The Bug in the Herd

Chapters

0 - Prologue
1 - Frustrations in Finances
2 - Unusual House Guest
3 - Gifts and Paranoia
4 - Memories of Loved Ones
5 - Among Smiling Faces
6 - Captured Memories
7 - Talks and Employment
8 - Baltimare
9 - Payback and Nightmares
10 - Voices on the Radio
11 - Sharing Fears
12 - 'Pillow' Talk and Homecoming
13 - Better Off
14 - Ursa
15 - This Heart, Trapped in Chitin
16 - Giving Freely
17 - Epilogue
[APRIL FOOLS] 1,622 - Idiocy in Spring

0 - Prologue

“Alright everypony! The debris is cleared, so get back to your assigned seats! We will be leaving shortly!” The voice of the train conductor rang out over the surrounding landscape, drawing the attention of the ponies who had stepped off of the delayed vehicle to stretch their legs or wings. The train was currently somewhere between Ponyville and Manehattan. Nearby, the edge of a small, unmapped forest rested at the top of a cliff, a dozen or so feet higher than the tracks. At the edge of the forest, a messy, unkempt dark green unicorn mare with teal eyes and a dull blue mane and tail looked down upon the scene with equal parts disgust and exhaustion. On her back rested the unconscious form of a dark blue earth pony stallion with an almost cyan mane and a tail to match.

With a tired sigh, the mare took a few careful leaps to get to the bottom of the cliff, making sure not to drop her ‘passenger’ on the way down. A few ponies nearby turned to face her, jumping in surprise and earning expressions of concern at the pony on her back. They’d noticed he had been missing, then. Without a word, the mare approached the ponies that had seen her and removed the stallion from her back in a bright green magic aura, setting him down in front of them. He had a number of minor injuries, all of which seemed to have been healed to a lesser degree. The shapes and patterns suggested wild animal claws, while the size suggested a young manticore at most.

“He took a beating.I stopped the bleeding but he’ll need somepony to keep an eye on him until he can get properly patched up. Don’t let him move too fast or suddenly and make sure he gets rest.” The mare said bluntly before turning and cantering back to the cliff-side.

“Hey, wait!” one of the ponies, a mare, called after her. However, her words fell on deaf ears. The green mare channeled magic into her horn and teleported to the top of the cliff, retreating back into the forest.

* * * * * * *

The train was back in motion, rolling along at a good speed towards Manehattan. One of the sleeping compartments had an additional, albeit temporary guest in the form of the blue stallion from earlier. A few first aid kits had been applied with a bit of help from a Nurse on vacation. Said nurse was in the process of checking over the bandages and gauze one more time when he began to wake up. He stirred for a moment before a sharp hiss escaped from between tightly clenched teeth.

“Mother bucker!” He yelped as the pain in his system registered fully with his mind. His eyes shot open and looked around at his surroundings.

“Woah, easy! Easy! Try to hold still.” The nurse said in a quick, but practiced voice, resting her white forehooves on the stallion’s shoulders. He struggled for only a second before getting himself under control. He looked at the nurse and then the bandages covering his body with a perpetual, pained grimace.

“What the… What happened to me?” He groaned, eyes widening slightly as he looked at just how much of his body was covered up.

“Honestly, I have no idea. All I know is you vanished for a little while before being brought back to the train by somepony from the woods. She had patched you up but didn’t say anything beyond that. Don’t you remember anything?”

“Well, I don’t have amnesia, if that’s what you’re asking…” The stallion muttered, “But no, I don’t remember how I got these wounds… or anything after stepping off the train, really.” He rubbed a forehoof against the side of his head absently, trying to think.

“I see. Well, I’m just glad I could help get these patched up. We’ll be arriving in Manehattan in an hour or so. When we do, I would strongly suggest that you get to a hospital and get yourself more thoroughly examined.” The nurse said before smiling at him. “Oh, my name’s Redheart, by the way.”

“Tone Shift.” The stallion replied, earning a curious expression from Redheart.

“Tone Shift? I think I’ve heard that name before…” She said to herself, tapping her chin in thought.

“Depends on how much radio you listen to and on what channels.” Shift replied, looking up at the bottom of the bunk above his.

“Oh! You’re that voice actor! Did the voice of… um… what's-his-face in Warriors from The Comet!”

“The character was named ‘Topaz Rune,’ and yes, that was me. All three pages of dialogue that earned me a month’s rent in bits.” He chuckled slightly in amusement. The demand for voice actors was small, but rapidly growing. He was just glad he hopped on board as early as he did.

“Heh. You have a pretty good voice for that kinda thing.” Redheart smiled warmly.

“It’s in the name and the mark.”

“Yes, well, ahem. I’d best go see to my own things. Try to stay still and relax, okay?” Redheart suggested before standing to trot away.

“Question!” Tone Shift suddenly blurted out, causing Redheart to pause and look back at him curiously.

“Yes?”

“The pony who brought me back to the train; what did she look like?” He asked with great interest. Redheart pondered for a second.

“I didn’t see her, myself. I heard she was green with a blue mane and tail, though.”

Tone Shift nodded and was silent for a few moments. “...Thanks.” He finally managed.

“You’re welcome.” Redheart said before stepping out. Tone Shift looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

Green and blue…? I remember that much. I know what she looks like then… why can’t I remember anything else, though?

With a tired sigh, he closed his eyes in an effort to try and satisfy the request of the off-duty nurse who had been kind enough to help him out.

1 - Frustrations in Finances

“Dang it.” Tone Shift grumbled irritably to himself as he looked over this months rent and bills. Between medical expenses back in Manehattan and the train tickets, which got more expensive due to the difficulties with the tracks, he barely had enough to pay off all of these bills. He set the sheets of parchment down and then ran a forehoof over his face with a frustrated groan sneaking out. His last job had paid well enough, but the medical bills took out most of the extra bits he normally would have used for food and stress relief. He hadn’t had any luck finding another contract recently, either.

It had been about a week since he arrived in Manehattan at this point. He was now seated in his old but functional ‘office’ chair in his Ponyville house. He called it that, but he didn’t have an office. More accurately, he had a corner of his house’s first floor that was otherwise unused. So he shoved a desk back there and used that space to manage his money.

The rest of the room was pretty average. A couch he had bought a couple months back sat against the wall with a coffee-table directly in front. Said coffee table had a framed photograph and a radio on it. On both ends of the wall the couch rested against were doors. The one farthest from Tone right now led to the kitchen and dining room and rested pretty close to the door that opened into the exterior. The other door led to the bathroom.

The walls were slightly faded, an indication of the age of the place as well as Tone Shift’s inability to maintain its aesthetics. As of now, he simply cared about making sure everything was functional and effective.

Tone Shift looked one more time over a sheet he used to keep track of how many bits he had available, be it with him, in his saddlebags or in the bank. Running the numbers one last time made it quite clear to him; When he payed off his rent and other bills, he’d have enough bits for a bundle of grapes and maybe a couple apples. A breakfast, at best.

Tone Shift sighed and pulled away from the desk, flopping down on the couch and turning on the radio in the hopes of hearing of some more voice work he could audition for. It could happen, if he listened long enough and jumped on it as soon as such an opportunity came up.

Soft piano tunes began playing from the subtle static of the radio. His eyes began to aimlessly drift about as he waited for a pony voice to come on. He had maybe twenty minutes before that would happen. Finally, his eyes landed on the photograph on the table. It was of him and his parents, standing in front of a beautiful lake surrounded by lush, vibrant forests. He had just gotten his cutie mark the night before. It was of two theater masks, one of comedy and one of tragedy leaning away from each other slightly. A microphone stood between them with another theater mask imprinted on it, it’s face split in half to show both variants.

According to his parents and the other family they were camping with, he had absolutely nailed the voices in his campfire story the previous night, changing voices and tones perfectly and seamlessly to go with the story he told. Nopony even noticed he had gotten his cutie mark until the following morning. That was when they took that photo.

Tone Shift smiled softly at the fond memory.

“And an absolutely stellar suggestion from our audience concludes! Thanks to whoever sent that in. You’re listening to Mighty Rider Radio. As you all probably know, I’m Signal Boost, your host. We’re gonna be sliding out of music for a little bit to touch a few articles and news notices.” The radio began to speak, drawing Tone Shift’s attention from less complicated parts of his life.

He listened intently as Signal Boost rattled off a few news stories first and then got into job offers.

“Let’s see, here. We’ve got a few potential jobs for any of you actor-ponies out there.”

Tone Shift leaned forward, listening intently now.

“Local performances are holding auditions at Town Hall, so anypony who wants to partake in a stage play, that’s where you go. Listing says they need three mares and one stallion for the role…”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s all well and good. What about voice work?” Tone Shift asked to the radio, tapping his hooves against the edge of the couch in anticipation.

“There’s also a voice-over job for the main character of a new radio-drama that is currently in production. The company studio is located in Baltimare and has audition events set up in Baltimare, Manehattan, Las Pegasus and the Crystal Empire for the next week. Now, on to retail work…”

“Oh, screw you!” Shift suddenly snapped, picking up the couch cushion next to him and hurling it at the radio, sending the black speaker box toppling to the floor with a loud crash. A few small pieces rolled by and the radio fell silent, the host’s voice replaced by dull static. Tone Shift took a moment to calm himself down, taking in deep breaths and breathing them out slowly. “Wonderful… just another expense I gotta take care of.”

Stepping off the couch, he examined the radio, determined it would be cheaper to replace it and threw it into the trash bin he kept in the kitchen. After taking a little bit to make sure he was calm and collected, he decided it might not be a bad idea to look at other job listings around town while he still had daylight to work with. Glancing out the window to confirm that he still had a few hours of day and the weather wasn’t bad, he set off into town.

* * * * * * *

“I’m sorry, sir. The market isn’t that big for voice actors right now.” The nice mare behind the counter said as Tone Shift glanced over the paper’s ‘help wanted’ section.

“Tell me about it…” He muttered to himself, folding the paper back up and putting it down. He was at a cafe and was fortunate to find that there was a free newspaper he could look at, since somepony else had forgotten to take it with them when they left.

“If you don’t mind, may I ask why you don’t take to stage performances alongside vocal ones?” The mare inquired curiously, causing Tone Shift to deflate somewhat.

“I tried when I was starting out. Not a good option for me.” He said with a hint of bitterness in his voice at a not-so-good memory.

“Oh? Why’s that?"

Tone Shift shot her a glance, the way his eyebrows were tilted made it look like he was getting angry.

“Oh, nevermind. I’m sorry, forget I said any-”

“No, no. It’s fine.” Tone Shift dismissed her apology with a wave of his hoof. “Put simply, I don’t mind doing that sort of performance with only a few ponies watching. Friends, family, that kinda group. Put me in front of an entire crowd and, well…” He shrugged. “I kinda turn into a statue of a pony until I get removed from the stage by theatre staff. It’s all those strangers, ya know? I’m not comfortable with it. A type of stage fright, I guess.” He let out a puff of air from his mouth, his cheeks ballooning up slightly as he did.

“Oh. That sounds pretty rough.” The mare replied, nodding slightly in understanding.

“It is, trust me.” Tone Shift replied before sliding out of his seat. “I wish I could give you a tip, but, well…”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.”

After paying for the cup of juice he had ordered while looking over the paper, Tone Shift exited the cafe and started walking. The odds of the only other paper in Ponyville having other listings that might be up his alley were pretty much non-existent. He was just out of luck, it seemed.

The sun was starting to set, ponies were closing up shop and heading home for the day. Tone Shift decided to follow their example, with the intention being to get some much needed sleep. He’d tend to his bills in the morning.

As he began to trip back to his house, his mind briefly wandered back to that mare he had been told about; the one that returned him to the train after finding him wounded in some capacity. He still couldn’t remember any of the details of that event save for the visual appearance of the pony in question, and even that memory was starting to become blurry from time spent not thinking about it.

Who was that…? He found himself thinking. There had been no other tellings, reports or even rumors of that mare, that he was aware of. As far as he knew, he, along with the pony or two that saw her, were the only ones to have any sort of interaction with her.

As his own home came into view, he took pause at something in the corner of his eye. Movement. He turned and looked, spotting a silhouette slowly retreating into the treeline of the Everfree Forest. It looked like a pony. Why was this pony going into the Everfree? That place was dangerous, especially at night. Tone Shift turned on his hooves and picked up the pace to at least make sure the pony would be alright heading in on their own.

As he drew closer, though, his eyes widened. He recognized this pony. Green coat, dull blue mane and tail, and Tone thought he could see the tip of a horn from here. This was the pony that had brought him to the train! He picked up his pace to just shy of a full blown gallop, now hoping to get some answers. His hoof steps were heard, the mare looking over her shoulder at him and her eyes widening. She turned away and tried to increase her speed, but as he got closer, Tone Shift could tell she was in a bad way.

She looked skinny, practically starved. Her ribs showed faintly under her coat, and she was limping. “Hey! Wait!” Tone called out as he drew closer. The mare picked up the pace, lost her balance and toppled helplessly to the side, colliding her barrel to the roots of an Everfree tree. She let out a pained grunt and gasped for breath.

Tone came to a stop directly next to her, looking down at her with mouth agape and nervous eyes. Her right foreleg looked like it had suffered a pretty nasty blow. It was incredibly swollen and had a couple of puncture marks on it, like a snake or similarly fanged creature had bitten her. “Oh my goodness, you’re hurt! You need help!” He said, moving forward to try and help her up.

“Stay away from me!” The mare snapped, baring her teeth and glaring daggers at him. Her teeth were far sharper looking than that of any average pony. She shifted her weight and tried to stand once more, but failed.

“You need help. Please, let me take you to the clinic. It’s the least I can do-”

“Absolutely NOT!” The mare almost screamed at him, a mixture of anger and fear in her voice. She continued struggling to stand, finally managing to slump pathetically against the tree. “I’d sooner die here than be subjected to them! Or anymore of you!” She turned her eyes to glare into his, snarling. “You should just turn around and forget you ever saw me! You need to… just…” her eyes slowly widened.

“...Do you remember me? Uh, you saved my life, remember? Out in the wilds, near the train tracks?” Tone Shift said gently, trying to distract her from the fact that he was now drawing closer to her.

“I… I remember… but, no, how… how do you remember any of that? I… I wiped away…” The mare coughed violently, a swirl of strange pink energy swirling out of her mouth and disappearing like steam.

“Woah!” Tone Shift yelped, taking a few steps back as the mare kept coughing and hacking, more pink mist flowing from her mouth with each one. After several moments, her physical form seemed to blur. She coughed again, her appearance changing almost instantly in a swirl of green fire.

Tone Shift gasped at what he saw. Black chitin covered her body instead of a coat. She had green eyes with slits for pupils, ragged insect wings and an unkempt, deap teal mane and tail. A long, uneven horn sprouted from her forehead, a faint glow of magic surrounding it before flickering away.

Queen Chrysalis, former leader of the Changeling Kingdom, sat in front of him, broken, wounded, starved and helpless. She focused her eyes upwards toward the dissipating pink mist. “No… NO!” She cried weakly, reaching a hoof out and trying to pull the energy back in with magic. Her horn only flickered at the tip before giving out.

There were several moments of silence. Chrysalis finally looked at him, her face twisted into one of despair. “...Go ahead. Leave me. Let me starve. It’s what any of your other fellow ponies would do…” She snarled, turning her eyes to look away from him before trying to stand up once more, only to fail again.

Tone Shift could hardly believe what was happening. He blinked several times to see if it would dispel some unnoticed hallucination, but the image remained the same. His brain went into overdrive, trying to figure out what to do. He had no idea what to do, the more he thought about it. The dethroned ruler of an entire enemy nation was in front of him, completely powerless. While Thorax had done a great job of making the Changelings into quickly growing allies with Equestria, it was no secret that Chrysalis had not shared that mentality…

Tone Shift looked down for a moment, closing his eyes to gather his thoughts. He tried to think… What would my parents do? He thought back to any instances even remotely similar to this that could give him an idea. All he could come up with was that one time his mother had let a homeless pony sleep on the family couch that night in exchange for the pony in question doing some basic tasks in the morning before sending him on his way with food.

Before he knew what was happening, he felt a slight tug on his chest and opened his eyes. Chrysalis’ eyes had opened wide and unfocused, a stream of the pink energy flowing from him to her. He could tell pretty quickly that she was feeding on his love for his mother, drawing the energy from his moment of fond reminiscing.

He quickly stepped forward and grabbed her by the face with his hooves, getting her attention and stopping her seemingly passive snack on his emotions. “Disguise. Now.” He said firmly, staring into her eyes with a fiery intensity.

Am I about to do what I think I’m about to do?

Author's Note

Yes, Tone Shift. Yes you are about to do what you think you're about to do. :P I should know. I've already written the next chapter, although it still needs to be edited.

To anyone popping in to read this story, I hope you enjoy it! Please, feel free to let me know what you think, make guesses at future plot developments or, heck, just goof off in the comments section. My stories may often get dark, serious and depressing, but I am often times wild and goofy myself, so I'd probably join in. :P

2 - Unusual House Guest

Chrysalis blinked at Tone Shift, a curious, confuzed tint coming over her eyes. The little nibble she had got from him looked like it had given her at least a little bit of strength. She narrowed her eyes at him before shoving his hooves off of her face and glaring at him. “And why should I do that?” She asked coldly, trying once more to stand up.

Tone Shift took a step back to make some room for her, a stern look coming over him. “Because if anypony else sees you, there will be a riot, complete with pitchforks and torches faster than you would think possible.”

Chrysalis snorted as she finally, albeit wobbly, got to her hooves. “Well, then I suggest you turn around and go home before anypony gets suspicious and comes looking for you.” She turned to start walking away, though it was still perfectly clear to Tone Shift she wouldn’t last more than the night with what she had gotten from him.

“There is also the fact that you’ll starve out here.” He said bluntly, giving Chrysalis pause. She turned her glare back to him, a scowl coming over her face.

“And what’s to keep me from pinning you down and draining you dry?” She snarled, making her fangs quite visible. Tone Shift had to admit she was intimidating, taking a nervous step back, ready to bolt at an instant’s notice if she lunged for him.

“We’re too close to Ponyville, and I think you should know, I’m a bit of a screamer.” He gave her a smirk, though it quickly faded as Chrysalis gave an angry hiss, baring her fangs threateningly.

“Then I’ll just go for the throat!” She snapped before lunging at him. Tone Shift acted on reflex, stepping back and throwing his forelegs up to catch her before she reached him. She impacted against him, snarling, snapping and hissing at him, her body weight and the force of her lunge causing him to topple backwards. The two struggled against each other for several moments, grunting with effort.

But in her still very weakened state, Chrysalis lost her strength before she could get in any decent hits. Noting this, Tone Shift pushed back and rolled them over, pinning Chrysalis down beneath him, one hoof just under her horn, another on her chest to minimize resistance. Thank Celestia for earth pony strength…

She had gone still, his hoof under her horn giving a push to make it quite clear he was not against the idea of striking if he had to. “That. Is. Enough!” He snarled at her, having her full attention now. “You’re in no condition to be running off in the forest if you can’t even best an earth pony with a lazy job like me!”

Chrysalis growled at him, but said nothing in rebuttal. After several moments, Tone Shift slowly removed himself from Chrysalis, making sure she wasn’t going to try anything else before backing up fully. Chrysalis pulled herself to her hooves, slumping against the tree and taking a few deep breaths. Tone Shift gestured at her. “Disguise. Now.”

She spat at the ground, but complied, a swirl of green fire providing the disguise she had been using before. Tone Shift winced at the sight, as the change was so abrupt. He had never really seen a Changeling do their thing up close, and he had to admit, it was rather unsettling. “Alright… come on.” he said a bit more gently, trotting up next to her and letting her support herself on him.

“What are you planning?” Chrysalis droned, sounding tired and resigned. She wasn’t looking at him, her eyes downturned and closed as he began to help her along.

“That is a good question…” Tone Shift silently mouthed to himself before actually answering her question with, “For now, I’m going to make sure you aren’t going to drop dead from starvation, get that leg of yours patched up and then probably take you to Princess Twilight.”

Chrysalis scoffed and looked away from him even more giving a short, agitated “Hmph.”

Some clouds were overhead, but luckily there was no rain. Some moonlight faintly peeked out from behind the clouds, giving spots of faint illumination. The trek back to Tone’s house was silent, save for Chrysalis occasionally hissing in discomfort from her wounded leg and their hooves brushing through the grass.

Her eyes shone with disgust as she glanced around Ponyville, but she didn’t get much of a chance to depreciate the architecture as they shortly came to Tone Shift’s house. “Here we are.” He said simply, pushing the door open and bringing Chrysalis inside. He brought her to the couch, made her sit and then went to the windows. “Go ahead and drop your disguise. Save your energy.” He said as he locked each window and closed the curtains.

Chrysalis glared at him, but otherwise complied, dropping her disguise. Soon, all the windows were locked and covered, leaving Chrysalis’ eyes as the only source of illumination for a moment. Tone Shift was on top of things, swiftly moving to the couch and turning on a lantern he kept next to it for whenever he needed to do something at night. The glow was enough to illuminate the room with a soft yellow light.

Chrysalis watched Tone Shift intently as he started moving around the house, checking things and then disappearing into the kitchen. “Question!” Tone Shift’s voice called from the other room. “Do Changelings eat anything besides love?” Chrysalis blinked in surprise. Food?

“Bring me an animal corpse and I’ll demonstrate.” She snarked dryly, looking straight ahead.

“Carnivore… gotcha.” Tone Shift said from the kitchen. Chrysalis looked around for several moments, examining her surroundings from the couch as though looking for an escape route. Several minutes passed before a scent caught her nose, prompting an instinctual inhale and her mouth to water. Whatever it was, it smelled good.

Tone Shift returned about a minute later with a simple plate balanced on his back. He slid it onto the couch, revealing to Chrysalis that it was covered in scrambled eggs, very lightly salted. She glanced up at him quizzically, asking him a question with her expression alone.

“No, I don’t eat the eggs on their own,” Tone Shift remarked dryly, rolling his eyes. “They’re usually used in the baking of cakes and other such things.”

“I know that, idiot.” Chrysalis said condescendingly, looking more at the plate than him now. “I’m wondering why you’re feeding me.”

“Because I figure it would be rather rude to let my guest starve on my couch in the middle of the night.” Tone replied bluntly before gesturing to the plate. “I don’t know how much that’ll give you, but eat up.”

Chrysalis looked at Tone Shift with growing surprise. Not only was this pony feeding her, but he was also acting with surprising confidence. Still, the grumbling her stomach made pushed all other thoughts aside. She shoved her face down into the plate and began greedily eating. She must have been more engrossed in this then she realized, as she didn’t even notice Tone Shift leaving and coming back with a simple blanket until it was set down in front of her.

“Once your done eating, get some sleep. We’re gonna be talking in the morning.” he turned slightly and looked at her more directly. “And please don’t try to leave, okay? I don’t like the idea of somepony, even you, dying when I could have prevented it.”

Chrysalis snorted at him before wolfing down the last remaining scraps of egg on the plate. “And what’s to stop me slipping out through a window when you’re asleep?”

“For one thing, all locked, and I have the key. Secondly, I’m not leaving this room until you’re asleep.” He replied simply, giving her a coy look and sitting down with his back to the wall, keeping an eye on her.

“I’m a Changeling — no, I’m the queen of the Changelings. What makes you so sure you can tell that I’m actually asleep and not just faking it?” She asked confidently, giving her own smirk.

“I think I’ll know.” Tone Shift replied, putting on a challenging look.

“We’ll see about that.” Chrysalis accepted his challenge confidently.

* * * * * * *

Chrysalis let out a content snore upon the couch, well and truly fast asleep. Tone Shift let out a yawn and blinked tiredly before removing himself from the wall and making his way for his room. He had to give her credit, she stayed awake longer than he would have guessed she could have. She had really given him a run for his money for a while, faking sleep for almost an hour before it truly claimed her. He could tell it had because of the way her sleeping changed. She went from simple deep breaths to surprisingly loud snores. Plus, she started shifting around and mumbling to herself. Tone Shift had spent a good thirty minutes making sure she was really asleep before now.

He checked a wall-mounted clock as he went to his room, and flinched as he realized that he must have been tending to Chrysalis and staring her down for a good long while. It was well past midnight. He made it to his room and flopped into his bed, making sure to set his alarm clock for around eight thirty AM. He would like to get more sleep than that, but he also wanted to make sure Chrysalis didn’t break out of his house when the sun came up. He knew she’d try that if he wasn’t awake first.

As soon as his alarm was set, he looked up at the ceiling and passed out.

* * * * * * *

Chrysalis’ face scrunched up as the curtains were pulled back just enough to let in some sunlight. She quickly opened her eyes, becoming fully awake in only a second or so as she quickly took stalk of her situation. She seemed to mentally berate herself as she realized she had fallen asleep. Once she had blinked the remaining sleep from her eyes, Tone Shift let the curtain fall back into place, casting the room into relative darkness once more. Sunlight still pierced through the curtains, but at least now nopony looking at his windows would see the Changeling queen sleeping on his couch.

“Good morning.” Tone Shift said groggily, obviously still casting off the remainders of his own sleep. He held a mug of coffee in his free hoof, freshly brewed. He took a sip before half trotting, half stumbling away from the window to attend to some items he still had sitting on his office desk.

Chrysalis didn’t say anything, simply staring at the back of his head as he set about writing something down on a few slips of parchment before placing them into envelopes. He stood after he was done, took another swig of coffee and turned to look at Chrysalis. “Alright, time for that talk I mentioned. I have questions for you.”

“Is that so?” Chrysalis grumbled dryly, tilting her head back slightly to look at something else.

“Yes. First of all, how much does physical food effect a Changeling? I know you primarily survive on love and all that, but I’m not about to go giving up mine willy nilly.” He asked, stepping forward slightly and taking on a more relaxed posture.

Chrysalis looked at him with an almost curious gaze, now. She decided to humor him, leaning back slightly and adopting a neutral expression. “For Changelings, physical food doesn’t have much taste and doesn’t feed us nearly as much as love does. That plate of eggs you gave me was less even than the snack I absorbed from you passively.”

“And that wasn’t even that much.” Tone Shift inferred, earning a nod from Chrysalis.

“Correct.” Chrysalis said simply before falling silent, waiting for Tone Shift to say something else. He rubbed the back of his head a bit before groaning tiredly to himself. “Aren’t you going to say something? I would have thought you had more questions.” Chrysalis said tauntingly, earning a look from Tone.

“Quiet, you.” He said before downing the last of his coffee. Setting the mug down on his coffee table, he circled around and looked at Chrysalis’ wounded foreleg. She recoiled at his sudden proximity, baring her fangs threateningly on instinct as he picked it up to look at it. The puncture marks were closed up, but it was still swollen and looked rather painful still. “What bit you?”

“Begging your pardon?”

“You had puncture marks on your foreleg last night, the locations said to me that you had been bit. What bit you?” he explained, looking it over a bit more thoroughly, finding the scabs on the side of her foreleg to be only slightly brighter than the rest of her body.

“Why?” Chrysalis asked seriously, earning a glance from Tone Shift.

“Well, if it was venomous, it could still pose an issue.” He replied, mentally berating himself for forgetting to check on that the previous night.

“I meant why do you care?” Chrysalis snapped, sounding irritated. Tone Shift quickly retreated at her voice, ready to leap to the side if she tried to lunge again. She glared at him with a mixture of anger and confusion. “What in equestria makes you even want to see me live?! Any other pony would have either left me to die or immediately turned me into the authorities, who would have either imprisoned me or executed me!” She went to step off of the couch, hissing in pain as her swollen leg touched down. “So, why oh why are you trying to help me?! What could you possibly stand to gain from it?!”

A tense silence filled the room, Tone Shift’s eyes had dilated from her proximity, as she now practically had him pinned to the wall, teeth bared and eyes burning with confused anger. She hadn’t even noticed how quickly she had approached him, but didn’t back off, narrowing her eyes at him. ‘Answer me!”

“I…” Tone Shift gulped, the only thing separating Chrysalis’ fangs from his throat being an awkwardly positioned forehoof. “...I kinda can’t think straight with you this close to me.”

“Don’t snark me! Answer my question!” Chrysalis barked, her horn lighting up and forcing Tone Shift’s hoof away, pinning it to the wall and giving her free reign to tear out his jugular, if she so pleased.

“B-because I… I w-want to r-repay you!” He finally managed to sputter, causing Chrysalis to back off and let him collapse to the floor.

“...Repay me?” Chrysalis asked, looking at him with widened eyes.

“Yeah… as I understand it, you saved my life… even though I doubt you really needed to.” He said carefully, his voice trembling as much as he was as he slowly got to his hooves.

Chrysalis tilted her head at him, backing up to give him some room. “What do you mean, ‘as you understand it’?”

“I don’t remember the event. I only remembered your disguised self, and the ponies on the train told me you brought me back, having patched up some pretty grievous wounds.” He said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down a bit more. “But here’s what I want to know…” He turned his eyes to Chrysalis’ own, his own curiosity starting to shine through. “What happened? What was I doing in the woods anyway?”

Chrysalis blinked and grunted. “I kidnapped you and took you into the woods, if you must know.” She said, glaring at him, though the way her eyes were shifting away slightly made her look almost embarrased.

“Kidnapped me?” Tone Shift asked, surprised.

“Yes. In case you forgot, I was usurped from my own hive! I’ve been scavenging for food wherever I can these last months. You just happened to be a meal along the way.” She said, turning away from him and making her way back to the couch. Tone Shift looked surprised, but then a slight smirk came to his face.

This is gonna go badly… but I just gotta. He found himself thinking as the words began to leave his mouth before he could catch them.

“So… let me get this straight. You abducted me from the train, took me into the woods, and then drained me of my love?” He said with a certain coyness to his voice that earned a quizzical glance from Chrysalis.

“That’s what I just said, yes.” Chrysalis said carefully, eyeing him questioningly.

“How did I do?” He followed up, causing Chrysalis to blink.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, I mean, how was it? How much food did you get out of me? Did you enjoy it?” He followed up. I should really stop while she doesn’t get it…

Chrysalis looked at him for several moments, but then her expression flattened into one of annoyance. “...You really don’t know how we get food, do you?”

“Well, I mean, I was assuming that-”

“You should really stop assuming things.” Chrysalis snarled, baring her teeth at him. “Now go get me some food, or I might just have to drain you in more ways than one.” Her tone lowered to emphasize the threat. “And trust me… you wouldn’t like how it would end for you...” She gave her fangs a lick with her forked tongue. Tone Shift started blushing, and then his face paled considerably.

‘Ah, a-alright!” He said quickly before making a very swift exit to the kitchen. From where she was, Chrysalis heard the sound of pans rattling around as he moved around the kitchen. A loud clatter and crash indicated he dropped something.

“Tch. Idiot.” Chrysalis muttered humorously to herself. “You don’t live as the Changeling Queen for as long as I have and not pick up on that sort of misconception… or how to turn it on your prey for your own amusement.” She grinned to herself before settling back down on the couch to take the weight off of her wounded foreleg.

3 - Gifts and Paranoia

Tone Shift returned a short while later, another plate of eggs on his back. He paused briefly once he exited from the kitchen, watching Chrysalis curiously. Chrysalis herself was staring with curiosity at the photo on Tone Shift’s coffee table. Wordlessly, he resumed his path and set the plate down on the table. Chrysalis leaned away from the picture and settled against the couch again, using a short burst of Telekinesis to bring the plate over to her.

“I assume the two adults in that photo are your parents?” She questioned idly, earning a short nod from Tone.

“Yeah, those are my parents. That was the day I got my cutie mark.” He replied, looking at the picture himself and smiling softly at the fond memory. He noticed Chrysalis looking far more intently at him a few moments later and quickly redirected his attention. “A-anyway, before you spooked me into the kitchen, I was trying to ask you about that bite wound on your leg.”

“It was a large cobra, if you must know.” Chrysalis grunted through a mouthful of eggs. Tone Shift whirled to look at her head-on.

“Woah, what? A cobra?! The ones around here can be pretty venomous!” He blurted, sounding rather worried. Chrysalis stared blankly at him.

“Yes, and I am a Changeling Queen. It’s more than just a rank, you know.” Chrysalis explained boredly. “It is also used to describe my physical body compared to what my drones used to be…” she winced when she said that, but continued, “I am taller, stronger, more magically gifted and also have innate resistances to things like disease, poison, toxins and venom. Not complete or total resistance, mind you, but more than enough to make the snake bite an aggravating hinderance and nothing more.”

Tone Shift nodded as he took that information in. “I see. Well, that’s a relief.” Looking briefly back towards the photo, he gave a quiet sigh. “Okay, look. You can feed off of love passively, right?”

Chrysalis nodded. “Yes. If a creature nearby is feeling love for any reason, be it from proximity to a loved one or mere fond memories, passive consumption happens.”

“And how well does that feed you?” Tone furthered, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Considering passively drawing love from an entire city block in Canterlot was barely a snack, it doesn’t draw much from individuals.”

Tone Shift tapped his chin for a moment. “Alright, well, Ponyville is pretty much the friendliest town in Equestria. If you take on a disguise and just walk around a bit, would that help you keep yourself fed?”

“Forget it.” Chrysalis said sharply, turning a harsh gaze on Tone Shift. “I could kill you and leave at any time, now. The only reason I’m not consuming all of your love and leaving your shriveled up husk on the floor is simply because… Well, we’re even.” She said, looking away slightly and sounding as if she was unsure of what she was saying. “I saved your life, you saved mine. Killing you would only leave evidence that the ponies could follow me with.”

“But, on the flip-side of that coin, you can’t just walk out and expect me to keep my mouth shut. You’re kind of screwed no matter how you flip it on that front.” He pointed out, earning a mild smirk from Chrysalis.

“Perhaps, but, in case you forgot, I can alter perceptions, influence minds and, oh yes, erase memories.” She pointed a hoof at him to emphasise the point. “I did it to you once, I can do it again.”

“If you can do that, why haven’t you yet?” Tone Shift shot back, hoping his theory on this matter was correct. “Is it because it takes too much energy?”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to say something, glared at him, lowered her hoof and growled. “Shut up.”

Tone Shift couldn’t help but laugh slightly at that. “Well, you just stay here and rest a bit longer, okay? You’re appetite brought me down to my last two eggs. I’m gonna run to the store and buy another carton.” He turned and trotted for the door. “But you’re welcome to put on a disguise and come with me, if you want. You could soak up some love passively and get in some food.”

Chrysalis scoffed, looking away. “I’ll pass.”

Tone Shift paused in the open door frame, looking at her for a moment before nodding. “Suit yourself.” He stepped out and closed the door.

After several moments of silence, Chrysalis looked back towards the photograph. From her perception, she could make out very faint wisps and marks of pink energy coming off of the photo; remnants of externalized love. Studying the locations of each spot on the photo’s glass cover, she noticed the pattern.

They looked almost exactly like the dried marks left by tears when dropped onto a solid surface.

* * * * * * *

An amused chuckle brought Chrysalis back to her senses. She opened her eyes to find her face was practically buried in a couch pillow. She sat up and shook her head slightly to get the remnants of her impromptu nap out of her system. Tone Shift was standing by the front door, looking at her with an amused smile. “You like those pillows, eh?” He asked jokingly.

Chrysalis opted for a nonverbal response, simply glaring daggers at him and twitching her upper lip a bit to draw his attention to her fangs, reminding him that they hadn’t fallen out while he was out. He took the hint, dropped his smirk and shuffled into the kitchen with grocery bags in tow.

Chrysalis looked down to her foreleg to see how it was doing. The bite marks were more or less gone and the swelling had gone down considerably. She briefly tested it by pushing it into the edge of the coffee table, feeling for any pains that would make moving around troublesome. Detecting none, she carefully slipped off of the couch and stood fully upright before giving a stretch, a few satisfying pops sounding from her chitin-clad back as she finally got to work out some of this stiffness.

She took a moment, before deciding to follow Tone Shift into his kitchen. If I’m to be a prisoner in this house, I may as well know my way around… she thought to herself. Entering the kitchen revealed it doubled as a miniature dining room. The counter, fridge and cabinets all adorned the left side of the room. A small square table with two chairs that didn’t match pushed up to it occupied the corner to Chrysalis’ immediate right. The table in question had one of the grocery bags on it.

“You sure you won’t fall over?” Tone Shift asked from where he was by the fridge, drawing Chrysalis’ attention.

“I’m sure.” Chrysalis said before looking at the bag on the table again. It’s contents were oddly uniform in shape, looking almost like a block. “What is this?”

“Hm? Oh, those are books I borrowed from Princess Twilight. I don’t know if you knew this, but she has a section of her castle that doubles as a public library.” Tone Shift replied as he finished putting away the groceries before closing the fridge. “I’m kind of broke right now, so I couldn’t really buy more than that carton of eggs…” He turned to look at Chrysalis and froze at the look she was giving him.

Her glare could have easily melted steel beams if it’s intensity generated heat. Her lips curled back in a snarl as she voiced her concerns. “You told her I’m here, didn’t you?!” She snapped, hunching down slightly in preparation to either leap at him in an attack or break into a sprint to get away.

“What? No! No, I didn’t! I swear!” Tone denied, waving his forelegs in front of him frantically, hoping to avoid getting pinned to the wall by Chrysalis again. He figured if she did it again, she wouldn’t show mercy this time.

“Don’t lie to me!” Chrysalis barked before lunging at him. Tone Shift tried to duck to the side, but was too slow. Chrysalis tackled him before slamming him against the wall hard enough to shake the clock off of it’s hook, sending it clattering to the floor.

“Please! I’m not lying to you! I didn’t tell her, honest!” Tone Shift pleaded, trying to keep Chrysalis’ fangs away from him, but soon found he was trying to protect himself from the wrong body part. Her horn lit up with a bright, sickly green before she harshly pressed the tip to his forehead. Tone Shift let out a shocked gasp before going stiff and still, his eyes going dull and unfocused as Chrysalis invaded his mind…

* * * * * * *

Tone Shift nodded in thanks to the Stallion behind the counter as he spent the last of his bits on a small carton of eggs. Putting it carefully into one of his bags, he stepped out of the store and pondered what he should do next.

He glanced back towards his house, turning his thoughts to Chrysalis and her health. She seems to have improved pretty well… Maybe now would be a good time to tell the Princess she’s here. He thought before starting towards Twilight’s castle, the structure being easy enough to find with the starburst-shaped Beacon of Friendship at it’s top visible from pretty much all of Ponyville.

As he began to approach the front gates, he took a moment to pause and double check his thoughts on the matter, re-assessing how Chrysalis looked last time he saw her. He wanted to make sure she wouldn’t starve to death once she left his house. With a shrug, he pulled on the rope and handle that signaled the castle’s equivalent of a doorbell.

A minute passed before a slot in the door opened up, revealing Spike the dragon peeking through. “Oh, hiya! Do you need anything?” He asked in a friendly tone, looking at Tone Shift curiously.

“Uh, yeah. May I speak to Princess Twilight?” Tone asked carefully, keeping his posture somewhat upright.

“She’s getting herself and Starlight ready for some magic practice later, but I’ll check. Is it important?”

“Kinda.” Tone Shift said, mentally berating himself for his choice of words. It’s more than ‘kinda’ important, you big doof!

Spike nodded before closing the slot and presumably running off to let Twilight know he was here. Tone Shift waited patiently, standing still for almost another two minutes before the door was enveloped in a lavender glow and swung inwards. Princess Twilight stepped out, wearing a curious, albeit also somewhat annoyed, smile. Tone Shift swiftly dropped into a bow, earning a rolling of Twilight’s eyes.

“No need for that. Stand up.” She said casually, earning a nod from Tone Shift as he stood.

“Thanks for agreeing to speak with me, your highness.” Tone Shift said, trying to figure out how to word his message.

“Spike said you called it important, so here I am. What do you need to discuss?” Twilight asked, cutting right to the point.

“Right. See, I…” Tone Shift paused, the words catching in his throat. Twilight looked at him curiously as he awkwardly shifted his weight around.

“Go on, I’m listening.” Twilight urged gently, now looking genuinely intrigued.

“I, uh…” Tone Shift could feel a bead of sweat making it’s way down the back of his neck. What the buck is wrong with me? Just say it! He screamed at himself mentally. “I, well… I have a friend visiting and was wondering if I could borrow some books from your library for them to read while they’re here.”

Twilight gave a chuckle. “You know, the entrance to the public library of the castle is over there.” She pointed a hoof to the set of doors that had been installed a few months back, leading into the recently carved-out public library.

“Oh! Heh, sorry. I must have missed that. Very sorry for wasting your time, your highness!” He gave an apologetic bow before quickly scurrying off towards said door. He only stopped when he heard the doors to the castle close, taking a few breaths before stomping in frustration.

What the hay was that?! Why didn’t I say it?! Ugh…

Exasperated, he took a moment to get his head together before heading for the library to borrow a few fiction books. Chrysalis could use something to keep her entertained while he was busy trying to find more work.

* * * * * * *

Chrysalis pulled her horn away from Tone Shift’s forehead, causing him to collapse into a crumpled up heap on the floor, gasping for breath and shaking slightly as his skin crawled. Chrysalis stared at him unbelievingly. “...You had every opportunity to turn me in and possibly earn a reward for my capture… and you didn’t. ...Why?”

Tone Shift looked up at her before slowly getting to his hooves. “Because, just like you said, I saved your life… what kind of pony would I be if I ruined your life just after saving it?” He grunted slightly as his body protested, but he continued regardless. “It would be selfish, manipulative, dishonest and just plain cruel of me to do.” He leaned against the wall slightly, pushing a hoof against it to keep himself steady.

Chrysalis stared at him with wide eyes, taking a step away from him before looking away. Tone Shift couldn’t see her face through her mane, but she looked very tense and seemed to be shaking slightly. He went to say something, but didn’t get the chance. Chrysalis picked up the bag of books in her magic and swiftly exited the room, leaving Tone Shift to catch his breath.

4 - Memories of Loved Ones

When Tone Shift finally got himself out of the kitchen and back into the living room, it had been several minutes. He glanced to his left and saw Chrysalis sitting on the couch, staring into one of the books from the bag intently, by the looks of it she had just reached a new chapter. Her eyes were focused entirely on the page, as though she were actively trying to force her attention away from Tone.

With a sigh, Tone Shift looked towards the front door and started towards it. He glanced towards Chrysalis as he passed, seeing if she acknowledged him at all. She didn’t.

“Hey, I’m going to head out for a bit. Got some work I’m going to audition for.”

Chrysalis’ ear briefly flicked in his direction, but she otherwise remained steadfast in staring into the book. Nodding to nothing in particular, Tone Shift slipped outside, closing the door behind him. A few minutes passed in silence before Chrysalis’ eyes began to become unfocused and bloodshot, her body starting to shake more and more violently.

Her gaze drifted lazily downward to look at her torso. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of her ribs becoming more visible as her chitin-covered skin began to recede. The book, now completely forgotten, dropped from her hooves to the ground with a deafening thud. She fell over, slamming hard into the ground and groaning in pain.

She mentally cursed herself for being so reckless and stupid. She had used far too much energy to read Tone’s memories, the result now making itself known. Her body was trying to compensate for the loss of magic energy by draining directly from the love she had recently consumed. Since she had so little of it to begin with, she was shriveling up and growing weakened. In short...

She was starving.

* * * * * * *

“Alright, that should be fine. We’ve got it recorded and will contact you if you get the role.” The audition manager said from his position outside the recording booth. Tone Shift gave a nod and stepped away from the microphone he had just been giving an energetic speech into a few moments ago.

“Thank you for the opportunity.” Tone Shift said simply with a professional smile on his face before turning and stepping out of the booth. He was in Town Hall, where a set of rooms had been rented for the next couple of days by a radio company putting together a sort of comedy drama hybrid radio play. The auditions had only just become available today, and Tone Shift was lucky enough to hear about it while he was out getting the eggs and books for Chrysalis.

He found himself idly wondering how she was enjoying that book she was reading. She had been pretty engrossed in it when he left, but it also seemed like she was ignoring him. As he exited town hall and began his return trip, he couldn’t help but wonder why she was ignoring him so heavily when he left. The look she had in her eyes… it had almost looked like she was afraid.

But afraid of what? He racked his brain for anything she might have said or done that could give him some idea of what she was so afraid of, but nothing came to mind. The Changeling Queen was undeniably a mysterious individual, being able to hide what she was feeling or thinking so easily when she needed to. In a way, as admirable and useful a trait as that was, Tone Shift found himself wishing that Chrysalis would just tell him the gist. As long as she was in his home, he wanted to make sure she was something approximating comfortable. But fear and comfort don’t usually go well together.

But it might not have been fear… He thought to himself, analyzing the memory in his head and trying to see what other emotions her posture and look could convey. None were positive. She had been tense and unwilling to look him in the eye, staring instead into the book as if it were all that existed.

With a mild shrug, Tone Shift made the turns on the familiar streets until his home came into view. As he approached, however, something began to feel a little off. A chill ran up his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Without even knowing it he had broken into a gallop before throwing open the door of his home.

“Oh, no…” He said in barely a whisper before slamming the door behind him. Chrysalis lay on the floor, unmoving and barely breathing, her ribs showing through her chitin and her belly shriveled up horribly. One of her forelegs twitched slightly in response to the slamming of the door. She was still alive!

Tone Shift stood in shock for several moments before getting his head together. “Oh, no you don’t! Don’t you dare die on me!” He said loudly before shooting forward and gingerly hefting Chrysalis up. She was so skinny at this point that she seemed to weigh practically nothing. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly agape, as though waiting for food to fall into it.

“Come on, come on…” Tone Shift said to himself as he moved Chrysalis onto the couch. “Alright, okay, let me think…” He said to himself, trying to assess his options. Based on her appearance, she seemed to be starving, which meant she needed food. I could scramble some more eggs… Her chitin let out a spine chilling crack as it shrunk down ever so slightly more, causing Chrysalis’ ribs to become even more pronounced. “Dangit, no time!”

He dashed into his kitchen anyway to look for something, anything that Chrysalis could ingest to at least stave off starvation long enough for him to find a better solution. But there was nothing of the sort. He cursed violently to himself as he finished rummaging through his fridge and cupboards before quickly returning to the living room.

Chrysalis’ chitin hadn’t shrunk again, but Tone Shift knew it was only a matter of time - time that he was running out of but had no means of adding on to. “What do I do…?” He muttered, trotting to Chrysalis’ side and sitting down next to the couch, looking her over. “...Darn it, what do I do?!” Tone Shift found himself repeating the question over and over, trying to think of what he could do to help her. Nothing came to mind. He had exhausted all of his options and could now only look at her helplessly as a shallow, shuddering breath went through her.

“Chrysalis, please! Say something! What can I do?! What do you need me to do?!”

Chrysalis didn’t answer. She didn’t even respond. Another, shallower breath came and went.

“For the love of Celestia, say something! PLEASE!” Tone Shift practically screamed, giving her a shake with his hooves, hoping in vain for a response. Heck, even a hoof gesture towards something he could use would be enough in his eyes. But there was nothing. No response. The futility of his efforts began to sink in.

But then, suddenly, a memory entered his mind…

“Mom, come on! You can beat this! You have to!”

A soft smile spread on his mother’s lips. She inhaled deeply…

And then breathed out one last time. The long, droning whine of a flat-lined heart monitor began to sound.

He screamed.

Tone Shift fell completely silent, his eyes briefly replacing the image of Chrysalis on his couch with one of an elderly, compassionate mare on a hospital bed. “Not again…” He uttered to himself, sagging helplessly. “I can’t have another pony die in my hooves… not again…” He blinked, tears pooling into his eyes as the memories began to return en masse.

Without another word, he set his forehead against the edge of the couch, quietly weeping to himself. For several seconds, the scene persisted, Chrysalis half dead upon his couch, Tone Shift crying his eyes and heart out. Then, a faint green glow began to emit from Chrysalis’ horn; soft, subtle, but still there. Tone didn’t even notice as pink energy that had been coming off of him in thick waves became visible in the air, filling much of the room with a gentle, soothing glow. His eyes were too tightly closed to notice as the pink energy began to gather just above Chrysalis before slipping into her mouth.

For several minutes, Tone Shift remained enveloped in his memories, letting out months of built-up stress and sadness in one continuous stream. Finally, with the sleepy feeling that comes with such sadness, Tone slowly fell into a restless, miserable sleep, honestly believing that he had just had another pony die right in front of him...

Silence fell over the house for almost an hour before anything else happened beyond the pink energy leaving Tone and then being instinctively consumed by Chrysalis. Eventually, she managed to crack open her eyes, an unusual grogginess filling her system. She was used to being wide awake within a few seconds of waking up, usually. Here, she felt tired, distant and weak. She went to lift a hoof to wipe some sandy crust from her eyelids when she remembered what had caused her to pass out in the first place.

“...I’m alive?” She mumbled to herself before glancing down to her side, spotting Tone Shift sleeping there, his face buried in his forehooves and his ears lying flat against his head. She could see trails of love energy still drifting off of him in surprising amounts. Some of that energy reached her tongue and mind, causing her eyes to widen as she ‘tasted’ it. She stared at him blankly for several seconds, mouth agape before clamping her jaw shut and putting on an angry look. “Hey! Wake up, pony! You’re drooling all over my mattress!”

THWACK!

“Who, what?!” Tone Shift loudly exclaimed as Chrysalis swatted him across the back of the head with a forehoof. He shot up and shook his head before wiping at his eyes with a foreleg. Then he froze. After several moments, he slowly lowered his foreleg to look at Chrysalis, who was glaring at him impatiently.

“And what are you looking at?!” Chrysalis barked at him, causing him to stand up and back away.

“Wha… How… Chrysalis, you’re… alive?” Tone Shift sputtered, his mind trying to piece together this new revelation and failing miserably.

“Do I look like a corpse to you?” Chrysalis deadpanned, rolling her eyes at him before looking down towards the floor and spotting the book she had been staring at - but not reading - earlier. “Now be quiet. I’m going to go back to my book.”

“No, wait, hold on!” Tone Shift blurted, stepping forward swiftly. “You were on the floor, practically a skeleton! I saw you on the verge of death from starvation! How the heck are you still alive?! … Uh, b-but that doesn’t mean you being alive is a bad thing! I’m glad!” he hastily added, flinching and shrinking slightly at how he had said that.

“Ugh… if you must know, you were, for some reason, letting off enormous amounts of love energy for your mother when you found me like that. Instinct kicked in, causing me to consume the energy in the air. I had a substantial meal as a result and, by extension, you saved my life. Again.” She spat out the last word like it were poison. Tone Shift looked down at the mentioning of his mother.

“My mother…”

“I won’t ask.” Chrysalis said simply before bringing the book up to her face in her magic. ‘Daring Do and The Marked Thief of Marapore.’ She opened it up and actually started reading.

For several moments, Tone Shift stood silently. Finally, he gave a subtle nod and trotted out of the room, heading for his bedroom and leaving Chrysalis to her own devices. Once she believed he was out of earshot, she took a moment to talk to herself.

“...I won’t ask because I already know, all too well.” She blinked before shaking her head and turning her eyes to the book in front of her, starting to read it with a small amount of curiosity.

Author's Note

A shorter chapter than I would like it to be, but for the life of me I couldn't find any ways to extend it without making it feel over-fluffed and drawn out to me. :derpyderp2:

Oh well. Lemme know what'cha all think!

5 - Among Smiling Faces

Since Chrysalis almost starved on Tone Shift’s floor, the two hadn’t said very much to each other outside of greeting each other in the morning. It had been almost two days now, with Chrysalis informing him that she would need to consume more love sometime soon if she wanted to avoid going hungry. Tone Shift understood, but was unsure how to go about helping her get any.

At about noon of the second day, Tone Shift rose from his desk and glanced towards Chrysalis. “I’m going for some lunch. Want some eggs?” He asked with a stretch, letting out a pleased sigh afterward as his stiff back relaxed somewhat.

“I would, yes.” Chrysalis said, standing from the couch and trotting towards him. “I would like food, and you are going to teach me how you prepare it.”

“Oh, really? Alright, I guess I can help you with that. Just don’t stray from my instructions. I don’t want my house burning down.” Tone Shift replied with a mild amount of playful snark in his tone.

“If your house burns down, it is only because your instructions were terrible.” Chrysalis shot back. Tone Shift rolled his eyes and gestured for her to enter the kitchen before him.

“Ladies first.”

Chrysalis merely grunted in mild annoyance at the display before strutting into the kitchen. Tone Shift followed her soon after. She glanced around for a moment before her eyes settled on the stove. “So, where do I start?”

“With a bowl and two eggs. Eggs are in the fridge and I keep my bowls in the cupboard up there.” Tone replied, gesturing to each container as he referenced them. Chrysalis didn’t say anything, merely withdrawing the bowl from the cupboard with her magic. She opened the door on the fridge and withdrew the egg carton in her magic, eyeing it quizzically.

“Only two? Seems like an awfully small amount.” She commented curiously, opening the carton and pulling out two eggs.

“Yes, just two. That’s how many I was taught to make when I started out all the way back in school. Start small and all that.” Tone Shift replied with a shrug.

“Uh-huh…” Chrysalis hummed before returning the carton to the fridge.

“Okay, go ahead and break those eggs over the bowl and pour the contents in. Try not to let any shards get mixed in; they are a massive pain in the plot to remove and are annoying to eat.” Tone Shift instructed, watching and slightly impressed at the precision with which Chrysalis practically split both eggs perfectly in half and draining the contents into the bowl.

“Next?”

“Go ahead and mix those together until it’s basically a big mass of raw yellow. Go ahead and get a frying pan out when that’s done. Left cabinet.”

It went on like this for a short while, Chrysalis soon holding a spoon in her magic and looking at a frying pan on the stove, about half of it covered in egg yolk. She looked at the spoon and then to Tone Shift.

“Why a spoon? I always thought eggs were handled with spatulas.”

“They usually are, but my spatula broke a few weeks back and so a spoon is about as good as I can do on that front. Plus, spoons are surprisingly good for scrambling.” He replied simply, nodding towards the stove. “Go ahead and turn that up to medium. Front left burner. Use that spoon to stir it while it hardens up. Keep doing the ‘stir’ motion and eventually you’ll be scrambling instead of stirring.” He instructed before turning for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Chrysalis asked, glancing in his direction with narrowed eyes.

“To use the bathroom. I’ll be back here shortly. Just keep an eye on that.” Tone Shift replied before stepping out and towards his bathroom. Chrysalis rolled her eyes before turning them back to the pan, an immediate sense of underwhelment overcoming her as she beheld the pitifully small pan of slowly cooking eggs.

“It’s just far too small…” She grumbled irritably, contemplating for a moment. “...I’m sure one more egg won’t hurt it.” She used her magic to teleport another egg into the air, split it in half and let the contents fall into the pan with a wet plop. She began the stirring motions Tone Shift had mentioned.

* * * * * * *

Why do I smell smoke? Tone Shift found himself thinking from the toilet as he finished up his business. Removing himself from the seat and flushing, a look of realization dawned on his face. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” He half shouted as he wrenched open the door of his bathroom and bolted towards the kitchen.

Upon entering the room, Tone Shift let his jaw drop slightly. Chrysalis’ face was covered slightly in the remnants of a burst bubble in her pan of eggs, which was now somewhat ajar with one of Tone Shift’s wash cloths thoroughly on fire. Chrysalis herself was using her magic to pour water into a glass from the sink.

Tone Shift finally managed to close his mouth and set a death glare at Chrysalis as she poured the water on the burning rag, putting it out. Tone Shift trotted up to the stove and turned off the burner, glancing down to see the pan of eggs only halfway done cooking unevenly at that. He ran a hoof over his face before turning to look at Chrysalis.

“How the BUCK did you manage this?!” He demanded, holding up the cloth for emphasis. “Eggs! Two eggs! Stir them with a spoon and you’re good! How in tartarus were you able to get eggs on your face, knock the pan off of it’s burner and then LIGHT A WASHCLOTH ON FIRE?!” He threw the cloth to the ground and glared at Chrysalis aggressively.

Chrysalis blinked at him, recoiling slightly at the onslaught of words before pointing at the cloth on the floor. “Did you just throw down the gauntlet… with a wash cloth?” She asked coyly, earning a twitch of the eye from Tone.

Tone shift gestured to himself, “Question,” then at Chrysalis, “Answer,” and then he stomped on the floor. “Do it.”

“It wasn’t big enough, I’ll have you know! It could never have satisfied me!” Chrysalis snarked, losing the humor in her voice.

“Is that right? You know, most ponies have less for lunch and don’t complain!”

“And I am no pony! I am a Queen Chrysalis! I have standards and those standards say there is no way I’d take so little inside me, considering the effort I was exerting just to make it serve it’s purpose!”

Tone Shift stopped short of whatever comment he was about to make before letting his head fall to stare at the floor. For a moment, Chrysalis grinned triumphantly, believing he had no counter argument. When he burst out into a fit of uncontrollable giggles, however, she took on a look of bewilderment.

“...What are you doing?”

“You have - heh - no idea how that sounded to me…” Tone said between laughs, unable to make himself stop.

“I don’t-” Chrysalis stopped herself as she realized it. She glared at him, but seemed to almost shrink slightly. Tone could have sworn her cheeks had gotten a slight touch brighter… “...Shut up.”

“Oh, goodness… That was rich.” Tone managed as he started to calm down. Chrysalis simply gave him a look that said “I hate you” and “I wish I was anywhere else right now.”

* * * * * * *

After they had gotten the mess cleaned up and Chrysalis ate something (Tone Shift cooked it this time), they sat in relative silence in the living room, Chrysalis nestled once more into the cushions and reading through the second book from the bag Tone had gotten for her. As for Tone, he was just staring idly into nothing, fidgeting uncomfortably every so often on his side of the couch.

Finally, he got up and stretched slightly. “I think I’m gonna go for a walk. Haven’t been active enough these last few days and it’s making me antsy.” He said as he turned to head for the door.

“Uh, wait.” Chrysalis suddenly blurted, giving Tone pause. She looked away slightly. “I’m… I’m going to go with you this time.”

Tone Shift blinked in surprise, noting how Chrysalis almost seemed to be hiding behind her own mane. “Really? Why the change of heart?”

“You didn’t reveal me to Princess Twilight. That and I’m still getting hungry. A stroll should let me get in some passive snacking, even if my dignity will forever suffer as a result.” She said, looking back up at him.

“Well, if you’re tagging along, we need a disguise and name for you to use in public…” Tone said, going into thought. A swirl of green fire brought his attention back to Chrysalis, who had now assumed the shape he had first seen her in. A unicorn with a dark green coat, dull blue mane and tail. She had not assigned herself a cutie mark of any description yet.

And just like that, a name occurred to him, and he blurted it out before he could catch himself. “Wildwood Luster.”

“Begging your pardon?” Chrysalis questioned, having not been paying attention to his thoughtful expression. Her voice had changed, the two-toned distortion vanishing and replaced with a softer, smoother voice.

“Well, when we first met, you were in a forest, basically living in it. Forests are wild and unpredictable places, with a lot of wood thanks to them being made of trees and all. So, Wildwood. Luster is a word referring to how something reflects light, like shimmers or sparkles. Being a unicorn in this form, I feel the name is fitting.” Tone explained, giving a few rolls of his hoof as he spoke.

“Hm... I see.” A patch of fur on each of her flanks lit with more green fire for a moment, burning a cutie mark into her disguise. It was of a circle of wood, a noticeably large knot in the very center with the ancient pony rune meaning ‘magic’ burned into the heart of the knot. Tone Shift gave a soft smile and nod.

“That will work.” With that, he turned the door handle and pushed it open, letting sunlight stream into the room from outside. Chrysalis - or rather, he supposed, Wildwood Luster - winced as it reached her. She had been held up in his house for a while with the curtains usually blocking out a lot of the light. Tone stepped aside and gestured in a theatrical bow for Luster to go first. “Ladies first.”

“I'm still a lady after nearly burning down your kitchen?” She shot back with a mild smirk.

“Would you rather I call you a horse or mule?”

“I’d rather you shut your face before I crush it with the door.”

“And we’re leaving.” Tone declared, stepping outside and gesturing for Luster to follow him. She hesitated for a moment, a last vestige of doubt and resentment playing across her face before she finally stepped out into the pleasant late-summer air.

* * * * * * *

For the first twenty minutes or so, Luster only ever spoke when prompted to by Tone, trying to keep quiet so as to not say anything suspicious. After that, though, she gradually started to open up, in a sense, forming an identity for herself with practiced ease. As the two walked through the streets, stopping at merchant stops, even if only to browse and look, they would periodically be greeted by the other residents of Ponyville, many of which were rather curious about ‘Luster.’

Luster put on a friendly, albeit reserved smile whenever this would happen, replying to questions with short but consistent answers, building the persona of ‘a mare of few words.’ Nopony seemed at all put off by this, many of them walking away with happy grins at having met somepony new and Chrysalis discreetly sucking up the love that was in the air and all around her.

And then Pinkie happened.

A loud BANG andan enormous explosion of confetti from behind the two drew a startled yelp from Tone and Luster. Pinkie Pie let out a happy squee at the sight of somepony she didn’t know, bouncing in place happily while a veritable tsunami of excited words spilled forth from her yap. Neither Tone Shift or Luster could understand much of what was said due to how quickly she was speaking. Plus, their ears were still ringing from the cannon blast that had covered them head-to-hoof in confetti and streamers.

“Should I be scared?” Luster droned out, her face showing that she was now resigned to her fate.

“No, but still, you should definitely brace yourself.” Tone replied with equal resignation.

“Hiya, my name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?” Pinkie finally said coherently, holding a hoof out to Luster with an enormous grin splitting her face.

“Er… Wildwood Luster.” Luster managed, taking a step back from Pinkie’s hoof with disdain.

“Ooh, that’s a pretty name!” Pinkie’s smile became more controlled as the initial wave of excitement became more of a steady stream rather than a high-pressure tsunami. “You must be new here.”

“She’s been here a few days, actually, Pinkie.” Tone corrected her simply. He couldn’t help but notice the uneasy glance Chrysalis shot his way.

Pinkie gasped loudly. “What!? You mean there’s a new pony in town and I haven’t welcomed them properly yet?!” She reached off to the side of the road and pulled out a colorful wagon with a big red button on it. She smiled brightly and reached for the button.

“You braced yet?” Tone asked quietly.

“As much as I’m going to be.” Luster replied, eyeing the weird contraption as Pinkie’s hoof touched the big red button.

‘Click’

The top of the wagon opened up and a marching band’s worth of various instruments popped out of the top. Pinkie grinned before breaking into a dance, the instruments playing a very lively song as she did.

“Welcome, welcome welcome,

A fine welcome to you!

Welcome, welcome, welcome,

I say, how do you do?

Welcome welcome welcome,

I say, hip-hip-hooray!

Welcome, welcome, welcome

To Ponyville todaaaay!”

Pinkie was now kneeling in front of the two, forelegs spread out wide and a playful smirk crossing her face. “Wait for it.”

Ding!

A compartment opened on the wagon, unleashing a merciless onslaught of more confetti and streamer. Despite it having no clear means of detecting or directing a target, all of the party decor managed to land right on Luster.

For a few seconds, Luster just stood there, her now thoroughly disheveled mane covering her eyes from view. Her mouth was pulled into a thin, tense line. Her upper lip twitched before she spoke.

“Thank you. It’s great to feel welcome.” She said sarcastically through clenched teeth in a voice that barely disguised a great deal of agitation. Pinkie didn’t even seem to notice, her smile brightening.

“It’s great to make ponies feel welcome! If you ever need a smile, just lemme know!” Pinkie declared enthusiastically before turning and bouncing happily away. Luster turned to look at Tone and glared at him from under her mane with an almost desperate look in her eyes.

“We’re done out here.” She said. It wasn’t a request.

“I am in complete agreement.”

Author's Note

Heh. Pinkie is always useful for fluffing up those slow chapters. :P I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Kind of a more light-hearted and comic-relief chapter before I start touching on the more sad and dramatic elements of this story. Stay tuned!

6 - Captured Memories

After spending a few minutes cleansing themselves (mostly Luster) of the confetti and streamers that had covered them, Tone Shift and Luster began to make their way back towards Tone’s house. Luster had her eyes turned down, as though hoping to avoid anymore discussions with other ponies. Tone could see it from where he was; she was done being social for the day. He couldn’t help but crack a small smile at the posture she was holding. If he didn’t know who it was under that disguise, he would not have hesitated to call her stance and expression ‘cute.’

As they finally came to his front door, Tone put a hoof to Luster’s shoulder in order to stop her. “Hey, uh, mind waiting out here for a second?” He asked hesitantly, as though unsure of himself.

“Why?” Luster asked impatiently, shooting him an equally impatient glare.

“I just wanna get something real quick. I’ll be right back.” Tone said while rubbing the back of his head with a hoof absently. Luster scoffed but relented.

“Fine. Make it quick.”

Tone nodded before disappearing into his home. A couple minutes passed, during which Luster merely stood idly by his door and focuses on soaking up any leftover energy she could from the air while she still had the chance to do so. She was so focused on getting in her snack that she didn’t notice the pony approaching her with a curious smile on her face.

“Uh, hi there.” Starlight Glimmer’s voice shattered Luster’s concentration, causing her eyes to snap open wide and a sharp intake of breath to run through her. She looked towards Princess Twilight’s pupil with wide, almost frightened eyes. Chrysalis formed her expression into one of being startled, barely able to mask the rapidly building rage filling her system.

“...Hello.” Luster said tiredly, looking at Starlight with narrowed eyes.

“I saw Pinkie throwing you that welcome earlier and, well… you looked pretty frazzled so I just wanted to make sure you weren’t too off-put by her antics.” Starlight said uncertainty, a slight tremble to her words. Seemed that even after all she had learned from Twilight she still had a few things to nail down.

“I’m fine.” Luster replied simply, praying to whatever would listen that Starlight would see the anger in her eyes and opt to leave her alone.

“Alright…” Starlight flinched slightly under Luster’s threatening gaze, taking a step back. “Well, welcome to Ponyville.” She said before turning to leave. Chrysalis sighed inwardly, thankful that she wouldn’t have to be around Starlight any longer.

“Alright, got it!” Tone called happily as he opened the door and stepped out of his house, a hoof-held camera hanging around his neck by a chord.

“What’s that for?” Luster asked bluntly, much of her agitation showing through.

“Oh, well…” Tone seemed almost sheepish in his response. “I was kinda hoping to get a picture of us out here. You know, to, uh, remember the occasion?”

Luster narrowed her eyes at him. “What occasion?”

“You finally trusting me enough to leave my house and look around Ponyville. I won’t lie, I had fun while we were out here. I just… I wanna be able to remember this is all.” He said, pawing nervously at the ground with a forehoof.

Luster glared daggers at him before levitating his camera with her aura. “Fine.” She growled before taking up position next to him. With practiced ease, despite the frustration and anger in her system, Luster put on a happy smile as she prepared the camera for the shot. All of her muscles tensed up for a moment when Tone wrapped a foreleg over her shoulders. He, too, was wearing a big smile as he looked into the camera.

“Say cheese.” Luster said through her smile before the camera let out a bright flash. The device let out some mechanical clunks and buzzes before a copy of the photo was printed from it. Luster shoved both items into Tone’s chest before releasing them and entering his home, slamming the door behind her loud enough to echo down the street and draw the eye of a few ponies.

Tone quickly caught the camera and photo before glancing behind him at the door. “...Huh?”

Carefully, he opened the door and peered inside. Chrysalis had dropped her disguise and was now sitting on her haunches in the middle of the room, facing away from him. She was shaking. Tone slipped into the house, closing and locking the door behind him before stepping towards the Changeling Queen.

“Hey, are you okay…?” He asked carefully, earning a snort from Chrysalis.

“Shut up!” Chrysalis snapped at him, whirling swiftly around to look him in the eyes. Tone went stiff at the face she wore. Her eyes were wide open and angled into a furious glare, her pupils dilated and… tears streaming down her cheeks. “Just shut up and leave me alone!”

“Chrysalis…?” Tone shied away under Chrysalis’ gaze, legitimately scared by her tone.

“I should have known! I should have known that… that... worthless, muling maggot would still be living here!” Chrysalis shouted, her voice cracking with rage and what sounded like sorrow. With a scream of anger, her horn lit up in green light, picking Tone Shift’s lantern from it’s place by the couch and hurling it at break-neck speeds into the nearest wall. It shattered and put a substantial hole into his wall.

Tone Shift shrunk and cowered as Chrysalis vented her stresses by thoroughly destroying the lantern, finishing by thrusting it into the floor, sending scraps of shrapnel and glass scattering across the entire room. Tone peeked one of his eyes open, not even noticing he had shut them in fear of the raging Queen. Now, Chrysalis stood, trembling horribly and her head bowed down.

Was she… crying?

Tone didn’t say anything at first, slowly picking himself out of his corner and gingerly approaching Chrysalis. He reached out to her with concern, gently touching his hoof to her shoulder. “Hey… what’s wrong?” He asked in a hushed town, gently patting her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting way.

Chrysalis fell back to her haunches, choking down a sob. “Starlight Glimmer…” Was all she said. Tone’s eyes widened as he recalled the story that had spread basically overnight across all of Equestria. Starlight Glimmer had managed to convince the changelings to follow Thorax instead of Chrysalis, showing them ‘a better way to live their lives.’ Now Chrysalis’ sudden rage made perfect sense.

“I’m sorry…”

“I don’t need your pity!” Chrysalis shot at him, her eyes becoming bloodshot as more tears spilled forth.

“Chrysalis, please... I don’t know if it will help, but, I know what it’s like to lose something important to me, too. I mean, my mother-”

“Doesn’t even compare to this!” Chrysalis interrupted him, leaning in his direction and baring her fangs. He shied away, but only a little bit, keeping a hoof on her shoulder. His face formed a frown of offense, though, shifting away from the look of sympathy and concern he had been wearing a moment ago.

“Chrysalis, I lost my mother! The mare that gave birth to me! She was taken from me only a year ago by heart failure! I-”

“YOU HAVE NEVER LOST A CHILD!” Chrysalis suddenly screamed at the top of her voice, plunging the entire house into a cold, tense silence. Chrysalis turned away from him, shaking even harder now.

“Every. Single. Drone… I gave birth to every single drone in my kingdom. They were all my children. Imagine what it would be like for a pony mother to lose even one child.” Chrysalis began, her voice coming out in an almost emotionless tone.

Tone Shift could only stare at her wide-eyed jaw agape as she continued.

“Ponies rarely have many foals… and their capacity to have many more is limited by a short life-span.” Chrysalis sniffled quietly. “...I have lived for centuries, and built my hive from the brink of extinction when my mother died…” She looked back to Tone Shift with unspeakable grief written on her face.

“While I may not have shown it out of necessity, I cared for all of my drones. They were all my children. And… with just a few honeyed words and a visual example…” Chrysalis closed her eyes, choking down another sob. “Starlight Glimmer made every single one of my drones turn on me. Thousands of drones, thousands of my children… dethroning me as their Queen… disowning me as their mother.”

She opened her eyes with a hint of anger in them once more. “So don’t you dare assume you know my pain. You know nothing of what it means to be a Changeling, or what it takes to be their queen. Their mother!” Chrysalis finished, closing her eyes and breaking down fully, no longer even bothering to hold it in any longer.

For several long minutes, Chrysalis let out six months of built-up sorrow and grief. Tone remained next to her the whole time silently petting her shoulder and a sympathetic look on his face. Finally, he swallowed nervously and brought himself to Chrysalis’ side, wrapping a foreleg over he shoulders and gently pulling her closer. She tensed slightly, but otherwise didn’t react.

“I… I’m so sorry, Chrysalis. I shouldn’t have said anything…” He said in a hushed whisper before giving her a gentle squeeze and nuzzle. Chrysalis flinched and looked down at him. For a few moments, her gaze lingered on his before her eyes widened and her jaw fell open. Her muscles tensed abruptly and she pulled away from him, shoving him away.

“Just leave me alone.” She said in a broken voice before retreating to the couch, laying down on it and facing the backrest so she wouldn’t have to look at him. Tone Shift sighed after a moment.

“If you need anything, anything at all… just let me know. I’ll be in the kitchen.” Tone said softly before departing quietly, leaving Chrysalis to her own devices for now. Had he managed to get a look at her face, he would have seen the face of a borderline panicking Queen Chrysalis staring back.

* * * * * * *

Chrysalis awoke later that night when she heard Tone Shift trying to sneak by her. She didn’t know what he was up to, but she paid attention all the same, making sure her position and breaths were the same as when she was asleep. After a few moments of shuffling around, she could hear Tone mutter quietly to himself.

“She stopped snoring…”

I do NOT snore… do I? Chrysalis thought to herself with an almost automatic roll of her eyes under her eyelids.

A soft, quiet squeak could be heard, not unlike what one might hear from a small wooden box. After a few seconds of relative silence, the squeak came again. Tone set something against the surface of the coffee table before retreating as quietly from the room as he could, presumably returning to his bedroom to get some sleep.

Once she was sure he was gone, Chrysalis opened her eyes and rolled over to look at what he had put on the coffee table. She saw a new photograph in a frame upon the table. The same one they had taken just outside his house earlier. She could tell how forced her smile was in the picture, but anypony else would be hard-pressed to even notice anything off about her expression. Tone, on the other hoof, looked genuinely very happy in the picture.

Chrysalis’ eyes fell and she thought back to how he had tried to comfort her earlier. He had shows such legitimate and genuine concern. He had actually cared how she was feeling, and wanted to help her. A grimace flashed across her face as she began thinking about the possible outcomes this situation could lead to.

...We’re being reckless. He can’t hide me forever and if somepony finds out I’m here, we’ll both have to pay the price.

She groaned quietly in frustration before returning to her resting position, a million and one thoughts coursing through her mind at record speed. But most of all, the thoughts echoing in her mind the most were the memory of how he tried to comfort her and a simple, one-word question.

Why…?

7 - Talks and Employment

Author's Note

Just as an FYI, typos and spelling errors are likely a bit more frequent in this chapter. Please let me know where they are in the comments and I shall endeavor to put them to rest.

7 - Talks and Employment

Chrysalis was awake before Tone Shift the following morning. In fact, she was up before the sun came up. She had barely been able to sleep after Tone put the photo of them on the coffee table. When Tone Shift did finally awaken, stumbling groggily into the living room, he came to a brief pause as he saw Chrysalis looking back at him. She looked away quickly, returning her attention to the book she held in her magic. She had been reading it all night, it seemed.

“Good morning.” Tone mumbled tiredly as he meandered past her into the kitchen.

Chrysalis didn’t say anything, but lowered the book to look in his direction, an uncertain frown overcoming her face. He didn’t notice, as coffee was his only concern at the moment. When he returned with a mug of hot coffee in his forehoof, Chrysalis had set down the book and was now holding the photograph in her magic.

“I think it came out rather well.” Tone commented when he saw Chrysalis’ look of disdain.

“Tone Shift.” Chrysalis said firmly, drawing his attention immediately. “We have to talk.”

“We do? What about?” Tone asked curiously, perking up slightly.

“About this little ‘situation’ you’ve gotten us into.” Chrysalis replied, setting the photo down and standing up.

“Uh, okay…?”

“Tone, you saved my life. As much as I have come to appreciate that, I have to wonder why I’m still here. The longer you keep me here, the worse your situation will become if I am discovered. We will both have to pay a terrible price.” Chrysalis explained, cutting right to the chase.

“Oh… We’re having this talk…” Tone muttered under his breath before downing more of his coffee and setting the mug down on the table. “Look, Chrysalis, I’m not going to lie… but, before I tell you this, just… promise me something, okay?”

“What?”

“Don’t attack me or go into a rage? Please? Just… at least hear me out.” Tone requested carefully, nervousness starting to enter his voice.

“...I can only promise to try.” Chrysalis said, sounding unsure herself now.

“Okay. I can’t ask for anything more than that... Chrysalis, your hive, your children turned from you… and I can’t even begin to imagine how horribly that must hurt. But from what I’ve heard, be it in the news or any other sources, the Changelings are happy. Happier than they’ve ever been before.” Tone started carefully, bracing himself subtly just in case he needed to doge.

“You walk on dangerously thin ice, Tone Shift.” Chrysalis said in a low growl, narrowing her eyes at him but maintaining her posture.

“...After seeing how much you were hurting over that whole incident, Chrysalis, I just… I just want to see if you’d be willing to give it a chance.”

“Forget it!” Chrysalis snapped at him, turning away sharply as disgust and anger built up within her rapidly.

“Your children are happy, Chrysalis, so please be glad for that, if nothing else.” Tone said carefully, stepping forward with a forehoof slowly outstretching.

Chrysalis said nothing, refusing to look at him.

“And, well… if you at least give it a chance, then maybe you can be with them again.”

Tone’s eyes widened as he was suddenly grabbed in Chrysalis’ aura and slammed into the floor in front of her. He skidded to a stop, his carpet burning at his coat and underlying skin from the friction heat. The Chrysalis that was looking down at him was frightening to say the least.

“And what makes you think they would ever accept me if I tried this method? After the generations that lived in a never ending hunger?! Even if I tried it, they would never forgive me!” She seethed at him, kneeling down and pressing her face close to his so she could glare deep into his eyes.

Tone let out a pained wheeze before attempting to reply. “You don’t know that-”

“I DO KNOW THAT!” Chrysalis shouted at him, her magic pushing him harder into the rug with enough force that it was becoming harder for him to breath, especially with the pain he was already feeling. “I could feel the contempt they held for me when they drove me out! When Starlight offered me her hoof, the resentment and loathing in the air was so thick it made me sick. I wanted to vomit!”

Finally, she released her grasp on him and backed away, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself. Tone looked at her from his position on the floor with sympathetic, if also frightened eyes.

“...Chrysalis…” He finally managed to utter before picking himself up. “It won’t happen overnight, but I’m sure they would forgive and accept you with time if you just tried.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Chrysalis snapped at him.

“Why won’t you at least try? What do you stand to lose at this point?” Tone asked softly, gesturing to her with a hoof.

Chrysalis said nothing, looking away with a scoff.

“I’m not an expert, but I think that if you want things to turn out well for you, you have to stop thinking of the worst possible outcome as the only one. You’re looking at this situation and you can’t see any way it could end well from where you are now, so you don’t even bother trying…”

Tone slowly stepped forward until he was right in front of Chrysalis, who despite the obvious height differences seemed almost tiny with the way she was standing. “So please, just try…”

“And what happens if it ends badly…?” Chrysalis asked him, looking back at him with tears welling in her eyes.

“If you want a happy ending, just ask.” Tone said, mimicking the voice of somepony Chrysalis didn’t know. She looked and saw a sad smile on his face. He was also glowing slightly with more love energy, generated from happy memories of his mother.

“What…?”

“My mother always used to say that,” Tone said, slumping sadly. “It was her way of saying that if you don’t try for a happy ending, you’ll never get it.”

For quite some time, Chrysalis remained silent before sighing. “I don’t know if I can, Tone Shift… but…”

Chrysalis drew Tone into a soft hug, shaking slightly as she did so. “...I’ll think about it.”

“Alright.” Tone said softly with a nod before returning the hug. Tone couldn’t see it from where he was sitting, but Chrysalis’ face once more seemed to be twisting with fear. She looked down at him for a moment before scooting back and breaking the hug.

“Okay, that’s enough sap for me, I think.” Chrysalis said, trying to sound joking even through the way her voice cracked. She gave a small nod before returning to her position on the couch, book lifted in her magic as she started on the last chapter.

* * * * * * *

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Tone’s ears perked up at the sound of somepony knocking on his door. He glanced back at Chrysalis to see she had already donned the Wildwood Luster disguise. With a nod, he got up and went to open the door. He couldn’t help the charmed smile that came over his face when Derpy Hooves was revealed to be the pony at his door.

“Oh, good morning Derpy! Mail for me?” Tone asked, earning a nod from the smiling mail mare.

“Yup! Here you are.” She said before digging into her saddlebags and offering him an envelope. He took it and looked it over for a moment, an excited smile rapidly splitting his face.

“Thanks for bringing me this, Derpy.” He said happily before giving her a nod. “Have a good day, now.”

“Thanks. You, too.” Derpy gave her trademarked smile before fluttering off to her next stop. Tone gave a happy chuckle and closed the door.

“What is it?” Chrysalis asked, the disguise vanishing in a swirl of green fire.

“It’s from the company I auditioned for a few days back.” Tone replied, quickly tearing off the seal and withdrawing the contents. A folded stack of three sheets of paper, each of which holding a lot of written text and what looked like a check for a significant number of bits. “YES!” Tone exclaimed enthusiastically, pumping his forehoof victoriously.

“What is it?” Chrysalis asked again, though she had a feeling she already knew.

“I got the role! Okay, let’s see here… duh, duhduhduh…” Tone started ‘duh’-ing to himself as he read over the details of the job. “Okay, yeah, this check here is so I can cover travel expenses. The recording studio is located in Baltimare, so I’m going to have to take the friendship express to get there and record my lines.”

“How long will you be there?”

“I’d say a few days to a couple weeks, depending on various circumstances.” Tone answered as he kept running through the paper, flipping to the second page. “Uh-huh, alright. Pay looks pretty good. If I can get this done in decent time I might just be able to pay my bills on time!” He said with a smile.

“And what about me?” Chrysalis asked bluntly, giving Tone pause.

“Oh… I hadn’t thought of that.” He said sheepishly, glancing down at the paper with uncertainty.

“Of course you didn’t.” Chrysalis quipped, rolling her eyes.

“I was half expecting to not even get the role, here! Let alone have travel expenses paid for by my employer!” Tone protested, throwing his forelegs up with a frown.

“So, what are you going to do?” Chrysalis asked simply, standing from the couch and looking at him seriously.

“Uh… Take you with me?” Tone asked reluctantly, earning an amused chuckle from Chrysalis.

“Oh, is that all? I could walk along by your side, disguised as Wildwood Luster and have all of Baltimare see you with your new marefriend.” She taunted, giving Tone Shift a look that, while clearly insincere, still created a substantial blush on his cheeks.

“N-not quite what I meant…” He stuttered, rubbing the back of his head absently. Chrysalis hummed with amusement before strutting past him, flicking his nose with her tail as she passed.

“Good, because I’m going anyway and wouldn’t want anypony, yourself included, to get the wrong impression.”

“Wha- wait, hold on! You’re coming? Just like that?” Tone spluttered incredulously, turning around to see Chrysalis looking at him like she looked at her morning plate of eggs.

“I can’t really eat if my walking buffet is too far away, now can I?” Chrysalis teased him, turning around to face him fully.

“I am not a walking buffet, thank you very much!” Tone shot back, bristling slightly at her candid objectification of him.

“Hm, I suppose not. A cheap snack bar might be a more accurate analogy…” Chrysalis hummed with a predatory smirk.

“W-what?! Chrysalis, I will have you know that-”

“Ha ha ha! Too easy!” Chrysalis laughed outright, pointing a hoof at Tone Shift as she giggled uncontrollably. He froze as he realized he had taken on a rather defensive stance and was jabbing a hoof in her direction as though he were about to make some sort of amazing comeback. A comeback that was sadly forever lost to the halls of his scattered brain, the words dying in his throat as he processed what was happening. With a violent twitch of his eyes and an agitated growl, he set his hoof down and glared at her.

“Shut up.”

“Never.”

* * * * * * *

“All aboard for Baltimare!” The voice rang out over the platform as Tone and Luster stepped into the passenger cart they would be using, ponies all around them moving to do the same.

“You remembered your stuff, right?” Tone asked Luster, who rolled her eyes at him.

“Everything I own is present and accounted for.” She shot back before brushing past him to scout out for an isolated seat. Tone followed her for a minute before the two got seated, the terrain outside starting to roll along as the train began on it’s way.

While not in the least surprised by her lack of any sort of luggage, Tone still had to ask, “What all do you own?”

“Oh, nothing much. Me, myself and my food.” She replied sarcastically, adding a slight bit of humor to her voice on that last one.

“Stop it.”

“Absolutely not.”

8 - Baltimare

“Oh, come on Luster, stop it!”

“No way. This tastes far too good for me to stop, Tone!”

“Seriously, you're kinda creeping me out! Put that tongue away!”

“No.”

“Lust, please! Somepony might see us and then we’re both going to be in real trouble here!”

“Just be quiet and nopony will be the wiser...”

“You’re getting way too into this! You gotta- aaahh... oooh…”

“That’s it. Just relax~”

It was at about this point that a mare let out a highly embarrassed sounding yelp, quickly retreating from the mostly empty dining cart, her entire face and much of her neck and shoulders having started burning a furious red. Luster poked her head up from where it had been hiding behind the food counter usually reserved for griffons, a cut of animal meat hanging from her mouth.

She shrugged, closed the counter’s sliding door and finished devouring the cooked meat with gusto before looking over at a new sleeping Tone Shift, who she had cast a sleep spell on to make him shut up. Seems it was a bit late to dodge the humiliation bullet, though. With an exasperated sigh, she placed Tone on her back with her magic and, just for added effect, pulled his tongue out of his mouth so it was hanging limply. That ought to get some interesting responses.

Chrysalis normally wouldn’t do anything to cause such a scene, but considering how her last couple of weeks had been, she needed to blow off some steam, and messing with the minds of nearby ponies was harmless enough as long as she didn’t go overkill. With a pleased hum at the food in her stomach warming her up, she used her magic to ruffle up her mane even more than usual before returning to the passenger cart.

* * * * * * *

Tone Shift refused to look anywhere except out the window of the speeding train, a red tint still covering his cheeks and a supremely smug Wildwood Luster sitting next to him, making sure she was pressed a bit closer than he wanted. Upon waking up, he had been met with Luster giving him a knowing smirk and most of the passenger cart either looking towards the two of them with knowing smirks of their own, or refusing to make eye contact.

When Tone saw this, he had asked a rather stupid question. “What happened?”

That had only made his situation worse. Luster gave an amused giggle before patting his shoulder. “Oh, you mean you don’t remember~?”

Tone had went to answer, but upon seeing the faces and thinking for a second, he did remember. Quite vividly. He remembered how Luster was getting hungry after sunset, but eating any love in the air would be problematic, as ponies would probably be able to see the energy as it was pulled into her mouth. So, she had gone to the dining cart, dragging Tone alone with her as a ‘lookout.’

And then she started eating items in the griffon counter with immense enthusiasm. Tone had become worried about them getting caught eating without paying and tried to talk her out of it, but she simply cast a sleep spell on him.

Apparently, to one of the mares passing through the cart, it had sounded remarkably... different.

Now, Tone refused to look at anything, simply glaring out the window with an eternal grimace of humiliation etched into his face.

“Oh, come on. Lighten up.” Luster said softly, poking his shoulder with her hoof.

“I bucking hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

Tone merely groaned and hid his face from the world with his forelegs. I hate this…

“Well, I dunno about you, but I’m beat. I think I’m gonna sleep. We’re arriving in Baltimare in the morning, right?” Luster asked, letting out a yawn and stretching.

“Yep.”

“Okay. g’night.” Luster said before unceremoniously flopping into him, practically using him as a pillow.

“...Off.” Tone seethed at her, but she had already fallen asleep, snoring contentedly right into his ear. I hate my life.

* * * * * * *

Tone had managed to get something resembling sleep while waiting for the train to reach Baltimare. When he awoke, it was to the sound of the train pulling to a stop and the conductor letting everypony know it was time to depart from the train if this was their destination. Glancing over his shoulder, Tone saw that Luster was still asleep and was still using him as a pillow. Taking a moment to look before his aggravation from his earlier embarrassment returned, he found the sight to be cute, in a kind of strange way.

“Hey, wake up, sleepy head.” He said, reaching a forehoof over and poking her face. Luster’s eyes snapped open and she quickly sat bolt upright. She blinked a few times and then looked at him quizzically.

“Did anypony ever tell you that your shoulder blades are dangerous?”

“Dangerous? What the hay is that supposed to mean?” Tone asked, taken aback by the comment.

“I mean that it’s a trap. A tantalizing trap from which their is no escape. Only release, should the warden come along.” Luster replied, earning a roll of Tone’s eyes.

“No, nopony has ever said that until now. Now let’s go, we’re here.” Tone slid from his seat and reached under it in order to get his suitcase. Luster simply stepped to the floor and stretched a bit.

The hustle and bustle of the occupants getting their luggage and leaving the train was a bit of a hassle, but at the very least it wasn’t as bad as Manehattan. Tone Shift would often dread any job that required him to record in that city because of just the train station. Madness.

They stepped off of the train and onto the platform. A few rudimentary checks from the staff later and they were waved through and onto the streets of Baltimare proper. Tone had been in Manehattan, and so while Baltimare was a very impressive city, it wasn’t anything for him to gawk at in comparison.

Chrysalis seemed intrigued, but otherwise unimpressed by the city’s towering skyscrapers and busy streets. She simply kept relatively close to Tone to make sure they didn’t get separated.

“First priority would be getting a hotel room. Then, once everything is put away, I can head on over to the recording studio and figure out when I need to be there each day.” Tone said more to himself then Luster, making sure he had his priorities sorted before stepping down onto the sidewalk and getting a move on, Luster following closely.

“And what hotel were you thinking of?” Luster asked dryly as she peered to her right, spotting at least two hotels on either side of the street heading away from them, both of which looked like they were in remarkably poor repair.

“I usually go to HappySheet’s. But they’re out of my price range this time.” Tone answered, giving the question some thought.

“Oh? And why’s that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I have to shell out the bits for a room for the snarky mare trying to humiliate me to death.” Tone remarked, shooting Luster a glance.

“Oh, shut up. It was funny and I needed a laugh.” she grunted, flicking her mane slightly.

“I didn’t find it funny.”

The two went along for a while, just walking before Tone decided to ask somepony they were passing on the street for directions to a decent hotel that wasn’t very expensive. The mare happily gave them some instructions for a hotel called the Gray Mule. It would be awhile before they got their on hoof, so they agreed to keep an eye out for a taxi on the way, even though they weren’t all that common in Baltimare.

Sadly, no such luck was to be had. No taxies came into view and, to make matters worse, the weather teams were getting a rainstorm started. Already the winds were picking up and some drops could be felt falling from the swiftly darkening clouds. Tone’s ears flattened against the side of his head and his muzzled scrunched into a grimace.

“Well, this is just splendid…” Luster said sarcastically, turning an irritated glare to the sky.

“Yup.”

“Ugh. Give me a second.” Luster said, ducking into a nearby alley. Tone turned around to see what she was up to, only to see a green flash from the alley. When Luster stepped back out, she was no longer a unicorn, but a pegasus, the rune on her cutie mark changed from ‘magic’ to ‘wind.’

“I sometimes forget how useful that ability can be.” Tone commented with a small smile on his face.

“Uh-huh. Look, just hold still, would you?” Luster bluntly replied while drifting into the air, giving her fake wings a few flaps to make sure they would keep her aloft. Once she was satisfied, she came down and picked up Tone by hooking her hooves under his shoulders and lifting.

“Uh, Luster?” Tone said nervously, glancing up at her. She wasn’t paying attention, her face one of strain as she hefted him along toward the hotel. While they were moving far faster than they would be on hoof, there was one small problem.

Tone Shift’s hind legs were dangling over a very long drop.

“Luster! Could you, uh, maybe not fly so high?!” He shouted so she could hear him over the rapidly increasing din of the storm. She still didn’t respond, making a sharp turn that caused Tone’s hind legs to swing due to inertia.

She was increasing her speed it seemed, the water starting to blind Tone Shift as they flew into the water harder than it was falling on them.

Tone’s pleas for a lower altitude gradually began to devolve into panicked screams that were not heard by anypony through the roaring storm, save for a smugly smiling Wildwood Luster.

* * * * * * *

When they reached the hotel, Luster plopped Tone down half a block away before ducking into a nearby alley and changing back into a unicorn, later explaining that she would rather have her magic than wings. They stepped into the lobby, a modest space with a small dining area off to the side and comfortable lounge seating spaced throughout the rest of the room. The bored-looking stallion behind the counter had been happy to go through the steps to get them a room for the next few days.

With the room paid for and Tone’s wobbly legs gaining back some semblance of solidity with being back on the ground, they left the lobby to find their room. Tone looked over at Luster as they went, her face looking surprisingly cheerful considering who was wearing it. “You seem oddly happy.” He commented, earning a glance from her.

“Messing with you is fantastic stress relief.” she replied simply, earning a snort from him.

“Yeah, well, be careful. I might start messing back.”

“Oh? In what way?” She asked curiously, putting on a cocky smirk.

“It all depends on what’s available when I need to get payback.” He shot back, giving her his own confident smile.

Her face went from cocky to disappointed at the vague answer. “What, can’t think of anything on the spot?”

“I just like to make sure my things are well planned out before I go pulling stuff.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Luster gave a roll of her eyes before puffing some air. “We there yet?”

“Yes, we are.” Tone said simply, stopping by their room and sliding the key into the lock. The door clicked and swung open with a soft creak, revealing a simple hotel room. Two beds were against the wall of the left while a bathroom was stationed just to the right of the front door. A lamp hung from the roof, a radio stood between the two beds on a small end table and a desk sat against the back wall with a closet right next to it.

“I’ve slept in worse.” Luster noted, stepping in after Tone and closing the door behind them with a wave of her magic.

“I figured. Rock and dirt can only be so comfy for so long.” Tone replied, earning a glare from Luster. Her horn lit up and the tip of his tongue was caught in her magic.

“Let me be clear here, Tone Shift. If your tongue decides to come outside and play. He really must mind his manners around me. Otherwise, I may just have to take him away from you. Understand?” Luster said slowly, her voice gradually shifting from a normal pony voice to that of Queen Chrysalis as she drew closer. Tone nodded quickly. Luster let go of his tongue and smiled cheerfully. “Good! Glad that’s settled.”

She walked past him and hopped up onto the bed farthest from the entrance. “This is mine now.”

Tone nodded, blinking the fear from his eyes and turning to leave. “Alright, go ahead and get settled. I’m going to go find that recording studio and find out when I need to be there tomorrow.”

Luster said nothing as he left. Once he was gone, she sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

With all of the trouble I am giving him, between the snide remarks and sadistic jokes, even threatening to tear out his tongue… I would have expected more anger from him. More resentment, more distrust… So, why is he growing fonder of me?

She opened her eyes and looked towards the door. This is getting bad… if this goes any further… Luster winced at the implications before stepping into the bathroom and looking at herself in the mirror.

If this goes any further, leaving him might become difficult...

Author's Note

A lot of humor in this chapter with some interesting thoughts at the end. Could this be foreshadowing? :rainbowderp:

Short answer: Maybe.

9 - Payback and Nightmares

When Tone returned, he was dripping wet and looking mildly disgruntled, but otherwise seemed to be in a good mood. Luster glanced up at him as he stepped into the bathroom, shook himself wildly to get rid of excess water and then stepped back out. She gave an amused snicker as he was revealed to be somewhat fluffier looking than usual. “Do you always go out like that, or is this a special occasion?” she playfully asked him.

“Does rainy as heck count as special?” Tone shot back, earning a shrug from the disguised queen. “Ugh… at any rate, I’m going to need to get some early sleep, just so you know. Recording starts pretty early and there’s a pretty tight deadline for all the needed audio.”

“How does this recording thing of yours even work?” Luster asked, genuinely curious and tilting her head to emphasize.

“I thought you knew?”

“I know it involves talking into a mick, but such information wasn’t ever relevant during my previous endeavors.” she replied with a nonchalant roll of her hoof.

“It’s called a microphone, not a mick. We call them mics for short, but still. Get the pronunciation right.” Tone corrected her with a frown on his face.

“Whatever.”

“As for how it works, what you just described is more or less the extent of what my part consists of. I have a script in front of me a little above a mic on a pole. I read my lines into the mic, trying to get tone and emotion to match the context the line will be used in. A room of monitors and a director are off to the side, listening in to my recording and letting me know if I need to adjust something or redo a line.” Tone explained seamlessly, having memorized the whole setup over a year ago when he started this career.

“Sounds boring.” Luster deadpanned, earning a glare from Tone.

“No, not really. I find it fun, to be honest. And it is rather gratifying and rewarding when I get to hear my voice on the radio, helping to tell a story for all of Equestria to hear and enjoy.”

Luster flinched and leaned back as Tone suddenly hopped up onto her bed, standing next to her and puffing out his chest with simulated pride.

“And besides, it gives me a valid excuse to use voices that would otherwise sound ridiculous!” He declared in one of the most cheesy ‘hero pony’ voices he could manage. And he nailed it.

“Off the bed.” Luster said, pushing one of his hind legs. Tone let out a yelp as he wobbled and toppled off the bed to the floor with a loud thud.

“Oh, you’ve done it now...” came Tone’s pained voice from below. Luster simply rolled her eyes.

“Oh, really?”

“Yup.”

Luster let out a startled squeak as Tone suddenly grabbed her blankets and sheets before jumping up and pulling them over her. With sadistic laughter that sounded way too convincing, he began to wrestle with her, pulling more blanket and sheet around her and thoroughly entangling her in a mass of cotton. Luster managed to poke her head out of the ball of blankets with seething rage on her face. “You will let me out of this undignified position right-”

“Oh, I don’t think so…” Tone said ominously, starting to walk around behind her on the mattress. “You’ve caused me to suffer through a few undignified positions, remember?” A maniacal cackle slipped from his throat, sending a chill down Luster’s spine and the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. She could hear him moving and feel the dips in the mattress as he moved around to her right side.

He came to a stop and breathed long and steadily into her ear. “Oh, this is going to be fun…” He said before an unnatural hiss slipped from his lungs and into her ear. Luster’s eyes widened. She had never heard a pony make that kind of noise before. “Hmmm… I wonder how changeling tastes…”

“S-stop it…” Luster said uneasily, now struggling to break free from the blankets and failing. Tone Shift let out a pleased hum and circled around to look her in the eyes again.

“And why should I? I have to eat too, you know…” His voice went even lower, almost distorting as though two were speaking at the same time. He leaned past her face and dragged his tongue along her cheek, causing her to gasp.

“What the hay happened to you…?!” Luster asked, breathing harder to go with her increasing heart rate, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.

“Nothing happened... I just woke up.” Tone said again before leaning somewhat farther and growling into her ear. The growl was angry, hungry, animalistic. It was a sound Luster was sure nopony should be able to make. “And I am just… so… hungry…”

He licked her ear before actually biting it. Luster let out a startled yelp and her horn lit up on instinct. Tone Shift’s tail lit up with her magic grabbing it, and she yanked him hard to the other side of the room, sending him to crash into the opposite wall with considerable force. With ‘Tone Shift’ dazed, she quickly began to untangle herself from the mass of sheets and blankets. As she worked, she began to breathe somewhat faster as Tone stirred, starting to pick himself up. Adrenaline kicking in, she finally managed to get out of the blankets and leapt to the floor, her horn charging with magic and a furious scowl on her face.

“Alright, whoever you are…” She snarled, picking up Tone with her magic and hovering him upside down in front of her, a smirk still spread on his face. “Let Tone Shift go right now, and I won’t tear out your throat!”

To make her point clear, green flames whipped around her and she returned to being Queen Chrysalis, fangs bared and ready to plunge into his throat at the first sign of danger. Tone’s smile went from sadistic and evil to nervous and amused.

“Gotcha.”

Boop.

Chrysalis spluttered incoherently as Tone pushed his hoof to her nose, causing her to drop him and shake her head in bewilderment. “What the- pfffp- the heck- I-I don’t, what, who, how…” She mumbled as she tried to figure out what just happened.

“Told ya. It’s fun.” Tone said from his position on the floor before getting back up, smiling humorously at her. “I can’t believe I had you going there, either. I figured you had a lot more practice with acting then me, considering who you are.”

“What’s happening?” Chrysalis asked in confusion, one of her ears flicking and her eye twitching.

“I told you I was going to mess back, didn’t I?”

Chrysalis’ gaze froze in shock. For several long seconds, she stared at him like a deer would an oncoming train’s headlight. That face then began to gradually change; first to annoyance, than anger and then full-blown murderous rage. She bared her teeth and snarled. “I am going to kill you. I am going to kill you and then kill you again.”

Tone gulped, laughing nervously. “Uh, well- ahem. I don’t think we need to go quite that far, now do we?”

Chrysalis didn’t answer, magical sparks beginning to fly from her horn in all directions. “You want to live?”

“Uh… yes?”

“Run.”

Tone paled, ears flattening against the side of his head before he turned and bolted for the door. He was just able to avoid something pomfing into the wall just behind him, Chrysalis, who had now turned back into Luster, emitting a guttural howl of rage as she chased him, a missile silo of pillows levitating closely behind in her magic.

* * * * * * *

All of Baltimare had to agree wholeheartedly that Tone Shift lost that pillow fight. Luster had chased him across three city blocks before he finally ran out of stamina, at which point she proceeded to pummel him with the pillows for a good ten minutes, making sure to pin him down with her magic as she did so. Finally, after the pillows had been thoroughly shredded and destroyed by the force with which she was using them, she took a very dazed Tone Shift away from the scene of the crime and back to the hotel room, where she then deposited him into the shower and told him to clean himself off. She then locked him in and set herself down on her bed.

She had also stolen some of Tone’s bits to pay for the ruined pillows. The staff had been surprisingly casual about it. Apparently they had dealt with far worse in the past, like a queen-sized bed flying out of a second-story window with a screaming stallion still on it. The mare who did the throwing had refused to pay for the bed and wound up in trouble, an outcome Luster would like to avoid, if possible.

As Luster sat there, though, her mind wandered from that craziness to something else; the glow in the air. Love energy drifted about the room in a subtle haze only changelings could see.

She sat there, pondering her situation and the implications for a long while. Finally, Tone stepped back out of the bathroom, the pillow stuffing having been cleaned from his body. She didn’t look at him, as she was too absorbed in her thoughts. Tone didn’t say anything either, instead opting to simply flop onto his bed and stare up at the ceiling.

“I think I’m going to get some sleep…” He muttered tiredly before slipping beneath his blankets and closing his eyes. Luster absently turned off the lamp, plunging the room into relative darkness. Had her eyes been in their true form, the glow they emitted would have been enough for anypony to see the worry and uncertainty in them.

“Oh, uh, Chrysalis?” Tone piped up, drawing her attention at the use of her real name. He was looking at her with a tired but apologetic frown.

“What is it?” Luster asked, wincing slightly as more energy began to drift off of him.

“I, uh… I’m sorry if I upset you earlier. I took that a bit too far.” he apologized, lowering his gaze slightly and sighing. “You looked like you were actually scared… That wasn’t my intention and I’m sorry...”

“...Don’t worry about it. I’ve been through far worse.” Luster replied with her voice returning to that of Chrysalis. “It was just sudden and seamless. You were pretty convincing.”

“Well, I kinda have to be… It’s my job.” Tone said before rolling over and closing his eyes. “Goodnight, Chrysalis.”

For a few minutes after that, he remained silent before his breaths turned long and rhythmic. Chrysalis sighed slightly and looked away from him. Chrysalis decided she could use some rest herself, sliding under her blankets and looking up at the pink haze that was still in the room and slowly growing thicker.

She blinked, grimaced and opened her mouth, pulling the energy in and consuming it, her hunger diminished to more bearable levels for the time being. She glanced back at him before rolling over to get some sleep herself.

* * * * * * *

“N-no… get away…” Tone mumbled, turning uneasily in his sleep and waking Chrysalis from her slumber. She looked over and saw him jerk slightly before laying still again. “Don’t… don’t… don’t hurt...”

Chrysalis said nothing. She quietly slid from her bed and looked at him as he began to thrash more violently, his breaths coming in panicked gasps. One of his forelegs began to twitch and push out, as though he were trying to keep something away. He was having a nightmare.

“Please, no…. Let… go…”

Chrysalis sat down next to his bed and lit up her horn with her magic, casting calming spell on him in the hopes of dispelling the nightmare and letting him sleep peacefully. For a few moments, the spell worked itself into his mind before he began to calm down. Before he fell back into silence, however, he muttered again, clearer this time.

“Let her go… don’t hurt Chrysalis… please...”

Chrysalis eyes widened as he fell silent, his breathing returning to normal and his posture relaxing. He was having a nightmare... about her? She took a step back and fell to her haunches in disbelief. Her eyes shifted uneasily before she noticed something else. Looking up, her ears fell as she realized she couldn’t even see the faint glow of the bathroom night light from here.

Any light it emitted was smothered and obscured by the pink haze filling the room.

Chrysalis fidgeted for a few moments before standing back up and getting into her bed again. She glanced at Tone again before laying fully back, staring at the ceiling and the churning energy for quite some time.

“Goodnight, Tone Shift…” she whispered before falling back to sleep.

Author's Note

10 - Voices on the Radio

When Chrysalis awoke the next morning, it was to the sound of Tone Shift opening the door to the bathroom and stepping back out into the room proper. He glanced up and nodded to her through. “Morning, Chrysalis.”

“Morning…” Chrysalis stretched slightly before shifting back into Luster. “It’s nice to sleep on a decent bed instead of a thrift-shop couch for a change.”

“Ha ha.” Tone rolled his eyes at her. “Look, I gotta head out. Recording starts in about an hour and I want to make sure I have enough time to get familiar with the studio’s layout and do my warmups. I’ll be back in a few hours.” He turned to the door to leave but paused. “Uh, I left some of my bits on the end table there if you want to go around town for any reason.”

“...Thanks, I guess. Go do your thing.” Luster shooed him away with her forehoof.

“Alright. See you later.”

With that, he stepped through the door and closed it behind him. Luster sat in silence for a long while before looking at the bits on the table. With a ‘hmph,’ she elected to ignore them for now and instead turned on the radio they sat next to, hoping for some decent music and maybe hear some news about how her children in the hive were doing.

She sighed and simply sat there for almost an hour as various pieces of music from various genres and numerous, very forgettable news stories went in one ear and out the other. It wasn’t until some very different sounding music came on, the stations host saying something about a ‘warriors from the comet re-run,’ that her attention was actually obtained proper.

A new voice came onto the radio, old and tired sounding. “There are secrets that nopony should ever discover, relics of our past left eternally forgotten. One such secret, one buried beneath Equestria’s crust for generations, is about to be discovered by an excavation team, led by Topaz Rune. He’s a good stallion… but he is not prepared for what lies ahead. None of them are ready to meet the Warriors from The Comet.”

Luster found herself listening with intent curiosity as a scene began to play in her mind alongside the sounds coming from the radio…

“What are we hoping to find down here, Topaz?” An earth pony stallion with dull colors snidely remarked, jumping slightly as a large scorpion crawled away from the light cast by his mining helmet. “I can’t exactly see myself going much further with all of these arachnids down here!”

“Neither can I…” A frightened mare added, shivering slightly as a draft blew by and water dripped from the stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the long, dark and ancient cavern. Topaz sighed in a familiar voice.

“I don’t think it’s much farther, guys. That old tomb’s gotta be around here somewhere.” Topaz said, though he failed to hide the unease in his own voice.

“Tone Shift…?” Luster sat upright upon hearing his voice, albeit with a slight accent, coming from the radio.

“Why are we looking for a TOMB of all things?!” the mare shrieked in horror, flailing her forelegs in the air for emphasis. “Those have dead things, usually ponies, in them!”

“Creepy and unsettling though it may be, a corpse can’t hurt you, Spade.” Topaz replied before adjusting his gear a bit. “And as for why we’re looking for a tomb, this tomb in particular, in case you neglected to read the project statement, is supposedly home to the remains of hundreds of soldiers from a pre-celestial Equestria. Luna and Celestia hadn’t come to us, yet.”

“And what’s so special about these soldiers?” The stallion piped up, flinching as another arachnid scuttled away into the darkness.

“They were, according to legend and myth, keeping something contained here. Something that was never really spoken of in the old tales. It is highly unlikely that whatever it was is still alive, if that part of the legend is even true.” Topaz grunted in annoyance as a cluster of bats on the ceiling were caught in the beam of his mining helmet light, retreating deeper into the tunnel and down a side passage in a flurry of wing beats and screeches. “But the point is, finding this old ‘tomb’ would potentially yield a great deal of information about a rather blank period in Equestria’s history. It would be a rather large discovery, one I would love to contribute to our knowledge of our homeland.”

Luster found herself drawn in completely as things moved along. The three ponies on the radio talked among each other, providing some backstory information and exposition on numerous topics. Finally, they all let out a collective gasp.

“Well, I’ll be… you were right! The bloody place still exists!”

“Wow. I guess all that research paid off this time. Come on, let’s go!” Topaz said excitedly, a few pebbles rolling away from him as he descended a slope alongside his companions towards a large stone structure, shaped vaguely like a castle wall with a thick, domed roof. As they reached the path, the mare shivered in extreme discomfort.

“Those little buildings off to the side… the way they’re lined up and even on either side, I would guess those are, uh, mausoleums?”

“Looks like it. Smaller ones, probably for the lower ranking soldiers who died here. We’ll run through them later. For now, we need to map all of this out.” Topaz replied, pulling a sheet of parchment and a quill from his saddlebags with magic.

Several more minutes passed as Luster listened in, the characters starting to throw some playful banter back and forth among each other as they carried on with mapping out the ancient structure. A soft grin began to split open Luster’s lips as she imagined Tone Shift filling Topaz’s horseshoes here. He’d probably be handling it… well, not very well, in all likelihood.

“Hey, did you hear that?” Topaz suddenly said, jerking upright as a whispering voice passed through the halls and into his mind.

“Hear what?” The mare asked, her teeth starting to chatter and clack against each other.

“I think I hear voices…” Topaz mumbled, starting to trot off down one of the corridors they had yet to map.

“Woah, Topaz! We haven’t mapped that yet! Get back here!” the stallion called after him, giving chase with a brisk canter.

“W-wait, voices? We shouldn’t go that way, then!” The mare stuttered, sprinting after them with fear rapidly developing in her voice.

“Hello? Is somepony else down here?” Topaz called out, his voice echoing loudly across the old brick walls. There was a subtle change to his voice, as though somepony or something else were speaking through him.

“Topaz, Dynamite, we should really get out of here! NOW!” The mare said in a near panic, grabbing Topaz and trying to yank him away from his current course. He let out a grunt before his forehoof lashed out and collided with her face, a loud smack reverberating all around them.

“Stay out of my way.” Topaz said in a voice that was clearly not his own. He flinched before turning and continuing towards a the end of the hall, where all there was to greet them was an wall with a softly glowing blue rune on it.

“Topaz, what the hay? What’s gotten into you?! Spade has a point, we should go! NOW!” Dynamite shouted, helping Spade to her hooves and glaring at the expedition leader.

“Th-that is NOT Topaz…” Spade uttered in a jittery voice, pointing a shaking hoof at Topaz. “His eyes are all wrong…”

“Hmph. How very perceptive of you.” Topaz uttered, his voice having shifted cadence and accent completely yet still clearly of the same vocal chords. When he turned to face the others, all they could do was scream in fear as magic began leaking from his eyes. “I hold dominion over this pony. I must thank you lot for bringing me a suitable host... the war has been on hold for far too long. It’s time to end this.”

A flash of magic cut the lives of the rest of the team to an abrupt and terrifying end. Topaz let out a maniacal cackle which echoed with another, far deeper voice. “It is time to wake the warriors...”

Luster blinked as another voice began to list off the names of everypony who helped make this episode. She looked to the clock and realized she had been listening for about thirty minutes. “Topaz Rune was voiced by Tone Shift.” the voice on the radio said, confirming Luster’s suspicions.

“Huh… you’re good with that voice of yours, Tone Shift. Hmmm... It’s in your name, I guess.” Luster muttered to herself before reaching over and scooping up the bits he had left for her to use.

* * * * * * *

There were a few clouds in the sky when Tone exited the recording studio. He gave a slight couch before turning and beginning the trot back to the hotel. He’d made some good progress on his lines today. He figured that as long as he could keep up at this pace he’d be done in another couple days at the latest, receive his pay and be back in Ponyville the day after. Good thing, too. He would only have about a week to pay his bills at that point.

“Make good progress?” Luster’s voice suddenly said from behind him. Tone let out a surprised yip and whirled around to see her peering at him over the rim of a pair of sunglasses. She also had a pair of saddlebags with a few odds and ends in them and her left forehoof was holding a small box of prenchfries.

“Yeah, actually. But didn’t you ever learn not to sneak up on ponies?” Tone asked, only realizing after he said it just how stupid a question that was. “...Don’t answer that.”

“I won’t.” Luster said before taking position next to him. “Well, you just going to stand there looking awkward or are you going back to the hotel?”

“I was actually kind of thinking of getting something to eat. Wanna tag along?”

Luster levitated up a fry and took a slow, deliberate bite out of it while putting on a thoughtful look. “I suppose I could…” she mumbled to herself. “But I won’t be eating the food of the restaurant.”

“You’re really serious about this whole ‘make Tone Shift your personal farm,’ aren’t you?” he deadpanned with a flat look, to which Luster merely gave a chuckle.

“How can I resist? Besides, I’m curious as to the sorts of sounds or voices I could have you make while I’m… hmmm… eating…” Luster drew her words out before waggling her eyebrows at him. She leaned closer and whispered, “I’ve heard how good you are with your voice… in person and on the radio, Topaz.”

“Uh…” Tone couldn’t form words as his face and neck began to turn a bright red. Luster laughed before leaning back, her face turning somewhat more serious.

“Don’t get any ideas. I’m messing with you.” Luster deadpanned before strutting past him and flicking him in the nose with her tail. Tone shook his face slightly before glaring at her.

“Would you please stop embarrassing me in public?!” He called after her, cantering to catch up with an annoyed huff.

“No. It’s entertaining.” Luster said playfully as he caught up to her, giving him a smirk.

“Tch. Do you play with your prey as much as you do with your friends?” He asked snidely, to which Luster simply let her teeth show in a grin.

“Who says you aren’t my prey?”

Tone would have immediately launched a snappy comeback to that, but considering he knew she could easily back up that sentiment if she so wished, he opted to stay silent and not push his luck. He cloused his mouth and stared straight ahead. Luster chuckled to herself, but inwardly she scolded and berated herself for that interaction.

The pink haze of energy had started drifting off of him in much larger amounts, the waves leaving a thick cloud in the air behind them as they went.

11 - Sharing Fears

The restaurant they had picked had a lovely outdoor dining area and an intriguing aesthetic. The main reason they had went for it, though, was the positively wonderful smell that drew Tone Shift to a total stop on the sidewalk. His mouth watered and he approached with the complete intention of buying and devouring whatever was making the heavenly aroma.

He made a sound choice. The food, from his perspective was fantastic. Luster ordered something cheap and simple to save face but also to keep Tone Shift from running out of the bits he had allowed for the day. There was some soft and soothing piano music coming from the interior of the establishment, played live by a mare who clearly had a passion for the instrument.

Luster took a hesitant bite out of her dish, a simple enough plate with a small line of muffins on one side and a brick-shaped bundle of hay. She decided to tackle the hay first, as that would be the biggest thing her physical stomach would try to eject and if she were to throw up, she didn’t want to have too much stuff in there. The mess would be awful and the attention even more so.

Across the table from her, Tone was devouring his meal, a substantial double hayburger with cheese with a sizable amount of salad with apple slices on the side of the dish. He gave a pleased hum and delighted shudder as he ate good food for the first time in days. He had food at his home in Ponyville, but it was usually not very good when he was between contracts.

Luster forced herself to swallow the hay in her mouth, an audible ‘gulp’ sounding from her as her throat tried to evict the offending visitor, but it was too late. She gave a subtle gag before shaking her head. “Remind me to never blend in at a pony restaurant again.”

“It was your idea to do that, remember?” Tone quipped with a smile, pointing at her with a leaf of salad before eating that, too.

“Yes, and if I ever go insane enough to make the suggestion, break my spine.” Luster seethed through an involuntary twitch of her system. “Uuugh… the indigestion is going to be terrible.”

“Yeah, it will. Luckily, I’m here to make sure you don’t get to suffer through it alone.” Tone said, expecting a sarcastic remark as soon as he said it. When none came, he paused, his mouth open and the hayburger floating mere inches from it. Come on, give me the punch line so I can bite this burger, would ya? he thought to himself.

“...Thanks.”

Tone bit his own tongue in response, letting out a sharp hiss and sucking the appendage back into his mouth. “Ack! Whuth?” he asked with his tongue not quite working right.

“I said thanks. Having someone wanting to help is… comforting, if nothing else.” Luster said hesitantly, poking the table idly with her forehoof. Tone blinked, his agonized tongue forgotten for the moment.

“Wow… I wasn’t expecting that as a response.” Tone said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head before returning to his burger.

“...But it’s the sort of response you’ve been wanting on for a long while, isn’t it?” Luster guessed, causing Tone to glance at her before finishing his mouthful of burger.

“What?”

“Tone, don’t play dumb with me. I can see it in your posture, hear it in your voice and the way you talk to me. I can see it in the air for crying out loud. You care about me; see me as a friend...” Luster trailed off, turning her eyes down and flattening her ears against her head. “Even though you know who and what I truly am…”

Tone looked at her with a slightly surprised, but also thoughtful look on his face. He sighed and set his burger down before glancing around to make sure nopony was too close to eavesdrop before leaning over to Luster somewhat.

“Chrysalis… let me be clear, here. You are my friend. I like to think that it’s possible, at least. Because I don’t care how you look. Your face doesn’t matter. You do.” he said before poking her gently in the chest with his hoof. “And you needed my help. I gave it. And the more time I spent around you, the more I saw in you. You’ve been through a lot, Chrysalis, and you’ve done a lot. Almost none of it was good, but that doesn’t have to define who you are.” Tone sat back and gave a soft smile. “I’ll be honest, I want to help you turn things around. I want to see your face when you realize that there is such an amazing and beautiful being underneath that chitin, just waiting for you to set her free. I want to see you happy, just like I do for all of my friends.”

A silence fell between them as Chrysalis let his words sink in. She closed her eyes and sighed. “The sentiment is touching, Tone, even if I feel you are a fool for believing it.” For several minutes, she remained silent, allowing him to finally return to his food. Then, she opened her eyes and looked at him tentatively. “What was your nightmare about?”

Tone stiffened before slumping slightly, swallowing the last of his burger before making the salad front and center. “You noticed?”

“You were thrashing and panicking in your sleep. Pretty hard to miss for me, being a light sleeper and all.” Luster pointed out before nibbling on some more of the hay on her plate, doing her best to ignore the protests of her stomach.

“I… I dreamt that you were found out. That for some reason your disguise failed in the middle of Ponyville. Everything went into chaos. Ponies either ran to hide or to get Princess Twilight, Starlight or the rest of their friends.” Tone closed his eyes and shivered at the memory. “I tried to convince anypony I could that you weren’t going to hurt them, but nopony would listen. Princess Twilight and her student showed up and… and they…”

Luster couldn’t help but wilt slightly at seeing how he was shaking at the memory of what was only a bad dream. Tone sucked in a breath before continuing. “They started to drag you away, sometimes hitting you with magic to keep you from fighting back… the crowds were holding me back, preventing me from trying to help you.”

“I… I’m sorry, Tone Shift. That must have been horrible.”

“It’s strange, though…” Tone continued with curiosity gradually slipping in to replace his fear and anxiety. “When it was at it’s worst, it seemed to suddenly go… calm? I guess? I don’t know. It was like everypony just went quiet and slowly retreated back to their homes. I remember that I began to feel pleasant… but I don’t remember what happened after that.”

“That must have been caused by a simple calming spell I cast on you. It seemed like a pretty nasty nightmare and, well, you came to this city to do a job. Hard for you to do that if you’re half asleep because a nightmare woke you up in the middle of the night.” Luster said almost casually before noticing the look Tone was giving her.

“I appreciate it, Luster. Thank you.” Tone said quietly and honestly, reaching a forehoof over to grab one of hers on the table. Luster flinched and jerked her hoof away at the contact, causing him to recoil with an apologetic look. “Sorry, sorry!”

Luster didn’t say anything, merely shooting him a mildly annoyed glare before looking away, her face hidden from him by her mane. With an awkward silence now hanging in the air, Tone went about finishing his meal. Luster ate what she could stomach of hers, which in the end was simply the muffins on the side and one more bite of hay. Once all was paid for, they began to make their way back towards the hotel.

* * * * * * *

Tone Shift shook his head slightly to cast away a fogginess that had come over his mind. He was back in Ponyville, out on the streets. Luster was by his side, an uncharacteristically warm smile on her face. Tone didn’t even bother to think about how they had gotten here, or why. It never even occurred to him that they weren’t in Baltimare anymore. For what felt like an eternity, he just enjoyed the feelings of being home with Luster by his side, walking through the streets and occasionally making small talk.

A breeze was starting to pick up. Tone looked around for the source but saw nothing. There wasn’t even a single cloud in the sky, let alone the weather teams putting any sort of wind front into motion. Suddenly, for only a second, the breeze turned into a powerful gust that almost ripped Tone Shift off of his hooves. He closed his eyes to shield them from the intensity of the wind, then cracked them open when it stopped.

“Gah! T-Tone Shift!” Luster wheezed from his side, her voice filled with pain and effort. Tone looked towards her and his eyes widened. Flickers of green fire were starting to appear on her body against her will, gradually dissolving the disguise to reveal Queen Chrysalis beneath. She let out an agonized gasp as the disguise was finally ripped away in it’s entirety, her legs giving out under her weight. She fell to the ground in a heap, gasping for breath.

“What the?! Chrysalis! Are you alright?!” Tone half shouted, kneeling next to her. She was clearly not okay. She was trembling violently and her eyes were bloodshot and dilated. Her breathing was uneven and ragged, coming in deep and desperate gasps. “What’s happening?!”

“Chrysalis!” Another voice came onto the scene, angry and bitter. Tone looked up to see Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance and also Starlight Glimmer approaching, all of them wearing hardened expressions. It had been Starlight that had made the shout.

“No! Wait!” Tone pleaded desperately, putting himself between the advancing princesses and the weakened Chrysalis. “Please! Just hear me out!”

“Stand aside! I don’t intend to let this insect walk away a third time after everything she’s put me and my family through!” Cadance snarled, her horn lighting up and throwing Tone Shift off to one side with enough force to knock the wind out of him.

“Guards! She’s here!” Celestia announced loudly, her words echoing across all of Ponyville. The area was swarming with royal guards in only a matter of seconds, many of whom went for Chrysalis in order to detain her. No small amount of disgust could be seen in their advance, insults and strikes thrown at the former Queen en masse.

“Please, don’t hurt her!” Tone screamed in despair, getting to his hooves only to be knocked back to the ground by a guard tackling him.

“You have been housing and protecting an enemy of Equestria! You are under arrest!” The guard snarled at him, a horn on his head igniting with magic and pulling a set of hoof cuffs out, the chains rattling ominously in Tone’s ears.

“Please! Stop this! Don’t do this! Stop! PLEASE!!” Tone screamed at the top of his lungs, wanting nothing more than all of this to just stop!

Suddenly, all went cold and quiet. A soft, soothing breeze passed over him, making him open his eyes, which he had closed in fear. Everypony was gone, night seeming to have abruptly replaced the afternoon. He slowly got to his hooves and took a deep breath. “What is going on… is this…?”

“A dream? Yes, it is, Tone Shift. And it’s contents raise a great many questions.” came the unmistakable voice of Princess Luna. Tone Shift felt his ears go flat against his head, the blood draining from his face. He slowly turned, praying he was wrong, but he wasn’t. Princess Luna stood maybe ten feet away with an unreadable look. She began to advance.

“There is a great deal of fear in this dream. Fear, tension and worry. The presence of Queen Chrysalis and your immediate decision to rush to her aid when she became weakened makes some interesting possibilities known. I, for one, would like to hear your explanation.” She said simply, trotting towards him and coming to a stop right in front of him, looking down with a scrutinizing gaze.

Tone wilted under her gaze before looking down. “...I doubt it would matter if I lied, would it? You’d be able to tell.”

“Correct.”

Tone blew out a puff of air before looking back up. “Then I’ll be blunt. Queen Chrysalis has been hiding in my home for a little while now, because I saved her life when she was on her last leg. I… I’ve come to see her as a friend in that time. I’m trying to think of a way to get the ponies of Equestria to give her a chance, but…” he trailed off, looking down.

“...But you are afraid that any efforts made will be meaningless if she is discovered before you can put the plan into motion, yes?” Luna guessed correctly, earning a solemn nod and sigh from Tone Shift.

“Please, don’t tell anypony she’s with me!” Tone pleaded, looking back up at Luna with his ears flat against his head. “I don’t want to see her suffer anymore. There’s a real chance here, a chance to make her happy and get her to coexist with us peacefully…But if she is discovered too soon, we’ll lose that chance forever.”

Luna looked at him with narrowed eyes and a thin frown, though she seemed to be contemplating what he said. Without a word, she turned her head slightly, her horn lighting up with blue magic. The world around them blurred and twisted before reforming. Tone looked around and realized that they were now in a forest somewhere. He did not recognize this location, but he did recognize the form of Chrysalis facing away from him not far off.

“What is-”

“The night you first met her. That’s what this is.” Luna interrupted him before the magic faded from her horn and the scene around them began to move. Chrysalis was peering through the treeline at something out of their sight, and it was now the middle of the day.

“But… I met Chrysalis at night in the everfree.” Tone said with confusion, looking back to Luna questioningly. “When was this?”

Luna merely motioned her head to Chrysalis, and Tone turned just in time to see her disappear in a flash of teleportation magic. For a second, there was silence. Then, she returned in another flash, carrying a stunned and panicking Tone Shift in her forelegs. The two came to a stop, Tone looking at her and opening his mouth to scream in terror.

He didn’t make a sound, however. Chrysalis cast a spell that seemed to still his vocal chords. All he could do was thrash and breath as Chrysalis pinned him down and opened her mouth. Tone widened as he saw Chrysalis drain his past self of love energy, forcefully pulling it right out of his chest and sucking it up in one continuous stream. He saw his past self thrashing and struggling, but steadily growing weaker.

Finally, Chrysalis let up, dropping her spells and stepping back from Tone Shift, who gasped and groaned dryly, rolling over weakly in an effort to crawl away. Chrysalis merely snarled at him. “I’m not through with you yet!” She snapped venomously, stamping a forehoof between his shoulders and pinning him there. Were he not so drained, he would have screamed. All that came out was a strangled whimper.

Chrysalis lit her horn up once more, a line of magic moving from the horn to Tone Shift’s head. He let out a sigh and fell still, the world starting to blur away as Chrysalis turned to look at something unseen.

The scene melted away and was soon replaced with the edge of the everfree forest on a cloudy night. Tone blinked as he realized this was the night he remembered finding Chrysalis, wounded and starving. He looked to Luna for answers.

“What we just saw was the very first time you met Chrysalis. She erased the memories as thoroughly as she was able, though your heart held traces enough for me to put together a rough recreation.” she explained, before nodding to the scene before them. “And this is the night you saved her…”

“Luna, why are you showing me these? I already know everything past this point.” Tone asked seriously, looking at the moon princess sincerely.

“Merely so that I can be properly informed of the situation. I may be able to see the images your mind and heart remember and infer the feelings and intentions attached to each, but nopony knows you like yourself. I am hoping you can provide some insight for me as I run through some key moments.” Luna answered before allowing the scene to play out before them, falling silent so they could observe.

“Oh my goodness, you’re hurt! You need help!”

“Stay away from me!”

“You need help. Please, let me take you to the clinic. It’s the least I can do-”

“Absolutely NOT! I’d sooner die here than be subjected to them! Or anymore of you! You should just turn around and forget you ever saw me! You need to… just…”

“Do you remember me…?”

* * * * * * *

It seemed to take hours, even though Luna only touched on what she considered to be events of particular note. She would play an event and when it was over she would spend a good while asking Tone various questions about why he did what he did, or why he acted the way he acted. He answered all of her questions completely and honestly, hoping with all of his heart that he could convince her to hold off on sending in a guard squad.

Finally, Luna played back the scene at the restaurant where Tone and Luster had spoken to each other of his nightmare and his growing affections towards her as a friend. She watched in intently, but said nothing when it finally ended. For a few moments, she wore a thoughtful expression.

Tone Shift blinked and found himself back where he was when Luna had first entered his dream. He rubbed his eyes with a foreleg and glanced around for her. Luna was standing where she had been before, now wearing a charmed smile.

“I must admit, Tone Shift, what I saw and heard tonight was… heart warming, in a way. You may yet have a chance to succeed in this endeavor of yours.”

“So, you won’t tell anypony about her?” Tone asked, perking up with hope in his voice.

“Your secret will be safe with me, unless events transpire in such a way that I am obligated to reveal it. I hope you won’t disappoint me on this. You have an enormous opportunity for not just yourself, but for Equestria…. And for Chrysalis.” Luna said with a her smile widening somewhat. She turned, the dream beginning to dispel around them.

“Thank you so much, your highness.” Tone sighed with relief and gave a deep bow. Luna came to a stop a few paces into her walk and looked back at him with a knowing smirk.

“You are welcome. Although, I must admit there is still one thing i am curious about…” She turned to face him more fully, earning a tilt of his head.

“What would that be?”

“Are you sure you see Chrysalis as a friend?” Luna asked, putting emphasis on the word ‘friend.’

Tone recoiled at her words as though offended. “What? Of course! I wouldn’t be doing any of this if I thought less of her than that!”

“Of course, Tone Shift. You misunderstand my question.” Luna said as the dream truly began to dissolve. She began flapping her wings and began to lift towards the full moon behind her. “I merely ask you if ‘friend’ is the right way to describe how you feel towards her. Give it some thought…”

She vanished into the moon, and the dream ended.

* * * * * * *

Tone Shift awoke with a start in his hotel bed. It was morning. He needed to start getting ready to head down to the recording studio, actually. He glanced over at Luster’s sleeping form on the bed across the room from his. Slowly and quietly, he moved on to the bathroom to use the facilities and shower for the day.

As he went about the routine, he couldn’t help but wonder about what Luna had said. While in the shower, he closed his eyes as the soap and shampoo gradually was rinsed out of his coat.

“What do I think of her…?” he pondered aloud before opening his eyes and shutting off the shower, the last of the suds having been washed away.

12 - 'Pillow' Talk and Homecoming

When Tone Shift left the hotel to go to the studio, Luster had yet to awaken. He decided not to wake her, leaving quietly so she could get in some likely still needed rest. When she did awake, he had been gone for almost two hours. She opened her eyes and let out a long, wary sigh. She had dreamt of the hive again… about her drones.

She slowly sat up and blinked the remaining sleep away from her eyelids before stepping into the bathroom to bathe herself. She didn’t normally shower or bathe; she didn’t normally need to. Changing her form often eliminated most of the grime or dirt on her body. Cleaning that way never really allowed her to relax or ease her mind, and she felt she could use something to clear her head and get her thoughts in order.

Still in her disguise as Wildwood Luster, Chrysalis turned on the warm water and then just stood there, letting it wash over her. She didn’t bother with shampoo or soap, opting instead to just let her mind wander.

The love in the air is so… thick… she thought to herself as she looked around. Sure enough, residue love energy hung in the air like a thick fog. She was somewhat glad that she could slightly adjust her vision on the fly to filter out the haze; usually useful when infiltrating someplace and needing to have absolutely no distractions.

Now, she basically needed to filter it out just to see in the bathroom. She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as the full weight of her situation hit her like a tsunami. “...No more.” Luster breathed quietly to herself as the water kept running over her, steam rising into the air. “I’ll return with him to Ponyville… but that’s where our paths must separate.”

With slow movements, she turned off the shower and stood. She didn’t move for the towels or anything, simply letting herself dry naturally while she got her plan worked out in her mind. Finally, when she was fully dry, she opened her eyes and left the bathroom, sitting down on her bed. She refocused her vision to see the love energy in the air before opening her mouth and pulling all of it in. It was incredibly dense and filling; more than enough to keep her going for a few days. She could find more in that time easily.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of being alone with her thoughts, she looked up to see Tone Shift return. He closed the door and pumped his forehoof in the air with a giddy ‘boo-yah!’

“Mission accomplished?” Luster asked curiously, slipping from the bed and looking at him more closely. He seemed quite energetic and happy.

“Yes ma’am! They’ve already written up my check and I have it in my saddlebags. A pretty substantial payoff this time, I must say! Should give me a nice buffer zone and cushion in case more work takes a while to find.” Tone said happily, doing a little ‘happy dance’ that earned an amused smirk from Luster.

“Do you know how stupid that dance looks?” She quipped with a playful hoof gesture.

“Do you know how much I care?” Tone shot back with a playful grin of his own.

“Not enough, clearly.” Luster was suddenly surrounded in green flames as she abruptly transformed into a perfect mimic of Tone Shift before doing the exact dance he had just done; except she kept it going so it’s ridiculousness could really sink in. She returned to being Luster and halted the dance when Tone hurled a rolled up cloth that was supposed to be in the bathroom at her face. She ducked.

“Hardy har.” Tone stuck his tongue out at her before quickly sucking it back in. “At any rate, I think now would be a good time to start getting our things together, checking out of the hotel and getting back to the train. Bills are in Ponyville and I’d like to get them dealt with before anything else.”

“When is the next train, anyway?” Luster asked, glancing towards the clock.

“In a little over an hour.” Tone replied, heading over to his belongings, which were casually deposited in their suit-case in one corner of the room and getting them more firmly placed inside the container. “If we start now, we should get there with time to spare.”

Luster nodded silently as he went about getting everything in order. Staring at the back of his head as he went about all of this, she felt a slight pang of guilt. She had given him no end of crap since they had met, and any and all jabs he had gotten at her were swiftly countered or rendered null by her own ruthlessness.

With a small nod to herself, green flames whipped around her again and she lost the horn, turning into an earth-pony variant of Luster. With a small smile trying to force down the frown she was wearing, she picked up one of the pillows on her bed and promptly used it to smack Tone Shift right on the butt. He let out a startle yip and looked at her to see a predatory gleam in her eye as she held the pillow in her teeth.

With a forehoof, she hefted up one of the other pillows and chucked it at him. He caught it and glanced at her in confusion. She took the pillow from her own mouth long enough to give him a challenging, open-mouthed smirk. “Even though I clearly won all of our other little tussles or jabs on this trip, I offer you the chance to win them all back.”

She set her pillow down, picked up the cloth he had thrown at her and then threw it onto the ground at his feet with a grin. “I challenge you to a duel. One on one, winner takes all.” She picked back up the pillow and got into a dodging stance. Tone glanced at the cloth before giving a smirk of his own.

“Did you just throw down the gauntlet with a washcloth?” he asked, doing a pretty good impersonation of Chrysalis while he was at it. Luster simply rolled her eyes before smiling wider as he picked up the pillow she had thrown him. “Very well, then, lady Luster. I accept your challenge. Just don’t think I’ll go easy on you because you’re a lady of high status.” His ‘medieval noble-pony’ voice was impeccable.

Chrysalis waggled her eyebrows. “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you because you’re a pony.”

“Touche.”

And with that, they lunged at each other. It was an epic struggle of wits and cunning, strength and reflexes, speed and determination, as well as just seeing how out-of-control they both allowed the other to get. Neither seemed to have any limit, though. Luster, for her part, seemed more than happy to stay as an earth pony to let Tone actually have a chance in this little struggle of theirs.

Finally, in a bold move, she shot forward, using her pillow almost as a shield ad tackled Tone in the belly, as he had been rearing back to use all of his body weight to crash the pillow in his hooves onto her head. Tone let out a loud ‘oomph’ as Luster ploughed into his gut and set him sprawling onto his back on the bed, Luster now looming over him with her own pillow reared over her head with one hoof, while the other rested on his chest.

“Do you yield?” She asked sharply, applying some pressure with her hoof and tensing up as though she were about to smack him with the pillow again. When she got no answer, she focused on his face and went still and silent.

He was looking at her as though in awe. His eyes had widened somewhat and a slight pink tint had come to his cheeks. His mouth was slightly agape as well. The two stayed motionless for several seconds. Tone noticed how on hi her attention was and, while maintaining his transfixed expression, managed to subtly grab the spare pillow on the bed and slam it into the side of Luster’s face.

Combining the force of the blow with his own body weight and momentum, he swiftly turned the tables with Luster pinned beneath him and, a victorious grin on his face as he swat away her pillow and kept her down. “Do you yield?” he asked, somewhat short of breath after the exertion. Luster looked up at him before smiling softly, a faint shimmer coming to her eyes. It left as quickly as it had appeared.

“Yes. I yield. You have bested me quite expertly, sir.” The two relaxed as the end of their battle was concluded. Tone dropped his pillow and looked down at Luster with a tender, gentle gaze.

He swallowed hard before Luster noticed the tint returning to his cheeks. She looked at his eyes and, by how rapidly they were shifting in very subtle ways, she had a good idea of what he was about to try. “Um… Luster, I-”

“Totally forgot what time it was?” Luster interrupted, putting a hoof on his face and turning his head to look at the clock.

“Oh, buck me...” He groaned before getting off of her and running for his suitcase.

“I could say so much to that, but, well, it would just be too easy.” Luster said as she turned back into a unicorn and slid off of the bed.

“Hush, you!”

As Tone Shift went about getting everything ready, Luster refocused her vision to see the pink haze in the room. With a sorrowful expression coming over her, she began to pull in and eat the energy, making sure to savor it on it’s way in.

* * * * * * *

It was the middle of the afternoon the next day when they finally arrived in Ponyville. Tone Shift saw to it that they got the luggage back to his house before he went galloping off to get his bills finally paid off, leaving Luster in his house to look around. A few of the books he had borrowed for her still rested on the couch. She had finished reading them already. Any she hadn’t finished were ones she simply wouldn’t.

She took a moment to breathe, calm and ready herself. This was going to be so hard for her… for both of them, but she had no choice.

She jumped in surprise somewhat when Tone closed the door behind him on his return, the sound knocking Luster from her thoughts. His saddlebags were jingling quite nicely with the sounds of plenty of bits. “Alright! Now I can relax a bit.” he said happily, setting down the bits and heading for the couch. “Hey, Chrysalis, do you want to-”

“Tone Shift.” She said suddenly, interrupting him. The way it came out immediately caught his attention. Luster was looking down at the ground, ears flat against her head. “There’s… something I have to tell you.”

The raw emotion, no matter how well she controlled it, was plainly evident in her voice. She slowly looked up, her disguise peeling away to reveal the chitin-clad Queen Chrysalis once more. Her eyes looked into Tone’s, immediately pulling him in.

“Is something wrong?” Tone Shift asked carefully, stepping forward and resting a hoof on her shoulder. She seemed to lean into the touch, relaxing somewhat.

“I… Tone Shift, you… not only did you save my life twice, but you took me into your home and… you have shown me more acceptance than anything, pony or otherwise, I have ever met. After everything that I’ve been through, everything I’ve done… you gave me someplace I feel like I can call home.

“But I haven’t said what I need to say… you’ve done more for me than anyone I have ever met, and you didn’t even ask for much, if anything, in return… you helped me because you wanted to…” Chrysalis closed her eyes and sat on her haunches, bringing her more to his eye level. “I can never, ever, in my entire life hope to repay that…”

“You don’t have to repay anything.” Tone whispered, giving her shoulder a comforting pat. “Like you said, I did this because I want to help you. If I succeed, that will be reward enough for me.”

Chrysalis choked down a sob as he said this before leaning past him and drawing him into a tight hug, squeezing him so close that he could feel how horribly she was starting to tremble.

Chrysalis sniffled. “Th-thank you… thank you so much. Thank you for saving me, for giving me a home… thank you for everything…”

Tone’s eyes suddenly widened as a green flash erupted from Chrysalis’ horn, a haze coming over his vision. Tone could feel his limbs and body going weak and his eyes closing on their own. Sleep reached for him almost instantly, dragging him swiftly away from the waking world. “Chrysalis… what’s… happening?” he mumbled, losing strength before, finally, falling into a silent, dreamless sleep.

Chrysalis clutched at his unconscious body, still as a statue save for the uncontrollable shakes rattling her system. “I’m so… so sorry…” she uttered in barely even a whisper. She sobbed again before letting out a long, miserable cry of regret. She pulled him tighter, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I would ask you to forgive me… but you can’t forgive what you don’t remember…”

Author's Note

Hey, so, things are happening on my end and I may be able to use my old laptop again soon-ish! Hard to say, though. For anyone who doesn't know, my main laptop kinda became ded a few days back. We're seeing if it can be fixed and will probably know for sure on Monday. Until then, updates will be slower than usual.

But, either way, plot twist! :twilightoops:

Sad, sad plot twist... :fluttercry:

13 - Better Off

For Chrysalis, it felt like all of the hundreds of years of her life up to this point were trivially short in comparison to this one moment. Tone Shift asleep in her forelegs, unable to wake until the spell wore off tomorrow morning. When he did finally return to his senses, it would be with no recollection of having ever found Chrysalis at the edge of the forest or bringing her into his home. She’d have to make sure his memories of her were the same as they were just before he found her. A face of a pony he didn't know and nothing more.

Finally pulling herself together, Chrysalis gently and carefully lifted Tone in her magic and deposited him onto her back before striding towards his room. Upon arrival, she pulled back his blankets and set him under them. She sat down by the bedside and tried to smile, only to fail as another sob tore through her.

“Dangit, Chrysalis, pull yourself together…!” she said to herself quietly, trying to push the emotions aside so she could do what she needed to do. With a heavy sigh, she looked at Tone Shift’s peacefully sleeping face. His eyebrows were still tilted to portray the fear and confusion he had felt when she cast her spell.

”It’s for your own good, Tone Shift. You gave me a chance to survive… the only way I can think of to repay that is to ensure my time here doesn’t jeopardize you, your safety or your happiness. I could never forgive myself if you were hurt because of me…”

“And the only way I can make sure that does not come to pass… is if I was never here.” Chrysalis, with a shiver and grimace, lit up her horn with magic. “You’ll forget we ever met… All traces of my time here will have to be removed... but I’ll try to leave the happy thoughts and feelings as intact as possible…” she leaned down and touched her horn to his head.

One by one, she began to gather up the sections of his memory that had her in it, carefully identifying what she could safely erase without creating notable gaps or inconsistencies that he could notice or follow. She couldn't help but relive some of the memories he had of her as they came up. Now, seeing them through his eyes and understanding how he felt during each moment, she felt another sob rattle her.

“...What was it, Tone?” Chrysalis whispered almost silently as she had the spell primed and ready to fire. All she needed was to let the spell off and he would forget everything they had done together. He would forget finding her by the forest edge. He would forget bringing her to his home. He would forget deciding to keep her presence a secret. He would forget the time she spilled out her grief and sorrow over her hive to him.

He would forget she had ever even been here, and would be able to live his life happily without risk of accusations of treason or betrayal. He would be able to find more work and keep those bills paid for and himself fed. He wouldn’t have to worry about feeling bad about her sudden departure. “...what was it that made you care so much?”

Then she came to the memory where he had been looking up at her during their pillow fight at the hotel in Baltimare, when she had tackled him and pinned him to the bed. She froze on that memory as what he had been feeling and thinking was almost literally made into an open book to her.

His heart had been beating faster, butterflies in his stomach… She’s so beautiful… he had mentally replaced the image of Luster with Chrysalis, colorful fur replaced with black chitin, and his feelings didn’t change. The emotion was crystal clear, and Tone had thought of it without delay as soon as he realized it. ...I love her.

And of course, when he had flipped them over so he was on top, when she yielded to him in their playful pillow duel, he had looked down at her and wanted nothing more than to lean down and kiss her. He had been just about to do so when she directed his attention to the clock.

As soon as all those thoughts and feelings and memories flashed through Chrysalis’ mind, she locked up completely, her fears having been fully confirmed with no room for doubt. She had given him such a hard time, embarrassed him in public, inflicted height-induced panic attacks and assaulted him with an armory of pillows in an effort to get him to become angry with her, to stop caring. But it didn’t turn out that way...

He loved her and that on its own made what Chrysalis had to do so, so much harder. Chrysalis retreated into her own mind, trying to pull herself together. Don’t think about it… just do it. Cut the memories and erase them. He’ll be better off…

She mentally prepared to fire off the spell. Just as she was about to, however, she stopped. She tried again and, just like before, stopped just short of casting the spell. She tried one last time before she realized it, her jaw clenching shut in an effort to hold in a humorless chuckle.

“...I can’t.” Chrysalis dropped the spell and leaned away slightly. “I just can’t do it.” Sagging with exhaustion, Chrysalis simply extended the sleep spell so it would end in three days instead of tomorrow morning. “You’ve enjoyed our time together far too much… it would be dishonest, selfish and cruel of me to take them away from you… even if those are all the traits that make me who I am, I just can’t… not to you…”

She stared at him for several minutes, silently saying her goodbyes. When the sounds of pegasi shouting out instructions outside caught her attention, she rested a hoof on his unresponsive shoulder. “Please don’t make either of us regret this, Tone Shift…” Chrysalis stood and returned to his living room. She paused for a moment to memorize the environment, taking it all in and making sure she could remember it whenever she had to. Then she set about leaving a note on the coffee table tucked just under the photo they had taken outside his house. The photo of the day she had finally trusted him enough to leave his house with him…

* * * * * * *

“Attention everypony! Ponyville is now on lockdown due to the confirmed presence of an Ursa in the Everfree forest nearby! Nopony is to leave Ponyville until we give the all clear, and refrain from leaving your homes unless you have to!”

Very similar messages were being relayed across the entire town by the pegasi weather team. Luster looked up at them all flying around, shouting out the instructions to everypony in town to make sure the message was heard. “An Ursa, eh? Not a major and not a minor… probably looking for something to eat.” she muttered to herself before looking towards the forest. “Which means that everypony will be looking out for that… a distraction.” Her analysis of the situation updating by the second, Luster slunk into the shadows and made her way towards the edge of town, intent on slipping into the forest and disappearing.

Not far away, a small group of earth ponies and unicorns, one of several put together by Princess Twilight when this situation came up, was going from door to door to hoof out instructions and guidelines for the situation. Among this group, Starlight Glimmer. She came to a brief stop at the door to Tone Shift’s house, knocking hard three times and then levitating the sheet of duplicated parchment.

No answer. “Hello? Is anypony home?” she called with another sharp set of knocks. There was still no answer, but Starlight could have sworn she felt a tingle of strong magical residue in the air around the house. She at a glance towards the others in her group. “Hey, I’ll catch up in a minute. Gotta check something real quick.”

“Real quick, miss Glimmer.” one of the ponies, a stallion replied. “We need to hit as many homes as possible and if you're hanging back, we’re all slowed down.”

“I understand.” Starlight gave a nod as the group moved on to the next set of homes. Once they were a fair ways off. She gave her horn a quick charge and teleported inside the house. “Is everything alright in here?” She asked loudly now definitely picking up some residual magic. A pretty potent spell had been cast here. Recently.

She followed the residue until she came to the house's only bedroom. An earth pony stallion lay sleeping in his bed, unusual considering the hour. But it was even more strange because of the heavy magical residue in the air. Looking him over, she soon discovered the source of the residue; a sleep spell had been cast on him only an hour ago, the charge on it timed to fade in around three days.

“What the…?” Starlight muttered to herself before preparing a counter spell. For several moments, the spell charged and then fired once she was sure she had it all worked out. As soon as she did, the Stallion opened his eyes wide with a loud gasp, bolting upright.

“No!” He half shouted, reaching a foreleg out as though to catch somepony in front of him.

“Woah, mister. Easy.” Starlight said carefully, putting a hoof on his shoulder to get his attention. “Are you okay?”

The stallion dragged a hoof over his face as he began to get his bearings. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I felt a magic residue and kinda, um, entered your house to make sure everything was alright. You had a high power sleep spell on you but, beyond that, I don’t know the details.” Starlight explained as the stallion slid from the bed on shaky legs. “Are you alright?”

“I think so. Name’s Tone Shift, by the way.” Tone said when he was sure he could support himself with his own legs.

“Do you have any idea who might have cast that sleep spell on you, or why?” Starlight followed up, stepping back a bit to give Tone some space.

Tone Shift’s eyes snapped wide open and he froze. His blood ran cold and a chill ran down his spine as he remembered Chrysalis’ gratitude… and the faint echo of her apology before he passed out. “Oh no…”

“Huh?” Starlight tilted her head at him, then jumped back as he shoved past her into his living room.

“Luster!” Tone called uselessly, looking around the living room and then darting into the kitchen. Starlight slowly entered the living room as Tone came back, starting to look like he was in a panic, pulling at his mane with his hooves and his eyes darting everywhere. “Oh no, oh no, oh no!”

“Tone Shift, calm down. Who’s ‘Luster’?” Starlight asked in a soothing voice from next to the coffee table, holding a foreleg out in an effort to calm him and get his attention. Tone looked at her, then to the coffee table she stood next to. He went silent.

Slowly, Tone picked up one of the photo’s on the table and passed it to Starlight. “That’s Luster…” he said absently, his attention instead focused on the note that had been under it.

“I remember her. She seemed kind of agitated when we met.. Is everything okay with her?” Starlight asked, but then shrinking slightly at the growing look of dread and despair on Tone Shift’s face.

“No… no, No, NO!” Tone’s voice rose to a scream as he turned and sprinted for his door, unlocking it, throwing it open and sprinting out into the evening streets without stopping.

“H-hey!” Starlight called after him, confused. She took a moment and saw that he had left the note on the table. Grasping it with her magic, she brought it up to her face and read the contents.

Tone Shift

I can never hope to thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. In the short time you had me in your home, you saved my life twice and brought me back to good health from the brink of starvation. You gave me a home. I appreciate the effort more than I can describe with words

But I have to leave. If I stay with you, you will only suffer greatly, and I would rather avoid causing you any more unnecessary pain. My departure now has probably saved your life. I hope you can forgive me, even though I do not expect you to.

You told me that if I wanted a happy ending, I should just ask. Well, if that’s the case, then I ask of you; do not dwell on my absence or the time we had together. In fact, try to forget if you can. As it is, the happiest ending I can hope for in this chapter of my life is for the pony that saved me to remain unharmed and happy himself.

By the time you read this I will be long gone. Don’t try to find me.

Take care of yourself.

Sincerely yours, Wildwood Luster.

Author's Note

Things are getting serious, now... :fluttercry:

14 - Ursa

By the time Starlight found Tone Shift, he was already past Ponyville’s town borders and sprinting directly for the Everfree forest. A couple of ponies that had tried to stop him along the way could be seen picking themselves up off of the ground, stunned at how little restraint he showed in shoving them aside to get through.

“Tone Shift! Stop! There’s an Ursa out there!” Starlight shouted, grabbing Tone’s tail in her magic.

“I. Dont. Care!” Tone screamed back at her, turning to face her with a gaze that gave her immediate pause. There were tears in his eyes and his lips were trembling as he struggled to hold himself together. “I can’t let her leave! Not like this!”

“We can send out a search party. We’ll bring her back, but I can’t let you leave!” Starlight said uneasily before pulling Tone back towards her. Tone’s forehooves dug small trenches in the dirt as he tried to pull away from her to no avail.

“Let me GO!” Tone shouted as he came within a foot or two of her before lashing out with a foreleg, striking Starlight in the face, hard. Starlight yelped in pain and stumbled back, falling on her rump and covering her now bleeding nose with a hoof.

“Ack! T-That’s enough!” She snapped, readying a sedating spell to calm him down.

“I don’t care what you have to say! Somepony I cherish - no, somepony I love is out there and I am NOT waiting around or sitting on my plot for you lot! Every second wasted here is another second between me and her! If there is an Ursa out there, I’ll happily do whatever I have to in order to get past it and find her! I will not lose her! Not again!”

Starlight’s magic flickered out from his onslaught, her eyes looking at him widely in shock. He was hyperventilating, tearing up and shaking horribly. Tone shook his own head to get a hold of himself before he continued. “I will not stop. I’ll face any consequences later, but making sure that she is safe and sound is my only priority.” he stepped forward and glared down at Starlight. “Anypony that gets in the way of that is gonna lose.”

Despite knowing how hollow a threat it was, Starlight gave a silent nod anyway. “...Fine. Just don’t get yourself killed out there… I’m sure Twilight will want to talk with you when you get back.”

Tone gave a thankful nod of his own. “Alright.. Thank you.” Without another word, he turned and galloped away into the everfree forest. For several moments, Starlight sat in silence before standing and looking up at one of the pegasi in the air.

“Would it be possible for you to tail him? Make sure he doesn’t do anything too stupid?”

The stallion shook his head. “Not me, I’m not allowed out of town, but I bet Rainbow isn’t so hindered.

“Okay, go do that, then. Once I’m done passing out instructions I’ll go let Twilight know what’s going on.”

* * * * * * *

When the great roar of an angry, adolescent Ursa reached his ears, Tone Shift realized that this was probably an absolutely terrible idea. The ground gave a horrific shake that knocked him from his hooves and sprawling to the ground. Looking up, he saw a faint green flash in the same direction the Ursa was, it’s own blue luminescence clearly visible from even this far away.

It spotted her… she’s fighting the Ursa! Tone picked himself up and kept going. What do I do? What can I do? Tone asked himself as another tremor rattled the earth, a pained scream sounding from the Ursa that threatened to make Tone’s ears bleed. He slowed down slightly so as to not draw too much attention when he arrived at the scene.

And what a scene it was. Chrysalis had shed her disguise in favor of her true self and was currently struggling to keep the Ursa’s long, aetherial claws from breaking through a magic shield. It had her against the ground, cracks beginning to rapidly form in her barrier. Chrysalis let out a strained shout before dropping the shield spell in favor of ducking and rolling to the side. The massive boulder she had been standing on was smashed into a pile of rubble by the force of the impact. Chrysalis let out a cry of pain as a particularly large chunk of rock slammed into her and knocked her to the ground below.

She hit another, smaller rock jutting from the ground with a crack, her side taking most of the impact before more stones from the above boulder fell and seemed to bury her in rubble. Tone’s eyes widened, his blood went cold and his heart froze. “CHRYSALIS!!!” He screamed out, galloping towards the stone pile Chrysalis had been buried under.

He didn’t reach the pile before it exploded in a rapid expansion of green magic. Chrysalis took a shuddering breath as she got to her hooves, blood trickling down the side of her head and covering one of her eyes, the eye that would otherwise see Tone Shift. She looked up at the Ursa, the massive, celestial bear surging down at her with the intention of crushing her beneath it’s massive paw

She managed to teleport off to one side, coming out of it in a slide that put her right next to Tone Shift. Now she saw him. Her eye widened as she looked back to him, mouth agape. “Wh-what?! How-”

“Look out!” Tone blurted, tackling Chrysalis to shove them both to the side as the Ursa continued its relentless assault. The two of them let out pained grunts upon their impact with the ground a few feet away, the Ursa’s angry roar causing Tone’s ears to mute all other sounds in favor of merely ringing.

Chrysalis quickly grabbed him in her forelegs and pulled him away, her wings buzzing furiously to get them far enough away to deposit him behind cover. When she found a suitable safe place in what would otherwise be a small animal hideout beneath a tree, she sped for it and unceremoniously dumped Tone Shift there. “Stay. Here!” Chrysalis shouted at him to make sure he heard her over the ringing in his ears. He nodded before Chrysalis took back to the air.

The Ursa turned to glare at her furiously, it’s massive teeth bared threateningly, saliva dripping from them as the walking constellation drooled in hopes of a decent meal. Chrysalis snorted before taking a moment to calm herself and focus. She barely even noticed the pink haze that was rapidly filling the area, or that she was actively eating it all up without losing focus on the Ursa.

With an angry yell, Chrysalis lit up her horn and shot like a rocket at the Ursa, green fire surrounding her. Such a basic spell for Changelings, affectionately called ‘comet’ or ‘meteor.’ The drones in the invasion of Canterlot so long ago had used this same spell, if a weaker version of it, to cause structural damage and enter the city quickly. The fire-like magic doubled as a personal shield, dampening the impact with the ground.

The Ursa was not expecting Chrysalis to shoot for it’s chin. It tried to bite down on her, but missed as she slipped under its jaw and slammed into it’s throat with enough force to reduce stone to dust. The Ursa let out an agonized roar before toppling backwards from the impact and falling to the ground, shaking the earth and kicking up quite an impressive cloud of dust.

Chrysalis finally set herself down on the ground, panting heavily from exertion. She winced in pain as the wound above her eye gave a sharp sting to remind her of it’s presence. She absently gave a quick healing spell to stop the bleeding, then turned to Tone Shift, who was now poking his head out of it’s hiding place.

Chrysalis gulped, then approached him with a harsh glare that began to turn sad the closer she got to him. “...Tone Shift, how are you awake?” she asked quietly when she stopped face to face with him.

“Somepony woke me up…” Tone replied, lowering his gaze to stare at the ground. For several seconds he was silent. Then, he shuddered as a sob tore it’s way from his mouth. “Why?”

“Tone…?”

“Why did you do it?!” Tone asked loudly, his voice cracking and uneven as he looked back up at her. The look on his face caused her own heart to go cold. “How could you do that?! You knocked me out and then went to leave me all alone!” he shoved her harshly with his hooves. “You came out here and got attacked by an Ursa! You could have died!”

Chrysalis didn’t say anything, simply looking away and hiding behind her mane. Tone took a moment to breathe before reaching out and pulling Chrysalis into a tight hug, a stunned yelp being squeezed out of her from the abruptness of it.

“Please, don’t do that again! It hurt enough when the thought of losing you reminded me of my mother… Don’t go away now that I...“ he couldn’t finish the sentence, simply crying openly now into Chrysalis’ chest, given the height difference.

Chrysalis sighed softly. “Tone, I… I have to go. If I stay-”

“I don’t care what happens to me if you stay! What good is a home if the resident just leaves?!” Tone snapped, pulling back and glaring at her intensely. “And besides… I don’t think much would happen if you were found out under the right circumstances…”

Chrysalis blinked and looked at him questioningly. “Tone Shift?”

“Somepony already kn-”

Tone didn’t get to finish the thought as the world around them began to shake again. His eyes widened as he looked behind Chrysalis. His jaw fell open and Chrysalis could guess what was happening. She broke away from the hug and turned around to look at the Ursa as it stood back up, a large discoloration forming on it’s throat and some faint trails of magical energy that served as its blood trailed from its mouth.

It’s eyes bore a hatred and rage that put immense unease into Chrysalis. She looked over at Tone Shift. If the ursa got it’s claws on him, then…

“Tone Shift.” Chrysalis said sharply, earning Tone’s attention.

“Wha?”

“Stay back…” Chrysalis gave him a smile; a confident one. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Before Tone could question her, Chrysalis’ eyes began to change. They lost the reptilian slit, her pupil rounding out and looking more like what a normal pony would have. Further, pink trails of magic energy began to drift from their outer edges. Chrysalis turned fully to face the Ursa, her horn lighting up with green magic. A gust ripped at the air around her as more magic began to pour out of anything it could, just itching to be put to use.

Tone stepped back, letting out a startled gasp as Chrysalis suddenly shot into the air faster than he could track. The Ursa roared in fury and lunged for her, it’s claws reaching out to tear her apart. A bubble shield formed around her just before impact, catching the claws and holding them in place. With a grunt of effort, Chrysalis expanded the shield in the Ursa’s direction, turning the protective force into an offensive force, shoving it backwards and knocking it off balance.

Tone ducked as sticks and small stones blasted by him, thrown around like ragdolls by the force of the winds Chrysalis was emitting. He watched with wide-eyed wonder as she pursued the Ursa, never letting up in her assault.

With another enraged roar, the Ursa lunged at Chrysalis. She scoffed at it’s effort and shot up into the air, letting the bear sprint past her uselessly and into a cluster of Everfree trees. The sound of the trees snapping in their trunks and falling was a testament to the power at play. In her current state, Chrysalis was unimpressed. For a moment, she wondered where this power increase had come from. Then she remembered Tone Shift and smiled. I’m defending more than myself…

She was gaining power from her own affections for him. Her desire to protect him and keep him safe because, even if she wouldn’t admit it out loud, she cared about him, was giving her power. Her smile widened, she readied the comet spell again, shooting after the Ursa and ramming into it’s back fast enough to break the sound barrier.

The Ursa roared, turned, but didn’t get off another attack. Chrysalis didn’t let it. She shifted away and shot a massive beam of magic at it, tuning the energy in just such a way that it attained a sharpened ‘edge. ’ Constellation creatures like Ursa’s don’t bleed or bruise in the same way as purely organic creatures. Blunt force would only stun it or make it angry. If she truly wanted to scare it off, she needed to cut it.

The focused beam of magic sliced a sizable gash across the Ursa’s cheek, drawing a pained growl from it before she fired off several more in rapid succession. Long slices, cuts and gashes began to appear across it’s entire body, trails of magic leaking from the wounds in large amounts.

Knowing that it was beaten, the Ursa turned and broke into a retreat away from the triumphant changeling. Chrysalis sent it a few parting beams to make sure it got the message and did not return. When she was satisfied that it was gone for good, Chrysalis let herself touch back down to the ground, almost falling down when she landed. She laughed slightly as she realized just how out of energy she was.

“Tone Shift! It’s safe!” She called, stumble-walking towards where he had been hiding. She shook her head slightly and then wiped at her eyes with a foreleg to get rid of the blood and sweat that was pouring into her vision. “Tone, where are-”

She froze as soon as she lowered her foreleg and saw what was in front of her. When the Ursa had knocked over the trees…

“Oh no…”

Chrysalis felt stiff, rigid. She blinked several times, hoping with all of her heart that it was just a hallucination, that he was fine. But the image persisted. Slowly, she trotted towards the scene in front of her, one thing in particular grabbing her attention.

Tone Shift lay with his hind legs buried beneath one of the fallen trees, much of his upper body covered in dirt, stone and splintered wood. Even from here, Chrysalis could see one of his hind legs was broken and bent at a horrific angle. “No… please… don’t die on me…” Chrysalis whispered, almost silent as her horn lit up and pulled the tree of of him. Tone didn’t respond. He was perfectly still.

Chrysalis, dreading what she would learn, leaned down and put an ear against his mouth to see if he was breathing. She was relieved to find he was, but put into panic when she realized how faint the breaths were.

“No, no! Come on, Tone Shift… stay with me…” She mumbled in a trembling voice, setting herself down and preparing a healing spell. No healing spell could fix the bones, not properly at least. Those would need to be re-aligned and treated by a medical expert in combination with magic to heal properly. Still, Chrysalis could at least slow down any bleeding and buy him some time.

“Chrysalis!” A voice came from above, sending a spear of despair through her. She looked up to the speaker and saw it was Twilight Sparkle being led by Rainbow Dash, both of which were glaring at her furiously.

Chrysalis tried to ignore them for just a moment longer, focusing every ounce of magic she could into the healing spell. “Get away from that pony right now, Chrysalis!” Rainbow shouted from above as Twilight landed, the latter’s horn lighting up with magic, ready to strike if needed.

“I’m sorry…” was all Chrysalis managed to choke out, more to Tone Shift than anypony else before she stood and galloped away from the battlefield.

“Get back here!” Rainbow shouted, ready to give chase.

“Rainbow, stop!” Twilight shouted, causing her prismatic friend to halt. “This pony needs medical attention and you don’t have magic. Get him back to Ponyville and to the hospital, I’ll look for Chrysalis.”

Rainbow huffed with annoyance at being left out of the fight, but otherwise didn’t object. She swooped down and gingerly scooped Tone Shift’s mangled form onto her back before flying him for the hospital at high speeds.

* * * * * * *

Twilight didn’t find Chrysalis. After searching for some time, she finally gave up the search and returned to Ponyville, the sun having set a while ago and the moon reaching into the air. That night, Chrysalis found a small, secluded cave and hid herself away. Using parts of the environment, she hid herself before laying down to try and sleep.

She didn’t know what she was supposed to do, now. All she knew for sure was that Tone Shift had been hurt because of her own stupidity. The price of cowardice was high, she now knew, and she just prayed she would never be stupid enough to have to pay that price again.

Please, be alive when I wake up…

With that thought repeating in her mind over and over, Chrysalis fell into a light, miserable sleep.

Author's Note

15 - This Heart, Trapped in Chitin

When Chrysalis awoke the following morning, she found herself refusing to open her eyes for several minutes, wishing with everything in her that she was back on Tone’s couch or that hotel in Baltimare. She didn’t want to open her eyes and see the cave she had hidden herself away in. She didn’t want to remember how her own cowardice and stupidity had gotten Tone Shift hurt. She didn’t want to face the day that could possibly bring her news that he hadn’t made it.

A draft passed through the cave at about the same time a drop of moisture fell from the top of the cave and hit her on her neck. With a tired sigh, she opened her eyes and got up. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, painting the world in a soft orange glow that was magnified slightly by a thin cloud of mist blanketing the area. This weather wouldn’t be the same in Ponyville, she knew.

She hadn’t noticed the small stream running by the entrance of the cave, trickling and flowing gently downhill towards one of the small lakes or ponds around Ponyville. Stepping toward it hesitantly, she gazed into her reflection. Even as broken up by the ripples as it was, the despair and exhaustion on her face was apparent in the water. She closed her eyes to think.

“Tone Shift was hurt because I chose to run away from him… from my fear.” she opened her eyes, a new resolve appearing in them. “I won’t run anymore. If the cost of cowardice is so high, then I won’t pay again.”

She turned a hard look in the direction she knew Ponyville to be and set off, shifting into the form of some random pegasus stallion. She could cover more ground and hopefully evade suspicion this way. With a scowl, Chrysalis lifted into the air on her fake wings and set off as fast they could carry her for Ponyville.

* * * * * * *

Upon her arrival, Chrysalis had been rather surprised to see everything so calm. Twilight had no doubt let everypony know that the former Changeling Queen was in the area, and yet the town seemed as tranquil and peaceful as ever. She didn’t let her guard down, though, moving casually through the streets while keeping her wits about her until Tone’s house came into view. A pang of guilt shot through her, but she ignored it for now.

She hid next to the house, waiting for anypony in the area to be out of earshot or eyeshot. When she was sure she was safe, she slid back into the disguise of Wildwood Luster and teleported into Tone’s house.

As the reverberations of the spell’s sound faded into the silence within the residence, Chrysalis stood still, eyes turned down. With a wince, she shifted back into her true self before looking around. It was almost exactly the same as it had been when she left. Almost nothing was disturbed…

Save for the photograph on the floor, looking like it had been dropped unceremoniously, the note she had left for Tone Shift on the floor next to it. Levitating the note to her face, Chrysalis felt a rush of first guilt and then anger, her face twisting into a self depreciating scowl as the letter burned into cinders in an instant. “Fool…” she snarled at herself before turning her gaze to the photo.

In her magic, she slowly brought it up to her face, her anger swiftly giving way to remorse. She had looked so happy, even though she had been forcing her smile that day. Tone was truly happy in the picture anypony could see that. Wth a shudder, Chrysalis replaced the photo on the table exactly where it should be before lifting a hoof to touch her chest, feeling her heart beating underneath.

“...If this heart trapped in chitin could not feel love for so long, then why now? Why him?” Chrysalis whispered to herself, hoping for something to answer her in a way that made sense. “What was it about him that makes me feel so terrible for getting him hurt? What was it that made me want him safe?”

She pulled her hoof away from her chest and gazed at it as if she no longer knew who she was. Truthfully, she was beginning to wonder if she even could recognize herself at all. “And what was it about me that made him care so much? What was it that made him fall in love with me before he even knew it?!” her voice began to rise in volume, shaking more and more as she continued before falling silent.

“...What made me return the feeling?” she whispered before sitting down on her haunches, closing her eyes and trying to think. It seemed like hours she spent in her own mind, trying to piece together a puzzle with no pieces and no consistent logic. Finally, though, as she began to give up on figuring it out, it just… clicked.

Her eyes snapped open as she let out a small, quiet gasp. How naive was she? She had lived for centuries and fed on love for her entire life. She was sustained by it and yet she understood it only as food. She didn’t ever look at it as an emotion or a feeling beyond a satisfying decrease in hunger. She had fed on the emotion for hundreds of years.

And now she understood.

Love didn’t subscribe to logic or common sense. It was one of, if not the most powerful emotion ponies can feel. It drives ponies to do things that would otherwise be seen as insane or stupid for the pony they loved. It was the reason Cadance and Shining Armor had been able to restore their own magic so easily and blast Chrysalis and her entire army out of Canterlot.

Now that she felt it, she understood why. It didn’t have to make sense; it simply was.

“...Fine.” Chrysalis said with half a smirk starting to appear on her face. “I don’t need to understand. Not right now.” She turned for the door and changed back into Luster, her face turning to a frown as she steeled herself. This was going to be the most insane thing she ever tried to do. With a deep breath to prepare herself, Chrysalis stepped forward and pushed the door of the house open. Her destination was the hospital, where Tone Shift would be.

I’m coming Tone Shift… I will put things right, I swear.

* * * * * * *

Luster kept her eyes dead ahead as the hospital seemed to get bigger and more intimidating the closer she became. Her fears could go buck themselves. She had a job to do and she was going to do it. With another deep breath to calm her mind, Luster gently pushed open the door to the entrance lobby. The mare behind the receptionist counter glanced up and gave a friendly, practiced smile. “Hello. What can I do for you?”

“I’m here to visit somepony.” Luster said simply, coming to a stop at the counter and looking at the mare seriously.

“Okay, then. Who are you here to see?”

“Tone Shift.”

The mare bit her lip as soon as she heard that. “Oh...I’m very sorry, miss, but he’s not receiving visitors right now, and-”

“I’m not taking no for an answer. It’s… kinda my fault he's here at all. I have to make up for my mistakes.” Luster said, her eyes lowering and some of her guilt slipping into her voice. The mare looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Well… what’s your relation to him?”

“I’m... “ Luster looked down for a moment, closing her eyes to say it. “...Just somepony that cares about him more than I thought possible.”

“What’s your name?”

“Wildwood Luster.”

The mare’s ears instantly shot up, her eyes widening for a moment before she cleared her throat. “Oh, really? In that case, follow me. I’ll take you to him.”

Luster looked at the mare incredulously. “Huh? Just like that?”

“It’s fine, miss. Wildwood Luster is labeled as a pony allowed to see him at any time, so long as the doctors aren’t working on him.” The mare said with an almost knowing smile before stepping out from behind the desk. “Follow me, please.”

Luster was understandably confused, instantly raising her guard. She complied, though, following the mare through a set of doors and through the building. They were on the second floor when they came to Tone’s room. The mare paused and put a hoof to Luster’s shoulder before she entered.

“I should probably warn you, miss Luster. Tone Shift is… not in good shape. He’s stable, but… well… it’s not a pleasant sight. Brace yourself.” She said gently but firmly, earning a solemn nod from Luster before the mare stepped back to let Luster in.

With one last deep breath, Luster placed a hoof on the door and gently pushed it open. The sight that awaited her within was… breathtaking.

Tone Shift was covered in countless places by bandages and stitches presumably where the doctors had closed off incisions after opening him up to remove shards and splinters of his broken bones. His foreleg was hooked up to an IV, and numerous other contraptions and devices were hooked up to him and keeping him alive, monitoring his heart rate. His broken hind leg was in a cast and rested at a slight angle above him, held up and tied to hold it still.

“Take as long as you need…” The mare said softly, closing the door behind Luster to give her some privacy. Luster didn’t even notice. Her ears were flat against her head, hear breath caught in her throat and her eyes misting up.

Wordlessly, she slowly approached the bed, every step of her hooves sounding like a thunderclap in the otherwise mostly silent room. The beeping of the heart monitor was unheard. Tone’s face was scrunched in a look of discomfort, a bandage wrapping over his left eye. Luster sat down next to the bed before shedding her disguise. She didn’t care anymore. Let them see her…

“Hi, Tone…” she said weakly in a choked voice, reaching a hoof out to touch his own. “I… I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner… sneaking through ponyville isn’t exactly easy… I made it without problems, though, and now I’m here…” she bit back a sob.

“I… I’m so sorry, Tone Shift. I messed up so badly… I got you hurt because I ran away… I was a coward… I should have stayed… but I didn’t, you came after me, you found me fighting that damn Ursa, you gave me strength, but got hurt yourself and now-” she couldn’t keep going. The emotions were becoming too much to talk through. She closed her eyes and sniffled, struggling to hold back her tears.

“I’m just so sorry, Tone Shift… I’m so sorry… please forgive me…” she couldn’t take it anymore. Chrysalis rested her face against her forelegs on the side of the bed, crying openly as it all came spilling out. It felt like an eternity that she just sat there, crying helplessly next to him. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked at his unmoving form.

She sat upright, her face going blank as she focused. “...no more…”

Her horn began to glow with magic.

“No more hiding.”

A soft, green glow began to envelop Tone Shift’s body/

“No more disguises.”

The heart monitor began to beep faster as she set her spell into motion.

“No more running.”

Beneath the bandages and flesh, Chrysalis felt that his bones had been put back into place. They were just waiting for a doctor trained in healing magic, it seemed…

“No more lying. No lying to you… no lying to them… and especially no lying to myself.”

The spell went off, the room filling with a bright green light, the beeping reaching a climax before starting to return to normal speeds. Chrysalis closed her eyes and alarmed voices could be heard outside the door, drawing closer.

“It’s time for me to be honest.”

The door clicked and swung open. Chrysalis barely even glanced towards the door, her face unchanging.

“Hello… Queen Chrysalis.” The new arrival said, closing the door behind her.

Chrysalis didn’t reply as Princess Twilight Sparkle came to stand on the other side of the bed, looking at her in the eye with a serious expression.

“We have some things to discuss.”

16 - Giving Freely

[APRIL FOOLS] 1,622 - Idiocy in Spring

“I love this show…” Discord said happily to himself from his comfortable sofa in his personal house- well, if one could consider an entire dimension to be his house. He was gazing at a television on his wall showing Twilight Sparkle as a changeling playing what looked like chess with a thoroughly flabbergasted Queen Chrysalis.

“I know,” the other Discord laughed to himself. “I of course knew her identity the whole time, but not revealing it created so much chaos that I couldn't resist just watching it play out. Of course I was also quite stoned at the time.”

Discord one gave Discord dos a high-five. “I am quite saddened that I missed such an opportunity.”

“Make one.” Discord dos encouraged with a little nudge-nudge and wink-wink. “After all, things have been pretty boring on my side of things since Serpens bit the dust. We could use a bit more chaos over there.”

Discord one pondered this thoughtfully, a big tree with blue leaves appearing beneath him. “Yes, perhaps, but the chaos as a result would potentially cause damage to dimensional barriers.

“And when has that ever stopped us?”

“We like not dying?”

“Eh, whatever. This isn’t canon anyway, sort of, so who cares?”

“Fair enough. So, where shall we put them?”

“Let’s flip a coin!” Discord dos announced excitedly, a massive circle of copper appearing in his claws.

“Heads it’s mine tails it’s yours?”

“Sure!”

And then the coin was flipped.

* * * * * * *

“How the BUCK did you manage this?!” Tone Shift demanded, throwing the thoroughly destroyed washcloth to the ground in front of Chrysalis in his kitchenn. Chrysalis looked at him before using her magic to wipe the splattered egg yolk off of her face.

“Did you just throw down the gauntlet with a washcloth?” she asked teasingly, earning a twitch of Tone’s eye.

“I asked you a question. Answer. Do it!” Tone stomped on the floor. At about the time he did, they both heard a loud POP!

“...Where are we?” Tone Shift quickly asked, looking around at the rather large chamber.

“This one was not my fault.” Chrysalis snidely remarked.

* * * * * * *

“Check,” Twilight stated smugly, much to Chrysalis’ supreme annoyance.

“How did you even do that?” she asked. “I had you cornered!”

“You should never underestimate me,” Twilight responded, her smug look not abating for even a moment. “I am, after all, the former protege of Princess Celestia, the master of chess.”

“Playing chess with your lives, in order to redeem her sister, doesn’t count.”

Twilight shrugged. “Meh, I forgave her. Friendship is magic and all that.”

“Please stop saying that,” Chrysalis deadpanned. “Who even came up with that phrase? It sounds like something for children.”

“Adults can also learn the magic of friendship,” Twilight argued. “It doesn’t have to be all explosions and death.”

“Not with our track record.”

“Err… my Queen?” Carduus said over the hive mind. “You are in Cafe’ Le Blanc right now, correct?”

Twilight and Chrysalis glanced at one another in confusion.

“Yes, why would you even need to ask such a thing. I’m enjoying an infuriating game of chess with my daughter.”

“Then why are you also shouting at a pony in front of your mother’s statue?”

“WHAT?”

Twilight sighed. “It’s probably just Thorax playing a joke or something.”

“It better be,” Chrysalis grumbled. “Are you sure it’s me, because I’m pretty sure I’m here. Let me check… yes, definitely here.”

“I’ve checked, and no drone here is claiming responsibility. Plus the other… you, is being rather rude to the poor stallion. I’m a little confused to be honest.”

Chrysalis’ eye twitched. “Twilight, this is your fault somehow.”

Twilight looked offended. “What!? How do you figure that?”

“Everything happens to you,” she pointed out. “Ancient evils, friendship lessons, Pinkie Pie. Serpens. It all happens to you and only you.”

“I would remember cloning you in the mirror pool,” Twilight argued back. “No, this one isn’t on me.”

“Well, whoever’s fault it is, could you please come here? The other you is starting to notice she isn’t alone with the stallion… and it’s scaring me.”

“You’re a Captain of the Royal Guard, grow some backbone!” Chrysalis chastised Carduus.

“But I need an adult,” Carduus stated, though his tone indicated he was joking.

“You ARE an adult!” Chrysalis raged.

“I feel like we’re stalling right now,” Princess Twilight pointed out. “We should probably see what really is going on. I mean, it can’t really be another you. And what is a pony even doing here?”

“It might be the pony’s fault then,” Chrysalis muttered. “I’m going to have words with him, and demand he dispel the obviously fake doppelganger at once!”

Chrysalis slammed her hooves onto the table (breaking the chessboard, much to Twilight’s irritation) and stood up, striding out of the cafe’ seeming with rage.

Twilight had a very bad feeling all of a sudden. It was saturday after all.

* * * * * * *

“What is this place?!” Chrysalis asked loudly, causing several nearby changeling drones to scatter in panic. “And why are there changelings here?! I don’t know any of you!” She pointed at one in a suit of armor, who flinched away. “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!”

“Uh… Carduus…” he said, taking a step back.

“Chrysalis, calm down. Shouldn’t this be a good thing?” Tone asked carefully, before realizing what he just said. “Or rather, good for you? Equestria’s kinda screwed if so, but still!”

“The only Carduus I ever had in my kingdom was a cleansing drone! He cleaned out latrines, gutters and did janitorial work!” Chrysalis spluttered, glaring at ‘Carduus’ with a confused anger radiating off of her.

“Well, if these drones listen to you will you make sure they don’t try to eat me or whatever?” Tone asked, suddenly becoming very nervous as he saw all of the fangs on the drones looking at the two.

“I’ll consider it.” Chrysalis spat at him before looking around. Her eyes twitched as she looked at the big statue in the middle of the big room. “WHAT IS GOING ON?!” she shouted.

“I should be asking that of you, imposter!” Chrysalis, the other one, retorted as she exited her flight and slammed into the floor between the intruders and Captain Carduus. “Pony! Dispel the illusion this instant!”

“WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE ME?!” Chrysalis, the first one, shouted back, jabbing a hoof in her direction. Tone Shift absently brushed a hoof over his mane, which conspicuously had no horn jutting from it.

“I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Badlands Changeling Hive! You are in my domain, and I demand to know why YOU LOOK LIKE ME!”

“Uh, I’m not a unicorn,” Tone said meekly from where he stood. “So, I can’t be doing this…”

“I knew that!” Chrysalis lied.

“Huh… telling them apart is gonna be a challenge.” Discord muttered to his other.

“Indeed.” Discord dos said absently. “Let’s just make a mild change here shall we…?”

“Ooh, we’re changing names?” Discord one asked excitedly.

“Oh, of course! The nice one shall, henceforth, be known as Chryssi!”

“Which one is the nice one?”

“Why does that drone look like the Princess of Friendship?” Chrysalis demanded with more anger in her voice, pointing at a now very confused Princess Twilight Sparkle just as the young changeling arrived.

‘What!?” Chryssi asked. ‘That’s my daughter you ~~cu-~~”

“There we go.”

“Got it.”

“So… what’s going on here?” Twilight asked. “Making friends are we?”

“Friends?” Chrysalis snarked out. “I don’t think so.”

“Wow, you must be a loner,” Chryssi remarked. “I feel sorry for you.”

“Shut up!” Chrysalis barked before looking around again. “And send us back!”

“Definitely an alternate reality then,” Twilight started, walking up to Chrysalis and looking over her as a scientist would a guinea pig. “What’s your world like? What am I like there, the other Princess Twilight I mean.”

“Oh, sweet merciful Chitina it’s another one…” Chrysalis groaned in aggravation. “Somepony pinch me and wake me from this nightmare…”

“So, you’re not my mother where you come from?” Twilight asked, a little hurt in her voice.

“Considering your bull-headed brother and his wife ruined my initial plans and plunged my kingdom into a few years of starvation, all because you, or, well, the other you, noticed Cadance was being off...” Chrysalis snarled out. “I would sooner bash my brains out then have you as a daughter.”

Chryssi, on seeing her child insulted, quickly crossed the distance between herself and her counterpart and looked ready to cross horns in combat.

“YOU DARE INSULT MY DAUGHTER!?” Chryssi yelled. “Our mother, Queen Avia, would be appalled at the changeling you became in your world!”

“Congratulations. I don’t care.” Chrysalis snapped. “Also, who is Queen Avia? My mother wasn’t named Avia, and I simply took over from her when she eventually passed away."

“Well, at least you don’t have Crudelis for an aunt,” Chryssi muttered. “Not that it matters, it looks like you are a suitable replacement.”

As the argument continued on, Twilight could have sworn she saw a glowing crack appear in the base of the statue, before it vanished again.

“I don’t have an aunt anyway.” Chrysalis said dismissively. "So are all these drones yours, or did Sparkle Butt over there birth some?"

Chryssi's and Twilight's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"Birthed, you know? Popped them out en-masse to create an army capable of laying siege to the land."

Chryssi swore she was about to throw up. "I... NO! No no no no, just no!"

Chrysalis was confused by her other's odd reaction, but simply rolled her eyes before turning to Tone Shift. “I don’t know how you stomping your hoof brought us here; maybe it was just poor timing or your hoof is magic in some way, but right now, I don’t care. We. are. LEAVING.”

Tone nodded sheepishly. ‘Uh, sure…” he said, trying to hide that he had just seen the phrase ‘-yours, Discord and Discord dos.’’ burned into his hoof.

“Well,” Twilight spoke up. “Unless you have a mirror portal conveniently stashed in the large ego of yours, then you’re stuck here. Too bad for you.”

“Piss off!” Chrysalis snapped before picking up Tone Shift in her magic and buzzing off, much to Chryssi’s relief.

“My Queen,” Carduus addressed. “We really shouldn’t let them leave. What if she tries to attack Princess Celestia or something and they think it’s you?”

Chryssi began to realize the implications. “Shit.”

Twilight sighed, and then took the initiative. “Lockdown the hive, now! Apprehend the Chrysalis carrying around the pony like I used to carry Smarty Pants!”

* * * * * * *

Chrysalis looked around with Tone Shift flailing in her magic and panicking hysterically, begging for Chrysalis to keep him right-side up while she went, to which she simply spun him faster out of spite. “Where is the exit…” she grumbled to herself.

“There!” another voice shouted from below. Chrysalis looked down, saw a small swarm of drones flying at her with swords drawn.

“This is NOT how I thought today was going to go!” Chrysalis yelled as she quickly flew the other way. The drones gave chase, only to pass Chrysalis completely. She had taken on the form of a candlestick and hid Tone Shift behind a wall-mounted tapestry after knocking him out.

Once the drones had passed, a little, tiny drone peeked around at them from a nearby corner. “Huh?” the nymph, Iuvenes, asked as she approached the candlestick. “Why is this here?” she asked with an adorable amount of childish curiosity. She poked the candlestick, causing Chrysalis to drop the disguise as one of her most sensitive spots just got poked.

“Yeep!” Chrysalis squeaked, her hold on Tone failing and he dropped to the floor with a sound not unlike a wet sack of tomatoes falling over.

“You look like the Queen,” Iuvenes noted, but a frown showed she wasn’t sure. “But you also look like a big jerk!”

Tone Shift, starting to wake up, mumbled: “You are correct…”

“Shut up!” Chrysalis snapped at both of them. “How did you know I was right here?”

“My friends and I always play hide and seek here, and that candle was new! So I poked it.”

“Play?” Chrysalis replied, wording it as if it were a foreign phrase she was trying to figure out the pronunciation of. “Oh, I see. I think.” She gave an impressed grin. “You’re using such a game to improve your stealth! Why didn’t I think of that? You’re… er, hive may not be such a shitshow after all.”

“You said a bad word,” Iuvenes scolded. “And I don’t play for practice, I play for fun!””

“First, yes, I said a bad word. Fucking deal with it. Second, good, you have fun being sneaky. You’ll make a fine infiltrator. Now piss off. I’m leaving.” Chrysalis picked up a now very motion sick Tone Shift in her magic again and flew away.

“...Jerk…” Iuvenes pouted.

Just as Chrysalis made her escape, however, she had the ultimate misfortune of running into and being grappled rather violently by her EXTREMELY pissed off counterpart.

“Hold her down!” Chryssi ordered, many drones grabbing onto the other Changeling Queen where they could.

Princess Twilight, for her part, was just making notes on a pad marked ‘interdimensional relations and how they can royally fuck up’.

“Damn! How did you find me!?”

“My daughter said you told her a bad word over the hive mind,” Captain Carduus replied. “Fuck you for that, by the way.”

“Hypocrite…” Chrysalis snarled before tilting her head as she was hefted up with her forehooves covered in green slime. “Hive mind? You have that?”

Twilight immediately entered research mode. “The Changeling Egregore, or hive mind, is a startling evolutionary advantage. It allows communication between changelings at close ranges, but not much else. Each changeling is on their own unique-”

“Bored now. Shut up,” Chrysalis interrupted, earning an annoyed snort from Chryssi and a pout from Twilight.

It was during her pout (no one disses booksmart!) that Twilight noticed the cracks again, only this time they weren’t going away.

“Um, Mother? Could you look at-”

“Don’t interrupt my daughter, you half-wit!” Chryssi growled at Chrysalis, very much so ignoring Twilight at this point as ‘mama wolf’ mode kicked in.

“Or what?” Chrysalis challenged, using some of her own magic to remove the green slime at her hooves.

Chryssi had finally had enough, and with a heavily twitching eye she ignited a blade of pure magic. “There can be only one!”

A chunk of the hive’s wall nearby broke away, floating in mid-air as purple light and weird energies were seen on the other side.

“Looks like it’s breaking…” Discord dos commented.

“Aw, so soon? I had too much popcorn for this!”

By now Twilight had started to panic quite a bit. The whole universe was breaking apart, so on this rare occasion she was actually justified.

“I didn’t survive getting shanked just to die to the inevitable heat death of the universe!” Twilight shouted to herself. “Not like this! I still have three sequels to survive!”

The changeling princess suddenly realised she had done a Pinkie Pie, and she blamed the fact that the universe had literally fallen apart. Tone shift stumbled over and showed her his hoof with the Discord and Discord Dos signature.

“Not to be a killjoy, but… we’re screwed,” he said simply.

Twilight stared at it, still ignoring the fact that her mother and her mother’s alternate were cat fighting in the corner with a crowd of changelings making bets as to who would win.

“Oh Celestia dammit, DISCORD!”

And then the universe caved in on itself.

* * * * * * *

“Well, that was short-lived…” Discord grumbled to his other.

“It was, but at least it was fun. And besides,” Discord dos gave a smirk, snapping his fingers and popping the whole of reality back to where it had been just before they started this nonsense. “We can always do it again…”

“I love you.”

“No homo, now.”

THE END

(Now back to our scheduled program)

Author's Note

Crossover chapter with Tom117z between this story and his flagship title, Change.

17 - Epilogue

16 - Giving Freely

“We have some things to discuss.” Twilight said simply, sitting down in a chair on the other side of the bed from the sagging changeling. Even with the help of the chair Twilight was only just at eye level with Chrysalis, who scoffed quietly in response, but said nothing more. Twilight observed Chrysalis for several moments, noticing instantly how she ignored her almost immediately to look back at Tone Shift on the bed.

Twilight felt her gaze lose some of it’s intensity as she took in a number of the little details here. Chrysalis’s distraught appearance, the fresh tear stains on her cheeks and on the side of the bed, as well as Chrysalis showing no aggression or hostility. She simply seemed resigned to whatever would happen next, her eyes having lost a great deal of whatever passion or intensity Twilight remembered the having on the occasions they had met in the past.

“If we have things to discuss, start talking.” Chrysalis said shortly, earning a nod from Twilight.

“First, I want to know how long you’ve been in Ponyville. How long have you been staying with Tone Shift?” she asked carefully, carefully observing Chrysalis’ response.

“If we discount time away in Baltimare with him, then maybe a week.” Chrysalis replied without hesitation.

“I see…” Twilight sat back in her seat slightly, closing her eyes and giving some thought. “Then we need to talk about the terms of your stay.”

Chrysalis shot Twilight a glance, narrowing her eyes but otherwise reacting very little. “A cage with visiting hours would be preferable.”

Twilight clamped her jaw shut at that, tilting her head at Chrysalis. “Uh… what?”

“You’re going to put me in a dungeon, aren’t you?” Chrysalis guessed bluntly, returning her eyes to Tone Shift. “I’d like to make sure I can get visitors…”

“Wha… no, no we’re not throwing you in a dungeon!” Twilight said quickly, drawing Chrysalis attention far more than before.

“What?”

“When I said ‘terms of your stay,’ I meant the ground rules you’ll have to follow in Ponyville to avoid serious backlash.” Twilight explained, giving her hoof a few rolls to emphasize the important points.

Chrysalis blinked disbelievingly. “Forgive me if I am completely confused. Why do any of that?”

“Because we know you’re different now, Chrysalis.” Twilight said gently, leaning forward slightly with an almost friendly smile appearing on her face. “Luna knows you’ve been here for a few days already. She filled Princess Celestia and I in on what she knew when we found you in the forest after your fight with the Ursa.”

Chrysalis stiffened at those words, looking at Tone Shift. “...The Lunar Princess knew?”

“She found out during one of Tone’s nightmares about you getting caught. She heard the entire story from him and replayed all of the memories he had of you to confirm his statements.” Twilight furthered, leaning back into her chair once more.

Chrysalis was silent for what felt like years. Finally, she looked down and sighed. “Okay, fine. What is rule one?”

“Well, following the laws here in Equestria is the big one. Rule number two is that you don’t go taking love energy from anypony without consent-”

“Done.” Chrysalis butted in simply, looking down at Tone Shift. Her lips began to press into a thin line. “Is one of these machines keeping him from waking up?”

“Uh, yes. Why?” Twilight asked, somewhat caught off guard by the abrupt change in topic.

“His bones were put back into line. I ran a healing spell over him just before you got here; that was the spike in his heart rate.”

“Ah, right. The heart beats really fast for a few seconds to get blood moving through the newly available tissue when healing magic is cast on somepony.” Twilight deduced immediately. Chrysalis only nodded.

Chrysalis looked down at Tone Shift sadly. “I want to talk to him… Talking at his unresponsive face doesn’t exactly move the conversation anywhere.” she gained a very small smile at her attempt at morbid humor, but quickly lost the expression. “There are a few things I need to tell him…”

Twilight stared at Chrysalis thoughtfully for several seconds. Then, a genuine, warm smile crept onto her face. “I guess Luna wasn’t exaggerating… you’ve definitely changed, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis looked at Twilight skeptically, raising an eyebrow in a silent question.

“The changeling queen I met years ago at my brother’s wedding would have rather starved than say any of that. She would have been growling at me, mocking me insulting me and would have had this incredible ego around herself.” Twilight leaned forward again, her smile widening. “But look at you now! You’re being reasonable, if a little blunt. You’re not outright disrespecting me or your surroundings and hay, you came to this hospital to talk to a pony you hurt. To apologize. Because you care about him.

“You’ve changed a lot in these last six months Chrysalis. I’ll be honest, I’m happy for you.”

Chrysalis grunted impatiently. “As touching as this discussion is, I would appreciate you turning off whatever contraption is preventing him from waking up!”

Twilight jumped slightly at Chrysalis’ sharp tone and quickly went to unplug the sedatives from Tone so he could start to wake up. As she went about doing so Chrysalis softened her expression and sighed.

“...Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

The sedatives were undone. Tone Shift remained asleep, though now there was nothing entering his body to keep him that way. Now it was just a waiting game. Chrysalis shifted uneasily. “How long until he wakes up?”

“It’s probably going to be a little while. He already has a fair amount of pretty potent sedatives in him. I’d give him an hour before he wakes up enough to be coherent.” Twilight answered simply, running the numbers in her head rapidly for her result.

“Joyous… fine, then run the remaining ‘terms’ by me. It’ll give me something to pass the time, if nothing else.”

Twilight nodded with a smile before clearing her throat and getting underway.

* * * * * * *

“Wake up, sleepy head…” Chrysalis said gently to Tone Shift maybe forty minutes later. He had shown signs of waking up for a while, slipping in and out of consciousness periodically. Twilight and Chrysalis had finished running through the terms of Chrysalis’ time in Equestria maybe five minutes prior. Twilight was figuring that Tone Should be coherent by now.

Tone gave a low groan through his rather dry throat as he began to fully wake up. He shifted slightly, wincing as his still very tender skin moved. “Gah, mother bucker…” he tried to exclaim, though it only came out in a weak murmur. Chrysalis smiled slightly before looking over at Twilight.

“Could you bring us some water?”

Twilight nodded slightly. She trotted over to the sink and set about filling one of the disposable plastic cups with water while Chrysalis stayed next to the waking voice actor.

“What…. What happened? Oooooagh, my head… where am I?” Tone grumbled, moving a forehoof up to rub at his face and discovering that one of his eyes was covered up by bandages.

Chrysalis couldn’t help but giggle slightly as she realized something. “Wow… you look pathetic.” she whispered to him. Tone tried to open his good eye, then slammed it shut again as crust fell into it.

Grunting and groaning uselessly, he tried to scrape and brush the offending material from his eye before Chrysalis stopped his hoof with telekenisis.

“Here, allow me.”

Twilight finished with the faucet, levitating the water cup to Chrysalis, who then, with her own magic, dipped a small cloth under the faucet. She got the fabric wet under the water before bringing it over and gently, so very gently scrubbing Tone’s good eye to clean it of intruders. When she was done, he managed to blink his eye open and look around, no doubt only seeing blobs at the moment.

“Where am I? What’s going on?” Tone asked before Chrysalis passed him the cup of water.

“Drink up, first.” she looked to Twilight. “Leave us, please.”

“Alright.” Twilight gave a small nod and professional bow of her head before stepping out. Chrysalis snorted before looking back at Tone, who had just finished the cup and looked greatly refreshed.

“Oh, that’s much better.” his vision must have corrected itself, as he looked at Chrysalis with a mildly confused expression. “Chrysalis? What happen-” before he could finish the question, he must have remembered what happened to put him here. His eyes widened and he looked at Chrysalis with a rapidly wilting expression. Chrysalis’ own face fell upon seeing his shift like that.

“I’m so sorry that I got you hurt, Tone Shift… you didn’t deserve that.” she sghed and closed her eyes. Don’t think about it… just do it.

“Chrysalis… I-”

“Quiet.” Chrysalis suddenly said more harshly than she intended, flinching immediately. “Sorry… I just… this isn’t easy for me, I hope you understand.” she looked back up at him directly in the eye.

“What are you-”

Chrysalis shook her head sharply, looking at him with pleading eyes. “Tone, please. Just.. don’t say anything. Don’t make me think about this.” she took several deep breaths before continuing, making sure Tone stayed quiet. “You have given me so much to think about. You’ve helped me in such a way that I can never hope to repay you in full. You saved my life, even when you had no good reason to do so. You kept me in your home and befriended me when you had even less reason to do so…”

Chrysalis reached a foreleg up to her chest and rested it there. Tone’s eye widened as he realized there was a very soft, gentle light coming from her heart and shining through her chitin. “You came to see me as more than a refugee… first a lost soul to be put back on track, then a good friend you’d go out of your way for. Then…” she closed her eyes and smiled softly, a tear streaking down her cheek. “And then you began to love me without even realizing it. You saw so much in me even though you knew who and what I was.”

She opened her eyes to look at him again, reaching her other foreleg out to rest on the side of the bed next to Tone’s foreleg. “I have never felt a pony give love so freely, especially when knowing it was me, Chrysalis, queen of the changelings they were giving that love to. It was unconditional… pure…”

Chrysalis stood and set the hoof on her chest down next to Tone’s head. She leaned over him and saw him looking back up at her with his good eye as wide as a dinner plate and a soft red tint coming to his cheeks. That sealed it. No turning back now.

“I never really let that love go returned without some string attached… no more. It’s time I give freely.” she whispered before, with no other warning, leaning down and kissing Tone Shift on the lips. Tone Shift tensed up in shock at the sudden contact before melting into it, wrapping his forelegs around Chrysalis’ shoulders and returning the kiss honestly, though a bit sloppily.

A few seconds later, Chrysalis slowly, almost reluctantly pulled away. Tone’s eye looked down and then squinted as the light from Chrysalis’ heart began to grow in brightness and intensity rapidly.

“Chrysalis?! What’s happening?!” He asked in alarm as Chrysalis felt herself lifting off of her hooves without any input on her part. She looked down at herself for a moment, a final flicker of fear and anxiety on her face before she smiled and softened, her face becoming peaceful and relaxed.

“It’s fine, Tone Shift. This only solidifies what I’m about to say.” with a deep breath, Chrysalis closed her eyes, bracing herself for what was to come. “...I love you.”

The light from her heart expanded and grew in intensity to the point it was blinding. The energy externalized itself from her body, appearing as glowing sheets that wrapped around her and then solidified into a bright blue cocoon. The cocoon floated lazily in the air for a moment before drifting down to touch the floor.

Another explosion of light, forcing Tone to cover his eye and shield it with a foreleg to avoid being blinded. Finally, the light faded away and he could see again. Opening his eye slowly, he gasped as he saw Chrysalis, who had just undergone a sudden and impressive change.

Her chitin was no longer black. It was now a bright yellow at the tips of her hooves, fading into an almost white, buttery color the farther up the body he looked. Her mane and tail were now beautifully colored in a soft gradient from bright blue to an almost yellowy-green. Her wings were no longer the ragged shapes they used to be, now appearing as full bright purple wings that carried a profound grace to them. Her horn was no longer crooked, coming into a perfectly curved point. The holes in her legs had filled in completely.

Most noticeable of all were her eyes. They had become deep pools of bright blue that slowly opened with uncertainty, looking towards Tone Shift almost as if she were seeking his approval.

His jaw was slack at the sight. For almost a minute, he simply looked at her, dumbfounded, before an enormous, goofy grin broke out across his face. Then he started laughing.

Chrysalis frowned in confusion. “What the hay is so funny?”

“N-nothing, heh, so to speak,” Tone said before taking a deep breath to hold off his giggles. “Just… that was one hell of a first kiss you just gave me.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, shush. I’m certain that you’ve kissed somepony before me.”

“Actually, no. You just gave me my first kiss, honest. Frankly, I don’t think even your most powerful memory wiping spell could make me forget.” Tone said with a giddy smile still clinging to his face. Chrysalis simply tutted at him before shifting uneasily.

“Well… how do I look?” she asked almost timidly. Tone simply smiled more softly and affectionately, reaching a foreleg out in a ‘come hug me’ gesture. Chrysalis didn’t hesitate, coming in and hugging him once more. After a moment, Tone leaned back just enough to kiss her softly on the lips before smiling at her.

“You’re beautiful… just don’t forget that your appearance doesn’t matter to me.” Tone Shift said before poking her in the chest. “You do.”

Chrysalis simply gave a content hum before stealing another quick kiss. “...I could get used to this.”

“Please do.”

For several moments, the two simply basked in the comfort of the other’s presence. Finally, Chrysalis looked at him in the eye with a hopeful look in her eyes. “I think I’ll ask for that happy ending, now.”

Tone chuckled before nuzzling her affectionately. “I think you already earned it…”

Author's Note

TO BE CONCLUDED...

[APRIL FOOLS] 1,622 - Idiocy in Spring

17 - Epilogue

3 months later…

Chrysalis sat towards the back of the absolutely packed ballroom in Twilight’s castle, observing everything happening in front of her with an unreadable expression. There was a large event taking place designed to celebrate numerous milestones between Equestria and Thorax’s Kingdom. The celebration was being held only a day before hearth's warming eve. Princess Twilight had said it would ‘add another layer of love and friendship to the coming year, making the energy that much more powerful.’

So a massive number of reformed changelings were down on the ballroom dance floor, dancing with either other changelings or with ponies that were in attendance. It was an almost perfect one to one ratio of changelings and ponies, and the smiles they were sharing were warming to the eyes of most.

Chrysalis was unmoved, for her part. In truth, she was conflicted about how to feel about all of this. She had not spoken with any of her hive since she left nine months ago. She wasn’t even sure they knew she had undergone the metamorphosis. Either way, she simply observed the joy below with a neutral expression.

“You sure you don’t want to join the dance?” Tone asked from her side, rubbing her shoulder gently with his own.

“I’m sure…” Chrysalis said, closing her eyes and just listening to the lovely music being provided by a full orchestra.

“...are you still worried they’ll reject you?” Tone asked gently, wrapping a foreleg reassuringly over Chrysalis’ shoulders.

“I’d be lying if I said no.”

Tone gave a small nod. “I gotcha…” he looked around for a few seconds before standing up. “Hey, uh, I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Where are you going?”

“Just saw my dad down on the dance floor. I haven’t spoken with him since before you moved in so I bet he has all sorts of questions. Maybe I’ll introduce you two?” Tone said as he began to trot for the dance floor below.

“Alright. I’ll be here.” Chrysalis called after him before settling down and resting her eyes a bit. She let herself sway lightly as the music in the room made it’s way into a new, very slow and relaxing song.

“Queen Chrysalis?” A male voice asked tentatively from her left. Chrysalis opened her eyes and looked over, spotting Thorax approaching her slowly.

“...Hello, Thorax.” Chrysalis greeted with no notable emotion. She looked at him with a curious, but heavily analytical gaze.

“I, uh… I see you changed.” Thorax noted awkwardly.

Chrysalis gave a snort. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re a king now, Thorax. Can you try and have a bit more social confidence?”

Thorax cleared his throat before laughing sheepishly. “Sorry. Just, well, you know… last time I saw you, you were kinda…”

“Angry. Devastated. Depressed. Heartbroken. I could go on.” Chrysalis said dryly before turning her eyes toward the dance floor again.

“...I’m sorry.”

“Thorax.” Chrysalis said firmly, standing up and turning to face the changeling king. “I have a question for you, yes or no.” she stepped forward and looked at him blankly in the eyes for several seconds. “Are they happy?”

“...Yes. They are.” Thorax managed to say with a measure of confidence in his voice. “It’s been a bit of an adjustment but, well, we’re adapted to our new bodies and biologies pretty well, I think. And not having to eat love is such a relief.”

Chrysalis nodded before looking down to the drones, her children, down on the dance floor. A distant look came to her eyes as she wondered if she should go talk to them.

“Uh, if you want to talk to the others, I can bring them up here.” Thorax suggested as if reading her mind

“No. There’s no need for that tonight. Let them do their dance. Let them have their fun and spread their joy. A reunion with their abusive old mother will only disrupt all of that right now.” Chrysalis replied with a small smile. She turned back to Thorax. “Another time, perhaps.”

“Alright. Uh… it’s good to see you like this, Chrysalis.”

“Thorax, if you insist on calling me ‘Chrysalis,’ I won’t stop you. Just remember that was part of the ranking system. I’m not the queen anymore. You don’t have to call me by my name.” Chrysalis said gently, looking at Thorax with a warm, if somewhat sad smile.

Thorax nodded. “Alright. Good night, then… mother.”

“You too.” Chrysalis said as Thorax turned and walked away. For a few moments, she simply stood there before turning and trotting out of the room and onto a nearby balcony overlooking the snow covered landscape. She took a moment to just enjoy the quiet and serene landscape, taking in a deep breath.

“Like it out here?” Tone asked a few minutes later as he joined her on the balcony.

“It’s better for thinking when you aren’t surrounded by a lot of noise.” Chrysalis said absently, lowering herself slightly to be more on Tone Shift’s height.

“I guess.” Tone replied quietly, looking over the moonlight lit landscape with a smile on his face. Chrysalis shot him a small smile before wrapping a foreleg over his shoulder.

"Where's your dad?"

"Oh, he said he'll meet us back at my place. Said 'it will give him something to look forward to.'"

Chrysalis hummed in affirmation before the two basked in the silence and warmth they shared.

“It’s going to be midnight in a bit.” Tone noted in a whisper as Chrysalis started rocking them back and forth slowly.

“Wanna do a cliche?”

“What, you mean time it?” Tone gave Chrysalis an amused glance.

“Well, you brought it up.” Chrysalis shot back with a playful smile.

“Hm… so I did.”

The two turned so they were facing each other in their embrace. The clock tower in ponyville began to chime, signaling the coming of midnight. There weren’t any words needed. Chrysalis and Tone Shift leaned in and kissed each other softly but passionately, a flurry of various fireworks being set off all across Ponyville and Equestria in celebration, lighting the sky and surrounding lands in a warm, comforting glow.

A glow that Tone Shift and Chrysalis were happy to share.

THE END

Author's Note

Completion! Such a wonderful, wonderful feeling!

I hope you all enjoyed! Do let me know what you thought of it and of anything you think I should work on improving.