If Not Friendship

Chapters

Freedom
Fragments Behind
Second Option

Freedom

The last thing they remembered was panic.

Tirek, the once powerful towering centaur closed his eyes to shield himself from the spell that fired towards them. Having been resorted to his weakest form, it was a given he wouldn’t have been able to do much against it. Cozy Glow, the youngest of their group, succumbed quickly to fear as the spell rapidly worked up her small body, her expression wide with panic. Chrysalis, arguably the most strong-willed of the three, quickly recognized what was happening, but rather than cower in fear or panic, put up one last fight and lunged against her attackers before all three were sealed to their fate in their stone prison, together.

How they were defeated, and how they would remain.

Petrified in stone on top of their pedestal, the team of three stood before the monarchy of Equestria, plus the Lord of Chaos himself, the one who not only brought them together in the first place but also helped carry out their punishment.

The resentment of taking the fall for his doing would have carried on into their stone sentence, if only they were conscious enough.

Nobody tells you what being turned into stone will do to you. Despite being petrified to be completely immobilized, the spell worked in a way they were still somewhat conscious of the rest of the world around them, limited as it was. They were conscious that time was passing by, just couldn’t keep track of how long.

The days seemed to drag on without anything to help them keep track. Within time, it felt like they would be in their stone coma forever, slipping in and out of consciousness at any given moment..

Truly, a punishment worse than death.

And that’s how the team of villains remained for years to come.

Until the stone chips began to break off.

In the quiet dark of night, the pieces of concrete covering their bodies peeled off, bit by bit, until finally they were freed and let to fall on the grass below with dull thuds.

In the middle of the field only lit by moonlight, the unconscious bodies of Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow laid beside their pedestal, unprotected and unguarded side by side.

The youngest of the three was the first to move. The filly’s shoulders started to shiver from the night breeze, reacting for the first time in who knew how long. Cozy Glow shuffled within her sleep until at last she opened her eyes, her mind foggy as she brought up a hoof. Blinking a few more times, her eyes widen looking down at her limb.

“Huh?”

Her eyes turn on the two laying beside her, looking back and forward between the two at their seemingly lifeless bodies.

A strange feeling of dread filled her as she crawled herself towards the Changeling Queen, her unmoving body giving the appearance she was-

Oh, good, she was breathing.

The pony unconsciously gave a sigh of relief when she noticed Chrysalis’s midsection gently rise and fall. With the same worry she turned to the remaining member, nudging his shoulder.

“Tirek? Guys? Come on, wake up.” She put in her still weakened energy into shaking him. He was taking longer to react. The last time she saw them, they were completely helpless in their defeat. She remembered being scared, as a child would, but at least she was able to be beside her only two allies. Powerless, but at least she wasn’t alone. So what gave them the right to leave her now?

In a tantrum-like frustration, Cozy Glow gave another rough nudge on his shoulders “Wake up!”

A groan responded to her. The centaur blinked for a few seconds before adjusting his sights on the widened sad eyes of the filly in front of his face.

Definitely not the first thing he wanted to see once freed.

“Get off!” Tirek muttered, pushing her away with his hand. Cozy fell back in front of the Changeling as the latter groaned as she awoke.

The two older beings rose from the ground, moaning as their bodies stretched for the first time in ages. Chrysalis hissed at the ground once she realized she could feel again, immediately taking a defensive position as she looked around for any search of her enemies, the lingering anger before her imprisonment still surging through her.

“Where are they?!”

“Where is who?”

The small voice got her attention and looked down, reminded instantly of who she was imprisoned with. “Who else? Those infuriating, pretentious, self-important princesses! They’re around here, somewhere, I know it!”

“But we’re free!”

“Exactly! So unless one of you did something to aid escaping our imprisonment, this has to be their doing!”

“Well, I don’t see them around, so what does that make you?”

A loud, irritated groan got their attention. “Not five minutes out of that statue and I already want to go back if it means not having to hear the two of you yap at each other.”

Both mares glared back at the centaur. “Oh like you’re any better,” Cozy remarked. “If you’re so smart, then how are we out?”

Tirek crossed his scrawny arms and raised an eyebrow at their pedestal. “If I had to guess, I’d say our sentence somehow wore off.”

At the word ‘sentence’, Chrysalis looked around the area.

“Our sentence?” Cozy repeated, a mild hint of fear in her voice. “H-How long were we..”

“The Canterlot gardens,” Chrysalis claimed. “So this.. this is where they placed us. This is where they had us as a reminder of their victory?!” Her voice dripped with venom. “Putting us up like a monument for them to mock?!”

“How long were we in there!?”

Tirek looked around the area. It was awfully quiet.

“Whatever the time, I’m not wasting this opportunity.”

“What?”

“The spell that kept us in there must have had a time limit. If that is the case, someone must be keeping track of it, meaning it won’t be long before someone comes here looking for their precious statue.”

The two mares looked at each other before Cozy spoke up. “I’m not taking any chances, either.” As soon as she did, she took to the air and began flapping her wings, not a second later to fall right back down with an aching on her back. “Ah-! Wing cramp!”

Tirek rolled his eyes and began to walk off. “You two be my guests and be sitting ducks, I have no intention of staying here for any royal visits.”

Chrysalis hesitated for a moment, then went to follow him. As much as she wanted to take it out on any princess that would come, she knew they weren't in the best condition. Speaking of condition...

“H-Hey!” A small hoof reached out to her from the ground. “My wings are cramped from being in stone. I-I can’t fly!”

Chrysalis raised her eyebrow at her. “And?”

“..Carry me?” Her eyes widen in their typical cutesy matter.

“What do I look like? You still have legs.”

Cozy huffed as she walked away, getting to her hooves and trotting behind them, not before looking back one last time at the castle behind the garden hedges.

Successfully putting enough distance from Canterlot and themselves, the trio of freed villains decide to finally take a rest in the woods that separated Canterlot and Ponyville, setting up a small camp area without many words exchanged between them.

It was still dark out, and the woods did nothing to hide it. The campfire illuminated the three sitting figures from the front side, leaving long dark shadows behind them. No words were said. And no one wanted to even mention why they were still in each other’s presence.

The soft crackling of the fire was the only sound echoing around them. Cozy Glow turned her eyes away from it and towards the two figures beside her. Tirek averted his stare down. Even she thought it was odd to see him so quiet..

Chrysalis was a little more expressive. She too was quiet, but the tension on her stare was much louder than any words she could mutter. Cozy watched as the queen glared into the fire. For a second she bared her fangs in a growl until she finally broke the silence around them and brashly stood up, bringing down a holed hoof down hard into a piece of firewood with a furious yell, snapping the log in two.

Cozy, and even Tirek, jolted back at the sudden action, the latter narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

“Oh, what is it now?”

“What does it look like?!” Chrysalis retorted, turning back to them. “My detestable enemies are still roaming around out there while I’m here wasting my time! Someone, is going to pay for encasing me in stone for all this time!”

“Speaking of..” Cozy intervened, now cautious to not cause her to snap again. “Are any of you curious as to how long we were in stone?”

“You seem to be very interested in that particular detail,” Tirek finally spoke.

“Well, aren't you?”

Tirek gave a tired, aged grim chuckle. “It’s not like I haven’t had my own share of being imprisoned for so long.”

“But you were imprisoned for a thousan..” Cozy trailed off, her eyes widening at the implication. “We’ve been in stone for a thousand years?!”

“What?!” Chrysalis hissed, turning her attention back to them after destroying another log.

“I wouldn’t put it past those princesses to have gone ahead and kept us like so for that long,” he continued, hissing at the mention of the monarchy. “They seem to just love that number for sentencing their notorious villains.”

“Nightmare Moon..” Cozy added weakly, still processing the number of years.

“Discord,” Tirek rolled his eyes at the memory of him.

“The princesses tried to lock me in a facility for that number of years as well,” Chrysalis hissed, staring down at the ground. “That was, of course, until I outsmarted that prissy Twilight Sparkle into giving me a book so I could escape.” She reminisced at the memory of her escape plan, how easily she managed to fool all five of her friends. And the dragon, too. “A book. Her face was absolutely priceless.”

The moment didn’t last long as they returned to the topic all at once.

“Has it.. really been that long?” Cozy asked again.

“I’m not sure,” Tirek responded. “I haven’t seen a significant change ever since we’ve been freed.”

“That’s because we haven’t gone out to see what has changed,” Cozy argued. “Did any of you notice the castle before we left the gardens?” At receiving no replies from them, she continued. “It looked.. bigger. More new and taller.”

Chrysalis scoffed. “Of course they would just rebuild it after sealing us away. And we did such a good job at decorating it, too.”

“The point being,” the filly continued. “I would have expected something bigger if a thousand years have really passed, don’t you think?”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “What are you getting at?”

“That I don’t think so much time has passed like he wants to believe.” Cozy splayed a hoof towards the centaur. “Even if they might or not have noticed we escaped, we still have enough time to think of another plan to try again!”

The campfire area went silent, once again the crackling of the wood being the only sound accompanying them before Tirek spoke up.

“You can’t possibly be serious.”

“Why not?” Cozy asked. “It won’t be the same as last time. This time we can learn from our mistakes. And with me taking charge this time-“

“What makes you think we’ll just let you be in charge?!” Chrysalis hissed at her, pointing a hoof at her.

“Because last time I let both of you do most of the planning and look where that got us!”

“If I recall correctly, the pact was that whatever we did, we did together. And even with that, one of you still managed to screw up and let them win!”

“Maybe if one of us, wasn’t so stubborn-!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but who was the one that the moment she had chaos magic in her possession, was ready to turn on her own so-called allies?!”

“That didn’t count!” Cozy retorted back, her voice showing hints of breaking. “My mind was overtaken with chaos magic, I-I couldn’t control it!”

“Oh, sure.” Chrysalis’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “You just don’t want to admit what you really are. You’re an impulsive, easily swayed brat with the comprehension of power of a mere grub!”

“Y-Yeah, well! At least I wasn’t so deep set on seeking revenge on just one pony alone that instead of just destroying them, you wanted to have fun with them instead!”

“Would the both of you just give it a rest already?!”

The raspy, harsh voice of their third ally miraculously made it past their own loud rants.

“You can both go back and forward all week if you must to convince the other who’s to blame, but the main point still stands that we lost.”

That seemed to have calmed the two. Cozy Glow sat back down on her stump. Chrysalis returned her tensed glare at the ground.

“Then?” Cozy spoke again. “What is the plan?”

“Plan for what?

“To pick up where we left off. Or what, just because more time has passed, you don’t want to get revenge on the ponies?”

Tirek raised a brow at her. Even after spending weeks together plotting their take over, he still found it puzzling how someone so small could speak so casually about basically overthrowing her own race. “If you want go ahead with another attempt for take over, and most likely fail again, then by all means, I won’t stop you.”

Cozy’s expression dropped. “W.. What?”

Chrysalis eyed the pony then back at him, equally if not more intrigued. “You’re not suggesting..”

Tirek finally looked at them both in the eyes. His time in silence while the other two shared verbal blows at each other was spent pondering with himself, and now it was time to share it, whether they liked it or not.

“That time in stone, however long it was, it gives a lot of time to one’s self. It traps one in their own mind, thoughts, memories, foggy as they might be. But there was one thought that always circled back to me.”

Cozy tilted her head. “What?”

“That this, all this, the planning and plotting. It was getting tiring.”

Cozy’s eyes budged slightly as Chrysalis’s face contorted to a scowl.

“What are you saying?” the mare jeered, almost taunting, daring him to repeat himself.

“Yeah,” Cozy continued. “We failed once and-“

“You failed once, Cozy,” Tirek cut her off. “Twice, thanks to my help the first time. As for me…”

“No.. don’t tell me.. You’re actually giving up?”

The centaur took a moment to answer, crossing his scrawny arms across his chest. “Like I said, I wasn't going to waste this opportunity.”

“Opportunity for what?! To do nothing?”

“See it this way, Cozy. The first time I was ever imprisoned was a thousand years ago, locked in Tartarus with nothing to do except bide my time for an opportunity to escape. The princesses had every intention to leave me there because that’s exactly where they put me again after my escape.”

“Yeah, but-“

“After you came in, my second escape was thanks to Grogar— Oh, pardon; Discord — to be used as his pawns.”

“But we defeated him. We stole his magic.”

“And how did that end?”

Cozy struggled for an answer for a bit before growling in a tantrum-like frustration, getting up on all four on her stump. “Oh, big deal! Just because you were defeated a third time, you choose now to give up?! On everything you worked for?!”

“Because while we were used ‘as pawns’ for that turncoat, I, at least, had a bit of freedom to enjoy.”

“You call that mucky cave we called a refuge freedom?”

“It was absolutely horrible. We were confined in it for far too long thanks to that ‘Grogar’ persona… but at the very least, I wasn’t in a cage or confined to one spot alone. And it was a million times better than being in stone.”

Cozy touched her chin with her hoof. “Well, yes, Tartarus sucked to be left there for weeks. At least in Grogar’s lair, we could go out whenever we wanted. Discord would leave us there for days at a time.”

“Augh! I’m so sick of hearing the name of that disappointment of a Chaos Lord!” Chrysalis growled, turning her stare back to Tirek. “Unbelievable. All that big talk about aiming to gain every last bit of magic and power, to take back what was yours, was all just talk, wasn’t it?”

Their eyes met in a stare down when he didn’t respond. Cozy Glow looked back and forward from the two, preparing herself for another clash of egos between them. Surprising for her, Chrysalis was the first to break it.

“Fine!” she hissed sharply, getting up from her seat. “If both of you want to choose to take the coward’s way out and give up, go right ahead, but I don’t need either of you!” Her emphasis was accompanied by a hard stomp on the ground before she turned her back on them to leave.

“Wait!” Cozy called out to her. “Where are you going?!”

“You two might have abandoned your plans, but I don’t care how much time passes, I still know my goal. I would have never been imprisoned in stone to begin with had that.. sow Starlight not turned my loyal kingdom against me! The first step I need is regaining control of my Hive.. and once I do, I’ll do what I should have done long ago, and destroy that Starlight Glimmer once and for all!”

Chrysalis buzzed her wings to take off until Tirek’s voice snapped through her.

“Have you even considered if this Starlight is still alive?”

Chrysalis stopped at the thought, lowering her eyes at the ground for a moment before snapping herself out of it with a scowl and taking off to the sky, no consideration for her two ex-allies that she left behind. Her already dark figure disappeared into the night sky as silence returned to the campfire.

After a time of silence, Tirek turned to the filly. “Aren’t you going to go with her?”

The demeanor on the pony seemed to have changed drastically. “.. Why?”

“You were so eager on continuing your plans, and it’s clear that's also her intent.” He scoffed, turning his head and closing his eyes.

“I.. I was..”

“Don’t tell me. Now because there’s no one to help you, you won’t do it?”

Cozy lowered her head, her tone going soft. “It just.. it wouldn’t be as fun on my own..”

“Fun? You think all of this as fun?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, nothing was better than seeing those princesses shake and tremble before us, and blowing up that castle into oblivion was amazing!” her smile slowly dropped. “But if I could do it all again...”

Tirek studied the sudden change in mood in her expression. “You really are a child.”

Cozy rolled her eyes at him, only half humored he chose now to acknowledge that little fact about her.

They turned away in silence. An owl sounded off in the distance. Or it could have been a crow. It wasn’t like they cared. After a bit longer, Cozy got off of her sitting stump and turned to walk into the woods.

Tirek considered simply letting her go, but a nagging feeling tugged at him to speak after that thought, before she disappeared.

“And where are you going now?”

“If Chrysalis went off to see her Hive.. there’s some place I want to see too.”

Tirek raised an eyebrow. “What place?”

“…Why don’t you come with me?

Fragments Behind

Chrysalis flew in silence towards her Hive, the sun peeking over the horizon showing signs it was near dawn. While in the air, she stole glances from down below, noting the differences from the last time she was flying above Equestria. The last she could recall, trapping her biggest enemy in a cocoon and carrying her from the blizzard mountains to Canterlot, where she would meet back with her two allies…

At the memory of them, Chrysalis shook her head and faced forward towards her destination.

“If those two decided it was easy backing down, that is their choice. I won’t show any of them mercy when I take over again.” She muttered to herself. “Allies always fail you in the end. Or was it ‘servants always fail you..’ Augh, whatever! They just might have been the same thing.”

She pushed them out of her mind, focusing on her task. If she was going to take back what was her’s, first she needed to see for herself how much ruin was laid on her kingdom since her last visit.

A while later she made it to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, her hive only just a bit farther away. No matter how much time passed, the Changelings rarely left a nest when they were settled. She almost believed it when she got closer to her old kingdom. With an abrupt stop, Chrysalis stayed midair as she looked down at the field.

The once dried and dead desert that was the outskirts of her Hive was now a thriving field of grass and flora. In the distance, she could make out a large tree in the middle of the wide field, exactly on the spot her holed, spiked and proud kingdom once stood.

With a scowl of initial denial, Chrysalis flies down to the field, buzzing her wings towards the base of the enormous tree. Finding a holed entrance, she snuck her way in, suppressing a growl at the fact she needed to infiltrate her own Hive.

Finding the pathways cleared, she walked around the quiet halls, the cheery sounds of a pair trotting down making her lunge into an unoccupied chamber. Two colorful colored Changelings passed her by in lively chat, unaware of her presence. Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at them.

“I had forgotten just how bright my subjects had become. It’s absolutely sickening.. but I can’t go out in the open like this..”

Sneaking her way into another pathway, she looked around her once dark home and how much brighter it had become. Since they didn’t need to hide themselves anymore, sunlight was allowed in much more.

Sensing another being approaching her, Chrysalis jumped to the ceiling of the hall and flattened herself against it. A singular, lone lime colored Changeling walked across the hall with a quiet hum. Perfect.

The poor victim didn’t get time to react as Chrysalis lunged down towards the bystander, pushing him into a dark chamber in the hall. Pinning him against the wall, Chrysalis spat out a webbing to cover his mouth, a single hoof against his chest. Once unshaken, the poor unsuspecting Changeling opened his eyes, coming face to face with the black nightmare, her fangs looming over his face. His scream was muffled as he began to trash around, his voice fading out bit by bit as his energy began to drain from him, escaping in a pink mist towards the taller one’s mouth.

Within seconds, the gagged Changeling was let to drop to the ground, weakened into sleep. Chrysalis walked over his fallen body, licking her lips.

“You had more love stored inside you than I first expected. The resources must have doubled around here..”

Chrysalis eyed the barely moving body. The bright colors on his body and wings. No holes to be seen anymore. So clean and complete. She winced. “Disgusting.”

Spitting out more webbing, she covered his body in a semi-cocoon, nudging him out of sight before walking back into the hall, covering herself in green flames as she reappeared in the body of the lime Changeling.

Like he was never gone.

Finally in disguise, she freely walked around the pathways, looking for any signs leading to the throne room. If she was going to take over, she needed to take down the leader first. Whatever Queen or King they decided to put in her place, she would eliminate them without a doubt.

Apparently a lot did change while she was gone. Whatever room her own throne once was, it was long replaced. Her exploration led her to pass by many reformed Changelings. Talking amongst themselves, playing, carrying items from one place to another. Chrysalis raised her disguised eyes to them all.

No hunting. No prey being dragged. No training. How were they surviving for this long?

It took all her willpower to prevent herself from uncovering and begin to order them to stop. To scowl at them for how wrong this all was. Was THIS what the proud predator Changeling race was reduced to?

The lingering scents around her were almost suffocating. The taste of love, happiness, peace.. of friendship.

She couldn’t hold back a gag when she identified it, ignoring the confused glances from a few fellow Changelings. Buzzing her bright wings into a hall, she flew with all her speed, down to hopefully find the chamber of the monarch. However, her paths led her to go lower and lower until she began to recognize the dim-lit walls. Chrysalis landed, wary of the peculiarly silent series of chambers from the darken hall as she took careful steps. It was all coming back to her when she passed by an open dorm to the sight of eggs surrounding the interior.

Of course. The lowest part of the Hive and the safest to keep the newborns; the nursery. Chrysalis looked around in her lime form. The chamber had fewer holes than she remembered it having, Changeling eggs still stuck to the walls except with less webbing.

Despite the low lighting usually needed for the hatching rooms, she could still make out the faint lively colors of the eggs. They weren’t the same deep green swamp color as they used to, but rather diverse, much like the Changeling she passed prior.

With a disconcerted look, she makes her way back into the hall, going into another chamber. Her abrupt stop came when she saw somebody else already inside one of them, making her hide back into the hall to peek inside. It was another Changeling, sitting on the floor as she looked up to the wall of eggs almost anticipatingly. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow until a cracking noise echoed throughout the room. An egg wiggled in place before the top cracked open, popping out a tiny colorful Changeling larva, the same color as the grown. The grown Changeling gasped with a squeal, to which the larva perked up to and turned towards them, unreluctant at all when it was lifted from its shell and embraced by the older.

Chrysalis kept herself hidden from the pair, her eye only merely twitching from the scene.

New Changelings were born in their colorful selves, as if it was natural. She tried to hide her scowl, in that moment not knowing what was hitting her most, the fact baby Changelings surpassed their evolution, or how beaming the Changeling was with the hatchling, rubbing its muzzle against its much smaller cheek.

Why was that tugging at her?

With a suppressed huff, Chrysalis turned away and took to the air away from the nursery.

In her desperation to leave, it didn’t occur to her how the surrounding reeking smell of love and that, reminded her of how hungry she had become once she stepped in. It didn’t occur to her to try and feed off the caretaker Changeling of their clear love for the youngling. Another feeling was overcoming her the longer she stayed. The longer she looked around and at how different everything had become.

It was almost aching.

With enough distance between the hatching nest and her, she lands, panting softly for air, a sense of pressure building up within her. There was a lot of work she needed to do. And it wasn’t going to stop her.

Before she could take another step forward, a smaller Changeling flew past her, directly into a personal chamber near her. Peering in, she caught sight of the young creature, outgrown from its larva state flying into the arms of an adult Changeling, calling out with a soft “mama”.

This time she couldn’t hide her baffled expression, followed soon by further disgust.

Since when were Changelings allowed to breed with each other? Under her rule, under her monarchy, she was the only one that bore the eggs of another generation. It was her duty as queen. It seemed as if with new appearances came changes to their social structure as well. Everything she worked for...

It was sickening! How were any of them content like this?

As Chrysalis began to storm away from the sight, a sound stops her in her tracks. A soft, melodious humming echoing from the chamber behind her. Peering back inside, she could see the apparent parent Changeling as it hummed a soft tune to the dozing youngling. It piqued her attention, seeing the little one.. relaxed and soothed by the sounds. Before she could react at all, most likely another scowl, a voice cried out across the hall.

“Scapula!”

Instantly on the defense, Chrysalis jolted to her side at the voice to see a yellow colored Changeling making its way towards her.

“We’ve been waiting for you!”

Chrysalis looked behind her, seeing no one around them and adapted to the situation. “Oh, me?”

“Of course! We’re just about to start our session at the feelings forum, you said you wanted to join us.”

Feelings what?

“Oh, hey, Tibia!” the yellow being waved at the parent inside the chamber.

“Ssh! Coxa, I just got him to sleep!” the one called Tibia whispered, pointing a hoof to the youngling sleeping beside them.

“Oh, sorry!” Coxa returned to the former. “Are you ready to go?”

‘Scapula’ looked at her. She didn’t recognize her in the slightest. Though that could have been because of the new colors. Whatever this forum was, the Changeling she took the form of was invited, and if it sounded as informative as the name implied, it could help her find out what exactly changed in her Hive and what she could do to fix the disgrace it had become.

Chrysalis smiled, curling the lips of the lime colored being as her own. “Of course, let’s.”

That seemed to make the other happy. Coxa waved a goodbye at the nursing Changeling and took off, Chrysalis right behind her.

Before she could ask her escort about the mentioned forum, the two had arrived at a section of the hive decorated in more flora than usual. Coxa led her companion to a circle made up of other patiently waiting Changelings sitting beside each other.

‘Scapula’ paused when she entered. Not the type of meeting she was expecting.

“Scapula?” Coxa called out to her. “Something wrong?”

She blinked, getting back into character. “Nothing at all.” Buzzing her small wings, she flew over them and sat within the circle. Looking around, she couldn’t hold back when her body tensed in place. What kind of information was she going to get out of this… group of eye sores? It was like they didn’t even need to hide themselves anymore. Their smiles, the lively chat. As if they were never a fearsome predatory race they had come to be known for. It was absolutely maddening. And the worse part.. she couldn’t even feed on it.

“Alright, everyone,” one of them, supposedly the host given their different attire of a headband and noticeable aged look, began. “Now that we’re all here, would anyone like to begin? Remember, here in our feelings forum, we don’t judge any thought you may have, negative or otherwise.”

The brief silence it took before someone spoke up was taken for Chrysalis to finally process what the ‘meeting’ was about. For feelings?!

A pink colored Changeling stood up. “I have something. Whenever our theater group does another play, I get so nervous when I have to act in my natural form, but the moment I transform into another creature, I don’t feel nervous at all. But I don’t know how to tell my group about how I feel..”

The other Changelings nodded in comprehension, except for Scapula, who stared bewildered at the speaker.

The host spoke up. “Very brave of you to share. I suggest, you simply come clean to your peers about how you feel. If they respect your contribution to the group, they’ll understand, and help you set up a different role for you to play much more comfortably.”

The rest nodded once again.

“Oh, thank you! I’ll try!” the pink gleamed, earning positive mutters of encouragement from the group.

All except, once again, for one lime. Whether it was disgust or embarrassment she was feeling about the scene, she couldn’t pick one or the other. If only she-

“Scapula? Are you alright?” Coxa touched her shoulder for her attention, making her jolt slightly. “Is there.. anything you want to share?”

Chrysalis eyed her before realizing the group’s attention was on her.

“You know we don’t judge,” Coxa went on.

She finally made eye contact with the rest. The colorful, bright eyes that resembled almost nothing to their original forms. Their once holed bodies were complete and full, bright carapaces hiding their wings that were once exposed to the enemies. It tensed her with anger.

“Why, yes, in fact.” She hissed. “There is.” She gracefully stood up as a firm stern stare took her expression, breathing in in confidence. “I, for one, have become disappointed how our way of life has turned.”

Immediate confused reactions muttered throughout the group.

“What do you mean?” one of them asked.

“I mean, just look at you all! Us! Bright colors that make any of us an easy target for an enemy. To be mocked and ridiculed like this. This is not what the proud Changeling race was!”

The group looked among themselves.

“But Scapula, we don’t have any enemies. Except for the occasional Everfree forest creature that wanders around, but the hive patrol takes care of them fairly quickly.” The group nodded in agreement.

So there was at least still a patrol. Chrysalis furrowed her brow and continued. “It is not only that. We were all once under a strong leadership that allowed us to thrive in Equestria, and now the very rules that defined us have been eradicated for more.. common and defective ways!”

Soft gasps escaped a few. “Scapula, how can you say that?”

“Our king and queen have worked hard to maintain the hive strong and prosperous for all of us!”

“Thorax made sure of that.”

The name was like a stab to her entire being, her very core shook with fury as Chrysalis stomped hard on the flower-covered floor, scaring the Changelings closest to her. ”Not! Him! I am not referring to that meekly traitor of the hive! I’m referring to the first and only ruler this hive has ever known! Queen Chrysalis!”

The name made the room go quiet. Everyone minus the host looked at each other until one of them spoke.

“Who?”

The color almost drained from her face. Whatever kept her body going inside her stopped for a solid second.

Another pause. “I think he’s referring to her,” another one responded.

“Who’s ‘her’?” a smaller Changeling asked.

“You’re still pretty young,” another added. “You probably haven’t been taught about her yet. Don’t worry, you’ll learn about it in your Introduction to Changeling History.”

“Oh. Then, who is this Chrysalis?” the initial inquirer asked.

They gave a look before speaking. “Chrysalis... was the ruler of the hive before Thorax. She.. She was a tyrant. She ruled over the Changeling kingdom with an iron hoof, anyone who thought differently than her would be either punished or banished.”

‘As it should be’, Chrysalis thought in her spot, amongst her fury that she was straining to keep under control.

“In her time.. Changelings also... looked very different.”

“How different?”

“Well…”

“We were vicious predators.” Everyone turned to the host who finally spoke up in a soft, aged voice. “Changelings were dark and wicked in shape and form, driven only by instinct. Our bodies were incomplete, damaged over the years of constant fighting with other races. Every single Changeling was but a mere drone to the hive. To the queen.”

The youngest squirmed down in fear. “H-How do you know?”

“Because.. I remember it. I was still a youngling when it happened, but I remember. I witnessed it, when Chrysalis was overthrown.”

The group muttered in curious awe.

“So..” one lime Changeling hissed. “You were there.. when the downfall of the Changeling race began?”

The host looked up at Scapula. “Not a downfall, but a rebirth. When Chrysalis was overthrown, Thorax was then named the new ruler of the hive. He was the first to take the form we all have today. Our natural, free forms. After him, everyone else followed.”

“I was taught about that!” Coxa chirped. “They called it, ‘metamorphosis’. The Changelings only ever achieved the transformation when they shared love instead-“

“Of feeding off of it,” the host ended.

“But don’t we do that already?” the youngest continued. “Sharing it and gaining energy from it?”

“Indeed. But back then, the Changelings had no choice but to take love from other creatures by force, to feed themselves. Before Thorax, the Changelings were in a constant state of hunger. They were never satisfied. No matter how much they got, they would always feel empty. That was until they achieved metamorphosis, and were cured of it.”

The lime-colored Changeling in the group had gone unnoticeably quiet.

“That sounds awful,” the youngest replied.

“It was,” Coxa added. “I heard that the queen was so evil, she did not want the Changelings to change and wanted them to continue suffering by starving.”

Finally a nerve was struck.

“How.. dare you say that?!”

“Scapula?”

“Queen Chrysalis kept the Changeling race alive for centuries! She alone was the reason they survived against the world! Everything she did, she did for the Hive!”

“She did..” the host continued. “Until the invasion of the pony kingdom of Canterlot.”

That made her stop.

“Canterlot?” the youngest asked.

The host nodded. “Before her downfall, she was the one that led an invasion against the ponies, but the ponies of the kingdom defeated her. After that, the queen… changed.”

“Changed?”

“She was still providing food and resources for the hive, but her motives began to shift. After her defeat, she became obsessed with getting revenge on the ponies. Any concern or attempt to pursue her otherwise was punished. She was irrational, cruel, and no one could stand up to her.”

“Until Thorax!” Coxa chirped.

“Exactly.”

“He was the one who saved us!”

“Saved?!”

A loud stomp ruptured around them.

“Saved?” Everyone turned to the rising negative emotion coming from one of them. “You think Thorax saved you?!”

“Scapula?” Coxa whimpered.

“Thorax doomed the entire Changeling race! Him and that damnable Starlight Glimmer!”

“Scapula!”

“Our race isn’t proud or fearsome but weak and feeble! We never needed to depend on any other creature, and now all you do is share your resources?! Your love?!”

“Not just our love. We were able to come together through kindness, compromise and friendship, just like how we were taught!”

“Friendship is what destroyed us!! What destroyed me! Friendship took everything away from me!!”

The outburst was followed by a silence. Everyone in the room sat motionless staring at the form of their fellow peer.

“Scapula..” Coxa whispered. “I… never knew you felt like this.”

Chrysalis hissed at her. “What?”

“Oh.. I’ve been such a terrible friend.. That’s why I’ve been trying to invite you to these groups.. If you needed a place to talk, you could do it here.” Coxa reached to touch her hoof to Scapula’s shoulder, the attempt making the latter hastily back away in disgust.

“You.. How can you all be content like this?!”

“Scapula, I don’t understand what you mean. We’re much better off how we are now.”

“We don’t need to attack other creatures to feed,” another added.

“We are free to choose how to live.”

“If I didn’t know you any better, Scapula...” Coxa began.

A second Changeling continued. “We’d say you almost started to sound…”

“Like Chrysalis,” finished a third.

The Changeling in question darted her eyes from the many gazes on her. Her shoulders tensed when she realized her breathing was becoming laboured, a heavy sinking feeling pilling inside her.

Chrysalis looked down at her disguised hoof. It was shaking. She could see spots of black flashing from it, like brief shedding that revealed her truth form underneath. Her anger was getting to her disguise. Her eyes meet the group’s, staring at each one of them.

They were so different.

They had become too different.

She didn’t recognize them at all. They didn’t recognize her.

This... wasn’t her hive anymore.

That pressuring feeling was back.

They had become too weak. Too benevolent. Too brainwashed.

They didn’t even know who she was anymore.

She was too late.

The feeling hit a rock bottom.

It wasn’t anger. It was fear.

She got up hastily, her legs moving to back away.

“Scapula?”

“...Are you all.. really much happier like this?”

“Huh? Of course!” Nods of agreement followed. “Aren’t you?”

The response was a jab to her chest, just about enough to her pride. She snarled as much as her drone fangs allowed her, forcing the next words out of her mouth.

“I see…”

“Scapula, are you-?”

Before the young Changeling could finish, her would-be friend stormed up and away from the group, dashing into one of the holed paths of the hive. She didn’t stop as she continued blindly into the halls in a desperate erratic attempt to remove the new sensation she was feeling. Her breathing became panting with a loud beating in her head as she felt like being inside longer was suffocating her until she abruptly bumped into another trotting Changeling, who immediately apologized and tried to help her up.

“Get away from me!” she shouted at them, punishing them aside when she saw an opening to the outside down the hall, running towards it quickly taking flight to leave. Once away enough, she panted as she took her original form, scowling through her anger. Thoughts of denial and fury running through her head as she tried to take back her focus even with the words echoing in her mind.

This couldn’t have been happening. She knew her race had changed. But it was so much worse than she thought. She would have never let this happen if she was in charge. But it did.

...And it wasn’t her fault. This didn’t happen because of her. But rather-

Her fangs bared in a growl. No.. this wasn’t her fault.

“Starlight…” the former queen snarled in the air. “ Starlight Glimmer. You did this.. This is all because of YOU… And I’m not going to let you forget it! YOU will pay for this!!”

With a new-found determination, Chrysalis buzzed her wings harder forward. To where she last found her enemy.

Of course, going into pony territory required a disguise no matter what, and that’s what Chrysalis did. The moment she landed, she took the form one could best only say was her anger personified in a pony. It didn’t matter to her; her main goal was getting in and finding her detestable target.

For a single moment, she didn’t recognize the Friendship School. Much like how Cozy had mentioned about the castle, the school castle had also gone under renovation. Levels were added on the sides of the castle, the front court looked like a park of its own. Most notably.. ponies weren’t the majority of the population anymore. Griffins, Yaks, Changelings, Dragons, even creatures Chrysalis couldn’t remember the name of were trotting around like it was their home. Admittedly.. it took her aback.

Nevertheless, she shook out of it and stormed into the school, ignoring the confused stares of everyone around her as she scoped out the crowds looking for a specific pony. The image of her face burned into her mind as her anger was beginning to rise again, eager for another battle. She wouldn’t let her go this time, not agai-!

“Hello?”

Her insistent trotting came to a halt when a pony mare made herself known in front of her path. She stepped back to examine the pony. Something about the pony.. made her stop.

A peach-colored pony with lilac and green hair stood before her. She wore a formal neck scarf with a single gem. One only a high authority would wear. The tips of all four of her hooves were white, leaving the rest of her body a single color. Her cutie mark was droplets of magic sparkles.

“Who are you?” the disguised creature asked.

The pony laughed. “I should be asking you that.” A hoof came to her chest. “My name is Stellar Glimmer. I’m the vice headmare of this school!”

‘Glimmer?’

“You must be new here too! Are you looking to enroll in the School of Friendship?”

Chrysalis had to hold back a gag.

“No, actually,” she got out. “I’m looking for somepony.”

“A pony?” Stellar tilted her head. “If you can provide a name, I can sure try and do my best to help.”

“Perfect.” The Changeling hid her grin. “Then could you possibly lead me in the way to one.. Starlight Glimmer?”

Stellar’s demeanor changed drastically from a smile to surprised. "Starlight Glimmer?.."

"Indeed. Do you know where I can find her?"

“...Why do you want to see my grandmother?”

Her grin dropped. “...Your what?”

“My grandmother. The former headmare of this school.”

‘Former?’

“Ahh, so she stepped down, did she?”

“No, miss. Well.. she did, after she retired, of course. But, that was years ago. Why are you just looking for her now?”

The word ‘years’ almost shook Chrysalis. In an instant, the words of her former allies came back ringing in her head. Instead, she scowled it away. “That doesn’t matter! Where is she now?!”

Stellar jumped back mildly. “Miss.. I wish I could help you, but..”

“But what?! Where IS Starlight Glimmer?!”

Stellar took a pause, lowering her gaze for a moment. “My grandmother… passed away years ago.”

Chrysalis’ body froze, and became unresponsive.

“She loved her job, and everyone at the school adored her. She taught my mother to teach me all about being headmare hoping one day I would take her place. But, she passed away peacefully. It's what she would of wanted.” A pause. “Were.. you one of her friends?”

She would of hissed at the word.. if another feeling hadn’t overtaken her. Her vision shook as she lowered it to the ground.

The young pony mare stared at her with concern. With a shaking tensed voice, her new acquaintance finally spoke.

“Where… is she now?”

Grey clouds began to cover the sky as evening was approaching. A quiet Changeling flew through the air towards the direction the mare had given her. Hard to miss, she told her. Of course. Chrysalis didn’t say a word throughout her journey until she landed. Right where she had told her. The Canterlot memorial gardens.

Not too away from Ponyville, but not too far from the Canterlot castle. She didn’t know if it was dread or disgust she was feeling when she landed, but it didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for.

A gravestone of the finest marble acting as a base for a stone statue of a pony above it. The area was clearly in dedication solely to that one grave, as all around were nothing for clear, clean grass and growing flowers. She didn’t have to read the inscription to know who it was for, and yet, she did anyway.

Starlight Glimmer
Beloved daughter, wife, headmare and friend

The soft rumbling of the sky was the only noise around her as she stood before the grave. Wordless and expressionless. Gentle wind moved the growing flowers and grass around the stone edge of the base.

Thud

She let herself sit on the grass, simply staring at the base of the grave focusing on ultimately nothing. Her mouth hung only mildly open, nothing coming out.

She couldn’t be gone. She wasn’t finished with her. She needed to bring this pony the same amount of pain she had caused her once upon a time. Her, AND her friends. The reason she lost her kingdom. The reason her own race turned against her. The reason she felt so isolated from..

It couldn’t be. It wasn’t fair! How dare she do this?! She wasn’t finished with her! She needed her revenge! First her hive.. and now THIS!? She despised it all!

Chrysalis finally showed emotion in a deep growl, brashly raising her holed hoof and stomping hard and ruthlessly against the stone memorial, shattering the edge of the statue’s base. Her anger numbed her of any pain.

Her goal was ruined. Her purpose. Her drive. She had nothing.

Chrysalis raised her raging hoof to break the stone even further, bringing it down.. to punch the grass instead. Her shoulders raised and dropped as she heaved. After several moments, her body eased the tension it was holding, and went limp as she sat in front of the statue.

She had.. nothing.

If Starlight was as beloved as she had heard, the stone would be fixed as soon as it was noticed. And the very thought infuriated her. The anger carried even heavier inside her.. knowing she couldn’t do anything about it. Everything she once had was gone. And the realization made her drop any strength left in her body.

What... was the point?

She sat motionless, uncaring of her surroundings until faintly she picked up the sound of four hooves walking in sync and a small pair of wings that would of otherwise been unheard. Chrysalis didn’t even have to turn around to know.

“What are you doing here?”

“We kinda figured you would come here,” Cozy Glow spoke.

Chrysalis wordlessly lifted herself up, turning to face the only two creatures left she knew. She didn’t have to say anything, already obvious from their grim expressions, they knew.

The trio walked into the Canterlot gardens, finding one statue wasn’t the only memorial. A much larger section was dedicated to not one but five different gravestones with stone statues above. Walking around them, the photos of the five ponies were much too familiar. Tirek recognized one photo of a yellow pony with pink hair, much older than he remembered but definitely the same one Discord was especially fond of. A seemingly humming flower rested beside her photo, a blue flower with pores dancing around it gently like an open snowglobe. It wasn’t a natural flower, but rather one grown from chaos.

The group of three decided they had seen enough, and departed back to the woods together for refuge.

Author's Note

You might be able to see why this chapter took a while to come out.
From here, the real journey begin.

Second Option

Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and Tirek sat beside each other around a fire, the two older beings looking away from each other ever since they sat down. Cozy Glow was munching down on a carrot she charmed off a fruit vendor by posing as a lost child. Despite the unmistakable wider variety of species and cultures Equestria had come to home, it was almost a surprise they were still the same sharing and caring society they once managed to crumble. If anything, the differences between the races seemed to be what held them together. Even if they wanted to try again, Equestria was stronger than ever.

They didn’t even have the bell with them anymore.

Cozy finished the last of her meal, munching down until there was nothing and glanced to either side. Neither of her companions needed to eat as frequently as her, despite one of them suffering from constant hunger hanging over them like a curse. Little did the filly know, the Changeling didn’t even take notice of her hunger, as something else was the reason for her emptiness that voided her cravings for anything, even love.

Neither of her older allies were saying anything, and Cozy didn’t like it. Someone had to say something. She hesitated for a bit, but forced the word out of her mouth.

“.. So? What do we do now?”

“What is there to do?” Chrysalis spoke. The usual barking tone in her voice was gone.

“We could… um..” Cozy Glow hesitated. She usually was the one to spark up the group, albeit annoying her companions, but this time, she had nothing. She turned to the centaur, hoping he would have a thought. “Tirek?”

A brief silence was her answer. Tirek had his gaze down before finally turning to them both. “You two have already done what you needed... I think it’s only best that I do as well.”

Cozy’s eyes lit up. “What do you mean?”

“Equestria was never a place I belonged. I only stayed here for as long as I did against my will. There is only one place I can go now…”

Cozy Glow’s expression took an uncharacteristic scared look. “W-Wait, you don’t mean..”

“Back home, where I came from.” He let Cozy continue in her surprised stare as he got up. “After our freedom, I’ve come to face it, Cozy. There is no place for me here anymore. If there ever was one, at all.”

“B-But wait! What will you do when you go back?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe it’ll come to me on the way.” He turned to the filly, as the Changeling mare still had herself turned away from them. “You two can do whatever you wish to, now. It’s no concern of mine.”

“W-Wait! You can’t just-!”

“Leave him, Cozy.” Chrysalis said, keeping her head turned away from them.

“W-What?”

“We knew it was inevitable to part ways one day. He’s only taking the first step.”

Cozy looked at her with denial, turning back to her ex-mentor who was already leaving. Tirek could only offer one last glance back at the small filly. Her wings were dropped and her eyes looked.. teary. An expression she used many times to fool unknowing ponies before, but this time he saw it. This time it was genuine.

A pleading with her eyes.

Don’t go.

Despite it, Tirek followed through, and turned away, disappearing into the forest.

His walk was silent. He was used to it. The sound of lonesomeness. After his brother… left him, he had been on his own for a while. Tartarus was an eternity in near solitary. After his escape, it was all on his own again for a while until Discord. And after that…

Huh.

He spent more time around other creatures rather than with his own, despite calling himself a work-alone being. Perhaps it was because he never really missed any of his past company until...

He shook his head. Being stuck in stone was doing more of an effect than he thought. He was always on his own, despite everything. With the exception of one time, leaving whoever was with him was never hard. Their pleas meant nothing. The betrayal in their voice fell on his deaf ears.

And now he just needed to get that pink pony’s sadden expression out of his memory. She’ll be fine. Both of them will. Despite everything… he couldn’t call them weak, by any means.

Tirek tried to sway his thoughts elsewhere. Mostly, his destination. In all his years, free or otherwise he never had a need or urge to go back, but even so, he couldn’t forget its direction if he wanted to. The last he ever heard from his homeland was that it had gone under a new ruler. So clearly, his father was no longer king. And it took only little guess as to who was ruler now.

If nothing else, Tirek wanted to see what had become of it. A mild distraction to focus on when every other waking moment became about stealing magic. Afterward. He wasn’t quite sure. He’ll figure it out.

Lost in thought, Tirek thought he’d gone far enough into the forest to be alone from any creature by now. The snap of a twig said otherwise. Tirek stopped his hooves in their tracks, eyeing his sides just as a growl seemed to echo around him. The heavy swamp forest made it hard to see beyond a few bushes, but something large was undoubtedly rustling around.

Just as Tirek thought to just move pass it towards an exit, heavy footsteps rumbled up above his path, accompanied by the same growling. The rock-covered scaled-back and piercing slid yellow eyes were hard to miss. A large Cragadile slowly approached the older centaur, from his view taking his current appearance as an easy prey.

Any other day, Tirek would have flickered it away. Unfortunately, every other day, he hadn’t been stripped of most of his magic power to do so. Trying his best to calm his thumping heart and breathing, Tirek did the only survival tactic he could and slowly stepped towards the side to go around, maintaining unwithering eye contact with the beast.

Not that it did any good. In an instant, the crocodile-like creature growled and charged at the centaur who skidded to the side to escape. In a swift turn, the Cragadile aimed and charged a second time. Tirek grunted mustering the most he could of magic between his horns and launched an attack towards the beast right before he could hit him, leaping to the side, but the magic power was only a mere fraction of what he once had and only blinded the monster for a second, enough time to trash a claw at his prey and sliced a part of the centaur’s leg.

Tirek groaned in pain as he hit the ground, gritting his teeth for a second before pulling his energy to get up and flee. At the exact time, the Cragadile returned to his prey and swung its tail heavily against Tirek’s more fragile body, slamming him against a tree. Tirek panted against the ground, for the first time in years his body growing weak and cold with fear. He lifted his head towards his predator, seeing its large rocky mouth opening as it was preparing to lunge at him. The sudden cold shivering fear of death ran through him as it charged at him when a loud feral hiss flew above him and landed strongly on four hooves in front of him between him and the beast.

Immediately green flames grew between them and from it emerged a Tatzlwurm, who roared down at the Cragadile. The Cragadile tried to roar back when a rock hit its head. It turned to see a pink filly pony flying in the air.

“Ha! Take that!” Cozy’s higher-pitched voice yelled back.

Almost as if sensing the mockery, the crocodile creature growled loudly at the small pink pony when its attention was quickly reared back to the giant worm-like beast with a guttural sound. The once fearsome rock monster started to inch back from the much larger predator until the Tatzlwurm reared back and thundered a roar down at the Cragadile, a threat to stay away.

With a fearful growl, the rock beast hissed and crawled back into the swap forest, giving up on its meal for the day.

The Tatzlwurm made a noise that sounded like a snort and green flames engulfed it again, growing smaller this time as Chrysalis reappeared in its spot. Cozy Glow flew down to her side holding out a hoof to her for a bump. Chrysalis only looked at her and rolled her eyes, to which Cozy pouted for a second and flew off again to scout the area, checking to see if the creature was really gone.

Behind Chrysalis, Tirek, still lying on the ground, looked up at his once two allies until one of them flew away, leaving him to gaze up at the standing Changeling wordlessly for a second.

“..You two… why-?”

Chrysalis swiftly turned to face him baring her fangs. “Be quiet! Aside from that fluttering pest, you’re the only other creature I find even the slightest bit tolerable anymore! And I was not about to let you leave me alone with her!”

Tirek looked up at her for a moment, being wise enough to know there was no point to argue when she used such a tone, but couldn’t help thinking there was more to her words than she let on.

Cozy Glow soon flustered back to them. “He’s gone, and there’s no others around, so we should be safe.” Her eyes soon landed on Tirek and his leg, her eyes widening at the gash. “Golly! That’s quite the wound, Tirek. Does it hurt?”

Despite her tone, Tirek grunted as he lifted himself from the ground. “After everything we’ve been through, a scratch like this is nothing. If I can myself a magical source, I can heal myself as I grow.”

With a head nod, Cozy and Chrysalis agreed on their next plan.

It didn’t take long to find another magical being around the forest. Cozy Glow, partly pushed by Chrysalis, acted as a bait to lure in a Timberwolf or two that was in the area, only to find themselves held up by Chrysalis’s magic to have their power absorbed by Tirek. Before long, Tirek grew more and more until he finally regained his form and size equal to the amount Grogar gave him at his lair. The gash, along with his weaker self disappeared, completely healed from his leg. Tirek took his time flexing and admiring his newly returned muscles and marked arms, flexing a hand into a fist to feel power coursing back through his being. It wasn’t much, but it definitely would do.

Chrysalis simply rolled her eyes at the display. Even when they lived together, she’d poke fun at his obsession with himself. At least he kept the arrogance minimal for the moment. It was the least he could, she reasoned, after what they did for him.

Cozy Glow flew up to the now taller centaur. “Sooo? How do you feel?”

“For one,” Tirek flexed a fist. “Not powerless.” He stared at his own palm for a moment before looking back up again. “Although… I should make clear that my decision of leaving hasn’t changed.”

“Oh, that much is clear,” Chrysalis said.

“We know,” Cozy added. “Especially now, you’re definitely certain to gain attention if you’re around like that.”

“Then… Why did you come back?” Tirek questioned.

“Isn’t it obvious?” The filly retorted in a sing-songy tone. Not understanding, Tirek looked at Chrysalis, who didn’t show much emotion beside the usual irritation, but now calmer than before.

“We’re coming along with you,” Chrysalis simply said, turning towards the direction of the path they were once on as Cozy followed her with a smile, leaving the centaur befuddled for a few seconds.

“W..Wha-”

“Is that a problem?” Chrysalis sharply remarked as she swiftly turned her head, pausing just as Cozy did.

It took him a moment before Tirek huffed and followed next to their path. “As I said. You may do whatever you wish.” Chrysalis hummed satisfied and he continued on. “I should be asking you that, however. I didn’t know you had any intention of leaving.”

Chrysalis scoffed and turned her head. “I could use the time away from Equestria.”

As promised, the two joined Tirek through the swamp forest until the murky environment was left behind and they could return to regular forest, albeit less heavy. The small talk was mostly about the landscape around them, warning each other of potential wild creatures and to keep on the lookout.

At some point, Cozy got tired of flying on her tiny wings and without hesitation landed to rest on Tirek’s broad shoulder. He leaned back a bit at her sudden intrusion of his space, but made no effort to get her off. To keep her from complaining or whining at him, he reasoned with himself. At least on his shoulder, he could reassure himself she was still there. And for a reason he didn’t want to let himself to dwell on, it made him at ease.

Before they knew it, the sun was beginning to set and the trio decided to set up a place to rest for the night. Two in the group could make it continuing the journey throughout the night, but a tiny yawn coming from beside Tirek told a different story.

After a bit of looking, the group found a suitable spot to set up camp for the night, working together to set up a fire and Cozy finding a comfortable spot for herself beside a lounged laid over tree trunk. The moon replaced the sun in the sky as the only light came from the crackling fire, illuminating a curled up sleeping filly and Chrysalis and Tirek who sat across from each other, simply resting in their own spots before deciding individually to sleep.

Tirek, however, was within his own thoughts.

The last time they were in the same similar position, they had just escaped the imprisonment they had shared for a good number of years. There were a lot of different emotions that went around that night. Anger. Confusion. Dissatisfaction. Fear.

Least from one of them more than the other.

They were in the same position, until Chrysalis left the two of them to find… her. Of course. After so long of taking a punishment, it was natural for them to find somebody to blame. She was so determined to find her and made it very clear. And he jabbed at her with the possibility she wasn’t alive anymore. An intentional jab to shut her down from her otherwise goal.

He knew it would hurt her, even anger her further if it was true.

And yet the way they found out was more than he expected.

Where he expected to see rage, he found her with her head and wings down. His mere assumption was correct, and he had never seen her so dejected. It really was the salt to the wound.

Tirek looked up from the fire to face the changeling sitting across from him. She looked like she was avoiding his glances towards her, as if having recognized the similarity of their setting to the previous night. The still tense expression on her face made it appear like she was expecting him to rub in her face that he was right. About her enemy. Her hive. All her losses…

But the mere thought of it made him… uneasy. He couldn’t do that to her. Not after what she did for him today.

“Chrysalis…” his voice was hesitant but firm to attempt it. “About what I said the other night… I-”

“Don’t.”

He blinked.

“I don’t need to hear it…”

Tirek sighed, an exhale of exasperation, but he understood. It had been a long day, for all of them.

“You won’t.”

Accepting her request, Tirek leaned back against the standing trunk of a tree, shuffling in place to make himself comfortable before sighing of relief and slumping back to sleep for the night.

Chrysalis looked up at the resting centaur once she thought he was fully dozed off, then eyeing the pink filly already making the smallest snoring sounds that were guaranteed to grow louder. A day prior, she had envisioned herself surrounded by a different set of creatures. An entire lot of them. It was her drive. And yet, while the lingering pain of it still lingered within her aching being, it made her take a good contemplating pause to think she had a second option.

Author's Note

I'm not dead and neither is this story.
Over the past year, a lot of stuff has happened, from moving to jumping from fandom to fandom but this story never left my mind and I do intent on finishing it.
Sorry everyone for the long overdue update. But this story is very special to me and I don't plan to abandon it. So a shorter chapter for now as a thank you for everyone that has been following.