Chapter Eight – Burnin' For You

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Chrysalis

Out of all the times Chrysalis had been to the Crystal Empire, she had never been inside it's grandiose palace. That is, until now.

She was standing in the Grand Hall, surrounded by ancient and elaborate tapestries and artworks, and staring at the massive crystal columns and basking in the glow of the sparkling reflections, she had only one word.

"Meh."

The changeling queen had seen better. Far better. Her palace had once been teeming, and vibrant. It was true architectural masterpiece, rivaling those of the unicorn societies before they migrated to Equestria. The changelings were once a proud race full of class and culture.

Of course, that had been when it was in its prime. Nowadays, love was so scarce, and starvation so rampant that her castle had fallen to ruins. An innocent passerby would believe it to be abandoned. Her gut clenched with determination.

Her castle would be rebuilt, along with her kingdom. That is… if Sombra kept his word.

The Shadow King was already late on many promises. Sure, they had the Crystal Empire and the war was going in their favor, but at what cost? Her children had been flung back to starvation when the Crystal Heart switched, and it wasn't like the refugee's outside the city were brimming with love and happiness at the moment.

Shining Armor and Cadence were still eluding her, which was peevish enough on its own. Those two had ruined her attempt to conquer Canterlot for her changelings, and now they cavorted somewhere outside her grasp, taunting her with their love.

To make matters worse, the other source Sombra had promised her was acting fairly stagnant. She occasionally received updates from the Shadow King as he peered through the mind of the pony called Frostburn to spy or nudge things in the right direction for them. As soon as she'd heard a battalion was on it's way here, she sent out a horde of changelings to capture as many as possible. Now all she could do was wait for them to return. She sincerely hoped Sombra was right in his estimation of their numbers.

"Your, Majesty," a small voice whispered from behind her.

"Yes?" She inquired, turning her head to greet a small messenger.

"King Sombra demands to see you in his throne room," the messenger relayed.

"Oh he demands it, does he?" Chrysalis said, annoyed. Sombra was beginning to get arrogant.

"Well, I'm sure it's completely voluntary if you don't want to go…" the messenger whimpered, fearful of an outburst.

"I'll seem him in a few hours," Chrysalis replied. "I'm still waiting to hear about the outcome of the battle."

The messenger shuffled nervously. "Uh… h-he wanted to see you now, My Queen."

Chrysalis sighed, not wanting to have to deal with the resurgent memories that came whenever she saw Sombra. "Fine."

She briskly left the room, nodding to the few guards positioned at the doorway to leave her alone. They complied, and she walked the wide hallway alone.

The throne room was not far away, and Chrysalis found the doors already opened. Stepping inside, she was greeted by the icy stare of Sombra.

He was a mere head, his body enveloped in shadows. It was unnerving; Chrysalis had gotten used to seeing him whole lately. However, just his head was enough to bring up a flood of memories. She suppressed them before the need to cry resurfaced.

"You wanted to see me," she stated.

"Why did you send out a changeling horde?" Sombra asked bluntly. No formalities, no acknowledging she had spoken.

"Celestia's little army was approaching," Chrysalis replied. "I thought it would be best to take them out before they got too close to the Empire."

"You thought, hmm?" Sombra inquired his tone mirthy.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're angry?" Chrysalis asked.

"You've condemned your subjects to death," Sombra said blatantly. The words hit her like a sack of bricks. She had been expecting a tirade about not doing things without his knowledge; an argument she could furiously retort with by saying her children were hers to command, not his. This was… completely out of left field.

"What do you mean I've condemned them to death?" She asked, letting some horror slip into her voice.

"They don't stand a chance against Celestia's little motley crew," Sombra briskly said.

"B-but, you told me it was a small coalition of troops," Chrysalis stammered, refusing to believe what he was saying.

"Yes, but what I did not tell you is that Princess Luna, and the Elements of Harmony are there as well." Sombra said.

Several things happened at once. The first was the shattering of Chrysalis's heart with the realization that her changelings – her children – had been sent to a slaughter by her. The second was a snap that set forth blind rage directed at Sobmra. The third was a scream.

"You bastard!" she shrieked in a mixture of pain and rage. "How could you not tell me that?"

"Because I didn't think you had the capacity to be this stupid," came Sombra's reply. His shadowy form hovered towards her, filling her nostrils with the peppery stench of dark magic. "What possessed you to prove me wrong?"

"I thought we could win in one swift stroke," she replied, verging on tears. "I didn't think it would turn out so horribly."

"Chryssi…" Sombra began, false sympathy in his voice and the glint of a smile at his lips.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped suddenly, jerking away. "He had the right to call me that, but you don't!"

Sombra took a deep breath (or at least he would have if shadows needed to breath) and said, "Chrysalis, I don't think it's best if you make anymore military decision from now on."

"No," she said adamantly. "Don't even think about it. We don't even know the outcome of the battle yet, my children could still win."

Sombra sighed heavily. "Look out the window."

Confused, Chrysalis turned her head to the nearest window. It was a black night, but one thing stood out immensely. It appeared to be a giant fireball, several miles off.

Right where the battle should be.

She gasped verbally.

"Yes," Sombra said. "He activated his powers."

"You can stop him, right?" Chrysalis asked. "Like last time?"

"Unfortunately no. I've expended myself too much when I shifted the Crystal Heart. I need time to recuperate."

Chrysalis started at the inferno off in the distance, imagining the agonizing wails of her children as she did. All the while, a little voice inside her head reminded her that it was all her fault. She had to ensure this would never happen again.

"All right, Sombra," she said defeated. "My army is yours."

His grin was unsettling.

---

Spike

He sat on a tree stump at the fringe of the Gemstone Forest. Spike had made it there just before the battle had begun, and he had to admit that he was glad Twilight sent him off. What he was looking at was the most gruesome thing he had ever seen, and the further he was from it the better.

The battle had been raging on for quite a while before a mass of fire had erupted in the center. Spike knew all too well what that meant.

He hated being forced to do nothing to help, and merely watching wasn't exactly a pleasant experience for him. He turned back to the forest right behind him.

What had Twilight called this place again? He thought. Oh right, The Gemstone Forest. Despite a horrific battle being fought behind him, the name piqued his interest. Could there be any gemstones in there?

Curious, Spike hopped off his stump and wandered a little bit into the forest. The foliage was thick and annoying, but he was short enough to duck through most of it.

After a little bit more walking, Spike frowned. There weren't any gemstones to be found, unless they were buried underground. Deciding that the forest had probably gotten its name under false pretenses, he turned around to head back. The entrance to the forest was a ways away, but still visible. He began to head towards it.

Halfway back, it footsteps were cut off by a raspy wheezing noise. Spike froze, wondering if he had imagined it. When the noise came again, he knew he hadn't.

"Hello?" Spike called out nervously. Again, the wheezing sound was heard. It sounded like a dying animal. Spike glanced back to the forest's exit, then towards the origin of the noise. He knew his conscious wouldn't be too happy if he left an injured animal lying in the woods. That, and if Fluttershy ever found out, she'd go berserk.

Spike followed the noise in an attempt to find the source. He had to fight his way through several bushes just to get there. When he finally pushed the last of the shrubs out of his way, he saw a battered pink pony lying on the ground in front of him.

"C-Cadance?"

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Rainbow Dash

She felt the heat of the fire before she saw it. It made every hair on her body stand up in unison. She could see that each of her friends, as well as the guardpony Fluttershy had met, felt it as well.

Dash whipped her head around to see a blazing inferno not too far away.

"Frost…" she whispered softly. There was no doubt in her mind the blue pegasus was in the center of the mass of fire.

"This ain't good," Applejack said lowly.

The flames died down enough so that Rainbow could see the body of Frostburn – the source of the blaze. Even at this distance, she could see his glowing red eyes.

He doesn't have control!

She leapt forward, wings snapping out. Before she could make it any further, a lavender aura enveloped her, holding her back. Dash turned to see Twilight struggling between her magic and exhaustion.

"Let me go!" Dash cried. "I have to help him."

"He doesn't exactly need any help," Twilight said. Dash looked back towards Frostburn.

The stallion extended his forelegs, and twins tornados of fire shot out of them. The flames pounded the nearby changelings; their screams were blood churning.

"Besides, we need you here to complete the Elements," Twilight reasoned.

"We needed the Elements to win the battle, but Frostburn's pretty much doing that for us now!" Dash argued.

The changelings recovered, and swarmed Frostburn on two sides. A wall of flames erupted around him. As the changelings flinched, he whipped the fire at them, forcing a retreat.

"She does have a point, Twilight," Fluttershy whispered.

"We won't have to use the Elements on the changelings," Twilight affirmed. "But we may have to use them on Frostburn."

"What?" Dash shouted. Twilight lowered her to the ground.

"We may not have a choice Rainbow."

She whipped her head to her other friends. Pinkie Pie nodded silently. Applejack sighed with reluctance. Fluttershy wordless agreed.

"I won't do that, Twilight," Dash said.

"You may not have a choice," Twilight told her. "He might kill everypony if we don't."

Dash looked back at Frostburn. He was airborne now, firing enormous balls of fire at the changeling horde. Nearly half of the bug-creatures had already been cut down. It was hard to tell, but at this distance it appeared that some soldiers were still in the mix, in danger of being burned alive.

"Twilight Sparkle is right," Fluttershy's guard friend spoke up. "It needs to be stopped."

The venomous way he said that made Dash's eye twitch.

"It?" She roared. "He is a pony! And I'm not about to use the Elements of frickin' Harmony against him!"

Smoking Dagger glared at her but said nothing. Dash's friends were just as silent.

She turned back to Frostburn. His body was engulfed in fire again, dive-bombing and colliding with changelings from above. Orange flames licked the sky each time he dove.

A figure appeared on the horizon, coming towards them.

"Rarity?" Twilight called out. The white unicorn nodded as she approached.

"I'm so glad to have found you all," she called out, breathless.

"We're glad you're here," Twilight replied. "We're going to need your help to stop Frostburn's rampage."

Rarity looked back at the inferno. Frostburn was firing blazing torrents onto the changelings below. Their numbers were few and scattered now, but he was unrelenting.

"I still can't… believe he did that," Rarity said gasping for air. She turned back to Twilight. "I'm sorry I couldn't… stop him."

"Stop him?" Dash suddenly interjected. "You mean you were there when he opened his wings and you didn't stop him?"

"I tried to talk him out of it!" Rarity insisted. "He only did it to keep me safe!"

Jealousy suddenly burned in Rainbow Dash. Frostburn had been willing to use his powers for her. When they'd been running through a battlefield, he wouldn't even consider it, but the second Rarity's life was in danger he jumped at the opportunity.

Dash reacted the only way she could in this situation. She lashed out.

"What is wrong with you?" The cyan pegasus blurted out.

"Excuse me?" Rarity said, offended.

"Uh, girls you may want to finish this up later," Applejack murmured in a worried tone.

"How could you be so freaking stupid?" Dash shouted ignoring the farmer. "You know Frost hates using his powers and you let him do it anyway!"

"I already said I couldn't stop him!" Rarity returned. "You can't seriously be blaming me for this."

"I am," Rainbow said firmly.

"I simply cannot believe this," Rarity said. "Rainbow Dash you are being an insufferable bit-"

"Alright, that's enough!" Twilight yelled at the top of her voice. Rainbow and Rarity both turned to her, despite being ready to strangle the other. "We've got bigger things to worry about right now than your petty bickering!" With her hoof, Twilight pointed off towards Frostburn. Everypony turned and looked.

The blue stallion was finished with the changeling horde. Charred bodies coated the ground below him, along with the swirling masses of fire. There were a few changelings fleeing in the distance, but none were left standing on the battlefield.

Frostburn however, wasn't done. His glowing red eyes were fiercely scanning the remnants of the field. Eventually they settled on the Mane Six and Smoking Dagger, the closest ponies to him.

"We have to use the Elements now!" Twilight said. "Girls, get ready."

"No!" Dash said. "I won't hurt him!"

"You don't have a choice, Dash!" Twilight yelled.

Rainbow shut her eyes for a moment. She couldn't do this, not if there was a chance Frostburn could get hurt from it. She reached up to the red lightning bolt necklace at the base of her throat and yanked it off. It dropped to the ground.

There was a collective gasp from her friends, each one not believing what they were seeing.

"I'll stop him myself," Dash said. "Without the Elements."

"That's crazy!" Pinkie Pie told her.

"Ah agree," AJ said. "What yer suggestin' is suicide."

Frostburn was drawing nearer, approaching them at a relatively slow, but menacing, pace.

"He won't hurt me," Rainbow said confidently.

"Really?" Smoking Dagger spoke up. "The pony currently surrounded by a torrent of fire who is unable to control his actions won't hurt you?"

"Stay out of this," Dash said heatedly.

"Don't talk to him like that!" Fluttershy said, stepping in front of Smoking defensively.

Frostburn was close enough now that they could feel the heat from his fire. Dash couldn't wait any longer. She had to stop him before he could hurt any of her friends.

She unfurled her wings and rocketed off the ground before any more protest could ring out. The armor she wore made her slower than usual, but she still reached Frostburn before too long.

"Frost!" she shouted. His glowing eyes stared back at her, emotionless. A fireball was flung at her, but she evaded it. "Come on Frost," Dash said. "It's me." She ripped off her helmet, rainbow mane falling into its usual style.

Frostburn raised his hoof, fireball ready to fly, but paused.

"That's right," she said. "It's me, Rainbow Dash. I know you'd never want to hurt me."

Slowly, Frostburn lowered his hoof, the fireball dissipating. It was hard to tell, but it looked like his glowing eyes were dimming.

Then Princess Luna slammed into him.

"No!" Rainbow shouted in a panic. She had been so close.

The Princess of the Night rammed Frostburn into the ground below, forming a small crater. Dash hurried after.

Frostburn recovered faster than Luna. He emerged from the crater, eyes still glowing a hateful red. As Luna began to stand, he launched an outward expanding ring of fire. The dark alicorn leapt back to avoid it.

"Rainbow Dash, get out of here!" Luna shouted at her. She was going to fight Frostburn. Even Princess Celestia hadn't had much success with that.

"No!" She screamed. "I can calm him down! I swear!"

Luna either didn't hear her, or didn't care. She fired a beam of magic right at Frostburn. He sidestepped it easily as it arched through the air and returned a blazing burst back at the princess.

She threw up a force field just in time, narrowly avoiding all the fire. As soon as Frostburn let up, Luna dropped the shield. Her horn went alight with magic, and several large chunks of rock were ripped from the ground. She flung them all at Frostburn.

Dash held her breath as the rocks raced towards the blue stallion. He wasn't nearly as concerned. Throwing his hooves forward, Frostburn created several blades of fire. They sliced through the rocks with ease, the rubble landing harmlessly on the ground.

Already back on the offensive, Luna summoned a stream of water, and sent it surging forward. Frostburn created a swirling ball of fire to surround him, causing the water to evaporate.

He stayed in the ball of fire, flinging bolts of flames out from the surface. Luna used her magic to whip the air around her into a furious wind. The fire was dissipated in mid-air. Luna concentrated the wings closer towards her, creating a tornado. Frostburn's fireball whirled around, becoming a cyclone of flames.

Both ponies threw their power at each other, the tornado and cyclone colliding halfway between them. Fire and wind were blasted everywhere.

Dash was blown back, and she held up her armored hooves to protect her from the blaze. When it was safe to look again, she saw that Luna had vanished.

Frostburn look as confused as she felt, his glowing eyes narrowed.

Suddenly Luna teleported directly behind him. He must have sensed it and turned, prepared to launch another barrage of fire. Luna was much faster.

Her horn wrapped itself in a light blue aura, and she touched it to the top of his forehead. Frostburn's legs suddenly buckled beneath him. He fell to the ground, unconscious. The fire surrounding him faded.

Dash rushed forward, concern filling her. When she reached Frostburn's body, she knelt down and cradled his head. He was still breathing.

"W-what did you do to him?" Dash asked Luna.

"It was a sleep spell," she replied, easing Dash's concerns. "He'll be fine."

"Thank you," Dash whispered, holding Frostburn tightly. She then noticed a fresh wound on his neck.

"You should probably get him to a medical tent," Luna said. Dash nodded. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, it is time to lower the moon."

The navy blue alicorn started to walk off just as Dash's friends began running up.

"That was amazing!" Pinkie said to Luna. The princess smiled at the adoration. Twilight looked like she was in a perpetual state of shock after what she had just seen.

"Is he… all right?" Rarity asked Dash upon seeing the unconscious stallion.

Dash nodded. "He's fine, no thanks to you."

Rarity reacted as if she had been slapped. Rainbow didn't care.

"Hey Pinkie," Dash called out, looking right past Rarity. "Can you help me move Frost to a med tent? He's going to be out for a while."

The party pony happily bounded forward, and together they lifted the stallion up and carried him off. Rainbow didn't make eye contact with Rarity or Twilight as they left.

---

Isn't Luna badass? Well here's the newest chapter, delivered before two months passed as promised. Lot going on, including a Spike cutaway POV (and I think this was my first time writing from his perspective.) Thanks for reading guys, and please let me know what you think of the story so far.