The Darkest Day In Changeling History: The Beast Of Salem

Chapters

Intro: The Changelings of Yore
Chapter 1: Lost and Found
Chapter 2: Imprisoned
Chapter 3: Animals
Chapter 4: Broken
Chapter 5: Unstoppable
Chapter 6: Demise

Intro: The Changelings of Yore

Author's Note

This can be skipped if you so wished. But since it gives insight into how this fanfic works, I still recommend reading it in case you start to have a few questions regarding the Changelings while going through the main story.
This intro reads like an archaeological study; all exposition.

Intro: The Changelings of Yore

Deep in Salem Valley laid one of the Changelings' original settlements. They acted as they did today: Finding unfortunate ponies and other creatures near their territory and draining energy from their emotions; and on occasion, planning invasions of cities of the queen's desires. Nowadays, that's all they do; but way back then, they were much different. Back then, they only did so on the small-fry, but in a much more gruesome fashion. They would single out their targets, swoop in, and sink their fangs straight into their neck. They did not take any blood, but their life essence itself. The stronger the emotions of the victim, the stronger a signal they give off to their hunter and the more energy it could feed upon. The only chance they had was to show no emotion: No sadness, no fear, no despair. That method however was impossible, as the Changelings could always strike at least a spark of hopelessness into every victim.

Often enough, they would locate a small group of ponies whom showed plenty of emotion toward each other. Those unfortunate souls became even more so when they are captured by an entire squad of Changelings and brought back to their castle. They would then be thrown into cells where they could be kept alive through careful means so they could be drained for a much extended period. Their cells were just like any dungeon your imagination could muster: cold, dank, dark, and all-around uncomfortable.

The prisoners were often kept in shackles, and fed upon up to three times a day depending on how much strength they had left. They were fed mere morsels, just enough to keep them alive through sustenance. They were forced to sleep on the hard, uneven stone floors of their cells. No archaeological evidence was found to conclude how they were able to relieve themselves.

They would not last long in those conditions, no longer than a single week. At which point, the queen would show up at their cell personally to give the command to the over-looking guards to "suck them dry". She deems them no longer useful; too weak to sustain. The guards would enter, sink in their fangs, and carry out the orders word for word. Up until then, they would use the typical "spell" method of feeding just before the point the prisoners would fall unconscious. Here, they go all they way like they do on the rest of their prey. Their emotions and life essence is completely drained, and their bodies are disposed of, left to rot in a pre-designated area near the castle.

The bones piled up in the older sites found by scientists. Some of ones that were abandoned by the queen more recently had no such collections. She no longer brought ponies, or any other victims for that matter, back to their castle. They now live solely off of stragglers and invasions. This evidence supported that something occurred long ago which caused this change in behaviour. Other studies and expeditions in previous Changeling settlements led to the discovery of an old journal left behind by the queen. This journal outlined how she thought and acted, and how she ruled her kingdom. This is what led to how we now know how they operated back then, but even more so, conclusive evidence to how they changed forever...

Chapter 1: Lost and Found

1100 years ago

A lone family of three earth ponies are trekking through a jungle with a large carriage; the mother most of all wishes it wasn't so. "Trotman, Are you sure you're reading the map correctly?" She asks with an increasing level of disdain.

"Amelia, honey, I've said this 5 times in the past hour, 'the Cavern of Endless Echoes is 30 miles east' and we should be there in less than 20 minutes now." Trotman, the father responds with a level head for the sake of not sparking an argument.

"I'm only saying that my friends back home have seen the cavern before, and they have NEVER needed to go through a jungle for so long. Or at ALL for that matter." Amelia shifts her position in the back of the carriage closer to their son, pulling along-side his father. "And Samuyl, please. I insist you give me a turn pulling the cart, you must be aching for walking for so long!" Samuyl replies with a simple sigh and shake of his head. His mother doesn't approve. "Oh now don't you be using that attitude with me! Just say something, sweetheart. I hate silence when I expect sound."

On cue, rustling was heard from all three amongst the canopy of their environment. "Personally, I hate it when it's the other way around, mom." Samuyl said with a surprising amount of disinterest in his voice as he searches for the source of the sound.

"You are quite content with what we just heard." His father spoke up. "Sure, I would try to stay optimistic, but you can't be too careful. Hopefully it was just a bird."

"That matters not to me, Trotman! If you see any end to this trail, then by all means make a mad dash for it; the both of you!" The mother is getting progressively frightened. "I am convinced that this jungle was not on the agenda."

A branch falls in front of the two stallions pulling the carriage, causing them to jerk it back and their hearts to skip a beat. "Okay, NOW I care!" Samuyl picks up his tone. "I say we make a mad dash now and hope for the best!"

"That could have just been a docile animal, there are plenty in these places." The father assures, albeit with a slight tremble in his voice. "Even if there ARE predators looking for us, all the noise from our cart would surely make us more attractive."

"'That COULD have been'! Trotman, you're the one who said you can't be too careful. Don't try to calm us with that 'maybe it's docile' crap! We don't know what's in this place!" The mother positions herself near the back, repeatedly scanning the space they have passed through. "I'll keep my eyes and ears on full alert. I don't see any sudden movements right now. But when I give the signal, I say we follow Sam's advice."

"Good! 'Cause I do not want to live for nearly 21 years without a cutie mark, only to be mauled be some chimera or something. What a lousy life and way to go, I say."

"Don't say that, boy! Mark or no mark, you had a wonderful childhood." His father perks him up. "I made sure that we gave you all the happiness and discipline we needed to give you. Be proud of yourself Samuyl, cutie marks aren't everything. There's plenty more in life to--"

He is cut off by a hard gasp from his wife. "B-back there! I saw something!" She notices more movement from around the same area, and it was starting to close in. "It's chasing us! GO!!" She points her hoof out far to the front of the carriage. Her boys react instantly, sprinting off in the same direction towards what seemed to be an exit from the jungle.

The rustling drew louder and closer, faster than the break of light at the end of the jungle could. Nonetheless, Samuyl and his father kept pace with each other, neither of them even showing a sign of fatigue. The sense of urgency made them focus on one thing: escaping.

"Hurry! It's nearly right on top of us!" The mother nearly shrieks as she clings on to the wobbling speeding carriage.

"Just a few more yards!" The father exclaims. The dirt path led to a flat, wide open field. Trotman and his son were relieved to have finally made it out of the forest. They both figured it'd be best to sprint a little while longer to get further away from the forest just to be safe.

With the cart finally at a complete stop, both stallions catch their breath as Amelia keeps her eyes glued to the opening of the jungle. "That was close. I think we should be safe now; doesn't look like it's following us anymore." She leans back toward her husband. "Still think you're following the map correctly?"

"Okay. Maybe we took a detour." The father confesses. "I'm just glad we made it out. My mistake almost got us in grave danger, I don't expect either of you to forgive me for a while."

His son consoles. "We'll forgive you when we reach the cavern in one piece. Hopefully no matter what your map says, we shouldn't be too far now."

Amelia spots a panicked pegasus rush out of the same part of the jungle. "Oh! There's another pony coming out! Ah, she looks terrified! I'm gonna go check on her. Don't move this cart until I come back!" She hops off the cart and rushes to the pegasus' aid.

"Ask her if she's heading to the cavern!" The father shouts back. He turns his attention to Sam and climbs into the back of the carriage. "You know what? I need to double-check this map."

"Convinced yourself that there was a different path just a mile away that would've had us avoid the danger?" Samuyl asks.

"Yep. I'm not about to argue with your mother after something like that." He examines the map thoroughly, looking for a reason why he might've led his family through a potentially hostile area. He growls at himself and sinks his forehead into his hoof. "The safe path was going around a small mountain. Curse me and my desire to take the short way!"

"Let's just make sure we follow the map intently on the return trip." Samuyl suggests.

"Indeed." His father responds with a slight unease in his voice. He was still shaken up by their narrow escape. "I'm going to keep the map right here in my shirt pocket from now on. I don't want to go through anything like that again. I need to be able to check the map as often as possible. Like I said: You can never be too careful."

"Then why did you have us stray from the path to begin with?" Sam quipped.

"Okay okay, I adopted that a little late into our trip. Now le--" he is cut off by the pegasus hopping into the carriage beside him. "Oh, uh... Did Amelia invite you?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna check on mom." Samuyl loosens his harness and follows suit. He notices that she is just laying on the ground motionless. "Uh, mom?! Are you okay?!" He hears a sudden grunt from his father. He turns to see him fall from the cart holding his neck with the pegasus leaning away from him with a smirk on her face. "Dad!" Sam rushes back to him, but he's caught off-guard when the pegasus briefly glows with green fire and morphs into "a Changeling!?!" It lunges towards Sam baring its fangs. He tries to defend himself but he soon feels a sharp pain in his neck and his sight to fade black. He falls to the ground with his head making hard impact with the ground.

Author's Note

Call the parents whatever you want. They're only there for the sake of the plot.
Samuyl however, I had fun making up. I took the name Samuel and just replaced the "e". Okay, that didn't sound like much fun, but there's a reason I chose Samuel: The alteration makes my OC's name an anagram for my favourite song.
What is the significance? nothing...

Chapter 2: Imprisoned

Samuyl felt like his head was in a vice. His vision was black; his hearing was immensely muffled. Through the black he could see a faint flash of green. Soon afterward, he could make out some words being spoken by an unknown voice "...have more energy for us to feed off of later." His senses started to recover. He noticed blurred out gray patterns and started to feel to solid rock floor he was laying on. He soon started to feel his legs again. He struggled to get his front hooves up to his face. The two peach-coloured blotches that filled his sight from the sides and pressed against his forehead told him this wasn't a dream.

Samuyl groans as he buries his head into hooves. After keeping his eyes closed for another moment, he reopened them and was greeted with more clarity. Iron bars were immediately in front of him, with eerie blue torches providing much needed light. What really caught his attention were the three figures on the other side of the bars: A tall, imposing black and green alicorn-like figure stood in between two similar creatures half its size. "Oh look. This one may want some answers." The tall figure leaned down to stare at Samuyl. "Enjoying your stay so far?"

"Wh... What?" Samuyl, however somewhat recovered, was still out of breath and could not speak properly. "W-where... am I?" He struggles to speak between sentences. "Where are...--?"

"Your parents? Or at least I hope they're your parents. Otherwise, you won't have as much to extract." The apparently female figure lifted him up with her magic and turned him around so he could fall back down to cold rock below and see his parents in no better shape. The sight of seeing them unconscious shot him back to his hooves. He was instantly met with a light feeling in his head and a tremble in his legs. It was best that he kept laying down, but he chose not to.

"M-mom?! Dad?!" He breathes out with strain.

"That's all I need. Thank you, Sammy." The figure hissed.

Samuyl gasped and turned back to face her. "How do you... know my name?!" He pressed his face between the bars. "Who are you?!!"

Staring back at each other, the figure glows her horn green and disorients Samuyl. He could feel his new energy being slowly drained; his anger and fear fading away. He drops back to the ground and is greeted with answers. "First off, your parents talk in their sleep. Second, I am Chrysalis, queen of the Changelings. Have you heard of us?" Samuyl was once again too weak to talk. "Well, we are a race of insectoid pony creatures that specialize on the consumption of the emotions of others. Just as well, we can disguise ourselves as other ponies; comes in very handy for ambushes and luring victims near our territory."

Samuyl became increasingly concerned, or rather as much his current state would allow. They've been imprisoned by some sort of race of parasites! What were they going to do? How could he and his parents get out? He wanted to ask what they had planned for them, but all he could do was wheeze and cough.

"Don't strain yourself. I don't want you to die TOO soon..." Chrysalis walked away with her last foreboding words, leaving Sam and his parents under the watch of her two guards.

These guards did not talk themselves, but they did lean in towards Sam and stare at him with their opaque blue eyes and hissed and him baring their fangs. Sam jumps back with a sudden surge of energy which caused him to land on top of his father.

Trotman groaned and stirred himself awake after his son planted his spine into his side. They could both hear the guards chuckling in a most unsettling matter. "What?! What are those?!" He shouted as he regained his sight and shoved his son to the side. On all fours and with his senses working properly, he gazed into their dead-looking faces. "Ch-Changelings?! No! This can't be!"

Amelia also started to wake up. She gave her automatic response of "go back to sleep Trotman. The sun's not even up yet." She quickly notices that her bed was hard as stone. "Wait... What is this?" She swerves her hoof around and runs it through a tiny puddle of water, causing her to shriek.

"Honey, get close to me!" He grabs his wife's hooves and clasps her in an embrace. He struggles to contain her screams when she sees the guards.

"AAAAAAHHHH!!" Her cry filled the entire narrow corridor that housed their dungeon cell. "What are those grotesque-looking bugs?!"

"Lady! shut up!" A voice came from beyond one of side walls. It was another prisoner was in a cell next to them. He had a great sense of exhaustion and weakness in his tone. "All we can do is sleep and wait for death to come! Don't make it so hard for us!"

"What do you mean?!" Trotman answered back to the stallion beyond the wall. He started to worry even more when the guards chuckle and turn away to take their usual positions at the sides of the dungeon. The stallions words were not lies.

"I've been here for 4 days." The stallion continued. "All they do is feed me dried berries and water and drain any emotion I show until I'm about to pass out. They're trying to keep me alive so they can feast on the sadness I hold for my sister. She just died this morning."

Amelia quickly caught on to the situation, as well as the fact that she was not dreaming. She gasped, "oh no! What's going to happen to us?!" She was most concerned about what the Changelings had planned. They seem horrible, but she could at least let the fear of the mystery to rest.

"You won't last long... if you're lucky." The stallion's answer shot fear throughout the family. "Trust me. The less time you spend suffering and clinging to life, the better. These things are genderless, heartless bastards! They don't care about how you feel; only that they can feed upon it." They could hear the stallion's voice cracking and short of breath. He was using what could be his last morsel of energy to cry. "I just want my torment to end... At least afterwards, I can finally see Melody again!"

One of the guards senses his sadness. It opens the gate to his cell and drags him out by its hoof. It holds the blue unicorn up by his throat in front of Samuyl and his parents. The other guard then sinks its glowing fangs into his neck and begins to consume the last shreds of emotion-driven energy he had left. He choked and convulsed as all the colour from his fur, mane, tail and eyes faded away. With his final breaths, the stallion gives some morbid parting words. "Welcome to Salem." The guards release their grip and the stallion's limp corpse falls to the ground. The feeding Changeling's horn glowed briefly to indicate the stolen energy.

Sam and his parents watched in horror throughout the display. They soon began to feel hopeless for themselves when the guard left to dispose of the body. "That was horrific!" Trotman exclaimed in great fear. "Is that what's going to happen to us?!"

Sam still laid flat on the ground with his mouth agape, staring outside the cell at the guard's smug smile. He answered, "yes dad... I'm pretty sure we share the same fate as him." He still wasn't able to speak without losing his breath.

"Oh... my..." Amelia was starting to hyperventilate. She hadn't witnessed such a terrible scene throughout her life. And knowing that the exact same thing could happen to her, Trotman, and Samuyl, only made her uncontainable. "Let us out!... This has to be a dream!... What kind of monsters are you?!" She was crying and screaming bloody murder, but made the mistake of staring the guard closely in the eyes. The Changeling took advantage of this: It immediately used the same spell as the queen's to drain her energy. Amelia had a cesspool of fear to feast away on.

Trotman watched in great worry as his wife's body went stiff. Her eyes became involuntarily fixated on the Changelings glowing horn. "What's happening?!" He shouts.

"Don't... interrupt it." Sam struggled out. "It'll only... make the guard angry..."

Amelia's body twitched as her energy was sapped away. She soon felt limp and fell to the ground when the guard ceased its spell. She was no longer angry or afraid; only weak. She figured it was best to let her heavy eyes close and slip into a slumber. She soon stopped moving altogether and was barely breathing.

"Amelia..." Trotman looked up at the guard, but promptly averted his eyes. He didn't want his sadness to be taken away in a matter that seemed painful and would leave him numb and helpless.

"Just get it over with, dad..."

"What?"

"Don't let your emotions build... It'll only make the experience worse... when they finally DO get their sights on you."

Trotman reluctantly followed his son's advice and stared at the Changeling guard. It smiled and chuckled as if to concur with Sam's wisdom. It didn't matter how frequently or how much it absorbs each time, it all adds up to the same amount at the end of the day. It charged up its spell and held Trotman static in its sight. His vision was blurry and spiraling in the periphery. In addition, he was being given a pounding headache throughout the ordeal. Once it was finished, his headache disappeared, but was replaced with an overwhelming sense of vertigo. Dizzy and disoriented, he fell on his side and did the same as his wife.

Samuyl observed his sleeping parents. Too weak to show much concern for their condition, he turned his head and laid down flat. He decided to try to spend some time sleeping alongside them. No matter what he could dream about, it couldn't possibly be as bad a nightmare as this.

Chapter 3: Animals

Trapped in a cell; confined in a dark basement; housed in an old castle; built at the bottom of a ravine. They didn't know, but they made it. The Cavern of Endless Echoes held their prison; it WAS their prison. Deep where the sunlight could never reach, beyond many twists and turns on the way down, the hissing and screeching of thousands of vile creatures could be heard. Their cries reverberating throughout merely a small section of the colossal cavern. Nopony would guess they were so close to a parasitic colony since the main section that attracted the tourists was miles away. All they could make out were the howls of mysterious beings.

And where was Sam? Asleep on the cold rock floor of his cell. The walls coated with mildew and a crack in the ceiling leaking water from the floor above. Drip... drip... drip... The incessant sound eventually drove Sam to wake from his slumber in extreme discomfort. His spine felt bent out of shape, and none of his legs fared any better. He could feel nothing but soreness and grime all over his body. He struggles to crawl over to the bars of the dungeon, groaning to gain the guards' attention. They both turn and smile at his disheveled state.

Just look at them and get it over with... Best you don't feel how horrible this ordeal is on the inside as well. The guards just stand there, doing nothing. They simply continue to stare at Samuyl blankly. They knew his game; they could understand what he said to his parents the evening before. No matter how hard he could try to hide his emotions, they will simply continue to build, and the extraction would be all the more satisfying. Samuyl painfully breathed out, "well? What are you waiting for? Do it! I'm not afraid!" But they knew very well that he was, or at least he will be soon.

Dammit! They didn't catch on to my trick, did they? Oh, who am I kidding?! Of course they did! He writhes his body out of stiffness by slowly bending each of his joints. Once he felt it was bearable, he sat upright and turned himself around to face his parents. Great... I'm going to be an emotional wreck soon.

He observes his parents laying in the back of the cell. Shifting in positions that are likely doing greater damage to their spines than Sam's did. He taps his father on the shoulder, thinking it's best for him to get his knots out sooner than later. The sounds he made showed that he was in immense pain from his stiffness. It didn't help that his head was propped up against the back wall; his neck was sore enough to be used as a means of torture.

"Aah-ow!" Trotman groaned as he pushes himself away from the wall to straighten his neck. "Oh my neck is killing me!" He desperately tries to massage to pain away but any contact caused a surge of even greater discomfort. He toughs it out and reorients his neck to a neutral position. It took several agonizing seconds that felt like entire weeks, but he got himself back in shape and able to stand. "Sam! Are you alright?"

"For now, but the guards aren't going to have any nonsense from me. They know my ploy, I can't just have my emotions extracted before they build. They know it'll be better for them and worse for us if they just wait." He turns and plants his face between two of the bars of the cell. "Nothing matters to these putrid bags of scum!" He shifts his eyes to the guards on either side. They grunt to show they have heard him, but don't give indication that they were going to show any further acknowledgement. Sam retreats back to the center of the cell. His sudden burst of hatred was short-lived and nothing for even the Changelings to work with.

Trotman nudges Amelia to wake up. "Amelia, Darling? Please, wake up."

Amelia stirs and immediately feels the same stiffness her husband and son felt from sleeping on a hard, uneven surface. "Uugh, Trotman... Why do I have to wake up? Can't I just sleep through the pain and time until they execute us?" She asks in defeated and drowsy tone.

"Mom, I wish that was an option," Samuyl consoles. He wishes her words to be valid. "But I figured that these filthy worms would be sadistic enough to wake us through other means if we don't do it ourselves. We shouldn't let physical pain build on top of emotions as it is."

"Is calling them names really necessary?" Trotman asks as his wife stretches on the floor. "I thought you said we shouldn't make them angry."

"I never said that specifically," Sam retorted. "Turns out they don't care. Surprise, surprise. It doesn't matter what we do in this dungeon so long as we don't get out."

Amelia finally gets herself upright. "So, Sam... What do you suggest we do to make this bearable?"

"It won't be long until we start to care that we're trapped and only have a few days to live," he informed. "I say we just chat until our apathy is overwhelmed by fear."

"That seems like an odd thing for prisoners on a death sentence to do." Trotman said.

"We barely have any emotions at all at the moment. Before they build up, do you want to spend that down-time sitting in the corner alone with empty thoughts?"

Trotman sighs. "So... what should we talk about?"

"...She once told me that summer heat was worse than cold, snowy winters. But I cannot understand why a unicorn like her can't just hold a piece of fabric or whatnot in front of her to make some shade. With cold weather, there's only so many layers of clothing you can put on until you're unable to move. I just hate the cold because of-- WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!" Amelia cuts off her own story and blurts out in terror.

Samuyl tries to restrain her and cover her mouth. "Mom, please! You have to calm down! Try not to think about how we only have LESS THAN A WEEK TO LIVE!" He too suddenly has fear consume him. The guards smile in amusement.

Trotman jumps them both and holds their mouths closed. "Stop!" He trembles as he tries to continue speaking. His own fear was starting to build. He seemed to be on the brink of tears. "This is hard for all of us... We need to stay strong, just like Sam said, no matter what."

Sam masks his feelings with confidence. He moves his father's hoof away. "Right... I'm the one who was trying to bring sense to the three of us in the first place." He retreats to a corner to rest on his haunches. "But I don't know what to do now that we're all terrified."

"Why don't we blame your father for getting us into this?" Amelia takes a serious tone.

"What?!" Trotman was taken aback by his wife's sudden accusation.

"Your 'instincts' have literally gotten us killed! Why couldn't you follow the map properly?!" She cried out. "I can't believe you would be so full of yourself to lead your family through a dense jungle for the sake of--"

"Mom! Stop it!" Sam interrupted. "We are all going to perish soon! I don't want some of the last moments of our lives being spent arguing."

"Don't take that tone me! You're the one who said you would forgive your father only after we've made it to the canyon safely! You should be mad at him too!"

"Oh! I guess I must have forgotten to tell you the night before." A figure with a voice familiar to Samuyl makes itself visible on the outside of the cell. "You two weren't conscious at the time." Sam's parents backed up against the rear wall with him taking a defensive stance in front of them. "I am Chrysalis, queen of the Changelings. Welcome to Salem Valley. Or should I say... the Cavern of Endless Echoes?"

Sam and his parents gasped, "what?!"

"Don't bother calling for help though. We are stationed in a very remote end of the canyon, MILES away from where the tourists are gathering. No sound, no matter how loud, escapes this confined valley to mix with the ominous howls that already give the canyon its name." The queen's words made them all the more sure that there was no chance for survival. "We have trapped and sapped more unlucky tourists than you may think. Plus, there's a reason that nopony knows we are here: The especially foolish ones that get themselves lost never escape to spread the rumour."

Sam had his eyes shot wide open at the realization of where they actually were. He slowly sets himself down on his haunches and looks down to the floor to ponder. "Well... I guess we'll soon become part of history..."

Chrysalis chuckled, "I admire optimism from my prisoners, even though it is always sarcastic." Sam looked back up to her quizzically. "All the others ever did was whine and complain about how much pain they were in. Fortunately, you seem to be keeping that to a minimum. Instead, you're all sharing stories and yelling at each other. That is great entertainment, so I don't want you to waste your energy." She shines her horn and materializes 3 yellow apples. "Here. A little gift." She gives one to Samuyl, who is reluctant to take a bite. "Oh now don't be shy. Those who trust their warden are rewarded."

Nervously, Sam takes a bite into his apple. His parents make gestures behind his back that suggest they think the apple may be poisonous. The apple chunk rests on his tongue. It had the genuine taste of an apple; it was a real, unaltered apple. With his reluctance dissipating, Sam starts to chew. He swallows, stares at the rest of the apple in his hoof, then sinks his face into it. Sam made loud noises as he quickly devoured the apple like the starving animal he was. This display amused the queen.

Having now eaten everything but the stem and seeds, he lays down on his side and breathed deeply in relief. Chrysalis chuckles, "trust your warden" and she tosses the other two apples at Sam's parents, whom are quick to consume every morsel like deprived badgers. "...Then maybe your stay could be just that right bit of bearable until your demise."

Chrysalis starts to leave and return to her usual post, but she notices that a certain adjacent cell is empty. "I thought it was a little too silent down here!" She turns back to the guards and gives a death glare. Sam's parents finish their apples in time to see the guards backing up as the queen loomed over both of them. "Which one of you had the bright idea to perform an unauthorized execution?!" She growled. The guards hissed and chattered in their own bug-like language in a panic. "So you took him out? But you are the one who drained him?" The latter drone gave a quick response. "A demonstration?! That was what you two ingrates thought to do for our new guests?!"

Sam, Amelia, and Trotman all watch with anticipation as the guards are practically at a loss for "words". Chrysalis levitates the second guard by the throat as she stares at the first. "You should not have brought the unicorn out of his cell without me around! However..." She turns to the guard she was strangling, "YOU should have known better than to go along with it and deliberately disobey my law!"

Sam and his parents were up against the back wall of their cell. They didn't want to see what would happen next, but curiosity was getting the best of them. They couldn't help but watch with their eyes seemingly glued open.

Chrysalis then lifts the drone briefly up into the air and brings it down toward her. She had it land by the top of its neck on the business end of her horn, completely impaling it through to the back of its head. The swift action caused the family to jump in horror; Amelia nearly fainted. After the guard stopped moving altogether, its body quickly evapourated into a cloud of black smoke that soon faded away into thin air. "I hate when I have to do that. If we all followed orders, we wouldn't be so expendable." She directs her last words to the other guard as she exits the corridor.

Sam catches his breath. "Okay... scary, but I don't think she'd do that to us." His parents nodded in agreement.

Amelia is still trying to calm her racing heart as she lays down on the floor. "I just... want to... go back to sleep." She cowers in somewhat of a fetal position. "Don't wake me!"

Trotman felt uncomfortable with his wife's idea and tries to prop her up on her four hooves. "Honey, please!"

"Get off of me! Don't touch me, you creep!"

"Amelia! You're getting paranoid!"

"Let go!"

They both here a soft impact and a grunt from their son. They fix their eyes on Sam laying nearly motionless on the ground with the guard standing centered in front of the bars. "They're accepting payments..." He pants out and falls back to sleep.

Trotman set himself down near his son and stared the guard in its eerie face. He goes through the same procedure he became familiar with and follows suit with Samuyl. Amelia stayed up against the wall and got her emotions over and done with so she could slip into another slumber in peace.

Not even 24 hours have passed, and yet they are already starting to fall apart.

Chapter 4: Broken

They wake up, stretch, chat their apathy away, eat proper food (albeit in small portions) because the queen is especially fond of them, explode in each other's faces, feed the guard, and finally fall back to sleep. A simple cycle that repeated every ten hours for nearly six days. They had no perception of time in their prison, they haven't seen the sun since; it may as well have been a full two weeks to them. Each passing day, each time the cycle refreshed, they lost more of their sanity. Fear replaced with anxiety; despair replaced with impatience. The queen enjoyed watching them squirm and talk to themselves in the corners. Their mangled manes and tails, their forced lack of hygiene, the look of psychosis in their eyes... She never had prisoners like them. She knew they were special from the start. However, one of them in particular stood out...

Sam rolled on his back and stared up at Chrysalis with an unsettling smile. "Hast the gracious warden come for thy meal?"

Chrysalis chuckled. "Oh, Sam... You become more and more entertaining each time I visit." Unfortunately I cannot say quite the same for your parents. She holds them in a binding spell as she instructs the guard to let Sam out of the cell.

Sam's parents turn their heads and see their son crawling out. The sight of the open gate excited them; whilst the sight of their son approaching the queen caused their loose screws to re-fasten. Trotman snaps back to reality and shouts back to him, "Sam! Don't! I'm sorry! Please listen! You can't go with her! Stay with us! We need you! We'll listen to you! And each other! Sam!"

Amelia started to tear up as her son hugged the Changeling queen's front hooves. "Sam? Samuyl? Are you... leaving us?"

"Trust the warden and all is well... Trust the warden and all is well... Trust the warden and all is well..." Sam chanted to himself as he shunned the worried words of his parents. He felt oddly comfortable around her. After all, she was the one who provided the least bad part of their imprisonment. His parents only caused him to slowly lose faith.

The queen sighs and levels her head down near Sam. "How wonderful of you, Samuyl. I knew you'd know what to do." She lifts her hoof and caresses his chin. "I'm settled: You are my favourite prisoner. I can actually trust you back. Enough to bring you up to my quarters for a special reward."

"Yes mine illustrious warden..." Sam deadpanned as he stood haphazardly to his hooves. He seemed to be in a self-induced trance. But for good measure, Chrysalis decided to reinforce it with a spell of her own. Glowing green eyes and a disturbing smile were the last Trotman and Amelia saw of their son as he followed the queen to the end of the corridor and up the stairs.

Two drones guarded the top of the flight at an open archway. Sam stumbled ahead as Chrysalis whispered into the guards' ears. They make their way down the same stairs as Chrysalis guides Sam to her sleeping quarters.

In the middle of the second floor of the castle, Sam leaned out the window to take in the scenery. The valley truly was closed off from the rest of the world. There was no sunlight, only glistening crystals sticking from the rocks overhead provided barely adequate illumination. Drones were flying and buzzing all around; there had to have been at least a couple thousand of them. He saw some of them leaving and entering through the same flat opening near the roof of this cave-like area.

"Sam... Come hither..." The queen beckoned. She was resting neatly upright on her bed as she materialized a red and gold tray.

Sam waddled his way to his queen as he observed the tray in slight confusion. He was surprised to see multiple sparks of green magic in different sizes form on top. In several flashes, he was greeted with bowls of salad, fruits, biscuits, nuts, cheeses, and many other foods ponies loved to eat. "For my favourite prisoner... my new pet. You are certainly one in a million, Sam. I'm going to keep you... in comfort. You can stay here with me, your queen, and receive whatever you may desire." Within reason, of course.

Sam was awestruck at the display in front of him. His starvation will no longer be eating away at him like his emotions. He wasted no more time in practically diving into the smorgasboard of much-needed sustenance. Stuffing his face full of whatever food caught his eye, he surprisingly made sure not to spill anything on his master's bed by positioning his mouth over the middle of the tray.

At the end of his binge, he nearly ate himself sick. Full to the point of collapsing, he was caught by a green aura and placed at the head of Chrysalis' bed.

"Now rest." Chrysalis says in an oddly motherly tone. "Tomorrow marks the beginning of the rest of your life." She takes the tray and the remnants of the food and vapourizes it. With a soft stroke of her hoof, she encourages Sam to have a nice long nap in a comfortable setting. Only the best for her new pet.

Sam closed his eyes and quickly drifted off into a deep slumber. Given his past condition, it was no surprise to either of them he was able to succumb so readily to his new accommodations.

Chrysalis briefly looked into a magical window she conjured. It allowed her to see and hear all that happened in any cell of her choosing. It was how she was able to relish in the "entertainment" Sam and his parents provided. But this time, there was nothing to enjoy; the cell was empty.

Sam moaned sleepily and started to fidget himself awake. He was unfamiliar with the soft surface that he had forgotten was gifted to him. Then he remembered the queen showing hospitality; the food she gave him the evening before, the kind words and expressions.

He stepped out of her bed and still seemed to be in a trance-like state. He allowed himself to be broken and convinced that Chrysalis was his care-giver, that she... loved him. He smiled and stretched as Chrysalis ceased her spell. He looked alluringly into her eyes and said, "I love you too, my sweet queen."

"Oh, now aren't you just precious?" Chrysalis walked toward him and stroked his mane. "Come now, if you're going to live here from now on, it would only make sense to start with a little tour." She leashes him with a spell around his neck and leads him downstairs to the foyer.

Sam didn't mind how he was being treated like a pet; he was nourished and well-rested, he was shown kindness, he was comfortable. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy spending his life as a privileged slave. So long as he was given everything he needed in adequacy, he saw no reason to complain.

They had made it down to the main hall. They were surrounded by tall thin stone pillars and the same eerie blue torches. "Before we start properly, I feel it's only best that you let go of what you had in your previous life."

Sam was confused. "What... did I have... my queen?"

"Nothing important." Chrysalis projected a similar magic window in front of the two of them. This window showed an unsettling pile of bones and rotting pony carcasses. Sam was unnerved by this display, but he was not prepared for what the window was about to show when the visual panned to a certain couple of fresh bodies. "Why don't you give a proper farewell?" The queen proposed.

Sam stared at the bodies for a few seconds, until suddenly... everything came back: His childhood memories all flushed back, images of his parents showing love and care zoomed through his mind like a bullet, and his more recent memories of being imprisoned all came to a slow down and amounted him to a sudden realization. Wide-eyed, slack-jawed and trembling, he stared at the two dead bodies that he could not possibly mistake. "Mother?... Father?... Th-they... are gone?"

"You don't need them anymore, they were already dead-weights."

A troubling memory of him crawling out of the cell and being mesmerized by Chrysalis' mere presence clouded his entire mind. "I-I... never said... goodbye... That I loved them..." He starting to run short of breath. "Now... they're gone! No! NOOOOOO!!" He immediately pounced on Chrysalis and tried to choke her. She, however, was able to physically hold him away. "YOU MONSTER! I'm not letting you control me anymore! I know this was your doing!"

He was quickly caught in a stasis spell by several nearby guards and lifted off of the queen. Held down to the ground, he bowed his head and allowed himself to sob over the deaths of his parents. Losing parents in such a manner would be hard for anypony, but the fact that he wasn't around to say a proper sendoff tore him up even more.

"You poor fool!" Chrysalis did a short drain of Sam's emotions to calm him down. She wouldn't absorb it all at once, what Sam was feeling would be too much for even her to handle. Sam hyperventilated and was still drowning himself on sorrow, but no longer screaming. "I will give you one last chance. But if you give it up, you will soon join them."

The guards turned down the intensity of their spell and let Sam lay down to wallow in his tears. He quickly stopped making noises and movements and cried himself to sleep right in the middle of the colossal room.

"Sam... Sam... Wake up, son! Please, you're stronger than this! Open your eyes!"

The familiar voice stirred him awake, or at least he hoped he was awake. What stood before him was his mother with a very worried look in her eyes. "M-mom?!"

"Shh! Don't ask how I managed to get here. What's important is that we make it out of here alive. I have a plan, but you need to trust me."

Sam was still felling a bit drowsy. "Yes... I trust you..."

She smiled. "Do you still love me? Even after what we've put each other through?"

"I... I can't stay mad at you, mom." He was starting to tear up again. "I love you!"

Amelia started to show true affection for her son. She leaned in and nuzzled her face beside Sam's to console him. "I love you too, Sam... My pet." Her voice unexpectedly changed into a distorted hiss at the last two words. This caused Sam to gasp and shoot his eyes wide open.

Amelia was surrounded by a green aura. She stood back away from Sam and transformed into the Changeling queen. She chuckled. "Oh, poor Sam. You had a perfect chance to let them go, but you still decided to hold on. No matter, I just need to change my agenda. There are going to be things you just won't be suited for anymore."

Sam was breathing heavily and unevenly. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and onto the floor below below. He didn't blink, he just stared at Chrysalis in rage with his blood-shot eyes.

She had the nerve to kill his parents without a final reprieve with their son, and now she tried to play with his emotions by posing as his deceased mother. This caused him to go berserk. "H-how... dare you?!... You animal!!" He stood slowly to his hooves and showed no hesitation in preparing to strike. "I won't! Let you! Get away! With this!!!"

He screamed like a maniac and was quickly caught in the same stasis spell, only this time by the queen herself. He was powerless to move by his own will, he could only manage to squirm, bearing his front hooves in a hostile manner. "Such a waste! You could've been something truly unique in this colony... But you threw it away."

Sam was not so much screaming, but yelping in short rapid bursts like a deranged mental patient. He felt no sadness, only a lust for blood. After all he went through, there was nothing he wanted more than to kill the queen with his bare hooves.

"You need to calm yourself." The guards hidden behind Sam took that as a cue to cast the draining spell on him. They walked up to the queen's side and shot two separate beams at his face. The guards seemed to be struggling. Sam was getting quieter, but they didn't seem to be draining much out of him.

As Sam stopped his incessant shouts and stared blankly at the ceiling, he let his front hooves dangle at his sides. He left the guards confused, they still felt nothing significant was gathered from that "harvest". They backed away as the queen still held Sam loosely in her field. "What do you two think you're doing?! Keep draining him! I want him laying on the floor when I personally suck him dry!"

Sam continued to look up at the ceiling with his eyes and mouth nearly closed. He then let out all his rage in a long, sustained scream which oddly had a deepened tone of his usual voice. His scream was so intense that it caused sonic waves to resonate from him. The force of his shout caused the queen to falter her spell and retreat back to a wall. The entire valley was filled with his haunting howl. Every Changeling, including the queen, was holding their ears in vain to stop the noise. The whole castle was shaking and debris was falling as the ceiling lost integrity. Even stalactites from the roof of the cave fell.

When the piercing pain in their ears was done and replaced with uncomfortable ringing, Chrysalis could still make out the deep bellowing breaths of the figure that was in front of her. When she looked back at Sam, he was simply monstrous. It was to the point where she actually felt afraid of him. The muscles in Sam's torso and front legs, and even his hooves, have beefed up to amazing proportions. He even became noticeably taller from his transformation. He also earned a cutie mark that was the silhouette of a saber-toothed pony letting out a fearsome roar.

As Samuyl let himself back down onto all fours, he slams his front hooves into the ground and stares back at Chrysalis and the guards with a sinister smile and pupil-less, blank white eyes. He spoke in a low gravelly voice, "you! Your majesty..." He points at her. "Having fed off of so much fear... Do you yourself know how to experience it?!" He laughs evilly and the guards abandon the queen's side, leaving her alone with the Beast. She could feel herself losing hope already...

Author's Note

Those last three paragraphs...
Most of you probably know what inspired me.

Chapter 5: Unstoppable

The Beast lunges forward with incredible force. Chrysalis vanishes in a green flash a split second before impact causing Sam to crash through the wall. Chrysalis reappeared on the outside of the wall as it collapsed behind her. As Sam turned around to face her, she was horrified to see he was completely unscathed. This new body of his just smashed through a 14" thick stone wall like it was glass, and he intended to use it for one thing...

"Chrysalis!!" His booming voice managed to strike fear into the queen. "Let me assure you this: At least one of us is going to perish here and now! And I'm not about to let you escape... Even at the cost of my own life, I will end yours!!" He charges at her like an angry gorilla.

Chrysalis tried to stifle his approach by firing a beam of magic at his chest. Other than the impact leaving a black dusty mark, the shot didn't even make him flinch. She wasn't able to react fast enough to escape from Sam's tight grip on her shoulders.

He lifted her above his head, back-flipped, and kicked her into the air behind him in a large arc. She was stunned by the hit, flying threw the air like a ragdoll. Sam's incredible strength allowed him to jump to an impossible height and distance; he quickly met back up with the queen. He would've slammed her back into the ground below hadn't a drone intercepted her trajectory and took the full force of the blow. It disintegrated upon impact.

Chrysalis was caught and teleported to a safer area of the cave behind the shambling castle by three more drones. Acting as a hive-mind; they all knew where the queen was, where to take her, and to touch their horns to hers to sacrifice themselves to heal her. Without her to spawn more drones, the Changelings will effectively go extinct, and Sam knew this. He was hoping to eliminate them all by taking her out so all of Equestria wouldn't have to deal with them anymore.

Transforming into glowing green energy, the drones channeled themselves into their queen's horn. Chrysalis regained full consciousness and lifted her head just in time to duck it back down. She narrowly avoided Sam's massive foreleg slamming into her face. He slid several meter's away from her, leaving grooves in the ground with his back hooves. He turns back to the queen with that same devious expression.

As Chrysalis got to her hooves to fly away, half her drone army blotted out the light from the crystals overhead and dove toward Sam.

Sam's grin grew wider as he stared up at the drones. "Watch closely! A massacre like this has never been seen before..."

With the Beast becoming completely engulfed by the drones, Chrysalis took this as a perfect time to escape. She started to fly away, but couldn't help but look back to see her drones dying one-by-one; sometimes two or three at once. She could barely see the pale pink mass in the center, but she could easily notice the black smoke emitting from around it.

Sam was not slowed down by his bulk whatsoever. He followed up each of his movements with a new strike, making sure to kill at least one Changeling every time by sheer blunt force, slamming them into each other or the ground, or ripping limbs off.

After nearly a minute, the army finally backed off, they were starting to get the idea that they were not going to be able to stop him. Sam stood triumphant with numerous fang and scratch marks all over his body, all of them drawing negligible amounts of blood.

Chrysalis was baffled by this display: immense fear from the fact that this unstoppable behemoth is dead-focused on killing her specifically, and anger that her subjects are retreating. "What are you ingrates doing?! Attack!!" Most of them ignore their leader and decide to stay high up in the air where they're relatively safe.

However, one drone decided to kamikaze Sam and go straight for his neck. Sam treated it like it wasn't even there for the first few seconds. Soon, after desperately trying to drain him, the drone gets its hind legs caught tight by Sam's hulking front hooves. Sam holds the drone upside-down, and with a swift motion, vertically rips the drone into two pieces. The halves promptly evapourated. This action caused Chrysalis to feel a chill throughout her entire exoskeleton.

Sam cackles like a maniac at the cruel display. "Don't think I won't hesitate to do the same to you!"

Chrysalis shivers for a moment before barking out orders. "We will go extinct if he catches me!!! Either die to him or die to me!! Give me time to escape, you little rats!!" For the sake of their race's existence, the rest of the drones in the valley rush Sam as she makes a break for the exit.

Sam chases after her, plowing through every drone that approached him. He made one leap to get on top of the shambling castle, and another to grab onto Chrysalis' leg. He tossed her back towards the castle.

Chrysalis flies through a hole in the roof and conveniently onto her bed. She scrambles off in a dazed panic, just in time to avoid Sam landing on top of her.

The impact caused him to destroy the entire bed and the ground it rested on. He fell to the main foyer with the storey above him falling apart bit by bit in an ever-expanding hole. Chrysalis was breathing heavily as she falls through the hole; not enough energy to try to fly away.

More drones dive toward Sam who was standing neatly on his hind legs. He shatters the several dozen of them with single punches and slamming them to the ground.

One drone was able to get to the queen in time to give itself as a sacrifice. Chrysalis was about to fly away when Sam sends the last drone of his group careening into her. She hits a wall and shoves the disoriented drone towards Sam, who was calmly making his way toward her. His tremendous stature loomed over Chrysalis as she stood up and stayed backed up to the wall. The torch on the pillar behind him cast a shadow that nearly engulfed her. He picked up the weakened drone with one hoof, eyes locked with the queen's. In a horrifying display, he bites into its neck and rips off the head. He then closes the gap between him and Chrysalis.

Chrysalis saw nowhere to go. She was too frightened to focus on a teleportation spell, and she didn't have enough time to turn around and blast a hole in the wall behind her. She quivered from fear and pain from her bruises. "M-m... Mercy!" She wasn't thinking when giving what could have been her final words. She and Samuyl both immediately noticed the absurdity of such a proposition.

Sam was within leg's reach when he abruptly grabs her by the mug and lifts her up. He spouts, "What's mercy?" and throws Chrysalis across the room. As she was landing and regaining balance in the opposite corner, Sam hugs a nearby pillar that was still intact, and lifts it out of its foundation.

Chrysalis finally had an accurate scope of how strong Sam really had become. She was frozen in disbelief that he was only now struggling to use his new-found power by lifting a marble pillar that was easily over 200 times a pony's usual weight.

In a wide stride, Sam swings it around to knock out the rest of the pillars, causing the castle to completely crumble away. He throws the pillar toward Chrysalis in the back-swing.

She was barely able to hop over the pillar, leaving it to utterly destroy the last wall of the castle. With the castle now completely leveled, all the drones had a clear shot to attack Sam from all angles. Chrysalis adds to the assault by levitating large chunks of rubble and sending them flying toward Sam, who wrecked each one of them by letting them crash into his back, front legs, or other Changelings. None of the impacts did anything to slow him down.

When Sam noticed Chrysalis starting to fly toward the exit of the valley, he breaks from his position and pursuits her. He quickly picks up a small piece of debris and tosses it with great precision.

The rock hits the queen in one of her thighs. She shouts in pain and ceases flying. The pain was too sharp to allow her to continue her escape.

Meanwhile, Sam was being buried by the remaining Changelings. He hasn't grown the least bit tired or weak, and he wasn't about to halt his slaughter just yet. In a quick spinning motion, he flings all the drones away from him. He promptly lets out another terrifying roar that also had the same reverberating soundwaves. Many of the drones that were too close to him imploded; others backed away. The roar caused many more rocks than before to fall from the ceiling of the cave. Some of the crystals started to come loose.

Many of the falling rocks crushed a considerable amount of drones as they fell. In those 12 seconds, Sam managed to reduce the already dwindling Changeling population down to a couple hundred.

When the roar stopped, Chrysalis noticed that she barely missed being flattened by the falling rocks. She was consumed with fear to see how few drones she had left. One of which, of course, spending its final moments coming to her aid. With what could likely be her last heal, she uses this new energy to make a last-ditch effort straight up to the exit.

Sam paused ripping off the limbs of some of the last drones before making a huge leap to catch up with the fleeing queen. He almost sandwiches her into the wall, as she finally makes it to the tunnel leading to outside. Sam uses the strength in his front legs to propel himself up the wall and toward the exit. He climbs into the flat tunnel and lunges toward Chrysalis, easily catching up to her and tackling her to the ground.

He stands up with Chrysalis in a nearly bone-shattering hold. She could only flail her hind legs and head around in pain as she screams for her drones to help her. "Yes. That's it. Cry! I want to hear an ancient god-like being screaming in agony! You know this: I am your reaper! I am going to destroy you and rid this world of your filth!!" He shouts at her before giving a quick squeeze to immobilize her. Chrysalis was gasping and whimpering.

Sam threw her back out of the tunnel and on top of a pile of rubble that was once her castle. He emerges from the exit to finish his deed. But he figured for good measure, he would focus on the drones that were trying to heal her; leaving her barely conscious, writhing in pain.

As Chrysalis' vision started to blur up, she watched Sam jump all around her, killing every drone that tried to come near her. She couldn't hear Sam's laughs or grunts, or the squeals of her subjects, only her own slowing heartbeat. She lost all feeling in her body and soon slipped into a coma as the last of drones are slaughtered all around her.

Author's Note

Please tell me if you've been reading Sam's words in Broly's voice. That way I know you got the best (and desired) effect.

Chapter 6: Demise

Nothing but black.

The sound of crashing rocks and shaking earth echo in Chrysalis' head. Her mind filled with despair; she just wants to end her own torment. She has most certainly lost her entire colony at this point. All her drones, dead; her castle, destroyed; her soul, shattered. But how? One pony... One pony with the power to defy the impossible. Such unbelievable strength, and a roar that could incur nightmares into even those with the highest of stature. The princesses themselves would not know how to deal with such a powerful, agile, merciless animal. They're lucky. Instead she had to suffer his wrath, now alone.

Chrysalis feels two sudden jerks at the base of her horn, then a jolt of energy surging in. She regained her hearing and feeling of her whole body. No pain from previous bruises, yet she still feared to open her eyes.

"Get up!" That gruesome voice barked in her direction, sending a chill through her. "Don't let your last two drones' sacrifices be in vane! I didn't throw them at you for nothing. I want you awake to suffer just one more time before this valley becomes your grave!"

Chrysalis swallows her hesitation and lifts her head to gaze at her living hell. His same evil sneer and soulless eyes; his imposing figure standing on his hind legs. She looks around to see that she truly is the last of her kind. No drones to command, or hide behind. She jumps into the air and lets her rage boil. Aiming her blazing stare at Sam, she fires a beam from her horn.

Sam rears back both his front hooves and slams the beam into the air. The beam explodes upon contact with the roof of the cave. Rocks fall down toward Sam. He bats some of them at the queen, who swerves to avoid each one. Even at the speed they were flying, she could keep up with them with the heightened senses she gained from desperation. Sam follows up with a typical leap straight at her. She vanishes in a green flash. Tracking her unmistakable Changeling stench that he had come to know, he pinpoints her new location and slaps away another beam.

"I appreciate how aggressive you are now. Too bad it's because you don't have anymore rats to hide behind."

Chrysalis growls and dives toward him horn first. Sam sandwiches her horn with both his front hooves and allows himself to drift back. He snickers and lift her up to stare her face-to-face. She was starting to fill back up with fear.

"Tell me... what magic are you familiar with?" Sam inquired sadistically.

Chrysalis could only shiver at the thought that she knew exactly what he was going to do. In the time it took the thought to process, she already heard a hard snap. She screamed to feel that her power was slipping away. With only a stump left on her head, not only will it take forever to grow back, it left her only with magic that a child could perform. Clenching her "wound", she felt one of her hooves almost squished to dust.

With Chrysalis' hoof and horn in grasp, he made one more suggestion... "It shouldn't make much of a difference if you have one more hole here, now should it?" With the queen shooting her eyes open and darting her sights up, he delivers a crippling blow to her both implicitly and physically. He swiftly shoves her horn into a solid part of her leg just beyond the other holes.

She was in intense pain; screaming and backing away on her back legs, reeling. All the while, Sam was cackling in victory.

Curling up onto the ground, Chrysalis could make out another torturous response from the Beast through her cries as she removes her horn. "Be glad that your race cannot bleed. Shame you can cry though. How pathetic..." Chrysalis was tearing more from her hopelessness rather than pain. "In your final moments, I want you to perish in a place I call my own. You see, I've made this valley all mine with all I have done. Only fitting to rename it. In memory of my parents, the last real victims, I'll give this place OUR name: Primal Valley. You'll have the honour of being the only casualty."

Chrysalis has lost all care at this point. At a loss of words and concern, she kindly awaits her execution.

Sam winds himself up and leaps into the air to administer a killing blow.

Whether it was a voice in the back of her head or some freak reflex, Chrysalis dives out of the way while kicking up dust.

Landing on his initial target area, Sam gets an eye full of the dust kicked up and starts to growl in discomfort.

Chrysalis sees a light: She has an opportunity to escape while he's distracted. Some otherworldly grace has given her a second chance, and she was not about to waste it. She ignores all the pain shooting up her leg and makes a final dash for the exit.

Sam wasn't about to let his lack of depth perception get in his way. He jumps toward her and falls just short of her. Scowling like a rabid dog, he makes more leaps of faith, trying to get a grasp on the queen. He keeps missing and eventually crashes into the wall. Chrysalis was too far into the tunnel for Sam to catch up. He instead makes another terrifying roar to cave-in the exit to block her escape.

The waves were doing their job. Rocks were falling around Chrysalis as she starts to run short of breath. She made use of her heightened senses to swerve away from each one while holding her ears. The way out was near.

Sam was continuing his scream. He soon lets himself loose of the dent he left in the cave wall and falls to the floor. He lands flat on his back making a similar mark on the ground around his body. His roar was unhindered and causing many stalactites to fall throughout the cave. He didn't even try to avoid one that was directly above his stomach. Falling with enough force to drill straight through his midsection, it does just so and Sam lets the pain fuel his roar until he lost all feeling in his body.

The opening to her once thriving colony is now closed off by rubble. Chrysalis feels on the verge of slipping into a coma, but she was relieved that she was finally safe. The Beast can no longer get to her; it was trapped. She uses her innate Changeling ability to transform into a pegasus. She was fortunate that the ability itself doesn't require real magic to perform. She collapses out by the edge of the cavern in plain sight and prays for random passers-by to take pity on her.

She could feel the shaking and hear the rattling of a wooden carriage beneath her. She wakes to find that she was being carried away by a couple of ponies who granted her wish. She confirms that she was not dreaming by hearing in on their conversation. She falls back asleep in comfort as she starts to formulate a plan on how she could spend the next decade or so rebuilding her colony.

Author's Note

More than anything. I treated this fic as an experiment.

I poured effort into it, but more for the purpose of finding what works. I know I have a problem with pacing. I constantly looked back in the chapters trying to think of how I could pad it out to feel more natural, but nothing came to mind.

I don't expect this to make anyone's favourites, but I welcome all constructive criticism so I can apply it to another fic I have planned. I will release one chapter at a time, so hopefully that will help my pacing.

Nonetheless, I hope this fic provided an at least okay distraction.

PS: Proofreader/editor(s) wanted