CH.1 Everyone makes mistakes
Pain, Hunger, and Exhaustion were the only things Chrysalis could feel at the moment. Too weak to hunt and too fatigued to disguise herself. She was barely managing to survive off of the safe flora she encountered. But it just wasn't enough. Her body was slowly eating away at itself to get what ever energy it could. Without love, it was an uphill battle, but replace that hill with a sheer cliff. She stopped walking when she heard a twig snap. A lone manticore had come to investigate its next potential meal, only to quickly turn away after discovering how sickly and skeletal looking its target was. Trudging forward her stomach let out gurgle and a jab of intense pain causing her to stumble into a tree.
"Stupid ponies. So welcome and accepting to feed every changeling, but the moment I show my face its HoNeY, Go CaLl ThE GuArD or We DoN't HeLp MoNsTeRs. Well Ha! I, Queen Chrysalis, didn't want your stupid help anyway." Chrysalis mumbled in a mocking tone.
During her slow trek the landscape started to change from dry ground to snow covered. Her hooves and wings leaving a trail in the snow. Snow started to fall as did the temperature. It was as almost if nature was playing a cruel joke. Instead of a quick death by manticore, It would be replaced with a slow agonizing one. As the storm front progressed the temperature began to drop at a more rapid rate causing what moisture was exposed to the air to start freezing. It was sapping even more strength from her as her body futilely tried to keep itself warm. She refused to let some petty snow stop her as she continued on. The wind howled as the snow started to fall more rapidly, it made distinguishing landmarks progressively harder. She moved her head in a slow, lazy sweep as she attempted to gather any information on where she currently was. It proved to be fruitless as the cold was making it too hard for her fatigued mind to discern anything of importance. Picking a new direction she trudged on into the white haze of snow failing to notice the rapid decline in the landscape. A misstep turned her world into a whirlwind of white and pain as she tumbled down the hill. An agonizing pain filled her front left hoof as it twisted sharply and a crack from her right hind leg as it broke while she was tumbling. Stars exploded across her vision She came to an abrupt stop against a stump. A sharp pain and a new, wet trail ran down her face. Not of tears, but of blood from a fresh cut.
A yell of pain quickly turned to sobbing as her emotions ran wild. Why was this happening to her, right as she lost everything shes known. Why did life just now decide that she hadn't suffered enough. Yes she messed up and yes, she paid for her failings. Was death the only penance she deserved? She had to make it to Ponyville. The birthplace of this eras harmony. Just one last chance. Just one more attempt to show humility before it all ends. Rolling over onto her stomach in an attempt to stand back up was met with another sharp, searing pain, but this time from between her hind legs. She had forgotten about her ovipositor. Due to the extreme emaciation, it was all but forced out of her body. The tender flesh now raw with small cuts, scrapes, and the occasional bruise from not being protected had made walking difficult. She had eventually managed to ignore it until now. Having stood back up she made it another twenty feet before collapsing, her body finally giving up. An intensifying, rhythmic crunch in the snow signified somethings approach. Chrysalis blinked her eyes and awaited her inevitable death, the sweet release from the hell she currently was in... But it never came. Blinking her eyes again she noticed the thing that had been approaching was now crouched by her, examining her wounds and muttering to itself. It even put its head to her side, probably checking if she was still alive or not. fresher kills where better right? Whatever it was hadn't noticed her staring out of the corner of her eye, At least until she tried to raise her head to get a better look at this mysterious being. Noticing the movement it went into a flurry of motion. Quickly pulling off its coat, it started to wrap her in it. She was curious why it wasn't scared. Why hadn't it tried to attack or kill her? She was Queen Chrysalis, the Scourge to pony kind, Public enemy number one for the great Hive mothers sake. Lost deep in thought she didn't notice it picking her up until she was just about cradled like a new born nymph. The sudden warmth brought her back out of her head long enough to weakly snuggle more into the warmth of the jacket before going limp. The last thing she heard clearly before succumbing to the darkness was it muttering 'shit...shit...SHIT' as its pace picked up into a full blown sprint.
[----EARLIER THAT DAY----]
John pushed open the front doors of Twilight's castle and stepped inside. He was thankful when Twilight gave him a room there. Having since moved out and into his own home he converted the room into more of an office styled space. It was where he now planned all his trips into the Everfree forest. It also let Twilight know when and where he was going all thanks to a modified map with a sector grid drawn over it. A deep thump echoed the room as his bag landed on the desk. He made his way over to the map and adjusted a few things on it. There was a variad of marks; zones of red, yellow, and green to show dangerous and relatively safe areas. There were other marks to show the paths of various fauna and where they had been last seen. He also made a movable frame to show where on he map he was heading. Sector C7 was where he was heading today, roughly three miles in. South, South-East
"Planning another trip?" Twilight asked while leaning against the door frame.
"Yup. Going to head one sector out of the closest known safe area. From looking at the map there shouldn't be much wildlife there. The Manticores are near the western end and everything else is at least ten miles or more deeper from where I'm headed. Only things left are harmless. The biggest concern is the flora."
"Sounds safe enough. Though I should mention, Rainbow told me that there is supposed to be a pretty bad snow storm later on in the day. So it would be best to be back before then, lest you get lost."
"I'll add snow gear to my list of supplies to take in case I get caught in it."
"I'll leave you too it. Oh, one last thing. Breakfast is almost ready if you want to join Starlight, Spike, and I."
"Sure thing, Leave some coffee for me will ya."
"I'll make sure Starlight doesn't drink it all." Twilight giggled.
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"Lets see...No new Fauna or Flora. Nothing of magical interest for Twilight to investigate. Looks like I'm done. Just in time too, looks like the storm front just rolled in. I'll have to loop around to avoid that lone Manticore I passed by. Shouldn't take me to long to get out of the Everfree anyway."
He then gave his pack a quick check to make sure everything was secure before putting his jacket on. Glad in doing so because it was rapidly getting colder and snow was falling at a fairly quick pace. The farther he went the whiter everything got. So much so that it caused a mild whiteout. Normally it wouldn't be much concern for him. He loved the winter weather and had gone through rigorous survival training back on earth so he would be prepared should he ever be caught in severe winter storms. What was concerning him was the two parallel lines with a hoof trail between them he spotted.
"Could be an injured Pegasus. Should go check and make sure. Wouldn't want to get stuck out here with an injury. Especially with this storm rolling in."
He followed the trail a couple hundred yards before hearing a scream farther down the direction of the hoof prints. Picking up his pace He made it to and down the slope, coming to a stop before the source of the scream. Finding a changeling instead of a pegasus threw his mind for a loop. Now, He's seen changelings before. Even met and befriended King Thorax during one of his visits at the Friendship Castle. What caught him off guard was that she was non-changed. Not disguised no, but still had black chitin instead of the pastel He'd normally seen. He dropped to his knees when he realized they hadn't responded to his presence. He gave them a look over before putting his ear to their side.
"Still breathing... that's good. Looks like they've been through a hell of a time. Starved. Cuts from head to tail. Particularly bad gash on her head. Not to mention her legs."
He met her eyes for a second. Unfocused with life barely in them, but still locked on him. Without second though he pulled his jacket off and as quickly and carefully as he could wrapped her in it. Giving his compass a quick look to locate northwest back towards Ponyville. He slung his pack on and pulled the straps as tight as he could. He then picked up the wrapped changeling before jogging home. He felt her shift a little, pressing herself a little harder into his chest before going limp.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit." Now moving at a near sprint he made short time back to the town outskirts. Sweat slowly freezing on his face as the temperature dropped to the high 10's. As he ran down various streets he drew the attention of the ponies still out and about in their heavy winter clothes. Making one last right turn he was greeted with the site of Ponyville General Hospital. His legs were screaming at him to slow down and His breaths where coming in ragged. Body checking the doors open he was met with various angry ponies ranging from the ponies in the waiting room to a few nurses and doctors who happened to see it.
"I NEED A DOCTOR NOW!" One of the doctors snapped out of his angry stupor realizing john was holding a changeling. They motioned him over and quickly guided him towards the examination rooms.
"Right this way. Go to examination room 6. On the right side of this hall. I'm going to go grab one of our changeling doctors."
John hastily made his way down the hall and threw the door open. After putting her on the examination table, John started pacing the room due to the amount of adrenaline in his system making standing still hard. It wasn't until a full twenty minutes had passed before a Changeling in a doctors coat shown up.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Rose Chitin and I was told there was a changeling in- Oh, Sweet Celestia! It's Queen Chrysalis!" The doctor went from calm to panicked and tried to flee the room.
"Oh no you don't!" He grabbed the tail of her coat and pulled her back in, "I don't care who she is or what she did. But I'm sure as hell not going to let her die."
"I'm sorry I can't." She squeaked out. John pulled her face to face. She nervously gulped at the rough handling.
"You are either going to help right now or You can go get someone who is competent in doing their job. But If she dies and nobody has done anything to help her. I'm going to report you and anyone else who denied her help to the princesses and you will see your self without your medical licence faster than you can say 'thorax, I messed up.' Do I make myself clear." She gulped and nodded.
"Good. Now I can understand you don't want to touch her. So here is an offer. I happen to have Field Medicine Certification. So under your watch I can treat her minor injuries. But anything major will have to be done by the respective doctor or surgeon. Does that sound alright with you?"
"I can work with that." She visibly relaxed, "I'll still have to do a scan for any internal injuries. Can you remove that coat?"
"Sure thing." Upon lifting the coat Doctor Rose Chitin got a full view of the extensive injuries and emaciation. The Doctor spun away and dry-heaved, Unable to stand the sight.
"First time?" John said with a playful lilt.
"I've seen sick ponies, But sweet Celestia." Pulling herself together she stepped closer and scanned Chrysalis. "She's got a dislocated left fore-hoof, and her right hind leg is broken in two places. Everything else are cuts, bruises, and extreme malnourishment. Go ahead and start cleaning the cuts. I will go get nurse Quick Set so she can get those breaks set."
After washing of his hands he grabbed all the necessary Anti-Bacterial Ointments, Disinfectants, and Dressings. He got through cleaning and dressing all the wounds on the two non broken limbs before the Nurse had shown up.
"Um, Excuse me. What do you think your doing? Who gave you permission to touch the patient, Let alone go through our medical supplies?" She angrily said pushing John back from Chrysalis.
"Rose Chitin didn't tell you did she." John asked.
"Rose Chitin only told me there was a changeling in Exam room 6 that needed a hoof re-set and a hind leg with two fractures that needed dealt with."
"Of course she didn't." John face palmed, "What she was supposed to do was get someone who could set the breaks back into place, then supervise me as I cleaned and dressed the wounds because she is too scared to do it herself."
"Well then. You have any medical training?" she asked. Her eyes had a subtle glow as she started on the hind leg. Using her magic to re-adjust the breaks before casting a spell to fuse the bone back together.
"I have Field Medical Certification back on earth, Though it's probably expired by now. I had Twilight assist me in getting that re-certified in Equestrian Field Medical Training. But other then that, No."
"That's fine enough for what you are currently doing. But don't let me catch you doing anything else."
Rewashing his hands he went back to work on cleaning up the rest of her limbs. It was hard to think about how she ended up in the state. Equestria was so keen on second chances. He's met the changelings and seen the proof. So why couldn't they for Chrysalis. Luckily there wasn't to many cuts on her back. Soaking a cotton pad in disinfectant, He lightly scrubbed the gashes clean of any debris before using some laceration strips to close the wound. One of her wings twitched when Quick Set moved the dislocated hoof.
"Hold on, Lets get her on her back before you set that. Her wing twitched when you manipulated it. It would probably be a good idea to get her in a position where she will cause less damage to herself and the room."
"Good idea. Help me get 'er on her back and stay by her head. She'll Probably thrash about and no offense but you don't look like you could handle a full force buck to the chest."
"Got it. And you're not wrong. Been there before, wasn't fun."
"Oh, I know. I was the one who fixed your rib cage and spinal damage. On the count of three I'm going to pop it back in place."
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three..."
There was a sickening pop as the ankle joint was corrected. A loud hiss filled the air as Chrysalis's eyes flew open. She tried to sit up and bat away her attacker but was forced back down by John. She thrashed about while fighting extreme lethargy from malnutrition and exhaustion.
"Chrysalis, Calm down. We're here to help you." John said while doing his best to not get stuck by her horn.
"Chrysalis, please calm down or we will have to sed- Oof." Quick Set was unable to finish her sentence before catching a hoof to the face. Getting back up she made her way over to a panel on the wall she pressed a button. "Can I get a doctor to Exam room 6 on the double. We have an unruly patient that needs sedating."
Not to shortly after a tan earth pony entered the room and pulled a syringe out of his lab coat pocket. Pulling off the safety tip he pinned a fore leg down, pushed the needle in and pushed the plunger. Seconds later the aggressive thrashing died down before stopping completely.
"That should wear off anywhere between forty-five minutes to a hour."
"Thanks."
"No problem. You can get back to what you were doing before."
Washing off his hands one last time, John started to clean and dress the wounds on her stomach. Starting at her chest and making his way down to her hips. Once those were done he started to clean her ovipositor. It was about a foot in length and had an impressive weight to it despite her emaciation.
"It's not everyday you find your self holding the changeling equivalency of a penis in your hand." John muttered as he brushed the cuts with another cleaning pad.
"Actually it's not. Only changeling queens have those. There are in fact male changelings with the respective male equipment." Thorax said as he shifted a hind leg showing off his sheath and weighty looking sack. He winced at the sight of her and cringed harder at the state her ovipositor was in.
"Ah, Thorax! what a pleasant surprise!" John said while trying to not stare between Thorax's legs, "And you didn't need to flash us your junk. I would have taken your word for it if you just said so."
"Eh hehe, Sorry." Thorax chuckled nervously while shifting in place, Eyes darting between the others in the room.
"Don't worry about it. We're all adults here. On a side note, pretty impressive there Thorax. SO! What brings you here?"
"Oh! Well I decided to drop by for a surprise visit, but news made it around town fairly quickly that Chrysalis was back. But I just didn't think like this." Thorax visibly slouched, an almost depressed look on his face. More then likely due to that fact she was basically his birth mother. "Do you guys have a ready supply of love? With the current state she is in it's going to take a LOT to get her healthy again."
"No we don't, King Thorax," Nurse Quick set said, "We only have enough emergency rations for the eight changelings living here currently."
"Hmmm, I'll have to see if Cadance can help out then. She and a few other crystal pony researchers found out that love can be stored in crystals with a specially carved runic lattice. it would also help with your emergency rations storage due to the crystals more compact nature." Twilight said with a look of hopefulness. While she was still leary of Chrysalis, she came to terms with why she had invaded. When she heard that it was a move out of desperation and not as much in malice. She wanted to do what she could to help them. One of her goals was tracking down chrysalis because despite her wrong doings, There were a lot of changelings who were still concerned for her even after what she had done.
"I'll also try to get you a steady supply of love infused foodstuffs to aid in the healing process too. But for now you'll have to stay in close proximity to her so her bodies natural ambient absorption can get her out of her critical state." Thorax said as he leaned in closer to her. A more serious expression on his face.
"Right now her body is in a self induced coma to help save what little love she has left in her body. You should also watch out because once she leaves that critical state her brain will start sending out impulses to the rest of her body to assess the damage. From what I've heard it apparently feels like your being burned alive, so expect a lot of noise and a lot of flailing. Probably should give your neighbors a heads up because it could happen at any moment between now and the next couple of days."
"What type of noise we talking about?" John asked.
"A lot of hissing and screams of bloody murder. By the looks of the damage she'll probably molt a couple of days later, probably around three or four days or so. So she'll probably disappear before then or at least attempt to."
"Alright, this is a lot of information. You mind writing it down along with what types of food you changelings can eat?" John asked and he wrapped the ovipositor in dressings before wrapping her lower waist in gauze to keep it held in place against her body.
"Sure," He had it written out in a matter of seconds, "There you go. Should be everything."
"Thanks. I should probably get her set up at home."
John stood up. His knees popping from being on them for so long. He carefully lifted Chrysalis back up making sure his jacket was wrapped around her securely before pulling her up to his chest. He pulled the hood up and pulled the drawstrings tight so only her horn and snout were poking out. Thorax grabbed Johns bag and followed John back to his home with Twilight in tow. He shivered a bit now that the winter air was around five degrees Fahrenheit. It was supposed to be a really harsh winter this year and the temperatures were to level out around negative one. After getting his front door open they all rushed in and got the door closed. John made his way to his room and lain Chrysalis down on his bed. Grabbing some thick blankets he quickly covered her up and tucked her in before going back to the living room. His house was a fairly cozy two bedroom with a shared bath, a front room with a fireplace, and a kitchen.
"Well, Looks like you got everything under control. I'm going to head back to Twilight's castle. And like I said, I'll try to get you the infused food as regularly as possible. Which might be a little tricky due to the weather."
"Thorax, Don't worry. Just do the best you can. And drop by anytime you like, it's been too long since I last had seen you."
"I need to head back too. I've got a letter to write to Celestia and Luna about Chrysalis. They'll probably want to send a guard or two to stay with you during her recoup and rehabilitation, so better expect someone at your door sometime the next couple of hours."
"Alright, that shouldn't be a problem."
"Just wanted to give you a heads up. Bye John!"
"Bye Twilight, Bye Thorax! I'll try to update you when I can!" John waved as they hastily made their way back to Twilight's castle.
'I should probably get a fire going. Need to get my house warmed up.'
Within a few short minutes there was a fire burning brightly in the fireplace. Quickly pulling on his jacket John made his way to his neighbors houses to inform them of what Thorax told him. They were visibly uncomfortable with the though of Chrysalis being so close but thanked him non the less for the heads up. Feeling tired from that days events he decided to call it a night. The bed creaked with the additional weight as he sat down. Looking over at Chrysalis' unconscious form, He let out a deep sigh. It was a little crowded with having two large figures on a somewhat small bed, but he would put up with it if it meant helping her. He couldn't help the thoughts that drifted through his head as he drifted off to sleep. From the quick run down Twilight and Thorax gave him on the way back he still felt bad for her.
"Don't know if you can hear me, but Goodnight Chrysalis." John mumbled before a light snore broke the silence.
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Luna sat at her desk. Her lips pressed in a thin line as she looked over the scrolls her sisters messenger dropped off. One was about Chrysalis, and the other about Celestia's opinion about the situation and apology about not being to talk with her in pony. While Celestia was indeed concerned, she still felt it would be beneficial to try to reform her. It was a most interesting situation. She whole heartily agreed with Twilight's idea of having guards there. She didn't want to crowd the place with guards, but She still wanted to make sure they could provide ample protection should they need it. And she knew just who to send.
"Private Silent Wing, I require your presence at once." Luna said authoritatively. Just as quickly a lunar guard appeared.
"Ma'am?" he gave a sharp salute before standing at attention.
"I need you to go collect a lieutenant for me, you know the one."
"YES MA'AM!" He gave another salute before running off to the mares barracks. Luna reclined on her cushion and sipped her tea. She was a coffee lover, but had to give her sister some credit when she said it would help her relax a little. Luna looked over her other scrolls on her desk while she waited. Luna let out a sigh.
"Nobles used to be so honorable, but now they are whiny, spoiled, little brats. Well, excluding House Sparkle, House Pants, and of course Fleur dis lee." Luna mumbled as she declined another one of their absurd requests. A series of knocks rang out through the room before the door cracked open.
"Ma'am, the lieutenant you asked for has arrived."
"Good, let her in. And one thing private. When you knock on your superiors door, you wait for a response before opening it. You're lucky I'm forgiving on such menial errors. But it is also one of the many reasons you are still a Private. You are excused."
"Yes Ma'am, sorry Ma'am." The private left and the door swung open a little more allowing the mare to walk in.
"You called, Your Highness."
"I appreciate you coming. Especially on your day off. But there has been a interesting development in Ponyville and I think you would fit that role perfectly. Only one thing though, I can't divulge this information to you unless you agree to it. There are quite a few ponies in the guard that I know of that would use this to their advantage to exact some revenge. You're the one I completely trust."
"OI, I didn't drag me fuckin' ass outta bed If I weren't Interested. Ya mangy cunt." Normally, any sane pony wouldn't dream of speaking to their rulers like that. But this was no mere pony, no. The only reason she hasn't been booted from the guard was that she was the only one who had the balls to speak to their princess like that. Especially if that princess was Luna. But she got lucky that Luna found that refreshing; That and it also pissed off almost all the nobles to no end. So she made an official pardon for any and all future verbal transgressions to anyone except dignitaries, for as long as she was in the guard.
"So I take it you want this assignment?"
"AYE. Of course I do. If you're think'n I'm the only competent pony around here. Besides it sounds more like paid vacation to me."
"Alright then. Read this and sign here. I already trust that you wont go blabbing to any others about this, so all this is is a formality."
"So what's the assignment then Ma'am." Luna passed over a small dossier. Even though there was pretty much no information besides what Twilight had said, they still had to make one anyway. Flipping open the folder a sketch artists rendition of Chrysalis fell out onto the desk. The mare scanned over it and the small profile they had on Chrysalis. There was a brief description, an estimate on height, and the known criminal activity she either participated in or orchestrated. The coldest, still active case on file was of a missing Minotaur pianist named Isabella Von Hoofwright. Last seen heading to the changeling capital and never heard from again.
"You are to be stationed in Ponyville at the residence of one John Stone and company. Recently, Celestia and I were informed that Chrysalis was found out wandering the Everfree. Her health was in a very critical state when found. Right now she is being trusted to the care of John to recuperate and with hope. Rehabilitate her. Your job is to be there, keep watch, and send me regular updates on her situation. What I'm most interested about is finding out how she came to be in such a state. You'll also be there to help keep John safe if she gets hostile. You're one of my best guards, so I trust this should no doubt be an easy assignment for you."
"One of your best? You think I'm fuckin' stupid. I'm the only 'Best' you have. One day I'm gonna make captain and once that day comes. Oh Fuckin' boy, I'm gonna whip all those pussies back into shape. If'n you think this assignment will be hard? Pfff, ya right. It's just glorified foalsitting. So when I start?" Luna looked over at the clock then back to the mare in front of her.
"Right now. Go pack and make sure to bring your winter gear. The storm front hasn't hit us yet but it's going to be a hell of a winter this year according to a friend. There will be a chariot waiting for you right outside the barracks for you when you're ready. Hopefully you'll get there before the front hits Ponyville."
"YES MA'AM!" The mare snapped a sharp salute.
"Dismissed. Good luck and may my moon guide you."
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John lain back down next to Chrysalis. He had gotten a little bit of sleep before being woken by the feeling of a tug. It wasn't much but it was one of the gentlest, almost unnoticeable tugs. He wasn't to worried about it though. Thorax had been very thorough on what to expect and what to watch out for when it came to her feeding. The sound of the wind outside and the soft rhythmic breathing from Chrysalis lulled John to sleep. At least until he was woken up by a frantic series of knocks and some yelling. John scrambled out of bed almost falling in the process and grabbed his coat before heading to the front door.
"Hold your horses. I'll be there in a second!" He was halfway across the room when he heard the mare shout back.
"OI! DON'T FUCK'N HOLD YER HORSES' ME CUNT! I'M FREEZING MY TEATS OFF 'ERE! YER LUCKY I'M TOO COLD TO KICK THE DOOR OPEN!" Pulling the door open he was greeted with the sight of a bat pony and a few luggage containers. She had a grey coat that had an almost imperceptible shade of blue when viewed at a certain angle. Her mane was navy blue and pulled back into a ponytail. She stared up at him with slitted golden eyes.
"Well, You going to let me inside?" She asked. Following up with a tilt of her head, a smile, and fluttering her eyelashes. Her mood doing a complete 180.
"Yeah, uh, come on in," John stepped aside so she could enter, "Lemme help you get your other stuff in here. I take it you're the guard Twilight mentioned might show up?"
"That I am." After setting the rest of her luggage in the front room he closed the door.
"I'll give you the quick tour so you can get set up," John gave a quick gesture around the room, "As you can see this is the living room. Kitchens right over there. The laundry room is connected to the kitchen, It's honestly more of a closet, but meh. Down this hall are the rooms and bathroom. My bedroom is on the right, the guest room is on the left. That's where you'll be sleeping for the duration of your stay. The bathroom is connected to both bedrooms and hall. That should be it. Oh, I should mention. Chrysalis will come out of her self induced coma sometime between now and the next couple of days. So don't be surprised if you hear her screaming, I've been told its apparently quite painful. By the by, don't think I caught your name."
"Aye. Names Stella Sabre. I'm a Lieutenant in Princess Luna's Nocturnal Guard. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." The Scottish mare said with a snaggletoothed smirk while holding a hoof out.
"Nice to meet you too." He shook her hoof
Author's Note
Hopefully I do Stella Justice. First time I've written a character with an accent (Hopefully my attempts at a Scottish-English accent don't go Aussie.....probably see if flamm has some advice with that).
CH. 1.5 ᓭᒷꖎ⎓-╎リℸ ̣ ∷𝙹ᓭ!¡ᒷᓵℸ ̣ ╎𝙹リ
"Hello? Is Anyone There?"
A light rain began to fall. The sound of soft pattering of rain mixed with the crunches of snow that compacted under hoof filled the air. Ears swiveled and twitched as sound met eardrum. The Everfree forest stretched on in every direction with no distinguishing features. There was a strange feeling in the air, one she couldn't place, so she chose to ignore it. She kept walking for what seemed like hours before coming across a clearing with a strange bone white tree. An unknown comforting familiarity washed over her as she got closer. What made it stranger was its absence of leaves and its very faint light pink, almost white, ethereal glow across the smooth bark. Her body wracked with shivers as the wind blew. An electrical tingle danced across her back, a feeling one would get with the feeling of being watched. The falling rain changed to snow pattering her back and sides, the sensation drew her attention away from that tingle. A faint crack met her ears.
"Failure..."
"What? HELLO? Could you repeat that? Who's there?" She spun in place before trotting away from the strange tree.
"Failure..." A dark figure moved out of her periphery and behind a nearby tree.
"WAIT!" Oblivious to what it said as she rounded the tree only to find no one there.
"Over here..." She spun around only to barely catch sight of the dark figure from before dart back around another tree.
"No...over here!" She spun again.
"Ooo, Too slow." The figure said playfully while just as quickly disappearing. Thunder rolled across the sky as it started to grow darker. The outer edges of the clearing near the strange tree starting to become sickly looking as time progressed.
"BEHIND YOU!" She spun to come face to face with a snarling Queen Chrysalis. Lightning flashed across the sky with a deafening thunderclap. The ground vibrating with the intensity of the sound. Dropping to the ground, She back pedaled into a tree. A futile attempt to get away.
"Pathetic, Absolutely fucking pathetic you are."
"No I'm not!" The mare stomped her hoof against the ground.
"I'm not the one on deaths doorstep dumb-ass. Such a waste of a changeling." She tittered, "You should have been crushed as a grub. Then the changelings could have had a better ruler to put those ponies in there place."
"Wha-?"
"faust. you're both pathetic... and stupid. No wonder why you're almost dead." Queen Chrysalis cut in before the mare could finish her sentence.
"What? No I'm not. How could III be dying, I'm standing right here perfectly fine."
"What, You mean you don't know? And you even look like a disgusting pony too. How quaint." Queen Chrysalis let out a devious chuckle.
"Know about what? That you had failed many invasions. Most of those at the hooves of the element bearers."
"No. It was you who failed, I'm what you could have been. But instead of crushing your enemies, you're licking their hooves just so you can keep your pitiful existence."
"That's not true. I realized my mistakes. I sought to right them."
"LIES AND DECEIT!" The mad Queen grabbed her and threw her into a near by tree, "YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A MONSTER TO THEM! SO TOSS AWAY THAT STUPID NOTION AND REALIZE WHO YOU ARE MEANT TO BE!"
She got up and threw all manner of spells at the Queen, all of them having no effect, before running away.
"OOOO, SO you want to play a game I see. I suppose I could lower myself to your level for a moment. I could go for a round of Seek and Destroy!" Queen Chrysalis let out a maniacal cackle before chasing after the mare. Blasts of magic and startled yelps filled the air as the mare ran. Soon the bolts of magic stopped flying and the sound of her heavy breathing filled the air. A light rain began to fall as she crept around, ears flicking around at any sound loud enough to pick up.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" The mares head flicked over in the direction of the new voice. Crouching low, she crept forward in case it happened to be a trap by Queen Chrysalis. Poking her head around a tree she saw another mare. Said mare started to unknowingly move in the direction of that strange tree. She stood up and quietly stalked the mare. She had a teal mane and a lighter green fur. She looked awfully familiar, but couldn't place why. It wasn't long before the mare came across the clearing and tree. The light green mare got close to examine it. Chrysalis went to reposition herself to get a better angle but that was quickly cut short as a twig snapped under hoof.
"What? HELLO? Who's there?" The mare spun in place before moving away from the bone white tree. In an attempt to not be discovered Chrysalis moved behind the closest tree before doing a quick teleport away.
"WAIT!" The mare rounded the tree she was just at before.
"Over here..." Chrysalis swore under her breath. The other Chrysalis was back. The mare spun in the direction of Chrysalis. Chrysalis's eyes bugged out and she darted behind the nearest tree.
"No...over here!" She spun again and Chrysalis Teleported again.
"Ooo, Too slow." The other Chrysalis said playfully, Taunting the other mare. While the other Chrysalis Frustratingly teleported again. Chrysalis watched as the sky grew darker and the ground around the clearing grew a sickly shade of black. Thunder rolled across the sky in a low rumble. While focused on the sky and not paying attention to her teleports anymore, Chrysalis was oblivious to the fact she teleported right behind the mare.
"BEHIND YOU!" The mare spun, only to come face to face with Chrysalis. Lightning flashed across the sky with a deafening thunderclap.
"Queen Chrysalis!" She dropped to the ground while desperately trying to get away.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," Chrysalis crouched down to make herself look smaller, "You're Pathetic, Absolutely fucking pathetic you are!" Wait, that wasn't me. Shit. So that's how its going to be.
"No I'm not!"
"Don't Listen to her! I'm not the one on deaths doorstep. Don't Listen to her Damn it! Focus on me and you should have been crushed as a grub. Then the changelings could have had a better ruler to put those ponies in there place."
'I need to break her out of this. Think, what happened. I was running before I found her.'
"RUN!" Chrysalis darted towards the mare scaring her into running away. Good. Sorry. But now the other me can't keep interfering. Need to figure out a way out of here.
'Nothing but that strange tree come to mind, That's got to be it some how.' Teleporting ahead of the mare, she was able to herd the mare in the direction of the tree. At least until the mane six popped into existence between the mare and the clearing.
'You thought I was going to make it easy for you. You're never going to get out of here. I'll kill you, Then take my rightful place and there is nothing you can do to stop me!'
"HELP ME!"
The mare looked back to find Chrysalis still hot on her heals. Whipping her head back around she saw the Elements of Harmony walking not to far ahead.
"HELP ME!" They looked towards the mare before getting into an aggressive stance at the sight of Queen Chrysalis. Twilight threw a few bolts of magic towards Queen Chrysalis to slow her down enough to form a protective barrier around the mare.
"Wait! I'm only trying to kill you!" Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack were actively fighting Queen Chrysalis while Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity stayed back with the small mare.
"We need to get out of here but I've been walking for what seems like hours and haven't come across any rivers, or even the edge of the forest."
"You're right darling, we need to get out of this dreadful forest, but we seemed to be going in circles before stumbling across you."
"I did happen to find a strange tree not to far from here. You think it might have something to do with it?"
"Well ah reckon we'll just have ta find out sugarcube. Come on ya'll we need to get out of here!"
The group started running in the direction of the tree as Twilight threw one last bolt of magic at Chrysalis. As they got closer Chrysalis noticed that the sickly looking corruption had completely covered the clearing and some veins of it protruded up the base of the tree. She noticed that the tree itself was starting to look sick and its ethereal glow was becoming less pronounced. Something that stood out to her was that the ground beneath the element bearers hooves looked healthy and untainted. She hesitated at the edge, they weren't being effected by the corruption but who's to say that she won't. Steeling her resolve she started walking. It almost seemed to hiss and snap at her hooves as she walked forward. She made it half way before they shouted at her.
"We won't let you hurt her chrysalis!" Twilight shouted. The rest of the elements put themselves between her and the mare.
The earth shook and thunder clapped. The sky over them grew darker as the frequency and intensity of the lightning strikes grew. They all jumped as a massive bolt touched down at the edge of the clearing behind chrysalis.
"Wooo, now THAT was a doozy!" Pinkie gave a little hop as she said it.
" Hey...uh, guys. I don't mean to bother but what's that." The mare pointed past Chrysalis. Chrysalis turned to see what the mare pointed to and what she saw made her pause. The spot where the Lightning bolt struck was now undulating with an almost angry intensity. Large bubbles of black ooze swelled and popped, spreading more of it around. At that point chrysalis started slowly backing away from it and towards the elements. No one tried to stop chrysalis as she backed into the group as everyone's attention was on the ground ahead of them. She didn't realize how close to them she was until her hind leg bumped the mare she was chasing earlier. That was enough to break their attention away and the elements swung around to focus back on her.
"Ya'll thought you could trick us with that show?" Applejack glared at her.
"Well, I mean she kinda just did do that applejack." Pinkie pointed out.
"Well it doesn't matter now, we have her surrounded and she doesn't have anywhere to go!" Rainbow Dash flew nose to nose with chrysalis.
With everyone's attention drawn away from that spot they failed to notice that it went from an angry boil to a mirror smooth surface. At least until a pair of massive limbs broke the surface and touched down on the outer edge of that puddle.
"Um...l-like Twilight mentioned before. We would really like it if you didn't hurt that mare. If you wouldn't mind that is." Fluttershy squeaked out before hiding behind her mane.
A head with a crooked horn followed as the pair of limbs started to pull the rest of its body out of the puddle.
"I'm aware you don't want me to hurt her because I'm not trying to. I'm not lying to you. I'm just trying to help."
A pair of eyes flicked open, exposing their emerald green irises, a wicked smile spread across its face.
"She right you know. But it doesn't matter now. You're all where I want you!" Everyone froze at the new voice. The six spun around only to be greeted by the sight of another chrysalis two times the size of Celestia. The new Queen Chrysalis stared down at them with a smug glare, the lingering black sludge sloughing off her ebony black chitin.
"Looks like I'm going to win this game. I sought you out, now I just need to destroy you!" She let out maniacal laughter before throwing bolts of magic at them. Twilight throwing up a shield in response.
Author's Note
Confuse anyone yet? No? Maybe?
Sorry for the wait, My muse is a fickle mistress (also probably didn't help that I kept getting side tracked, but oh well). I originally didn't have a plan to make this (these) chapter(s), It's something I wanted to experiment with so there isn't too much chapter redundancy until later chapters where things will pick up a bit. obviously it isn't something i need to worry about right now. I don't plan on making filler chapters a regular thing seeing as they are, well, filler chapters (they will still contribute to the story so they wont be completely useless). Let me know what you guys think.
(to give you a timeline, part 1 of this two chapter side story arc takes place during the night between ch.1 & ch.2 and part 2 during the entirety of chapter 2.)
Anyways, like always, If you have Questions, Concerns, Or just want to leave a comment. let me know, I like to hear from you guys. Bonus points for the people who figure out what I'm representing with the first short side chapter arc.
Cheers!
-Ninjanaut1000
Ch. 1.75 A Buggy Interlude
The front door closed with a click. Thorax went to take a step but paused, looking back at the door with a forlorn expression. A mental debate on whether or not he should stay raged throughout his mind.
"You okay Thorax?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah. I-I..." Thorax let out a sight, head and ears drooping, "No. No I'm not okay. We were all part of her deplorable actions. Supporting her all the way, even if the plans failed or not. Yet WE got second chances. WE were even given the 'You were just victims of her twisted schemes and didn't know better' card. We knew what we were doing! The morality of it not so much. But we knew 100% of what we were doing."
"Are you trying to say that you didn't deserve forgiveness? That you and the other changelings were too far gone for forgiveness?" Twilight softly asked.
"No! no. Not at all. I'm grateful that you guys were so forgiving. It's just that before she disappeared we tried to give her a second chance, and she threw it back in our faces. But when she finally broke and decided to start over, instead of kindness or at least reluctant assistance she was shown open hostility."
"How would you know that she was shown hostility thorax?"
Thorax grit his teeth.
"You know darn well that over half of those cuts and lacerations were too clean to be simple scrapes. Those were made with well maintained blades. And did you think I didn't sent out scouts to follow the occasional lead that would pop up about her sightings?"
"I. I'm sorry", Twilights jaw clicked shut. She took a deep breath before continuing, "It was wrong of me to have assumed you didn't. And as much as I hate to admit it, you're right. This just got a lot more trouble stacked on top of what's already going on. Under old, but still active Equestrian law, the moment she asked for assistance she fell under the protections of a surrendering enemy under a technicality. So now I have to track down multiple ponies across multiple towns for what equivalates to practically war crimes. That is, unless you don't want to press charges on her behalf?"
"I do, seeing as she can't herself right now and we have no idea if she'll even make it. They need to be punished. They need to realize that their actions are not okay."
Twilight used her magic to push her castles doors open. They quickly entered and closed the doors before too much snow got in.
"Alright, well. I'll see what I can do. It might not be much, but I'll see what can be done. In the mean time, Did you need any help with making that love infused food?"
"Yeah, I would appreciate it. It's been too long since we last got to do something together."
"Alright. So what do we need to do first?"
"One of the things we'll need is a container that can hold about a gallon or two of slime."
"Easy enough." A kitchen cupboard opened up and a stock pot floated out, "I assume we'll need to prepare easy to eat foods like soups, Oatmeal, or similar items right?"
"Correct." Thorax nods in agreement, "While you do that I'm going to produce the love infused slime."
A soft pink glow emanated from his chest as he condensed love and fused it with the slime. Thorax let out a dry heave before expelling the contents into the stock pot. The pink glow returned as he repeated the process. Twilight tried to not pay attention to the sounds Thorax was producing but was failing. On multiple occasions she wanted to ask if he was okay, but had to stop herself knowing full well he was fine. Turning back to the stove she continued preparing the vegetable soup. Shortly after, she directed her attention to the other pans across her stove top. She filled two of them with water, Oats, and various fruits bringing them up to an almost boil. In the third, she put a instant potato mash in with some water and brought it to a boil.
"The soups pretty much ready if you want to add the love fused slime in." Twilight mentioned as she moved her focus onto the oats.
"Alright, let me get this pot over there."
Thorax set the stock pot on to the counter and measured out four cups and poured each one in. The soups broth thickened and gained a slightly pink cloudy hue to it as the slimed slowly dispersed. They then portioned it out into containers containing two cups each. As the various dishes finished, They would get portioned out and stored with the rest of the items on the counter. Thorax looked out the window as he and Twilight cleaned the dirty dishes.
"You know. I was planning on taking it over now, but I'm starting to think it would be better to just take it over tomorrow." Thorax said as he watched the flurry of snow being blown almost sideways.
"Yeah, that would probably be best. It would be dangerous going out in that weather now. Plus they're probably all asleep by now." The last of the clean dishes were put on the drying rack, "Well, now that that is done, we should get some sleep. it's going to be a busy day tomorrow."
They made their way out of the kitchen and towards their respective rooms.
"Goodnight Twilight."
"Goodnight Thorax, see you in the morning."
Author's Note
Something for ya guys. Been quite a while, hasn't it. I'm trying to get back into writing (without trying to force myself to write). I don't really have a ETA on the main parts coming up (Chapters 2 and 2.5). I'm hoping to have them out (Potentially) in these next coming months, but Between work, having moved houses , and dealing with my mental health, it's been difficult. I've been bouncing around multiple stories whenever the inspiration strikes, which has helped with getting back into the swing of things whether it be actually writing or storyboarding. All in all, I'm going to try to do my best to keep this story with the quality it deserves.
Cheers.
-Ninjanaut1000
