The Curse Of Chrysalis

Chapter 17

It was another bright day. Kris and Cory were preparing to bring Umbra to Ponyville to see Rarity about making a new outfit more her style so Umbra won’t be stuck with the same clothing. “So Umbra, ready to step outside to see Ponyville?” Kris asked.

Umbra sighed. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Word was sent ahead of time to Rarity that Umbra was going to be coming with Kris and Cory. Rarity was hesitant at first but agreed to help out. “All right, let’s get going then.” Kris said. Umbra said nothing as she made to follow the two.

It was a bit of a trip but they soon reached Ponyville. Pinkie was the first to greet them with a smile. “HEY GUYS!” She cheered, popping up in front of them. She was wearing a pink and white striped tank top with pink shorts.

“Yo, Pinkie! Good to see you.” Kris greeted.

Cory waved. “Hey Pinkie.”

“And a howdy do to you too Umbra.” Pinkie said, looking to Umbra.

“Charmed.” Umbra said flatly.

“So what brings you three by Ponyville?” Pinkie asked.

“We’re just taking Umbra to see Rarity to get something new made for her so she won’t have to wear the same thing every day.” Kris replied.

“Ooh, nice.” Pinkie cooed. “You got something in mind Umbra?” Pinkie asked.

“Some ideas.” The dark unicorn said evenly.

“Wish I could talk more but I gotta get to Sugar Cube Corner. Feel free to stop by when you're done for some free samples.” Pinkie stated. “Toodaloo!” Pinkie cheered before skipping off.

“I so would like to nail that pony sometime.” Kris said more to himself as he watched Pinkie skip off.

Cory chuckled. “Of course you would.”

Umbra rolled her eyes. “Can we move on?”

“Right, moving on.” Kris said and led the way. It wasn’t long before they reached Rarity’s and walked in.

When they opened the door, a small bell over the door rang. Rarity turned from one of her ponyquins with a smile. “Kris, Cory, darings, so nice to see you two again.”

“A pleasure my lady.” Kris said, giving a gentleman’s bow.

“Umbra.” Rarity said plainly just to acknowledge her presence.

“Rarity.” Umbra said just as plainly.

Rarity sighed, closing her eyes before opening them again. “I shouldn’t be so cold. It does seem you’re trying to change and we do believe in giving others a second chance.” She then said. “A pleasure to have you in my shop.” She then said, giving a smile.

“Right.” Umbra replied with a ting of wariness. “So, what exactly do you need from me?”

“Well first, I need to make sure I have accurate measurements so what I make for you will fit you perfectly. Second, what kind of outfit or design would you like?” Rarity stated.

“Need help with the measurement part?” Kris said, wiggling his fingers.

“Touch me with those hands and I won’t need magic to remove them.” Umbra glared.

Cory deadpanned at Kris. “For once, can you NOT make something an innuendo?”

“How is what I did in any way an innuendo? You two are the ones with your minds in the gutter.” Kris argued back.

“Says the one with the ‘magic hands’. You are asking a talented unicorn if she needs help with measuring. Any sane person would think you’re just using that as an excuse to feel Umbra up.” Cory countered.

“As I have said before, I can’t help it if I think she’s attractive.” Kris stated.

“All right, that’s enough. Miss Umbra, I am just going to ask that you stand in the middle of the room with your legs apart and arms out. I’ll use my magic to manipulate my measuring tape to get your sizes.” Rarity instructed.

Umbra said nothing as she did as asked, her arms spread out and her legs apart. Rarity used her magic to move her measuring tape about while, at the same time, using her magic to take notes of the lengths, and such of Umbra’s body. It didn’t take long. “All right, you can relax now.” She set her measuring tape back where it was as Umbra relaxed. “Now, what sort of design do you have in mind for something new to wear?” Rarity questioned.

“I don’t have much care in design, so long as it’s not frilly and dark colored.” Umbra answered.

“Basically, try something between Applejack and Rainbow Dash in terms of outfits.” Cory clarified.

“Really? I wouldn’t think you’re the type to wear shorts.” Rarity stated to Umbra.

“Well, I meant in terms of durability. She has proven that as long as it doesn’t make her look weak, she would wear just about anything.” Cory added.

“Hmm...well if that’s the case, this could be a challenge. But I do love a challenge. All right then. Give me about….a day. I should have something made up by tomorrow this time.” Rarity stated.

“Sounds good to me.” Kris replied. “Guess we’ll be back tomorrow then.” He looked to Cory. “Should we stay in Ponyville then till tomorrow?”

Cory shrugged. “I don’t mind. Umbra?” He asked, looking to the unicorn in question.

Umbra sighed. “Doesn’t matter. So long as I get my clothes, staying or going back makes no difference.”

“All right then. Let’s go find us a hotel to stay for the night then.” Kris said. “Thanks for this Rarity. I owe you.” He then said looking to Rarity.

“Think nothing of it darling.” Rarity replied, waving it off.

The trio took their leave of the boutique. “So then, any idea where a hotel would be?” Cory asked.

“I think I saw one on the way here.” Kris stated. “Let’s see, perhaps near the center of town?” He questioned. “Otherwise we could always ask someone.”

As they were walking, Umbra was getting some dirty looks or scared looks from the populace.

Umbra wasn’t fazed, she was used to getting such looks that it had no effect on her. Cory didn’t like the looks being sent her way, but he said nothing, knowing it would do very little.

Kris noticed and sighed. “They’ll warm up eventually.” A moment of silence passed from him after that. “Cory….get your guard up.” Kris suddenly said. He then quickly turned and put up a magic shield just in time to block a magic created spear from a unicorn that came from a high angle. A low boom was heard and a shockwave was created from the impact.

Both Cory and Umbra spun and saw the unicorn, with Umbra being shocked at how close that was to her. Cory narrowed his eyes before his arm was coated in white and black flames, the serpent tattoo he made when the humans first arrived slithering off and hissing from his shoulder.

The unicorn that attacked was a male wearing a white suit and pants with a white and yellow striped scarf around his neck covering his mouth. His mane and tail were black and he had piercing blue eyes with a white coat. “Humans, step away from the mare. I have no quarrel with you.”

“Cory, take Umbra and run!” Kris instructed. “I got this joker!”

“You sure? This one looks ready to kill.” Cory asked.

“You are fools for defending her. She is an enemy of Equestria and must be put to death.” The unicorn stated.

“Sorry pal, but she’s under MY Protection, and I’m not about to let some fancy pants assassin in a suit act as judge, jury and executioner for a mare who’s trying to simply live her life now.” Kris stated. “Umbra, Cory! GO!”

Cory sighed before picking Umbra up, bridal style. Umbra yelped from the sudden action before Cory’s legs were covered in flames and he shot off like a cannon, easily disappearing from sight. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Umbra demanded.

“Getting you out of the way. Kris hate’s fighting, he would rather knit clothes than resort to violence. But for him to take a stand and choose to fight instead of letting me do it, it shows he’s really willing to keep you safe. And I promised him that I would help him do that. So if he needs me to get you out of danger, that’s what I’ll do.” Cory said as he ran. Umbra was silent after hearing all this. She didn’t really see any logic in what Kris was doing, or why he would go so far. She refused to believe he was just that nice, no intelligent creature was, but she did have more respect for Kris as a result.

Back with Kris, the unicorn stood ready with his spear held in one hand and Kris stood firm in one spot. “I don’t know who you are, so I’m going to warn you now. Normally I’m against violence, but I’m not going to just stand by idly while some pompous looking pretty stallion threatens someone I care about.”

“You? Care about that mare after what she did?” The unicorn asked. “She’s an enemy of Equestria. As I recall, she captured you and your friend as well and had you as her prisoners. So why would you defend someone who did that to you?”

“Simple, she didn’t think she had a choice in life and now she’s being shown she does have a choice in life as to what she can or can’t be and what she wants to do. So I’m not going to let someone trample on that. Now I’m sure you have good intentions so I’m not going to kill you. However…” Kris then took a stance with his left hand out, right hand in a fist at his chest and legs apart matching his arms. “I will not hold back in defending her. Don’t think just because I’m a human, I’m weak.”

“Very well then. If you are going to stand in the way of justice, then I have no choice.” The unicorn held his spear to the side with his free hand out and palm facing inward. “Come at me.”

Kris’s hands and feet began to glow with his aura. “You asked for this.” Kris then braced his feet, digging them into the ground before launching at mach speed at the unicorn. The stallion did the same. The two clashed, Kris stopping the magic spear by catching it with his right hand surprising the unicorn and threw a punch to the unicorn’s gut. He caught it though and created another shockwave from the clash. They separated and began clashing and moving at such speeds the naked eye couldn’t keep up. There was a series of mini sonic booms going off and slowly rising up over the town. Soon all of Ponyville could see the clashing leaving everyone wondering what was going on.

Cory, after reaching a good distance, almost outside of town, turned with Umbra at the sounds of the fight. “Huh, and here I didn’t think that unicorn would give Kris that much of a fight.”

Umbra raised a brow as she stood next to Cory. “You seem to view yourselves as all powerful.”

Cory snorted. “Hardly, we’ve just haven’t run into anyone that could give us a good challenge. Kris right now might be testing this guy, see what he has up his sleeves. Once he’s had his fun, he’ll end the fight in some flashy way.”

Umbra blinked at this before refocusing on the fight. “He’s bluffing. I mean, I know how powerful they both are and how much more than can be, but they can only use so much at once. And that other human…..Kris, he showed so much raw power under emotional stress. Unless he can call on that at will, I don’t see him winning……” Even as she tried to convince herself, thoughts of Kris protecting her surfaced in her mind, along with the sliver of hope of seeing Kris again, though this went unnoticed by the dark unicorn.

As the clashing in the sky seemed to be escalating, Kris was subtly guiding the fight away from town so as to minimize bystanders and collateral damage. They reached a wide open field outside of town. The unicorn delivered a powerful strike with his spear sending Kris plummeting to the ground and left a half mile long carving in the dirt. Kris managed to keep on his knees though. When he stopped, Kris just barely jumped back and avoided another spear strike from the unicorn with a back flip. He then charged in and started delivering a rapid fire series of punches. The unicorn was barely able to block them and finished with another clash of Kris’s fist meeting the handle of the unicorn’s spear. Kris put more power in his fist and forced the unicorn back.

The unicorn snarled in annoyance. “I will not let this be my day of loss.” He charged in again fighting more fiercely. Kris was starting to have trouble against the unicorn as they traded blows and blocks. Booms and explosions of power could be heard for miles as the fighting went on. Kris would send the unicorn flying through trees, the unicorn would send Kris tumbling through rocks. This went on for a while before finally, Kris managed to deliver a knockout blow to the unicorn’s face, breaking the magic spear when he tried to block and was blown back into the side of a cliff wall and fell unconscious.

Kris managed to find his way to where Umbra and Cory were. Though he was barely standing as he was covered in his own blood with one eye closed and his clothes torn to pieces, barely left on his body. “Hey….guys….I….did it. Told you...I’d….keep you safe...didn’t I?” Kris stated tiredly before collapsing, only to be caught by Cory, who did not look happy.

Umbra was shocked once again before she heard Cory speaking. “You fucking idiot.”

She snapped her head to him. “He fights to nearly his last breath and all you can do is call him an idiot?!”

Cory scowled at her. “Kris wouldn’t have gotten like this if he just went all out. I know Kris, I know how he acts. And I know that no matter how strong an enemy is, he wouldn’t have gotten this torn apart unless he was holding back more than he should.” He turned his gaze back to Kris. “What’s the point of protecting others if you get killed before the enemy is down?” He said before tossing Kris over his shoulder. “Come on, we’re forgetting the hotel and going right back to the hive. While I might get chewed out by Chrysalis, she’s going to bite his head off for this.” He said before making his way for the teleport point.

Umbra was silent as she followed, her thoughts in a storm of emotions. She felt elated Kris had lived, horrified he was so hurt, angry Cory berated him, and confused as to why she felt any of this in the first place. She shook her head and decided to think about it another time.

“Hey...Umbra….don’t worry about me. I’m just...glad I could protect you. So don’t worry about what Cory said.” Kris stated weakly.

Umbra looked at Kris. “He does have one point I agree with. You shouldn’t have held back so much. You didn’t even use your magic outside of what I assume is body enhancement.”

Kris closed his eyes. “I just….didn’t want to...end up killing him. I’m not that kind of guy. So yeah. I did mess up. But…*cough cough* The important thing I care more about is….you’re...safe.” Kris stated.

Cory growled hearing this. “You really are a idiot. There were literally hundreds of ways to beat him without killing him. Break his limbs, damage his horn, use your magic to restrict his movements or even his horn. Bury him up to his neck. Face it, it’s not killing that has you scared, it’s using your magic.”

Kris fell silent and looked away without a word.

“You’re scared you’ll have a repeat of what happened with Umbra. News flash, you’re not Ichigo from Bleach. Unlike him who had sentient beings sharing his body and soul, the magic is at your beck and call. It does what YOU want it to. So stop acting like you’re some OP anime protagonist and shape up. You DARE say you’ll protect others when you’re not willing to do everything to do so.” Cory berated Kris. This rarely happened, but when it did, it was like having a high ranking general glared down at a fresh recruit.

Kris silently took the verbal assault and said nothing to refute.

Umbra honestly was stunned at what she was seeing and hearing and truly couldn’t say anything, either in Kris’ defense or in question. She was beginning to have questions she wasn’t sure she wanted answers to.

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE MIGHTY HIVES ABOVE HAPPENED TO YOU!?” Chrysalis’s voice rang out so loudly the entire hive and beyond could hear.

“Well….your majesty. I um….you see…” Kris stood before Chrysalis still in bad shape. He had taken a moment to clean himself as best he could before meeting with Chrysalis, but wasn’t given much time.

“YOU ARE GOING TO STAND THERE AND TELL ME A UNICORN DID THIS TO YOU!? HOW!? WHY!? Didn’t you give it your all to fight back!?” Chrysalis asked again. “NO! YOU DIDN’T DID YOU!? YOU HELD BACK BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T WANT TO KILL IS THAT RIGHT?!”

Kris groaned as he slumped forward. “Please forgive me, my queen.”

Chrysalis then turned to Cory. “AND YOU! WHY DIDN’T YOU HELP HIM!? YOU WERE THERE TOO!”

Cory took the yelling before speaking. “Kris asked me to get Umbra to safety. He told me he had it handled. I had assumed he was going to be testing the unicorn before ending the fight. Instead, I found out he held back out of fear. Not fear of the unicorn or even of killing him. If killing was the real fear, you, me, and him all know that he had hundreds of ways of ending the fight. He was scared of becoming that demon again.” He said calmly.

Chrysalis tiredly sat back in her throne and rested a hand over her face. “I swear I can’t leave you two alone for a minute. Are you just natural danger magnets or something?”

Cory sighed. “I honestly can’t deny that on my part. I did have the worst luck in the military as far as ambushes and enemy engagements went.”

Umbra was rather silent for most of this before taking a breath and speaking up. “It was my fault. The unicorn was after me and Kris took it upon himself to protect me. He had no obligation to, yet he did so.”

Cory laughed. “HAH! You’re hardly at fault Umbra. Even if Kris DIDN’T have magic, he STILL would have stepped up to defend you. That’s just how he is.”

“Indeed, you are not at fault here Umbra.” Chrysalis said. “And after all I’ve seen and heard, I think it’s safe now to move you up from prisoner to guest of our kingdom. The ring holding back your magic will be removed.” She stated. Umbra didn’t know how many times she could be shocked in a day, cause here she was once again shocked.

Cory smiled. “Well, at least this way, you will be able to protect yourself.” Umbra silently nodded at this.

“Even so, I still won’t hesitate to be by your side should something like this come up again.” Kris stated.

“Not so soon you won’t!” Chrysalis and Cory both exclaimed before the queen continued, making Kris flinch. “You are too badly injured and will mostly be in the hospital wing for at least a month!”

“A MONTH!?” Kris exclaimed. “Oh come on!”

“I do NOT want to hear it. You brought this on yourself for being so reckless!” Chrysalis said. “Now you can either go to the hospital wing yourself or I can have the guards take you there. Which will it be?” Chrysalis was sounding more like a mother scolding her child than a ruler.

Kris sighed. “Yes your majesty, I’ll be on my way now.” He said before leaving and headed for the hospital. “On the bright side, I will get to be surrounded by cute nurse changelings.” He mused to himself.

“AND DON’T EVEN THINK OF USING MAGIC OR EVEN TRYING ANYTHING WITH THE FEMALE STAFF UNTIL YOU’RE FULLY HEALED!” Cory barked after Kris.

Kris groaned. “Ooooooooooooooooooh!”

Chrysalis sighed again once Kris was gone. “*sigh* I swear.” She then looked to Umbra and left her throne to approach her. “Now, as for that ring on your horn.” Umbra stood up straight as the queen approached. “I am putting a lot of trust in you with this, hoping you won’t try anything. You are a guest in my kingdom now. Cory and Kris will still be in charge of keeping an eye on you though. Can I trust you?”

Umbra took a breath through her nose. “Even if I wished to try anything, Cory would not allow it and would not be as merciful as Kris.” “You’re damn right I wouldn’t.” “But Kris, and by a smaller extent Cory, have been kind to me and showed me more than what I could be. I still don’t fully believe I can be anything more than what I was made for but…...I’m willing to try. So yes, you can trust me.”

Chrysalis gave a smile before reaching her right hand to take hold of the small black ring around Umbra’s horn and pulled it off. “You are now a free mare and guest in my kingdom. No longer are you a prisoner of the changeling kingdom.”

Umbra bowed at Chrysalis, showing respect to her as the queen of changelings. “Thank you.”

“Now that that’s settled, I need to get back to my other royal duties. So go do whatever you like now.” She said to Umbra and Cory.

The two bowed to Chrysalis before taking their leave. Cory looked at Umbra. “So, what are you going to be doing?”

Umbra thought on it. “I suppose I will retire to my room for now. After all this, I am feeling mentally exhausted.”

Cory nodded. “Sleep well then.” Umbra nodded back before taking her leave. After she was gone, Cory rubbed his jawline. “So then, what should I do? I’m rather ahead in my projects in the forge, so that can be held off for now. The infants still have a large supply of love to feed on until they can eat other foods.” He muttered to himself before shrugging and just began walking for now.

Meanwhile, a little later in the day at the hospital wing. “Will you stop being such a baby and take your medicine already.” A male changeling said as he was trying to get Kris to take some medicine who had both his arms wrapped up in bandages and suspended along with his right leg. That and along with his chest, right eye, and, practically his whole body wrapped up.

“Oh come on! What about all the cute nurses!? Why aren’t they here!?” Kris whined.

“I told you! They’re on a week long vacation! Now suck it up and take it!” The male changeling said.

“What did I do to deserve this!?” Kris whined as he started shedding tears.

“Being an idiot? That comes to mind.” Cory’s voice was heard as he appeared at the doorway, smirking at Kris.

“Oh don’t give me that!” Kris exclaimed.

“Oh, sir Cory, hello.” The male changeling greeted. “I don’t suppose I could get your help with your friend here could I?”

“Certainly. In times like these, you have to be willing to be…...aggressive.” Cory had a grin as he looked at Kris, cracking his knuckles as he approached.

“I’LL TAKE IT! I’LL TAKE IT!” Kris exclaimed in fear. “GIVE IT TO ME!” He then opened his mouth ready for the medicine.

The male changeling nurse sighed before giving Kris a spoonful.

Once he swallowed, Kris cringed at the taste. “Euuuuuugh….I miss the cuties.”