Dark as Chitin: Soul Theory

Chapter Music

Cozy Glow

I sighed as I trudged over to my first-morning class. Another day at my dismay. Thankfully, Mera talked to the school. Pry's presence isn't nearly as infuriating as the first day. Sometimes, if I'm not careful, I actually find myself enjoying his company from time to time...ugh.

He's still annoying though, but, at the same time, it's almost like he's the only one I can talk to as an equal in this place. Everypony else is just too foalish, naive, or stupid. While Pry is foalish and stupid in his own right, he's far from being naive. I wonder if I'm even talking to a colt my age at times.

There's also this look in his eyes, it's hardly noticeable if you're not searching for it. I missed it the first day, all I saw was tired eyes. It's cold, calculating; nothing like what his personality would suggest. He's always watching like some kind of overseer, even when he's reading!

I feel like I'm in the frog of his hoof and it makes me want to strangle him even more, but I can't. It's the last day of Mera and I's bet, and too much is riding on me being well-behaved.

Walking through the doorway to the classroom, I could see that students were already in a talkative mood. Ignoring the ambiance, I took my seat near the back of the classroom. I also took note of the time on the clock above the entrance. Nine minutes until class starts.

Resting my chin on a hoof, I turned my head slightly zoning out a bit. Pry was already seated next to me, reading a book like usual. I attempted to read the title, but I didn't have a very good angle.

"Mornin'," Pry said, without looking up from the book.

"Yeah, it is."

He smirked, closing the book as he slipped it into his bag. "Smart-aleck."

"Blank-flank."

"Pygmy."

"Egg-head."

He chuckled to himself in response. "Alright, Dozy-Grow. You win."

See what I mean? Still annoying, and I don't even have a good comeback for that. So what if I'm short? I'm still growing. I'm one centimeter taller since being trapped in stone, Dawn measured me!

Pry's eyes drifted away from me and toward the front of the room, eyes widening a bit as he did so before going back to his neutral expression. "3 o'clock, look."

Glancing in said direction, I was surprised to see the same filly from the other day, the alpha mare. She trotted from the front of the classroom toward our direction with her head held high. I'm not even sure if she could see where she was going, but she never crashed so I guess she could.

Eventually, she reached the vacant seat next to me, sitting down in an overly theatrical manner. She whipped her mane back and forth before moving it out of the way with a hoof, head turned toward me. Her eyes went wide with synthetic surprise as she raised a hoof to her muzzle. "Oh, it's you!"

"Hello Ms. Song," Pry said, peering around me.

Her eyebrows contorted in confusion. "You... know me?"

"By this point, who doesn't?"

Pry, what are you doing? She's clearly up to something. Why are you feeding her ego?

"It appears my reputation proceeds me then."

"That it does, musical prodigy and fashionista extraordinaire," he added amiably.

"Golly, might as well ask for an autograph while you're at it," I muttered.

"My, my, it appears somepony's done their research. Say, how would like the exclusive opportunity of being my personal protégé?"

Protégé? Come on! That's just another term for lackey. Can she be any more transparent? Pry, you better not accept.

"As enticing as that offer sounds, I'm afraid I cannot accept. I already have a mentor."

That's right, he already has a mentor! Wait, he has a mentor? I never would have guessed that. I'm kind of curious who they are now...

She grimaced for the briefest of moments before putting her facade back on. "I...see. What did you say your name was again?"

He pointed a hoof at himself. "Private Eye, Pry for short."

"Say, Pry, we should be friends. My friends and I having lunch behind the school today, you should join us."

Pry hummed to himself, as if deep in thought. "I don't see why not. Consider me there."

No, you idiot! It's a trap! Song smiled to herself, standing up from her seat just as the five-minute bell went off. "I should get to class now, it was wonderful meeting you."

With that, she walked out of the classroom and out of sight. She wasn't even in our class, the audacity... why did she show up in the first place? As for Pry, I'm starting to think has he a few screws loose.

"What is wrong with you?" I whispered aggressively.

"What? She said she wanted to be friends."

"Friends? Are you actually mentally challenged? That was an obvious lie."

"Relax, what's got you so worked up?"

"I-,uh," I found myself stumbling over words, unable to answer, "whatever."

Why am I getting so worked up? Like I care what happens to this colt! Far be it from me to help the fool.

Chrysalis

I've conquered the most vicious of warlords, stolen the hearts of the most faithful, and have been brought to the brink of death countless times, but all of that pales in comparison to what I feel now. I've never been more terrified. Today's the day I reunite with my children. It's also the day of my next meeting with my therapist, but that doesn't come until later. It doesn't help my situation much though.

There's another glaring issue that I'm not sure is good or bad. My children don't know that I'm coming. They should know that I'm no longer in stone, but I haven't made contact with them in any way, shape, or form since then. Starlight requested an urgent meeting with the changeling's royal council without discussing the topic at hoof. Now I'm wearing the guise of Crackle Cosette, while putting all effort into concealing my emotions as I trot beside Starlight to the council room.

Eventually, we came to a halt; the fleet of changeling guards opened the entryway, allowing us passage. While Starlight stepped forward, I found myself unable to. There they were; my children sat atop their thrones in all their regality, and at the center was none other than Thorax. The whirlwind of emotions I had been feeling had finally become too much to bear, effectively paralyzing me: guilt, joy, and most prominently, fear.

My eyes were locked on Thorax, as he eyed me with confusion. I felt a hoof on my shoulder, as the visage of Starlight came into view, smiling warmly.

"It'll be fine, Chrissy, just breathe," Starlight suggested, before strolling into the room.

Despite my fear, I did as she suggested, following suit as I had no desire to be left behind. The door's behind us shut with a thunderous reverberation, doing nothing to ease my anxiety.

The oligarchy descended their thrones, making their way over to the two of us. Upon reaching us, they bowed, an action we mimed before they all took on more serious expressions.

"As great as it is to see you, you spoke of an urgent issue, correct?" Thorax questioned.

"I did, yes. It's something concerning all of changeling kind."

The oligarchy shuffled nervously. Starlight took a step back, presenting me as she gave another courteous bow.

Starlight's voice suddenly entered my head, telepathy. "It's time, Chrissy, remember to just breathe, speak from the heart."

I took a few deep breaths, allowing my disguise to slip off in a burst of green smoke and flames. My reveal was met with shocked gasps as my children were taken aback.

"Chrysalis," Thorax hissed, venom lacing his voice.

That reaction was something I expected, but that didn't mean it hurt any less.

Thorax's magic flared, but before he could do anything, Starlight stepped between us, standing on her hindlegs as she held her forelegs defensively out toward Thorax. "Wait, wait, wait! Everypony, just calm down. She's not here to cause any trouble. All we ask is for a bit of your time."

Thorax's magic died down as he allowed the tension to somewhat subside. I could tell based on the maelstrom of emotions in the room that I was on thin ice.

With one last deep breath, I spoke up. "It's been a while, my children."

Many of them grimaced at this, making no attempts to hide their disdain, an act that served to inflict further pain upon me.

"Why are you here?" Pharynx asked curiously as he stepped forward.

"I-I," I couldn't help but turn my head away from them in shame, "I've come to...apologize."

A commotion broke out in the room again. "Apologize?"

"She's never apologized."

"What if it's not really her?"

"Everypony, please!" Starlight snapped, returning the room to silence.

I continued. "I realized that I haven't been the mother you all deserved, that my pride caused me to lose sight of what mattered most. I'm," I found it in myself to look at my children once more, no longer concealing my emotions, "I'm sorry."

"Step aside," an unnamed changeling said as she stepped forward, her horn glowing light pink.

The light from the horn enveloped my form for a brief moment only for nothing to happen once it had faded. The changeling stepped back in shock. "Sh-She's the real deal," she announced in disbelief.

It was at this moment that any semblance of majesty that Thorax possessed dissolved. In the span of a few seconds, Thorax's filled with horror as he scrambled to an open window, throwing himself out of it, and flying out of sight in a hurried manner.

"Should...we go after him?" Pharynx asked, sounding confused.

Out of all the things that could have happened, that was the least expected.

A Few Hours Later...

Cozy Glow

Welp, it's lunchtime and for once, I'm alone. Alone...it's not as peaceful as I had hoped it'd be. What is this sinking feeling in my gut? Where's that stupid colt at? Right, he agreed to have lunch with that filly and her friends behind the school. Maybe I'll check it out.

I rounded the corner for a hallway, making my way to the back of the school when I spotted the blank-flank himself, trotting without a care in the world.

I hid behind a wall, not wanting to get spotted. I'll probably come off as a stalker if he sees me; he'll never let me live it down. Once he rounded another corner and disappeared out of sight, I stealthy made my way over to where he had been. We repeated this process for some time until he reached a set of doors that led outside. This place got some major expansions since I last attended. It's crazy big.

He pushed the doors open with his magic, stepping outside, and rounding yet another corner.

"Pry, over here!" Somepony yelled from somewhere outside.

I pressed an ear to the double doors, listening as his hoof-steps drew further away. Once it was clear, I quietly opened one of the doors and slipped through, shutting the door softly behind myself. I went in the direction Pry went, reasoning that he must have turned another corner. I stopped against the wall I had been walking along, peering around the edge.

Pry stood with his flank turned to me, looking around confused. I heard a sloshing sound from nearby, but couldn't determine where exactly it was coming from.

Without warning, a downpour of water fell on Pry, rendering him soaking wet. Laughter ensued from the rooftop, revealing the alpha mare, Song, and her posy.

"You actually came? Do you have something lose in that head of yours? Why would I want to be friends with a blank-flank?"

Pry remained still before suddenly shaking his body, wringing the excess water out which caused his coat to puff out a bit. Even after he had rung out the water, he stood there sniffling and shaking. Was he crying? Whatever, I have no sympathy for him. I did try to warn him.

"Aww, is little Pry gonna cry? Should have just accepted my offer then," Song mocked.

The sniffling continued, growing louder before it developed into a giggle, then a chuckled. Pry threw his head back, laughing maniacally putting everyone on edge, including me. I knew there was something wrong with that colt. Did he finally snap?

Pry settled down, wiping a few tears away from his eyes. "On a scale of one to ten, I give it a seven," he stated with hubris. He then cast a spell, drying his body completely and fixing his disheveled coat.

"B-wha?! Hey, that's cheating!" She yelled from the roof, pointing a hoof vindictively.

Unfortunately, she made the mistake of leaning a bit too far off the ledge, plummeting to her demise, as her friends were too slow to catch her. Not that they tried. She screamed as she flailed around frantically with her eyes shut tightly, trying to slow her fall with magic but failing miserably. From that height, she'll undoubtedly break something and it won't be a clean break either with how she's panicking. I guess it's true what they say, karma's a witch.

Just as Song was about to hit the ground, all of her momentum vanished as she was caught in a veil of pale blue magic, floating mere centimeters above the ground. Song continued to flail around even as Pry gently lowered her to the ground, providing quite the spectacle.

I can't understand why he saved her, but even I have to admit, he's pretty talented at magic. Why doesn't he have a cutie mark yet?

Her friends laughed, but Pry only looked at her with deep concern. Pry then shook his head lightly before clearing his throat and nudging her with a hoof. "You can open your eyes now, Ms. Song."

She slowly creaked one eye open, seeing the ground just below her. Her eyes then shot open as she stopped her spasming. Pry released his magical hold on her, watching as she stood up shakily.

"Thank you."

Pry simply turned around and walked away...in my direction. I ran to the door as fast as possible, slipping through and making my way down the hallway. It occurred to me that I wasn't going to get far without being noticed. So in a last-ditch effort, I removed the lid from a garbage bin, throwing myself inside and placing the lid overhead.

I listened as the hoof steps moved past the bin and down the hallway, growing more distant with each passing second. After a while, I peered outside of my hiding spot only to be met with a set of dark and tired eyes staring back at me. I jerked back in fright, knocking over the bin with myself in it while Pry just laughed to himself.

"Why are you so weird, Cozy?"

Stupid colt.