Steely Heart, Perpetual Spark

"Vinyl you need to get up, we're going to miss the train," Octavia prodded her sleeping roommate. A groggy Vinyl swatted her hoof away before pulling the covers over herself with a groan. Slipping a hoof under the sheet, Octavia flung them off the bed. To combat the sudden chill, Vinyl curled into a ball. Rolling her eyes, she bit her tail and dragged Vinyl into the kitchen.

The scent of freshly cooked haystrips with biscuits slathered in gravy, made her nose twitch in delight. Leaving Vinyl on the floor, she pulled out a chair and sat in front of her plate. The soft clops against the floor made Octavia smirk as the dark blue/cyan ball of tangled hair rose above the tabletop. "Good morning sunshine," she playfully cooed.

Shooting her roommate an annoyed glare, she pulled out her chair and began to eat. What started out peacefully ended abruptly as dinnerware clanked together. Octavia's gaze focused on a stone-faced Vinyl with a hoof pointing at a nearby wall. She didn't have to look to know that she was pointing at the clock on the wall.

"Can you blame me for waking you early, although the letter from yesterday didn't specify a specific time for us to arrive. I'd thought it'd be better to arrive early instead of rushing through the streets of Canterlot. Besides, now you have time to shower," Octavia spoke with a coy grin. Sticking out her tongue, Vinyl finished her food before excusing herself. Placing her plate and mug into the sink as she made her way to the bathroom.

Unable to contain herself, Octavia let out a giggle at Vinyl's lackluster display of annoyance. Having been roommates for years, she knew there was no malice behind her actions. It was simply the response she'd come to expect from a night owl being deprived of their normal routine.

Yet, she couldn't shake the playful smile that seemed to brighten her morning. Having just finished washing their dishes, she spotted Vinyl down the hall. Having retrieved her glasses and notepad, she stood at the table and began to jot something down.

Although her hair no longer resembled a rat's nest, it still looked pretty untamed in her opinion. "Do you feel better now," she asked as Vinyl finished writing. Nodding her head she turned her pad around for her too read. After a quick moment, Octavia replied that the letter they received yesterday didn't specify the performance schedule but surmised that everything will be explained when they arrived.

Gathering a few essential supplies, they fastened their saddlebags and exited the house. Spotting a couple more early risers, they began to converse amongst each other as they headed to the station. They, among other ponies, boarded the train. Stowing their saddlebags on the overhanging rack, they sat down and waited for the train to depart.

More than once Octavia noticed Vinyl glancing back toward Ponyville. "I know what you're thinking but she wasn't among the ponies we arrived here with. Perhaps she's not an early riser," Octavia chuckled. However, her attempt to lighten the mood fell flat as Vinyl sunk into the bench.

With an outstretched arm, hoof upturned, she gently raised Vinyl's head until they were eye level. "I hope she works through her depression, who knows maybe she's on her way right now," she kindly replied. Comforted by her words, Vinyl managed to smile weakly back. Sadly, the screeching whistle decimated their optimism as both mares looked out the window in disappointment.

Octavia, assuming how this turn of events might effect Vinyl's mood, turned to face her. To her surprise though, Vinyl was emoting an oddly warm smile despite the departure of the train. Confused yet relieved that she seemed to be taking the situation in stride, Octavia returned the gesture.

Earlier That Day

The interior of her wagon was dark, the meager sunlight of a partially risen sun barely scattered the darkness that clung to the curtain. Chrysalis was sitting on the edge of her bed, the letter from Canterlot tossed to the floor below. The once hell bent queen, head hung low, wrestled her demons in an attempt to clarify her now obscured path.

Despite dedicating a good portion of the morning to the conundrum, no substantial headway was made. Weary of playing the metaphoric cat, she made her way to the basin. Emptying the bottle of water she snagged along the way, she plunged her hooves into the water. Hoping the water would help clear her mind, she splashed some against her face.

"Awww, poor queenie weenie feeling down," came a mysterious voice. Fearful that somepony might have been spying on her, she viciously growled while surveying the area. "Oh, looks like kitty has claws, sadly no backbone," the voice taunted. Unable to find the intruder, she shapeshifted before throwing her door open.

Sonorous frantically circled the wagon in hopes of catching the interloper, much to her dismay nopony could be found. Before re-entering her wagon she scanned the area once more. Closing the door, she returned to the basin and splashed another hoof full of water onto her face. "Calm down, its only your nerves," she told herself.

A maniacal laugh assaulted her ears and seemed to emanate from everywhere. Wiping the water from her eyes a shocking image met her gaze. The familiar visage of ashen black slowly opened her glowing lime green eyes while her irides of dark turquoise stared maliciously back. Its mouth jerked wide, revealing its sharp, elongated fangs.

If not framed by its dark cyan mane, her eyes and fangs would've been lost among the darkness. Disgust twisted her insides as she inquired to its sudden appearance and identity. The image shook its head, its long mane swished gently as it expressed its disappointment.

"I'm here to prevent you from screwing up again," it sneered. Chrysalis became angry as it slandered both her and her convictions. Continuing to salt the wound it parodied the loss of her hive. Enraged, she slammed her hoof into the mirror. Slivers of varying sized glass fell onto the wooden floor. Due to the altered composition of her body, red blood trickled from her hoof.

She instinctively cradled the wounded limp, while extracted bits of glass. As she finished, the mysterious voice returned to taunt her again. "You cling to you replicated form as if that's who you are, a testament to a warped perception. You confident facade may fool others but not me. You're the worst queen we've ever had, second only to the late Queen Elandrya."

Sonorous' form faltered as dark energy began to swirl around her. "She should've never become queen, her idiotic ideas nearly killed us all. We'd high hopes when you strayed from such poisonous actions, pity you relapsed," it smirked. Dispelling her disguise, Chrysalis was soon engulfed in a sphere of darkness.

"Your wrong, mother tried to find a better way for us to live," Chrysalis retorted. Haunting laughter filled her ears as the surrounding darkness converged opposite of her. Ignoring the slush and squishing sounds it made, Chrysalis tried to determine what shape it was going to take.

"Mother, such a silly notion, yet you cling to it like an old teether. She filled your head with moronic thoughts like coexistence and emotions. These very implements led to her untimely demise. The sooner you put aside your weaker side the sooner we get to our vengeance," it whispered enticingly.

Chrysalis wasn't startled easily but the form that emerged from the undulating darkness did just that. Bumping into one of the protruding shelves, she stared at a facsimile of herself. Instead of her normal chitin skin, it opted for dragon scales. The doppelganger brought its face an inch from hers. A curious smile creased her reptilian lips soon afterward.

"Perhaps all isn't lost, despite your muddled mind, your heart pulses with animosity," it stated. The doppelganger lifted its leg toward her. Not wanting any contact with the thing Chrysalis attempted an escape. With a poof, she vanished, only to reappear in the same spot.

Her initial shock was cast aside as her throat slowly contracted. "Such rude behavior is unbecoming, I came here to assist you," the doppelganger scorned. Tightening her grasp, it stared deeply into her convulsing eyes. As they slowly rolled back into her head, Chrysalis fell to the floor.

Ignoring the sound of gasping, the doppelganger glared coldly at her. After several breaths, Chrysalis stared up at it with disdain. "If you have a point, for the love of the swarm get to it," Chrysalis hissed. With a backhoof that sent her crashing into the wall, she found herself staring into a cloud of darkness once again.

"Shut that cesspool you call a mouth and listen," it growled menacingly. "Your 'majesty' is simply the conduit from which I exert my influence. After watching you flounder about all these years I decided to intervene." The pupils of her eyes shrunk to pinpricks as its words painted the intended picture.

Chrysalis knew the hive mind contained the consciousness of both changeling and queens of the past. However, it never occurred that such a connection could serve as more than a data retrieval system. "How is this possible, I've never heard of such an occurrence," Chrysalis confessed.

"As it should be," it smirked before several tendrils of smoke shot from its body. Upon contact with her skin, a barrage of screeches and jeers assaulted her mind. The voices were numerous but all chanted the same thing, failure. Chrysalis writhed in pain as the tendrils burrowed into her flesh.

Marked by visible bulges of the skin they worked their way throughout her body. Her brain felt as if slowly being melted by dragon fire. As the world started to flicker out, a soft kind voice seemed to drift through the noise. Desperate for some relief, Chrysalis attempted to focus entirely on it.

Slowly, the deafening roar faded to a dull rabble, returning a small measure of relief in turn. Taking advantage of the lull, she gathered her magic. A blood-curdling scream filled the wagon as the shield tore tendrils from her flesh. Falling to the floor, Chrysalis gasped for air.

Ignoring the streams of blood from her many thread-like wounds. She dedicated her concentration to maintaining the shield. The voices soon returned although quieter due to her shield. Within the darkness, a pair of cold dead eyes stared through the ethereal wall

Her eyes shot open as she flopped onto the floor. It took several minutes before her heart stopped pounding. Chrysalis searched frantically for the shadowy being among the dim interior. Getting to her hooves, a familiar parchment caught her attention as it sat on her nightstand. Before she could discern what happened, a low shrilling noise caught her attention.

With ears perked, a rush of relief swarmed her mind. Although her objective and desires seemed fray and distorted. A small glimmer shone brightly against the insurmountable dark and twisted wreckage of her mind. Determined to cling to the last semblance of sanity, she burst out the door.

Aided by magic and coaxed by preservation, Sonorous blipped through town. Only the transparent green flickering of light indicated her momentary presence as she chased after the train. Stopping atop a hill for air, she scanning the tracks for her target. Once located, she was off again with a poof.

Although not as disorienting as teleporting through town, the illusion of quicker progression caused her to slightly delay her teleporting to keep her bearings. After a few more spells, she breathed an exhausted sigh of relief as she stood on the back of the caboose. Attempting to open the door she groaned when it held fast.

Kneeling under the window and began to pour magic into the lock. As it moved down the key slot, the tumblers were pushed into position.

Sunlight was immediately doused as the train entered a tunnel. With an audible click, she entered the car. Extinguishing her magic, Sonorous navigated the scantly lit car. The passenger cars, unlike the caboose, bathed its interior with warm inviting light.

Carefully maneuvering down the aisle, she scanned for either Vinyl or Octavia. It wasn't until the third car that she spotted them. As soon as the Vinyl saw her, she smiled. Returning the gesture, Sonorous could feel her concern wafting in the air. Octavia had yet to realize that Sonorous was making her way to them.

The sudden appearance of Sonorous gave Octavia quite a startle as she hugged Vinyl. The two equines exchanged confused expressions as Sonorous gave Octavia a hug as well. After she'd taken a seat Octavia asked about the sudden display of affection. Stating that it was slightly weird from what they'd come to expect from her.

Motioning for them to lean closer she described her nightmare to them while omitting anything related to changelings. For the rest of the trip, they speculated what could have triggered such a dream and its possible meaning if any could be revealed.