Buggy System

Chapters

Every End, a Beginning
In Debt to an Empire
A Start at Breaking the Language Barrier
Learning the Ropes
Infected by the Bookworm (Edited)
The Wonders of Technomancy (Edited)
Engaging Flux Overdrive
Crash Landing
Home is Where You Crashed At
Stress Management
Executing Change.exe
Test Run: Beginning Stages
Clans Meet a Sky-God

Every End, a Beginning

The ex-ruler of the changelings, Queen Chrysalis, ran from a lot of things in her life. In her youth, she ran from her siblings when fights broke out. Towards her teenage years, she ran from the responsibilities of becoming a changeling queen after some unfortunate events took the lives of her older sisters. Now, in her adulthood, she had run from her home. She ran from her enemies after every plan to gain her revenge failed. She ran from predators of the Everfree Forest and on more than one occasion was barely able to do so. And now she had run out of luck.

Here she stood, a disgraced changeling with a giant wall of rock to her back and a small army of ponies in front of her. Her magic reserves were too low to teleport out of her situation. Her wings were too sore to fly anymore, and her legs were doing everything they could to keep her standing. Pain spread across the changeling's body as she just now began to realize just how far she had pushed her body.

"Chrysalis." called a voice from above. The ex-queen in question made an effort to adjust her gaze towards a familiar purple alicorn followed by a light purple unicorn. A grimace spread across her face. Of course, it had to be them.

"Ah, Princess Twilight and her ex-friendship pupil Starlight Glimmer," hate practically oozed out of Chrysalis as she spoke Starlight's name. "Congrats on graduating by the way. However, to what do I owe this lovely meeting?"

"The list is long Chrysalis," Twilight replied, "Though most of it could be forgiven, however, the latest entries makes this meeting seem long overdue."

"What would those last entries be exactly?" Chrysalis asked.

"Theft of a magical artifact, assault against a royal guard, attempted murder of a minor... and about ten more." Starlight answered.

"Attempted murder of a minor? I don't remember attacking a child!" Chrysalis protested. Twilight was quick to correct her.

"At approximately one thirty-nine p.m., two castle maids witnessed Chrysalis, ex-ruler of the changelings, blast one Spike Argonias Sparkle with an unknown magic spell with the use of the magic item that was stolen at approximately one thirty-five p.m. rendering the fifteen-year-old dragon in the hospital wing of Canterlot Castle with a severe concussion and three broken ribs," Twilight stated. "That is just one snippet of the report that I read. In all honesty, if Starlight hadn't come along, I might have done something I would have regretted." Chrysalis's eyes widened momentarily at the realization of two things. The first being that she still held the magic item around her neck and the second being that she put the pretty purple princess's pet in the hospital.

A plan started to form inside her head. She knew it was a last resort, but she was grasping for straws at this point. She just needed to spark a bit of anger to get the spell going. "They sent him to the Royal Hospital? Seems like a lot of work for a pet don't you think? Couldn't you have just sent him to the vet or something?" Chrysalis asked. She got more of a response out of that than she thought she would.

"My little brother is not a pet!!" Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs. Her booming voice caused the earth to shake. Both ponies and changeling alike took a few steps back from the raging alicorn. Her horn ignited with a pure violet aura. Chrysalis had not cowered in fear since her youth and had since then forgotten what fear was like, until now. Chrysalis made sure that if she ever lived through these next moments, that she would never push Twilight's buttons when it comes to that purple dragon of hers.

Starlight took a few cautious steps towards Twilight and placed a hoof on her shoulder. The purple alicorn's magic quickly dimmed as she stared at Chrysalis for a few moments longer. "You promised, Twilight." Starlight said. Twilight grunted and rubbed a hoof over her temple.

"Five minutes." she plainly stated. Starlight thanked Twilight before she turned her attention towards Chrysalis. The changeling scoffed as the two's gazes locked from a moment.

"Chrysalis," Starlight started. "Why do you hate ponies so much?" There was a question Chrysalis had not heard in quite some time. How long had it been since someone had asked her that? A decade? A century? She had forgotten at this point. "We keep trying to befriend you. We keep trying to give you a helping hand to see a better way to live, but each time you keep pushing us away and trying to get revenge. Why can't you accept that we want to help you?"

"You know, I figure I might as well let you know seeing as to how you might be the last who hear of this." Chrysalis started. She took a breath and flinched as her lungs sent small prongs of pain through her body. "I hate you ponies because you are almost always trying to spread your concept of friendship to others. You think that just about anything can be solved by friendship and any who don't bend to your will either get imprisoned, become destined to lose to you, and eventually accept your way of thinking because they have no other alternatives." Chrysalis made a stand. She stood with all the energy she had left and continued. "And you know what Starlight Glimmer? I was almost one of the latter. I almost gave in, but I will not bend to your will. I will not accept your friendship, even if it means I will die."

"But it doesn't have to be like that Chrysalis! Your pride hasn't gotten you any further in your plans. If anything it has dragged you down even more!" Starlight protested. Chrysalis grinned, showing her fangs to the ponies in front of her.

"I would have to disagree young Starlight. My persistence, my pride, has put two of my most hated enemies right. Where. I. Want. Them." With that final word, the magical item around Chrysalis's neck began to glow in a sickly green hue. Twilight gasped as she began to summon her magic to cast a spell. She was stopped when a powerful wave of magic threw her back into a tree. Starlight was thrown by the magic wave too, but her momentum was stopped by the crowd of ponies behind her.

Chrysalis began to rise into the air. The ruby placed in the middle of the magic item continued to suck out all the magic Chrysalis had left. She could feel herself losing consciousness as the last few bits of magic were drained from her. She quickly began to cast one of her sister's favorite spells when they were young, a small explosion spell. It was more of a firework spell meant to be used for pranks. However, the necklace around her neck was made to enhance one's magic potency. If the accessory were operating normally, the explosion would have been enough to destroy a fruit stand. However, the necklace was not functioning normally thanks to Chrysalis's tinkering. The resulting explosion would be enough to turn the next few miles into a crater.

Twilight's and Starlight's horn began to glow as they both tried to stop the changeling queen. Their magic mixed in with Chrysalis's and swirled around the ruby. "Whatever you're trying to do, it's futile!" Chrysalis yelled as the ruby started to turn a blinding white and began to let out a loud wail. Starlight continued to try and stop the changeling while Twilight scoffed under her breath. She stopped working to prevent the ex-queen from doing what she was doing and focused her attention on teleporting her and the group of ponies out of Chrysalis's range.

There was a flash of light and a loud boom, and the pain from Chrysalis's body vanished. As the boom echoed into non-existence and the light faded away, silence and darkness filled in the empty void the two left behind. Chrysalis let her mind wander a bit. She made it walk through the town of her mind before jumping from realm to realm of possibilities. One of which was that Chrysalis found herself believing more and more was that she had successfully killed herself and this was the afterlife. The afterlife seemed to disappoint Chrysalis as there was nothing to do. She didn't feel pain or anything for that matter, she couldn't move, and all around her was darkness and silence. She was confident that if this was the afterlife, she should have reconsidered the whole blowing herself up plan.

After what felt like an eternity, the silence was broken by a soft *beep*. At first, Chrysalis thought that she had gone insane, but her fears were proven unfounded as another soft *beep* was heard. It was followed by another and another in a rhythmic pattern. It was almost like a heartbeat. The beeps continued for sometime before Chrysalis felt a cold sensation over her body. This was followed by the feeling of warm air that felt more than pleasant. Following her sense of touch was her hearing and then her smell. Her sense of taste was regrettably returned as her first taste was something she couldn't put her hoof on, but it was horrible all the same.

The last sense that returned to her took its sweet time as Chrysalis could not lift her eyelids to see. She was patient though, and her patience was rewarded with the ability to look at her surroundings. Chrysalis had expected to see the mile-wide crater she made but was instead greeted by three pale white walls and a transparent glass wall. The lights above her forced her to close her eyes for a moment before she could scan her surroundings again. When she opened her eyes this time, two figures stood outside her 'room,' each of them wore a yellow suit and what appeared to be a facial mask to hide their appearance. Before Chrysalis could gather any more details from them, her senses were once again stolen from her, and she returned to her world of silence and darkness.

Author's Note

A story that I had brewing in my head ever since I saw the cover art. What do you think?

In Debt to an Empire

After the initial contact with the figures, they continued to stop by and check up on Chrysalis almost every time she woke up. Their visits ranged from attempting to start a conversation to bringing her food and water to trying to do what Chrysalis assumed were experiments. It was safe to say that she did not take being treated like a lab rat easily. However, the constant stream of positive emotions proved to make Chrysalis waver her feelings on the matter. Chrysalis could have said anything about the two figures that continued to visit her, but one thing she could not say was that they were not passionate about their work.

It wasn't long before Chrysalis could stand again. That day had brought a small smile to the changeling's face. Walking proved to be more of a challenge though. It would take a few more days before she could have the pleasure to walk again. 'That explosion must have taken more out of me than I thought.' Chrysalis thought to herself. 'Well, seeing as to how I wasn't supposed to survive that blast, it shouldn't be that surprising.' The glass door of her room slid open again as the figures walked in again. However, the emotions emanating from one of them was the almost complete opposite of the other. The body language suggested that the figure did not want to be here with their accomplice. They stood at the entrance of the door with their back it. It played with a multicolored cube while the other figure performed its normal tasks.

Chrysalis allowed the figure to obtain more strands of her hair while she stared at the figure at the entrance. This figure wasn't the same as the other one that normally comes in. The posture was all wrong and it wasn't as... feminine as the other one. A male being that took no interest in her? Now that was a new one. Chrysalis supposed it was time to teach the figures a lesson on changelings. Rule number one: Never ignore a changeling for too long. Her horn glowed in an emerald hue as she enveloped the cube in her magic aura. With a simple tug, the cube was ripped from the male figure's possession and floated towards Chrysalis.

Both figures stood in silence as Chrysalis inspected the cube. It seemed as though the cube functioned as some sort of puzzle. The goal of the puzzle seemed to have each side of the cube have one color on it. Chrysalis, while one who took an interest with puzzles, saw no need for a simple puzzle as this. In the context as to this whole situation, she was the greatest puzzle to these figures. It was only natural that she should be the center of attention at this point. Now, how was she going to get the green to the lower left corner? While Chrysalis was contemplating this question, she felt a weird sensation in her horn before her magic fizzled out and the cube fell to the floor. Her world turned black one more time before she could even think to question why her magic gave out.

Once Chrysalis had awakened again, she had found that she was no longer in the pale white room. Instead, the room she was in was more of an egg-shell white with grey outline across the bottom of the walls. The room was also not as simple as three normal walls and a glass wall. This room had beds! One of which Chrysalis found herself laying on. The bed was not as soft as some of the beds that Chrysalis had grown to know, but it was not too hard either. It was passable at best. Chrysalis began to sit up and survey her surroundings. Her eyes landed on a container that was on the nightstand next to her. Upon seeing the condensation on the outside of the container, she assumed that whatever was inside the container had to be cold. Maybe the container was full of water the figures had left for her? The thought of drinking ice-cold water seemed to make Chrysalis realize just how dry her throat was.

Chrysalis began to use her magic to try and levitate the container. She stopped just a few moments after her horn ignited, remembering that she had blacked out earlier from using her magic. She hesitated for a moment. On one hoof, she could risk levitating the container to her and indulge in some much-needed rehydration. On the other hoof, she could suffer through the dryness clawing at her throat for however long it would take to get some water. Chrysalis considered the second option for a brief moment before her horn was lit with an emerald hue. The container began encased in her magical grip and was gently beginning to float in the air. A smile of success spread its way across Chrysalis's muzzle.

The container was then brought closer to Chrysalis as she began to inspect it closer. The top of the container thinned out into a smaller cylinder and ended with some sort of lid. There wasn't any sign of the lid of the container being able to pry off so Chrysalis imagined it had to be like one those jars that one would have to twist off. Chrysalis never knew why those jars were invented as only a third of the pony population could open them with ease. She would have elaborated harder on that thought, but her assumption of the lid being twisted off was proven to be correct as the lip twisted and was lifted off the container. Chrysalis brought the opened container to her nose and sniffed the inside of it. Yes, the container definitely had water in it. Which Chrysalis began to chug as if there was no tomorrow.

Her desperate drinking was only interrupted when she felt a prong of awe in the air. Someone had entered the room. Turning to face those who had entered, her eyes grew wide at the sight of the two beings that stood in the entrance of the door. On her right stood a... light brown... diamond dog? No, it couldn't be. The proportions were that the same as that of a diamond dog. The paws were too small, most the body was too thin, and the list goes on and on. The being didn't even have a tail! The only thing that would make the being a diamond dog would be the hips. Those were definitely diamond dog hips.

The being on the left possessed an almost see-through body. It seemed to be made out of... Chrysalis couldn't even figure out what the being was made out of, but it was a light blue. In the center of the being was a round object that slowly pulsated in a dark blue aura. The shape in which the being was in furthered Chrysalis's confusion as it was one that she had never seen before.

"Oh thank The Five, you're okay." said the not diamond dog. "We were beginning to think you were not going to wake up after that one." Chrysalis continued to stare at the two beings and tilted her head in confusion. "O-oh, is something wrong?"

"I think its the fact that this is the first time they've seen us outside the bio-hazard suits." The light blue being spoke. The not diamond dog seem to have something go off in their brain as she turned back to face Chrysalis.

"Ah, so that's why you look so confused. Well, there are probably other things for you to be confused about as well, but I digress." the not diamond dog walked towards Chrysalis and extended a paw. "My name is Almira, nice to meet you."

Chrysalis looked at Almira's paw for a brief moment before she lifted a hoof into it. "You may call me... Chrysalis," she stated. The light blue creature came up behind Almira to introduce herself.

"Name's Ge-Foli, Chrysalis." She waved towards the changeling. Chrysalis gave a weak wave back as she still continued to stare at the two of them.

"Okay, I have to ask. What are you two?" Chrysalis asked.

"Oh, sorry." Ge-Foli apologized, "I forgot that you've never been out of your own solar system before." Chrysalis scrunched up her nose a bit, feeling as though that was an insult. "I'm what most people classify as a Hultova. My friend over here is an Alkileon." Chrysalis was about to ask a question, but she was interrupted by Almira.

"You can look into what our species are on your datapad and Linked Language Communication Device. I'll be sure to give it to you before we leave." Almira explained. "You'll also be able to research everything else that you may have a question about via audio commands." This seemed to put the changeling queen at ease for the moment as Almira took the opportunity to continue. "We would also like to apologize for the conditions we put you in. We had theorized that you were capable of flux manipulation, but we weren't entirely sure due to all the flux radiation from your teleportation device. You should be able to gather some free flux energy to replenish your reserves."

"Though, now that we think about it, it would make sense as to why you would go dormant from time to time. Your body was in some type of hibernation period while it tried to reproduce a sustainable amount of flux energy." Ge-Foli explained

"Flux energy? What in the name of Celestia's right flank is that?" Chrysalis asked annoyance coated her every word.

"Flux energy is an energy that exists nearly everywhere. It's physical structure changes almost frequently, hence the name 'flux'. It has been documented changing from invisible energy to a crystalline structure to a liquid substance and so on. Some beings have managed to manipulate this energy using some type of channeling medium or their through their own biological functions." Ge-Foli explained.

"Augh... it feels like I'm listening to one of Twilight's speeches." Chrysalis groaned. "Say it in a way that I can understand it!"

"... I guess the simplest explanation would be that flux is what most humans before the Blinxton Renaissance of 2070 would call 'magic'." Almira responded. "I'm assuming that's what the people on your planet called it too?"

"You would be correct with that assumption," Chrysalis confirmed.

"Ah, so we were also right about their home planet being way behind in technology," Ge-Foli spoke up, "No offense but you guys are so far behind, it'll be a miracle if we can even trace your flux path back."

"I'm assuming that was an insult and choose to ignore it for the time being," Chrysalis snarled. Ge-Foli held up her appendages in a surrendering manner.

"Calm down, no need to get angry," Ge-Foli said, "Not yet anyway." That last part was barely uttered.

"Anyway..." Almira started, "We'd like to apologize again for placing you in that situation. We also hope you will continue to be co-operative with us for the foreseeable future." As Almira finished, there was a soft flash of orange light. A light grey rectangular device appeared in her paws. She handed it over to Chrysalis who hesitantly took it in her magic grasp. The device came to life as its once dark screen was now a light blue. A circle appeared in the center of the screen as a voice emanated from the device.

"Greetings, Occupant Chrysalis, how may I assist you?" the device spoke. The circle flashed a few times as it did. Hearing the voice come out of device should have made Chrysalis jump at least a little, but with everything that has been going on lately, she found that she was quite numb to everything.

"We'll leave you alone for now," Almira spoke, "I'd imagine having all this information dumped onto you must be tiring. We'll be back in the solar cycle to pick you up. The datapad should inform you on all of what to expect tomorrow before you go to bed." With that, the two beings waved goodbye before exiting the room. Once the door slid closed, only the hum the lights and some far off machine kept the silence from suffocating Chrysalis. The information overload was intense and the question that the information brought with them was overwhelming. However, she was a changeling. Learning vast amounts of information and adapting was a part of their way of life. She would be fine.

"Datapad?" Chrysalis asked tiredly.

"Yes, Occupant Chrysalis?" the device responded.

"What is in store for me tomorrow?"

"According to the schedule made out for you, during the first hours of the solar cycle, you'll be fitted for a custom-made uniform. After that, you'll begin assisting researchers with their experiments to the best of your abilities as well as give information about your kind to allow better accommodations for you. Other assignments will be given at a later time. Should everything go well, you will have accumulated approximately 240 credits and your payment for this ship's teleportation system repairs with be approximately 250,698 credits. Based on calculations, you will have the payment paid in full in 1,045 full cycles at your current rate of earning credits. This is including any pay raises that may occur in your current employment. Obtaining a higher paying position is advised." A wall of information spewed from the datapad. After Chrysalis's brain took a few more moments to process what she had just heard, she let out a roar of anger and frustration.

A Start at Breaking the Language Barrier

Author's Note

Okay, I would like to clear up a few things. This story was not meant to be a crossover nor do I plan on turning it into a crossover. Sorry if I mislead anyone and I understand if you wish to stop reading. I would also like to apologize for not picking a more original name than "United Empire". I really should have put more thought into that. Anyway, if you still want to stay around and see how this story turns out then thank you and enjoy.

A Start at Breaking the Language Barrier

For brief moments at a time, Chrysalis was able to become part of the waking world. During these brief moments, she had gained more insight as to her current situation. After the third time she awoke, she managed to deduce that the room she was in served as some sort of prison cell. Every once in a while another figure in a yellow suit would pass by the glass wall. Chrysalis just knew they had to be some sort of guard or something. Her assumption was reinforced when she saw melee weapon strapped to their waist. Sadly, she could bearly make out the figure's face as they made their rounds because they too had a mask that covered its face. She would like to see who she was dealing with exactly.

After the fifth or sixth time of waking up, Chrysalis found that she could stay awake for a longer period of time. She considered this a victory as she had more time on her hooves. The first thing she tried to do was to stand up. However, this proved to be more challenging than she thought it would be. She continued to struggle to stand, but she continued to fail. In the end, she fell back to the floor, more tired than she had ever been before. Deep breaths mixed in with fast beeping. Chrysalis lifted up her head as she looked around to find the source of the beeping. To her right, was a big blue screen with jagged lines running across it. A series of so kind of symbols appeared on the screen that she could not read.

Now Chrysalis has been around for a long time. If her calculations were correct, she and Celestia were just a few decades apart with Chrysalis being the younger of the two. She had seen civilizations rise and fall, partly because of her kind's doing. Her mother had nearly every language recorded after the beings who created them parished away in the sands of time. Though Chrysalis could not memorize all the languages that were recorded, she should have, at the very least, been able to decipher a few words. However, a small prong of fear coursed through her as she tried in vain to read the symbols displayed on the screen.

Her fear of the unknown grew even more as three figures in yellow suits appeared behind the glass wall. Each appeared to possess at least one type of tool that Chrysalis was unfamiliar with. One of the figures placed a rectangular card against the glass wall. A bright red light shined on the spot where the card was placed before it turned green and a light *bing* was heard. The glass wall then began to slide to Chrysalis's right, almost vanishing behind a pale white wall.

One of the figures took a few steps into the room. There were a few moments of silence between the two parties. After a while, the figure took a few more steps and a few more. Soon it was towering over Chrysalis, forcing her to move he head to look into where she assumed the figures eyes were. She was about to curse the figure for making Chrysalis risk getting a cramp in her neck, but the figure soon crouched down to where they were now looking into each other's eyes. Before Chrysalis could utter a word the figure raised it 'paw' and used one of its digits to lightly press the end of Chrysalis's snout.

The gesture was more confusing than anything else. Chrysalis was about to respond, however, the figure gave her another boop on the nose. "Could you not?!" Chrysalis snarled. The figure seemed taken aback for a moment. This made a smug grin appear on the changeling queen's face. "What's the matter? Scared of little old me? You should be." she teased. The figure raised a paw to its head and began to speak.

"Gries tul fol klieat?" they appeared to be asking. Chrysalis face contorted with confusion as she tried to grasp what the figure was saying.

"Um... what?" she replied.

"Wes dokol noot uletifik tus foll!" they yelled.

"I have no idea what you are going on about you... thing!" Chrysalis stated. "But, don't take that tone with me!"

"Ul wolt noot folitok a tul." the figure said. Chrysalis groaned loudly. This conversation was annoying her to no end.

"Listen you!" She started. "I. Can. Not. Under. Stand. You!" Her words seem to fall on deaf ears. Did this figure even have ears? That was a topic for another time. The figure continued to stay crouched for some time. "Hello!? Anypony home?!" Chrysalis lifted a hoof to tap on the figure's mask, but the figure flinched back and ended up falling on their behind. This got a laugh out of Chrysalis. She hadn't laughed in a while. It felt good.

There was a series of sharp beeps came from the screen displaying the weird symbols. "And what's with the beeping?! I swear that sound is starting to annoy me." Chrysalis groaned. The figure sat for a few moments before starting to speak again.

"Can...you...understand me?" the figure spoke. Chrysalis gave a look of confusion which then turned to relief.

"Good god, finally!" Chrysalis cheered. "I wasn't sure what would annoy me first. The beeping or me not understanding a word that came out of your mouth. Anyway, could you tell me where I am and why are you wearing those yellow suits?" The figure was silent for a long time. An uncomfortably long time to be correct. "Come on, you talked so easily before. A chat will give me some form of entertainment that I've been lacking for the past few... days?" That brought a question to Chrysalis. She was in and out of the waking world for a while. Whether she blacked out for only a few minutes at a time or a few days at a time was a mystery. Despite her whole race used to be a mystery and used to thrive off of the fact, Chrysalis was not a fan of mysteries.

"Talk... not... easy... few days.... be...fore... good." the figure spoke. "Talk easier... you talk." Chrysalis took a moment to think.

"Am I not speaking a language you understand completely?" she asked. The figure sat in silence for a moment before nodding its head. "Are you somehow translating what I'm saying right now?" The silence returned and was followed again by a nod. "If I speak more, you'll be able to talk to me properly?" The same silence was followed by the same nod. "And let's say that I believe all of this. What do I get in return?"

"Talk more... I get you... home." the figure replied. Home? What home did Chrysalis really have? Before she could speak, however, she had run out of time. Her world was turning black again as she groaned in protest. Oh well, she would just have to craft a plan while she was asleep.

The lifeform that teleported aboard the ship three full cycles ago had just gone into stasis again. The period in which it remained active was longer than the previous six times. The stimulus of interaction with another being may have contributed to its long active time. I motion to my co-worker to enter the room and the two of us begin to collect a few samples from the lifeform. A few medical cylinders of blood, a sample from its black chitin, a swab of saliva, and a small piece of the lifeform's horn were collected and put into individual holding cubes. We would like to collect more samples of the horn, however, most of the personnel on this ship are in a disagreement as what the horn is used for and if there is any blood running through it. They also did not want to risk rendering a newly discovered intelligent lifeform handicapped.

A lot of questions flooded my mind. Each of them gave birth to theories and hypotheses which in turn gave birth to more questions. I sigh in frustration. This was going to have to wait until tomorrow. It was late in the lunar cycle and I needed some rest for my shift in the early solar cycle. My co-worker and I deposited the samples into the designated depositor before heading off to the decontamination chamber. Once we were in there was a hiss as a chemical spray washed over us. A few moments later we were blasted with a gust of hot air, drying off the chemical solution. We barely felt any of it in the hazard protection suits.

After the decontamination was done, we walked out and began to put our suits into their lockers. It felt nice to have the feeling of cool air on my fur again. After being in stuffy suits for so long, whether it be in the contamination cells or outside the ship in the vacuum of space, one often begins to enjoy the little things in life. "So, Almira, what do you think of the lifeform?" asked my co-worker. I turn around to see the light blue gelatinous form of Ge-Foli. She placed her hands on her humanoid figure as she waited for an answer.

"They are talkative, I'll give them that. I also didn't expect them to be so active so soon. I'm glad we are still monitoring their brain activity along with their heart, " I responded. "I should have expected the harsh response after physical contact though. However, their talkative nature just makes the translation process easier for us. Oh, that reminds me..." I place a hand up to the device on my ear and pressed a button. A display monitor appeared before my eyes as I began to read the information on it. "Argh, the translation isn't nowhere near being complete yet. It's going to be another few conversations before it's done."

"You don't sound as enthusiastic as I thought you would be," Ge-Foli stated as she proceeded to leave the room. I quickly followed her.

"I am enthusiastic. It's just I have so many questions. Unlike the other lifeforms we've met, this one can talk back! Which means that they..."

"Won't be too happy about the massive debt they'll in?" Ge-Foli finished for me. I took a moment to process my response.

"Well, that, obviously. But they can actually tell us about their species. That is if they'll cooperate." I pouted. Ge-Foli seemed to catch onto my dismay.

"Aw, don't worry about it. Knowing you, everything will be fine." She said. That brought a smile to my face. "Now come on, let's see if the snack bar still has that human dessert you like." If anything, that really did bring a smile to my face. "Show a little less teeth there, honey. You might spook somebody again." I quickly cover up my mouth as Ge-Foli laughed. I didn't see anything funny about that though. Those poor kids were screaming until their vocal cords gave out. The lawsuit that followed wasn't funny either. Having to explain to my boss that I almost got sued for basically smiling too hard was something that I was not taught in the job course.

Learning the Ropes

After Chrysalis's outburst, she felt a sudden calmness wash over her. Her eyes and limbs felt heavier as she felt the urge to sleep. Chrysalis laid her head back onto the pillow as returning to the dreaming world did not sound like a bad idea. Maybe this time she would stay there, and her current situation would be no more. However, the universe was having too much fun making her suffer. A small beeping sound from her datapad managed to wake up the sleeping changling. "Ah, you have finally awakened Occupant Chrysalis. If you can get out of bed then we can start your first shift on schedule," it said. "Researchers Almira and Ge-Foli have been assigned to help with your custom uniform and will arrive shortly."

Hearing the two beings' names earned a groan out of the changeling. Those two were the last people she wanted to see at the moment. Especially after they withheld the whole ', You're indebted to us, have fun!' part from her. Though, a small part of her understood they wanted to be out of the Chrysalis's reach after the news to Chrysalis made sure to smother that part of her so that her hatred could flow undisturbed.

The door to her room opened, and she could sense where the beings were by on their emotions. Anxiety mixed with fear and a little dash of excitement. For breakfast, it could be better, but Chrysalis would have to do. Well... a bit more fear couldn't hurt too much. "Rise and shine, our little bu..." Ge-Foli failed to finish her sentence as Chrysalis's datapad manage to get lodged into the center of her head. Half of the rectangular device protruded from Ge-Foli's head while the other remained in her gelatinous head. The trio remained silent for a few minutes. Almira tried to recover from a small heart attack. Chrysalis sat in bed with a smug grin on her face. Ge-Foli continued to stand in place with the datapad still in her head. "Wow... almost 150 newtons of force... impressive." Ge-Foli complimented as she removed the datapad from her head. She tossed the datapad back at Chrysalis who caught it in her emerald aura"Glad we upgraded to the more sturdier datapads a good while ago, or you would have had a few more hundred credits added on to your bill.".

"You should be grateful that I barely put any effort into that throw." Chrysalis started. Her anger settled slightly after her assault. "Also, while the topic of my 'bill' is still fresh on your mind, you can't expect me to pay that, can you?! Especially when you consider I didn't even mean to destroy the thing!"

"Whether you meant to destroy the teleportation system or not, the fact remains that you destroyed it and you are responsible for getting it repaired," Ge-Foli stated, "And think about it this way, while you're here, this will be a great way to start building up some money. In a couple of years, who knows, you might even be able to get a decent job that'll pay off the debt."

Chrysalis let out an audible growl. Her anger started to overtake her mind as she threw rationality out the window. Before Chrysalis could respond, Almira chimed in. "It's understandable that you are angry. However, in this situation, it would be best for both parties if you cooperate with us. If you continue to cooperate with us, we'll make sure to help you pay off your debt." she said. Chrysalis still held her glare on the Alkileon as her rage cooled down.

"Two promises." Chrysalis stated, "So far, you've made two promises to me, Almira. The first was to find a way for me to go home and the second is to help me pay off a debt that was unfairly placed on me. I hope you'll be able to keep those promises. Otherwise, it may seem as though your 'United Empire' may lose a valuable resource as well as a researcher." Chrysalis climbed out of bed. As her hooves made contact with the ground, she found that she was able to stand without any problem.

"Now where are we off to? The sooner I start, the sooner I don't have to worry about a massive debt over my head." She asked as she took a few wobbly steps toward the door. Almira and Ge-Foli appeared pleased. Whether it had been because of Chrysalis' acceptance to cooperate or because of they happy to see that she was walking somewhat. Whatever they were delighted about did not matter to Chrysalis at the moment. The only question on her mind was: how do legs work again?!

The walk had started slowly with Almira and Ge-Foli nearly waiting for the changeling to catch up to them. However, the walk became much quicker once Chrysalis got a hold of walking again. She could feel the two researchers laughing as they watched her fail again and again. Oh, they are going to rue the day that decided to laugh at Chrysalis of the changelings!

Soon enough, the triumphant moment came when Chrysalis could finally use her legs effectively. The moment didn't last too long as Chrysalis met with her first arch-nemesis, stairs. Try as she might, she could not will her legs to work correctly on an incline. So, she did the next best thing. If her wings were anything like her legs, they were not in peak condition at the moment. It was just only a couple of flight of stairs; Chrysalis could handle it.

Almira and Ge-Foli were debating with each other about how they were going to get the huge bug horse up the stairs. After a few minutes of thinking, their train of thought was interrupted by a buzzing sound. The looked to the source of the buzzing to find that Chrysalis was using her wings to fly up the stairs. It was only a few moments before she passed them. "I know I'm gorgeous, but you two can't simply sit there all day looking at me," she said as she flew up another flight of stairs. Ge-Foli just continued to stare at Chrysalis while Almira summoned a datapad with a flash of orange light. She quickly began writing notes.

Getting fitted for the uniform took less time than Chrysalis thought it would. A series of thin lights scanned her body, and in a few moments, they stopped. Almira told Chrysalis that they would have to wait a few minutes for the 'Clothing Synthesizer' to finish making her uniform. The two researchers took this time to bombard Chrysalis with questions about her physical structure and how she was able to fly with wings that looked too fragile to move her ample body. Chrysalis rubbed her head in annoyance. Thankfully, the synthesizer and finished her clothing and allowed her a short break.

The uniform was... different than Chrysalis had thought it would turn out. She was also given two pairs of black socks. One pair fit over her front hooves just long enough that they to cover a small portion of her front legs. The last couple was what Chrysalis had grown to know as 'Thigh Highs.' She had also received a pair of shoes and boots as well as a very comfortable vest with holes made for her wings. The shoes, boots, and jacket had the same color scheme as the uniform Almira and Ge-Foli wore, white with blue outlines.
All in all, she felt very comfortable in the uniform. Now it was time to start her day. Chrysalis could only imagine what laid in waiting for her, but not even her wildest imaginations could prepare her for what was to come.

"Ge-Foli, if you don't get that thing away from me, I swear on my mother's horn I'll rip out your throat!" Chrysalis yelled. Chrysalis stood in a combative pose. A series of knives and forks hovered around her in an emerald aura.

"Come on Chrysalis; it's just some Puk-Tuki meat. It's practically a meal staple on most planets." Ge-Foli said. She held a platter with what appeared to be a strange steak on it. Chrysalis felt her two stomachs cringe as she continued to eye the alien meat.

"IT'S PURPLE AND BLEEDING FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! THAT CAN'T BE HEALTHY!!"

"Actually Puk-Tuki meat is an excellent source of protein as well as calcium. So, in fact, it is..." a random human scientist began to explain before he was interrupted by Chrysalis.

"NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR INPUT TOM!" Chrysalis roared.

"Also, I wasn't going to order it well-done. I'm not going to waist a good piece of meat by turning it to leather." Ge-Foli admitted, "I guess we'll have to try another food for now. Almira bring in the fruit!" Chrysalis sighed in relief that she wouldn't have to eat that purple meat for the moment. Hopefully, the fruit wouldn't be so bad.

They had mangos. Chrysalis didn't know how they obtained mangos, but she didn't care. At the moment she was chewing on a mango pit in an attempt to eat the last remaining scraps of the juicy fruit around it. She continued to chew on the core even after she consumed the last piece of fruit. It helped her remain calm as her day went on.

Chrysalis took part in test after test to analyze what she was. She answered all the researchers' questions as best as she wanted to. She gave them enough information to work on, but not enough to figure out what she actually was. It was best that she kept a few of her races' secrets to herself for the time being.

Before she knew it, she only had half an hour before she was almost done for the day. The last few things on the to-do list were checked off one after another. The last thing on the list was to meet the captain of the research ship.

The trip up to the captain's quarters was non-eventfull. Well, as non-eventfull as it could be with all the researchers scrambling to get their paws, tentacles, and outer grabbing appendages on her. It was also on this walk that Chrysalis got a view of the space.

They had just passed another section of research rooms before they came across a series of windows that let Chrysalis gaze out into the black void of space. For a while she was speechless, she didn't even notice the clean mango core fall out of her gaping maw as she stared into space. Stars laid littered throughout the galaxy in a mix of chaos and beauty. A few comets were seen flying through the empty void. Their blazing tails were almost as brilliant as the stars themselves.

A massive sun shined brightly in the distance along with a smaller sun that orbited it. Chrysalis looked into the distance and saw what appeared to be a cloud of colorful dust swirling in the distance. More and more details began to reveal themselves to her the longer she stared. Deeper and deeper she stared into the void and more and more did the void consume her. The more it overwhelmed her, the more she began to realize just how little she meant to the universe. She felt her legs buckle as she fell on her rear-end, eyes still locked onto the horrifying beauty of space.

It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she realized how long she was staring into space. She looked towards the person who had pulled her out of her trance. The smiling bearded face of a human greeted her. "It's a bit overwhelming isn't it?" he asked. His gruff voice held a warmth that Chrysalis couldn't put a hoof on. "I remember my first time gazing into that never-ending void. My dear Chrysalis, tell me, how are things going so far?"

"U-um... good. I-I think." Chrysalis answered, her voice shaking.

"That's great." the human said, "Oh, I believe I haven't introduced myself. I'm Captain McDawn, but please, call me Johnny."

"O-okay," Chrysalis responded.

"It was good to be able to chat with you for a while. I would love to continue this conversation sometime in the future. I have a mountain of paperwork waiting for me right now, and you no doubt need some sleep. It's already halfway into the lunar cycle." McDawn said as he began to walk away. He turned his attention towards the two researchers who wore worried expressions. He tipped his hat as he said, "Night, ladies."

"Goodnight, captain," the two said in unison. They then rushed over to Chrysalis and pulled her away from the windows. It seemed that they were really going to have to introduce her to the concept of space travel slowly. Ge-Foli chuckled a bit at the idea of showing Chrysalis what zero-gravity was while Almira was already planning the changeling's course on galactic travel.

Infected by the Bookworm (Edited)

Cycle after cycle passed after that day. Chrysalis and the other occupants of the ship continued to travel throughout space. Their destination was currently a space station orbiting a giant asteroid. On arrival, they would resupply on much-needed fuel as well as other necessities. Any testing or experiments would be put on hold for a while the ship was being restocked. This cleared most of Chrysalis' schedule. For at least one day she was going to have time to herself. She just had to survive a few more hours of Almira's teachings, and next full cycle would be her's.

"... after the Battle of the Cypher Belt, the Edrium Dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Tersi on the neutral planet, FD4504-B. Some of the things the treaty listed that the Edrium Dynasty had are as follows: the return of any captured beings to their nearest home sector, the cease of reproducing Akilions as a means of war. Also, a select few territories are to be released from Edrium Dynasty control and given to the Galumbri Colony, and a sum of 5.5 million credits to be paid." Almira finished her lecture, earning a sigh of relief from Chrysalis. Almira placed a paw on her hip as she gave a disappointed look at Chrysalis.

"I thought you liked wartime history?" she asked.

"Hey, don't get me wrong. While I love hearing about these epic space battles and planetary takeovers, I'm a bit... excited for the next cycle." Chrysalis replied, "My whole life now has revolved around sleeping, eating, helping with you and your colleagues' research, and repeating the same routine the next full cycle. So forgive me if I'm a little anxious to finally have some time to actually do something I want to do."

"Ah, the resupply run on station GD-56cp. I heard we're going to be there for at least a full cycle. Though, I think that may change depending on how long repairs take. As long as nothing too drastic happens to the ship, we should still be on schedule." Almira said as she pushed a button on her earpiece. A light blue display popped up in front of her eyes. Streams of data passed by her as she read them in quick succession. "It's mostly a resupply run. The ship is running fine, so we shouldn't need to stop for any repairs until the next station."

"So, is there any way that this session can be over so I can start researching what to buy when we get to the station?" questioned Chrysalis. Almira glared at the changeling.

"I suppose we can end this lesson early," Almira answered." That is if you won't mind me sampling some of your flux for an experiment of mine," She held up a small engraved canister that Chrysalis had grown quite used to seeing. They were containers specifically made to store flux energy. Many of the scientists took an interest as to how Chrysalis' flux behaved. Spending time having her magi... flux drained was not one the list of Chrysalis' hobbies. However, this was a small price to pay for an early dismissal.

The moment finally came when the ship docked at the resupply station. While the rest of the crew went to work getting supplies for the ship and tending to their own personal needs, Chrysalis went on to check a few things. As she walked around the station, she received a few stares from the station's workers. Some even stood with their mouths almost touching the floor. Most of it was out of pure astonishment mixed with curiosity. This was expected even when the captain had notified them about Chrysalis ahead of time. A photo was sent as well so they could recognize the changeling. 'Though seeing a new species in person is much different than looking at it on display.' Chrysalis thought. She too stared at the many creatures that populated the station. Some had too many arms, others moved about using tentacles, there were beings made entirely out of heated gas, and there were some who artificially made. Chrysalis knew that she was going to have a lecture on these species later.

After looking around for a while and asking for directions, Chrysalis finally found what she was looking for. She stood outside of a small shop. The sign read 'Billion's Books! Real books for real people'. She walked through the sliding doors and sighed in relief at the smell of books. It amazed her how much she missed that smell. Her datapad served not only as a device mandatory for her new line of work, but it also functioned as a massive library. She could search almost any book or piece of information she wanted at a moment's notice. However, it had been too long since she had felt the touch of an actual book.

In the time that she had been working as a full-time 'lab assistant' and part-time 'lab rat', Chrysalis had managed to gain a decent amount of credits. Even with the government taking nearly half of it to pay for that stupid teleporter, she could afford to buy one or two books while she was here. The question now was: what kind of book should she get? Chrysalis began to wonder what a fictional book would look like. Space travel was a concept that was thought to be the stuff of imagination on her planet. Magic could be scientifically explained to some degree so that should be categorized as non-fiction if anything else. Maybe a book about romance? Chrysalis chuckled to herself. The idea of reading a book about what an alien society considered romance seemed promising and almost made her bolt towards the romance section. However, she wanted to see what all her options were.

Book title after book title passed by the changeling. While she saw a few titles that looked like they would be a good read, she wanted to explore more of what the store had to offer. As she began to search another section of the store, someone else in the store spoke up. "U-um... hello. Is there anything I can help you find?" the person asked. Chrysalis turned to find an Akilieon that was barely up to her chin. They wore a cute little uniform as well. His name-tag read "Jostik".

"You won't happen to have any recommendations would you?" asked Chrysalis asked. "I'm looking for something that will keep me occupied for a while." The akilieon seemed to smile a bit before heading off to a few parts of the store. He quickly came back with a small pile of books for Chrysalis to look at. The changeling levitated a few of the books so she could read the titles.

"I've read these books before, and trust me... it's going to be sometime before you finish them." Jostik said. Joy seemed to emanate from the shopkeep. Chrysalis didn't need to be looking at him to know that a smile was on his face.

'Hmmm... Rust Flux. When the war reaches the small home planet of a young Retuili, an ancient legend is uncovered and a long-forgotten power is unleashed. Juwl has nothing to lose and everything to gain as she joins the fight against the Golik Kingdom.' Chrysalis read a bit of the book's description. 'Hmmm... this seems like a low-tier book to read. I may be desperate for something physical to read besides reports, but this is stretching it a bit.'

The changeling quickly went from book to book until one book caught her attention. "Technomancy 101" the title read. The cover art was a human with their arms stretched to the sky in a 'Y' formation. Their hands were glowing a bright blue aura. In the background, a technological dragon was being constructed out of a scrapyard. The same aura that was on the human's hands encased it. Chrysalis went to read the description on the back. "This book is for those who need or want to learn the basics of Technomancy. Not only are there informative thirty chapters, included in this book are a plethora of projects for one to try." the description read. There was some other information about the author and other things, but Chrysalis glossed over that part. Apparently, this book was a beginner's guide for a type of flux manipulation that would allow her to control machines. Considering that her new life would be covered in machines made purchasing this book a great benefit to her.

"I'll be taking this book, please," Chrysalis stated.

"Oh! You're looking to be a Technomancer?! We actually have a few kits in stock that will go well with that book." Jostik replied as he gathered up the rest of the books he had brought.

"I don't think I have enough credits to buy the book and a kit," Chrysalis scoffed, "I've seen some of them while I was in here and they are out of my budget."

"Ah, I see. Don't worry about that. Our store is part of a program that serves to help individuals who are looking to pursue a career in the technology or medical field. You'll get fifteen percent off your entire order and you can be entered into a chance to win a scholarship to a school of your choice in the field you wish to study."

Chrysalis thought about that for a moment. Fifteen percent off would barely save her account from hitting zero. However, she could see that this could be her chance at a successful future. "Alright then. I believe I saw a kit that I took interest in. I think it was called a 'Kinetic Drone'."

"Okay, ma'am. I'll get it and ring you up as soon as possible." As the akilieon made his way to get Chrysalis' kit, she already began planning about what she would do next.

"Chrysalis! What is that?!" yelled Almira. A metal spider jumped down from the ceiling of Chrysalis's room. It made metallic chirping sounds as it crawled its way towards the researcher.

"That's my new drone! I called him O.K.D.1. But you may call him Okdi for short. Isn't he cute!" Chrysalis practically squeed. The spider drone was large enough that it could wrap itself around one of Chrysalis's forelegs. It chirped again as its creator began to pet its head.

"What does that acronym even stand for?" Almira asked, taking a great stride to keep as much distance away from the drone as possible.

"Operational Kinetic Drone One," answered Chrysalis. "You don't even want to know how many cycles it took to make this thing."

"W-well, we have some time before work. Can you give me a summary?"

"Since you asked nicely, I'll tell you the tale of how Okdi came to be at the price of only three mango cups."

"You know, sometimes I get the feeling that you're just a fruitbat that's been mutated after years of intense flux influence." Almira joked. The two shared a small laugh before heading off to get something to eat.

The Wonders of Technomancy (Edited)

Roughly Sixty Cycles Ago

Chrysalis finally entered her room. Her book floated in front of her, and a bag of parts floated beside her mag... flux field. She carefully placed the bag on the ground as to not damage the bag's contents. Chrysalis sat on her book down on her bed as she began to remove her uniform. Her eyes almost never left the pages of the textbook. Once Chrysalis was more comfortable, she checked off the last checkbox on her mental checklist.

"Now that we've covered the basics of technology and its interworkings, you are now ready to attempt to use the Technology Sensing Field (TSF)," Chrysalis read aloud, "The TSF is a sensory flux field used to find and analyze pieces of circuitry as well as other necessities towards the build in question. The size of the field can change depending on one's ability to manipulate flux. A person that has a great ability to manipulate flux can also be able to see and possibly even change lines of code in a piece of technology." Chrysalis continued to read. Her horn ignited in its normal emerald color. As she continued to read, a sphere of the same color expanded from Chrysalis's horn. The moment the field came into contact with an operating piece of technology, Chrysalis was suddenly overwhelmed with information. A blazing pain ebbed its way into the changeling's brain.

The sphere disappeared as Chrysalis held her head in her hooves. She levitated the book to continue reading it. "Warning- When using the TSF for the first time, be sure not to be using it near any high-end equipment as the flow of information is too much for a new Technomancer. Also, keep in mind that many highly sensitive pieces of technology have had safeguards put in place to protect them from tampering from potential malicious use of technomancy." a section of the book read. Chrysalis threw the book across the room in a fit of rage. "Why would the author not start with that?!" she yelled.

After the pain become nothing but a faint throbbing, Chrysalis levitated the book back to her and tried again. This time she made sure to keep the field small to avoid being overloaded. The emerald orb returned and expanded to no more than a foot from Chrysalis. She looked around and found that her floor around her was illuminated in a light green hue. She scanned the area and found the bag in which laid her kit. The contents of the kit became outlined in the same color as the floor. She levitated the materials out of the kit's box and arranged them in the air in front of her. There was a series of motherboards, cables, servos, and other things. As Chrysalis focused on an object, information about the object began to float into her mind. She could tell what the part could do, what its limits were, and how long it would be before it would break down. Chrysalis smiled as she was getting the hang of the TSF.

The components moved through the air at their master's whim — servos connected to four pairs of metal limbs before being connected to the central part of the build. A few optical and auditorial sensors were levitated to connect through a series of cables to the motherboard. Next was a thin hard drive that slipped into a small slot on the motherboard. A stick of RAM went in next. After a few more minutes of making sure the cables were connected, and every connection was secure, Chrysalis opened a case and pulled out a processor, and carefully placed it into its designated spot. She locked the processor into place.

Chrysalis smiled a bit at her little creation. It managed to stand on its own when she placed it on the ground. There were no signs of unevenness either. This would become a perfect little drone, and if the next few parts were as easy as this, Chrysalis would have a whole legion of drones at her disposal. Sadly, she was wrong.

Roughly 30 Cycles Later

Fruit cups lay scattered around the room as well as a few empty cups of coffee. Chrysalis thanked whatever god was looking down on her that she found out that the ship had coffee before she passed out. A few spoonfuls of liquidized positive emotions and she had more than enough energy to continue fixing her drone's code. It was a grueling cycle after grueling cycle, failure after failure, redesign after redesign, but she was here. With a combination of her book, her datapad, the coding module that came with the kit, and sleep deprivation, she was sure that this would be the final test. "Okay," said a tired changeling, "I've combed through this code for forever now. I've scanned every nook and cranny for syntax and logic errors. I've triple checked every wire connection is right and every bit of data should be going to where it should be going. You should be able to work now. Come on, can you work for mommy?" Chrysalis pressed the power button on her small robotic spider. The fan on the CPU hummed to life while the optic sensors shined with an emerald light.

The robotic spider began to push itself into a standing position. Chrysalis's heart nearly stopped as she sat and watched the drone standby to receive its orders. "Drone, walk ten inches away from me," she ordered. The drone followed suit and was now ten inches away from its creator. "Drone, what time is it?" Chrysalis asked. The lights o the spider's optical sensors dimmed for a moment as the CPU fan began to hum louder.

"It is half-past six p.m. Empire Time," The drone responded. The light returned to its eyes, and the fan grew quiet.

"Drone, eat this scrap metal," Chrysalis tossed a rectangular piece of metal towards the drone. In the blink of an eye, the small drone devoured the piece of metal. "Now, gather energy," she ordered. The drone quickly ran around the room. It jumped onto the bed before climbing up the wall to then run along the walls. After a few moments of watching the drone run around her room, Chrysalis figured it had enough time. "Return!" she commanded. The drone stopped in the middle of the ceiling before it jumped down and landed perfectly on its eight legs.

"Drone, lock onto the target I'm looking at." Chrysalis' gaze landed on a metal container. The spider turned in the direction she was looking at. A small metallic chirp escaped the drone, signaling that it was locked on the target. With a smile, Chrysalis issued one final order, "Fire."

The drone's small mouth opened. A soft green light shined through before a stream of metal scraps shot out of its mouth. The stream hit its mark with high power. It was not long before the metal container was torn to shreds. It was just in time too as the drone had finally run out of ammunition. "Marvelous! Drone shut down." issued Chrysalis. The drone slowly lowered its body onto the floor. Its fan died down as its lights faded away. Chrysalis scooped up the little drone and kissed it on the head. Her efforts in fully modifying this drone hadn't been in vain and now she could bask in the fruits of her labor.
She placed the drone on her bedside table before falling onto the bed. She didn't even bother covering herself up with a blanket. Thanks to the combination of studying her book, watching 'how to' videos on her datapad, and an almost constant stream of caffeine, Chrysalis's body was at its limit. It was not long before the exhausted changeling was knocked out cold. Her snoring echoed throughout the room.

Present Cycle

"And that is how Okdi was born," Chrysalis finished. Almira looked at the changeling with a mix of awe and worry.

"Chrysalis, I don't know if the captain would allow you to have a combat drone aboard the ship," she said, "Maybe you should think about removing Okdi's kinetic cannon."

"I see where you're coming from and that is why I already got it approved by him."

"Wait, what?"

"I've already gotten Okdi approved to be my assistant drone. I've seen a few scientists with their own drones, and I brought it up that I should have one too. Considering I'm practically an employee here," stated Chrysalis, "Plus, I've made the modifications necessary to have Okdi as legal as can be. Don't get me started on having to do those. I still think it's stupid to have so many restrictions on Technomancy."

"Those restrictions are put in place so that no one abuses it and makes a whole fleet of ships to attack innocent people with," Almira testified, "That has happened you know."

"The Technomancy War of the Scenious Belt. I read up on that while doing research," retorted Chrysalis, "Speaking of research, I am completely invested in my plan to build my own fighter craft after a few late-night study sessions I had."

"And why would you need to do that? You're on a research ship, not a military cruiser. The likeliness of you needing a fighter craft is slim at best. Not to mention you need a Technomancy license to even use Technomancy officially and you will need some type of permit to even buy parts for a fighter."

"It's still a plan, Almira. So what if I have to wait a few years to see it through. I've waited longer for other things that didn't have even a fraction of my interest in them. Also, it never hurts to have a few offensive tactics on standby. That's why I built little Okdi here." Chrysalis lifted the robotic spider off of her head with her magic and patted the little robot on the head.

"Well, it's like I said earlier. This is a research ship. We're on one of the safest paths to our destination. The possibility of us getting attacked are slim at..." Almira was cut off as there was a sudden *thud*. The room violently shook as sirens blared. Chrysalis could feel the emotions of the ship change drastically. Fear, confusion, anxiety, and others took their dominant place in the air around her. Everyone started panicking at what was happening. Through the screaming and yelling, Chrysalis could barely hear what was being said over the intercom. They had just been hit by an enemy attack, and the enemy was quickly approaching. The engines and propulsion had been damaged severely. Their mobility was close to zero. The only course of action now was to escape using the escape pods. However, time was quickly running out for them to get there.

Engaging Flux Overdrive

Chrysalis was swept away by the wave of crewmembers and researchers. Each one of them did their best to head for the escape pods. While Chrysalis did not like the idea of running away, this was the only safe solution. In her education, she had come to learn about how flux behaves when used in outer space. Every planet held its own naturally occurring flux field. This flux field inhibits the random nature of flux, allowing users to process and utilize large amounts flux with a low margin of a random outcome.

However, the same to could not be said for outer space use. True, some portions of a ship possessed the capability to handle large amounts of flux energy, but that feature could not be carried to the whole ship. With flux users as well as a variety of flux weaponry, the ship wouldn't be able to filter out the free flux energy in the air fast enough before the flux's natural urge to change took place. If they were lucky, nothing too dangerous would happen. If they weren't fortunate... the best thing Chrysalis could think about was that it would be a quick death. However, she wasn't planning on dying today.

As they rounded a corner, they encountered part of the group that had invaded their ship. Each one of them wore a mix-match of armor over their space suits along with a wide variety of guns. They held up their weapons at the crowd of researchers. Chrysalis and a few others reacted quickly. A multilayered forcefield was placed in the hallway just in time to block the oncoming bullets. One of the intruders tossed a small box-like device towards the field. It landed a few inches away from it before beeping rapidly. It opened into four pieces and released a black aura. The forcefield reacted strangely to the black atmosphere. It shimmered and glitched before vanishing completely. "Great, they have dead-zone generators. Of course, they have those." Chrysalis groaned as a new stream of bullets ripped through way through the crowd.

A new forcefield was put in place only for it to be destroyed as well. The process continued for some time, allowing as many people to escape through the back as possible. However, the process was not going as fast as Chrysalis would have liked. So, she began scanning the ship, looking for the flux signature that she was most familiar with. Once she found it, she reached out to grab the closest few people she could and teleported in a flash of green light.

She and the group teleported landed in front of another group led by Ge-Foli. The gelatinous woman shrieked at the sight of Chrysalis' group popping into existence before her. "Would you be quiet, Ge-Foli! We don't need those intruders to find us!!" scolded Chrysalis, "Now is everyone I teleported alright?" The multitude of groaning researchers and crew members was the only answer she got. She looked at them and was relieved to see that she managed to catch Almira as well, though she didn't show it.

"How did you manage to do a mass teleport like that?" asked Ge-Foli. Chrysalis could feel Ge-Foli's enthusiasm to break through her shells of fear and anxiety. If this were a normal situation, Chrysalis would have been okay with Ge-Foli's researcher side. However, this was not a normal situation. Chrysalis stated that now was not the time for Ge-Foli to be research happy. They needed to find those escape pods. Luckily enough, the escape pods were closer than Chrysalis thought they would be. Within a few minutes, they were able to reach one of the bays that the pods were being held in. Each pod had enough resources for at least three passengers. So the massive group broke up into groups of three and quickly picked a pod. Just as Chrysalis, Almira, and Ge-Foli were about to board their pod, a large beam of flux energy cut through the wall of the bay. The hole it left in its wake was a just a bit bigger than Chrysalis and make it easy for the vacuum of space to suck out all the valuable air from inside the bay. Almira, who was the first to get inside the pod, quickly took hold of Chrysalis. In turn, Chrysalis took hold of Ge-Foli.

The force of the suction pulled in everything it could. A handful of people who had not grabbed onto anything vanished in the blink of an eye. If it were not for Chrysalis, Ge-Foli would have been one of those people. Though, she was not spared completely. She watched in horror as her body began to be sucked in. Piece by piece of her gelatinous form was being pulled away from her. It wouldn't be long before her core would be sucked out. It was here at that Almira began to pull Chrysalis in. When managed to get the changeling in completely, Ge-Foli did her best to move her core against the suction. When she managed to get her core to a less condense part of her body, she detached the rest of her body and let it be sucked out the ship. Chrysalis was easily able to pull the rest of Ge-Foli into the pod before Almira hit a button to close the door on the pod. The trio sighed in relief as the pod ejected itself from the ship and began cruising through space.

Chrysalis picked up Ge-Foli's core and glared at it. "Why didn't you do that at the start?!" she yelled. The orb pulsated a few times. "Teleportation is a draining process that requires me to think about where I'm going! Sorry if I get distracted when I'm about to be sucked out into space!!"

"Quiet, you two! We have bigger problems!!" yelled Almira. Before Chrysalis could say something, the pod shook violently. Almira strained as she did her best to hold up the forcefield around the pod. The pod was bombarded with attacks from their attackers' fighter crafts. It looked as if they were not going to last long in this condition. Their pod was not equipped with the fastest of propulsion systems. They were just a slow-moving target amongst a sea of already destroyed pods. "So, they want to make sure that no-one escapes, huh?" Chrysalis said. She placed Ge-Foli in Almira's lap before she took control of the pod.

"Chrysalis, there is nothing we can do here! We can't..." Chrysalis ignored Almira's worrying. Okdi jumped from Chrysalis' head and plugged itself into the pod's console. Chrysalis closed her eyes as her horn ignited in its emerald hue. When she opened them again, they shined a brilliant white. A field of flux energy erupted from Chrysalis and expanded to cover most of the fighter crafts as well as some of the destroyed pods.

The fighters were frozen in place. Try as they might, no-one could move. Soon they heard metal groaning, a screw unturning, a button popping out of place, and then, almost in an instant, their crafts along with their space suits were torn apart. A swarm of metal and circuitry encircled the lonely pod. The rest of the attackers looked on in terror as their friends struggled for breath in the cold vacuum of space. Soon fear turned to anger, and the attackers rushed in to fire at the field. However, their attacks proved useless. Flux attacks were absorbed into the area. Bullets were blocked by the thick sheets of metal. Missles fared only slightly better than the previous shots. The massive cocoon of metal could not be breached.

Just as the attackers were regrouping for another attack on the cocoon, the field surrounding the cocoon reduced and almost vanished from sight. A web of green cracks webbed their way across the metal cocoon. The attackers took the opportunity to fire all their weaponry at the cracks in hopes to break through. Before they could reach, however, a fighter craft broke out of the cocoon. A beam of emerald flux surrounded it. It destroyed all that it was its path be it artillery fire or fighter craft. Those remaining stared in shock as the flux beam curved upward before coming back down on them.

Chrysalis' manic laugh rang throughout her newly made fighter craft. Having Okdi as a way to unload most of the information was a great idea. With it, she was able to rip apart those pitiful attackers and used their crafts to upgrade the escape pod. The flux she absorbed from the attackers' flux engines fueled her as well as the craft beyond the limits she had known. "Oh, this is brilliant! You have no idea how long I've waited to do something like this!!" the changeling continued to laugh as she plowed her fighter craft through her enemies with ease. Eventually, the enemy crafts realised that they had more on their hands than they bargained for. They all retreated to their main ship. But, Chrysalis was not going to let her prey escape so easily.

Weaving her way through the escaping ships, Chrysalis left barely any at all to return to their mothership. Said mothership primed its weapons and generated a shield to protect itself. The smile on her face grew more extensive, revealing her sharp teeth. Her eyes burned as a thirst for destruction. A green aura emanated from the changeling as she began to maneuver out of the way of the incoming attacks. Almira could only sit in fear at the glowing changeling.

The mothership of the attackers continued to fire at the fighter craft that had destroyed many of its smaller planes. However, the fighter craft was always just a bit ahead of them. Chrysalis took ducked under the massive ship. She morphed the vessel to where its two wings came to a point on each of them. The two-pronged ship them rose to crash into the underside of the ship's shield. With there was a struggle for a moment, Chrysalis' flux soon ate away at the forcefield. It fueled her to go even more and promptly crashed into the underbelly of the ship. She carved her way through the ship before coming out through the top. She curved upward and saw the command deck of the vessel. She straightened out and aimed to ram into it with all the force she had. She could see through into the bridge and saw many run out of it screaming. However, one person remained. They were encased in a white hue uttering words of some sort. Just as Chrysalis was about to hit, her view went white.

Once the white vanished and her vision was cleared, she found that the ship had been teleported away and was now entering the orbit of a planet. Just as she was about to head back and where they were, a sharp pain surged in her head. She fell to the floor unable to do anything. "Massive use of the TSF and the massive usage of personal flux reserves have caused the beginning stages of Rebounding Flux. While you are in the clear for now, treatment is recommended. The craft will now enter autopilot mode," Okdi announced.

"Ah, that's... just great," Chrysalis groaned, "Almira, could you be a dear and fetch me some medical supplies."

"Y-you aren't gonna do what you just did again are you?" she asked. Chrysalis sighed.

"I think I've got it all out of my system," she answered. "Now go get those medical supplies." Almira nervously got up and placed Ge-Foli onto her seat. While she went to go looking for the medical supplies, Chrysalis stared at the glowing core that was Ge-Foli. It pulsated at infrequent times. "I don't need to hear your sass!" Chrysalis yelled. She flinched at the throbbing inside her head grew worse as she did so.

Crash Landing

Silence filled the air of the spacecraft while Almira focused on preparing a remedy for Chrysalis. The changeling in question now sat on one of the seats at the ship's console. Okdi had attached itself onto one of her forelegs before it went dormant. Not a sound was heard amongst the crew aside from the occasional shuffle from Almira and the hum of the engine. While Chrysalis mostly enjoyed the silence as she gazed at the site of the planet they were currently orbiting, the rising levels of anxiety and fear of her two 'companions' would not be good for her now.

Whatever happened from here on out was going to have to be carefully played out. From what Chrysalis had studied, the species that the others on the ship with here belong to had some type of natural resistance to intro-flux manipulation. Which meant mind-control was going to be a bit trickier and energy consuming that it would normally be for Chrysalis. Perhaps prolonged mind-controlling would even cause greater stress on her Rebounding Flux or maybe even worsen it. However, that got Chrysalis thinking. On her home planet, she could use flux at without worry of it rebounding. There was a thing called Magic Burnout, but that only happened when someone used up too much of their magic not while they were using it. It also didn't leave someone with a splitting head ache.

Also flux did not behave on her home planet as it did with the rest of space. Chrysalis gave a small chuckle at sight of Twilight Sparkle performing magic and all of sudden everything explodes or turns into a liquid or explodes into a liquid. However, flux did not change its form unless it was acted upon by an outside force. Maybe the planet itself had some sort of 'field' around it that prevented that? Or maybe it was something else. Chrysalis was brought out of her train of thought as Almira finished the medicine. A test tube nearly filled with a light green mixture was presented to Chrysalis who observed it curiously. "It's not top of the line, but this should help being your flux back down to normal levels," Almira stated. Chrysalis gazed at the tube of liquid for a few moments more before she enveloped it in flux field. She gave the contents a sniff and gagged.

"Ugh... smells like durians," she commented.

"Sorry, life saving medicine doesn't normally come with strawberry flavoring," Almira joked. Chrysalis gave a fake laugh before she placed the tube to her lips and proceeded to drink from it. The liquid had a taste similar to highly salted water and left an aftertaste that Chrysalis would have done anything have it took away. As the liquid hit her stomach, the pain in her head quickly faded. The changeling sighed in relief as Almira sat in a chair next to her. It was here that Chrysalis became reacquainted with the mix of fear and anxiety that plagued the air around her. She was going to have to get rid of that soon.

"Come on," Chrysalis started. "I literally can taste your anxiety. Go ahead and ask some questions until I'm bored to death. Conduct some mild experiments on me if you two must, but do something other than brood." Almira shuffled in her seat for a bit.

"What are you? Really." Almira questioned.

"You couldn't figure out from all the experiments on my 'samples' and question sessions?" Chrysalis teased. As she looked over, she saw a serious look upon Almira's face. Chrysalis turned back and gazed out into the empty void of space. "Well, for starters... my species relies heavily on mag... flux for our everyday lives. Those who couldn't utilize their flux the way they like the rest were used for... other things. It was my job to make sure every one of my species had a role to play and see to it that they played that role to the best of their abilities."

"Wow. So your species are focus around a military economy?" asked Almira. Her anxiety began to dim as her excitement grew stronger. "That would explain some things," she mumbled under her breath. Chrysalis chose to ignore that part.

"Well, yes and no," Chrysalis answered, "MY species was as you described. However, there are different versions of my kind around my home planet. Some were extremely docile in their ways, they are so fluid with integrating with other societies that some argue about their very existence as well as never laying a hoof on someone unless it's self-defense. Then you have some of the more brutal ones. One I can think off the top of my head had perfection etched into their very being. Everything had to be perfect."

"Every step, every breath, wingbeat, blink, and anything else you can think of had to be absolutely one-hundred percent perfect. If one person was out of line for a second, if one thing chose to get in the way of perfection, there would be nothing left by ashes. And that was if my mother was in a good mood that day." Chrysalis finished her explanation. When she sensed the fear of Almira and Ge-Foli rise again, she mentally kicked herself for saying too much.

"Calm down you two. I'm nothing like my mother," Chrysalis commanded, 'Mostly anyway.' That last part she thought to herself. "While my mother saw perfection in only our species, I saw it in other things as well. I'm a... tinkerer of sorts. I like putting things together so that they form something greater than they were only. Like how I made Okdi here." The spider drone in question chirped at the mention of its name. That lie seemed to calm the two down enough so that Chrysalis wasn't too affected by their emotions.

"Alright, one more question," Almira started, "You said that your version of your species was militaristic. What are they now?" Chrysalis paused for a moment to come up with an answer. She looked through her many failures and remembered what her hive had become.

"Let's just say, I was forced to step down from my position as leader," Chrysalis answered. Almira looked worried for a moment, but Chrysalis quickly ignored her as she plugged Okdi back into the ship's console.

"Okdi," Chrysalis started, the mechanical spider hummed to life and awaited further input. "Bring up the interstellar map and show us where we are." Almost instantly, holograms appeared above the console and displayed a variety of information. However, the one that most of the crew were interested in was the large map in front of them. A small green dot on the map identified the craft the trio was on. White lines served as markings of the territory of different governments. Any planets that were deemed as hospitable were outlined in green. Inhospitable planets were outlined in red. Each of the groups gained a different emotion out of the trio based on the discovery of their position.

"Tsk... They teleported us a long way away from the United Empire..." Chrysalis said with annoyance. "They must have used a Checkpoint to teleport us here."

"We're in neutral territory. That's not good, but it's not bad either." Almira stated. "And we're a little too close to New-Goldenar territory for my liking. The real problem is that this ship doesn't have a Jump Drive, so we're going to need a refueling long before we're able to reach one. Not to mention the food and drink required to make the trip as well would be too much for the size of this ship."

"Can you cut to the point?" asked an annoyed Chrysalis.

"We're stuck here until someone else picks up on the ship's signal" Almira responded. Chrysalis was no stranger to be stuck in unfamiliar territory. She even made a little book detailing what to do.

The changeling began giving her spider drone another command, "Okdi, give us an estimate about the local flora and fauna." The spider drone took a moment to respond to its master's question. According to Okdi could pull up, the plant life that spawned on the planet's surface were edible by the United Empire's standards. The wildlife ranged from simple herbivores to large flying insects. There were a couple of flashes from Ge-Foli's core. Chrysalis immediately smacked it onto the floor. Almira yelped in shock. "Jokes aside, I think it's about time we land this thing. We get to save on power as well as not having to resort to fighting in a vacuum. You guys should buckle up."

With a few clicks of her seat belt, Almira was firmly buckled to her seat. Chrysalis levitated Ge-Foli's core off of the ground and gave it to Almira to hold onto. Chrysalis took control of the ship and quickly made the descent into the planet's atmosphere.

It is one thing to study about space travel and breaching atmospheres. It is another thing entirely to actually do it. The gravitational force that was put on the crew of the ship nearly made Chrysalis pass out. Not to mention the heat from entering the atmosphere was intense as well. A green shield was put over the ship as the crew continued to descent farther and farther. Chrysalis was so lost in concentration that she didn't see the flashing warning signs nor hear the screaming of Almira. She just needed to hold a bit longer and the heat would die down and they could... could...

Everything went dark for a few seconds. Chrysalis assumed she had just blinked, but when her eyes opened again Almira was controlling the ship and was avoiding collision with a massive tree after massive tree. Sadly, she failed to dodge one tree completely and lost a wing to the ship. The world was now spinning as they plummeted further towards the ground. Almira screamed as loud as she could while Chrysalis ignited her horn. The ship became covered in a green aura before being broken apart, piece by piece. Chrysalis enveloped herself as well as Almira and Ge-Foli in the same green aura. The ground slowed its approach towards the trio because of Chrysalis's doing. However, she could not stop all of their momentum.

Almira quickly grabbed Ge-Foli's core and curled around it. She braced for impact before she tumbled across the ground. The initial impact knocked the breath out of her and as she continued to roll, she became covered in cuts. Chrysalis faired no better. Before she hit the ground, she managed to attach Okdi to her right foreleg. On the initial impact, her chitin on the left side of her abdomen took most of the damage. A sickening crack was heard for a split second. Chrysalis lost her grip on the ship components that were still in the air, causing them to fly at full speed towards her and her crewmates. She slid next to Almira and quickly stood up as pieces of the ship embedded themselves into the ground around them. She ignited her horn once again and all the ship components glowed in her green aura.

A green force field was summoned in front of the trio as some of the ship's parts were not able to be stopped fully. A shower of metal rammed into Chrysalis's shield. Cracks ran across the shield quicker than Chrysalis could fix them. Just as Chrysalis began to think that it was over for her, the last bits of the ship was stopped by her flux field. Her shield shattered after serving its purpose. All pieces of metal were lowered to the ground and all electronics were placed on top of the metal to ensure they wouldn't get dirt in them.

Once everything was settled, Chrysalis fully expected to feel the same headache from before. Expect, the headache never came. In fact, she didn't feel any fatigue at all. She turned to speak with Almira, but was stopped when a piercing pain ran through her. She immediately fell to her right side and shivered as wave after wave of pain washed over her. She moved her head and saw cracks webbed into her chitin. Green blood began to flow from the cracks. Chrysalis's head slumped back down onto the ground as she thought about her current situation. She was currently crash-landed with two of her crewmates with one of them being just a core, the other a bit flustered and covered in cuts, and her chitin was cracked to Tartarus and back on her left side. Considering how other crashing landings have gone for others, Chrysalis counted this as a win in her books.

Home is Where You Crashed At

Pieces of the ship rose up into the air. Large sheets of metal bent at angles to suit Chrysalis' vision. Circuit boards slid into place as wires connected them. What was once a ship meant to fly through space was now a small fortress. Once everything was in place, the engines of the ex-ship roared to life. Lights flashed red on the consoles before turning green and fading back to normal. The weapons on the ship were repurposed to be turrets. If any hostile threat within range, it would be a pile of flesh and bone mere seconds

Chrysalis managed to stand up with the help of Almira. The two made a slow walk towards their new temporary home. Once inside, Chrysalis took some of the cushions from their original escape pod and parts of a chair from one of the fighter jets she tore apart and fashioned a bed of some sort. She gently laid down on her right side. A hiss escaped her muzzle as she did so. Her left side nearly screamed in pain. 'I guess the adrenaline finally wore off,' Chrysalis thought. While changeling chitin was strong and durable, it had its breaking points. It was also a pain and a half to recover from having it broken. Chrysalis knew she had two options left before her. She could either wait until her carapace healed on its own or she could drain Almira and Ge-Foli of their emotions and accelerate the process. As much as she would have liked to be treated already, she also did not need two husks with her. She would need all the resources she had if she were to plan on leaving and meeting up with some form of The Empire.

So, Chrysalis decided to take the long route to heal herself. She would be mostly out of commission for a month at the very least, but that would be fine as long as nothing else happened to them. Almira had returned with a few rolls of gauze and other medical supplies. Almira was about to clean Chrysalis's wounds herself, but she was stopped by the changeling who took the supplies out of her hands with her emerald aura. "I can take care of this myself," Chrysalis snapped, "You need to go take inventory."

"I'm just trying to help Chrysalis," Almira retorted.

"Well, your efforts would be better spent looking over what supplies we have," stated Chrysalis, "You're a better person at that than me. You're always the one keeping track of nearly everything back at the research ship." Almira looked as if she wanted to continue arguing, but she stopped herself. Whether it was because of everything that has happened finally catching up to her or something else, Chrysalis didn't know nor did she care at the moment. After nearly half an hour of Chrysalis patching herself up and Almira taking inventory of their supplies, the group took some time to rest for the moment.

Almira had reported that, surprisingly, they more supplies than they thought when Chrysalis broke the ship apart. Together, they had quite a few medical supplies, enough to fix up a small militia. She also found some food rations from both the escape pod and the other space crafts. Amongst the three of them, they could survive off the rations for almost two months alone! That should have been good news, which it was, but Chrysalis knew that she wasn't going to last that long.

She was a changeling. She needed positive emotions to keep her body in check. She managed to scrape by in Equestria when her hive was taken from her, but just barely. She managed to survive off of the free positive emotions of the researchers on the ship because of the sheer number of them. However, she was left with two beings to possibly draw emotions from on a planet that she had no knowledge of. That wasn't going to cut it here. Her best bet was to go out and drain some unsuspecting wildlife or, if she was lucky enough, find some civilization to integrate herself into. However, her luck in finding the latter was near zero. By the time her body healed, however, she doubts that she would be strong enough even to shapeshift. This situation was starting to get on her nerves.

Thoughts about her current situation were pushed away when she saw the multiple flashes from Ge-Foli. 'We really need to find a body of water for her,' Chrysalis thought, 'These flashes are starting to get annoying.'

"Almira," started Chrysalis. The akilion turned her head towards her. "I believe I saw a body of water to the..." Chrysalis looked at the monitor for a few brief moments as she looked at the holographic display of the planet and estimated where they were. " East of here before we landed. I think I can say for all of us that Ge-Foli would be glad to have a body again." In response, Ge-Foli flashed multiple times seeming to agree with Chrysalis.

"So, you want me to go?" she asked.

"Well, it can't be me," Chrysalis answered, "I'm going to have to stay here to try and recover. Your species is regarded as living war machines. I'm sure you can handle whatever decides to pick a fight with you. Plus, it would do well for you to get some fresh air, collect your thoughts." There was a brief moment of silence as a thought passed Chrysalis' mind. "Now that I think about what I said if something does poorly choose to fight you, can you bring it here on your way back? We can have a BBQ tonight!" Almira chuckled at Chrysalis' humor while Chrysalis drank in some of the akilion's mirth. Small moments like these proved to be highly effective.

Soon, the furry woman headed off from their base of operations with the core of Ge-Foli in tow. Chrysalis wanted to send Okdi along with them for mapping purposes. But she decided against it. While Okdi wasn't to most effective in terms of combat, it would prove useful in helping her if something were to make its way into the base. A few seconds would all it would buy for her, but a lot can happen in a few seconds. As the two of them disappeared in the forest, Chrysalis was left alone with the low hum of the base's engines. It did not take long before Chrysalis started talking to herself again, expressing her worries and doubts. It didn't take long for her to catch on to what she was doing and then began to reprimand herself. She was a strong, changeling queen! Sure, she had more than a few setbacks and was now countless galaxies away from her homeworld, but she would come out on top in the end. She could, no she would handle a few hours of being alone with barely any communications.

She couldn't handle it.

Author's Note

Oh, hey, would you look at that. I managed to update after... how long?

Sorry to keep you waiting, but Buggy System is back and, hopefully, will be updating more frequently

Stress Management

Almira once wrote a paper on the effects adrenaline has on the body. It took her two weeks to write the massive block of an article, and in those two weeks, she learned a lot more than she thought she would. However, none of that could prepare her for when her adrenaline rush started to die down. The small pains over her body and the sluggish feeling in her legs were on the list of the things that kept her going at the moment. Her thoughts at the moment were simple as to avoid any more mental exhaustion. The goal at the moment was simple as well: Get to a body of water and let Ge-Foli reform. Anything that came as an obstacle to that goal was met with a brutal end.

One example of an unfortunate individual was a feline-like creature that had been stalking Almira. It was a fundamental law of the universe that biological beings need food to survive. It was natural for the feline to be stalking her as it most likely saw her sluggish moment as a sign that she was either injured or tired. Coupled with the color of Almira's uniform, she must have looked like an easy target. If the feline-like creature had been stalking any other thing, Almira wouldn't have given it any thought. Sadly, that was not the case.

As the creature pounced, Almira's instincts took over. She quickly rolled to her right and dodged to the creature's pounce. Almira focused on channeling her flux, causing the air to begin to swirl. The feline-creature recovered from its failed attack and was preparing to strike again, but they stopped when it felt the air around it swirling harder and harder. The beast soon found that the ground was no longer beneath its paws. It could only watch as the earth continued to get farther and farther away from it. Gravity soon gained control over the beast again and pulled it back down to meet the ground with a sickening crunch.

Almira watched as she launched the beast into the sky along with a decent portion of the surrounding area. She went on her way and was about five minutes away when the stuff she previously launched came crashing down. More unfortunate souls met their end by Almira's wind as she continued on her mission. Looking back on her previous actions, Almira admitted there were probably ways to prevent some of the faunas' deaths. However, Almira was at a loss as to what those ways could have been at the moment. All she cared about was finding that body of water. Almira felt something on touch her from her knees on down. Instinctually, she used the flux around her to blast whatever it was with air. A torrent of water splashed back in response, drenching Almira. Almira groaned as she was so focused on finishing the goal that she didn't notice that she was standing in it.

Almira dropped the core of her crewmate into the water. Upon contact, the water began to swirl around Ge-Foli's core. The water around Almira's legs began to freeze as Ge-Foli used her flux. The core released some substance into the swirling water. After a time, the swirling water started to become more gelatinous. A small hand erupted from the viscous substance which was soon followed by another side. Eventually, Ge-Foli pulled her upper half up from the material. Almira looked at the small Ge-Foli that emerged out of the substance. From her current appearance, she looked as if she was the equivalent of a human child. Ge-Foli smacked her lips for a few moments. "Ph of 7 and a hint of zinc... weird," Ge-Foli said before she placed her gaze on Almira breaking herself out of the ice. "Yo, Almira. I didn't know you were a..."

"Finish that sentence, and I will slice your core in half," Almira threatened. Ge-Foli considered her options at this moment. She decided not to finish her cheesy pun. While Almira used her flux to blowdry herself, she noticed a shape moving in the water. Her instincts took over again, and a gust of air shot out of her hand. The form under the water exploded in a mist of flesh and bone that was blown further into the lake.

"By The Maker," Ge-Foli flinched, "You must be more on edge than I thought."

"Perhaps," Almira admitted. The upper half of a reptile floated to the top of the water. "The moment we get back, I think I'm just gonna pass out for a few days and never leave my bed. Or whatever it is I call my 'bed'."

"Aw, come on. It's not that bad," joked Ge-Foli.

"We're on a neutral planet with barely any indication as to where we are. We can't teleport anywhere, nor we have the capability to light-jump. For all we know, we're stuck here forever."

"... Well, at least we're not dead." Almira paused for a moment, "Or spiraling through space with limited food. Or being left vulnerable to the vacuum of space. Or..."

"I get the picture!" Almira yelled. The two stayed quiet for a few moments. "But, I guess you're right. There are worse situations we could be in right now. However, I do still need some sleep. Hurry up and reform so we can go back."

"Woman, you can't rush perfection!" Ge-Foli said offendedly. The two waited by the water's edge for about half an hour while Ge-Foli reformed. After Ge-Foli finished, the two were on their way to their Base. Ge-Foli commented on the carnage Almira caused as they did so.

As the duo finally made it back to the base, they heard music emanating from the inside. This piqued their curiosity. Where did Chrysalis find music amongst the equipment meant for combat? The two quickly entered the makeshift base to found a scene they weren't prepared for. In three hours since they had left, Chrysalis managed to build a second drone. This one was similar to Okdi in the fact that it shared its arachnid-like body. However, this one did not possess a cannon much like its predecessor. The drone held a thin device that made up most of its body. A pair of metallic wings were attached to its body. Lines of flux coursed through the drone's wings. Both researchers assumed that the flux flowing through the machine allowed it to be light enough for it to fly through the air as it did.

However, what struck the two researchers as odd is that the two drones were in the middle of a... play of some kind. Music being emanated from both of the drones as they fought each other. Okdi pounced and pinned the flying drone as it began to sing, "... And I'll rejoice as you breathe your final breath~!" The flying drone let out a chilling laugh as its body began to glow with flux energy. Its body soon turned into wisps of cyan energy before swarming around Okdi. The drone was soon covered in a layer of cyan energy. Its legs wobbled as if it seemed to have trouble controlling its body. Another voice began to sing as Okdi struggled against the flux.

"I'll live inside you forever!" the voice sang with great glee. "With Satan by my side!"

"No!" Okdi protested.

"And know that, now and forever, they'll never be able to separate Okdi from Ofadi!" The flux shined brighter, nearly blinding the researchers. The music stopped for a moment. Once it died down, they saw that Okdi and the flying drone had fused. With the flying drone now serving as a type of armored plating and the thin device that made up a majority of its body currently serving as wings for Okdi. Its regular green lights changed to a soft red. The flying drone began to sing again as the music started back, "Can't you see? It's over now! It's time to die!"

"If I die, you die too!" Okdi rebutted. Its green lights returned as Okdi seemed to fight over control of its body.

"You die in me, I'll be you!" Ofadi responded.

"Curse you, Ofadi! Set me free!"

"Can't you see it?! You are me!"

"No! Deep inside..."

"I am you! You are mine!!"

"No, never!"

"Yes, forever!" Ofadi took to the air, cackling.

"Damn you, Ofadi! Take all your evil deeds and rot in hell!" Okdi yelled.

"I'll see you there, Okdi!" The music came to a finish while Ofadi laughed in victory one more time as the music faded away. Chrysalis clapped her hooves together as the two drones unfused into two separate drones. Chrysalis's gaze caught the sight of the two researchers at the entrance of the base.

"What do you think? Even with limited resources, that turned out better than I thought it did, " She celebrated as she looked over the drones. A frown appeared on her face as she saw the dimmed lights on Ofadi. "Though, you're using too much power. No doubt that's going to bite me in the flank one day. I'll fix you later. Return to idle mode." Chrysalis raised a foreleg. The flying drone clamped itself to it also immediately after she gave the command. Its wings folded against its body tightly.

"That was kinda weird to walk into," Almira admitted, "But it was a nice surprise compared to what we've been through."

"Where did you even get the music from fighter crafts?" asked Ge-Foli.

"There were some articles I read a while back that had sections dedicated to the practice of pilots of illegal fighter crafts putting secret compartments in their ships. They put almost anything in them from snacks to drugs." Chrysalis said as she flew over to a section of the base. She fiddled with a panel in one of the wall's higher corners. The board popped off a small wave of human snacks, and other items fell out of the secret compartment. "I was getting bored waiting on you two, so I scanned the entire base thoroughly a few times. As luck would have it, some of those secret compartments were still intact." Another moment of silence washed over the group. Ge-Foli walked over to the pile of items and pick up a candy bar, unwrapped it, and took a bite.

"Sweet," she said before Almira and Chrysalis joined in. "What other songs are on there? About twenty-five percent of human music and other artistic things was lost some years after the... what was it again?"

"Mezopian War," Almira answered.

"Yeah, that."

"Ofadi," Chrysalis started. The drone on her foreleg lit up and let out a mechanic chirp. "Play 'Meme' playlist." Ofadi let out a few more chirps before the drone began to play music.

"Somebody once told me..."

Executing Change.exe

Chrysalis walked through a hallway of steel. Her body seemed to move on its own accord, towards a source that she did not know. From intersections, staircases, elevators, and giant pits, she continued to walk to her unknown destination. She had walked for what seemed like days, but she never felt tired. Chrysalis would have questioned everything that led to this moment, but she felt contempt and did not need to. The humming of lights and distant machinery kept her company.

It was after Chrysalis walked for what seemed like an eternity she heared voices. They started as whispers; vague sounds that, if Chrysalis had not been near silence until now, she would have thought were just her imagination. Then the voices became louder. She could hear them as if the owners of the voices were right next to her. Each one spoke in a language that she did not understand, but sounded so familiar.

Eventually, she felt she was close to the end of her journey. The voices had grown to be disorientingly loud. A pounding headache forced Chrysalis to stop her walking for a bit. Soon, voices had become even more deafening. Her head pains grew more intense. Chrysalis' legs out as she fell to her side. Her ears pinned themselves to her head, and her eyes were closed tight in an attempt to block out the voices, but to no avail. "Stop..." she whimpered. Almost immediately, all sounds ceased. Chrysalis was left in complete silence for a few brief moments. Then a single voice spoke to her.

"Oh my! How interesting..." the voice said. There was a flash of light before Chrysalis opened her eyes. In front of her stood a changeling queen, much like her except she was much taller. The only other difference was that her chitin was an off-white instead of black. "... A member of a lost flock found their way back to the Network." The changeling queen reached out towards Chrysalis and made contact with the downed changeling's horn. Darkness overcame Chrysalis as she lost consciousness. "Oh my... it would appear you're not ready, yet. Stay strong, my child, and we'll see you again one day."

Chrysalis awoke with a start. Her eyes quickly glanced around her surroundings. She was still in her makeshift base. The same one that she had been in for about twenty cycles along with Almira and Ge-Foli. Once she managed to catch her breath, Chrysalis managed to stand up and head over to a console. A few prongs of pain shot through her side as she did so. Chrysalis hissed as she sat down in the chair in front of the console. 'Chitin is such a pain to regrow!' she thought to herself.

Looking out of the window, Chrysalis saw that it was still night time. Maybe a few hours past midnight at most. 'Great, I have eight more hours until the sun comes up,' she mentally groaned, 'Well, might as well look at the inventory and other things.' With a few touches of her hoof, Chrysalis brought the console to life. Lights flashed as panels of information floated above the console's screen. Everything calmed down a few moments later, leaving Chrysalis to navigate her way to the application she wanted to open. Within a few clicks, she opened the inventory tool that they had been using to keep track of their stuff. The tool itself was simplistic, to say the least. Chrysalis had gripped about the tool as she had seen more efficient inventory tracking tools on the research ship, but Almira managed to convince her that the tool they had would be enough.

After a quick glance at the list, Chrysalis made a note that they needed to purify some more water. At least eleven liters of it. Ge-Foli was going to have her work cut out for her once the sun came up. Their food storage was doing good along with any tools that they had. Once Chrysalis was done with that, she moved on to manually checking the base's systems. Her horn ignited in an emerald green hue before emitting her TSF. Once her TSF covered the base, she checked every circuit that ran throughout the base. She checked almost every line of code... three times. Her turrets were in good condition. The rainstorm they had yesterday made her a bit worried that they would stop. A bit of rust was beginning to form on them, but she could easily clean that. Their flux engines still had optimal amounts of fuel left in them as well.

A few more glances at whatever electronic they had left and Chrysalis was certain that she had cleared half of her eight hours. She was also certain she had exhausted all the things she could do without waking up Almeria or Ge-Foli. So her current activity consisted of staring out into the moonlit forest that surrounded the base. It was not long until her thoughts began to run their own course. Her mind thought of ways to escape the planet. Hundreds of ideas were shot down before Chrysalis decided to derail that train of thought. Her mind then transitioned to her home planet and a frown etched its way across her muzzle.

How long had she been gone again? Since when did she momentarily forget about it? Would she ever be able to return there? Why should she return there? That last question struck a nerve and Chrysalis was left wondering. Why should she return? Equestria held no place for her ever since her plans backfired. Her hive, the one thing that Chrysalis assumed would always be her's until the day she died, was stolen from her. She had made a lot of enemies in Equestria and none of them would be thrilled at the thought of her returning. Most of them probably thought she was dead.

A part of Chrysalis thought that this was excellent. With the whole world thinking that she was dead, she could return with a whole fleet and...

'What would that actually accomplish?' Chrysalis thought, 'With my losing streak, I'm sure that they'll find a way to defeat me. Especially since they have Discord with them.' Chrysalis grimaced, 'He could probably take out the entire fleet if he wanted to.'

'I think you're missing the point!' Chrysalis's mind fought back, 'With all this technology, you could attack hard and fast. Discord wouldn't even be able to respond by the time you're done'

'You know, I think I'm actually getting tired of this revenge stuff. Weeks and weeks of planning and for what? For me to run with my tail in between my legs? I don't think so.'

'So you had a few blunders. You can take it all back and then some! That is if you stop sucking on your hoof like some scared wittle hatchling!'

'... You know what? I don't take being berated by anyone kindly let alone myself. I'm going out for a walk.' Chrysalis got up and walked out of the base. The fresh air and wet ground were just what she needed to clear her head. How long had she been outside? Probably too long if she's was literally having a debate with herself. Regardless, she was going to enjoy the air outside before being confined in the base for a good while.

Her walk was more pleasant than she thought it would be. The air was so clean and crisp. The light of the moon seem give everything a 'magical' look. Even the ground beneath her seemed perfect. She couldn't help but to travel further and further into the forest her eyes talking in every detail of the forest around her. So enthralled with the natural beauty that surrounded her she did not notice pieces of her chitin falling off. Nor did she notice the aching pains that grew throughout her body until she could barely walk anymore. She needed a place to hide somewhere and quickly.

Her attention was caught by a monster of a tree. The top of its branches managed to pierce the clouds. There was a spot in which she could squeeze herself into and still have a bit of room to move. She just needed to coat the entrances with her cocoon slime then it will be the perfect hiding spot. Once she was done, Chrysalis found that what little energy she had was gone. Her limbs gave out and Chrysalis allowed her eyelids to close.

The sun had risen and was about to set beyond the horizon again when Chrysalis woke up. She groaned as she tried to stretch, but found that there was no room for her to do so. Her horn ignited before the area around her exploded into pieces of wood and cocoon. She walked out from the hole she made and stretched. A few pops were heard as she did so. Chrysalis yawned, allowing her long snake-like tongue to glide over her sharp teeth. Her fangs were released from their sheaths as her mouth stretched.

A familiar scent had entered her nose. "That's Almira isn't it?" Chrysalis asked herself, not noticing her deeper tone. The Alkeion practically stunk of fear and anxiety as she quickly moved throughout the forest. Chrysalis found herself puzzled as to why her crewmate was so panicky. There were no predators around here and if there was, Almira should have been able to take care of them with little to no issue. What could Almira be worried about? It was at this point that Chrysalis's freshly awoken mind finally realized why Almira was running herself rugged for. Chrysalis opened up her four wings and took off into the sky.

With speed that she had not experienced before, Chrysalis managed to hone in on Almira in almost no time at all. She quickly dove into the trees, stopping just before she hit the ground, and quickly found the Alkeion woman rushing passed her. Chrysalis encased Almira in her emerald flux field to slow the Alkeion down before bringing her to a stop. "What?!" yelled Almira. She struggled in Chrysalis's flux for a while before she was turned around to face Chrysalis. Her face, which once held frustration, turned to that of confusion. "What?" she asked. Chrysalis was about to speak before she was bombarded with a flurry of emotions. Anger, sadness, happiness, compassion, blood lust, and a few more were all thrown her way and collided with her like a wall. Her hold on Almira slipped as Almira was now free. Almira raised one paw before she proceeded to slap Chrysalis with it. The resounding smack from the slap echoed throughout the forest.

Chrysalis hissed as she rubbed her cheek. "By the Creator! You trying to slap my head off or something?!" Chrysalis yelled, "Ah! I didn't think I could feel something like th-" Chrysalis was cut off by Almira giving her a soul-crushing hug. Chrysalis felt her lungs release all of the oxygen they had.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again! You hear me!?" Almira scolded.

"Understood! Let go, please!!" Chrysalis answered as she gasped for air. Almira obliged the changeling queen's request and let go. Chrysalis never knew how much she loved air until she was desperately gulping it down.

"Where were you?! Ge-Foli and I woke up and you were just gone! You didn't leave a note or anything either!! We spent all day looking for you!!"

"Okay! I get it!! You were worried about me. I just went out for an early morning walk and... took a nap."

"Took a nap? A NAP!? No one just goes out into the wilderness and takes a nap for most of the day!! Let alone come back different."

"It was a very long nap. And what do you mean 'come back different'? I'm still the same as I've always been."

"Oh, so the shorter, darker hair, deeper voice, the extra pair of wings, the thinner fangs and armored chitin configuration is just me hallucinating."

"You've been running around like a maniac so probably! I've always been like... this..." Chrysalis's voice tapered off. Was her voice always that deep? She looked to the rest of her body and her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. On her back lay two pair of insect wings. The buzzed slightly as she flapped them. Her chitin had changed. Sections of her chitin overlayed each other, giving her chitin a more armored appearance. A hoof ran through her hair. She found that it ended much sooner than she expected it to. She opened her mouth the inspect it and felt her fangs unsheath themselves. Her fangs don't normally have sheaths. "What's going on...?" she asked defeatedly. As she allowed her body to sink to the ground, Chrysalis felt another wave of emotions aimed towards her from Almira. What anger or blood lust Almira had was completely gone. Pity and compassion rose to the top as she knelt down to Chryalis's eye level.

"You really don't know what happened, do you?" Almira asked.

"I don't," answered Chrysalis, "I was going to a walk, I got too enthusiastic and before I knew it, I was asleep. I... don't... know what happened after that..." Almira sighed before she leaned forward and gave Chrysalis a hug. Chrysalis simply basked in the possitive emotions surrounding her.

"It'll be okay, we'll figure this out," Almira said, "Just don't ever go off like that without telling us."

"You're not my mother," Chrysalis chuckled.

"I mean it."

"Of course you do. I guess we should go ahead and head back. Taking a nap in the woods is a lot less comfortable than you would think." The two started their journey back to their base. Unaware of the beings in the trees keeping their eyes on them.

Test Run: Beginning Stages

It took a while before the realization of Chrysalis' transformation actually sunk in. She had realized that her body had changed, yes. However, the fact that her natural body had changed took a while to fully grasp. Changelings were used to their body changing as it was in their nature. They could easily disguise their body as someone could easily put on a coat. Never before in Chrysalis' life had a changeling had its normal form changed at all. At least, that was the case until she was usurped and all her changelings underwent a metamorphosis. However, Chrysalis could tell that this metamorphosis was different. If she had to put it in simple terms, it felt less magical and more biological. It was as if her body was always capable of doing it, but was never given the chance to.

Also, apparently, this new form came with many new features. The day after Chrysalis had transformed Almira and Ge-Foli ran some tests on her. One of the first things on the list was Chrysalis' fangs. The thin needle-like teeth reminded the two researchers of how some beings deliver their venom and so they tried to see if Chrysalis now possessed anything venomous. Using a makeshift cup, Chrysalis was instructed to apply pressure to her fangs while they were inside the cup. It did not take long before Chrysalis felt some type of liquid eject from her fangs.

The ex-queen of the changelings stared at the cup that now housed the light green liquid for a few moments. Chrysalis was in shock that she could now produce venom. No changeling had been able to that before. The most one could do was create different types of gel. Almira was about to say something but was interrupted when Ge-Foli took the cup and drank the venom inside. "GE-FOLI!!" Almira screamed.

"What?" Ge-Foli asked, swishing the venom around in her mouth before swallowing it. "My species is immune to all known poisons and venoms, Almira. In fact, we can actually analyze most liquids by ingesting them."

"Right... I forgot you could do that..." Almira said, calming down a bit. "Could you have, at least, warned me you were going to do that?"

"I could have, but I thought you would have stopped... Oh, something's wrong here." Ge-Foli's form began to wobble. Her gelatinous body seemed to start melting. Almira and Chrysalis stood up and approached the slime woman.

"Ge-Foli! What's happening!?" Almira's concern came back in full force. Chrysalis felt her stomach drop as she watched Ge-Foli continue to meltdown.

"This venom is hardly a venom at all. It's a drug! Powerful muscle relaxing and mind-altering agents. Oh, there's even a flux component in here too. It's messing with my core something fierce and making me feel all loose and... tingly. This is nice~" Ge-Foli's humanoid figure devolved into a large pile of slime right as she finished talking. A soft garbling sound could be heard as Ge-Foli relaxed on the floor. Her core shined in a multitude of colors. A wave of positive emotions washed over Chrysalis. Her mouth began to drool as she drowned the emotions. Her instincts taking over, Chrysalis' horn began to glow and began taking in as many emotions as she could.

"Chrysalis, what are you doing?" asked Almira. Chrysalis blinked as she came back to her senses. Her horn still shined in an emerald hue. Almira most definitely witnessed her stare at Ge-Foli as if she was a slab of meat. A small puddle of drool on the ground served as another piece of evidence that something was off. Chrysalis wasn't going to get out of this one. The two stared at each other for a few moments before Chrysalis spoke up.

"Almira, I think it's time I educated you on the dietary needs of my species," Chrysalis replied.

After several hours, Ge-Foli eventually came down from her high. She was extremely tired as well. Something that she didn't think coming down from a high would be like. Almira told her everything that Chrysalis had explained to her while Ge-Foli was still high on Chrysalis' venom. Both scientists were upset that Chrysalis was withholding information from them. However, Chrysalis brought up a valid argument that most beings don't take too kindly to being used as a food source. Many more beings don't tolerate having their emotions messed with least of all eaten. The trio decided to put a pin on that issue for another day as they still had tests to run.

The next test was to determine how the new form used flux. Chrysalis had been tasked with maneuvering a series of small objects to start. Her horn ignited in its usual green hue as she took hold of the objects. However, when she tried to lift them off the ground, they shot into the air and embedded themselves deep into the ceiling. By the look of shock on Chrysalis' face, she didn't do that on purpose. They decided to move the experiments outside after that.

Chrysalis was once again tasked with moving small objects. With more space to use, Chrysalis was free to experiment with her changed flux. She would have described using her new flux as trying to use a sledgehammer to hammer in a series of nails or trying to walk on eggs without breaking a single one. Maneuvering small objects was a tedious affair now when it had been as easy as breathing before. If she tried to move an object two inches it moved two feet. If she tried to angle an object it would spin rapidly. If she tried to grip it slightly tighter the object was crushed. To say Chrysalis was frustrated would be an understatement. Most of the work she did on her drones required working with small components. She didn't want to risk tinkering with her drones and having a vital piece fly off into the woods or crushing the drone altogether. However, her frustration did not last long. This was just another setback and a minor one at that. When she was younger, she was able to quickly gain control of her magic. Surely she could do the same again.

Her next task was to lift a large target. Almira went out earlier and retrieved a boulder for this experiment. Chrysalis took hold of the giant rock in her flux field and was slightly surprised when she was able to lift it with little to no issue. The trio had theorized that Chrysalis would be able to move larger objects with greater success, but Chrysalis didn't have much in terms of hope before now.

Then, to make matters even better, She was able to control the boulder as if she would have a pebble or a pencil. Now she realized what her flux had changed into. It was a wide brush. While trying to do finer details with it would prove to be difficult if not impossible, it could more than makeup for it in broader works. While this was a dampener on her drone work, Chrysalis could get used to this.

After that test was done, Chrysalis remarked that she felt hungry. She felt really hungry. "As much as I would like to let you get a little sip of my emotions, it sounds like you need more than what I'm willing to give," said Ge-Foli. Chrysalis scoffed at the gel woman.

"Believe it or not, I'm not hungry for emotions right now," Chrysalis looked towards the forest that surrounded the clearing. Something was going on in there, forcing her to try and tune in her senses to find it. "I'm craving something more... solid."

"We have food in the base, Chrysalis," stated Almira, "We can take a lunch break."

"I'm not going to eat another tube of bean paste or eat another bowl of 'beef stew' made from powdered meat and vegetables," Chrysalis refused, "I also don't want any sweets. I want something fresh."

"Fresh? Well, I'm sure we can catch some fish or something that you can-"

"No, bigger."

"Bigger? Like a bigger fish?"

"No, no fish. Land creature, bigger than me. At least twice as big." Chrysalis' nose twitched. There was something on the wind that was enticing. It was something that made her senses start to tune in more. The sounds of Almira and Ge-Foli drowned out as the world became nothing but scent and noise.

There was a warm metallic smell in the air. The sound of heavy breathing and whimpering could be heard. Something was injured and badly so. From the sounds that it was making, it had either broken something or was heavily wounded. The ever-growing smell of blood pointed towards the latter being true. Judging from the volume of the noise it was making, the prey was far away. By the time Chrysalis got to it, it could have already died as well as have another predator take it. After all, she could sense a group of more beings trailing the injured prey. Those beings were probably the ones who injured the prey and were simply waiting for it to die from blood loss. However, if Chrysalis moved quickly, she could not only steal their kill but after she was done eating the prey, she could turn her sights on new prey to hunt.

Her wings fluttered open. They buzzed out of sync for a few moments as Chrysalis was occasionally lifted off of the ground. It didn't take long before Chrysalis to get the hang of her extra pair of wings and found herself hovering a few inches off the ground. She then took off into the air, not hearing the voices of her crewmates.

Rootfur and his hunt mates made sure to keep their distance. While their hunt for the day was wounded severely, everyone knew that a ryton was deadly even as it took its dying breath. One kick from its hind legs would be enough to break bones. If it was allowed to charge, it could easily impale them with its horn or trample them to death. This is why Rootfur had tried to lure the beast into a more dense portion of the forest. It would leave less room for the ryton to be able to charge and gave them enough cover to able to whittle down the beast's stamina. However, there was some fresh blood in his group of hunt mates. Their inexperience with the art of hunting had allowed the ryton to escape into a more open area of the woods. While it was annoying, the hunt would end the same regardless. The only difference being that it would take them longer to return home than it would have.

The ryton's movements began to slow even more before it came to a halt. The blood from the multiple gashes in its hide continued to spill out. It wouldn't be long now. One of his hunt mates looked towards him, silently waiting for the signal to attack. Rootfur gave the signal for them encircled the beast. Quickly and as silently as possible, his hunt mates were in their positions. The archers took aim while the rest of them readied their spears and shields. Just as Rootfur was about to give the signal to attack, they heard it.

It started out as a low whine. Rootfur was about to dismiss it as it was probably a noise that was coming from the dying ryton. However, he noticed that the noise continued to get louder and louder with each passing moment. Before they or the ryton could respond properly to what they were hearing, a black blur collided with the ryton from above. The sound of breaking bone, blood splattering on the ground, and the ground shattering erupted in the ears of Rootfur and his hunt mates. Many covered their eyes as the dust from the impact sprayed in all directions. When the dust settled, Rootfur was one of the first to see what had collided with their hunt.

A black creature stood on top of the ryton. Its forelegs deeply embedded into ryton's body and covered in red blood. The black creature stared down at the rapidly dying ryton, observing as its organs spilled out from its body and its blood pooling around it. It struggled to move away from the black creature. However, the black creature's horn ignited in green light. The light encased the ryton's legs for a brief moment before they were ripped off from its body. The poor ryton's bleats of agony rang out through the forest while the black creature continued to stare at it.

The creature's horn was soon engulfed in green light again. This time the green light covered the ryton's head. In the blink of an eye, the ryton's head was twisted off its body and its bleats stopped entirely. The beast's body twitched a few moments before going limp and still. The green light stopped as well and the ryton's head fell to the forest floor. With a sickening sound, the black creature removed its forelegs from the ryton's body.

Emerald eyes scanned the corpse with the same feeling as a cub trying to pick which piece of fruit to eat first during a festival. Soon the creature's mouth began to open. Its small sharp teeth were evident in the sunlight that streamed through the leaves. The creature then began to feast on its kill.

Author's Note

I was having trouble writing this chapter for the longest and now I feel satisfied with this part.

Clans Meet a Sky-God

RootFur was stunned. He had just witnessed a ryton, a creature that was twice as big as he was, be killed by a creature that was no taller than he was. The power it had used to crush the ryton was frightening, to say the least. Not to mention the terror with how easy it was for the creature to sever its meal's limbs and head. Fighting this creature would be impossible. With its strength, it could possibly tear them all apart with little to no effort. With its aura, they'd be dead before they could scream for help. All he could do now was order a retreat. They may have lost a hunt today, but there would always be another chance come tomorrow.

That was what he wanted to do. However, today the Under Gods wanted to play a cruel game with him. There was a single thwang as an arrow was sent soaring through the air. RootFur's heart fell into his stomach as he saw the arrow bounce off the black creature's armored neck. A shimmer of green light appeared where the arrow had struck before quickly fading away. The creature stopped its feast and turned its attention towards the direction the arrow was sent from. Rootfur's blood ran cold as the creature's blood-covered muzzle curled into a snarl. Its horn ignited again. A ball of light floated above its horn as it reared back on its hind legs.

"SCATTER!!" yelled Rootfur. His hunt mates wasted no time in running from their positions as fast as possible. The ball of light the creature summoned was launched at incredible speed towards the direction of whoever shot the arrow at it. A deafening boom echoed out through the forest as the ball collided with a tree. If Rootfur and his hunt mates were still close to that area, they would have seen the giant crater where the tree stood.

After what seemed like ages, RootFur began to slow down. He took in large gulps of air as he looked around him. His hunt mates that had followed him were few. RootFur did not worry for his other hunt mates in terms of returning home. They knew this forest like the back of their paws. He was terrified, however, of that creature hunting them down. He whispered a prayer to the Sky Gods that the beast would be satisfied by its current meal and not want a snack or two.

"Brother RootFur," said one of his hunt-mates. RootFur turned to see SoftFoot walking towards him. Her skinning knife twirling in her hand. It was a nervous habit of her's that many hunters of the clan knew about. "What was that creature?"

"I don't know Sister SoftFoot," Rootfur answered, "That thing could be an intalla from The Under for all we know. It ripped apart that ryton so easily enough to be one. Not to mention-" Rootfur's gaze shifted towards his hunt-mates. "Did any of you see who shot that arrow?"

There was a slight murmur across that group. "I believe it was one of the new-bloods," BlurTail, a slender hunt-mate said, "I believe their name was DirtFell or DirtFur. Something along those lines."

"I swear to the Sky Gods that I will kill that new-blood when we get back!"

"We're gonna have to worry about getting back home first before we do that. If that thing is anything like an intalla there are bound to be more of them somewhere."

"Yeah, you're right. Alright everyone, let's head on ho-" Rootfur was cut off by a dart flying by his head and embedding itself in a tree. His hunt-mates readied their weapons as they all turned to meet their attacker.

"Care to explain why you're here?" A deep voice boomed. Rootfur felt his teeth grind as he saw who came out of the dense bushes. Eight members of the Hyso clan emerged from the bushes. Their smooth skin was hidden in a cloak of leaves and sticks. With a quick glance of the group, the tallest of them were a few heads shorter than Rootfur and his hunt-mates. A memory came to Rootfur as the two groups stared at each other for a brief moment. There was a time he witnessed a creature from another clan try to fight a member of the Hyso. The art of poison is this clan's specialty and, as that poor creature found out, they aren't afraid to use it.

"We're not in Hyso territory," Softfoot started, "There is no need to be hostile."

"Yes, you're not in our territory. But you're mighty close to being in it," the deep voice from before returned. Now that Rootfur could get a good look at him, he could barely see the black skin hidden underneath all of the leaves the guy was wearing. "Has the Biha clan grown a pair and is deciding to start pushing its luck? Or maybe your clan is running on hard times and you're desperate enough to try and hunt in our lands? Speak, before I choose the reason myself."

"We were hunting a ryton not too long ago. Just as we were about to kill it, something else came in and stole our prey," Rootfur admitted.

"So, because you all suck at hunting, you thought it would be a good idea to take from us to reduce your losses?!" a female of the Hyso spoke out.

"No!" exclaimed Rootfur, "We were merely trying to escape for the thing that stole our kill! We had new-blood in the hunt today and they aggravated the creature into using its power. It can tear apart a ryton with its power as easily as fire burns through dry grass. Retreating from that beast was the safest option for us. In our hurry, we didn't pay attention to where we were going." The Hyso began to whisper amongst themselves at the mention of the creature Rootfur and his group had met.

"This... creature... what does it look like?" the guy with the deep voice from before asked.

"Its skin is as black as fire rocks. It has a horn that is long and jagged. It looked like it could fly as it had wings like a balgoma."

"When it uses its power, does its horn shine green?"

"Y-yes, how did you know?" replied a shocked Rootfur. The deep-voiced Hyso scuffed before he continued.

"Our clan has witnessed a lot of activity from the tree-dwellers. They scamper from tree to tree chattering about 'a trio of Sky-Gods that have recently fallen from the star ocean.'" he said, "Normally we trust their words as far as we can throw them. However, one of them was described almost exactly as this creature you saw."

"That was a Sky-God?" whispered one of Rootfur's hunt-mates. A few more whispers were shared amongst the hunt-mates before they were silenced by a faint whistling sound right about them. Rootfur's heart dropped as he heard that sound. His hunt-mates' had their ears nearly flattened to their heads in fear as the sound became louder and louder with each passing moment. Both groups barely had time to avoid what crashed down in-between them. As the dust settled, the Hyso stood in confusion at the creature that now stood in the newly made crater while the Biha shook in fright of it.

Chrysalis climbed out of the crater that her fall had made. She thanked her armor for absorbing the impact. She was even surprised to see that there wasn't even a crack in her chitin shell. However, her amusement at her own body quickly soured as she returned her attention to the beast that had dared to touch her. Three large insectoids buzzed around in the sky. Her half-eaten meal was held in one of their grasps. Their gaze met Chrysalis' for a few moments. Chrysalis' horn ignited in emerald light. She should have done this from the start instead of chasing them down. The bugs that flew in the sky had their wings crushed and ripped from their bodies. A shrill cry echoed throughout the sky as they fell to the ground. However, their descent was stopped for a few brief moments as Chrysalis held them in her flux field. She quickly pulled them closer to her at incredible speed.

They approached her faster than she expected as they flew past her and created three more craters behind her. A couple of thrills of pain escaped from the insects as they died in their craters. The light around Chrysalis' horn dispersed as she looked at her prize. Her hunger returned at nearly full force as she looked over the corpses, drool escaped from her blood-covered maw every few seconds. The only thing that was ruining her experience was the presence of two groups.

Chrysalis turned to her right and found a group that felt similar to the presence she felt earlier. The creature was canine-like and possessed four arms. Each of them wore some type of clothing that covered their privates as well as possessed some kind of wooden or bone weapon. Now that Chrysalis tuned in on them more, she practically drowned in the fear radiating off of them. Their eyes were focused on her for any sign that her fury would be turned on them. Their muscles were tense as they prepared to run at the first chance they had.

Seeing as to how they already knew not to interfere with her feeding and that they were already scared out of their wits, Chrysalis decided to let them go. She gestured to the group that they could leave before turning away. It took a few moments, but the creatures soon understood and quickly left. Their footsteps faded into the distance sooner than Chrysalis assumed they would. 'Speedy little rascals aren't they?' Chrysalis thought to herself.

Her attention descended upon the second group. She couldn't see much behind the camouflage of leaves, but that did not matter. The emotions that came from this group told her all she needed to know. They were confused and scared, but unlike the first group, they wouldn't back away that easily. She had already used her magic a bit too much already, but a little more wouldn't hurt. Besides, she could probably swing by the river on her way back. While she wasn't a big fan of seafood, she had heard from Ge-Foli that the reptiles that live there were quite big.

Emerald light ignited from Chrysalis' horn once again. The group flinched as they watched Chrysalis advance towards them. Some of them brought up their weapons while others seemed ready to bolt already. Chrysalis smiled, revealing her sharp teeth. Her flux field clutched the creatures' heads tightly. Each of them felt as if their heads would pop at any moment. "Leave or be my meal," Chrysalis commanded. The words echoed in the creatures' heads as they stared at Chrysalis. Her grip on their heads disappeared. While they may have not understood her words, they understood what they meant. The creatures quickly ran away into the distance. The shuffling of grass soon faded away as well.

Chrysalis' stomach growled in protest. She grimaced at herself as she turned to continue her meal. Maybe she was going to have to stop by the river after all.

Author's Note

Chrysalis is still hungry. Maybe she should eat a snickers bar.