A Second Chance

by Pochi

Rating: teen
Tags: Silver Spoon, Drama, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure, Main 6, Diamond Tiara, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 2542

A new student by the name of Amaryllis shows up in Ponyville.

Deep inside the Everfree Forest, a feud between strange ponies known as Changelings, sparks up chaos. Queen Chrysalis, worn and broken can not manage to rule over her subjects any longer. Her daughter, Aldora, brutally takes Chrysalis' place as Queen and banishes her own mother from the Changeling kingdom. Chrysalis, now alone and fatally wounded, she has no use but to trust a medicine mare to help cure what ails her. But what if the medicine mare has other agendas in mind?

Published 2016-04-22 02:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-04-22 02:00:02 UTC

Part 1 The Everfree Riot

On nights like tonight, the Everfree Forest is kept silent and nopony dares makes a stir, however this is not one of those nights. Restless tension swallows the Changeling Kingdom whole as the hive-minded Changeling drones riot throughout the forest. It is said that their fear-mongering queen has fallen to illness and weakened by hatred. With nopony to properly rule over the kingdom, the drones spiral into insanity, for it is known that Changeling drones can not survive on their own for they do not know how to use their freewill. Without guidance, the Changeling drones will die.

Watching apathetically from above, Queen Chrysalis remains motionless and unfeeling. She lays in her rancid pool of slime watching from inside her protected castle. The destruction of the Changeling Kingdom was drawing nigh as she looked upon her falling subjects with glossy eyes.

"It's terrible outside, isn't it, my Queen?" A soft-spoken voice from behind Chrysalis chirps.

Chrysalis, still glued onto the horrors from her window sill, simply nods.

"My Queen, don't you think you should help your fellow subjects? Perhaps rally up a town meeting?"

The sound of screams and magic reactions echo throughout the Queen's quarters, the smell of burning wood festers inside their nostrils. Queen Chrysalis turns towards and faces her daughter from her oozing bath. The young royal Changeling stares at her mother with bulging innocent eyes, she was covered and splattered with drone blood on her crown and face. Her slit eyes dilated had full of unseen brutality. Queen Chrysalis knew her daughter was hiding something, something truly devious behind her father's deceiving blue eyes.

Queen Chrysalis beckons to her daughter, "No Aldora. Let my drones be. Leave me to my ruin."

"Come now, Mother, you surely want to see your brethren die? For what purpose is there in doing so?"

"It is not the time to talk about this. Leave Aldora. There is no purpose for our kingdom any longer."

Aldora approaches Queen Chrysalis and with an unshaken voice declares, "I am not here to talk. Your era of bitterness is over. Your subjects are dying because you fail to see and care for them. What good is a queen who has given up on her kingdom and herself? You're finished here."

The noble changeling raises her darkened horn and expels a burning plasma into her mother's right eye. The acidic magic eats away at the Queen's eye, and launches her out of her spectating window. The Queen, unable to react in time, plunges down into the fray. Her ribs crack and poke out from inside her torso. She struggles to get up and lets out an agonizing cry. All around her is towering flames and the dried out shells of her drones. Aldora, from above inside the castle, roars a hearty laugh, "Queen Chrysalis is no more! I, Aldora, the next heir to the Changeling Kingdom's throne, has overthrown the Bitter Queen! My new fellow subjects, anoint and crown me as not only your new queen, but your new savior! Bless me, so that we shall execute Chrysalis for her insolence and carry out a new era! Hail me! Queen Aldora!"

"Queen...Aldora. Queen..." The drones refrain from their self-destruction and in unison chant their new queen's name, "Queen Aldora! Queen Aldora!'

The newly crowned Queen Aldora shines a wild smile and whisks her baby blue mane haughtily, "That's right! I am your Queen! Exterminate Chrysalis! Do as I command you, my subjects!"

"Exterminate Chrysalis! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Chrysalis trembling in terror, winces in pain she tries to drag her body across mountains of corpses. With some strength in her wings left, she propels herself into the dark edges of the kingdom. Crowds of disemboweled and wounded Changeling drones chase after her in hot pursuit, firing hostile magic. Magic flames burns through Chrysalis' mane and sears the tips of her ears. Her right eye now swollen shut with blood and hot tears mixed. She gallops with a limp far away enough from the hoards of disfigured drones. She has reached the end of her once acclaimed kingdom and now into the feral bowels of the Everfree Forest.

Alone and damaged she walks aimlessly through fields of poison joke, though it has some healing properties for Changelings, it is not enough to fully recover. The moonlight shimmers over these poisonous fields and a sense of calmness overtakes Chrysalis. Her body collapses onto the cobalt cloves, writhing in pain. Her breathing becomes steady as she hears distant hoof steps. They have caught up to her, but poor Chrysalis admits utter defeat and now lays in wait for her inevitable destruction. The hoof steps stop in place near Chrysalis' face, the banished queen looks up at the stranger and remains silent.

"Oh dear me, you are injured I see. I know who you are, but come with me, my hut is not far."

The stranger hoists Chrysalis' body onto her cart and pulls her away from the poison joke fields. Chrysalis' other eye begins to close as she peacefully falls into a deep and heavy slumber.

Part 2 Enter Zecora

"Wake up my dear, the sun is nearly here."

Chrysalis tosses and turns in a makeshift hammock. A crack in the wall lets in a piercing ray of light. The brewing aromas of fresh picked berries and herbs caresses her senses and awakens her more soothingly. The stranger, by the looks of things is a medicine mare, she thought to herself. Bubbling brews and dripping kettles were adorned with remnants of bone and marrow. Large ivy vines grow in and out of the cozy hut creating a welcoming display of quaint affection. Chrysalis peers around the room with her only eye and makes contact with the striped stranger.

"Ah, you have finished awaking? Here, try some of my baking." The medicine mare gathers rolls from her counter and piles them up onto a platter for Chrysalis. With a smile, she rests the platter next to the wounded Chrysalis. The warm steam coming off from the rolls tempt Chrysalis' mouth to water. Chrysalis addresses the medicine mare angry and confused, "Where am I, zebra?"

The medicine mare chuckles, "My name is 'Zecora', and I have found you passed out on flowers of blue. I can see the poison joke has no affect on you." Zecora passes a warm and fluffy roll to Chrysalis and goes on to also pour tea for her. Zecora continues, "I know who you are, you come from a scary place of far. You are the Changeling Queen, though we were destined to meet it seems."

"Right. So, Zecora was it? Are we still in Everfree Forest?" Chrysalis takes a roll and stuffs her face with fluffy security.

"Yes, though we are not far from Ponyville. There is no need to leave yet, you are still very ill."

"Ill? Zebra, you are mistaken I have only suffered wounds from the night before. I am blinded in my right eye, my ribs must be broken, and my mane is, well, you can see it for yourself! What kind of illness do you think I have?" Chrysalis demands offended, but too weak to show much strength.

"No, no, I am afraid you are mistaking. You are not ill like having a cold, your heart is merely aching."

"What do you mean, my heart? Changelings don't get broken hearts, Zebra."

"It's Zecora, and why so skeptic? It is no secret that Changelings want to be accepted."

"What are you talking about?" hisses Chrysalis.

"My apologies that came out wrong, I will tell you where you once belonged. Your Changeling ways are not what they seem, for I have heard from stories when I lived upstream. You were once ponies, not much different from me, you lived life in love and joyous jubilee! Changelings loved to dance and sing, but most important were your wings. Changelings changed alongside with nature, each one represented a different creature. Instead of bearing cutie marks, you all had wings from bees and larks. From bugs to birds to dragons and so on, but now all that remains is forgotten and gone. The Everfree Forest was once your home, but now is a shell, dead and cold."

"I do not understand, Zecora. Are you saying that Changelings originally 'changed' due to their surroundings? And, wings from different animals? Not like pegasus wings, but you're saying more like bird and bee wings? Complete nonsense, how would a zebra know anything about Changelings! I wish to go now, I can't stand to hear any more of these lies."

Zecora sighs and gifts the stubborn Changeling a red translucent concoction. "Very well, I will not keep you captive, but take this medicine; it is a potion I enchanted. It will heal you to your original self, farewell for now, I hope I was much help."

"Sure, thanks. I'll be going now." Before leaving Chrysalis eyeballs the heavenly rolls one last time.

Zecora smiles and laughs pridefully, "Here take these with you, you are the only pony I know who can eat the flowers of blue." Zecora wraps up the poison joke rolls into a neat sack. Zecora shows Chrysalis to the door and waves her farewell one last time, "Goodbye Changeling Queen!"

Chrysalis ties the sack around her waist and trots off with the healing potion in her hoof, "So long."

Just as Chrysalis walks away Zecora sadly mutters under her breath, "I hope others will see, you are not so mean."

Part 3 Chrysalis in Ponyville

Chrysalis reaches the border of the Everfree Forest, from a distance she can hear pony laughter and singing. She peeks from behind a tree and spectates the ponies in the neighboring town known as Ponyville. Though uncaring about her position as queen before, she makes a stand and wants nothing more but to overthrow her daughter for betraying her and stealing her kingdom right up from under her. Chrysalis hatches a plan.

"Let's see, " Chrysalis ponders to herself, "This town looks helpless enough. If I were to swoop in take control of the populace with my drone army I-" She pauses and realizes something missing, "That's right I don't have my drones anymore." She thinks harder this time, "What if, I used my magic fungus to mind control the populace! I mean, that's what really happened to the Changelings. Ignorant zebra, she thought Changelings were happy and merry, 'blah blah blah, joyous jubilee'! Bah! Changelings were born from Everfree Fungus, there's nothing joyous about that! That's what the legends say anyway." She scoffs.

Chrysalis looks down at the healing potion, "I better drink this now. The faster I heal, the quicker I can claim this town and retrieve my throne. Curse that Aldora, betrayed me just like her spoiled father." She drinks the red pearly potion and throws the flask aside. She waits, counting the minutes, "I wonder how long this potion will take! I've got a kingdom to take back! Blast it!"

Her stomach begins to churn and a faint glow radiates from her body. Her right eye begins to grow back and her eye opens, but the emerald green from her eyes whitens and her eye shape slowly contorts. The holes in her legs and horn begin to close up.

"What the-?" She grunts, "What's happening? That lying zebra!"

Her night grey coat brightens into an egg shell white and her fangs shorten until they are no more.

"This can't be happening! I've been tricked! Ah!"

Her ribs are put back into place and lost parts of her mane grow back. Her wings become smaller and rounded off with spots now instead of holes. Her mane shines a brilliant cyan hue matching the color of the afternoon sky. Her legs shorten and her stature begins to shrink. Her once intimating voice now becomes soft-spoken and hushed.

"No! No. No..."

Finally, her horn straightens out and dwindles to match the proportions of her feeble structure. The once feared Changeling Queen has now been reduced to a young filly.

"No! No! No! That no good Zebra! I'm going back, I'm going to find her and tell her what's what! This isn't fair!" She storms off in a huff but not too long after, a group of school fillies skip and sing their way off to class escorted by an older pony. Out of the corner of the older pony's eye, she catches what appears to be a filly playing hooky.

"Well, well, well!" The older pony exclaimed, "What do y'all make of this! Hey you! Little filly, come here!"

Chrysalis in her new form doesn't notice the pony calling for her. Chrysalis was about to stomp angrily towards Zecora's hut when the older pony taps her shoulder.

"So now where do you think you're going to little lady?"

Chrysalis spins around and hisses viciously.

The pony disgusted with the filly's manners retaliates, "Well now, that's awfully rude don't ya think? In any case, get to school like the other good fillies. Come on, get a move on!"

Out from behind the antagonizing pony, a younger pony peeps up, "Hey Applejack? I don't know this pony. I think she's new around here, maybe she's lost?"

"Huh? New ya say?" Applejack steps back a little and looks back at the little yellow filly, "I think you're right. I've never seen her around these parts before! Well, I'll be! Welcome to Ponyville little filly! Is it true? Are ya lost?" Applejack begins to sympathize with disguised Chrysalis.

Chrysalis takes a moment to think, "This blasted dolt thinks I belong in school! Well, jokes on her, doesn't she recognize who I am! Well, I guess not if she genuinely believes I'm a filly. Wait a minute, she looks kind of familiar!"

A rowdy voice barks at the three ponies, "Hey! What's the hold up? We're going to be late!" An orange pony with a punkish purple mane appears before them, "Who's this?"

The four ponies now look at Chrysalis with wide eyes, excited to hear her introduction. A small white unicorn bounces up with the rest of them next to the loud orange one. Chrysalis decides to play along. She figures she can get familiar with the town then acquire her true form after.

Chrysalis speaks up and plays the part, "My name is..." She thinks to herself. A name, a name, any name! Come on! She becomes frustrated and decides to choose the name of her deceased mother. She clears her throat and in a quiet filly voice says, "My name is Amaryllis. I'm new around here and yes it's true! I'm terribly lost!"

The white unicorn shrieks in excitement, "Yay! A new pony at our school! A new pony!" She bounces up and down, unable to contain herself, "I'm Sweetie Belle! Nice to meet you!"

The other ponies take turns introducing themselves. Applejack looking up at the school's clock tower from a distance says, "Okay now, y'all can talk more during recess! We gotta get you fillies to class! Come on Amaryllis, we'll show you the way to school!"

The fillies cheer as they take their new potential friend to school, but "Amaryllis" doesn't seem to thrilled.