Chrysalis Awoke, looking out at the mountainous, barren terrain. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.
That was when the in-Loop memories hit.
She was about to swear by a tree, but realized that there were no trees for kilometers around. She gritted her teeth as she processed her in-Loop memories. A platoon of Changelings - shapeshifters whose natural form was humanoid, with dark chitin skin and fangs - halted their drill, looking up to her uncertainly as her anger and Looper memories coursed through the hive mind. Chrysalis mentally commanded them to return to their drill as she summoned her Element of Kindness.
And it didn't appear.
Chrysalis felt like cursing again, but she had developed excellent self-control through her many loops, and resisted the urge. She reached into her Subspace pocket, grabbing the first thing that she thought of: a sword. She pulled back her hand.
Only to suddenly stiffen in shock as the sword halted at the edge of the 'pocket'. She hauled on it, willing to break free.
It didn't budge.
Frustrated, Chrysalis let go of the hilt. She looked around for an object. She saw a knife, laying on a nearby table. She picked it up and dropped it into her Subspace pocket. Then she summoned it to her hand and attempted to remove it. It came to the edge, then hit the invisible barrier once more.
Wonderful. Not only was she in a brand-new loop that she had no experience with, it also was majorly flawed. Next time that she saw Sleipnir, she was going to kick his flank. She'd almost certainly wind up in an Eiken Loop, but it would be worth it.
She sent out a ping, and got a response back. She had no idea who it was, but it almost certainly the local Anchor.
Or was it? She froze, an in-Loop memory from her pre-Awake self coming to mind.
She sat on a throne, toying with a broad-bladed dagger. She looked up as two figures approached her, halting at the foot of the dais that the throne stood on. She set aside the dagger, studying them.
One was clearly a King's Ranger, with that cloak that enabled them to disappear from sight. He had a short beard, white in color - unusual because he was a young man.
But the majority of her attention was drawn to the second one. This one appeared to be outfitted as a King's Ranger, but there were small differences. The cloak was entirely green, not the mottled shades of green and gray of a Ranger cloak. And the two knives were in to separate scabbards pushed close together.
And finally, this one was a woman. Clearly muscled, but still a woman.
"Your name?" she asked the first one, expressing her disapproval with a frown.
He fidgeted. "Star Swirl, sir. King's Ranger Seventeen, attached to Hogarth Fief."
She probably would have rebuked him for addressing her as Sir instead of My Lady under more normal circumstances. But she was distracted by his companion.
"And you are...?"
"My name is Halt." The woman spoke with an unmistakable Hibernian accent.
Chrysalis raised her eyebrows. "Just Halt? No second name?" If she'd been a man, Chrysalis probably would have tacked an insult onto that. But she was fascinated by this strange Hibernian woman.
"My apologies. My full name is Halt... Celestia." The woman paused, then added, "And I am awake."
Chrysalis frowned. "Do you intend to mock me? We are all clearly awake here. Unless you think that we're all dreaming?" The sarcasm dripped from her tongue.
Chrysalis facepalmed. Clearly, 'Halt' was an Awake Celestia. She mentally cursed the situation. Given what else had happened in the years since, she couldn't just head back into Araluan to contact Celestia.
