Author's Note
Feel free to listen to this iconic song during the titular fight:
Test Your Might
Chrysalis still could not believe that she had finally done it. After years of struggle, she had finally succeeded in conquering the entirety of Equestria with her vast Changeling army. In fact, it was merely a few hours ago when she and her minions eradicated the very last rebel cell remaining in all the land, and even terminated the irritatingly persistent leader of the rebels, Zecora. She was a zebra shaman who was the audacity to provide both sanctuary and combat training to the survivors of Changeling attacks on Equestrian cities in a truly desperate effort to demolish the new regime.
Even though her rebellion was determined and dedicated to their foolish cause, their struggles were completely useless in the end. Overmatched and outnumbered, their defeat at the hooves of the vicious Changeling soldiers was all but certain. The fight could only last for little over a year before every single one of the rebels were captured and had their love devoured by the Changelings while Zecora was brutally executed by Queen Chrysalis herself, who was now on top of the world. She had obtained everything she could possibly want. Delicious love from all the ponies in Equestria, thousands of servants obeying her every command, and even the absolutely gorgeous Canterlot Palace, which contained wide colorful halls and exquisite decorations.
She was finally beginning to see that sabotaging that royal wedding between the captain of the Canterlot guard and Princess Celestia’s dearest niece all those months ago was the best plan she had ever designed and executed in her entire life. Now, she had a seemingly unlimited supply of food for both herself and her subjects, freedom to do whatever she wanted, and total dominion over the entire land. The best part of all this was the fact that there was not a single pony or creature in the whole wide universe left to challenge her power.
Or so she thought...
It was late afternoon when it happened. Chrysalis had just finished draining love from two rebels captured during her raid on Zecora's headquarters earlier that day. This time her meal came from a yellow Pegasus who had proven herself to be quite handy with a spear and a pink Earth-pony who had a surprisingly inflatable mane. After she devoured the entirety of the love inside them, she began walking around the fallen rebel hideout, observing the current status of her soldiers, and thinking about the events of the day. So far, everything had went according to her plan. The rebellion was dead, her subjects were greatly enjoying their hard-earned meals, and she had total dominion over every inch of the land. Nothing could be perfect at the moment.
Still, her instincts were continuing to tell her that this new perfect life of hers was not going to last forever and that something that could ruin everything she had built would be arriving soon. Plus, if she was not mistaken, there was a little purple alicorn and a baby dragon who were standing beside Zecora before running towards the deeper parts of the Everfree Forest when the final battle started. On top of all that, several of her minions even reported seeing both the alicorn and the dragon going to a round table they have never encountered before and instantly disappearing in a bright flash of light.
Needless to say, Chrysalis was pretty concerned about these recent developments. She was wondering whether or not this could be a sign for future events to come. If so, was it a good or bad omen? What if it was no omen at all and actually just a random event? These thoughts were on the verge of driving her crazy and she was not even sure if she could sleep peacefully that night. Fortunately, her thoughts and worries were suddenly interrupted by an extremely bright light coming from a short distance.
When her subjects noticed it as well, they, along with Chrysalis, quickly flew towards the source of this light in order to investigate and became immensely shocked to find out the answer. It was a giant round-shaped portal that was glowing orange and spinning clockwise. While her troops positioned themselves right in front of it, Chrysalis confidently stepped forward, knowing full well that whoever or whatever opened the portal was on his way there. Nevertheless, she wanted to confront this being and find out what exactly was their business in Equestria.
Right after she stood in front of her soldiers, a rather distinctive Changeling with moderate blue violet eyes, a deep crimson mane, and dark blue violet wings came beside her and respectfully kneeled before her. He then asked, "What would you have us do, my queen?"
Chrysalis replied, "Maintain your position, Commander Pharynx. Do not engage until something comes out of that portal and tries to attack us."
"As you wish", Pharynx said before announcing to the soldiers, "You heard her majesty! We will not engage until something comes through the portal and engages us first! Do you understand?!"
"YES, SIR!", shouted the troops all together and began to wait for the object to reach the surface.
Suddenly, a soldier right behind Pharynx nervously inquired, "Um, commander? Can I ask a quick question, please?"
Pharynx sighed in annoyance and replied, "What is it this time, Private Thorax?"
"Well, uh, I was thinking maybe we should just stand down and try reasoning with our visitor?", asked Thorax.
Pharynx then shouted, "Soldier, you will attack without qualm or hesitation the second that visitor makes the first move! We have direct orders from our queen to do so and they will not be questioned under any circumstance! IS THAT CLEAR?!"
In response, Thorax lowered his head in shame and whimpered, "Yes, sir. I understand, sir."
Immediately after that little exchange, a shadowy figure appeared in the portal and started walking towards the assembled Changeling army. A few seconds later, it stepped out of the portal and was revealed to be a bipedal creature unlike anything Chrysalis had ever seen before. He was wearing a black kimono shirt with a golden accent, black pants, and black boots with a golden X decoration at the top. Above his kimono shirt, he wore a crimson vest-like robe, with a large golden trim at the edge of the robe and at the cuffs; black and gold decorations on the front of the robe, the robe has a long, single strip which falls down to around his boots; two, thin strips of black fabric protruding from the top of the pants; and a belt, with the middle colored black, the rest gold and a jade stone in the middle.
Upon exiting the portal, it closed behind him and he gazed upon the creatures in front of him before laying his eyes directly on Chrysalis, who was extremely puzzled by his appearance. He then announced, "Greetings, Queen Chrysalis of Equestria. I am Shang Tsung, the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms and a loyal servant of the Outworld emperor, Shao Kahn. I have come here to offer you a deal so tempting that even you cannot refuse it."
As soon as he said that, all the Changelings began hissing at him before Chrysalis raised her hoof and commanded them to calm down. She then took a few steps towards Shang Tsung and said, "Before I hear you out, I have a few questions to ask you. First of all, how in Equestria do you know who I am? Second, what exactly is this 'Outworld' you speak of?"
"Very inquisitive, I see. An admirable quality", the sorcerer commented before letting out a sly chuckle. "Well, it is actually rather easy for someone with my abilities to track down and observe powerful beings in the cosmos, and you, my dear queen, have recently become one of the most powerful creatures in existence thanks to all the love you have extracted from the inhabitants of this realm. As for your second question, Outworld is one of the many realms that make up the universe as you know it. Once in every generation, our beloved emperor, Shao Kahn, holds the sacred Mortal Kombat Tournament, where all the realms send champions to fight each other to the death. When Outworld defeats a realm ten consecutive times in this tournament, Shao Kahn is able to conquer that realm and merge it with his own. Right now, Outworld has nine consecutive wins over its nemesis, Earthrealm, and we need all the strong fighters we can find to ensure ultimate victory. That is why I came to you, your highness. I humbly request that you fight for us in the tournament. When we win, it will be because of you and the emperor will reward you very generously for that. Equestria will become our new ally, and both you and your subjects will enjoy a life even more prosperous than you have at the moment. So, what do you say? Care to join us?"
As soon as he finished his speech, Chrysalis started thinking very hard about whether or not it was wise to accept this offer while all her soldiers began discussing the same thing with one another. This lasted for nearly a whole minute and right after all that, she finally took a deep breath and retorted, "You're right. This is, indeed, very tempting offer. Accepting it can mean an even brighter future for us. However, that can only happen if I defeat every single one of my opponents in this tournament of yours and losing is always a possibility. If that happens, I'd most likely be killed by a fellow fighter and if they decide to spare me, your emperor will certainly execute me for my failure. With me gone, there will be utter chaos among my subjects as a hive cannot function without a queen and I currently don't have any daughters who can take my place. Besides, we already have everything we need to thrive for at least another century and even if Outworlds wins the tournament because of my victories, gaining allies and making new friends are some of my least favorite things of all time. So, as tempting as your offer is, I'm going to have to decline it. We don't need your emperor's friendship, we certainly don't need any more fortune, and the risk of death in this 'Mortal Kombat' is simply too great to ignore."
As she explained all this, the smile on Shang Tsung's face gradually disappeared and by the time Chrysalis finished her speech, his facial expression had become rather furious. Soon enough, his hands started glowing green and he took up a fighting stance before declaring, "In that case, your majesty, I am no longer requesting that you fight for us. Come with me right now or I shall drag your unconscious body all the way to Shao Kahn's throne room!"
Upon hearing that threat, the Changelings began hissing once again and Pharynx even took a few steps forward with the intention of attacking Shang Tsung. However, he immediately stopped when Chrysalis placed her hoof in front of him and when he looked at her, she shook her head in disapproval and this convinced him to go back to his original position. Chrysalis then flapped her wings upwards and started hovering in the air before shouting, "You dare threaten to attack the rightful ruler of all Equestria?! If that's the case, then it's high time that I thought you some manners!"
Immediately after that, she tried to blast the sorcerer with magic emitted from her horn, but he quickly dodged it, used his own magic to create flaming skull with his bare hands, and threw it right towards Chrysalis, who fell down from the impact. Just before he hit the ground, however, Shang Tsung summoned three consecutive flaming skulls from the ground and all three of them hit the Changeling queen while bringing him closer to the sorcerer. Once she was close enough, Shang Tsung jumped towards her and delivered a kick to her jaw, nearly breaking it.
When Chrysalis finally hit the ground, the sorcerer held out his hands towards her and a green ethereal energy was transferred from her to his hands right before he transformed into an exact copy of his opponent. Upon Chrysalis getting back on her hooves, she became extremely surprised to see her mirror image before her, which gave Shang Tsung the opportunity to blast her away with his newfound magic. Upon her hitting the ground once again, he lifted her up a couple feet with telekinesis, slammed her to the ground five times, pulled her closer to himself, and kicked her in the chest with his hind legs so hard that she flew at least a dozen feet and utterly crushing an entire tree with the impact of her body.
Seeing her injured queen lying motionless on the ground made Thorax try to rush to her aid, but Pharynx quickly grabbed him with both of his front legs and said, "Stand down, soldier! Our queen can take care of this by herself! I'm sure of it!". Though that statement did not fully eliminate his concern, Thorax nevertheless stopped struggling and promptly returned to his original position.
Then, Shang Tsung transformed back to his original form and pointed towards Chrysalis in a threatening way before shouting, "YOUR SOUL IS MINE!"
In response, Chrysalis angrily hissed at him, got back to her hooves with some effort, and instantly used her own shapeshifting ability to morph into a full-grown manticore. Though Shang Tsung was a little surprised by the fact that his opponent was still able to stand, he nevertheless sent several flaming skulls from his hands. However, Chrysalis managed to dodge all of them while making her way towards the sorcerer and once she was close enough, she leaped towards him and pinned him to the ground before biting his neck with her massive jaws, cracking a few bones in the process. She then threw her prey towards a nearby rock, completely shattering the rock with the impact of his body and breaking several parts of his spine as a result.
As the sorcerer tried to get back up, Chrysalis started running towards him at full speed, intending to finish him off. Unfortunately, the second she leaped into the air to deliver a fatal blow, Shang Tsung transformed into a different bipedal creature that turned out to be a female with a beautiful yet Gothic look. She had a particularly long white hair and wore a purple type of armor slit down the middle revealing cleavage. Also, she had a slight muscular build and her eyes have no visible pupils.
Upon transformation, the disguised sorcerer screamed at Chrysalis so loudly that the resulting purple-colored sound waves sent her flying several dozen feet away and while she was still in the air, she was grabbed by the neck with her opponents extended hair and pulled closer. Once she was close enough, she was kicked in the chest so hard that a handful of her ribs were broken.
As she was roaring in pain, her opponent let out a sadistic chuckle and exclaimed, "YOU ARE PATHETIC AND WEAK! Now, experience the terrible wrath of Empress Sindel!"
Right after that, the hair around her neck began choking Chysalis, and she immediately started to both struggle and gasp for air. Fortunately, she soon came up with a brilliant idea and turned into an Ursa Minor, easily breaking free of her entrapment. She then stood on her hind legs and slashed her opponent's throat with one of her paws, spilling gallons of blood everywhere and knocking "Sindel" to the ground. Upon standing back on all fours, she crushed all the bones in the disguised sorcerer's right leg with a single bite, lifted him upwards, spun him in the air a few times, and then slammed him to ground with such force that his entire ribcage was broken in the process.
Despite being severely injured, Shang Tsung still struggled to get back on his feet with the best of his abilities, prompting Chrysalis to stand on her hind legs again and prepare to take another bite out of her persistent enemy. However, as soon as he was barely standing upright, Shang Tsung morphed into another bipedal creature who turned out to be not just a male, but also a four-armed monster as tall as Chrysalis was at that moment. Each of his hands consisted of three digits, equaling a total of twelve digits, and his extremely muscular body had two pectoral sets.
Immediately after taking this form, he punched his opponent in the face hard enough to stun her. He then forcefully wrenched her head sideways, breaking the neck. Then, he used his lower arms to grab Chrysalis' waist and violently stretched it out, shattering the spine and several ribs before punching her onto the ground.
As the seemingly fallen Changeling queen laid on the ground and barely managed to look at the four-armed monster, he raised his upper arms towards the sky and pounded his chest with his lower arms while shouting, "That is why the Shokan Prince Goro remains the undefeated Mortal Kombat champion! With his strength, all other kombatants will fall and I will give you a warrior's death!"
Immediately after saying that, "Goro" jumped onto Chrysalis' back, grabbed all four of her limbs with his arms, and started pulling them out. However, this only made Chrysalis more enraged than before and, despite her being in so much pain and having more than a few broken bones inside her body, she took on the form of a humongous roc and managed to throw the disguised sorcerer off her back, much to his surprise.
She then began rising upwards and the flapping of her wings made a wind powerful enough to prompt Shang Tsung to block his eyes with all of his hands. After that, Chrysalis grabbed the sorcerer by his legs with her gigantic talons and began flying away at top speed. Then, she started dragging him on the ground for nearly half a minute before throwing him to the air and slashing his back with one of her talons, which not only formed a huge claw mark on him, but also threw him towards a part of the Everfree Forest densely covered in trees and caused him to hit approximately a dozen of these trees, creating an even higher number of injuries on his body.
Seeing that her opponent was having a lot of trouble rising back to his feet, Chrysalis started to divebomb towards him and prepared to finally end his pathetic life with her talons. Unfortunately, just before she could do so, Shang Tsung changed his appearance yet again and this time, he took the form of a ginormous flaming cobra that hissed at Chrysalis and startled her long enough for him to coil around her and squeeze her as hard as he could. As a result, Chrysalis was now being both burned and strangled to death, and while trying to fight through the intense pain, she was also pondering extremely hard on how to escape this new predicament. Then, a few moments later, she finally figured out the answer.
Changing form once more, she turned herself into a cockatrice and her new smaller body allowed her to easily escape Shang Tsung's grip on her. She then flew towards the snake's head, gazed directly into his eyes, and did not flinch when he tried to bite her. At that point, Shang Tsung realized that he could not move half of his body and when he looked at it, he was horrified to find out that it was being transformed into solid stone. Soon enough, the other half of his body turned to stone as well and so, he became little more than a giant snake statue.
Right at that moment, Chrysalis heard Pharynx shout, "FINISH HIM, MY QUEEN!", and agreeing with that sentiment, she transformed into Dragon Lord Torch and melted down the entirety of the stone snake with her gigantic fire breath in just a matter of seconds. Immediately afterwards, she began letting out an earth-shattering roar and all of her subjects began cheering for her amazing victory.
Well, ALMOST all of them.
Thorax's cheer was actually interrupted when he smelled the air and he even commented, "Hmmm... TOASTY!"
