Altered Visage

Pupa looked over the letter he had received from home as he sat on his bed in the medical ward. His mother had been delighted to discover that he was actually alive and had sworn her own personal vengeance on the mare who had kept him prisoner for so long. He smirked at the thought of the fate that awaited Nutcase. Whether it was by the hooves of Chrysalis, mother, or the ponies’ princesses, that mare’s days were numbered.

Her message also contained words of consolation over his loss of Princess Visage. He hadn’t gone into great detail over what had happened to her, choosing to merely say that the circumstances had led to the end of the relationship. Just thinking of the impostor inside of her body set his blood to boiling. How dare she wear her face? Had she no consideration for the pain that such a shallow imitation caused?

Shallow imitation or not, it seemed to be enough to trick Drymanid into sticking by his ‘Princess’. He couldn’t imagine why he continued to dote over her, it was blatantly obvious that she wasn’t the mare that they both knew and loved.

It didn’t matter. He had washed his hooves of the entire thing. Doctor Dew Drop had proclaimed him recovered. While he certainly wasn’t as fit as he used to be, a year and a half of being locked in a cage had done a number on his physique, he was in more than good enough condition to return home.

Home. How he had missed it, and yet he feared returning. The ache of failure was heavy upon his heart, layering upon the aches of loss and homesickness. He had come to Chrysalis’ hive for a purpose, a purpose that was no longer even possible. His mother would doubtless understand, but it still would make his return bittersweet. He was not accustomed to failing.

He folded the letter neatly and placed it into the small saddlebag he had received courtesy of his hosts. There wasn’t much inside them aside from the letter and some blankets to keep him warm at night, but it was all he would need for his return trip, it’s not like he needed to pack food. He had made plans to leave for home in the morning and was about to turn in for one last night.

Before he could do so, a loud commotion came from outside of his room. Somepony had burst into the clinic and was exchanging frantic words with the doctor. He couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but it was probably somepony bringing in a new patient. He stepped through the orange fabric separating his room from the rest of the clinic to see if he could be of assistance. It’s not like he’d be able to sleep until whatever problem had arisen was dealt with and they’d quieted down.

When he saw a hysterical Drymanid accosting Dr Dew-Drop, he froze in place. Hadn’t he been banished to that other world with the impostor? What could he possibly be doing here?

His question was answered when the pair stopped what they were doing and turned his direction. Drymanid practically tossed the doctor aside and rushed towards him.

“You’ve got to help me, Pupa!” He practically shouted into Pupa’s face while gripping his shoulders. “The Queen has locked Visage in the dungeons!”

Pupa narrowed his eyes and scowled at the loud changeling. With a focused application of magical power, he removed Drymanid’s hooves.

“No.” He swiftly turned around and trotted straight back into his room. He wanted nothing to do with this fool’s obsession with the impostor.

“No!?” Dryma shrieked in shock. “She needs your help! Does your past with her mean nothing to you? Were your declarations of love meaningless?” Pupa turned back to face him, his face contorted with rage.

“How dare you accuse me of not loving Visage!” He roared. “That thing you want me to help is not her!”

“I had sworn my loyalty to her, I am not going to abandon her!”

Pupa laughed cruelly at Dryma. “You just latch onto her now because you think that with Visage gone you may actually stand a chance with her!”

“That’s not true!” Dryma’s face reddened, whether from anger or embarrassment over being called out on his affections, Pupa did not know.

“Take my advice: get over her. She’s gone. Nutcase killed her and she’s not coming back.”

“She’s not gone!”

Pupa snorted at the ludicrous statement. Drymanid truly had been fooled by the impostor’s facade. He refused to grace his delusions with a response.

“She’s been acting more like Visage since we got to the human world! She seems more confident, she’s been giving orders again! And she’s been making plans that she’s been keeping from me!”

Ah yes, he was quite familiar with her secretive plans. They always had been a matter of annoyance and excitement in their relationship. But such traits were far from unique to Visage, there was nothing to say that the impostor couldn’t naturally be that way too when not under stress of imprisonment.

“Coincidence.” He dismissed.

“She’s been having dreams about you.”

“Dreams are hardly proof.”

Drymanid hesitated, unhappy with needing to resort to his strongest evidence. “When I channeled the royal essence into her, she recognized it being done before.”

Pupa stared at Drymanid in disbelief.

“You didn’t.” He protested. “You wouldn’t.”

Dryma maintained his air of seriousness. Pupa broke out into a fit of laughter.

“Oh, Chrysalis is going to love that! An impostor in her daughter’s body being infused with royal essence!”

“You’re missing the point. She remembered it being done before. How many changelings do you know that can create it? She didn’t just dream of you, she dreamed of you preparing her for royal ascension.”

The gears turned in Pupa’s head. Very few changelings were ever taught the process of combining stored love with magic in just the right way to produce the essence, so it was unlikely that another had done so. If the impostor remembered Pupa creating it then...no. It couldn’t be true. Could it? More importantly, could he live with himself if he left Visage to rot inside the dungeons if it were true?

____________________

“Do you really think Chrysalis will believe you?” Drymanid whispered nervously to Pupa.

“It doesn’t matter if she does or not. She’s already preparing for war with Equestria, she can’t afford to risk refusing me.” Pupa whispered back.

The two were standing outside the doors of Chrysalis’ throne room, waiting for the emerald clad guard to return and bring them before the Queen for their appointed audience. Though they had tried to get in the night before, they had been stiffly informed that she was not seeing anypony that night. They had to settle for an audience with her the next morning.

The creak of the door opening caught the two’s attention and a guard’s head poked out.

“Queen Chrysalis will see you now.”

The two entered into the extravagantly furnished throne room. Chrysalis sat upon her bejewelled throne, observing their entrance with a dour frown. By her side stood a changeling stallion with green eyes, no doubt he was some kind of advisor.

“Good morning to you, Queen of the Equestrian Hive. I am gladdened that-” Pupa greeted with a deep bow.

“Skip the pleasantries, Pupa. What do you want?” Chrysalis growled at the foreign changeling. Drymanid was reminded of how the Queen had never much liked Pupa, or his courtship of her daughter.

“As you wish.” Pupa rose from his bow and got straight to the point. “I demand that you release Princess Visage to be taken under my care.”

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed and she rose from her throne. She approached Pupa, using the entirety of her tremendous height to tower over the young male as she stared down at him.

“And why would I do that?” She demanded of the smaller changeling, who in turn refused to back down or show any sign of fear.

“She and I were wed shortly before your failed invasion of Canterlot. As a prince of the hive from the minotaur lands, Minoa, my wife becomes princess of my hive as well and attains all diplomatic immunity such a title offers.”

“I don’t believe you. My Visage would not have married without my approval.”

“Just like she wouldn’t date me without your approval? Face it, your Visage had quite the rebellious streak.” Chrysalis’ eye twitched at his words, well aware of the truth of such a statement. “Now if you’d be so kind as to release my wife, we will be on our way.”

“No.”

“No?” Pupa parroted. He shared a concerned look with Drymanid before looking back to the Queen.

“Even if you speak the truth, she is no longer Visage. She is Victor, a human trapped in my daughter’s body, and up to this point you have accepted this and shown her little more than scorn.”

“My actions were...regrettable. I realize that now and wish to make up for my mistakes.”

“What has brought on this change of heart for you to want her back after despising her as you have?”

Pupa gave a sideways glance at Drymanid, who looked very uncomfortable under the scrutiny of his Queen.

“The truth is that Drymanid here had just informed me last night that perhaps Princess Visage isn’t quite as gone as we had thought.” Pupa confessed.

“What?” Chrysalis’ eyes bulged at this news.

“I said-“

“I heard what you said!” She hissed at Pupa then turned to Drymanid. “Is it true?”

Drymanid nodded. “Yes, my Queen. It’s true.”

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How do you know?”

“She’s been speaking of dreams since she entered into estrus in the human world. The ones she was willing to share are clearly memories of Visage’s relationship with Pupa. Memories that Chance could not have unless some piece of Visage was still part of her.”

Silence reigned for several moments as the Queen absorbed what she had just been told. Her breath had caught in her throat as she dared to dream of having her daughter back, and her eyes began to grow moist with the beginnings of joyful tears.

“My Visage is still alive?” She asked, filled with restrained hope.

“She still seems to be mostly the human, but there is at least some of Visage still inside. Maybe with the proper environment, she will regain more of her memories.” Drymanid added.

The monarch dropped any pretense of dignity as she scooped up Drymanid in a tight embrace, giggling with glee. She didn’t care that her guards could see her tremendous break from royal decorum. No parent alive could possibly have judged her for her joy at the prospect of being properly reunited with her child after such a long separation, even if that child required considerable time, effort and care to return to her normal self. She would do whatever it took to heal her Visage. Even if it took decades of hard work, it would be a small pittance compared to what she would get in return.

Pupa spoiled the mood by clearing his throat to get Chrysalis’ attention. Her eyes narrowed as she set down Drymanid and turned back towards the foreign prince.

“What is it?”

“As I was saying, I demand that you give Princess Visage to me.”

“No.” She said for the second time, far more fire in her voice than before.

“As princess of the Minoan hive, she should not be kept prisoner here.”

“I do not have a short memory, Prince Pupa. You abandoned her when you thought her gone and I cannot trust you to not do so again if her recovery fails to meet your expectations. I will not let you have her after you so readily forsook her!”

“If you continue to hold her, it’ll be a declaration of war against my mother.”

The Queen flared her wings and bared her fangs at Pupa, her eyes filled with blazing fury.

“She is my daughter and I will not give her up to the upstart bastard of Queen Minas!”

Chrysalis slammed a hoof down on the floor, the sharp crack of the impact and her shouts reverberated through the room. The guards by the door winced at seeing their Queen so furious. By contrast, the green eyed changeling by her throne merely tilted his head in thought.

This was not going as Pupa and Drymanid had hoped. Whether she was calling their bluff or was legitimately willing to go to war with another hive over her daughter, neither of them could tell.

“Are you seriously willing to go to war with another hive over this?” Pupa pushed.

“Go and tell your mother that she can bring the largest army the world has ever seen. If she thinks she’s taking my daughter from me then I will personally crush every one of her soldiers into a fine paste.”

Pupa involuntarily stepped back from the ire of the Queen before her. Was she absolutely insane? A war between their hives could devastate both sides to the point of being unable to recover.

“Ahem! Excuse me, my Queen.” The green eyed changeling spoke out.

“What?!” Chrysalis demanded as she turned the full force of her rage on him. To his credit, he didn’t even flinch.

“If you would be so kind as to indulge me, I’d like to speak with you in private.”

Chrysalis looked back at the two changelings that she had granted an audience to, and ordered her guards to not allow them to leave. The Queen and the green eyed changeling left through the metal, double doors leading to her personal chambers.

The minutes passed in awkward silence as the duo awaited the return of Chrysalis. It was not Chrysalis who returned, however, it was the green eyed advisor in her stead.

“Go and release the Princess from her cocoon and wait in her cell for further instructions." He ordered one of the guards at the door, who quickly exited the room, before turning to Drymanid and Pupa. "I have spoken with the Queen and have convinced her of the folly of warring with your hive, Prince Pupa. She agrees to give Princess Visage over to you.”

Drymanid’s jaw dropped in surprise. She had been so steadfastly opposed to the idea just minutes ago. This seemed too good to be true. A sentiment which Pupa seemed to agree with.

“This is unexpected. She seemed ready to kill me a couple minutes ago.”

“Do not think too lowly of her anger. She loves her daughter tremendously and is merely scared of losing her again. No doubt you will understand one day if you and Visage have foals of your own.”

“She’s going to give her over, just like that?” Pupa asked, eyeing the advisor suspiciously.

“There is of course a condition: you are not to attempt to cut the Queen out of her life. The Princess is to return home periodically to spend time with her mother. I trust this is acceptable?”

“Of course, I would never try to permanently separate a mother from her child.” Pupa assured him.

“Then we have an agreement. I suggest you spend the next hour or two preparing for your journey as the Princess will need a little time to recover from being trapped in her cocoon.” Dryma and Pupa nodded at the suggestion and thanked him for his assistance before turning to leave.

The advisor watched as the two left the throne room, ruminating over the whole situation. The creaking of the royal chambers’ doors opening and the sound of hooves trotting over the throne room’s lush carpeting brought him out of his thoughts.

“I don’t like it, Jade Flare. They’re lying.” Chrysalis stated.

“Quite likely.” He agreed.

"I should follow after them to make sure they don't do anything stupid."

"No." Jade Flare firmly denied her. "You have a kingdom to run and a war to prepare for. We can't afford to have you going off on a tangent like this, we need you here. I'll follow them. If they try to do something stupid, I'll do what I can to convince them to stop."

"I don't like it." Chrysalis repeated.

"I know, but you can't leave."

“Please, keep her safe.”

“I will, my Queen.”

_________________________

Mother and I looked down from our hilltop upon the city of Canterlot, which was surrounded by a gigantic, pink bubble of a shield. Nothing else in the universe existed except an inky void.

“How could this have happened?” I asked, astonished to find that changelings, and only changelings, were unable to pass through that barrier.

“They must have captured some of our scouts and used them to attune the barrier to our kind.”

“If that is true then they know we’re coming! Please, mother, this is a terrible idea! We can still try for a diplomatic solution to our hunger!”

My mother gave a wry smile. “No sheep ever willingly allows wolves to feed on them, your father learned that the hard way. I must do this.”

“If this doesn’t work, changelings and ponies will die!”

“If I don’t do this, our people will starve.” She stated firmly.

“You could die too! Send somepony else!” I shouted at her.

“I am the only one powerful enough to pass the shield. It has to be me.”

Mother wrapped me in a tender embrace, nuzzling me and letting her emotional barrier down. Her love washed over me like the tides of the ocean.

“I don’t want to lose you too...” I whispered.

Mother slowly faded from view, leaving me alone on that hilltop until Drymanid, Pupa and a few other guards had materialized from the ether. We were all staring in horror at Canterlot.

The pink barrier that our army had shattered had returned, at first as a tiny bubble, but it expanded at an incredible rate. Changelings who had been struck by the magical sphere were plastered to it as it continued to grow. A mass of terror radiated from the changelings in the city and was easily sensed even at this distance. Screams could be heard, increasing in volume as the magic drew nearer. It wasn’t stopping.

“Run!” I ordered at the top of my lungs. I took to the air, fleeing alongside those that had the sense to obey me.

It was too late.

The pink shield spell struck us all and we too were plastered to its side. The force keeping us stuck to its surface was tremendous and caused me immense pain. I could barely breathe. My entire world turned pink until suddenly I was flung through the air.

A flurry of blues, greens and grays rushed past my hurtling form. Screams of unadulterated terror filled my ears, my own mingling with those of my companions. My wings buzzed endlessly in a futile effort to regain control of my flight. A sudden impact and a sickening crack announced the end of my journey

The world swirled into blackness and I floated through the void until I was lying on a couch inside some sort of building. It wasn’t changeling built. Where was I? Was Mother okay? I needed to return to the hive, but I could barely move. As if the injuries I had sustained weren’t enough, the icy grip of love starvation nearly paralyzed me.

“What in Equestria are you?” A voice muttered. My eyes drifted to a creamy, orange unicorn standing over one of my unconscious companions. “And what happened to cause so much damage?”

I could sense confusion coming off one of my companions as she began to wake. A sudden burst of fear and she jumped at the orange mare, fangs bared to defend herself from the perceived threat. Her injuries slowed her down far too much, and the mare responded with a blast of magic to her face. Tears fell from my eyes as I could feel her emotions cut off. That blast, barely enough to stun a healthy changeling, had killed her instantaneously.

Fear radiated off of the mare as she looked between my remaining companions, so few in number now, until her eyes landed on me. She froze in place, eyes wide and body trembling when she noticed I was awake.

The unicorn cast a spell on me and I was whisked off through the void once more. Metal bars materialized around me and the mare from before was pacing nervously back and forth just on the other side. There was no floor. No ceiling. No walls. Just me, the bars, the blackness and a unicorn arguing with herself.

“They’re a bunch of monsters! But they’re injured. That’s only because they invaded Canterlot. They need my help. But if you help them, they might try to hurt you. If you don’t, they’ll die, just like the other two.”

She halted her pacing and stared through the bars into my eyes. I felt so weak. I could barely stay awake. The mare seemed to come to a decision as she stepped nearer to me.

“They feed on love. How am I supposed to love something that tried to enslave pony kind?” She chewed her lip nervously.

“Please...” I whispered hoarsely, causing her to flinch at my dual toned voice.

“They said you guys changed forms to trick ponies into giving you love. Maybe you could do the same thing, trick my mind into believing you’re somepony else!”

She faded away and a picture of a turquoise, unicorn stallion with a mane like that of an inferno circled around my head.

“Can you turn into him?” Her disembodied voice reverberated through the void. I tried to do so, but only a few, lone, green sparks came from my horn. I closed my eyes, blocking out everything in my view, resigning myself to my inevitable death.

I’m sorry, Mother...

“This isn’t working! I can’t just let you die on me!” The voice fumed. “Maybe if I...”

A cool band slid into place on my horn and I felt myself being cut off from what little magic I had left in me. A quick flash of bright yellow and I transformed, the energy required for the feat coming from an outside source. Moments later, a warm body wrapped me in a hug. Love poured into my crippled form, filling it with renewed vigour and warmth. I opened my eyes and all that remained was the orange cream mare and me. Her love was tinted with sorrow. The fur on her face was matted with her tears. I lifted one battered leg so that I could wipe them away.

“I miss you so much. Never leave me again, Musty.” She whispered.

“Thank you.” I whispered in return.

“Chance!” A new dual toned voice cut through the haze.

Soon, the lonely mare faded away. I was left in a featureless ocean of darkness, drifting about listlessly.

“Wake up!” The invading voice returned. I felt myself being pulled towards it.

In the distance I heard the mare’s words echoing to me, filled with pain and rage.

“Please! I can’t be alone again! You can’t go!”

“I must.” I responded. It was time to return to the hive.

“No! I won’t let you!”

She reappeared before me, her eyes blazing with unrestrained fury and her horn glowing with tremendous power. A massive beam of energy, the likes of which I had only seen those intent on killing use, came straight for me. In a panic, I tried to leap out of its path, but there was no avoiding it. It crashed into me with the force of a collapsing mountain.

With a shriek of terror, I vaulted awake.

“It’s okay! It’s just me!” A familiar voice reassured me.

“Drymanid?” I gasped his name breathlessly.

“Yes.”

“Oh thank God!” I threw my forehooves around his neck, holding onto him for dear life as my racing heartbeat threatened to burst out of my chest. It was just a dream. I was safe.

“I can see why you wanted to help her.” A second voice chimed in bitterly.

“Pupa? What are you doing here?” I asked in confusion.

“I’m here to get you out of this place, my dear wife.”

_________________________

Neither of my companions were willing to explain what the hell Pupa meant by calling me his wife, at least not while we were still in the hive. While I was incredibly appreciative that they had gotten me out of the dungeon, I was equally frustrated by their tight lipped attitude. I kept giving the duo dirty looks as we walked through the changeling city, almost like...well, almost like a woman who was pissed off at her husband.

My supposed husband and my personal guard looked suspiciously on any changeling that approached us, a few of them even going so far as to bow to me as they recognized my former identity. If I had to guess the reason for my companions' silence, they were worried about others overhearing what they had to say and reporting to my mother—I mean Chrysalis.

That was another thing, what was up with that dream? I’d been having a lot of weird dreams since I’d gone back to the human world, but most of them revolved around intimacy with Pupa. While odd that I would dream so much about a changeling that seemed to hate me, I had at the time dismissed it as a result of going into heat. This dream, however, had nothing to do with him. He barely even made an appearance.

The Nutcase part of the dream I could rationalize as a representation of my fears of her, but what about all that with Queen Chrysalis? And why did I keep thinking of her as my mother? These dreams even seemed to be influencing my waking life, I had lost track of how many times I had to correct myself after thinking of Chrysalis as my mother.

Speaking of ways that my dreams were affecting me, I forced myself to look away when I noticed that I was staring at Pupa as he walked ahead of me, his tail swaying back and forth hypnotically over his backside. I absently wondered if I could do that tongue extension trick from that one dream, but quickly quashed that thought. There was no way he was getting any from me. Husband or not, he had been a dick, and not the fun kind. Drymanid on the other hand....

When I realized where my thoughts had meandered to again, I cursed my new body and its hormones. Fortunately, it would seem that I was entering the later stages of being in heat, at least if my somewhat lowered libido was any indication. I still had awkward moments where I found myself staring at Drymanid and wanted to jump him, or better yet, have him jump me, but the urges weren’t as strong or as frequent.

Ever since I had noticed that I was now attracted to males, something I can’t even blame on going into heat as it happened long before then, my mind had been fighting against it. But the mind can only fight so long against the bombardment of an inevitable fact of my new life. Sure, through the haze of the hormones screaming at me to produce little changelings I could tell that I was still attracted to the ladies too, but I was no longer in denial. Stallions were hot. If my past self could see me now, he’d be freaking out over this change. Too bad my past self was a rotting corpse right now.

Well, that certainly shut my mind off of sex. Honestly, if I had the choice between losing myself to an uncomfortable, hormone induced, sexy thought train or the depression associated with facing the death of everything that I had considered me, I would have taken the sexy thought train any day. As uncomfortable as that made me feel, at least I could have some fun with it.

As my mind swirled with morose thoughts, the three of us exited into the bright, wide open air of the outside world. We continued on past the changeling guards posted by the entrance to the hive, and when we were far enough away from them and nothing nearby could allow for others to easily hide behind, we stopped.

Noticing my head and spirits hanging low while I sat there, Dryma stepped beside me and gave me a nuzzle, one which I returned half heartedly.

“Are you okay?” He asked, brow furrowed with concern.

“I was just thinking about what we found....what happened back home.”

Home. The human world wasn’t really my home anymore, was it? Nor was the hive we had just ascended from. I was a creature of two worlds now, belonging to neither.

“What happened there?” Pupa asked, intrigued by what could have me in such a dour mood.

“I don’t think we should talk about it.” Drymanid responded. It was sweet of him to be so considerate, but I was already thinking about it. Telling Pupa wouldn’t make me think about it anymore than I already was.

“It’s okay, Dryma. In my bedroom in the human world, I found my own rotting corpse.”

Pupa’s eyes widened in shock at this news. “I....I am so sorry.”

I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see his pity. I didn’t want his pity. I had more than enough pity from myself.

“So, are you going to explain what you meant about me being your wife now?”

“It was a ruse to convince Queen Chrysalis to let you go.” Dryma explained. “Pupa is a prince of the hive in Minoa, the lands where the minotaur live. If you two were married, the Queen couldn’t keep hold of you without risking war with Pupa’s hive.”

After absorbing the information that Pupa was apparently a prince, a fact that seemed relatively tame next to having found out that I was a princess, I gave a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to be married to Pupa. Even if a marriage that my body’s predecessor had gone through with didn’t extend to me, it was still a load off my mind that it wasn’t real anyway.

“I treated you horribly, Visage—“

“My name isn’t Visage.” I interrupted him.

“Oh, right...Chance then. Regardless, I wish to make it up to you. You’ve been through far too much. I wish to take you back to my hive where you can relax and forget about all that has troubled you here in Equestria. You’ll be safe there from Queen Chrysalis, from the ponies, and from the oncoming war.”

I was tired. So tired of all the suffering I had gone through. Tired of ponies hating me for being a changeling. Tired of being experimented on. Tired of Chrysalis and her changelings betraying and imprisoning me. Tired of the very humans I had once been kin to disbelieving me as I tried to warn them of the changelings infiltrating their world. I wanted to rest so much, and Pupa’s offer of refuge was incredibly tempting.

But I couldn’t accept.

For every pony I recalled that had hurt me, I remembered those who had not: Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Luna and countless ponies who I hadn’t even met. For every changeling that has harmed me, there was a Doctor Dew-Drop, or a sick, terrified little Silver Cloud. For every human who dismissed my warnings, there was one who had been captured and was being drained of love by Chrysalis and her army.

I couldn’t abandon all those ponies, changelings and humans to war. I had to do something.

“No.” I whispered.

“Pardon?” Pupa’s ear twitched at being told those two little letters yet again this day.

“No.” I repeated, louder this time.

“And what do you think you’re going to do instead?” Pupa asked incredulously.

I gave a weak grin. “I’m going to finish the second half of the plan. I’m going to Canterlot.”