kit to which Fluttershy made use of to patch up Cory’s wounds. “There, that should do it.” Fluttershy cooed.

Cory panted as he sat on a rock. “Th….Thanks Fluttershy. That is….probably number five on my list.”

“List? What list?” Fluttershy asked with a raised brow.

“The list of the times I came closest to dying and cheated death. This just made number five in my top ten.” He clarified.

“Oh my.” Fluttershy gasped.

“Wowie.” Pinkie added.

Chrysalis hovered down and in front of Cory. She leaned over and was looking him right in the eyes with a straight face.

Cory looked at Chrysalis. “I more than likely deserve a slap for scaring everyone, so go on.”

Chrysalis instead wrapped her arms around Cory tightly in a hug. “Don’t you EVER scare me like that again. That is a direct order from your queen. Is that understood?”

He grunted from slight pain at the tight hug, but returned it. “As you wish, my queen.”

Chrysalis shed a tear. “Good.” She then broke the hug and slapped him hard across the face. “That was for scaring everyone.”

Cory’s head was tilted from the slap, the left side of his face red with her hand print. “Yep, called it.”

“And this…” She then held his chin with her right hand, and pressed her lips to his in a kiss that lasted a couple seconds. “Is for coming back alive.”

Cory was dazed from the kiss and could only nod.

Chrysalis then turned to Kris. “And you.”

“I know. I’m ready for it.” Kris said bracing himself.

Chrysalis slapped him hard across the face as well leaving a red hand print.

“OW! Geeze that hurt. And?” Kris then asked.

“And what?” Chrysalis asked. “That’s it?”

“WHAT!? HE gets a kiss and I don’t?!” Kris exclaimed.

“We thought he was dead, not you.” Chrysalis stated.

“Aw man.” Kris whined.

This elicited more laughs from the ponies and the changelings present.

Cory smiled at this before frowning. “Everyone, you need to know something.”

“Oh? And what might that be?” Chrysalis asked.

“What is it Cory?” Twilight asked.

Cory looked at the mares and Chrysalis. “While we were held captive, Umbra told us how she came back. It was due to our magic being used to strengthen the changelings. Our magic allowed her to return, and in her words, be reborn.”

“Be reborn?” Twilight questioned.

“So what. She’s been dealt with. We need not concern ourselves with her anymore.” Chrysalis stated.

Cory then had a hard look in his eyes. “And what if someone like Nightmare Moon were to come back the same way, and become more powerful because of it?”

“Nightmare Moon was a manifestation of princess Luna’s feelings of rejection and not getting appreciation.” Twilight said. “She was destroyed when we used the elements of harmony to purify Luna and free her. There’s no way Nightmare Moon can come back again.”

“First off, I doubt anything called ‘Elements of Harmony’ has the power to destroy anything. Purify, petrify, yes. But completely destroy till nothing of that being is left? No. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nightmare Moon was still around, but weakened to the point she can’t do anything. Second, I was using her as an example. And third, the point stands. Umbra isn’t the only being that would crave power to rule. Who’s to say something worse won’t come along? Like Grogar.” Cory shivered at that. He may never have made a true appearance in the MLP FIM show, but he knew anything called the Father of all Monsters was NOT something to piss off.

“How….how do you know about him?” Twilight questioned.

“You think this world is the only one Grogar struck terror in?” Cory said, without giving the full truth. “My world knows him all too well.”

“No way. We thought only Discord had the power to travel between other worlds.” Twilight stated.

Cory shook his head. “I doubt it’s anything he can control, otherwise he would be back here. Point is, you now see why I’m so paranoid. Kris and I need to get stronger, while also ensuring the hive is safe in case something like this happens again.”

“I see.” Twilight replied. “Well you can count on us for help.”

“Yeah! We’ll do anything to help out our new friends!” Pinkie cheered.

“You can count on us.” Rarity added.

Cory smiled at them. “So, I assume this means peace between the hive and Equestria? Or is that still in progress?”

“I did send a letter to princess Celestia explaining things and have yet to hear back from her, but I think it’s safe to say so.”

“Hmph, I suppose it is possible. As long as my hive get’s what it needs to survive.” Chrysalis stated.

Cory nodded. “And we’ll be there to help every step of the way.”

“Yep, cause that is why you called on us.” Kris stated.

Chrysalis managed a smile. “I know, and I’m grateful to the both of you for all you’ve done thus far.”

Cory groaned as he stood up. “Well, after all that, I can use a meal and a LONG sleep.”

Kris stretched his limbs. “Me too along with a nice soothing hot bath.”

“Well then, let us return to the hive. I’ll have some of my soldiers help you six back home.” Chrysalis said.

“Thank you queen Chrysalis.” Twilight said with a bow.