Dark as Chitin: Soul Theory

Segment Music

Starlight Glimmer

When Thorax fled the throne room, everyling and myself split up to look for him. Chrysalis and I have had no luck in finding him though, which is strange because Chrysalis is actively trailing his emotions.

"This doesn't make any sense, Thorax is one of the bravest stallions I know."

He even stood up to Chrysalis once before, so why did he run away?

"Chrysalis, do you have any idea what he might be feeling?"

Chrysalis, who was running beside me, remained silent for a moment. "Fear, confusion, and...sadness."

"Sadness?"

"No, that's not quite right. It's...guilt?"

I can understand the confusion and even the fear, but guilt? Why would he feel guilty?

"Wait, Starlight, he's nearby."

That's good, he won't get away this time. Every time we encroached on his hiding place, he would just fly away again while spamming a plethora of spells that made it hard to track him. Luckily, I've already thought of a plan to counterattack his attempts at fleeing.

Igniting my horn, I laid out a semi-permeable barrier one hundred meters around the area with the set condition that nothing organic could enter or leave.

"Alright, let's put an end to this."

Chrysalis took the lead as I followed close behind. After rounding a corner and clearing a few bushes, we came upon a diamond dog ferociously digging a hole. Seeing through the changeling magic, I dispelled it immediately, returning Thorax to his usual form.

Thorax jolted upright with a terror-stricken expression written across his face. We inched closer to the changeling monarch slowly as to not startle him. He scooted back.

"Thorax, we only want to talk. Please, stop this coltish behavior."

Chrysalis held a hoof out, stopping my advance as she proceeded. "Thorax, dear, I know what you must be feeling. You're scared and confused, aren't you?"

Thorax continued backing up slowly until his back was against the barrier and there was nowhere else left to go. His eyes darted all over in search of an escape.

"But underneath all that, you feel guilty, why?"

It was at that moment, that Chrysalis had apparently gotten too close, causing Thorax to make a run for it. Impulsively, Chrysalis jumped at Thorax, wrapping her forelegs around the back of his barrel.

"Not this time, child!"

Unfortunately, with Thorax's mental state and sudden loss of stability, the two began toppling over each other, rolling through the dirt with increasing speed. Thorax continued flailing around while Chrysalis adamantly refused to let go.

Somewhere in the whirlwind of chaos, Thorax shot off a repulsion spell causing the two to soar through the air for a few seconds.

Deciding that the chaos was too much to leave by itself, I thought to use telekinesis to restrain the two, but just as abruptly as skirmish started, it stopped. I allowed my magic to die down as I watched the dust cloud settle with bated breath, but what I saw was not something I expected in the slightest.

As the dust cleared, I could see that Chrysalis still had her forelegs tightly wrapped around Thorax's barrel, but Thorax was motionless. Not only was he motionless, but he seemed to have landed rather uncomfortably on his neck, his back arched in an unnatural manner; a flawless germane suplex.

"Good, it would seem you've finally calmed down," Chrysalis huffed but received no response.

I maneuvered myself around the two to get a better view, shocked at what I had discovered. Thorax's eyes had rolled back in their sockets, the only indication of him being alive was the shallow breaths his body was instinctively taking at irregular intervals.

"Now then, let's talk like-"

I interrupted her. "Uh, Chrysalis, I don't think he can hear you."

Chrysalis released her hold on Thorax, rolling out of the way and onto her hooves as Thorax's limp body hit the ground.

"What do y-oh...oh dear."

Segment Music

Cozy Glow

Well, lunch was a bust. Instead of eating, I decided to trail Pry and was embarrassingly caught. Now I'm stuck in fancy schmancy Charity's generosity class while I starve. Great.

As I rested my head on my desk, I heard the familiar sound of a magic teleportation spell in front of me. I peered up only to see that a minor assortment of pastries had appeared on my desk. I looked around the room, my sight stopping on Pry who was absentmindedly munching on a half-eaten glazed donut as he looked to the front of the class.

Of course, he knows how to use teleportation. Whatever, he is the reason I'm starving in the first place. Might as well get what I deserve.

I picked up a danish, inspecting it closely, sniffing it to make sure no tomfoolery was running amuck. For all intents and purposes, it was just a normal blackberry cream cheese danish, still warm as if freshly baked. My stomach rumbled in protest of my suspicion; the hunger was a sensation I could no longer fight.

Reluctantly, I brought the pastry to my muzzle and took a bite, and before I knew it, the pastry was gone. I looked around in confusion only to realize that I had eaten it in a momentary lapse of awareness. Luckily, there were still a few leftovers. I devoured those as well, thankful no one was looking at me.

With my newfound energy, I found it in myself to tune back into Rarity's lesson.

"Yesterday, we discussed the importance of sharing, but we ran out of time to put such lessons into practice. That is why today, we'll be doing a little exercise."

Excercise?

"We'll be doing a bit of roleplay, if you will. Students will be organized into several groups, but one student will act as a resource manager. The resource manager will be given a bag of supplies and tasked to evenly distribute said supplies to their group members. The group can give their input on how resources are to be distributed, but it is ultimately up to the resource manager to decide."

Sound's tedious. I already want to get it over with.

"Our first group consists of Igneous, Axolot, Diamond Rose, Lilac Dusk, Starkwing, and Cozy Glow."

Huh, it's rare for me not to get grouped with Pry. Guess I earned a bit of breathing room in Faust's eyes.

"Resource managers should find a tote bag containing the necessary supplies at the front of the class."

Trotting over in the indicated direction, I grabbed one of the bags in my magic, inspecting the contents. It was a bunch of plastic-wrapped cookies, five of them to be exact. Immediately, I understood the exercise. There weren't enough cookies for everyone; we were one short.

Trotting over to my peers, I hoofed over a cookie to each of them. If I had been in my hunger-stricken state, I wouldn't have even entertained the notion, but I was currently full and content so it was fine. Each member scarfed down their cookies rather quickly, leaving nothing left over.

"An interesting decision, Ms. Glow. Sometimes generosity calls upon the individual to make hard, even self-sacrificing decisions. But it doesn't have to always come to that," Rarity offered, trotting up beside me and pointing a hoof at another group.

One group member decided to split their cookie with the resource manager, every member happily eating away as a result.

"There's nothing wrong with giving everything, dear, but sometimes sharing is enough to suffice."

"I...guess-"

A sudden commotion drew everyone's attention toward the center of the room. There was a group circling around something, all watching or commenting in abstract horror and concern.

"Is he alright?"

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!"

"Pry!? What's wrong?"

"I'll go get Ms. Rarity!"

Rarity stepped toward the group, myself following after. "I'm already here, what seems to be the-sweet Celestia!"

The group cleared an opening, revealing Pry's violently spasming body and wildly fluctuating magic. Song had gotten down to his level, desperately nudging him to no avail. It was a shocking sight, to say the least.

"What's happening to him?"

"Same thing use ta' happen to gramps. I think it's called a sea sure?"

Ms. Rarity attempted to grab hold of Pry in her magic, but her telekinesis was effortlessly broken through by his rampaging magic. She attempted this several times with no success. Pry's eyes began to glow a pure vibrant white, streaks of magic shooting out from his body.

"Everyone evacuate the room immedi-"

Astonishingly, Pry's spasming suddenly stopped, his magic calming down as a result. His unconscious body laid in the middle of the room which was now filled with nothing but silence.

Ms. Rarity apprehensively attempted to grab Pry again, this time without issue. She trotted to the doorway, turning back to address the class. "Sit tight, class. I'll be back shortly."

With that, Ms. Rarity closed the classroom door behind her, disappearing out of sight, for everyone else that is. In a split second after Pry had calmed down, I had already anticipated that Rarity would carry Pry out of the class. Reactively, I slipped out when no one was looking, casting a light refraction spell upon myself. So long as I didn't make any sudden movement, I was invisible to the naked eye.

I had no idea Pry had such a medical condition. Is that why he always looks so tired, because he's sick?

Carefully, I flew after my briskly galloping teacher who made her way through the maze of corridors of the school. Eventually, she slowed down before entering a room that looked to be the front office. I slipped in after her, quietly landing on carpet flooring. She entered another nearby room, placing Pry on a hospital bed of sorts.

Rarity exited the room, almost running into me in the process. She began calling out to various staff members, wondering where Starlight was.

I walked up to Pry's bedside to get a closer look at him; it didn't look good, but he was still breathing. A trail of drool escaped his loosely open mouth, his eyes now closed, probably by Rarity.

I'd like to think I snuck out of class solely because I was curious, but that wasn't exactly it. Deep down inside, I could feel a tinge of fear threatening to break free. What is this? Why can't I calm down? Nothing even happened to me.

"This is the colt in question?"

The sudden question startled me, almost causing me to jump out of my coat. Thankfully, I had the self-control to remain calm and carefully step away from the bedside, still remaining invisible.

The mare Rarity had brought along wasn't Starlight like I had expected, instead, it was a unicorn, her coat, a brilliant azure, her mane was a pale cornflower blue with very pale cerulean stipes. She looked familiar. I think she was in a few pictures around the castle actually.

"From the sound of it, he seems to have suffered from an acute magic surge attack. It's not common, typically only present in those with an innately large reservoir of magical energy, or so Starlight says. Trixie will run a diagnosis now."

Trixie? Is she talking in the third person?

The mare reached into a small bag with her magic, pulling out a small device that looked much like a gem detector. She pointed the device at Pry only for it to go haywire and burst into scraps.

Rarity covered her mouth with a hoof. "Oh my..."

"Well, Trixie can adequately say that this colt's magic level is quite high."

Trixie pulled out a few more devices, this time checking his vitals, which were actually fairly normal from what I could tell.

"It would seem that all the colt needs is some rest. Trixie will stay and watch over him until he wakes up," Trixie's head suddenly drifted in my direction, before dispelling my refraction spell, "you should take her back to class in the meantime."

Rarity's eyes widened in shock. "Cozy?!"

Oh buck, how did she spot me?!

"It's no easy feat to conceal one's magic, but it's virtually impossible when it's emitting so brazenly from an external apparatus," Trixie stated as she pointed a hoof at my necklace.

"Well, we'll be going now! Please do take care," Rarity snatched me up in her magic before making her way out of the room.

The tattletail mare simply waved with a moderate smile.

Rarity smiled back before turning to me and quickly switching up her attitude. "Whatever were you thinking?!" She whispered harshly.

This is all that stupid colt's fault.

???

It would seem that opening a portal so soon was a bit too ambitious even for me. The soul wavelength was extremely unstable; I can't imagine it was too pleasant for the soul itself. Luckily, I have established a window to the soul if you will. Now I can see everything the soul sees.

It may not seem like much, but this should provide me with ample opportunity to gather data of all sorts: physics, energy, life forms, and even potential obstacles. In the meantime, I should give the soul time to recover and return to a state of homeostasis.

It won't be long now.