In The Lair Of The Bugbear
Queen Chrysalis came to, not knowing where she was. The last thing she remembered was a bright flash of pinkish light. Suddenly, everything came back to her. The conquest, the battle, and her defeat. She opened her eyes, and found herself in total darkness. The air around her was cold and damp, like a cave. For a moment the changeling feared that she had gone blind.
But then, she saw something in the darkness. A series of pale yellow lights, glowing so faintly that she wondered if they were really there. They hovered in the space ahead of her. Chrysalis felt inclined to get up and follow them as they swayed back and forth. But the moment she tried to move, she felt the cold bands of iron wrapped around her wrists and ankles. Her muddled brain was suddenly alive with fear. Her terror grew stronger as the lights began to move toward her. They glowed brighter as they approached. Slowly they moved to form the outline of some gargantuan beast.
Chrysalis felt herself go numb as the shape became familiar. It was burly; an immense body covered in matted fur with six monstrous limbs, topped off with a massive head. Chrysalis trembled as she saw an enormous grin of yellowed, dagger-like teeth appear in the darkness. They seemed to illuminate the rest of the creature’s twisted ursine face. A pair of horrid antennae protruded from its forehead, twitching once every few seconds. Two wild, glowing eyes opened up, and locked onto the changeling.
“Well, well, well, What have we here?” the creature sang, “Chrysalis, Ha-oooooooo, I’m really scared! So you’re the one everypony’s talkin’ about, HAHAHAHA!”
Chrysalis shuddered as it guffawed, sending moldering bits of glowing fungus into her face.
“You’re jokin’! You’re jokin’! I just can't help but stare! You’re jokin’ me, you gotta be! This can’t be the right mare! She’s ancient! She’s ugly! I don’t know which is worse! I might just crack my shell now if I don’t die laughin’ first!”
Chrysalis suddenly felt a huge paw grab her with wickedly sharp claws and yank her from her bonds. She was lifted into the monstrous face of the beast, feeling its hot, stinking breath blow through her hair.
“Mr. Boogey-Bugbear says there’s trouble for this mare! You better pay attention now, ’cause I’m the Boogey-Bear! And if you aren’t shakin’, there’s somethin’ very wrong, cause this may be the last time you hear the Bugbear song!”
“Whoa-oh!” the monster called into the darkness. Chrysalis’s green eyes went wide with fright as she saw several pony skulls hung on the ceiling open their jaws.
“Whoa-oh!” they answered.
“Whoa-oh!” the creature sang once more. This time the call was repeated by a pile of tangled skeletons.
“Whoa-oh!” they wailed.
“Whoa-oh!” bellowed the ursine beast. His roar was answered by thousands of bats as they flew down from the cave’s ceiling, scratching and tearing at his captive.
“Whoa-oh!” shrieked the vermin.
“I’m the Big Bad Boogey-Bear!” sang the monster.
Chrysalis squealed as the beast began to whirl around the cave. As he moved, numerous fungi pulsated with light, creating a mind-numbing strobe effect. But it did not dull the fear felt by the changeling queen, especially when the creature passed by an enormous cauldron filled with a boiling green ooze.
“Well if I’m feelin’ antsy, and I’ve nothin' much to do, I might just make a special batch of snake and spider stew. And don’t you know the one thing that would make it work so nice?”
Chrysalis suddenly found herself being dangled upside down over the bubbling pot, and let out a scream as the tip of her horn was dipped in the horrid mixture. Once more she lifted back into the hideous face of the Bugbear.
“A roly-poly Chrysalis, to add a little spice!”
He and his cave of horrors repeated the howling chorus as the creature pulled her away from the pot, and swung her back up to face him. Chrysalis, though terrified, was also infuriated that this…thing, had dared to humiliate her like this. Her damaged horn flashed a bright green as she replied to the monster’s threats.
“Release me now or you will face the dire consequences,” she snarled at the creature, “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, so please, come to your senses!”
The Bugbear merely laughed in her face again, and she smelled the stench of rotting flesh on its breath. Two of his curved claws suddenly reached out--and snipped off the changeling’s crooked horn. Chrysalis let out a mortified scream as miniscule sparks poured out of the useless stump. She felt unspeakable terror as the Bugbear tossed the severed horn into its cavernous mouth and clamped its toothy jaws shut with a frightening snap.
“Ha, you’re jokin’! You’re jokin’! I can’t believe my ears! Would someone shut this filly up, I’m drownin’ in my tears! She’s funny, I’m laughin'! You really are too much!”
The Bugbear’s hideous face was suddenly only inches away from Chrysalis’s own. His thunderous voice became eerily quiet.
“And now, with your permission, I’m going to do my stuff…”
“What are you going to do?” whimpered the fallen queen.
“I’m gonna do the best I can…”
At that moment, the cavern went dark. Chrysalis felt his awful claws melt away, and she found herself trapped in a world of utter blackness. The Bugbear’s laugh echoed off the walls, bouncing across the cavern and echoing again. The sound rang with unbearable volume in the queen’s ears; mockingly, jeeringly. The only thing the once-mighty queen could do was cower helplessly before it. Without warning the fungus-covered walls began to flash once more, almost blinding the changeling.
“WHOOOOOOAAAA, the sound of shakin’ bones to me is music in the air, ’cause I’m the Big Bad Boogey-Bear, and you're a little mare!”
Chrysalis felt the monstrous claws of the creature lock around her once more, lifting her up and presenting her to his monstrous head. Chrysalis had tears streaming down her face as he reached up and stuck her in some kind of webbing.
“It’s so much fun, I must confess, with lives on the line, not mine of course, but yours, oh boy! Now that’d be just fine!”
Chrysalis struggled wildly the moment she felt him release her from his grasp. But with every movement she became more entangled in the webbing, until she was completely ensnared.
“Release me fast, or you will have to answer to this heinous act!” bawled the miserable creature.
“Oh brother, you’re somethin’! You put me in a spin! You aren’t comprehending the position that you’re in!”
The Bugbear’s face closed in on Chrysalis, until it was the only thing she could see.
“It’s hopeless! You’re finished! You haven’t got a prayer! ’Cause I’m Mr. Big Bad Bugbear, and you ain’t goin’ nowhere…”
One final laugh sounded off in the cavern.
